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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Rav Chaim Soloveichik in his drasha on Ki Tavo called upon community leaders to take a more forceful approach regarding child abuse!
Rav Soloveichik began his drasha by referring to the simcha which the community experiences when witnessing smachot involving the younger generation, such as brit milah and bar mitzvah. (Written by a talmid of Rav Chaim Soloveichik shlita, Ramat Bet Shemesh, Israel. Motsei Shabbat Parshat Ki Tavo, 5768)

Rav Chaim Soloveichik in his weekly Shabbat drasha on Parashat Ki Tavo called upon community leaders to take a more forceful approach regarding child abusers. Rav Soloveichik heads Mosdot HaRav Aharon Soloveichik – Bet Knesset Ohr Shalom, located in Ramat Beth Shemesh and founded by his father HaGaon HaRav Aharon Soloveichik.

The Rav noted that such smachot are so great because of the continuity which they represent. “Our children are our future-we rejoice at smachot connected to them and we must be vigilant in acting to protect them from harm.”

Rav Soloveichik cited the vidui maasroth which is mentioned as the second mitzvah in parashath Ki Tavo and raised the question of why one must say a vidui regarding sins which one did not do, whereas generally one does so regarding sins which one has transgressed. The Rav stated that the purpose of vidui is making a "complete accounting".

“Leaders, heads of institutions and rabbanim must make an accounting for that which they have and have not done for their communities. One issue regarding which a more serious accounting needs to be done is the issue of child-abuse. I have been apprised of a local problem with an alleged child abuser who is employed as a teacher of young children by a local school.The teacher is currently being investigated for inappropriate behavior with children, and community leaders and rabbanim say that we must not remove the teacher lest his parnasa be damaged.”

Rav Soloveichik emphasized that while one’s parnassa is an important issue this does not trump the need to separate such a teacher from children for whom he constitutes a presumed danger.

There are numerous opportunities for parnassah which do not require being responsible for 30 kids.

“It is hard to believe that rabbonim who know gemara, the poskim, mishna berura, backwards and forwards do not have the sense to realize that when non-frivolous claims have been made, an alleged child-abuser must be distanced from a position of contact with children until his name has been cleared.When no leadership is demonstrated by rabbanim, then the bloggers will inevitably fill the vacuum.”

Rav Soloveichik reiterated that an approach which only allows one to separate an alleged child-abuser from talmidim once there has been a criminal indictment or conviction unreasonably endangers children.

The Rav impassionately cried out:” Those who ask ‘what about the parnassa of the teacher?’ must be rebutted with the question ‘what about the children, what about the children?”

The Rav called upon community leaders to take vigorous action to assure that alleged predators are kept far from positions from which they can pose a threat to children. “Let us restore community initiative to the rabbanim and community leaders. We need to be the ones making the clarion calls, not just the bloggers.”

Rav Soloveichik praised the new initiative of Lema'an Achai, the Ramat Bet Shemesh chesed organization, which has established a "Safe Kids" program. Concerned local parents and kids call "Safe Kids" for professional and practical advice from qualified, experienced social workers, about child abuse.

Rav Soloveichik ended his drasha wishing upon the community that we have the zchuth to act wisely and forcefully for the sake of a better future for our children.

*******************************************************
UPDATED MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22,2008

Dear UOJ,

Toras Eliyahu continues to tell parents that the police have investigated and cleared Kagan. They have rec'd MORE complaints and are preparing their investigation.

THEY HAVE NOT EVEN QUESTIONED HIM AS YET!

Toras Eliyahu is lying to protect themselves. They are also trying to bad mouth the victims' families with lies and distortions.

Excepting the brave Rav Solovechik the Rabbonim here continue to remain silent.

Bet Shemesh is now in the middle of political campaigns. Perhaps care and concern for our children should top the candidate's platforms.

One party, naming itself TOV, claims to represent the working yeshiva man (is that an oxymoron?).

Their number 2 man, Mendy Newman, fought tirelessly in defense of Akiva Kagan. He tried to bring him back into the classroom in which he molested children.

Now Mendy Newman is running for Bet Shemesh city council for the TOV party.

TOV looks to have a good showing in Cheredi Ramat Bet Shemesh.

So an enabler of molesters might gain a seat on the city council.

I urge everyone to call the head of the TOV party, Mr. Elie Friedman (in Israel 0774401815) and let him know who he has chosen to run with.

In addition you may want to contact Dov Lippman, who heads the mayoral campaign for Shalom Lerner. Mr. Lerner also has a close association with Mendy Newman.

Dov Lippman can be contacted at:
shalomformayor@gmail.com

Tell him that Shalom Lerner should not associate with such people and that it won't be TOV for him to do so.

We must stop the molesters and their enablers!

*************************************************************

UPDATED - TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2008


Hi I'm Charles and I work for the Asbury Park Press, we're collecting information on this Catapult story out of Lakewood. If anyone has any information, please forward it to me at: charles_cunliffe_app@yahoo.com - I promise you total confidentiality. Thanks.

89 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kol Hakavod to Rav Soloveichik!

It ought not to be anything special for a community rav to say the blooming obvious - keep alledged child molesters out of the classroom - but unfortunately in this community, in this age, it takes great courage & deep integrity.

Let's hope other community leaders, and parents, follow Rav Soloveichik's example, and have the wisdom and courage to take a firm stand against this school's outrageous policy, and the rabbonim who back it.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

The entire Moetzes Agudas Yisroel - including Yisroel Belsky and any other rosh yeshiva or principal that knowingly protected child-rapists, should resign or be fired!

Any thinking Jew should back this proposal - so we can move forward with new leadership that would give us a chance to put new systems in place in our organizations, yeshivas, and communities - that under all circumstances - will be answerable to klal Yisroel! No more free passes to criminals!

-----------------------
Arutz Sheva:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he would announce, at the Cabinet meeting Sunday morning, his plans to submit his letter of resignation. He left open the actual time of his resignation until early this afternoon, when he announced that he would hand in the letter of resignation to President Shimon Peres Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the first post. Although Rav Chayim would not condone many of the things written on this blog I am proud to be a close of friend of his and he does not shy away from saying what has to be said. Hashem should give Rav Chayim Soloveichik and his wonderful Rebbitzin and his entire family the strength to continue all the good work he does. I want to wish him a csiva vchasima tova.
We should only share in good news.

Kol tov

BJK

Anonymous said...

I have a child in the 3rd year class that Rav Soloveichik is speaking about.
My child's new teacher is indeed currently under police investigation for abusing children in his previous school.
However, I have received assurances from the minhalim and from my rav that I have nothing whatsoever to worry about, and that this is a big fuss over nothing.
I trust the school and of course I trust my rav. So with full confidence I am leaving my kid in this class.

Anonymous said...

Rav Chaim, Rav Chaim Solo, Rav Chaim Soloveichik

The new song of Ramat Beit Shemesh

Anonymous said...

Long live the mara d'asra Rav Chaim Soloveichik!

He has proven himself the leader of Ramat Beit Shemesh!

Anonymous said...

We need more rabbis like Rav Chaim Soloveichik to take on the predators!

The silent majority of Ramat Beit Shemesh supports Rav Chaim Soloveichik!

Anonymous said...

Posted on VIN today!

Oh the good ole sheep mentality we inhereted from the christians. Much of klal yisroel acts as if they are brain dead. The torah way is to pursue da'as torah and accept it if it is PROVEN to be daas torah and to REJECT it if it is an opinion of a godol who so happens to be a phenominal IGNORAMUS in the particular sad mesechte. Would you ask your rosh yeshiva, who knows the 5 yeshiva mesechtes and every Ktzois by heart, a difficult Shailo in Hilchos Ishis? Even if he answered you, the responsibility lies on you to determine if he is well versed in the halachos you asked about. One can be a gaon in chassidus or lomdus and an AM HAARETZ M'Deoraiso in other halachos. Likewise, one can be the rosh yeshiva of Lakewood or the Rebbe of Both satmar factions. That would not indicate in any way that he is qualified to paskin hilchos molestation. I suspect that the rabbonim are mute in this subject because they feel they have no answers. However, my daas torah (I too am a career learner) tells me that such a position is in itself criminal. Simple aleph bais logic dictates one to amass huge gatherings of parents in our community, decrie the situation of our children and forbid anyone who has been accused 2 or 3 times from having access to children. Repeat offenders (those caught after a warning) must be handled by the civil authorities, and those who don't meet the above guidlines must be dealt with firmly in a manner to be detirmined. But to sit silently and watch yiddishe kinderlach being passed between the fires of Moilech R"L is murder at the hands of the current controlling rabbonim and askonim. If the Nazis were to invade today I would understand why the rabbonim would be the first to be carried away to the execution. The leadership has run up a large bill with Hakodosh Baruch Hu.

Anonymous said...

BEIJING (AP) China's Health Ministry says the number of children sick from tainted milk jumps to 12,800.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky spoke at the Yeshiva Torah Vodaath tonight. He wanted to calm down the oilem regarding the scare that Chinese powdered milk had been exported to the USA. He assured everyone that whether or not there is melamine in the milk, and whether or not it is found to be fatal, the oilem could rest asure that he checked out the company that produces melamine and that it is one hundred percent kosher. Rabbi Belsky suggested off the record that if anyone wanted to be machmir he would suggest they use chalav Yisroel products.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Comrade Karl Marx would be proud!

---------------------------

Goldman, Morgan to Become Full-Fledged Banks

September 21, 2008, 9:35 pm

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the last two independent investment banks, will become bank holding companies, the Federal Reserve said Sunday night, fundamentally altering the landscape of Wall Street.

The move fundamentally changes one of the mainstay models of modern Wall Street, the independent investment bank, soon after the federal government unveiled the biggest market rescue since the Great Depression. It heralds new regulations and supervisions of previously lightly regulated investment banks. It is also the latest signal by the Federal Reserve that it will not let Goldman or Morgan fail.

The move comes after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the near-collapses of Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch.

Now, Goldman and Morgan Stanley, which have been the subject of merger speculation in recent weeks, can become direct competitors to larger firms like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Those firms combine investment-banking operations with the larger capital cushions that come with retail deposits, giving them a stability that pure investment banks lack.

JPMorgan acquired Bear Stearns this spring in a fire sale brokered by the federal government, while Bank of America has agreed to buy Merrill Lynch for $50 billion. Barclays of Britain agreed to buy the core capital-markets business of Lehman Brothers out of bankruptcy late last week.

Announced without fanfare on Sunday night, the move signals the final end to the Glass-Steagall Act, the epochal legislation of 1933 that signaled a split between investment banks and retail banks. A law passed in 1999 repealed the earlier regulation, though Goldman and Morgan remained independent investment banks.

Morgan Stanley had sought other ways to bolster its capital, and had been in advanced talks with China’s sovereign wealth fund and others about raising as much as $30 billion, people briefed on the matter said Sunday night.

“While accelerated by market sentiment, our decision to be regulated by the Federal Reserve is based on the recognition that such regulation provides its members with full prudential supervision and access to permanent liquidity and funding,” Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement Sunday night. “We believe that Goldman Sachs, under Federal Reserve supervision, will be regarded as an even more secure institution with an exceptionally clean balance sheet and a greater diversity of funding sources.”

“This new bank holding structure will ensure that Morgan Stanley is in the strongest possible position – with the stability and flexibility to seize opportunities in the rapidly changing financial marketplace,” John J. Mack, Morgan Stanley’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. It also offers the marketplace certainty about the strength of our financial position and our access to funding.”

By becoming bank holding companies, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley gained some breathing room in the immediate term. But it likely lays the groundwork for additional deal making. Given the expected bank failures this year, it is possible Goldman and Morgan Stanley could seek to buy them cheaply in a “roll-up” strategy.

Prior to the move, federal regulations prohibited the two investment banks from pursuing such deals. Indeed, Morgan Stanley’s recent talks with Wachovia revolved around Wachovia buying Morgan Stanley.

Being a bank holding company would also give the two access to the discount window of the Federal Reserve. While they have had access to Fed lending facilities in recent months, regulators had planned to take away discount window access in January.

The regulation by the Federal Reserve brings a host of accounting rule changes that should benefit the two banks in the current environment.

In return, they will submit themselves to greater regulation, including limits on the amount of debt they can take on. When it collapsed, Lehman had about a 30:1 debt-to-equity ratio, meaning it had borrowed $30 for every dollar in capital it held. Morgan Stanley currently has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30:1, while Goldman Sachs has one of about 22:1.

Bank of America, on the other hand, currently has about an 11:1 leverage ratio, while JPMorgan has about 13:1 and Citigroup about 15:1. Because they can borrow less, bank holding companies typically have lower earnings multiples.

In its statement, Goldman said that it will now become the nation’s fourth-largest bank holding company, with its small existing deposit-taking units to be rolled into GS Bank USA. Morgan Stanley will convert its Utah industrial bank into a deposit-taking national bank, to be called Morgan Stanley Bank.

–Michael J. de la Merced, Vikas Bajaj and Andrew Ross Sorkin

Anonymous said...

Nestle's Hong Kong office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Calls after work hours to its Beijing office and Beijing hot line went unanswered.

But the company said in a statement last Wednesday that none of its infant formula and milk powder products contained melamine.

"Nestle can hence assure its ... customers that its products are safe for consumption," it said.

Anonymous said...

China Goes Kosher as Exporters Use Rabbis to Reassure Consumers

By Mark Drajem

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese exporters, facing a U.S. backlash over tainted food products, are turning to an unlikely group of inspectors to help clean up their act: Jewish rabbis.

Kosher certifications by rabbis have doubled to more than 300 in China in the past two years, according to the Orthodox Union, a New York-based organization that does inspections. The group expects thousands more plants to get certified in the next few years, covering everything from spices and chemical additives to frozen berries, sliced garlic and beef.

Chinese exporters, eager to gain access to the $11.5 billion U.S. kosher market, had already begun seeking the certifications before the uproar over contaminated seafood, toothpaste and pet food began last year. Now, after a rush of recalls, the rabbis say the companies are paying for the inspections to ease growing concern among U.S. consumers about imports from China.

``When we certify a product, consumers know there is another pair of eyes'' on it, said Mordechai Grunberg, an American rabbi whose seven-member team examines Chinese factories, scans company books, and even drops in for surprise inspections to ensure the biblical dietary laws are followed.

The surge of kosher certifications hasn't come without hiccups. Many Chinese companies were unfamiliar with the concept: One furniture maker asked for kosher certification, drawing a polite rebuff. Another facility asked to get certified as kosher even though it was smoking eel on site, a kosher no- no. The company was turned down; it is now building a separate, kosher-only facility.

Jarred by Grilling

And many companies weren't ready for the grilling the rabbis gave them on their first visits to their plants, seeing it as a sign of distrust. ``In China, everything works on relationships,'' said Grunberg of the Orthodox Union, which certifies more than 400,000 products worldwide.

Grunberg first traveled to China in 1981 in what would have been the first kosher-certification there. It didn't work out. His translator failed to meet him at the airport and his hotel had rats. Grunberg didn't bother to examine the facility, instead returning to New York the next day.

``It was a trip wasted,'' he said in a telephone interview from Israel, where he lives. When he returned two decades later, ``it was a different China.''

Now, kosher ``is part of the vernacular'' as companies there try to take advantage of the U.S. market, he said.

Fully half the Chinese exports to the U.S. of $2.5 billion a year in food ingredients, such as coloring agents and preservatives, are kosher, up 150 percent from two years ago, the Orthodox Union estimates.

`Phenomenal'

``We are experiencing phenomenal growth,'' said Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer of the kosher-certification body.

While the rabbis see to it that the products adhere to such laws as prohibitions on pork and the mixing of meat and dairy, they don't perform scientific food-safety tests.

``There is definitely marketing power to have a kosher symbol on products,'' said Mark Overland, who directs the kosher and organic department at Cargill Inc., the largest U.S. agricultural company. ``But it would be a misnomer to equate kosher with food safety.''

Many consumers disagree. Buyers of kosher products -- the majority of whom in the U.S. are non-Jews -- are seeking healthy and safe products, according to a 2005 survey by Lubicom, a marketing firm specializing in kosher products.

Plant Codes

And one of the kosher safety measures has already been seized on by Chinese regulators since the U.S. began cracking down on the imports. Since 2001, the Orthodox Union has required makers of products it certifies as kosher to place a code on their packages identifying the plant where it was made so the product can be traced in a recall. In September, Chinese regulators began requiring the same code on all food exports.

For Chinese companies, the benefits are clear amid increasing scrutiny from foreign consumers. More than two-thirds of Americans say food and product recalls have dimmed their view of Chinese-made products, according to a poll released last month.

For Nanjing Biotogether Co., certification is a prerequisite for selling fructose, salts and amino acids to U.S. makers of sports drinks, pharmaceuticals and food flavoring. Exports may soar to 450 million yuan ($62 million) in the first year since it got the kosher stamp last June, more than 11 times the previous year's total, said sales manager Wu Yonghong.

`Vote of Confidence'

Zhoushan Genho Food Co., in eastern China's Zhejiang province, got its frozen tuna fillets certified as kosher last August. Its sales have picked up, too.

``At a time of renewed international scrutiny on quality and safety, any additional stamp of approval or certification is equivalent to a vote of confidence,'' said sales manager Chen Xing.

While food companies say they already use many comprehensive safety procedures, analysts say they have a lot to learn.

``If unsafe food is getting through, then someone has dropped the ball,'' said James Morehouse, a senior partner at A.T. Kearney in Chicago and lead author of a study on China's food-safety system. ``The rabbis are an example of a working inspection system.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

Anonymous said...

Hong Kong's two main supermarket chains said Sunday they were recalling milk powder made by Swiss manufacturer Nestle after a newspaper reported it contains melamine.

Anonymous said...

Mazel Tov, Rabbi Moshe Heinemann had daughter this week. Only she's Chinese and her mother is not Jewish. A bastard such as Heinemann should not be traveling to China without the presence of his wife. It's guys like him that spread STD.

Anonymous said...

Anon Wrote:
"I have a child in the 3rd year class that Rav Soloveichik is speaking about.
My child's new teacher is indeed currently under police investigation for abusing children in his previous school.
However, I have received assurances from the minhalim and from my rav that I have nothing whatsoever to worry about, and that this is a big fuss over nothing.
I trust the school and of course I trust my rav. So with full confidence I am leaving my kid in this class."

I am astounded by Anon's stupidity.
You have put your kid in a cage with a lion.

You have heard on good authority that the lion ate another kid just a few weeks ago, and the police are currently investigating the circumstances.

Meantime, the zoo keeper and lion trainer are telling you the lion is as gentle as a pussy cat - and would never hurt a fly. And he still attracts a crowd and brings them in money.

And you keep your kid in the cage with the lion.

Anon - frankly, you're being demented. Listen to yourself.

GET YOUR KID OUT OF THE CAGE.

The lion's wellbeing, and the business of the zoo, are not a FATHER'S priority.

DEAR FATHER, GET YOUR KID OUT OF THAT CLASS!!!

Anonymous said...

To the father of a third grader in the alleged molester's class: Your argument by reference to authority is weak indeed. Why don't you use simple logic and realize that if several children made such serious allegations then the presumption must be that such allegations are true-especially when the allegations were made by first graders whose testimony corroborates each other, and who can not be suspected of planning a conspiracy against the teacher.

I would also suggest that blind trust in rabbis can get you in trouble. Your rabbanim may be very, very knowledgeable but that doesn't mean they can not err in their discretion. And of course, there is always the option of turning to other rabbonim or replacing your Rav with HaRav Soloveichik.

Anonymous said...

Is David Mandel a Mandated Reporter?

Watch video:
http://theawarenesscenter.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-david-mandel-mandated-reporter.html

David Mandel is the Chief Executive Officer of OHEL Children's Home and Family Services in New York City, which has been serving the ultra-religious Jewish community since 1969. Ohel is an non-profit mental health agency that receives both state and federal funding.

One has to ask, why doesn't David Mandel believe that children from orthodox homes deserve the same civil rights and protection as children secular backgrounds?

When watching the following film keep the following in mind?

1. What does David Mandel mean -- girls who were abuse don't need therapy, but boys do ? Where did he come up with that ?

2. David Mandel eludes to the issue that if a parent molests their own child that one should be more concerned about the parents ability to earn a living over protecting a child from incest or other forms of child abuse and or neglect. If one SUSPECTS a child is being abused or neglected we all need to report our suspicions to the police and Child Protection Services. Case closed.

3. David Mandel wants to "Discourage people from being a detective." "Don't go looking for shadows where none exist." These are ominous statements that almost sound as if he is promoting a conspiracy to keep people from being too vigilant, observant and aware of their surroundings.

4. David Mandel's dismissive response to the Child Protection Services question should infuriate everyone, especially since he is a CEO of a agency that is supposed to be protecting children.


Bottom line. . . Everyone needs to make hotline reports if abuse or neglect is suspected.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Morgan Stanley has agreed to sell up to a fifth of the company to Mitsubishi UFJ, the Japanese company announced Monday.

Anonymous said...

BEIJING - The head of the Chinese agency that monitors food and product safety has resigned, state media announced Monday, pushed out by a scandal over tainted baby formula that killed four babies and sickened nearly 53,000.

Anonymous said...

UOJ! This is a letter currently doing the rounds in Lakewood:

Attention Employees of Catapult, Lakewood, NJ
We are a committee that was formed over the last few weeks to deal with the massive layoff of members of our community from Catapult, through no fault of their own. This is causing a massive loss of Parnassah for many families, as well as many children not receiving the servioes they require. We have a few options available. Our long term goal is to organize as a union and to eventually work as a tzibbur to fight for higher wages and better working conditions.
We are currently working with rabbonim. However, the details cannot be disclosed as of yet due to the sensitivity of the issues involved.
One of our bargaining chips in negotiations will be a threat to report to the authorities the massive fraud that has been rampant in Catapult over the past few years to the tune of millions of dollars. We believe that Pete will not ignore our request to reinstate all employees immediately at full pay retroactive to September 1, 2008.
However, due to this threat, we will need to have the option of following through. Therefore, it is imperative that all Catapult employees immediately desist from all fraudelent activities. Read everything before you sign, and only sign the absolute truth. If you are threatened with loss of job because of your refusal to go along with their fraud, go immediately to the police. Our attorneys will hit them with massive lawsuits.
Stay tuned for future information.
Askonim


This is the letter. Anyone know anything?

Anonymous said...

Ben Stein: Stop the Wall Street Looting

Monday, September 22, 2008 9:18 AM

Ben Stein, economist, author, former presidential speechwriter, and occasional actor is angry about the current economic earthquake that has rattled U.S. and global markets and he wants everyone to know.

He's particularly peeved with the $700 billion proposed Wall Street bailout and its architect, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

In a CNN interview, Stein said Paulson should be "fired yesterday."

Paulson is a disgrace to the Republican Party and to his country, said Stein. Another target of Stein's ire is Wall Street itself.

Stein says he'd like to see President Bush on national TV "with Mr. Obama to his left and Mr. McCain to his right and say we are going to make sure that you Americans are going to stop being looted by Wall Street."

"It's a first-class disaster. The worst Treasury regulation of the economy in my lifetime. ... The effect of this on the ordinary investor and pre-retiree ... is just catastrophic for the free enterprise system."

John Gapper, the Financial Times columnist, has a simpler solution: Get Henry Paulson to give some money back.

"Mr. Paulson now declares himself shocked, shocked that structured finance was going on Wall Street but he was there at the time, and the $18.7 million bonus he received for the first half of 2006 presumably reflected it," he wrote on his FT blog.

"I wonder if, as a public gesture, Mr. Paulson might consider handing that bonus over to the Treasury’s fund and lowering the U.S. taxpayer’s bill by $18.7 million?"

Anonymous said...

Wall Street R.I.P.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will soon be bank holding companies. This means Wall Street as we knew it has ceased to exist.

Anonymous said...

Were is boog on the latest news of shelly "I dont go to cop funerals" silver. Finally silver doing the right thing for once.

New York City - VIN News has learned Influential New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, himself an Orthodox Jew, met this past Friday with outspoken Assemblyman and community activist Dov Hikind to discuss the severity of the ongoing problem of child abuse and molestation in the Orthodox Jewish community.

Speaker Silver was reportedly moved by the account put forward by Assemblyman Hikind, pledging that “whatever resource you need, I am opening [it] up to you.”

Silver shared his disbelief with Hikind, saying that while he knew there was an issue, he didn’t expect that it would be so bad. “You have anything from my office to help immediately,” Silver said to Hikind. Silver then immediately approved more funding for Hikind’s district to hire professionals to combat and treat the problem.

VIN News has also learned that with the upcoming new state legislative session, several politicians will be committing themselves to the implementation of new abuse-related laws, including extending the statute of limitations. Additionally, a bill requiring background checks for prospective yeshiva staff will be up again for a vote, a bill that is expected this time to be pushed heavily by many in the legislature, including Speaker Silver.

Anonymous said...

Hey, who do you think you are to talk about the corruption at Catapult? I own this town, and I definitely own the school board. There is nothing you can do. I've got Aaron Kotler and Shenky, and Ostreicher in my (big) back pocket.
We're supposed to keep this quiet, idiots.

Anonymous said...

19 minutes ago



JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A car slammed into a crowd in central Jerusalem late on Monday, wounding 15 people in what police described as a "terrorist" attack, before the Arab driver was shot dead, an Israeli police spokesman and medics said.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about Mendy Newman but I do know that Shalom Lerner is an upstanding person and the best man for mayor.

I live in Bet Shemesh and am not involved in RBS politics.

Shalom is the kind of man who can battle these molesters.

Please don't let this Mendy Newman cloud the real issue here.

Shalom for mayor.

Anonymous said...

Chimps Prefer Cooked Food
By Stéphan Reebs, Natural History Magazine

22 September 2008

When early humans mastered the use of fire, their immediate rewards were warmth, light, and protection from nocturnal predators.

Investigators have assumed that our ancestors also quickly realized the advantages of flame-cooked food — easy chewing and digestion — though clear evidence has been hard to find. A new study bolsters that idea, showing that we share our fondness for cooked grub with our wild cousins, the great apes.

Victoria Wobber and her graduate advisor at Harvard University, Richard Wrangham, along with a third colleague, gave a choice between cooked and raw food to a number of captive apes.

Chimpanzees clearly preferred cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, and beef over the raw alternatives. They did not express any preference in the case of white potatoes and apples — perhaps, the scientists say, because both remain relatively unchanged by cooking. A few bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans were also tested, and except for a penchant for cooked beef, not many expressed a preference, but those that did agreed with the chimps.

The findings concur with research showing that cats favor cooked meat and rats opt for cooked starch.

If animals with no regular access to cooked food nevertheless prefer it, it is plausible that our ancestors would have readily roasted their own victuals once they got the chance — a fine story to tell your guests around the barbecue this evening.

Anonymous said...

Catapult is a corrupt company, and they make teachers defraud the government. The reason we still work for them is that they have a monopoly - because the lakewood Board of Ed continues to give them exclusive contracts, thanks to Michael Inzelbuch, who is attorney for Board of Ed and also attorney for Catapult Learning. Conflict of interest? We're petrified of them and the establishment. There is nothing we can do. Whoever this new committee is, kudos, we're behind you 100%.

Anonymous said...

Whoever posted the stuff about Lakewood, I don't know, you're opening a can of worms.
We all know what InzelBUCK did the to the school board, our taxes, how he destroyed special ed in Lakewood, but why air it in public. Let the threat run its course.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

I almost missed this email because it was diverted to my spam folder. But apparently Paulson is sending this around:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

( I didn't write this. It was sent to me by a friend and is making the rounds)

Anonymous said...

It's about time someone did something about cataplt. Lakewood salaries are in the dumps beacause of great employers like catapult. They have a monopoly. They corrupt. Nothing will work. whoever is behind the latest threat to out the fraud - you playing with fire. Youll be shipped out of town on the next Darkeinu Bus. watch your back.

BTW most lakewooders have what to say about this, but they aint got no interenet

Anonymous said...

fyi all you need to do is send the information to the attorney general fraud division then catapul;t will be closed they need 4 teachers to tell them howe the fraud works

Anonymous said...

WASHINGTON (Sept. 22) - The FBI searched the residence of the son of a Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee over the weekend looking for evidence linking the young man to the hacking of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press on Monday.
David Kernell, 20, has not returned repeated phone calls or e-mails from the AP since last week. His lawyer said Monday the family is going through a difficult period.

"The Kernell family wants to do the right thing, and they want what is best for their son," said attorney Wade V. Davies of Knoxville. "We are confident that the truth will emerge as we go through the process. David is a decent and intelligent young man, and I look forward to assisting him during this difficult period."
Kernell is the son of state Rep. Mike Kernell, a Memphis Democrat and chairman of Tennessee's House Government Operations Committee. The father declined last week to discuss the possibility his son might be involved in the case.

During the break-in, the hacker used an Internet address that traced to David Kernell's apartment complex in Knoxville. The FBI obtained logs Saturday establishing the connection from Gabriel Ramuglia of Athens, Ga., who operates an Internet anonymity service used by the hacker.
Ramuglia told the AP the FBI asked him to confirm the address appeared in his records, and it did. Ramuglia said his logs showed the hacker visiting Yahoo's mail service, resetting Palin's password and announcing results of the break-in on a Web site where the hacking was first disclosed.
"I think he just didn't realize the severity of what he was doing until afterwards," Ramuglia said.
After the break-in, a person claiming responsibility published a detailed chronology of the hacking on the same Web site. That person identified his e-mail address as one that has been linked publicly to David Kernell.

Experts said the hacker apparently left an easy trail for investigators.
"He might as well have taken a picture of his house and uploaded it," said Ken Pfeil, an Internet security expert. "He should have just set up a big beacon that said, 'Here's my house,' or confessed. If they can't catch this guy based on all the information posted on the Web then all bets are off."
The hacker described guessing correctly that Alaska's governor had met her husband in high school, and knew Palin's date of birth and home Zip code. Using those details, the hacker tricked Yahoo's service into assigning a new password, "popcorn," for Palin's e-mail account. What started as a prank was cut short because of panic over the possibility the FBI might investigate, the hacker wrote.
The FBI and Secret Service are now investigating.
The law enforcement officials confirming the search spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.
In Washington, Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney confirmed Monday only that the FBI conducted "investigative activity" late Saturday and early Sunday in Knoxville related to the case.
David Kernell is an economics major at the University of Tennessee there.

Anonymous said...

NEW YORK -Oil prices briefly spiked more than $25 a barrel Monday, shattering the record for the biggest one-day gain as unease about the government's $700 billion bailout plan pummeled the dollar and spurred investors to buy safe-haven assets.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery jumped as much as $25.45 to $130 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back to settle at $120.92, up $16.37.

Anonymous said...

Money market funds suffer huge outflows

By Deborah Brewster in New York

Published: September 22 2008 22:57 | Last updated: September 22 2008 22:57

Money market funds in the US suffered an estimated $197bn of net outflows last week as confidence in their safe-haven status weakened after one fund “broke the buck” and others closed.

The outflows mark a new and potentially dangerous phase for the $3,400bn money market fund industry as continued redemptions could result in forced selling of their securities into illiquid bond markets.

Anonymous said...

http://www.thecuttingedgenews.com/index.php?article=789

Neither Obama nor McCain nor the Government Has a Plan in the Event of a Protracted Oil Stoppage - It Isn't Even Being Discussed

Edwin Black

September 22nd 2008

Anonymous said...

He davens by Weissblum who calls himself the Shedlitzer Rov.

Weissblum was involved in the scandal at the Jamesway complex and was put in cherem by Gavriel Finkel's beis din.

Gavriel Finkel doesn't have much credibility anymore and not just because he attacked Yudel Shain for exposing his treifster nephew Moish Finkel. But this doesn't matter because R' Shlomo Miller wrote that he is maskim to the cherem.

Oyb azoy, it makes sense that Kizelnik davens by a chassidishe shvantz who is in cherem.

Anonymous said...

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080921/COLUMNISTS12/309219893/-1/OPINION04

State Democrats still have more time to put another Democrat on the Nov. 4 ballot now that Franklin Rep. James Ryan has resigned his seat.

Legislative leaders and Secretary of State Bill Gardner didn't get Ryan's letter about stepping down until a week after he'd written it from his cell in the Carroll County jail. Ryan owes $9,000 on a 17-year-old debt, but county prosecutors also uncovered his involvement in a three-state laundry list of forgery and fraud charges.

Money matters

Former congressman Jeb Bradley called on Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter to return $14,000 she received from committees controlled by House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangell, D-N.Y.

Rangell has admitted his failure to pay all federal and state income taxes on vacation property he owned in the Dominican Republic and faced three inquiries into his personal finances and charges of abuse of office.

Shea-Porter has voted against a House GOP move this summer to censure Rangel and against a similar effort to make him leave his chairmanship while the House Ethics Committee investigates.

"I am amazed that a person such as Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter, who ran for office on a platform of bringing an open and ethical process to the public, refuses to practice what she preached,'' Bradley said in a statement.

Anonymous said...

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/REG/286071140/1009/TOC

According to this article he cheated his own rov.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2008/comp20732.pdf

SEC complaint

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/696597.html

The Securities and Exchange Commission Monday charged former Boca Raton stockbroker Gary J. Gross with using ''abusive sales practices'' to cheat clients, including retired Jewish investors with whom he once worshipped.

The 17-page enforcement action accuses Gross, 56, of churning clients' accounts with unauthorized and unsuitable trades, reaping $700,000 in the scheme, including buying risky penny stocks and other investments, the SEC said.

To cover up what he was doing, Gross doctored account records to make clients think they had more than they actually did, the agency said.

'Many of Gross' customers often were elderly, unsophisticated investors who wanted only to preserve their principal and grow their portfolio while investing with minimal risk,'' said the SEC complaint. ``Instead of helping these people pursue their goals, Gross defrauded them.''

The SEC said Gross caused more than $2.7 million in investor losses, but did not say how many of his clients at Boca Raton's Axiom Capital Management were victims. Gross worked at Axiom for five years until complaints against him piled up last year.

A review of hundreds of records by The Miami Herald earlier this year show the losses attributable to Gross, who now lives in Far Rockaway, N.Y., appear to be much larger than the SEC's total.

The newspaper reported in February that over the past decade, Gross' ex-clients have filed lawsuits and arbitration cases alleging losses of nearly $20 million. The FBI is now investigating.

Gross, who recruited many of his clients from a Boca Raton synagogue where he once belonged, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year. Nearly 100 of Gross' ex-clients at Axiom, including Happy Days actor Henry Winkler, filed claims as creditors.

The SEC is seeking a permanent injunction against Gross. The agency also wants Gross fined and ordered to disgorge his ``ill-gotten gains.''

Though investors filed complaints with the state Office of Financial Regulation, state agents never revoked Gross' license, instead placing him on a heightened supervision in 2003.

State regulators never followed up to make sure Gross was abiding by the terms of his license, records show.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ou.org/index.php/jewish_action/article/44469/

Rabbi Pelcovitz: We have to define very clearly—and this definition, by the way, has to come from the laity more than from the rabbinical powers—what is the role of a rav and what is the role of a rosh yeshivah? And we should point out that historically, we did have an answer to that question. I once asked an elderly Jew who had grown up in Mir [which boasted the Mir Yeshivah]: “When there is a chassunah [wedding], who’s going to be the mesader kiddushin [officiator of the ceremony], the rosh yeshivah of Mir or the rav of Mir?” And he said to me, “Aza narishe frage, I never heard such a foolish question. What does a rosh yeshivah have to do with siddur kiddushin?” Today, ask any young man, “Who’s going to be the mesader kiddushin, the rav of the shul or the rosh yeshivah?” he’ll also say, “Aza narishe kashe, what are you asking? Of course the rosh yeshivah! Not the rav.” Until we clarify the role of the rav and the role of the rosh yeshivah, we’re not going to solve this problem.

Rav Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz was ruach hachaim of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Do you know what he once did in the month of Nissan? He called all the senior students together and said, “Who’s going to be in town Shabbos HaGadol?” A few of us raised our hands. He said, “You and you, go to this shul to listen to the rav’s Shabbos HaGadol derashah. You go to the other shul. You must attend the Shabbos HaGadol derashah of the rav, and you have to be there in the congregation.” Which rosh yeshivah today would ever say that? We have to re-institute the mutual derech eretz [respect] between the rav and the rosh yeshivah.

One last story: I was at a wedding with the Ponevezher Rav [Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman], and one of my colleagues was supposed to be the mesader kiddushin and I was supposed to read the kesubah. I said to my colleague, “Let’s be mechabed [honor] the Ponevezher Rav, let’s ask him to be the mesader kiddushin.” So, we go over to him, and the Ponevezher Rav said, “Me? What do I have to do with siddur kiddushin? I’m a rosh yeshivah. I’m not a rav.” So I said, “Give him the reading of the kesubah.” “Read the kesubah? I don’t know how to read the kesubah!” the Ponevezher Rav said. “I can give a shiur in Masechta Kesubos, but I don’t know how to read a kesubah! You know how to read a kesubah better than I do!”

Rabbi Grossman:
My father was a rav in Lakewood. And the rosh yeshivah [there], Rav Aharon Kotler, was considered, correctly so, as the gadol hador. And there were chassunahs, especially when the Kletzke bochrim, who were saved [from the Holocaust], came [to the United States]. Many of them lived in our house, so they felt a close attachment to my father. They would want my father to come to their chassunahs. But they would want the rosh yeshivah to be mesader kiddushin. Velama lo, why not? Rav Aharon refused. He insisted that if my father was there, he should be mesader kiddushin. And this was true [as well] for the other rav in Lakewood [at the time], who was much younger. That’s why Rav Aharon was the gadol hador, among other reasons.

Rabbi Schonfeld: Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik told us thirty years ago that the tekufah of the rav is [over and that a new] tekufah of the rosh yeshivah was beginning. We didn’t quite understand what he was trying to say [at the time], but we can see it today.

Anonymous said...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1023455.html

Safed Deputy Mayor Reuven Sade was arrested yesterday on suspicion of stealing six paintings by the artist Emmanuel Mane-Katz from city hall in the past three years.

Tamir Greenberg of Jerusalem and Freddy Yaakobi of Ra'anana were also arrested yesterday, on suspicion of trafficking in stolen paintings.

Six paintings that were donated by the artist to the city about 50 years ago were stolen from the municipality building in three separate break-ins over the past three years.

According to Noa Tarshish, director and curator of the Mane-Katz Museum in Haifa, one of the stolen paintings is worth about $100,000.

Anonymous said...

http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/web-exclusive-threats-to-sponsors-may-have-led-to-palin-invite-reversal/

Exclusive to The Jewish Star online
By Mayer Fertig

Rescinding an invitation to Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, and every other political figure who was scheduled to appear Monday at a protest against the United Nations appearance of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, was “the only way the rally could keep its focus,” according to Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Senator Hillary Clinton, who also was scheduled to appear, withdrew after learning that she was to share the podium with Governor Palin.

In a move that several critics called “a debacle,” it was announced Thursday by the Conference of Presidents, and the other Jewish organizations it partnered with to sponsor the rally, that Palin also was out, and that no other elected officials would appear either.

The program, which is expected to draw thousands of people, including seniors from several Nassau County yeshiva high schools, is expected to be dominated by Jewish figures such as Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, Knesset Speaker Dahlia Itzik, and a leading Iranian dissident, Hoenlein explained in a telephone interview with The Jewish Star.

“During the political season we’re in, everything becomes obfuscated,” he said. “I hope that people will remember that the important thing is Iran — he wants to wipe Israel off the map. And that’s getting lost.”

The National Jewish Democratic Council’s Ira Forman, who had criticized the invitation to Palin, welcomed the news that she and other politicians would not appear.

“Palin is the rock star and she’s appealing to Hillary’s voters,” said Forman. “It’s just inappropriate…this is important stuff, Iran’s nuclear ambitions,” he said. The Conference of Presidents “were wise to say let’s disinvite the elected officials and get this back to the solemn and bipartisan event it should be.”

Washington insider Jeff Ballabon, a Long Island-based Jewish activist and lobbyist, agreed that the event should be bi-partisan, but called the decision to disinvite Palin “beyond embarrassing.”

“Let’s assign the blame where it belongs. First and foremost: Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton took what should have been a non-partisan, bi-partisan event to unite Americans against a man who has threatened to eradicate six million Jews, and for nasty petty politics, embarrassed the Jewish community,” Ballabon said.

The Jewish Star has learned that threats against their non-profit status were made to some sponsors of the rally and may have played a role in the decision to cancel the appearances of Palin and other political figures.

“There were threats of IRS problems against some of the organizations,” a knowledgeable source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Star.

“This is a terrible embarrassment, politically, to the Jewish community,” said Michael Fragin, a former top aide to Governor George Pataki, and a one-time political columnist for The Jewish Star.

He said there ought to be no cause for concern that an appearance at the rally by Governor Palin could endanger sponsors’ not-for profit status.

“That is totally inaccurate. As long as you don’t endorse, and as long as you do not deny access to a single side … there is no impediment,” to tax-exempt status, he said. If you invited Obama, for example, and then “you tell McCain you cannot come, then you would run afoul of the IRS. But if one side chooses not to show up, that’s not your fault.”

Congressman Robert Wexler (D-Fl) was to have represented the Obama-Biden campaign at the rally. Wexler made news several weeks ago by attempting to link Palin to accused Nazi sympathizer Patrick Buchanan.

Students from Machon HaTorah — HAFTR, Rambam Mesivta and Shalhevet High School for Girls — and HANC (Hebrew Academy of Nassau County) High School are scheduled to attend the rally on Monday.

Rabbi Zev Friedman, Rosh HaYeshiva of Machon HaTorah, said he was “shocked” by the decision to rescind Governor Palin’s invitation, calling it “foolhardy.”

He is concerned now about “negative ramifications in terms of the Jewish community if [McCain and Palin] get into office. I certainly have to believe she might harbor some ill-feeling. We know the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamzta on Tisha b’Av, and embarrassing someone by disinviting them.”

Referring to Senator Clinton, he said, “If she wants to pull out for political reasons I think that speaks volumes.”

A statement from the McCain campaign sounded a similar note.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike to oppose Ahmadinejad’s goal of a nuclear armed Iran. Senator Obama’s campaign had the opportunity to join us. Senator Obama chose politics rather than the national interest.”

“We are very appreciative of Governor Palin’s willingness to be there,” said Hoenlein, adding that there could soon be another opportunity for Palin to address the Jewish community.

Ballabon blamed the incident on “ego-and- power-driven community leaders who once again abuse their organizational positions to put slavish political loyalty to Democrats above the safety and security of six million Jews in Israel - not to mention untold millions of innocents around the world of all faiths who are jeopardized by Iran-sponsored terror. They have shamed us all,’ he said.

The rally is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. on Monday, at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, near the United Nations.

Anonymous said...

Where is your credibility? Why do you post everything that some emotional Tom Dick and Harry sends your way. As a parent who had a son in Kagan's class last year I can tell you 10000% that Mendy Newman was not an enabler. The school severly lacked leadership when the word broke of what Kagan did and Mendy (a parent of the school at the time) basically helped keep the school from collapsing. He had no real power with the school and was in no way pro-active in getting Kagan back in the class room. He just followed the lead of the Rabbis in letting Kagan go through the prolonged process with the private investigator. The fact that you would blindly post this is quite disturbing. You have done great work, but your filtering system needs some serious work.

Anonymous said...

Mendy Newman was a defender of Kagan. He was emotionally invested in the school Ishrei Lev, and saw his role as being an advocate for the school (the formal management of the school had refused to acknowledge the child abuse issues to the parents). Mendy therefore put himself in a position that he promoted and defended the outrageous proposal that Kagan, under investigation for molesting children in the classroom, should be brought back into that classroom.
I don't know where common misguided stupidity becomes "an enabler". In any case, Lack Of Intelligence is still not a criminal offence in Israel.
And it is surely debateable if it is a liability, or an asset, for entering politics here.

Anonymous said...

A Sordid Lawsuit Shakes the Satmar Chasidic world .

Brooklyn N.Y. Lezer ( Louis ) Kestenbaum chairman of the ODA in Williamsburg Brooklyn NY resigned from the ODA soon after settling a lawsuit filed in May in U.S. District Court for the District of Florida for an undisclosed sum alleging he had a sexual relationship with a minor, Joel Kestnbaum the son of Louis kestenbaum will become chairman of the ODA.

Anonymous said...

Due to time restraints on Youtube, The Awareness Center had to divide the following film into two parts. This is the introduction:

The first person speaking is Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb: Congregation Shomrei Emunah, Baltimore, MD. The Second person is Dr. David Pelcovitz, Phd., last is David Mandel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX2RvXZ6XdA


Click here to watch video:
http://theawarenesscenter.blogspot.com/2008/09/is-david-mandel-mandated-reporter.html

David Mandel is the Chief Executive Officer of OHEL Children's Home and Family Services in New York City, which has been serving the ultra-religious Jewish community since 1969. Ohel is an non-profit mental health agency that receives both state and federal funding.

One has to ask, why doesn't David Mandel believe that children from orthodox homes deserve the same civil rights and protection as children secular backgrounds?

When watching the following film keep the following in mind?

1. What does David Mandel mean -- girls who were abuse don't need therapy, but boys do ? Where did he come up with that ?

2. David Mandel eludes to the issue that if a parent molests their own child that one should be more concerned about the parents ability to earn a living over protecting a child from incest or other forms of child abuse and or neglect. If one SUSPECTS a child is being abused or neglected we all need to report our suspicions to the police and Child Protection Services. Case closed.

3. David Mandel wants to "Discourage people from being a detective." "Don't go looking for shadows where none exist." These are ominous statements that almost sound as if he is promoting a conspiracy to keep people from being too vigilant, observant and aware of their surroundings.

4. David Mandel's dismissive response to the Child Protection Services question should infuriate everyone, especially since he is a CEO of a agency that is supposed to be protecting children.

Anonymous said...

how dare anyone say that newman just wa sfollowing the rabbis lead and making sure there was time to investigate and that therefore he is not an enabler


anyone that puts the rabbis before the children in this case is an enabler this kagan guy m,ust be removed from the classroom and anyone who assists in anyway to keep him in the school rabbis/ parents are guilty of lo saamos ill dam raecha

Paul Mendlowitz said...

I'm have no intentions to get involved in RBSA politics.

Mendy Newman knew that Kagan was trouble - he was in contact with one of the families of a child that was in any language - "touched and fondled in in inappropriate place" by Akiva Kagan.

To leave Kagan in place as a rebbe "pending the investigation of the tznius police" - borders on insanity and in my humble opinion - lacks the judgment to be able to discern right from wrong.

If Newman regrets his error - let him say so publicly - and let the voters decide!

Paul Mendlowitz said...

....BTW - Malcolm Hoenlin can be bought for a George Washington - Slimebag the likes of Sruli Singer!

Anonymous said...

I think Mayer Fertig deserves our support. He seems to publish the only newspaper that goes after the corrupt high profiles and "sacred" (whiskered) cows that are considered untouchables by the rest of the Jewish media.

Anonymous said...

Although Kestenbaum from Satmar is no angel, he is being falsely framed here and elsewhere as a child molester by someone cutting and pasting an article on pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and switching names with Kestenbaum.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

PARTNER MANAGING
TEDDY WILLIAMS & ASSOCIATES
LONDON - UK.

On behalf of the Trustees and Executor of the estate of Late Engr.
Jürgen Krügger. I once again try to notify you as my earlier letter was
returned undelivered. I hereby attempt to reach you again by this same
email address on the WILL. I wish to notify you that late Engr. Jürgen
Krügger made you a beneficiary to his WILL. He left the sum of Thirty
Million, One Hundred Thousand Dollars (£500.000.00 BRITISH POUNDS) to you in
the Codicil and last testament to his WILL.

This may sound strange and unbelievable to you, but it is real and
true. Being a widely traveled man, he must have been in contact with
you in the past or simply you were nominated to him by one of his
numerous friends abroad who wished you good. Engr. Jürgen Krügger until his
death was a member of the Helicopter Society and the Institute of
Electronic & Electrical Engineers. He was a very dedicated Christian who loved to
give out. His great philanthropy earned him numerous awards during his
life time. Late Engr. Jürgen Krügger died on the 13th day of December,
2007 at the age of 80 years, and his WILL is now ready for execution.
According to him this money is to support your humanitarian activities
and to help the poor and the needy in our society. Please if I reach
you as I am hopeful, endeavor to get back to me as soon as possible to
enable me conclude my job. I hope to hear from you in no distant time.
Note: You are advise to contact me with my personal email address:

teddy-williams@live.com
-----------------

Dear Teddy,

Thank God I make a good living - I don't need the money at this time.

Please contact Comrade Hank Paulson at The Red Republic Of The Americas - who heads the Treasury Foreign Ministry. I understand the good comrade is implementing a plan for income and wealth redistribution the likes we have not seen since the good ol' days of Karl Marx. Comrade Paulson can be reached at:screwthetaxpayerbigtime@villa-atthe-frenchriviera.org.

In the meantime I sign off with the blessings of the Jewish people.

Kishmichintuchis and take good care,

UOJ

Anonymous said...

http://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2008/09/ywn-site-viewers-beware.html

Monday, September 22, 2008
The YWN site viewers beware!


The YWN's site has at times advertisments that are PG or R rated.
When it was brought to their attention...they responded with iresponsible answers including ,well in the last 6 months it only happened about 10 times-so that isn't a concern.

Treif or worse should be a concern even if it's a .מיעוט שאינו מצוי

Anonymous said...
Avi Shafran attacks the blogs that expose Agudah corruption and calls them "pornographic". This is a direct quote from an article he wrote for the Jerusalem Post that appeared in many other newspapers.

The Agudah / Lubinsky / Young Israel / Yated / Rubashkin use Eckstein's YeshivaWorld as the main outlet for their propaganda because Eckstein won't allow any views that conflict with them, but they won't say a word when there is ACTUAL pornography over there.

These hypocrites make me feel ill when I think about how they have hijacked the Klal's institutions.

Anonymous said...
In the early days of der trayfenna internet, the Agudah was contacted about dealing with a certain problem going on there. They refused, saying that they didn't want to do anything to be makir that the internet exists. Funny how they go running to Eckstein to post every message they want to get out.

shimon weinstein said...
i urge all those that read this blog to e-mail ywn and tell them you will stop coming to their site if they don't stop these disgusting ads. they claim since less than 10 people complained in the last six months it is not a reason to pull the ads. this is not hearsay i have hard copy of this response. So please let them know it bothers you!

Anonymous said...
There is a website called vosiznayis that has been around for a long time.

yeshivaworld went out and snatched up all the misspeclled domains (since vosiznayis and vussiznayis and vosisnais and all the other spellings were available on blogger) and then posted a site at each one saying

WE'VE MOVED! with the yeshivaworld URL.

shame shame

Anonymous said...

http://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2008/09/ywn-site-viewers-beware.html?showComment=1222172520000#c5100989541640712829

Yudel Shain said...
The Yeshiva World's response:

That's correct. This is a warning.
You have slandered my business, and action will be taken against you.

You will be exposed for the corrupt, two-faced fraud that you are known to be.

Nothing that you wrote was EVER said, nor are there ANY "R" rated ads on YWN.

It's no wonder that your son is full-fledged thief. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

SHAME ON YOU.

And talk about filthy ads: YOU, yes YOU - the lying, two-faced MUSHCHIS has a LINK on your top-left corner of your homepage, to whom?........VIN. Yes, the VIN who is a notorious MALSHIN, the VIN that has FILTHY, PRUSTA ads on it ALL OVER THE WEBSITE!

You are a shtick Tinef who will be brought to his knees.

Get lost, you creep.

--
www.theyeshivaworld.com

Anonymous said...

the yeshiva world doesnt put up posts that they dont want people to see
they get paid per click by the jannet media group and get thoudands of dollars each month if you click the banners
so what do you do to infuriate eckstein at YW CLICK ON THE BANNERS ON vOS IS NIES AND NOT ON yw THEN vin GETS THE MONEY NOT yw AND I DONT THINK ANYONE IN LAKEWOOD REALIZES ECKSTEIN IS MAKING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FROM HIS WORK

Ahavah said...

UOJ should run for president:

Yes, actually, there are such plans - you're just not looking in the right places. The govt has run psy-op computer simulations regarding people's responses to having their oil cut off, of being rounded up and taken out of rural areas for their own "safety," who is likely to organized armed resistance to martial law, and who is stockpiling food and medicines. If a protracted oil stoppage occurs, the military will be in charge, rationing food and supplies - the economic gurus will have nothing to do with it. It will be a completely military operation.

Ahavah said...

"It's about time someone did something about cataplt. Lakewood salaries are in the dumps beacause of great employers like catapult."

No, the salaries are in the dumps because you're competing with people in third world countries who will work for .50 an hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year for no healthcare, shabbat, yom tovim or vacation, starting at about age 10.

If you want living wages, you need to support the repeal of "free trade" and require a level playing field for imports that takes into consideration the CEOs externalizing of the costs of production that businesses located inside america must internalize - wage laws, child labour laws, environmental laws, safety laws, and other signs of decency that civilized people insist on as the normative conditions for doing business. American salaries are dropping through the floor because the Robber Barons are exploiting foreign workers for obscene amounts of profit and laughing all the way to the bank as they pocket the money that should have been used for living wages.

Yes, form and join a union - and then lobby hard for tariffs to restore the self-sufficiency of our manufacturing base, which is the only thing that will return living wage jobs to this country.

Anonymous said...

Isn't catapult getting the contract in NY Board of Ed? Is there any way to stop a corrupt company from getting contracts in NYC? Should we start a campaign?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

China's Shanghai Index is down 63% from its peak while Russia's main index is down about 43%. Unless the global markets cooperate with us, the bailout plan is merely an aspirin. Foreign money - accounts for a great percentage of the ownership of American companies as well as intertwining ownership of American companies at inflated prices --- of other American companies.

It's no wonder that financial stalwarts like GE --- will not disclose their ownership interests in other American companies --- and their stock is falling dramatically.

This is a crisis that will affect all of us in a way never imagined! I believe that "technically" the Government is broke - and they're doing their level best to obfuscate the real picture - the economy was built on a Ponzi scheme that Wall St. and the U.S. government were complicit in.

Anonymous said...

Why is Eckstein covering for Catapult? Why is agudah pushing that Catapult get the contracts in Brooklyn from Board of Ed?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

I'm listening to Paulson on Bloomberg - he sounds like a drunk at an AA meeting confessing he broke his sobriety with a case of Jim Beam.

Anonymous said...

http://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2008/09/ywn-site-viewers-beware.html?showComment=1222183800000#c4638443334658771079

The following documents the email correspondance I had with YW about this issue 9/12/2008.

SHIMON WEINSTEIN: How dare you show adds with paris hilton. this is yeshivaworld not penthouse.

YESHIVAWORLD: Where did you see such an ad?! What page?

SHIMON WEINSTEIN: Home-page add above joke of day

YESHIVAWORLD: You need to speak to a computer tech. You have a virus on your system which is "stealing the coding to ad locations" and placing other ads there. We would never have such an ad on YWN. Additionally, if we DID - we would get 40,000 emails at once complaining - and your the only one. We get them every few days from people which have this issue.
YWN.

SHIMON WEINSTEIN:
1) I am a computer tech for 25 years.
2) That was my first inclinination, which is why I called around to several colleagues to see if they see that ad feed too, and each answered in the affirmitive.
3) Will it help you, if I sent you screen shots (at least 9 inappropriate ones) ?
4) Did you not have an outside ad feed on your site, which was subsequently stopped? (including microsoft, yellowbook…etc…)

Regarding why you didn't have 40K emails I can't answer, but it was at a quiet hour, and seems to have been stopped within the hour. Also, why am I not STILL getting it if it were a virus?

YESHIVAWORLD: See, knew you were a comp tech. :) :) That ad is hosted on an outside server by a company called the Janet http://www.thejanet.net/

It is the only location that once in a while people see retarted ads in. I can't answer you any further then what I know - and that is that there is some type of bug which steals some coding and places ads there.

Perhaps if you email the Janet, they can tell you how to stop it from happening. If you DO - it would be very helpful to know the answer. I once asked them and did not get a straight answer.
Thanks for writing,
YWN.

SHIMON WEINSTEIN: I don't mind contacting them to help resolve it. However I strongly believe that until such a time that they resolve their bug which randomly allows for such inappropriate adds to be viewed. It is completely irresponsible on your part to allow their adds on the YWN site and expose Bnei Torah to such shmootz.
Shimon Weinstein

YESHIVAWORLD: We have recieved less then 10 complaints in the past 6 months, that is not a reason to shut it down.

SHIMONWEINSTEIN: respectfully disagree with you. Two occurrences should be more than enough reason to close it down. Especially if there is no predicting its next occurrence. Perhaps if I forward to you the screen shots you might change your opinion. Secondly ”complaints” is not what you should basing your decision on, most people won’t bother to or know how to respond.
Shimon Weinstein

YESHIVAWORLD: NO RESPONSE...

Anonymous said...
I"m curious.. how is it that YWN claims less then 10 responses in 6 months while this blog got more responses in the first few hours regarding this issue. YWN shame on you. Why deny the issue ? It must be Hakesef yaaaneh ess hakol!!!! Find another source of income. Your playing with yidishe neshamos!

Anonymous said...

Hi I'm Charles and I work for the Asbury Park Press, we're collecting information on this Catapult story out of Lakewood. If anyone has any information, please forward it to me at charles_cunliffe_app@yahoo.com I promise you total confidentiality. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Child Victims Voice of Maryland

Child Victims Voice is a coalition of organizations and Individuals who support the civil rights of those who were sexually victimized as children to have their day in court!

If you or anyone you know were sexually abused within the state of Maryland and want to get involved, contact Child Victims Voice of Maryland.

http://www.childvictimsvoicemaryland.org

For more Information call:

Bob Russell 717-873-8193
Frank Dingle: 443-996-8994

Anonymous said...

A real reporter would give his APP email address.

Sounds like "Charles" is a Catapult insider trying to find out who's talking.

Anonymous said...

Yudel Shain said...
The Yeshiva World's response:

That's correct. This is a warning.
You have slandered my business, and action will be taken against you.

You will be exposed for the corrupt, two-faced fraud that you are known to be.

Nothing that you wrote was EVER said, nor are there ANY "R" rated ads on YWN.

It's no wonder that your son is full-fledged thief. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

SHAME ON YOU.

And talk about filthy ads: YOU, yes YOU - the lying, two-faced MUSHCHIS has a LINK on your top-left corner of your homepage, to whom?........VIN. Yes, the VIN who is a notorious MALSHIN, the VIN that has FILTHY, PRUSTA ads on it ALL OVER THE WEBSITE!

You are a shtick Tinef who will be brought to his knees.

Get lost, you creep.

Anonymous said...

http://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2007/05/kashrus-hotline-1-212-990-7238.html

Call this phone number to hear among other things the scandal with the fake Goji juice under Moskowitz's hashgocho that is made with goyishe grape juice.

After you hear the whole message and it starts repeating itself, press 6 to hear the threatening voice message that the distributor Mrs. Werzberger of Boro Park left for Rabbi Yudel Shain.

Anonymous said...

http://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2004/2004canlii13432/2004canlii13432.html

Money launderer and extortionist arrested for extradition to the United States.

Anonymous said...

In some ways, Mr. Paulson isn't the ideal pitchman. A Wall Street titan, he spent 32 years at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and has a personal fortune estimated at $500 million. A former deal maker, he is comfortable in the language of Wall Street, talking with ease about commercial paper, debt spreads and Treasury yields.

Anonymous said...

Someone posted this earlier:

A woman calling herself Fila Kolodny, writes this comment today on another website:

I don't eat things from Agri because about thirty years ago Rabbi I.B. Ushpol, the rabbi of Congregation Anshei Lubawitz of Boro Park and before that Rosh Yeshiva of Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch in Vilna before WW
II, told my family that as a result of Aaron Rubashkin cheating an employee, namely one of my brothers, out of a few dollars we should consider everything coming out of his stores as not kosher.

End of post

Fila is a he, not a she. Fila is a nickname.

I believe this story.

As far as I know Rav Ushpol was maskim to eat KAJ (pre-Rubashkin) and Chabad of Montreal (meat & chicken). Don't know that he ate anything else (unless he shechted it himself or was there during shechita or trusted the person).

I don't know this as 100% for sure though.

Anonymous said...

Crazy Eddie Antar, hazeet!

People thought I could make banks collapse but they aint seen nothin yet!

Anonymous said...

Let's try to get the facts here about Rabbi Weissblum Shedlitzer. I do know he was involved in a din torah (not of his own making) that involved R' Gavriel Finkel that included some really questionable activity by others and not by Weissblum. The din Torah involved the old Agaway on Countyline that became a development (not Jamesway) and the din Torah was between the builder Aron Rottenberg and the homeowners over his promise to build them a shul. The builder insisted that he never promised that they will own the shul, just that one will exist. He then sold the shul to Weissblum. A small faction took the builder to din Torah. There were 2 votes (after Finkel's crowd lost the first vote they insisted on a second one, which they lost too) from the homeowners which the builder won (maybe by using threats, coercion, bribes, but won nonetheless). After they lost the din Torah with the builder they went to court (without a din Torah) to stop Weissblum who was an innocent third party. He pleaded with them not to drag it into court and he will give them space for an Ashkenaz minyan (a pshara). Then when they lost the court proceeding, they wanted to take him up on his pshara, he told them to fly a kite.

I never heard about a cherem or R' S. Miller.

While no one is defending the builder, I haven't heard anyone attacking Weissblum.

I am not vouching for Weissblum. I cannot tell you what he is all about, but the story here doesn't sound right to me.

Anonymous said...

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_10525354

With U.S. financial markets tanking and the economy reeling, Latino activists fear a repeat of history.

During the Great Depression, one-third of the country's Mexican population was deported or pressured to return home. Many of them were American citizens.

The recession of the early 1950s forced nearly 3 million Mexicans to be sent home as a consequence of "Operation Wetback."

A similar economic and financial meltdown could precipitate another massive deportation and removal program, activists say.

In a well-publicized case, federal immigration agents in May arrested 389 workers during a raid at a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa.

Anonymous said...

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127669

Chief Rabbi of the city of Givatayim Yosef Gliksburg

Paul Mendlowitz said...

It's like putting Lipa Margulies in charge of the Jewish Board Of Education:
--------------------

New York Times:

“This administration is asking for a $700 billion blank check to be put in the hands of Henry Paulson, a guy who totally missed this, and has been wrong about almost everything,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “It’s almost amazing they can do this with a straight face. There is clearly skepticism and anger at the idea that we’d give this money to these guys, no questions asked.”

Anonymous said...

R' Henoch Paulson is an honorable Treasury Secretary. I've been familiar with his fiscal policies for a long time.

Anonymous said...

Maran Harav Belsky wants me to get Tuvya's Blog up & running again to defend against these scurrilous attacks on R' Henoch Paulson shlita.

Anonymous said...

Just because UOJ says Paulson is sinister and in bed with his greedy Wall St friends, doesn't davka make it so. The good Secretary might just be naive about the economy.

I plan to testify at the Senate hearings about this without mentioning UOJ's name because I don't want anyone to find his blog.

Anonymous said...

I also took a survey of everyone in the East 30s in Flatbush. There were only two guys who heard anything about a multi-trillion dollar bailout and even they're not concerned about it.

This is just more scaremongering by UOJ because he's trying to get even with Rabbi Margulies by driving down the value of his stock portfolio. He's just using the economy as an excuse.

Anonymous said...

There is no reason for the YTT Vaad Hahorim to convene or for the Senate to hold hearings as R' Henoch Paulson is innocent.

Anonymous said...

http://news.aol.com/article/tomato-processing-egg-products/185139?cid=5

WASHINGTON -A federal investigation into possible food price-fixing has been expanded to include two major industries, tomato processing and egg products.
The Justice Department confirmed Tuesday that prosecutors are conducting separate inquiries into whether the tomato and egg industries engaged in anticompetitive practices.
Federal prosecutors also have been looking at possible price-fixing in the citrus industry for at least a year.
Justice spokeswoman Gina Talamona confirmed the probes into the tomato processing and egg product industries.
The inquiries come as food companies are wrestling with increasing costs of key food ingredients. Prices for top ingredients like corn and oil are soaring as demand rises around the world. And the cost pressures aren't expected to abate anytime soon.
Although federal law bars competitors from collaborating when setting their prices, Congress has created antitrust exemptions intended to help small farm groups and cooperatives bargain with large food processors.
Inquiries into whether food producers overstepped those limits are being run by federal prosecutors in Sacramento, Calif., and an antitrust division of the Justice Department based in Philadelphia.
In Sacramento, a federal investigation into bribery allegations involving a broker for a tomato processor and buyers for Agusa Inc., B&G Foods Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., Frito-Lay, Kraft Foods Inc., Safeway Inc., and Frito-Lay, a division of Pepsico Inc., evolved into an inquiry into possible price-fixing.
FBI documents indicate that wiretaps and raids were carried out as part of the investigation into whether Randall Rahal, owner of a New Jersey-based Intramark USA Corp., paid bribes to secure business for his client, tomato processor SK Foods.
Kraft Foods Inc., maker of DiGiorno pizza, declined comment about the investigation. Brian Maschler, attorney for SK Foods, confirmed the company is being investigated for possible price-fixing practices. Efforts to reach the other firms were ongoing.
Two egg producers in Minnesota — Golden Oval Eggs and Michael Foods — noted in filings with the SEC this spring that they had been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The subpoenas requested documents for the period between Jan. 1, 2002 through March 27, 2008 relating "primarily to the pricing, marketing, and sales of our egg products," both companies wrote in their 10-Q filings.
Both companies said in the SEC filings that they intended to cooperate.
Sandie Wohlman, executive assistant of Golden Oval Eggs of Renville, Minn., referred questions on Tuesday to an attorney, who did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking an interview.
Mark Witmer, treasurer and secretary of Michael Foods Inc., in Minnetonka, Minn., said: "We have fully responded to the request for information." When asked about Michael Foods' exports and domestic production, Witmer said "that's not something we disclose."

Anonymous said...

Home prices fell 5.3 pct in July, gov't says

By ALAN ZIBEL, AP
posted: 3 HOURS 40 MINUTES

WASHINGTON -Nationwide home prices in July fell a record 5.3 percent compared with a year ago, a government agency said Tuesday, and have now receded to October 2005 levels.
Prices were down 0.6 percent from June on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The national decline in home values coupled with reckless lending standards during the real estate boom are the driving forces behind rising mortgage defaults and foreclosures. They have spurred a credit crisis that has shaken Wall Street to its core and caused the Bush administration to propose a $700 billion financial industry bailout.
The real estate industry expects more weak news Wednesday when the National Association of Realtors releases existing home sales for August.

Anonymous said...

Douglas Elmendorf, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, tells the Wall Street Journal the proposed bailout plan is not going to be able to address the underlying fundamentals that are leading to lower home prices. According to Elmeddorf, even if the current proposal is approved, we are still going to see two pretty tough situations continue: falling home prices and rising unemployment.

Anonymous said...

Rising inflation, credit woes and massive layoffs are expected to put a huge dent in the holiday shopping season according to the National Retail Federation and the UOJ Conference Board of economists.

Anonymous said...

This week I will bring you up to date on the latest plans for Solutions Day, this Saturday, and spell out the dangers of the Paulson bailout/power-grab plan now being debated in Congress. But first, a word about Friday's presidential debate:

Senator McCain should call for Friday's debate to be about the economy.

We are seeing a meltdown in our financial system because our political system - the Congress and the President - has refused to confront how big the challenges are and has refused to enact real change.

We do not need a series of gimmicks and bailouts which leave us weaker and more in debt than ever. We need a serious, pro-growth plan for America's long-term economic health.

The economy is in crisis. The Paulson bailout will fail.

Senator McCain should seize this moment and demand that Friday's presidential debate focus exclusively on a pro-growth economic plan for America.

Foreign policy can be covered in a future debate.

Anonymous said...

BOSTON (Reuters) - General Electric Co (GE.N) shares fell about 4 percent on Tuesday after a stock analyst at Goldman Sachs cut his growth forecast for the conglomerate and investors worried about the prospects for a $700 billion bailout by Washington of the financial system.

Shares of the second-largest U.S. company by market value have been volatile and last week hit five-year lows, reflecting investors' concerns about how its GE Capital business is holding up in the current tight credit environment. GE Capital accounts for about half of General Electric's profits.

GE Capital's operations range from financing purchases of gas turbines for electric power plants to providing loans to companies looking to restructure themselves.

GE shares are down about 32 percent so far this year, a deeper fall than 17 percent slide of the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) and the 18 percent decline of the Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX).

"You're getting a pile-on effect as investors see what is going on with the financials and all the wrangling now with Congress and the administration and is this bill going to pass the way it was presented?" said Peter Klein, senior portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cleveland, Ohio.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve urged Congress to act quickly on the proposed bailout of Wall Street as the global financial crisis deepened.

With global economic growth slowing, investors have expressed concern that demand for GE's infrastructure products would decrease, hurting the robust side of the company's operations.

"Commodity prices are falling, and we've got all these industrials levered into a strong economy worldwide and Europe is saying they're slowing down," Klein said.

He said he added to his position in the stock on Monday because he still views GE shares as attractively valued.

NEAR-TERM RISK

Goldman Sachs analyst Deane Dray said on Monday in a note to investors that he now expects GE to post flat earnings this year with 2 percent growth in 2009, down from a projected 1 percent increase this year and 4 percent increase in 2009.

"There still remains a near-term risk that the credit market meltdown this month could trigger some of the same pressures on GE Capital ... that we saw in the 1Q earnings miss," Dray wrote.

GE attributed its first-quarter earnings decline on the freeze in credit markets, which has made it difficult to get deals done. But Dray said the credit environment is worse than GE could have expected.

"No one could have foreseen the credit market dislocations witnessed in the past week," Dray wrote.

GE shares were down $1.25 at $24.90 on the New York Stock Exchange. In the last year, they have been as low as $22.19, the five-year low hit last week, and as high as $42.15.

Anonymous said...

UOJ IS A GENIUS falls under the geder of miktzas shvacho bifanav.

Anonymous said...

Re Fila Kolodny: Fila is his name, not a nickname. I used to work with him, and have seen his tallis bag, it says "Fila". Apparently it's related to Philo, as in Philo Judaeus, the philosopher.