R' Avrohom Mordecai Mendlowitz z"l - top row left
R' Yitzchok Sheiner Shlita - Top row sixth from left (center - no hat)
First time published!
click on photo to enlarge:
EVERY SIGNATURE MATTERS - THIS BILL MUST PASS!
CLICK - GOAL - 100,000 NEW SIGNATURES! 75,000 SIGNATURES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO!
EFF Urges Court to Block Dragnet Subpoenas Targeting Online Commenters
CLICK! For the full motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/hersh_v_cohen/UOJ-motiontoquashmemo.pdf
Friday, January 03, 2014
Telshe Yeshiva 1943! The Story Of American Orthodox Judaism - From Hope To Hopelessness In Just Six Short Decades!
Most notable students sent to Cleveland from Yeshiva Torah Vodaath:
R' Avrohom Mordecai Mendlowitz z"l - top row left
R' Yitzchok Sheiner Shlita - Top row sixth from left (center - no hat)
First time published!
click on photo to enlarge:
R' Avrohom Mordecai Mendlowitz z"l - top row left
R' Yitzchok Sheiner Shlita - Top row sixth from left (center - no hat)
First time published!
click on photo to enlarge:
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B'midah sh'atah moded - bo modidin bach! Here now is the flip side of your opening a court case!
We know dozens of menadvim (some of them are us!) who over the course of many years have been m'nadev alfei dinri kesef, intended for Telshe Yeshiva only that were intentionally diverted into private accounts for personal (& familial) uses, such as for:
** the sick and needy (nice . . .but NOT for whom or what the money was intended!)
** adoption expenses (also nice, but NOT for whom or what the money was intended!)
** purchasing houses for family members (certainly NOT for whom or what the money was intended!)
** other mosdos on the east coast - with "BIG" roshei yeshiva, who profess to be a "Blessing of Life," (but certainly are not role models of example how to live such a life!) and again. . .certainly NOT for whom or what our money was intended!
** other various family member needs and the like . . . ALL NOT for whom or what the money was intended! . . . and we have the canceled checks to prove it!
Rabbi Levitansky, you who are the leader of this insidious machlokes, (which has nothing to do with you, except it seems to be the only way you can hope to keep your cushy do-nothing job) you who are now the board appointed legal address for all matters, concerns and consultations with the goyishe courts, hearken and listen clearly and understand what you are doing, where you are treading and what can of worms you are opening for yourselves - so that you have no one to blame but yourself!
If you continue down this path - we are prepared, if necessary, to file an Amicus Curiae brief as (dare we even say these words? Hashem yerachem!) "friends of the arkaos"! We will show who has been running secret accounts for years - and bring eidem who will be mayid that the monies they gave to that certain individual were never intended to go anywhere other than Telshe Yeshiva's main operating account - for use, by and for Telshe Yeshiva ONLY!
We are very sorry to say this, but we will be forced to leave no "Stone" unturned! V'dai l'chakimah b'remizah! Hashem Yerachem al kulanu - but WE WILL DO IT!
It is not a job we are looking forward to doing - but we will! We are prepared to do the necessary dirty work and let the chillul Hashem you started continue in the headlines of the newspapers: "Rabbi indicted on charges of embezzlement & money laundering"! It will all be on your cheshbon! And was it not he himself who said to the hanahala "ersht aledekin der eisek in arkaos un der nach gain in Beis Din?!" (First let's settle this in court and only after we will return to beis din!)
Supposed role models of Torah - the chillul Hashem you are going to cause is oyam v'norah! How do Rabbonim & Roshei Yeshiva go to GOYISHE COURTS?!
It's not too late! Even Yonah's Teshuva, when he was already drowning, saved him! Your place is where all yidden must be when in any kind of dispute - the place where you first brought your claims against Reb Zalmen - in a Din Torah Hakedosha!
You are not above He who dwells in the place of justice - Elokim nitzav b'adas kale!
CONSIDER YOURSELVES DULY WARNED!
You Telzer putzes should use your brains for once. I learnt the hard way that if Ya screw over enough people, you'll get screwed yourself, but won't know who did it to take revenge. Anyone that has dealings with my ex-shver and shvuggs gets screwed. Take it from a guy who knows. Levitansky you're playing with fire.
http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2254
Litigating clergy sex abuse
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/56370
Pass the Seltzer
By Roy Y. Feldman
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 22, 2008
“So, does Rabbi Vorhand teach at a yeshiva during the day?” I asked Elliot, a robust Hassidic frequenter of the Heichal Moshe Synagogue on 91st Street. It is common practice that rabbis of small synagogues such as Heichal Moshe, popularly known as “Vorhand’s,” teach at Jewish schools during the day. “Rabbi Vorhand?” Elliot snickered at my inquiry, “No. Thank God, Rabbi Vorhand does not have to teach at a school during the day.” At this point I wondered what this rabbi, who seemed to be doing pretty well for himself, did for a living. “He owns a profitable construction company; they build houses in New Jersey.”
The West Side consensus is that Rabbi Vorhand’s welcoming shtiebel attracts the most eclectic crowd.
Reb Pinchas, an esteemed Talmudic scholar whose respect in the shtiebel is second only to Rabbi Vorhand’s, asks me to “pass the seltzer” countless times during the service, and people often talk about the Talmud while the service goes on. Rabbi Vorhand unsuccessfully attempts to quiet the room with a constant “Nu... nu... shhh!” Phrygian sounds dominate the melodies rather than Western modes, and the leader climbs the scales like a fiddler on the roof, crying the higher notes as the congregation chants along. Already, as soon as the prayers begin to approach their closing section, the shtiebel regulars rise and begin to set up the short snack that follows Sabbath prayers. Nissim instantly clears stacks of books from the tables to make room for the traditional Eastern European fare—kugel, beef cholent, potatoes, and fine single-malt scotches. Rabbi Vorhand then gives a short talk, not to mannerly listeners eagerly awaiting insights, but to hungry men feasting, many of whom are rabbis themselves.
While at large synagogues, a new face is just one of many and people scarcely regard the newcomers, the Vorhand’s regulars always greet the newcomer warmly, and immediately make his life story their business
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a13751/News/New_York.html
Marina, a 40-year-old community worker living in Midwood, was one of a number of people who expressed the fear that an Obama victory might cause blacks in nearby neighborhoods to indulge in a triumphalist attitude that would lead to increased crime against the Russian-speaking community.
“I am certainly not a racist, but the truth is that there is a lot of crime by blacks against Russians. Older people who were here at the beginning of the 1990s tell me that crime soared in south Brooklyn when [David] Dinkins was mayor and we are afraid it could be even worse if Obama becomes president.”
Ari Kagan, a community activist and commentator in the Russian-language media, agreed that there is a certain antipathy toward Obama in the Russian-speaking community.
“No one in the community says, ‘Don’t vote for Obama because he is black,’” Kagan said. “Yet there is a widespread fear in our community that if Obama is elected, crime will go up. I don’t know even one Russian Jew in Coney Island [where elderly Russian Jews live among the predominantly black population] who said they are voting for Obama.”
Kagan, who was narrowly defeated by Alec Brook-Krasny in the 2006 Democratic primary for the State Assembly, said, “I myself am a strong Democrat, but I am leaning to McCain this time. I am bothered by the fact that Obama sat in Rev. [Jeremiah] Wright’s church for 20 years and never said anything against Wright’s sermons. I am also bothered by Obama’s flip-flop on a united Jerusalem and by a recent story that two brothers in Gaza donated $33,000 to Obama. The Obama campaign returned the money after the story broke, but my question is, ‘Why would these brothers have contributed money to Obama at all if they don’t believe he would support the Palestinians against Israel?”
Rabbi Moshe Soloway, 36, a community activist, is surely in the minority in the Russian community. He operates the Russian-Americans for Obama Facebook Group, and he said that when he recently advocated support for Obama on a talk show on Russian-language Davidzon Radio, he was “shocked by the sheer virulence of the people who called in and castigated me.
“They said things like, ‘You hate Israel’ and ‘What you are doing will bring Muslim domination of America.’”
The rabbi said that Obama’s extreme unpopularity in south Brooklyn, fanned by a Russian-language media that has been overwhelmingly supportive of McCain, has prevented Russian-speaking Democratic leaders from backing him publicly. “I recently approached Alec Brook-Krasny and asked what he is doing on behalf of Obama. Alec turned away, looking pained and embarrassed.”
BROOKLYN NEW YORK (RabbiWatch) -- Lowlives bottoms may be within sight. Not a pretty picture!
http://news.aol.com/article/police-question-harrods-owner-al-fayed/221781
LONDON (Oct. 22) - Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed has been questioned by police over allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl, his spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The Daily Mail and Sky News reported that the girl accused Al Fayed of assaulting her at his flagship central London department store.
"Mr. Al Fayed vehemently denies this allegation and is confident that his name will be cleared," spokeswoman Katharine Witty said in a brief televised statement. She said he went to the police station voluntarily and that the interview lasted less than half an hour.
The Daily Mail said the unnamed girl first met the 75-year-old multimillionaire while shopping with her mother at his store, one of London's top tourist attractions. It said she alleged she was invited back to the store, where Al Fayed forcibly kissed her. It did not cite a source for its reporting.
London's Metropolitan Police refused to confirm whether they spoke to Al Fayed. But when asked about the reports, a force spokesman said a man was questioned under caution Wednesday "in connection with an allegation of sexual assault against a girl under 16 at a business premises in central London."
The spokesman said the investigation was continuing but did not elaborate. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with force policy.
Al Fayed sits at the top of a retail and hotel empire. He bought the lease to the Ritz in Paris in 1979, became executive chairman of Harrods in 1989 and also owns Fulham football club. The Sunday Times Rich List values him at $898 million.
The magnate is best known in Britain for his son Dodi Fayed's ill-fated romance with Diana, Princess of Wales.
The couple died in a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997. British and French investigators concluded that their driver was drunk at the time of the crash, a finding backed by an inquest into the couple's death which concluded in April. Al Fayed claimed the pair were the victim of a royal plot.
He spent lavishly to investigate the crash and prove his son and Diana were assassinated by British secret agents, although after the close of the inquest he announced he was abandoning his quixotic quest for the sake of Diana's children, princes William and Harry.
Ronnie Schreiber wants to clobber Ezra Merkin with a burnt out circuit board:
DETROIT (Oct. 23) - Chrysler LLC says it will eliminate one shift at a Toledo Jeep plant and accelerate the closure of its sport utility vehicle factory in Newark, Del., because of the slowing global economy and a continuing shift toward smaller vehicles.
About 825 workers at the Toledo North Assembly Plant will be laid off indefinitely as of Dec. 31. The Newark closure also will be effective at the end of the year and affect about 1,000 jobs, the company said in a news release.
By ALAN ZIBEL, AP
posted: 1 HOUR 9 MINUTES AGO
WASHINGTON (Oct. 23) -The number of homeowners ensnared in the foreclosure crisis grew by more than 70 percent in the third quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2007, according to data released Thursday.
Nationwide, nearly 766,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from July through September, up 71 percent from a year earlier, said foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc.
By the end of the year, RealtyTrac expects more than a million bank-owned properties to have piled up on the market, representing around a third of all properties for sale in the U.S.
That's bad news for anyone who lives nearby and wants to sell their home. While foreclosure sales are booming in many areas, those properties are commanding deep discounts and pulling down neighboring property values. "It has a pretty significant impact in terms of pricing," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president for marketing.
RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. More than 250,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in the third quarter, 81,000 of which were taken back last month.
RealtyTrac, however, reported foreclosure filings in September were actually down 12 percent from August. But much of that decline was the result of new state laws that delay the foreclosure process. In California, for example, lenders are now required to contact borrowers at least 30 days before filing a default notice. A similar law in North Carolina gives borrowers an extra 45 days.
Still, that's not likely to be enough to save homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Nearly 12 million of the 52 million Americans with a mortgage — that's 23 percent of them — are in that position, according to Moody's Economy.com.
Congressional Democrats are calling for the taxpayer bailout approach to be expanded as the Treasury Department buys billions in troubled mortgage debt as part of a $700 billion financial industry bailout.
Circuit City is now really up against the wall, and it's apparently considering some rather drastic measures to avoid becoming the largest retailer to enter bankruptcy protection in recent years.
According to The Wall Street Journal, "people familiar with the company" say that Circuit City is contemplating closing at least 150 stores and making the associated high number of job cuts in order to get itself in a better position to shore up some much needed financing, which it has been unable to secure so far.
To put things in a bit of perspective, before it packed up and went home, Blockbuster offered to buy Circuit City in February of this year for $6 to $8 a share. The company's share value as of this writing? 40 cents.
In late 2005, Apollo Management Group agreed to pay $1.3 billion for Linens 'n Things, taking the company private. It proved to be horrible timing, as the housing market began its dramatic decline.
And the credit markets eventually crumbled, making the investment unworkable. In fact, the company had to file for bankruptcy in May.
Linens 'n Things tried to sell itself. Unfortunately, there were no bidders willing to take on the risks. So, this week the company will undergo a liquidation process.
Last year, Linens 'n Things posted revenues of $2.8 billion and had 589 stores across 47 states. There will be a real impact on the employee base – which was 17,500 last year – as well as the 1,000 suppliers.
Why should we bailout the morons who bought homes they knew they couldn't afford?
http://www.walletpop.com/mortgages/article/_a/bbdp/us-mulls-plan-to-stem-foreclosures/222636
(Oct. 23) - The Bush administration is weighing a roughly $40 billion proposal to help forestall housing foreclosures, one of a series of ideas under consideration to address the root causes of the financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair is expected to suggest at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday the government give banks a financial incentive to turn troubled loans into more-affordable mortgages, the paper said citing a person familiar with her testimony.
Under the proposal, the government would share in any future losses on the new loans with lenders, the paper said in its online edition.
It is also moving ahead with separate plans to use part of its $700 billion financial rescue fund to directly buy and renegotiate mortgages, according to the paper.
SHANGHAI, China -- A former official in one of China's most popular cities for foreign businesses was sentenced to death Thursday for taking more than $14 million in bribes, the latest verdict in a series of corruption scandals.
Michigan minister runs for Congress from prison
By JAMES PRICHARD,AP
Posted: 2008-10-23 04:19:45
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - The Rev. Edward Pinkney's congressional campaign has many obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is that he's currently behind bars.
Pinkney, who turns 60 on Monday, is the Green Party candidate for Michigan's 6th Congressional District. Among his opponents is 55-year-old incumbent Fred Upton, a Republican who has occupied the seat since 1987.
Besides battling for a spot in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pinkney also is fighting what he considers to be a corrupt legal system that has imprisoned an innocent man. The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan is working to overturn his convictions on election fraud and other charges.
"Life is tough here. It's definitely not peaches and cream, that's for sure," he told The Associated Press during a recent telephone interview from the Ojibway Correctional Facility in the Upper Peninsula. The state prison is about 10 miles from the Wisconsin line and roughly 600 miles from the district he'd like to represent in Congress.
Pinkney, a Benton Harbor resident and longtime community activist, was sentenced to five years of probation after a jury convicted him in March 2007 of felony and misdemeanor fraud charges stemming from a successful recall election of a local official that he led in 2005. He was accused of paying some people to vote absentee and of improperly handling valid absentee ballots.
Then in June of this year, Pinkney was sent to prison for three to 10 years after being convicted of violating his probation by writing something in a progressive Chicago newspaper that a judge ruled as a threat to a fellow judge.
WASHINGTON -New claims for jobless benefits increased by more than expected last week as companies cut jobs due to the slow economy, the Labor Department said Thursday.
The department said new applications for unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 478,000, slightly above analysts' estimates of 470,000.
Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Wednesday that it will cut 7,200 jobs as part of a restructuring, after its third-quarter profit dropped 28 percent.
And Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday that it plans to cut 10 percent of its employees, or 1,500 people, in the next two months.
Financial services firm National City Corp., a Rubashkin lender, also said Tuesday that it would cut 4,000 jobs.
As the premier dayanim over Orthodoxy, we fully support the Chinese judge convicted for accepting bribes. The fool forgot to set up a few non-profit organizations to launder the money, like we do. We firmly believe a Din Torah should go to the highest bidder. The loser in the case should have paid us more.
Confronting Sexual Abuse
by The Editors
New York Jewish Week - October 20, 2008
http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c51_a13733/Editorial__Opinion/Editorial.html
We do not believe that there is more incidence of sexual abuse in the Orthodox community than there is among other denominations or groupings of Jews. But among the Orthodox, such cases tend to be underreported to the authorities, in part because of embarrassment, fear among families of a negative impact on shidduchim (arranged marriages) and a long tradition of consulting rabbinic rather than public authorities in times of trouble.
Over the last several months, though, there are indications of a change in the haredi, or fervently Orthodox, world, a growing recognition that the problem is too deep and widespread to be ignored, denied or contained by the rabbis. Thanks to the devoted commitment of a number of health care professionals within the Orthodox community
(some of whom were once victims of abuse themselves), several outspoken rabbis and others, the issue of abuse has re-emerged as one that must be confronted and dealt with more openly. As some rabbis have told their congregants, when your house is on fire, you call the fire department, not your rabbi, and when there is abuse, you should call the police, not your rabbi.
State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) deserves credit for focusing renewed attention on this problem through his radio program and in his community work. He says that he was shocked to learn the depth of the problem, and now speaks of "thousands" of cases of rabbinic sexual abuse, primarily of teachers molesting students. Some of these cases have attracted a good deal of media attention in The Jewish Week and the general press. We are used to hearing the criticism over the last eight years that we are "picking on" the Orthodox by reporting on this painful subject, but we have no denominational bias in these matters. And we would rather be condemned for bringing these cases to light then allow them to remain in the shadows, causing ongoing and untold suffering by victims who feel they have no place to turn.
There is still a very long way to go in addressing these matters on a communal level, and experts say the cases that receive public attention are only the tip of the iceberg. But one senses that the tide is turning, that growing numbers of people in the community will no longer keep silent in the face of those who either deny the severity of the problem, cover for the rabbinic perpetrators or insist that the issue is being dealt with sufficiently from within.
We applaud those who are working tirelessly and often behind the scenes to change attitudes within the Orthodox community to reduce the stigma of acknowledging a problem and confronting it. Jewish tradition teaches in numerous ways to protect those among us who are most vulnerable and to pursue justice with integrity. We are hopeful that in time, as more people are emboldened to come forward with information, potential perpetrators will be that much more reluctant to prey on innocent victims.
Out of Thin Air: How Money is Really Made
livescience.com – 1 hr 28 mins ago
Making money in 2008 looks like a grim proposition, but not because U.S. government printing presses can't create enough dollar bills.
But because UOJ has stolen our mattresses!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Alamo
Hoffman was born in Joplin, Missouri, to Jewish-Romanian parents in 1934.
http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/butlercenter/manuscripts/collection/mss97-42.html
Tony Alamo has been in trouble with the law off and on, most notably for threatening to kidnap a U. S. Federal judge and tax evasion, having served several years in jail.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/22/national/main4539631.shtml
Witness: Evangelist Had 9-Year-Old Wife
Bail Denied For Tony Alamo In Sex Abuse Case As Former Followers Testify They Were Beaten
Sept. 25, 2008 file booking photo released by the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, in Flagstaff, Ariz., shows Tony Alamo, evangelist and convicted tax evader. Alamo, whose birth name is Bernie Lazar Hoffman, appeared in court Friday for a brief hearing.
(AP) A federal magistrate called Tony Alamo a flight risk Wednesday as he ordered the evangelist held without bail until his trial on charges that he took a minor across state lines for sex.
The ruling came after Alamo's former followers testified at a hearing that they were often beaten at his instructions and one said Alamo practiced polygamy with several females, including a 9-year-old girl.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant noted that Alamo is charged with a violent crime and said he also considered that Alamo fled a California child-abuse charge in 1989 and was arrested two years later in Tampa, Fla., living under an assumed name. Alamo has access to various vehicles, he said.
Witnesses said Alamo controls businesses and ministry locations in several states. They said none of the properties are Alamo's name, which Bryant also considered as a point against letting Alamo free.
"There is serious risk (Alamo) will flee or fail to appear," Bryant said.
Alamo, 74, said nothing after the ruling. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 19.
He was arrested in Flagstaff, Ariz., five days after a Sept. 20 police raid on the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in the southwest Arkansas town of Fouke. Six girls were taken into state custody for their protection.
One witness called to the stand by prosecutors Wednesday, Jael Sprinkle, 32, testified that she was taken as Alamo's wife at age 17 and was considered his wife for two years. She said that Alamo had five other wives at the time and that she knew of him taking a 9-year-old girl as one.
Alamo is an advocate of allowing girls to marry when they reach puberty but has denied such unions took place within his organization.
Sprinkle said she, her parents and others were beaten. She said a 12-year-old boy was paddled to the point of bleeding through his clothes and could walk only with assistance.
Sprinkle also described Alamo's control over people in his organization, saying he even had to approve inconsequential expenses such as toilet paper and toothpaste.
Spencer Ondirsek, 18, testified that he left the compound last year after spending seven years there.
Ondirsek said he was beaten by a man working under Alamo's direction. He said he was hit about 15 times on the face and smacked about 30 times with a three-foot paddle in three separate instances while being disciplined for minor misbehavior, such as playing with a spray bottle.
The first beating happened when he was 12 or 13, Ondirsek testified.
The federal charging document accuses Alamo of taking a 13-year-old girl across state lines for sex in 2004 and of aiding and abetting her transport across state lines for sex in 2005.
States target sex offenders before Halloween
– Authorities have arrested 24 sex-offense suspects during a two-day sweep, part of a national crackdown on sex offenders before Halloween.
The majority of arrests this week were of sex offenders who violated their registration requirements. The Lone Star Fugitive Task Force planned the roundup specifically for Halloween, officials said.
"There's a lot of kids that are going to be on the streets pretty soon," said Tom Smith, the supervisory deputy U.S. marshal, who headed the sweep.
Such sweeps are part of a nationwide law enforcement trend targeting sex-offense suspects or registered sex offenders on or before Halloween and more severely restricting their activities that night.
In Missouri, four sex offenders are suing over a new state law that requires them to avoid all Halloween-related contact with children, remain inside their homes and post a sign saying they have no candy to keep trick-or-treaters away. The ACLU of Eastern Missouri filed suit on the offenders' behalf in federal court Wednesday, arguing the provisions are too vague to enforce.
Maryland has an almost identical law and last week sent 1,200 violent and child sex-offenders a paper sign in the mail that read "No candy at this residence," which they must post on their front doors or possibly face a parole violation.
South Carolina has a 5 p.m. Halloween curfew for sex offenders on probation or parole. They cannot give out candy or have their outdoor lights on.
Texas requires registered sex offenders to turn off their porch lights and prohibits them to have any exterior decorations between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., with parole, probation and police officers checking to see if they comply.
Those opposed to the crackdowns say they unnecessarily scapegoat sex offenders who already are complying with the conditions of their parole.
CNN DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Republican John McCain took his "Straight Talk Express" on a bus tour across Florida on Thursday, trying to keep Florida from swinging to the Democrats with a series of "Joe the Plumber" events aimed at blue-collar workers.
Joe has joined the UOJ Roto Rooter team recently.
BEIJING (Reuters) – Four Chinese men have been jailed for up to 5- years for running a male prostitution service that sold hashgachas to other men, state media said Wednesday.
Lazer Hoffman will be fine when he gets home for Shabbos Breishis.
Greenspan: 'Credit tsunami' to have severe impact
Thursday October 23, 9:29 am ET
Greenspan says 'once-in-a-century credit tsunami' will have a severe impact on US economy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress in prepared testimony Thursday that the current global financial crisis is a "once in a century credit tsunami" that policymakers did not anticipate.
Greenspan was to be the leadoff witness at a House hearing lawmakers called to question past key financial players about what they felt caused the most grave financial crisis since the 1930s. The witnesses were also expected to be asked how they thought the government would deliver the nation from the economic turmoil.
Greenspan was the chairman of the Federal Reserve for 18 1/2 years. In testimony prepared for the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee, he voiced shock over the present turn of events and called conditions deplorable.
He said that he and others who believed lending institutions would do a good job of protecting their shareholders are in a "state of shocked disbelief." And Greenspan also blamed the problems on heavy demand for securities backed by subprime mortgages by investors who did not worry that the boom in home prices might come to a crashing halt.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_44/b4106000485006.htm
When Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) persuaded Howard Stern to leave traditional radio for satellite a few years ago, the shock jock took a few potshots on his way out the door. He railed against the "censorship" on terrestrial radio, and he vowed never to return. He called Sirius "the future of radio."
It looks like a rocky future. Sirius, which completed a merger with XM Satellite Radio in July, is facing a serious cash squeeze. It has more than $1 billion in debt coming due next year, and it doesn't have the money
Investors are skeptical. Despite the merger and a combined 18.6 million subscribers, Sirius XM has seen its stock tumble from 3.94 last December to 31¢ as of Oct. 22. Beyond the funding squeeze, the company faces a tough economy in which consumers may cut back on its service, which costs $7 to $17 per month.
Stern and his agent received more than 56 million shares of Sirius in 2006 and 2007. It's unclear whether they've held on to them. If they have, the stake's value has dropped to $19 million from $220 million in December. Neither Stern nor his agent returned calls seeking comment.
Did anyone see the testimony in the House Oversight Committee from those CEO ganovim at S&P, Moody's and Fitch rating?
I was glad to see Senator Waxman call S&P's Sharma a liar.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/rating-agencies-draw-fire-capitol-hill/
Several lawmakers vented their frustration over what they considered to be egregious lapses at the agencies, Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.
Mark E. Souder, a Republican from Indiana, described their conduct as “gross incompetence.” Another lawmaker read from a series of instant messages, sent by employees of S&P, in which one analyst said they would rate a deal even if it were “structured by cows.” (whiskered?)
In many cases, these ratings agencies assigned super-safe, triple-A ratings to structured products that later turned out to be extremely risky, and in some case, worthless.
Henry Waxman, the California Democrat who is chairman of the committee, said Wednesday morning that the rating agencies began assessing complex securities without fully investigating the underlying risks associated with them in order to gain more business from issuers of the securities. This allowed the rating agencies to become cash machines, he said in a live Webcast of the hearing.
“Total revenues for the three firms doubled from $3 billion in 2002 to over $6 billion in 2007,” Mr. Waxman said. “Moody’s had the highest profit margin of any company in the S&P 500 for five years in row.”
In some cases, analysts were forced to rate products without full access to loan data needed to make an accurate assessment.
One of the witnesses, Frank Raiter, a former employee of Standard and Poor’s, was asked in 2001 to rate a collateralized debt obligation that was backed by home loans. When he asked his superior, Richard Gugliada, for loan data to rate the security, he received the following response in an e-mail that Mr. Waxman included in his opening statement:
Any request for loan level tapes is TOTALLY UNREASONABLE!!! Most investors don’t have it and can’t provide it. Nevertheless we MUST produce a credit estimate. It is your responsibility to provide those credit estimates and your responsibility to devise some method for doing so.
Devan Sharma, president of S&P, said in a written statement, “It is by now clear that a number of the assumptions we used in preparing our ratings on mortgage-backed securities issued between the last quarter of 2005 and the middle of 2007 did not work.”
John A. Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, chose to read aloud from an instant-message conversation between two S&P employees in the firm’s structured product division.
Official 1: By the way, that deal is ridiculous
Official 2: I know, right. The model definitely doesn’t capture half the risk.
Official 1: We should not be rating it
Official 2: We rate every deal. It could be structured by cows and we would rate it
Official 1: There is a lot of risk associated with it. I personally don’t feel comfy signing off as a committee member.
“What they say is extremely disturbing,” Mr. Yarmuth said at the hearing. “Their attitude seems to be casual acceptance that they rate deals that they should not be rating — deals that are too risky.”
LONDON (Reuters) – A naked man was arrested on suspicion of burglary Wednesday after getting stuck in the chimney of the Tesco store he was allegedly trying to steal from, police said.
Greater Manchester Police said officers were alerted to the Tesco Express store in the Pemberton area of Wigan at 5:30 a.m. after receiving a report of "concern for a man."
When police arrived at the scene, they found a man trapped in the chimney breast. The 22-year-old was freed by firefighters and, after it was discovered he was naked, officers took him to hospital. He was later discharged and is now in police custody.
"It is believed some of his clothes came off as a result of him struggling to get out of the chimney," police said in a statement.
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/10/21/another-buyout-bust
Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts appears close to winning the dubious honor of filing the biggest private equity-backed bankruptcy since the credit crisis started.
Masonite International, the Canadian door maker bought by KKR in 2005 for $1.9 billion, missed a $42 million debt payment last week, prompting both S&P and Moody's to lower their ratings on its debt. Erin Griffith at PEHub points out that a Masonite bankruptcy--if it occurs--would be bigger than the bankruptcies of Linens N Things (Apollo-backed) and Mervyns (originally bought by Cerberus and Sun Capital) earlier this year.
Last week, Bloomberg noted what a pickle KKR finds itself in with respect to its ownership of Masonite. Like other private equity investors seeing value in the distressed corporate loans of the deals they backed during the buyout boom, KKR bought some of Masonite's debt, according to Bloomberg's sources. This puts KKR in the unique position of being a creditor of a company that KKR loaded up with debt that the company now can't pay. And, as its owner, KKR must decide whether or not to file bankruptcy.
Did he tell the Senators to keep pestering Alan Greenspan to move the microphone closer to his mouth?
Hank Paulson has got to be the biggest nogeah badovor to ever be given unlimited powers.
When he was still at Goldman Sachs, he convinced Chris Cox at the SEC to allow the 40 to 1 leverage that led to the debt balloon bursting.
He heads the Federal agents at Treasury when he should be the target of a criminal investigation.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/investors-stuck-high-and-dry-wextrust-fraud-case
http://www.turtlewax.com/
Do you know what else I like about my Muslim crony from Goldman Sachs that I picked to lead the bailout?
He also has a bald head that he polishes every morning.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122471882370960597.html
OCTOBER 23, 2008
Protesters Besiege Mortgage Convention
By AMY HOAK and ANDREA COOMBES
SAN FRANCISCO -- It looked like a scene from the 2006 "Borat" movie: Mortgage executives at a large gathering caught off-guard by disturbances in the audience.
But unlike the movie, where Borat streaks through a ballroom of mortgage brokers without a stitch of clothing, the protesters who charged the stage at the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual convention this week weren't going for laughs.
Putz Alan Greenspan covers up for his failures by telling Congress that Capitalism is "flawed".
I know Alan Greenspan, he's no Milton Friedman.
We were wondering why Milton Friedman's matzeiva was jumping around!
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202425478748&pos=ataglance
Mark Fass
New York Law Journal
October 23, 2008
A magistrate judge in Brooklyn has recommended entering a default judgment against the defendants as a sanction for the extreme measures they took to destroy and falsify electronic documents in a federal fraud and RICO action.
If confirmed by an Eastern District of New York judge, the case will mark the first time a judge within the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has awarded a default judgment on the basis of tampering with electronic evidence.
"Under such exceptional circumstances, the only appropriate non-monetary sanction is a default judgment in plaintiffs' favor, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(b)(2)(A)(vi) and the court's inherent powers," Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy wrote in Gutman v. Klein, 03-cv-1570.
"First, lesser sanctions would not adequately deter misconduct of this severity. ... This is especially true where, as here, the court has previously imposed lesser sanctions on the responsible party for other discovery misconduct. ... Second, the most serious forms of spoliation merit the harshest sanctions, and in this case, the destruction of evidence was of the worst sort: intentional, thoroughgoing, and (unsuccessfully) concealed."
Eastern District of New York Judge Brian Cogan will now consider the recommendation.
Plaintiff Aryah Gutman filed the present action in April 2003, accusing his longtime real estate business partner Zalman Klein and others of misappropriating millions of dollars.
In August 2008, Gutman filed a motion seeking "a default judgment or similar terminating sanctions," based on Klein's destruction of electronic evidence.
Gutman charges in his complaint that Klein's "discovery games" began in 2004, when he "furtively" replaced a laptop containing documents evidencing his role as "the kingpin of the conspiracy to rob" Gutman.
An expert's report said Klein also backdated the installation of the replacement computer's operating system to make it appear older, and then uploaded thousands of files while the computer's clock was set to a date months earlier. The report said he also deleted "hundreds if not thousands" of files, then ran a data recovery program to determine if he had "covered his tracks."
The plaintiff's counsel, Darren Oved of Oved & Oved, in a memo in support of a default judgment, noted that the 2nd Circuit had yet to address the appropriate remedy for such "duplicitous spoliation and subsequent cover-up."
"Plaintiffs have incurred, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs investigating Mr. Klein's misdeeds, seeking the Court's intervention in vain attempts to obtain Klein's compliance with reasonable and relevant discovery requests, and engaging in seemingly never ending motion practice because of Defendants' recalcitrance," according to the plaintiff's memo.
The defendants conceded many of the allegations, though they contested the sanction.
"Dismissal is imposed only in extreme circumstances where any alternative or less drastic sanctions would be inappropriate or futile," the defense noted in a memo opposing the motion.
In a report issued last week, Magistrate Judge Levy recommended granting Gutman's motion.
"While defendants' understanding of computer processes may be faulty, their admissions that [an expert hired by Klein] searched the internet for the Kill Disk and Get Data Back programs; reinstalled the Klein laptop's operating system; copied files onto the Klein laptop from an external source; and altered the Klein laptop's system clock are unmistakable," Magistrate Judge Levy concluded.
He recommended a default judgment, citing the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the court's discretionary powers.
Oved, Gutman's attorney, could not be reached for comment.
Barry Feerst of Brooklyn has represented the defendants since 2006. He said his clients intend to file objections to the report.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/cover031006.htm
In March of 2006 -- almost a full year before he officially announced his candidacy -- Canadian Free Press founding Editor Judi McLeod asked whether there was "a Muslim apostate headed for the White House?" By then it was well known that Obama's biological father had been Muslim, which, by Islamic law, passes that distinction on to the son. But, as McLeod pointed out -- at the time:
"little [was] known about who Obama's step father was. But some say that he was an Indonesian national and a Muslim. Still, Obama must have attended school in Indonesia. Is it possible that as a young Muslim boy he went to a Saudi madrassa? Yes, that's a possibility."
Indeed, it would be almost a year later, in February of ‘07, that rumors of Obama's early Muslim schooling were confirmed when an AP piece revealed that:
"he attended a Muslim school in Indonesia from age 6 to 10. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather from 1967 to 1971 and subsequently returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents."
In McLeod's 2006 piece, she raised an interesting, albeit provocative, point:
"What if Obama is engaged in pious fraud? This is a Muslim practice of pretending not to be Muslim to further the cause of Islam or to ‘defend the faith.' He becomes President and then says, ‘Gee...I think I want to be Muslim again' after he finds the ‘football' in his hands that carries the launch codes for the USA nuke forces."
As a fledgling Christian, Obama didn't join just any church. He joined the United Church of Christ.
The United Church of Christ is very anti-Israel and supports divestment. It also sponsors speeches at its many functions by the Arab "Christian" pro-terror religious organization, Sabeel. Sabeel holds some of its biggest meetings in Chicago., (www.scoop.,co,nz/stories/HL0510/500139.htm).
The Democrats attract the majority of Jewish voters and funding, and this guy is being grooned as their golden boy?
It's hard to believe some Lubavitchers are so ignorant to behave this way. The Torah encourages giving friendly greetings to everyone. Socializing is the safeguard for intermarriage. There is no safeguard to the safeguard. It's just plain rude and idiotic.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=90254§ion=homepage
A secular Jewish writer, Stephen Bloom had a sort of religious if visceral epiphany in the middle of trying to report about the unusual ultra-orthodox Jewish group that moved into Postville, Iowa, 20 years ago to run a huge kosher slaughtering plant.
Walking with the Hasidic rabbi down the street of the town of 1,300 on a spring morning in the late 1990s, Bloom said “good morning” to a couple of local men fixing the sidewalk.
“Don’t do that,” the rabbi said. “We don’t acknowledge them.”
“We don’t interact with the locals,” the rabbi said. “That’s the beginning of the Holocaust.”
Hasidic kids would begin playing with their Iowan neighbors, then families would start to socialize and soon there would be intermarriage, the rabbi explained. “Then, the Holocaust.”
“At that point, my stomach turned,” Bloom said. “And literally, the book turned. This really angered me.”
He began seeing the Lubavitcher Hasidim as a cult that saw everyone else, including nonobservant Jews like him as enemies against whom the Hasidim felt free to scheme, ignore, offend, cheat and take advantage of. They would routinely not pay their bills and flout local laws.
The slaughterhouse systematically abused employees, as well as the animals, he found.
Bloom spoke Monday evening to about 230 people in the Chester Fritz Auditorium at UND in the Hagerty Lecture in Contemporary Media Issues, sitting on stage with UND history professor Kim Porter, a former Iowan, who interviewed him.
Bloom’s 2000 book, “Postville: A Clash of Cultures in the Heartland of America,” got great reviews but also angered many Jewish people who thought he had betrayed his own people, Bloom said. It also sparked much discussion among American Jews about how to live out their faith, what it meant to observe Jewish dietary rules and how to interact with the majority Christian population.
Bloom said he became tiny Postville’s “shuttle diplomat for a time, explaining the Hasidim to the locals and vice versa. He found the Iowans much more willing to reach out to the Hasidim, who wanted nothing to do with the corn-fed goyim, or gentiles.
The experience didn’t make him less observant as a Jew, but it made him less accepting of any religious position, Jewish, Catholic or Lutheran, that defines itself as “you are with them or with us.”
That sort of divisive, cult-like thinking breeds fear and hatred, he said.
His book brought many attacks against him, including anonymous threatening phone calls, from orthodox Jews who saw him as a traitor.
But it also was “giving a voice to the voiceless,” which is his idea of what journalism should do, Bloom said.
In St. Paul, a Hasidic mother and daughter approached him in a bookstore and thanked him for the book, saying they had to read it and pass it around secretly but that it helped them to see it in print.
The Postville Agriprocessors slaughter plant made big news earlier this year, when federal agents raided it because of the many illegal immigrants working there in a system promoted by the Hasidic owners.
He’s come to believe the plant should be shut down because of the “flagrant violations of law,” including immigration, environmental, labor and sexual harassment laws.
Now, in an ironic development, the workers in the plant are largely Sudanese refugees, Muslims mostly, producing kosher meat for ultra-orthodox Jews, Bloom said with a smile.
Congressional committee lamblasts Greenspan
Thursday October 23, 1:50 pm ET
By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told a House committee Thursday that the nation will emerge from the current credit crisis with a "far sounder financial system."
"We are in the midst of a once-in-a century credit tsunami," Greenspan told the House Oversight and Reform Committee. But he said that less-risky decisions by investors will help pull the markets out of their slump. "Investors, chastened, will be exceptionally cautious," he said.
Committee members weren't buying Greenspan's rosy forecast, lambasting him and two other officials - SEC chairman Christopher Cox and former Treasury Secretary John Snow - for failing to prevent the credit crisis and for refusing to take responsibility for it. In his opening statement, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., committee chairman, said the current economic crisis could have been prevented "if regulators had paid more attention and intervened with responsible legislation. The list of regulatory mistakes and misjudgments is long and the cost to taxpayers and the economy is staggering." Waxman put Greenspan on the spot, asking if he made any mistakes during his tenure as Federal Reserve chairman that may have contributed to the mortgage crisis.
Greenspan said he made a mistake in presuming that lenders themselves were more capable than regulators of protecting their finances. He said he was "shocked" when that system "broke down."
"I still do not understand exactly how it happened," said Greenspan.
Regulatory proposals
Greenspan offered some proposals for regulatory changes in his testimony, namely "to require that all securitizers retain a meaningful part of the securities they issue."
In other words, he wants to require lenders to own or back part of the loans they issue, rather than pass off the risk to someone else.
Greenspan also stated his support for the $700 billion Wall Street bailout approved by Congress, which allows the U.S. government to buy bad mortgage investments from finance firms.
The bailout is intended to thaw the credit freeze by freeing up firms to offer new loans. "Indeed, the impact is already being felt," said Greenspan. "Yield spreads are narrowing."
But Greenspan also said that whatever regulatory changes are made to respond to the crisis, "they will pale in comparison to the change already evident in today's markets."
Because of their hard-won experience, markets "will be far more restrained than would any currently contemplated new regulatory regime," he said.
Throughout the hearing, committee members harangued Greenspan, Cox and Snow for dodging blame, and for claiming that they didn't know how bad it was until it was too late.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., lashed into Cox for waiting until September before urging Congress to regulate credit default swaps, a complex financial instrument that many people blame for spurring the crisis.
But Cox replied that Congress shares the blame. "We don't have authority to regulate credit default swaps because Congress hasn't given us this authority," he said.
SEC investigations
In answer to accusations that he isn't taking enough action to address the crisis, Cox said the SEC is undergoing 50 investigations into subprime lending. High-risk subprime loans have been blamed for helping fuel the housing bubble and its subsequent collapse.
Snow also defended his former role with the Treasury. "We didn't duck our responsibilities; we assumed them," he said.
But Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said his constituents "seem legitimately angry that people sit here, hearing after hearing, and say it's not their responsibility."
Waxman told Greenspan, Cox and Snow that the purpose of their jobs, and the agencies they headed, "is so you can see problems developing, and tell us about them, before the financial crisis. The reality is that there's a long list of warning signs and prominent economists saying things should have been done."
Snow and Cox both suggested that greater transparency be imposed on the markets.
Snow suggested a "more coordinated and less fragmented approach to financial regulation" with "greater international cooperation."
Cox said the SEC has adopted measures to strengthen investor protections against naked short-selling, which allows short-selling without owning or borrowing the stock.
He said he has also launched an examination "of the effectiveness of broker-dealers' controls on preventing the spread of false information." This appears designed to address concerns that short sellers, who seek to profit from declines in stock prices, may spread rumors about companies to drive down prices of their stocks.
By William Heisel _ LA TIMES
10:11 AM, October 23, 2008
A record number of homes were lost to foreclosure in California over the last three months, up 228% from last year to a high of 79,511 homes. MDA DataQuick reported that more homes were taken back by lenders in the three months ended Sept. 30 than at any time since the company started tracking foreclosures in 1992.
In the previous three months, which also set a record, 63,316 homes were lost to foreclosure. That's a huge swing from an all-time low just two years ago of 637 in the second quarter of 2005.
Nationally, RealtyTrac Inc. reported that the number of homes being repossessed was up 126% over the last three months, totaling 250,091 homes from July to September. The five states with the most foreclosures were California, Florida, Michigan, Arizona and Texas.
At the same time, California saw a sharp decline in activity from banks taking the first steps toward foreclosure. The number of default notices that lenders send to homeowners fell last quarter for the first time in three years, down 22.5% from last quarter but up 29.9% from the same period last year.
Housing experts say that change is the direct result of a new state law that forces lenders to make repeated attempts to contact a homeowner before foreclosing on the home.
"If that procedural change hadn't kicked in during early September, indications are that third-quarter default filings would have been about the same as the record number filed in this year's second quarter," DataQuick said in a press release.
Housing experts continue to predict that foreclosures will rise for the rest of 2008 and into 2009 before hitting their peak.
"It will get worse," said Jeff Lazerson, the president of Mortgage Grader, an online mortgage clearinghouse. "It's going to be driven by unemployment and underemployment, and we're seeing those numbers go up. I think we won't see a peak until at least next year."
I'm looking for something posted online but Potchu Lipschutz of Frankel's shul & Monsey was arrested for molestation and has just gotten out on $2 million bail.
Eight child victims have come forward.
WARNING: To Parents in Baltimore - ex-Rabbi Tzvi Wainhaus
(Please download pdf file and share it with everyone you know who lives in Baltimore, MD and Chicago, IL)
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Wainhaus_TzviWarning.pdf
There is a rumor circulating that ex-Rabbi Tzvi Wainhaus (AKA: Leon Wainhaus) is currently in Baltimore, MD.
Ex-Rabbi Tzvi Wainhaus is originally from Chicago and was charged with Public Indecency, after allegations were made of child molestation with students at Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School in Skokie, IL . Wainhaus was sentanced to 2 years supervision. He was court ordered to complete a sex offender evaluation. As a response to this case the Ad Hoc Bais Din (Religious Jewish Court) of Chicago created and made public the following guidelines.
If anyone has a photograph of Tzvi Wainhaus, please forward it to The Awareness Center.
For more information on this case go to:
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Wainhaus_Tzvi.html
-------------------------------------------------------
Guidelines and Rules Aimed at Protecting Our Children
Jewish Image Magazine (Page 46)
Fall 2000, Tishrei 5761
The following statement was made public as a result of the Ad Hoc Bais Din of Chicago deliberated on what to do with the allegations made against Rabbi Tzvi Wainhaus of sexual abused children at Hillel Torah.
Under NO Circumstances whatsoever may the perpetrator teach in any classroom situation or any private or tutorial situation with any students, nor may he enter any school building at any time under any circumstances. Included in school buildings are any kollel buildings (adult learning center) that are open during non-school hours, such as during the summer, all school holidays, as well as Sundays and after school hours.
He may not go to any mikvah (ritual bath) anywhere in the world at any time, including erev Shabbos, Erev Yom Tov, erev Rosh Hashanah and erev Yom HaKipurim.
He may not go to any J.C.C. (Jewish Community Center) or any swimming facility anywhere at any time.
He many not use the restroom in any synagogue, yeshiva, kollel, or any other Jewish facility at any time, even if this will force him to miss davening (praying) or krias HaTorah or learning. The only exception is during the times that it is permissible to be in a kollel as enumerated above. During those times, and those times only, it is permissible for him to use the restroom.
No children, even his own, are allowed in his house at any time while he is present until the ad hoc bais din is advised to the contrary by his therapist.
He may not attend any simchas (celebrations), including weddings, bar mitzvahs, bas mitzvahs, kiddushim, brissim, vorts (lectures), banquets, or any other simcha anywhere or any time until the ad hoc bais din is advised to the contrary by his therapist.
He must be engaged in regularly scheduled uninterrupted intensive therapy with a therapist with whom the bais din is advised to the contrary by his therapist.
The Bais Din (Jewish Court), after much deliberation, and taking into consideration his health problems, will allow him to daven in different area shuls on Shabbos, even though there are children present, with the understanding that every Rav (Rabbi) will be made aware of his name, and to make sure that there is surveillance whenever he leaves the sanctuary to use the restrooms or any other area of the building. Any Rabbi not wishing to take on this responsibility has the right to prohibit him from davening (praying) in their shul.
Rabbi Gedaliah Dov Schwartz
Rabbi Avraham Chaim Levein
Rabbi Shmuel Furest
Rabbi Zev Cohen
Greenspan sees 'serious problems' with CDS
Comment comes after former Fed chairman praised credit-default swaps in 2002
(MarketWatch) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday that there are "serious problems" associated with credit-default swaps, roughly six years after he praised the derivatives.
Credit-default swaps, or CDS, offer the buyer protection against companies reneging on debt payments. The market for these derivatives has boomed in the past decade and outstanding contracts now have a notional value of more than $50 trillion.
During a November 2002 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., Greenspan said CDS and other financial instruments helped to spread risk to a more diverse range of investors, cushioning the impact of the dot-com bust, the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the collapse of Enron, WorldCom and other companies.
He also said such instruments helped banks and other financial institutions manage risks better.
"Instruments that are more complex and less transparent -- such as credit-default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and credit-linked notes -- have been developed and their use has grown very rapidly in recent years," he said, according to a transcript of his speech.
"The result? Improved credit-risk management together with more and better risk-management tools appear to have significantly reduced loan concentrations in telecommunications and, indeed, other areas and the associated stress on banks and other financial institutions," Greenspan explained.
However, the CDS are now being blamed for exacerbating the mortgage-fueled credit crisis, and calls for regulation of the private market have grown.
On Thursday during congressional testimony, Greenspan said that he was "partially" wrong for advising against more regulation of derivatives earlier this decade.
"It depends which derivatives we're talking about," he said, according to a transcript of the testimony. "Credit-default swaps, I think, have serious problems associated with them."
However, he stressed that other parts of the derivatives market, which have been around longer, such as instruments used to hedge interest-rate and currency risks, are working well.
"It's important to distinguish the size of this problem and its nature," he continued. "Excluding credit default swaps, derivatives markets are working well."
Alistair Barr is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.
Fakers, Phonies and Frauds the "AdHoc" Bais Din is. These "rabbis" enforced ZERO of their blank declarations against Mr. Wainhaus. He crashed the weddings of his children despite the vehement protests of the children. The rabbis didn't care about the emotional pain of the chassanim and kallos, only about the pervert. The sick pervert walked down the aisle together with his divorced wife, disregarding the feelings of the chassanim, kallos, and invited guests, yet these skeleton "rabbis" said nothing. He has unfettered access to children in some shuls who think it's the parents problem to watch their own kids, NOT his problem to avoid any kids. He'll probably end up in Heinneman's Haunt where with a nice black hat he'll become kosher again to ply his trade in Baltimore.
They are an AdHoc Bais Din they just hock instead of protecting the children. This was a criminal case which should have been allowed to proceed. Were it not for threats made against the victim and his family, Wainhaus would have been in jail long ago. Wainhaus was shuffled into Chicago from Baltimore under the wings of Telz Chicago, and now that "Rav" A.C. Levin is feeling the heat and wrath of the community for a long series of public relations blunders, he's passing Wainhaus back where he came from.
Kindergarten sex ed becoming mandatory in England
LONDON (AP) — It's a controversial idea in a land known for prudishness about sex — teaching kids as young as 5 about the birds and bees.
But with one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in Europe, the British government is bringing sex education to all schools in England — including kindergarten-age children.
While countries like France, Holland and China already require sex education, few places demand that it be introduced at such a young age.
NEW YORK – Traders and investment bankers might have more to worry about than dwindling bonus pools this year as mass firings on Wall Street are set to hit a record.
The fallout from this year's global credit crisis has claimed jobs on all corners of Wall Street, from hedge fund managers to floor traders and beyond. More than 110,000 have lost their jobs so far this year, and some industry experts forecast it could come close to 200,000 before the year is over.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It seems like a movie plot, but scientists have developed a way to erase specific memories in mice while leaving others intact and not damaging the brain too much.
San Juan Capistrano dentist arrested on sex charges
Ghassan Mehtar is arrested by Orange County sheriff's deputies after a female patient accuses him of sexual assault.
By Stuart Pfeifer
October 23, 2008
Orange County sheriff's deputies have arrested a San Juan Capistrano dentist who allegedly sexually assaulted a female patient under his care, a sheriff's spokesman said today.
Ghassan Mehtar was arrested Wednesday after investigators determined he had sexually assaulted a 26-year-old woman while treating her in his Camino Capistrano office, said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
The woman said told authorities that Mehtar pulled up her clothing to expose her breasts and sexually fondled her as she sat in a dentist's chair. She was alert and not under anesthesia, Amormino said.
Employees told investigators that other patients -- primarily Latinas who spoke little English -- had complained that Mehtar abused them as well. Those patients have not filed complaints with sheriff's deputies, Amormino said.
Amormino encouraged any other victims to contact authorities. He said sheriff's investigators had no intention of inquiring about victims' immigration status.
"We believe he picked these victims because they might be afraid to contact the police," Amormino said. "I want to get the message out that we're not going to ask what your status us. That's not important. What's important is we want to know if you're a victim."
Methar was held this morning in lieu of $25,000 bail. He has practiced dentistry in California since 1997, according to Dental Board of California records.
Pfiefer is a Times staff writer.
stuart.pfiefer@latimes.com
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017598130&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
I used to belong to a gay synagogue on the West Coast that made liturgical changes that make no sense at all to anyone who knows any Hebrew. For example, in the Friday night kiddush, they changed the words "mikol ha'amim" - that God selected us and made us special "from all the nations" to "im kol ha'amim" - with all the nations. If one disagrees with the chosenness of the Jews, then "bacharta" and "kidashta" should be dropped, too, because they mean the Jews are chosen and special. I asked about this situation and was told the synagogue didn't want to make so many changes that the tune would no longer work.
• Reform and some Conservative Jews have tried to do away with the second day of the Jewish holidays, which is generally not observed in Israel, arguing that the reason for the second day is no longer applicable since we have modern calendars. But they also aim to abolish the second day of Rosh Hashana, which is observed in Israel, thus putting the lie to their claimed motivation.
• One of the first gay Conservative rabbinical students admitted under the new, inclusive 2006 policy at the Jewish Theological Seminary told a group of gay Jews I was a part of that he does not actually consider himself bound by the policy under which he was admitted. That policy bans penetrative gay sex by all men including rabbinical students, and makes no change in Jewish law's ban on same-sex marriage. But violating those rules appears to be okay because of Conservative Judaism's emphasis on mara d'atra, or consulting local rabbis. This student claims he can flout JTS's policy and even worship idols and commit adultery as long as he can find a single Conservative rabbi to permit him to violate traditional rules in those areas.
• Some Jews take the concept of pikuach nefesh (most mitzvot are suspended for saving a life) to places it's not meant to go. For example, I heard a prominent Conservative lesbian rabbi speak on Shabbat afternoon at a Reform temple. She used a marker and pad of paper, because, she said, "we were saving lives" by reinforcing gay self-esteem and thus preventing gay youth from killing themselves. I've spoken to several Conservative and Orthodox rabbis, and her argument does not hold water. One key point: The ban on gay relations is one of the most serious violations, so serious that pikuach nefesh doesn't apply.
DavidBenkof@aol.com
This Motzei Shabbos at 11:00 PM at the usual time and place, 570 AM radio, Dov will be broadcasting another special and unique program about sexual abuse in our community.
This time, the topic will include an update of what has been happening over the past several weeks. Dov will deliver a type of State of the Union address, in which he lays out the progress that has been made including the accomplishments of his task force.
For all of us who are passionately concerned with children's safety in our community, we simply must tune in to hear the cutting edge knowledge of what is happening and what still needs to happen to protect our children. I'm sure we will all glean even more ideas of what each of us can do to help Dov on his crusade to end this plague once and for all.
Yasher Koach to Dov and to all of you, who I'm sure will want to listen in and perhaps call in and participate in the dialogue.
Where IS LVF and the other regual ranters?
Here’s a quick rundown of other public officials (at every level) who have been accused and/or convicted of abusing their offices for personal gain over the last week (or so):
• On Friday, L.A. City Commissioner Leland Wong was sentenced to five years in state prison. He’d been receiving monthly payments of $5,000 from a Taiwanese shipping firm hoping to get a good lease at the Los Angeles port. He was convicted on counts of bribery, conflict of interest, perjury and embezzlement.
• It was announced yesterday that Massachusetts’ Speaker of the House is under investigation to determine whether he didn’t report more than $1.8 million in lobbying fees.
• Late last week the Justice Department re-indicted David Safayian, the former chief of staff for the federal government’s General Services Administration and a former administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, for making false statements and obstructing justice. All charges stem back to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/nyregion/06silver.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the most powerful defender of trial lawyers in the Legislature, has lent at least $50,000 of his own money to a company that helps finance small law firms that specialize in personal injury lawsuits.
Since early last year, Mr. Silver, himself a trial lawyer, made two separate loans to the company, Counsel Financial. The loans come due in 2010, according to his latest ethics disclosure form. Paul R. Cody, the president of Counsel, declined to specify the size of Mr. Silver’s loans, but said such notes generally start at $25,000 each and often are much larger.
Mr. Silver has long been criticized by business groups and Republicans for vigorously defending the interests of the trial bar in Albany, something he acknowledges but defends as legal and proper. Some critics, along with government watchdog groups, say his loans to Counsel raise new questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Counsel, which is based in Amherst, a Buffalo suburb, is among a small but growing number of companies that finance lawyers who specialize in suing corporations and government agencies.
Issuing loans for as much as $50 million and accepting contingency fees as collateral, Counsel has assisted small firms across the country, including ones that have sued New York City and state agencies like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Perry Weitz and Arthur Luxenberg, the named partners at the Manhattan-based firm where Mr. Silver works, serve as co-chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of Counsel Financial.
Lawmakers are considered part-time employees of the state and are permitted to have outside jobs. At the same time, though, the state Public Officers Law prohibits an official from having business interests “in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his duties in the public interest.” It also says officials should not do things that “raise suspicion among the public” that they are violating their public trust.
Mr. Silver declined to answer questions for this article, but in the past he has firmly rejected assertions that his private legal work creates a conflict of interest for his legislative duties.
“I don’t think it’s a conflict,” he told reporters in 2003
But Blair Horner, the legislative director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said Mr. Silver’s loans to Counsel raised questions because it was difficult to know who was receiving the company’s assistance.
“This is a problem you have with a citizen legislature, all these business relationships raise questions, and on top of it there’s no way for the public to know these relationships are adequately monitored or vetted,” Mr. Horner said. “There’s an ethics black hole when it comes to these issues.”
Over the past decade, a relatively small group of specialized lenders to plaintiff’s law firms has emerged as banks have tightened their lending policies. In return for taking on loans based on contingency fees, lenders like Counsel can command double-digit interest rates.
The Legislature polices its own ethics, and tight controls are kept on how much is revealed to the public. Lawmakers are required to fill out ethics forms delineating holdings of more than $1,000. They are also required to report whether they fall within five ranges of values: from category A, which is $5,000 or less, to Category F, which is $250,000 or more. The values, however, are whited out by the Legislative Ethics Commission — which is controlled by the Legislature — before the filings are provided to the news media.
Little is known about Mr. Silver’s business interests and investments. He has what appears to be a substantial stock portfolio, including 53 stock holdings worth at least $1,000 apiece, according to the filing. And it is not known what he actually does at Weitz & Luxenberg.
“The speaker voluntarily limits his legal work to serve only individuals and personal injury cases and does not represent lobbyists or clients who have business before the state,” said his spokesman, Mr. Weiller.
He would not say whether the speaker ever appears in court to represent clients or describe his legal work in more detail.
Representatives of the law firm declined to comment.
boruch lanner spoke in the boca synagougue and recieved an aliya over simchas torah
The Stink in Farts Controls Blood Pressure
livescience.com – Thu Oct 23
smelly rotten-egg gas in farts controls blood pressure in mice, a new study finds.
The unpleasant aroma of the gas, called hydrogen sulfide (H2S), can be a little too familiar, as it is expelled by bacteria living in the human colon and eventually makes its way, well, out.
The new research found that cells lining mice's blood vessels naturally make the gas and this action can help keep the rodents' blood pressure low by relaxing the blood vessels to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure). This gas is "no doubt" produced in cells lining human blood vessels too, the researchers said.
Some little known facts about the pro-Obama rabbi Moshe Soloway mentioned here. When my cousin learned at Ner Israel in Baltimore in the nineties, this scoundrel appeared there in the guise of a Bobover chassid. Soloway became very close to rabbi Joseph (Yossef) Tendler, Ner Israel Mechina principal who proposed him to rabbi Moshe Eisemann. Bisexual Soloway gave up right away his phony chassidus, threw out his gartel, and became rabbi Eisemann's concubine.
At the same time he had abundant sexual encounters with local shiksas (something which rabbi Moshe Eisemann could never forgive him). Soloway was caught in the act and quietly thrown out of Baltimore. (Rabbi Aryeh Katzin (a good friend of rabbi Israel Belsky of Torah V'Daas), the principal of the "Sinai Academy" yeshiva in NY who initially shipped Soloway to Ner Israel, drove to Baltimore himself to coordinate a dignified removal of that fraud together with the hefty pack of porn periodicals Soloway stockpiled in his dorm room.)
In the Torah-true Judaism that would spell the end of the career for anyone. But not so in our hijacked version of Judaism with Moshe Soloway as its embodiment! Rabbi Joseph Tendler promptly stepped in to bail out his protégé with the help of his brother rabbi Moshe Tendler of the Yeshiva University. Soloway was then lovingly shipped off to Israel. In the course of merely one year he received a rabbinical ordination at "Aish HaTorah" yeshiva in Jerusalem in exchange for some specific favors he did for rabbi Mattis Weinberg. Then Soloway returned to States and (sure enough) was married off by rabbi Joseph Tendler to a girl he later cheated many times. It's striking that rabbi Joseph Tendler even went as far as to be "mesader kidushin" at his wedding ceremony. Wow...
In the last few years rabbi Moshe Soloway made a stunning and speedy career as a teacher molester at the YDA Elite High School, a "RockRebbe" (as he prefers to be called), and a marketing and strategy consultant at various companies in NY. Mr. Obama should be really embarrassed to associate himself in any way with this young "dynamic business ethics and religion public speaker" and "a role model."
What exactly is happening at Telz Cleveland these days? Are their high school and beis medresh programs thriving again? Are they able to support their huge facility?
It is my understanding that Telshe has become a third rate yeshiva --- mostly for the local kids.
Boy, they have a huge physical facility to maintain! It's a shame that gey'vus and lust for power ruined a previously first-rate institution. Although power-hungry "gedolim" and rebbes are too slow to admit that they're mistaken or sinful, I hope that Telz Cleveland can one day be restored under the hand of purity and chesed.
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