The Godfather: Paulson Makes Offer Banks Can't Refuse
Posted Oct 15, 2008 by Aaron Task
The day after the news about a watershed change in American capitalism, the story behind the story of how Hank Paulson forced the nations top 9 banks to take capital is coming to light.
After a discussion of the state of the banking system and U.S. economy, the bankers were then unceremoniously handed a one-page term sheet outlining Paulson's plan. The bank CEOs "weren't allowed to negotiate," The WSJ reports. "Paulson requested that each of them sign. It was for their own good and the good of the country, he said, according to a person in the room."
In sum, Hank Paulson made the bank CEOs an offer they couldn't refuse -- like a present-day (and real) Don Corleone.
Some of the other anecdotes that emerged, according to both the WSJ and NY Times:
Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich was the most vocal in opposing the deal, but he too ultimately relented. (This morning, Wells Fargo shares were rallying after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, although its revenue fell shy of expectations.)
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President Bush pledges to continue work to stabilize banking industry, US to buy bank shares
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Tuesday announced a $250 billion plan by the government to directly buy shares in the nation's leading banks, saying the drastic steps were "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."
Nine major banks will participate initially including all of the country's largest institutions.
Some of the big banks had to be pressured to participate in the program by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who wanted healthy institutions that did not necessarily need capital from the government to go first as a way of removing any stigma that might be associated with banks getting bailouts.
Bush, in brief remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House, said the government will initially buy stocks in nine major U.S. banks.
"These efforts are designed to directly benefit the American people by stabilizing the financial system and helping the economy recover," he said.
Paulson, at a news conference a short time later, said "today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence in our financial system."
"We regret having to take these actions," said Paulson. "Today's actions are not what we ever wanted to do -- but today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system."
"The needs of our economy require that our financial institutions not take this new capital to hoard it, but to deploy it," Paulson said, meaning that they will use the money to bolster lending to each other and to their customers.
"Government owning a stake in any private U.S. company is objectionable to most Americans -- me included," Paulson added. "Yet the alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable."
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By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Government moves into banking -- to the tune of $250 billion -- as the bailout becomes a buy-in
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big banks started falling in line Tuesday behind a rejiggered bailout plan that will have the government forking over as much as $250 billion in exchange for partial ownership -- putting the world's bastion of capitalism and free markets squarely in the banking business.
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I'm a die-hard Capitalist - for some familiar reasons, and for some that are not necessarily traditional.
What sets apart America from the rest of the world under the Constitution, is all the freedoms we have taken for granted. One of those freedoms is - Freedom. Government was designed to insure us unfettered freedom to do what we please under the law. No government intervention in our private lives, no state religion, the right to bear arms for self-preservation, and the right for the talented and ambitious to achieve what in most of the world is unfathomable.....
We can - if we choose - to work hard, and with fierce determination to succeed, achieve great wealth; and voluntarily use that wealth to enrich ourselves with expensive toys, or to be able help others that are less fortunate (or both). Or we can choose a life of nothingness - where all our existence is spent on frivolity and personal creature comforts.
Public assistance is actually a concept that the world inherited from the Torah - designed for the people that truly can not manage on their own. The laws of tithing, shmitta, pruzbul, yovel, ir hanidachat, m'lava es hamet (gemillat chesed)...are all Torah concepts.
What we do know is that the human animal needs independence to thrive; to think freely, to dream, to learn truths, to make mistakes, to fail, to learn from those mistakes and become all the better for it.
Look around the globe! Socialism and Communism are abject failures. Look at Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Canada, Russia (of course)...There are no incentives for the plain-folk to achieve. Medical care is Third World voodoo medicine-man-like. The wealthy come to the U.S., in most cases, for major health care issues.
If history has taught us anything, it is that empires last no more than two hundred years. Of course - that could be different here in the U.S. - if we take steps to learn from history. What causes collapse? How can humans be taught to see the big picture? How do we teach people that life is a chess game - if you can't see five moves ahead - you lose to the person who can.
Although I've been a life-long Republican and voted for Bush (actually Cheney)...he will go down as probably the most inept president ever --- he beats Carter badly - and I thought nobody could beat Carter.
Now he's turning over the executive branch of government - in all likelihood - to a group of people that will "be fair with your money and spread the wealth around" to people who, in most cases chose victimhood, rather than freedom. Yes, there are plenty of people that need public assistance - but most do not!
When government gets to choose what group of people they raise taxes on - or what health care company you will have - or what schools your kids should go to --- how far away is - telling you what house of worship you should frequent --- or none at all!
The reason the U.S.A. flourished in the past two hundred years - more than the entire 5500 years of civilization prior, according to the Jewish calendar - because people were free to pick and choose within the law what was good for them in every sphere of humanity. The one basic reason the USA led the way in just about every field of science and medicine - is because of freedom of religion or non-religion. No scientist, writer, or thinker, had to be concerned they would be incarcerated for views that opposed the church of Religion or the temple of Socialism.
Hank Paulson is a fraud! The entire bailout of the financial institutions, was designed to protect the thieves that concocted this Ponzi scheme, Paulson as former CEO of Goldman Sachs included.
There are already heads of state that are grumbling about the Jews on Wall Street. There is no doubt that the manipulation and machinations of the financial markets over the last decade, included firms with Jewish sounding names.
Should the Jews be concerned?
In 2003 I was invited to debate Daniel Lapin, - right after his book "America's Real War" was published. The thrust of his book - "that a Holocaust-type event can never happen in America", grated on me and was historically flat wrong. We need not look back too far to understand that in times of massive economic downturns, a scapegoat is needed and always selected, and it is always the Jews.
With names like, Greenspan, Bernanke, Robert Rubin, Bloomberg, Goldman, Sachs, Soros, Lehman, Greenberg (AIG) bandied around daily about the globe as villains (some are, and there are others yet to be exposed) --- we must not be complacent about our future!
At this writing, the possibility of an Obama presidency is almost a given. I care not about the color of his skin. I'm worried sick about his radical affiliations, socialist past and ideology, and the team of Lefties that will certainly accompany him to the White House.
What to do?
For the time-being, I am left without answers! But please Jewish-American citizens around the globe, kindly cast your vote in person or by mail-in ballot!
The America we know and love will undoubtedly change for the worse - if the Democrat party were to occupy the White House come January 20, 2009!
UOJ
60 comments:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06EFDC143DF93AA3575AC0A96F958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all
September 9, 1999
13 Podiatrists Named in Plot To Clip More Than Toenails
By BENJAMIN WEISER
Judging by the number of colorful advertisements and fliers on the city's subways and buses offering podiatry services, one would think New Yorkers' foot problems have reached epidemic proportions.
But maybe the problems are not all in the feet.
Yesterday, Federal prosecutors said they had charged 13 podiatrists with conspiring in an elaborate scheme to lure elderly and poor patients in New York with fliers offering free foot examinations, only to bill their health insurers and the Federal Medicare program for expensive surgeries and other therapies that were never performed.
In many cases, the only therapy the patients received, the prosecutors said in a complaint filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, was to have their healthy toenails clipped and their feet washed.
In one case, a single doctor billed for 150 procedures in a day, which, prosecutors assert, would take a skilled podiatrist 25 hours to perform.
The Government did not specify how much money it suspected was fraudulently billed in the scheme, but left the clear impression in the court complaint that the total would reach millions of dollars.
Fliers advertising podiatry treatments have become a fixture of subway stations and busy shopping strips like the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn. While most of the fliers may advertise legitimate services, the scheme outlined yesterday was far-ranging and included clinics in every borough except Staten Island.
Prosecutors said that 5 of the 13 podiatrists charged yesterday had previously been accused of professional misconduct, including allegations of false billing. Two of the podiatrists, Michael Brumer, 54, of Sands Point, N.Y., and Lawrence Klein, 53, of Brooklyn, who were described in court yesterday as the leaders of the suspected conspiracy, were each suspended by state authorities in the late 1980's for one year for ''practicing podiatry fraudulently and for gross negligence and incompetence.''
The scheme outlined by the Government yesterday was so blatant, prosecutors asserted, that memorandums posted on the walls of the billing department in one clinic, Citywide Foot Care in Brooklyn, instructed clerks on how to prepare false insurance claims.
Citywide employees also regularly joked about how they were ''cheating Medicare,'' one witness said, according to the Government complaint.
One of the podiatrists charged yesterday is still being sought, the authorities said. The 12 others, and 5 office workers who were also arrested, appeared in Federal District Court in Manhattan, where they were released on bond by Federal Magistrate Kevin N. Fox.
In court, a Federal prosecutor, David C. Finn, called the fraud scheme ''breathtaking in scope, duration and the level of arrogance.''
Mary Jo White, the United States Attorney in Manhattan, said the arrests ''should send a message to all dishonest medical providers in this city: We will criminally prosecute those who attempt to prey upon the patient population of New York City and bilk Medicare and private insurance companies.''
None of the defendants entered pleas yesterday. Gustave H. Newman, a lawyer who represented Dr. Brumer and Dr. Klein, said he had no comment when reached by phone last night. Dr. Brumer and Dr. Klein were each released on a $1 million bond.
Podiatrists are required to complete four years of podiatry school and a hospital residency to be licensed to practice in New York State, said Barbara Zittel, Executive Secretary to the State Board for Podiatry in Albany. She said that podiatrists were permitted to perform any medical procedure on the foot, including surgery, and were bound by the same ethical rules as medical doctors.
She said that state records checked yesterday showed that all 13 podiatrists charged in the case were licensed to practice.
But the Government, in its 30-page criminal complaint, depicted a group of foot doctors who seemed driven more by greed than by ethical responsibilities. Several, for example, were charged with accepting illegal kickbacks for referring patients to medical doctors who were also working in the clinics, the complaint said.
The complaint also said that one of the defendants had submitted hundreds of reimbursement claims to Medicare totaling $153,000 for services that he rendered on certain days in January 1998 in the clinic in Manhattan. But a Federal agent had visited the clinic during that period, the complaint said, and found that the office was closed on those days.
The complaint said that Dr. Brumer had developed a computer program that automatically inserted additional false treatment details into patients' bills, to increase the likelihood of reimbursement when the bills were submitted to Medicare and private insurers.
Both Dr. Brumer and Dr. Klein had been suspended for one year in 1989 by state licensing officials in connection with allegations of performing excessive and medically unnecessary tests and procedures, the complaint said.
In 1992, the complaint said, both men admitted to charges of professional misconduct, including false and fraudulent billing. They were each put on probation by state licensing authorities, and fined $12,500.
Both Dr. Brumer and Dr. Klein oversaw the daily operations of the four clinics involved in the charges yesterday, prosecutors said, including Citywide, at 491 Fulton Street in Brooklyn; Bronx Foot Care, at 2863-65 Third Avenue; 34th Street Foot Care, at 450 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, and Jamaica Foot Care Associates, at 163-08 Jamaica Avenue in Queens.
In addition to Dr. Brumer and Dr. Klein, the podiatrists arrested yesterday were Ira Bell, 42, of Jericho, N.Y.; Henry Borrelli, 41, of Nutley, N.J.; Nicholas Errico, 46, of Carlstadt, N.J.; William Grubessi, 42, of Westbury, N.Y.; Albert Kalajian, 49, of Hollis, N.Y.; Alan Katz, 39, of Nanuet, N.Y.; Arthur Minkoff, 44, of Woodmere, N.Y.; Mitchell Pearce; 40, of Brooklyn; Paul Rohe, 42, of Warren, N.J.; and Douglas Herzlich, 49, of Manhattan. The podiatrist being sought is Darricka Carter, 34, of Central Islip, N.Y.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01132007/news/regionalnews/foot_docs_kicked_up_the_river_regionalnews_.htm
January 13, 2007 -- Two podiatrists who ran several New York clinics that primarily served indigent and elderly patients were each sentenced yesterday to more than five years in prison - by a judge who noted that neither showed remorse for their multimillion-dollar scam.
U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood imposed terms of five years and three months and ordered Michael Brumer of Long Island and Lawrence Klein of Brooklyn to pay a total of $29,000 in fines.
Brumer and Klein, both 61, pleaded guilty in 2003 to fraud that the government said cost victims more than $10 million.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122006/news/regionalnews/feds_to_hunt_muck_in_albany_pig_trough_regionalnews_kati_cornell.htm
FEDS TO HUNT MUCK IN ALBANY PIG TROUGH
Review of member-item expenditures show Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver doled out almost $7.5 million in pork-barrel cash this year alone.
Records show Silver directed six grants totaling $1 million to a charity and its affiliates headed by the husband of Silver's chief of staff, Judy Rapfogel.
Silver has also sent grants to at least two groups represented by a lobbyist who used to be a top aide.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno directed $500,000 in state funding to a private company linked to a businessman who is under investigation for providing him with free air travel.
In August, the feds nabbed Bronx state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. for allegedly using a charity he founded as his personal piggy bank.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WC3VtDsRQjc/SNlbb8126_I/AAAAAAAACjU/zJsb2Lxsf2g/s1600-h/poster%2520tt%2520marine%2520park%5B1%5D.jpg
Margo claims in 2008 to have a "yovel" of what he calls "harbotzas Torah".
That would mean that the thieving bus driver would have left Torah Vodaas in 1958.
What year did Margo in fact start YTT?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10075487-83.html
The U.S. intelligence community is concerned that terrorists might use micro-blogging tool Twitter to coordinate attacks, according to a purported draft Army intelligence report posted on the Web.
The report--present by the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion and posted to the Federation of the American Scientists Web site--examines the possible ways terrorists could use mobile and Web technologies such as the Global Positioning System, digital maps, and Twitter mashups to plan and execute terrorist attacks.
The presentation (PDF), which was first presented earlier this month, was reported Friday by Wired magazine's Noah Shachtman. A chapter titled "Potential for Terrorist Use of Twitter," presents general, introductory information on Twitter and how it works, the report describes how it was used to report details of a recent earthquake in Los Angeles and by activists at the Republican National Convention.
"Twitter has also become a social activism tool for socialists, human rights groups, communists, vegetarians, anarchists, religious communities, atheists, political enthusiasts, hacktivists and others to communicate with each other and to send messages to broader audiences," the report said.
The report goes on to say:
Twitter is already used by some members to post and/or support extremist ideologies and perspectives. Extremist and terrorist use of Twitter could evolve over time to reflect tactics that are already evolving in use by hacktivists and activists for surveillance. This could theoretically be combined with targeting.
The report describes hacktivists as politically motivated hackers.
The report also described scenarios in which terrorists could leverage "potential adversarial use of Twitter," such as planning ambushes or detonating explosives:
Scenario 1: Terrorist operative "A" uses Twitter with (or without) a cell phone camera/video function to send back messages, and to receive messages, from the rest of his cell. Operative "A" also has a Google Maps Twitter Mash Up of where he is under a code word for other members of his cell (if they need more in-depth directions) posted on the WWW that can be viewed from their mobiles. Other members of his cell receive near real time updates (similar to the movement updates that were sent by activists at the RNC) on how, where, and the number of troops that are moving in order to conduct an ambush.
Scenario 2: Terrorist operative "A" has a mobile phone for Tweet messaging and for taking images. Operative "A" also has a separate mobile phone that is actually an explosive device and/or a suicide vest for remote detonation. Terrorist operative "B" has the detonator and a mobile to view "A's" Tweets and images. This may allow "B" to select the precise moment of remote detonation based on near real time movement and imagery that is being sent by "A."
Scenario 3: Cyber Terrorist operative "A" finds U.S. [soldier] Smith's Twitter account. Operative "A" joins Smith's Tweets and begins to elicit information from Smith. This information is then used for a targeting package (targeting in this sense could be identity theft, hacking, and/or physical.) This scenario is not new and has already been discussed for other social networking sites, such as My Space and/or Face Book.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10074793-37.html?tag=rtcol;pop
Apple has joined Google in publicly opposing a California ballot initiative that would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples.
The company announced Friday that it would donate $100,000 to the No on Prop 8 campaign, which opposes a measure to ban gay marriage that California voters will consider a week from Tuesday.
UOJ and the other Great One, Mark Levin, speak the truth. America, you want to know how bad an Obama presidency will be? It will be like Jimmy Carter's...on steroids. Those of you who remember the late 70's know what a disaster those years were...those who are too young, do yourselves a favor and do some research.
What happens when an Obama administration installs the kind of judges on the Supreme Court and the lower courts that change our laws as they see fit? You know what happens? Things that you took for granted all your lives will change...things like the definition of marriage...How will you explain that one to the kids?
In 1980 Reagan rode in to rescue us. I hope there is a Reagan out there to step forward soon and plan the great American rescue of 2012. I only hope that Obama hasn't done too much damage in his 4 years. Newt, can you hear me?
I'm UOJ and I approve this message!
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The Obama Temptation - by
Mark R. Levin
I've been thinking this for a while so I might as well air it here. I honestly never thought we'd see such a thing in our country - not yet anyway - but I sense what's occurring in this election is a recklessness and abandonment of rationality that has preceded the voluntary surrender of liberty and security in other places.
I can't help but observe that even some conservatives are caught in the moment as their attempts at explaining their support for Barack Obama are unpersuasive and even illogical. And the pull appears to be rather strong. Ken Adelman, Doug Kmiec, and others, reach for the usual platitudes in explaining themselves but are utterly incoherent.
Even non-conservatives with significant public policy and real world experiences, such as Colin Powell and Charles Fried, find Obama alluring but can't explain themselves in an intelligent way.
There is a cult-like atmosphere around Barack Obama, which his campaign has carefully and successfully fabricated, which concerns me. The messiah complex. Fainting audience members at rallies. Special Obama flags and an Obama presidential seal. A graphic with the portrayal of the globe and Obama's name on it, which adorns everything from Obama's plane to his street literature.
Young school children singing songs praising Obama. Teenagers wearing camouflage outfits and marching in military order chanting Obama's name and the professions he is going to open to them. An Obama world tour, culminating in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaims we are all citizens of the world. I dare say, this is ominous stuff.
Even the media are drawn to the allure that is Obama. Yes, the media are liberal. Even so, it is obvious that this election is different. The media are open and brazen in their attempts to influence the outcome of this election. I've never seen anything like it. Virtually all evidence of Obama's past influences and radicalism — from Jeremiah Wright to William Ayers — have been raised by non-traditional news sources. The media's role has been to ignore it as long as possible, then mention it if they must, and finally dismiss it and those who raise it in the first place. It's as if the media use the Obama campaign's talking points — its preposterous assertions that Obama didn't hear Wright from the pulpit railing about black liberation, whites, Jews, etc., that Obama had no idea Ayers was a domestic terrorist despite their close political, social, and working relationship, etc. — to protect Obama from legitimate and routine scrutiny.
And because journalists have also become commentators, it is hard to miss their almost uniform admiration for Obama and excitement about an Obama presidency. So in the tank are the media for Obama that for months we've read news stories and opinion pieces insisting that if Obama is not elected president it will be due to white racism. And, of course, while experience is crucial in assessing Sarah Palin's qualifications for vice president, no such standard is applied to Obama's qualifications for president. (No longer is it acceptable to minimize the work of a community organizer.) Charles Gibson and Katie Couric sought to humiliate Palin. They would never and have never tried such an approach with Obama.
But beyond the elites and the media, my greatest concern is whether this election will show a majority of the voters susceptible to the appeal of a charismatic demagogue. This may seem a harsh term to some, and no doubt will to Obama supporters, but it is a perfectly appropriate characterization.
Obama's entire campaign is built on class warfare and human envy. The "change" he peddles is not new. We've seen it before.
It is change that diminishes individual liberty for the soft authoritarianism of socialism. It is a populist appeal that disguises government mandated wealth redistribution as tax cuts for the middle class, falsely blames capitalism for the social policies and government corruption (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) that led to the current turmoil in our financial markets, fuels contempt for commerce and trade by stigmatizing those who run successful small and large businesses, and exploits human imperfection as a justification for a massive expansion of centralized government.
Obama's appeal to the middle class is an appeal to the "the proletariat," as an infamous philosopher once described it, about which a mythology has been created. Rather than pursue the American Dream, he insists that the American Dream has arbitrary limits, limits Obama would set for the rest of us — today it's $250,000 for businesses and even less for individuals. If the individual dares to succeed beyond the limits set by Obama, he is punished for he's now officially "rich."
The value of his physical and intellectual labor must be confiscated in greater amounts for the good of the proletariat (the middle class). And so it is that the middle class, the birth-child of capitalism, is both celebrated and enslaved — for its own good and the greater good. The "hope" Obama represents, therefore, is not hope at all. It is the misery of his utopianism imposed on the individual.
Unlike past Democrat presidential candidates, Obama is a hardened ideologue. He's not interested in playing around the edges. He seeks "fundamental change," i.e., to remake society. And if the Democrats control Congress with super-majorities led by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, he will get much of what he demands.
The question is whether enough Americans understand what's at stake in this election and, if they do, whether they care. Is the allure of a charismatic demagogue so strong that the usually sober American people are willing to risk an Obama presidency? After all, it ensnared Adelman, Kmiec, Powell, Fried, and numerous others. And while America will certainly survive, it will do so, in many respects, as a different place.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3613674,00.html
MK Meir Porush serves as character witness on behalf of haredi man convicted of killing his three-month-old baby; tells court defendant is one of finest yeshiva boys he ever met
Aviad Glickman Published: 10.27.08, 12:27 / Israel News
Knesset Member and Jerusalem mayoral hopeful Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) testified Monday before the Jerusalem District Court, on behalf of Israel Valas, an ultra-Orthodox man convicted of killing his three-month-old son.
Porush, along with several other prominent figures in the ultra-Orthodox community, was called in as character witnessed for the defense, which is trying to convince the court to order a light sentence.
The defense denied any wrongdoing on Valas' part, but according to doctors' testimony, the baby presented with severe signs cerebral edema, which could only have been caused by someone forcibly shaking him.
"The defendant is a good man, I can't say a bad word about him," said Porush, adding that he was "marked for great things" within the ultra-Orthodox community.
Porush told the court that he has been acquainted with Valas and his family for six years, and that Valas was one of the "finest yeshiva boys" he had ever encountered.
Another character witness for the defense was former MK and religious radio personality Israel Eichler. The latter testified he has been helping the family since the young patriarch's arrest, and warned that should he face prison time, it might "bring about the home's destruction and bring about a destruction of the Second Temple."
Other character witnesses included Menachem Porush, MK Porush's father who was a Knesset member for 35 years, and Rabbi Ben-Zion Gutfarb, who heads Valas' alma mater – the Matmidim Yeshiva.
Yisroel Eichler is a Belzer chossid. It seems the Agudah has stooped to using hysterical hyperbole lately. First the Yated labeling Rubashkin critics as "Amalek" and now this about another churban bayis. Even earlier we saw Meir Porush comparing Arik Sharon to Benito Mussolini.
Bentzion Gutfarb is the son of R' Shmuel Gutfarb, a maggid shiur in Eitz Chaim under R' Isser Zalman Meltzer ztl.
The fresser Meir Porush has also called on Israel to give up it's nuclear weapons. He is NOT from the branch of the Porush family that is related to R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztl.
UOJ can probably tell us more about his father Menachem Porush.
Being that Valas is very young and lives in Eretz Yisruel, I have unfortunately never gotten to know him but I did receive similar reports that he is a feine yingerman.
Ober ich ken zoggen mit personal yedios that Menachem & Meir Porush are honorable character witnesses.
UOJ arranged this just because I used to be involved through the Claims Conference. I'm going to protest to Julius Berman about it!
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3613730,00.html
Comptroller to review Foundation for Holocaust Victims
Organization providing ailing Shoah survivors with aid, healthcare to be regularly audited by State Comptroller due to public appeals
Aviad Glickman
The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel will be subject to the scrutiny of State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss from now on, his office announced on Monday.
The foundation's goal is to improve the living conditions of Holocaust survivors in Israel. Lindenstratuss had already mentioned the organization in the State Comptroller's Report about Holocaust survivors, published in August 2007, despite the fact that it has never been included in the comptroller's jurisdiction.
The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel was established in 1994 with the cooperation of The Center of Organizations of Holocaust Survivors in Israel (COHSI) and the Claims Conference.
The organization aims to help needy Holocaust survivors unable to recover from the trauma or to care for themselves, providing them with medical care not covered by State welfare such as dental care, optometry, hearing aids and more. The organization is funded in part by the Finance Ministry.
Recently the State Comptroller has received appeals asking that the foundation be audited regularly. Lindenstrauss delegated the task to his office's special tasks department.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3613611,00.html
Global financial crisis brings Israelis home
Economic distress prompts thousands of Israelis living abroad to return to Jewish state. Immigrant Absorption Ministry foresees 15,000 homecomings by end of 2009
Itamar Eichner Published: 10.27.08
Dear Ben Bernanke,
Are you an economist or a member of the Moetzes Agudath Israel!
Is there one real economist in the Fed? Lowering interbank overnight interest rates is as meaningful as a Mattisyahu Salomon speech on child abuse at the Agudah convention!
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Interbank lending improvements slow
Monday October 27, 9:01 am ET
Interbank lending rates inch lower, but improvements diminish
LONDON (AP) -- Lending rates among banks in the U.S. and Europe have edged barely lower Monday, suggesting concerns over global economic growth are keeping credit conditions tight.
The rate on three-month loans in dollars -- known as the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor -- has edged down to 3.51 percent from 3.52 percent on Friday.
The so-called European Interbank Offered Rate for three-month euro-denominated loans has eased to 4.912 percent from 4.918 percent.
The rates have fallen steadily for over 10 days as confidence in the banking industry has been helped by rescue measures announced by governments and central banks this month.
However, the improvements are tapering off on mounting concern that a global economic recession will keep banks' balance sheets under pressure.
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Defense lawyers are bullish on Wall Street.
A rising number of defendants and suspects in government probes of collapsed financial firms may yield the biggest fee bonanza for the defense bar since the days of Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. The largest cases can generate millions in revenue. Former Enron Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Skilling alone paid $23 million in legal fees even before he went on trial for fraud and was convicted.
``There's a very interesting ballet going on now between clients, lawyers and the investigating agencies,'' said Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz, who represented convicted 1980s junk bond king Michael Milken. ``People are rushing to get the best lawyers before they can be hired by someone else.''
Bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. alone is the subject of three federal investigations and at least 20 subpoenas. Markets for subprime mortgages, credit default swaps and auction- rate securities have come under scrutiny for possible fraud too. In New York, four former executives at Credit Suisse Group and Bear Stearns Cos. have already been charged with fraud.
``I think the defense bar is going to see very full employment,'' said Robert Morvillo, who is defending former American International Group Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Maurice ``Hank'' Greenberg in investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Morvillo is a lawyer with New York-based Morvillo Abramowitz, Grand, Iason, Anello & Bohrer.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008101320081013handman.html
All sides agree that a beating last month left a Jewish U.S. Army trainee, Pvt. Michael Handman, with facial wounds, severe oral injuries and a concussion. What’s in dispute is whether the assault -- at the base in Fort Benning, Ga. -- was carried out by multiple attackers, and if it was the product of an anti-Semitic campaign waged by Handman’s superiors.
The military has charged just one person, a fellow trainee, and insists that he was not motivated by anti-Semitism. Handman’s supporters, on the other hand, believe multiple attackers were involved and feel the incident was connected to anti-Jewish slurs dished out to Handman by two company drill sergeants.
Military officials declined to make Handman available for comment, and separate efforts to reach him were unsuccessful. His mother, Randi Handman, told JTA that her son only remembers being called into the laundry room to retrieve clothing, was struck and spun on his back while sorting through a pile, then covering his head to shield it from blows before drifting into the blackness of a concussion. He says several recruits were in the room before the beating commenced, his mother added.
Just days before the Sept. 24 assault, the two drill sergeants were issued letters of reprimand, in which they were accused by the military of addressing Handman with anti-Jewish slurs, including “Juden.” In the base’s mess hall, one of the drill sergeants also demanded that he remove his yarmulke, which he had begun to wear in the few weeks following his induction.
Though army regulation allows for individuals to wear a yarmulke, praying while on guard duty -- which Handman was rebuked for -- is against regulation, because soldiers must limit their focus to guarding weapons. According to his mother, Handman says that he was not praying, but merely reading Jewish canon -- three feet from where another guard had been reading the New Testament undisturbed.
She also said that prior to the assault, she received a foreboding letter from her son, warning her that he would be attacked.
“I have just never been so discriminated against/humiliated about my religion,” he wrote, adding: “I just feel like I'm always looking over my shoulder. Like my battle buddy heard some of the guys in my platoon talking about how they wanted to beat the shit out of me tonight when I'm sleeping. It just sucks. And the only justification they have is [because] I'm Jewish. Maybe your dad was right...The Army is not the place for a Jew.”
The case has attracted the attention of Mikey Weinstein, leader of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an outfit that fights alleged religious bias in the U.S. military. Weinstein, whose foundation has launched its own investigation of the beating, says that the drill sergeants referred to Handman as “fucking Jew” and kike. According to Weinstein, platoon members attempted to dispirit Handman by ejaculating in his pillow.
Handman’s father, Jonathan, contacted U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in the hopes that he would take an interest in the investigation, and urge the military to switch his son to a less hostile company. In response to the senator’s inquiries, Fort Benning’s Deputy Chief of Staff Samuel Selby Rollinson wrote that he does not condone the actions of the non-commissioned officers in slurring Handman, and denying him the right to wear a yarmulke or attend Jewish prayer services. But, Rollinson added, their actions were “not meant to be malicious, and were done out of ignorance for regulations and cultural awareness.”
Military police have concluded that Handman was attacked by a lone assailant, a fellow trainee that they refuse to identify, citing army regulations. The suspect has been charged by military police with assault, and is subject to yet-to-be determined penalties, including 45 days of restricted movement, extra duty, reduction in grade and forfeiture of pay. Military officials denied JTA requests to speak with the private who was charged in the assault.
Handman has been moved out of his original platoon to a rehabilitation platoon to recuperate from his injuries, and is now in a different battalion.
When asked through what method of investigation it was determined that the non-commissioned officers “inadvertently” violated the private’s religious rights, a spokeswoman for Rollinson, Monica Manganaro, said that they acted “out of character,” are experienced drill sergeants and had a superb record of performance up until this incident.
Weinstein said that the military frequently attempts to portray such incidents as one-time occurrences. He criticized the army’s choice of Lt. Dan Kim to lead the investigation of the motives behind the assault, saying that he would ultimately be the one accountable for prevalent misconduct.
According to army officials, Kim spent days gathering 100 sworn testimonies from every member of Handman’s company, all of whom denied that religious prejudice was pervasive, or that it provoked the beating.
Fort Benning’s spokeswoman was unaware of the “battle buddy” who Handman said had warned him of a pending assault fueled by anti-Semitism. According to the spokeswoman, Kim and military police officials say they have uncovered another motive during the investigation, but military privacy regulations prohibit her from sharing that information.
Weinstein argued that the sworn testimony of the privates is unreliable, since it was solicited by a lieutenant who ranks above them.
Claims that a conflict of interest exists were dismissed by an army spokeswoman, who pointed out that Kim answers to his superior, the battalion commander, and is obligated to render a truthful investigation.
Weinstein criticized the penalty, saying it was an outrage that the assailant was not even given the lowest form of a court martial. Handman’s father called the punishment “cute” and merely a slap on the wrist.
http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/10/its_the_same_ol.html
In terms of stabilizing the housing market, Barney Frank [joined by Paul “About to lose his seat” Kanjorski (D-Pa), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Maxine Waters, Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Mel Watt (D-NC)] expressed “outrage” at the report in the New York Times today that at least two hedge funds [and as maybe as 4 – and I believe 12 hedge funds] have warned loan servicers on mortgage backed securities that they might take action against them if the servicers participated in Hope for Homeowners to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Barney and Crew wrote that they “strongly urged” the companies to reverse their position on the modification issue and informed each CEO that they’re scheduling a Nov. 12 hearing at which both will be asked to testify. They also threatened to “pursue further steps” if the CEOs choose not to voluntarily comply with this request with a reference to Bankruptcy “cram down”. Barney announced a hearing on this on November 12th.
I would simply note three responses to the Team Barney Letter.
One, as I have noted, investors in mortgage backed securities have unique legal rights and they quite properly argue that the terms of the underlying loans cannot be changed without their consent. If mortgages behind these investments are renegotiated, the holders of the securities, particularly the low-rated investments, stand to lose money because of the slicing and dicing. That is why these assets in bulk are being purchased in effect by TARP and Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac – as even Senator McCain is arguing for [albeit at inflated value] – so they can be unwound.
The Times article properly notes that “disputes” over loan modifications have been largely theoretical because most mortgage servicing companies are not aggressively altering the terms of loans and Hope for Homeowners is less than 3 weeks old though FDIC Chair Sheila Bair is already calling it insufficient.
Two, what makes Barney and the cosigners of the letter believe that these particular Hedge Funds will still be in business by November 12th when the hearing is held??
And, three, this may be a ploy on the part of these Hedge Funds and others to have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy their mortgage backed securities ASAP.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/2008101920081019floridaobama.html
BOCA RATON, Fla. (JTA) -- Fred Wolff is pretty explicit in laying out the reason why he won’t support Barack Obama on Nov. 4.
A survivor of the Dachau concentration camp who came to the United States as a teenager, Wolff told JTA he typically favors Republican candidates. This year he would have preferred former governors Mike Huckabee of Arkansas or Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.
But despite his misgivings about John McCain, the Republican nominee, Wolff said there's one reason he would never consider supporting Obama.
“I think that many of the blacks -- I was going to say shvartzes, but I'll say blacks -- many of the blacks are anti-Semitic,” Wolff said. “I'm not going to vote for the black guy. No, never. I don't want him. I don't like the crowd that surrounds him. They may be quiet right now, and they may be even hiding in the bushes. But you wait, if he wins, they're going to come out.”
While Obama has labored for months to beat back false claims that he is a Muslim and soft on Israel, the talk as the election heads into its final weeks has focused on the one aspect of the Democrat's biography he is powerless to change: his skin color. And with polls showing Obama lagging in Jewish support behind earlier Democratic presidential candidates, concern among some of his supporters has grown that older Jewish voters, clustered in critical swing states and besieged by advertising stoking concerns about his position on Jewish issues, could tip the balance to McCain.
Japan Stocks Hit 26-Year Low
BusinessWeek - 23 minutes ago
Oil just sank to $61 a barrel.
US News & World Report:
Obama: 'Theoretically' OK for Courts to Redistribute Wealth
October 27, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iivL4c_3pck
Back in 2001, Barack Obama gave an interview to a Chicago public radio station in which he talked about using the Supreme Court(nonelected, lifetime terms), to "spread the wealth." Some rough excerpts:
If you look at the victories and failures of the civil rights movement and its litigation strategy in the court, I think where it succeeded was to invest formal rights in previously dispossessed peoples so that I would now have the right to vote, I would now be able to sit at a lunch counter and order, and as long as I could pay for it, I'd be OK. But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and the more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society, and to that extent, as radical as, I think, people try to characterize the Warren court, it wasn't that radical; it didn't break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers and the Constitution.... One of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was because the civil rights movement became so court focused, I think, there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power through which you bring about redistributive change, and in some ways, we still suffer from that. You can craft theoretical justification for it legally, and any three of us sitting here could come up with a rationale for bringing about economic change through the courts.
Me: This should be a Saturday Night Live sketch. Use the court to redistribute wealth? Really? The Warren court was not radical? Really? Anyone could craft a theoretical justification to use the court to spread the wealth? Really? This all strikes me as highly weird.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/citigroup-c-wont-make-it/story.aspx?guid=%7B58FA552E%2D05B7%2D4F2E%2DB0F5%2D7DD531F414CB%7D&dist=TNMostRead
Citigroup (C) is not going to make it, at least not an an independent company. The FT has reported that the head of Goldman Sachs (GS) called Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit to discuss a merger. Goldman had converted itself into a commercial bank. Maybe it was worried it would go the way of Morgan Stanley (MS). But, the Treasury has come up with capital for all the big financial firms, so the urge to do something has probably passed for the world's premier investment bank.
It is different for Citigroup. There things have gone from bad to worse.
Citigroup is not likely to make it as an independent company. It will not be a buyer. It will be sold.
If the bank's stock price and analysts covering the company are right, Citi's fate could be determined by the end of the year. Over the last month, shares in the bank are down by 40%. Rival JPMorgan (JPM) is off 2%. Wells Fargo (WFC) is up 10%. Citi's market cap is down to $66 billion. Bank of America's is nearly $100 billion.
Homo pedohpiles molesting little boys is also violates halacha.
And the stuff he mentions here sounds more "pornographic" that anything UOJ has ever posted.
http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/36355/format/html/displaystory.html
Thursday October 23, 2008
Plain and simple, same-sex marriage violates halachah
by rabbi avi shafran
But Proposition 8 is not about legislating personal behavior — be it same-sex, multi-partner or incestuous, all of which have their proponents. It is, rather, about preventing a twisting of the time-honored and timeless definition of marriage, a definition whose upholding the rabbis of the Talmud considered to be one of humanity’s saving graces.
Rabbi Avi Shafran, the director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, lived in the (San Francisco) Bay Area for seven years in the 1970s and early ’80s.
Let's see if the Agudah Fressers back Anthony Weiner regardless of his pro-homo stand in future elections.
http://www.gaycitynews.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20157883&BRD=2729&PAG=461&dept_id=568864&rfi=6
(Anthony) Weiner had solid bona fides to offer the (Gay) "community", having been a supporter of "marriage equality" from the time of his first congressional race a decade ago. Then, one of his Democratic primary opponents was Noach Dear, a member of the City Council who predicated his harsh opposition to gay rights on his Orthodox Jewish faith. Weiner recalled a story - though he conceded it might be apocryphal - that Dear had gotten his hands on a tape recording of him pledging his support for gay marriage to the Lambda Independent Democrats, Brooklyn's gay political club, and distributed it at a meeting of Aguda Israel, a leading Orthodox umbrella organization.
"That was seen then - much less so now - as a giant opening for Dear," Weiner said. "It didn't turn out that way,"
That's mamash fest! How come Shafran never told me he lived in San Francisco for 7 years?
http://www.daashakohol.com/forums/showpost.php?p=469&postcount=8
What a joke.
http://www.daashakohol.com/files/ksav_s_-_1.pdf
Levi Osdaba is a rasha for running to court when he didn't like the psak from Rav Herbst.
http://www.daashakohol.com/files/RabbiSchwei-about-Siruv-.pdf
Rav Schwei is a first cousin of R' Elya Svei.
Never forget, the "heroic" netzigim who, DIRECTLY, got us into this mess by facilitating the election of Moishe Rubashkin in order to protect the honor of the Rav.
Among the most virulent activists in this regard were Alexander Weiscz, Meir Spinner and Moshe Haber. They will go down in history along with the Jews who vote for Obama.
If, with G-d's help, the sh'chuna survives the destruction of the Bais Din of Crown Heights, the CHJCC, the Vaad HaKohol, the Vaad HaKashrus and who knows what else we must never forget what happens when the inmates are given charge of the asylum.
Rabbi Osdoba always davans in 770 on Rosh Hashonoh and is on the Bima during Tekios - as the Makri for Tekios and Rabbi Osdoba always gets an Aliyah in 770, as the Minhag is.
This year Rabbi Osdoba was not in 770 for Rosh Hashonoh and Rabbi Schwei was in his place on the Bima as the Makri for Tekios.
Rabbi Osdoba davened in Chevre Shas, this Rosh Hashonoh, but he was not given an Aliya in Chevre Shas either.
Thursday, Tzom Gedalya Rabbi Osdoba was observed to be personally hanging up his own letter on the wall (at Auction Mart) and personally handing out his letter, to people in the street.
The letter he was distributing, he had written himself, on his own personal HOME STATIONARY (not on the stationary of the Beis Din), where Rabbi Osdoba is defending himself, that "he is right" and that he can never be wrong, and his reasoning is: "because the Rebbe Chose him" he writes.
Rabbi Osdoba, in his letter, is also attacking all other Rabbonim who have paskened, a Psak Din, L'Halacha Lemaaseh that Rabbi Osdoba is currently in a full fledged, Nidoy, Bechol Hatokef, that this can't be, "because the Rebbe Chose him".
In this letter which Rabbi Osdoba was observed, to be personally distributing, Rabbi Osdoba has no other supporters, signing his letter with him and even the actual physical distribution, Rabbi Osdoba had to do it, all by himself, personally.
Today, Thursday, also marks the the first date in of the court case, where L.Y. Osdoba (also in Cherem), went to court in defiance of the Psak Din of the Beis Din, which Rabbi Osdoba's Family had signed that they agree to follow.
It is L.Y. Osdoba fathers instigation and support of the defiance of the Beis Din and going to Arkoes, (secular court) which prompted the Beis Din to put both of them, in to Cherem.
The court case today, has been postponed for about 3 weeks, to allow for further negotiations.
Scope of $700 billion bailout bill continues to widen!
By Peter Grier - Mon Oct 27, 2008
Washington – The US government's $700 billion financial rescue effort is only a few weeks old – but it's already morphed into something far broader and more ambitious than its designers originally intended.
The speed and severity of the nation's economic problems simply may have forced it to change. First, the Treasury added direct investment in banks to its plan to buy up troubled mortgage-based assets. Second, it now seems primed to partially guarantee some home mortgages in an effort to stem a rush of foreclosures sweeping through US neighborhoods.
Further modifications could be coming. Insurance and auto companies want some bailout money, too. Other industries may clamor to be included, particularly if Congress holds a postelection, lame-duck session to consider additional moves.
"There's no principled way to say 'no' until they've run out of money," says Gerald O'Driscoll, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and former vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
The federal government in fact may still be able to set limits on who or what needs to be rescued. But in any case, given the financial turmoil that has swept through the globe this October, a $700 billion commitment that seemed large at the beginning of the month appears smaller at the end.
At a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Oct. 23, Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant Treasury secretary overseeing the bailout, said the US remains committed to the plan's first intention – the purchase of bad mortgage-based securities that are cluttering the books of financial institutions.
It's almost 3:45 pm, do you know where your stocks are?
In case no one has noticed, margin calls come daily at 3:45 which forces the funds to liquidate positions that are leveraged with that outrageous 40 to 1 borrowing.
http://originatortimes.com/content/templates/standard.aspx?articleid=3523&zoneid=5
Closing Attorney Pleads Guilty To $3 Million Fraud
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
http://originatortimes.com/content/templates/standard.aspx?articleid=3464&zoneid=5
BALTIMORE, MD - U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Robin Neil Snyder, age 56, of Pikesville, Maryland to 97 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and obstructing justice arising from a scheme to defraud commercial loan applicants, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Blake also ordered that Snyder pay restitution, although the final amount of restitution will be determined after reviewing victims’ claims.
In other words, the suit was dismissed not because it was determined that Osama's birth certificate isn't a fake but because the plaintiff hasn't established why he has a right to bring the lawsuit.
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20081025_Judge_rejects_Montco_lawyer_s_bid_to_have_Obama_removed_from_ballot.html
The highly publicized lawsuit filed by Philip Berg against Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama and the Democratic party itself has been thrown out of court. Berg filed the lawsuit in August of this year, claiming that Obama’s birth certificate is a fraud and that Obama’s name should be removed from the ballot.
Conservative pundits have hailed the lawsuit in the past, with even popular radio show host Rush Limbaugh having opined on how Obama’s visit to his dying grandmother is related to the now-defunct lawsuit. More commonly asked is “why doesn’t Obama just show his original birth certificate? Then this will all go away.”
U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick had denied Berg’s request for a temporary restraining order on Aug. 22 but had not ruled on the merits of the suit until yesterday. Obama and the Democratic National Committee had asked Surrick to dismiss Berg’s complaint in a court filing on Sept. 24.
They said that Berg’s claims were “ridiculous” and “patently false,” that Berg had “no standing” to challenge the qualifications of a candidate for president because he had not shown the requisite harm to himself.
Surrick agreed.
In a 34-page memorandum and opinion, the judge said Berg’s allegations of harm were “too vague and too attenuated” to confer standing on him or any other voters.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1853846,00.html
How Washington's Bailout Will Boost Wall Street Bonuses
By Stephen Gandel
Monday, Oct. 27, 2008
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1852671,00.html
Crrrunch! Is Your Favorite Company About to Go Bust?
By Stephen Gandel
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008
In a report released Tuesday, ratings agency Standard & Poor's says there are 140 large U.S. companies on its "Weakest Links" list of low quality debtors — the group "most vulnerable to default." That's up nearly twofold from the beginning of this year. Among the troubled firms on the agency's list are such household names as clothing retailer Eddie Bauer, amusement park operator Six Flags and pizza chain Sbarro. Also on the list are doughnut baker Krispy Kreme and mobile technology titan Palm, as well as a number of the nation's largest airlines, including JetBlue and the corporate parents of United and American.
A recent Credit Suisse report looked at modifications made to subprime loans in the last quarter of 2007 and found that 44% of loans with increased monthly payments were more than 60 days delinquent within eight months.
But ultimately, even lenders' best efforts might be crippled by a harsh reality: plenty of homeowners are never going to be able to pay for their houses, no matter how generous the terms
Even though Shmarya refers to my shvogger Milty Balkany as "Tony Soprano", I have nothing to do with cars of former Agri employees catching on fire and exploding. It's purely a coincidence.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1852464,00.html
Why Is the Pope So Silent About the Mob?
By Jeff Israely
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008
John Paul II set a powerful precedent for how a Roman Pontiff can take on the Italian Mob. In May 1993, after a high-profile spate of Mafia killings, the Pope denounced the Mob's "culture of death" in an emotionally charged sermon in Agrigento, Sicily, the home turf of Cosa Nostra. "I say to those responsible: Convert!" he intoned, shaking his clenched fist and index finger. "One day, the judgment of God will arrive!" Two months after the dramatic papal appeal, the Mafia bombed two historic churches in Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI was certainly aware of that confrontation as he prepared this past weekend to visit Pompeii. The southern Italian city, near the ruins of an ancient site buried by a Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption, lies in the heart of the region controlled by the Camorra. The Naples-based organized crime syndicate has lately tightened its grip on the impoverished region, with more killing sprees and a high-profile death threat against a young writer. But unlike John Paul, Benedict said nothing at all about the Mob in his Sunday homily. Did the Pope back down in the face of one of Italy's most entrenched and destructive evils?
Many were counting on another papal mention about the Mob as violence in the region reaches new heights. Last month, a Camorra death squad unleashed a fury of submachine-gun fire, killing seven immigrants in a single attack. A week ago, reports surfaced of a pointed death threat against Naples writer Roberto Saviano, 28, whose best-selling book Gomorrah, and the movie based on it, reveal the extent of the Camorra's influence and dirty dealings. While the Pope remained silent, more than 100,000 people signed a petition this week in support of Saviano, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, Orhan Pamuk, Günter Grass, Jose Saramago and Jonathan Franzen. "It is intolerable that all this can happen in Europe, and in 2008," reads the petition. "The state must make every effort possible to protect (Saviano) and defeat the Camorra." The movie version of Saviano's book, directed by Matteo Garrone, won second prize at the Cannes film festival this year and is Italy's entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
When reporters asked why the Pope had said nothing on such a burning topic in Pompeii, Vatican spokesman Reverand Ciro Benedettini said Benedict had intentionally avoided referring to the Camorra as a "show of respect for decent people" of the region, who "are the vast majority." The Pope, the spokesman added, had also talked about organized crime in a visit last year to Naples, though admittedly not with the same confrontational tone as John Paul did in Sicily.
Benedict's silence has generated a small rumbling of dissent from both inside and outside the church. "It could seem that there is fear now to confront the Mob, and call it by its name," Don Vitaliano Della Sala, a leftist priest from nearby Avellino, said in a Monday radio interview. He drew a parallel between Benedict's decision not to speak out Sunday and the controversy stirring over Pope Pius XII's alleged silence about the Holocaust during World War II.
Readers --- PLEASE!
I will not post anything even remotely related to the Skinheads and Obama!
There is much worry in the markets of Obama having any shot at the White House. Any such fears being realized will lead to massive cash out before higher capital gains & income taxes are kicked in by the Democrats.
Wayne Huizenga even threatened today to sell the Miami Dolphins if Obama wins.
The Democrats are out of their minds with this redistribution of wealth idea & foreign trade protectionism that will kill hard work & innovation.
The Republicans are almost as crazy in approving the various bailouts that only shift the and increase the taxpayer burden to future generations. See today's Wall Street Journal editorial page for "The end of prosperity" by Arthur :Laffer
Exactly two weeks after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's top lender, tossed a $9-billion lifeline to Morgan Stanley — in exchange for a 21% stake — Mitsubishi UFJ is in need of some help itself.
On Monday, Japan's largest bank said that it needs to raise $10.7 billion in capital and will be selling common and preferred shares. It was negative news following negative news.
Less than one week ago, Mitsubishi UFJ downgraded its net profit for the first half of the year to about half of what it was last year at this time. Japan's Nikkei index closed at its lowest level in 26 years.
Shares of Japan's top three mega-banks — so recently perceived as impervious to the subprime-sparked crisis — tumbled along with it, in what is now the biggest decline in bank shares in 21 years and the latest sign that the global economic crisis is spreading further into Japan's financial system.
Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second largest bank, led the fall with shares dropping 15%, followed by an 11% drop in the shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Japan's third-largest lender.
News that Japan's three biggest financial institutions — which have all recently invested in foreign financial institutions — were considering selling new shares to shore up their [working capital] triggered the decline. The move would dilute banks' earnings per-share, compounding investor worry that the appreciation of the yen will further reduce share value and corporate profits. Mitsubishi UFJ, like Japan's other mega-banks, avoided damage caused by the subprime crisis, but its stock portfolio is now taking a hit as the Nikkei and Tokyo Stock Price Index (Topix) continue to fall and wipe value from its balance sheet. One credit analyst estimates that since the end of June, the total stock value held by the top three banks has dropped by $56 billion, signaling that other banks are clearly at risk.
What's next? Chazonus by Potyi Lipschitz?
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1149398/holiday_boycott_called_for_hewlett.html
Child AbuseWatch.net, a child abuse prevention group based in South Florida, is calling today for a consumer boycott of Hewlett Packard products for the holiday season. Here's why.
Hewlett Packard's TV commercial for the TouchSmart TV uses a sound track entitled "Do you wanna touch...yeah," composed by convicted child sex abuser Gary Glitter who released the hit in 1973.
Glitter was in the news recently having been released from a Thai jail for having sex with children. He is a convicted pedophile in the United Kingdom.
In addition to the negative publicity that the use of Glitter's song in the commercial brings to the sphere of child sexual abuse, Glitter is believed to garner royalties from all of his hits including this one.
The "Do you wanna touch...yeah," version used in the HP commercial is a cover of the original by Joan Jett she recorded in 1982.
On October 14th, 2008, Child AbuseWatch.net wrote to the Mark Hurd, CEO of Hewlett Packard and HP's board of directors. CAN did so to bring to HP's management attention the facts that surround the TV commercial's soundtrack. The goal was to encourage HP to revise or remove the ad from airplay due to the poor taste and judgment by HP that using the track reflects in the face of our national child sexual abuse crisis. A public apology was also requested.
See and hear the ad here. See and hear Glitter's original. Read about Glitter here in this London Sunday Times article: 'Gary Glitter - mad, bad or just dangerous to know?'
HP has not responded to CAN nor have they made any public comment about revising the commercial. The commercial was still running on October 26.
As a result Child AbuseWatch.net is launching a campaign today "Boycott Hewlett Packard" calling for the boycotting of all HP products until this matter is resolved or until the end of the year. A release is being sent nationally to all media outlets, news wires and child advocacy groups.
Analysts see Treasury plan weeding out weak banks
Monday October 27, 5:50 pm ET
By Sara Lepro, AP Business Writer
Second round of government investment in regional banks expected to weed out weak from strong
NEW YORK (AP) -- A number of financial institutions, including Capital One Financial Corp. and SunTrust Banks Inc., have announced they will receive funds under the Treasury Department's rescue program to strengthen their capital position.
But what started as an effort by the federal government to spur lending has transfigured, some analysts contend, to a much more grandiose undertaking that will essentially weed out the weak banks from the strong. Critics argue that such a focus puts too much power in the hands of the government in determining which banks survive the credit crisis.
As part of its $700 billion financial rescue package passed in September, the government announced plans earlier this month to pour $125 billion through stock purchases into nine large financial companies: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. (including Merrill Lynch & Co.), Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and State Street Corp. Another $125 billion is now being made available to other banks.
Several of the banks that have received preliminary approval from the Treasury for investments have said they plan to use some of the money for acquisitions, including SunTrust and Regions Financial Corp., both of which expect to receive about $3.5 billion apiece. Even smaller institutions, like Seattle-based Washington Federal Inc., which announced a $200 million commitment from the government, plan to deploy some of the money for dealmaking.
While the overarching goal of the investments is to bolster banks' balance sheets so they will begin more normal lending, the Treasury has given the go-ahead for stronger banks to use the money it receives in the rescue program to acquire weaker banks.
By doling out money to only the strongest financial institutions, with the aim of spurring consolidation among banks, the government is protecting itself from having to salvage some of the industry's weakest players, analysts said.
"It appears to us that these 'gifted' banks will receive the capital whether they need it or not, as they will likely do the cleanup on behalf of the Fed and the Treasury by acquiring weaker institutions," wrote Morgan Keegan & Co. analyst Robert Patten in a research note late Friday.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/82544/anderson_cooper_supports_pedophileharboring.html?cat=34
Anderson Cooper Supports Pedophile-Harboring Organization
Barack Obama is threatening legal action against a self-described pedophile. Lindsay Ashford, the owner of a website called puellula.org, has posted photos of the politician's young daughters. He purports to handicap the odds of winning the Presidency by evaluating the "cuteness" of underage daughters and granddaughters of While House aspirants. Evidently, Obama is not the only politician who has received Mr. Ashford's attention. Obama's lawyer, Robert Bauer, sent a letter to Mr. Ashford demanding the removal of a photo of the Senator's two daughters.
Evidently Mr. Ashford has no qualms about his pedophile tendencies. His creepy website clearly states on the front page "a celebration of the splendor of little girls". His website, registered in Panama, goes on to state, "I have been bestowed with the gift of girl love. I have chosen to unmask here because I have a very strong conviction that I should not be forced to hide my sexual orientation".
Highlights from the two page letter sent to Lindsay Ashford follow.
"It has come to our attention that the main page of your website, puellula.org...is using an image of "Senator Obama's two your children and a link to Senator Obama's campaign website..."
"Your site advocates pedophilia, particularly with respect to young girls....Your inclusion of a picture...creates two highly misleading and untrue impressions: First, that Senator Obama ...shares your views, and second, that Senator Obama...has authorized or sponsored your site, or are affiliated or associated with you in any way..."
"Your actions are particularly objectionable - if not outright dangerous - because you have included a picture of Senator Obama's young daughters on a site advocating pedophilia with young girls, heightening the risk they face. This is not simply defamatory, but is a criminal act..."
"We must insist that you:
1)
Immediately and permanently remove all references to Senator Obama, his family, and Obama for America, including the picture ...and any links to http://www.barackobama.com.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdGGUnW20bik6uzmZzWrEw0q25pAD93KHOJO0
Fraud plagues prepaid calling card market
By JOELLE TESSLER – Oct 5, 2008
The Hispanic Institute, a nonprofit advocacy group, estimates that the average calling card delivers only 60 percent of the minutes promised — cheating consumers out of $1 million a day.
IDT hasn't been entirely blameless either. It changed some of its practices after being hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging that it provided inadequate disclosure of its calling card terms. Acevedo argued that IDT sued its competitors after it settled the case because it wanted to ensure that they would be subject to the same disclosure rules.
Now lawmakers are stepping in and not just at the federal level. Roughly a dozen states have passed laws tightening oversight for prepaid calling cards.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=438196&Category=16&subCategoryID=0
NEW YORK A suburban police chief likened the conflicting accounts of an accidental overdose at Isiah Thomas' home to a "cover-up" and rebuked the former New York Knicks head coach Saturday for saying it was his teenage daughter who required treatment.
"It wasn't his daughter," Harrison Police Chief David Hall told The Associated Press. "And why they're throwing her under the bus is beyond my ability to understand."
Authorities were called early Friday to Thomas' Westchester County home, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an overdose of sleeping pills. Several media outlets reported that police confirmed it was Thomas who went to the hospital.
But reached on his cell phone Friday, the 47-year-old NBA great told the New York Post he had not been treated for a sleeping pill overdose, and that it was 17-year-old daughter Lauren who had a medical issue. It "wasn't an overdose," he told the newspaper. "My daughter is very down right now. None of us are OK."
Hall forcefully refuted Thomas' statement.
"My cops ... know the difference between a 47-year-old black male and a young black female," Hall said.
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/elections/national/Barack_Obama_Mask_Listed_as_Terrorist_on_Amazon.html
Barack Obama's William Ayers connection has really come back to haunt him this Halloween.
Even mainstream books-and-more selling outfit Amazon.com has gotten into the act –– the site was listing a "Barack Obama Mask" as an "Arab Terrorist Costume."
The Los Angeles Times blog Top of The Ticket first reported the $49.95 item, which had a customer rating of three out of five stars.
Amazon removed the mask, but not before the blog was able to get a screen shot of the smiling "terrorist" face, seen here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27398089/
WASHINGTON - Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted of corruption charges Monday in a trial that threatened to end the 40-year career of Alaska's political patriarch.
Stevens, 84, was found guilty of all seven felony charges he faced of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.
I have been thinking a bit about plumbers and small businesses lately. Our plumbing and HVAC and electrical work is done by a small business that has hired several employees to take various areas of specialty. A Master electrician and his apprentice, an HVAC guy, at least two plumbing guys, and a receptionist. If each of these is only making about $50,000 a year in salary, that is already over the $250,000 a year that Obama claims is a "rich" company. If this guy's taxes are increased, can he extort more money out of his customers? No. The truth is that businesses don't pay taxes - their customers pay taxes. And since his customers cannot afford higher fees, this man will have no choice but to fire one of his employees to meet Obamas increased tax burden. How exactly is this going to help the local economy - or any economy for that matter? The money lost in payroll taxes will be more, over time, that the increase in business tax. Having to split the company in two to avoid having to fire someone will only increase administrative costs. Who benefits here? Obama's idea of "rich" for a small business must have been pulled out of his rear end, because a company that has only 5 barely living wage employees would qualify, as we see here. This would be a disaster for small businesses. And since corporate big-business jobs are disappearing by the thousands every day (and I don't just mean manufacturing, either), where are people supposed to work if a business can only have four employees to meet Obama's arbitrary and frankly idiotic income limit? This is insanity.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/27/banking-customers-fees-biz-wall-cx_lm_1027fees.html
As Banks Go Hungry, They Feast On Fees
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/05/obamas_good_friend_rashid_khal.html
Obama's Good Friend Rashid Khalidi
Rick Moran
This is getting to be a disturbing pattern for Barack Obama.
A radical association from his past comes to light and he minimizes the relationship. Additional information is gathered showing him to have much more extensive contact with the radical than he originally said, thus proving the candidate to be a liar.
End result? Media silence and the story is buried.
Today's revelations come via Rezkowatch where they quote a World Net Daily story that shows Obama had a close, personal relationship with radical professor and Palestinian apologist Rashid Khalidi.
The issue came up at a recent campaign stop in Florida where a voter asked Obama about the nature of his relationship with Khalidi:
"You mentioned Rashid Khalidi, who's a professor at Columbia," Obama said. "I do know him because I taught at the University of Chicago. And he is Palestinian. And I do know him and I have had conversations. He is not one of my advisors; he's not one of my foreign policy people. His kids went to the Lab school where my kids go as well. He is a respected scholar, although he vehemently disagrees with a lot of Israel's policy."
But then Obama pushed back, launching a broader defense of his associations, while acknowledging that some past relationships have caused people in the Jewish community concerns.
"To pluck out one person who I know and who I've had a conversation with who has very different views than 900 of my friends and then to suggest that somehow that shows that maybe I'm not sufficiently pro-Israel, I think, is a very problematic stand to take," he said. "So we gotta be careful about guilt by association."
But just what is the nature of his association?
According to a professor at the University of Chicago who said he has known Obama for 12 years, the Democratic presidential hopeful befriended Khalidi when the two worked together at the university. The professor spoke on condition of anonymity. Khalidi lectured at the University of Chicago until 2003 while Obama taught law there from 1993 until his election to the Senate in 2004.
Sources at the University told WND that Khalidi and Obama lived in nearby faculty residential zones and that the two families dined together a number of times. The sources said the Obama's even babysat the Khalidi children.
Khalidi in 2000 held what was described as a successful fundraiser for Obama's failed bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a fact not denied by Khalidi, who spoke to WND in February.
When is the media going to get wise to Obama's game? Trying to square what Obama told the crowd in Florida with what was revealed by WND can't be done. The candidate is obviously trying to minimize his problematic friendship with yet another radical. And he is being allowed to do this by a press that can't be oblivious to the shocking extent of Obama's association with extremists.
Note also that Obama called Khaladi a "respected scholar" - just like William Ayers - as if this washed away a litany of other sins. Perhaps Obama believes that teachers are immune from criticism.
Ayers, Dohrn, Wright, Meeks, Khaladi - and those are just the radicals we know of. There is something about radical ideology or personalities that attracts Barack Obama. And we better find out what it is before we elect him president.
A RESULT OF THE REDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH
I think we will see a reduction in Charedi Judaism as a result of the economy. Money sustains a system in which men with no real qualifications are given the responsibility to run Multi-Million Dollar Organizations. Donors will want to see more accountability for their money. Those Mosdos who can not provide it will begin to fail.
Add to that the dynamic of a resurgence of Modern Orthodox institutions (YU Kollel in Chicago, etc).
As more and more Chareidi Mosdos fail, and as Modern Orthodox donors begin to screen their donations more carefully, they will realize that the people they have been supporting do NOT believe in the same things they do.
Modern Orthodox instituions will begin to look much more enticing for their limited Tzedaka Dollars. At that point, Chareidi Instituions will have to make a choice...change their Hashkafah to entice more support or fail.
Knowing that their support is limited to a handful of diehards, but are shunned by the masses will hopefully wake them up. The writing is on the wall Chareidi mosdos in Chicago.
The lawyer is 100% right!
http://www.sunherald.com/278/story/904680.html
WLOX-TV news reporter Toni Miles has lost her job after being arrested on a felony cocaine charge.
Her attorney, Charles P. Wilson Jr., said her dismissal today "was based on mere allegations. Just because somebody has been accused of something, it doesn't mean that they have broken the law."
WLOX Station Manager Dave Vincent has not returned phone calls for comment.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/hotel-manager-served-up-faeces-gelato-20081028-59ws.html?page=-1
Hotel manager served up 'faeces' gelato
October 28, 2008 - 7:24AM
Security camera footage of an incident in which staff at the Coogee Bay Hotel allegedly served a family a cup of gelato laced with human faeces shows the dessert being delivered to the family by the restaurant's manager.
Yesterday, as the NSW Health Authority sent enforcement officers to investigate the incident, management revealed the gelato had been delivered to the Whyte family by the restaurant manager, Cherie Kennedy, as a "genuine gesture of goodwill".
"She was concerned about the family's experience and she had the idea of offering a complimentary dessert to try and make some amends," said the hotel's general manager, Tony Williams.
Yesterday the NSW Food Authority announced it was investigating, and the hotel's management confirmed it had contacted Maroubra police in preparation for possible criminal charges against anyone who might have tampered with food at the hotel.
"We're seeking the help of the Health Department and the police to help us to get to the bottom of the matter," Mr Williams said.
The hotel has sent the three-litre container from which the gelato was "sourced" to be independently tested, he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/10/27/1224955948615.html
(There is a picture at this link of what the gelato is supposed to look like. Because it's brown chocolate, someone tried to hide the dreck in it)
Stephen and Jessica Whyte, along with their three young children and another family, were at the hotel to watch the NRL grand final, but after a series of complaints became suspicious when they were given a free bowl of gelato. "The real issue is that we were fed, as a family, shit, at someone's pub," Mr Whyte told 2UE.
Wal-Mart removes brand of eggs from China stores
BEIJING (AP) — Wal-Mart said Tuesday it had stopped selling a brand of eggs in its Chinese stores after food safety regulators in Hong Kong found excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in eggs sold under the brand.
The world's largest retailer said it has removed a brand of eggs produced by China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group from all of its stores in China.
"We just want to make sure the products on our shelves are safe. We will work closely with suppliers and the government and other related organizations to make further steps," Mu Mingming, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, told The Associated Press by telephone from Shenzhen.
Hanwei apologized to consumers in Hong Kong on Tuesday after testers in the Chinese territory on Saturday found its eggs contained melamine, the chemical at the heart of a tainted milk scandal that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children.
Hong Kong television station TVB reported Tuesday that the company's director Han Wei said the firm bore responsibility for the contamination.
"There are no consumers asking about protein levels in our eggs and so there is no need for us to add melamine to our eggs in the process of selling our products," Han said in the report. "We truly regret this. We too have an undeniable responsibility."
Calls to Hanwei, based in the northeastern port city Dalian, went unanswered Tuesday, but an official with the city government said Hanwei had started a nationwide recall of eggs deemed "problematic." The official, who refused to give her name as is common among Chinese officials, said she had no further details.
Han did not explain how the chemical made its way into eggs sold by the company. But the Chinese Agriculture Ministry's animal husbandry department head, Wang Zhicai, was quoted by the Beijing News newspaper Tuesday as saying it was highly likely that melamine had been added to the feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.
Melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer, is not an animal feed additive and is banned from being mixed in, Wang said.
The report said the ministry has been inspecting feed for the chemical since last year, after a Chinese-made pet food ingredient containing melamine that was linked to the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats in the United States and touched off a massive pet food recall.
Last week, the death of 1,500 raccoon dogs in China was blamed on feed tainted with melamine.
It was not immediately clear why the chemical would be added into animal feed. But a food industry expert pointed to the same motivation cited in the current milk scandal and last year's pet food recall: Melamine boosts nitrogen levels, making products seem higher in protein when tested.
Jason Yan, the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing, said the chemical could have been added by suppliers of animal feed ingredients trying to pass off a normal grade protein ingredient as a higher grade product.
"The price gap between the two grades is high," about several hundred yuan (tens of dollars) per ton (metric ton), Yan said Tuesday. "Some traders may be willing to take the risk by adding melamine to make a lot more profit."
Wang was quoted as saying that there was little available research on the human effects of eating eggs tainted with melamine. Milk formula contaminated with the chemical has given Chinese babies painful kidney stones.
More than 3,600 children remain sick from tainted milk, with three in serious condition, the Ministry of Health said last week. The deaths of four babies were also linked to compromised dairy products.
Hong Kong testers found melamine in the eggs at nearly two times the territory's legal limit for the chemical in foodstuffs. The egg contamination has prompted Hong Kong officials to expand food testing to Chinese meat imports.
"What's wrong with capitalism is capitalists. What's wrong with socialism is socialism."
William F. Buckley, Jr.
I understand Rubashkin wants Joe L to arrange a Federal bail out!
Nearly $10 Million Civil Penalty Levied Against Agriprocessors, Inc. for Wage Violations
DES MOINES – Iowa’s Labor Commissioner assessed civil penalties against Agriprocessors, Inc. for repeated violations of Iowa’s wage laws from January 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008.
“Once again, Agriprocessors has demonstrated a complete disregard for Iowa Law,” stated Iowa Labor Commissioner Dave Neil. “This continued course of violations is a black mark on Iowa’s business community.”
Agriprocessors, Inc., was assessed a penalty of $339,700 for illegally deducting “sales tax/miscellaneous” costs 3,397 times. 1,073 employees were affected by the unauthorized deductions reducing their pay by $72,189.09. A separate civil penalty, of $100 per incidence, exists for illegally deducting a charge for frocks. This deduction occurred in 96,436 separate incidences resulting in a $9,643,600 penalty. 2,001 employees had their wages illegally reduced by $192,597.36. Additionally, Aggriprocessors, Inc. failed to pay 42 employees their last paychecks on May 16th and May 23rd following the Immigration & Customs Enforcement raid. Due to the overlapping nature of pay periods, seven individuals were shorted two paychecks. The company has been assessed a penalty of $4,900 for this violation. In total, $9,988,200 in civil penalties was assessed and Agriprocessors, Inc. owes $264,786.45 in back wages.
Agriprocessors, Inc. has 30 days to contest the proposed penalties in writing. If a hearing is not requested within 30 days, all proposed penalties become the final action of the department. An additional wage investigation is still pending with the company that could potentially lead to additional civil penalties.
Attention all Yidden in New York City:
There is a major effort being undertaken these days in NYC which will affect our children. This effort is below the radar, and most of us will wake up one day to find out that our children have been undercut by our Mosdos and by Agudas Yisroel.
There is a national company called Catapult Learning which is slowly taking over the special education in our Yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs. One by one, schools are being pressured into agreeing to accept this company as the sole provider of special services to our kinderlach. The problem is that this company is known nationally for extremely underpaying their teachers.
What this means for our teachers: A special ed teacher who until now was getting $50-$60 an hour will now get $15-$20 an hour.
What this means for our kinderlach: The best teachers will simply leave the Yeshivos and Bais Yaakovs and work in the public school system. Our kinderlach will be left with second class teachers who cannot get jobs elsewhere. Our kinderlach will be the big losers.
Guys, this is serious. Ask any special ed teacher from Lakewood. Catapult Learning has taken over special ed in Lakewood, and all special ed teachers in Lakewood now receive $15-$20 per hour. We KNOW that Catapult has told prospective teachers in Brooklyn that they will receive $15-$20 per hour.
Many principals are aware of this, and are trying hard to resist the pressure from Agudas Yisroel. However most principals are not aware of the consequences of this decision. Please notify the principals of what may happen if this company will be allowed to monopolize jewish education in NYC the way they did in Lakewood.
Spread the word! Call principals! Call NYC BOARD OF ED!
Most of all, call Aguda at 212-797-9000 x328 and tell them to keep Catapult Learning out of NYC!
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