tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post3536658759637970903..comments2024-03-27T15:07:31.495-04:00Comments on <b><center>Unorthodox-Jew </center></b> <br><small>A Critical View of Orthodox Judaism</small>: S'licha U'mechila - Am Yisroel Chai! Paul Mendlowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05887774341136059873noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-15818015643750663242009-09-21T17:31:02.241-04:002009-09-21T17:31:02.241-04:00http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/dave_crony_coll...http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/dave_crony_collects_money_for_nothing_IPzvDRMzPb0KtlN8NLIB2H<br /><br />Dave crony collects 'money for nothing'<br /><br />By TOM TOPOUSIS • NY Post<br /><br /><br />Gov. Paterson's former economic-development czar, Avi Schick, stepped down from his post at the helm of the Empire State Development Corp. in January -- but, astonishingly, continued to quietly draw his $213,000 annual salary for eight more months, The Post has learned.<br /><br /><br />Schick, who has close ties to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, managed to hang on to his full salary -- more than what the governor earns -- in return for advising Paterson on lower Manhattan issues, said ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston.<br /><br /><br />The ESDC revealed Schick's continuing compensation to The Post last week after more than a month of requests, and just days after he was removed from the payroll on Sept. 11 so that he could begin a new job with a law firm that began three days later.<br /><br /><br />It was unclear on what specific issues Schick advised Paterson.<br /><br /><br />He could not be reached for comment, and state officials would only say that he was asked to stay on during a leadership change at ESDC over the summer.<br /><br /><br />Paterson's decision to keep Schick on the payroll comes amid a state hiring freeze and a state budget deficit topping $2 billion.<br /><br /><br />Schick has remained as chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a post that has never paid a salary.<br /><br /><br />Johnston insisted that Schick's salary, which he said included some unused vacation time, was not for his work at the LMDC, which already has a paid president, David Emil.<br /><br /><br />"Avi's position as LMDC Chairman is unpaid," said Johnston.<br /><br /><br />"However, he was on payroll for the work he conducted for the governor's office on lower Manhattan issues."<br /><br /><br />Schick's continuing state salary came as a surprise to some lower Manhattan officials.<br /><br /><br />"People assumed he wasn't paid because no other LMDC chairman had ever received a salary," said a well-placed lower Manhattan source.<br /><br /><br />"Total waste of taxpayer money," said another official familiar with Schick's work downtown, where his most significant project was the deconstruction of the Deutsche Bank building -- a project that cost two firefighters their lives and has taken years longer than anticipated.<br /><br /><br />Schick was appointed to oversee downstate economic development when Eliot Spitzer became governor in 2007.<br /><br /><br />Several months later, he became Spitzer's point man on lower Manhattan redevelopment, earning a reputation for his combative style.<br /><br /><br />A former deputy attorney general under then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Schick's hiring by the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal was announced last week.Avi (ben Marvin) Schickhttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/dave_crony_collects_money_for_nothing_IPzvDRMzPb0KtlN8NLIB2Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-52846651750004780582009-09-21T17:24:07.670-04:002009-09-21T17:24:07.670-04:00The right-wing accusations against Barack Obama ar...The right-wing accusations against Barack Obama are true. He is a socialist, although he practices socialism for corporations. He is squandering the country's future with deficits that can never be repaid. He has retained and even bolstered our surveillance state to spy on Americans. He is forcing us to buy into a health care system that will enrich corporations and expand the abuse of our for-profit medical care. He will not stanch unemployment. He will not end our wars. He will not rebuild the nation. He is a tool of the corporate state.<br /><br />The right wing is not wrong. It is not the problem. We are the problem. If we do not tap into the justifiable anger sweeping across the nation, if we do not militantly push back against corporate fraud and imperial wars that we cannot win or afford, the political vacuum we have created will be filled with right-wing lunatics and proto-fascists.Former NY Times Liberal Chris Hedgesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-89619465234493084122009-09-21T17:15:36.722-04:002009-09-21T17:15:36.722-04:00Back in early August when the Minnesota apikoros a...Back in early August when the Minnesota apikoros attacked Birthright Israel's decision to hire the disgraced sockpuppet prone flackery 5WPR, Dan Sieradski (AKA blogger Mobius) launched a Twitter petition calling on Birthright to clean up its act and fire 5WPR.<br /><br />Almost immediately someone began doing nasty edits to Mobius' Wikipedia page.<br /><br />Then last week, Mobius wrote about visiting Birthright's offices and another edit was made to his Wikipedia page. This edit falsely portrayed him as anti-Israel.<br /><br />All this is suspicious because of 5WPR's history of sockpuppetry. And, just like 5WPR once worked for Agriprocessors, it now works for Birthright.<br /><br />What an amazing 'coincidence.'Rubashkin's PR agent at work again?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-20812194491503389842009-09-21T16:24:36.027-04:002009-09-21T16:24:36.027-04:00WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -A former IBM employee who was ...WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -A former IBM employee who was fired for visiting an adult chat room while at work is appealing a court decision against him.<br /><br />The worker, 60-year-old James Pacenza, claims combat stress from Vietnam made him a sex-and-Internet addict who should have been treated, not dismissed.<br /><br />He also says IBM used the chat-room visit as a pretext to fire him, while the real reasons were his symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and his age.<br /><br />A federal judge ruled in April that Pacenza never told IBM about the stress disorder.<br /><br />The judge also said others who violated IBM's Internet policy were treated similarly.<br /><br />Pacenza's lawyer, Michael Diederich, said Monday the decision is being appealed.<br /><br />Copyright 2009 The Associated PressAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-64828929834932509972009-09-21T16:17:13.595-04:002009-09-21T16:17:13.595-04:00http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=...http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2731&dept_id=575596&newsid=20370586<br /><br />After a new report revealed that thousands of lifetime sex offenders currently reside in public housing, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling for stricter regulations to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers. <br /> <br />According to the State Office of the Inspector General, roughly 3,000 registered lifetime sex offenders reside in HUD-subsidized city housing. Although Congress passed legislation in 1997 that prohibits those dangerous individuals from receiving rental assistance, Schumer says lax enforcement has allowed them to go undetected.<br /> <br />“When it comes to the safety of our residents we cannot cut corners, but unfortunately the previous administration did not do nearly enough to root out sex offenders from enjoying the benefits of subsidized housing,” he said in a statement. “There is no reason why this rule should not be enforced fully and accurately.” <br /> <br />Schumer said he is particularly outraged because the inefficiencies not only endangers families, but wastes taxpayer money and reduces the amount of available affordable housing for those in need. <br /> <br />Although all individuals who apply to live in federally subsidized housing complexes are supposed to be subject to background checks, the senator said those are not always performed. Moreover, the number of years examined in an applicant’s past varies from authority to authority. <br /> <br />Once a person is living in public housing, Schumer wants them to be checked against the national sex offender registry every time they reapply for housing certification. <br /> <br />The periodic checks would be designed to ensure no one who commits a sex crime after moving into public housing can slip through the cracks and avoid eviction. <br /> <br />Schumer is also calling for all public housing authorities to create a uniformed system for conducting background checks — specifying the number of years to be investigated and checking each applicant against the national sex offender registry.UOJ gets resultshttp://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2731&dept_id=575596&newsid=20370586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-38543470484610157122009-09-21T15:57:09.292-04:002009-09-21T15:57:09.292-04:00http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/...http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/09/21/2009-09-21_hospital_errors_killed_my_dad_suit_says.html<br /><br />A Brooklyn man brought to Maimonides Medical Center with chest pains in July 2008 endured what his family now calls a tragedy of errors that led to his death.<br /><br />Jacob Goldbrenner was sent to the Brooklyn hospital's cardiac catheterization lab so doctors could treat his ailing heart. <br /><br />But they couldn't find the key to the lab. <br /><br />They couldn't locate an anesthesiologist. <br /><br />And then one doctor couldn't even find the lab itself, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court. <br /><br />Minutes turned to hours as the 52-year-old clothing salesman's condition worsened. <br /><br />"We all felt a sense of desperation and frustration," said Baruch Goldbrenner, 27, who watched his father's health deteriorate. <br /><br />"We were waiting for some sort of intervention. We were desperate and scared." <br /><br />At one point, Baruch Goldbrenner said, he was aghast as he followed a first-year resident who didn't know how to get to the lab where doctors check blood flow and heart defects and perform angioplasty or other procedures. <br /><br />"He just couldn't find it," the son said. "He was just utterly lost." <br /><br />Jacob Goldbrenner, who had a stent put in years earlier, had a heart attack while he waited for nearly five hours, the lawsuit charges. <br /><br />Goldbrenner's heart wasn't getting oxygen and doctors needed to intubate - place a tube into his lungs. <br /><br />Instead, the tube went into his stomach by mistake, according to the family's lawyer Michael Schlesinger. <br /><br />"From every point there were delays," Schlesinger said. "There was so much damage that the only way he could survive was with a heart transplant." <br /><br />Doctors told relatives Goldbrenner could get a heart at Westchester Medical Center, and he was put in an ambulance and given a police escort. <br /><br />"It was like, 'Hey, he has a second chance,'" his son said. <br /><br />But at Westchester, there was no heart and no hope. <br /><br />"It was just like someone stabbing a knife right into our collective hearts," Baruch Goldbrenner said. <br /><br />Less than two weeks later, Jacob Goldbrenner was dead. <br /><br />A Maimonides spokeswoman defended the hospital's cardiac care unit as one of the nation's best. <br /><br />"Frustration, devastation, sadness. There's just no word for this," Baruch Goldbrenner said. <br /><br />It's been a very long year without the man he described as "quiet, understated, happy-go-lucky and always greeting everyone he knew with a smile." <br /><br />He added: "Heart attacks in this day and age are survivable. Things just took longer than necessary."<br /><br />sshifrel@nydailynews.comMaimonides Hospital Horror Showhttp://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2009/09/21/2009-09-21_hospital_errors_killed_my_dad_suit_says.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-85445511684781101942009-09-21T15:43:39.857-04:002009-09-21T15:43:39.857-04:00http://247wallst.com/2009/09/19/moodys-some-home-p...http://247wallst.com/2009/09/19/moodys-some-home-price-wont-rebound-until-2030/<br /><br />Moody’s forecasts that some home prices may not return to their pre-recession levels until 2030. This means that hundreds of thousands of Americans may find it impossible to sell their houses without making payments to their banks to cover underwater home loans. <br /><br />MarketWatch reports that a new Moody’ housing forecasts says that “It will take more than a decade to completely recover from the 40% peak-to-trough decline in national home prices.”<br /><br />In many parts of the country, which include large states like New York and Illinois, home prices will not rebound to 2006 levels until 2018 to 2022. In the states where prices have fallen the most, particularly California and Florida, values may not rebound until 2024,<br /><br />The prediction, if correct, means that Baby Boomers and even some of their older children may not be able to sell home to help finance retirements. The use of homes to get equity loans will be out of the question. Some homeowners will have to give banks money to get out from under their houses, default because they cannot afford to sell their homes at a loss, or stay in homes that they no longer need.<br /><br />The housing crisis, it seems, still has at least fifteen years to go and for some older Americans that is a lifetime.Fresserhttp://247wallst.com/2009/09/19/moodys-some-home-price-wont-rebound-until-2030/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-49920281620894708282009-09-21T15:11:35.100-04:002009-09-21T15:11:35.100-04:00http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/21/obama-says-...http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/21/obama-says-hes-open-to-bailing-out-newspapers/<br /><br />Newspaper bailout: Obama says he'd consider it, but should taxpayers?Obama squandering your tax dollarshttp://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/09/21/obama-says-hes-open-to-bailing-out-newspapers/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-16769998355468636032009-09-21T12:51:23.806-04:002009-09-21T12:51:23.806-04:00http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21pater...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21paterson.html?hp<br /><br />Appearing on “Face the Nation” on CBS on Sunday, Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee and the first African-American to hold that position, criticized Mr. Obama.<br /><br />“I found that to be stunning, that the White House would send word to one of only two black governors in the country not to run for re-election,” Mr. Steele said.<br /><br />He also questioned why similar pressure was not exerted on Gov. Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey.<br /><br />“I think Governor Paterson’s numbers are about the same as Governor Corzine’s numbers, and yet the president was with Governor Corzine,” Mr. Steele said.Good kashyahttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21paterson.html?hpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-85481618604992318912009-09-21T11:25:20.406-04:002009-09-21T11:25:20.406-04:00This is of course the fault of Orthodox Jews. The ...This is of course the fault of Orthodox Jews. The hatred they exude against Blacks creates a metaphysical mental block for Blacks to achieve.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/africa/20safrica.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print<br /><br />Post-apartheid South Africa is at grave risk of producing what one veteran commentator has called another lost generation, entrenching the racial and class divide rather than bridging it. Half the students never make it to 12th grade. Many who finish at rural and township schools are so ill educated that they qualify for little but menial labor or the ranks of the jobless, fueling the nation’s daunting rates of unemployment and crime.<br /><br />Despite sharp increases in education spending since apartheid ended, South African children consistently score at or near rock bottom on international achievement tests, even measured against far poorer African countries. This bodes ill for South Africa’s ability to compete in a globalized economy, or to fill its yawning demand for skilled workers.<br /><br />And the wrenching achievement gap between black and white students persists. Here in the Western Cape, only 2 out of 1,000 sixth graders in predominantly black schools passed a mathematics test at grade level in 2005, compared with almost 2 out of 3 children in schools once reserved for whites that are now integrated, but generally in more affluent neighborhoods.<br /><br />“If you say 3 times 3, they will say 6,” said Patrine Makhele, a math teacher at Kwamfundo here in this overwhelmingly black township, echoing the complaint of colleagues who say children get to high school not knowing their multiplication tables.Shmarya groupiehttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/africa/20safrica.html?hpw&pagewanted=printnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-28351055594704567362009-09-21T10:46:06.217-04:002009-09-21T10:46:06.217-04:00VIN has anounced it will shortly break a story of ...VIN has anounced it will shortly break a story of a massive "avla" being perpetrated on our communities.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-29792192818971734872009-09-21T10:25:54.349-04:002009-09-21T10:25:54.349-04:00http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/health/policy/21...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/health/policy/21obama.html<br /><br />September 21, 2009<br /><br />Obama Insists That Insurance Will Be Affordable<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/health/policy/21insure.html<br /><br />The idea, proposed last Wednesday by Senator Max Baucus, is to help raise money for the nation’s health care overhaul by placing a new excise tax on the most expensive health insurance policies, like the ones offered to partners at Goldman Sachs.<br /><br />As it turns out, though, many smaller fish would get caught in Mr. Baucus’s tax net. The supposedly Cadillac insurance policies include ones that cover many of the nation’s firefighters and coal miners, employees at small businesses — a whole gamut that runs from union shops to Main Street entrepreneurs.<br /><br />Under the Baucus plan, insurers selling a plan costing more than $8,000 for an individual and $21,000 for a family would have to pay a 35 percent excise tax on the excess amount.<br /><br />Although the national average premium is currently $13,375 for a family policy, many are much higher than that — particularly in high-cost parts of the country.<br /><br />People who live in high-cost areas, like the Northeast or California, would also have a greater risk that their insurance plans would set off the excise tax — not because the coverage is particularly generous, but because the price of their policies reflects the higher medical costs where they live. Massachusetts residents, for example, tend to pay more than a quarter more in premiums, on average, than people living in Idaho.<br /><br />Bruce Hodson is a state employee in Maine and the president of Local 1989 of the Service Employees International Union, where the cost of a family plan is now running at about $20,500 a year. At the typical pace of health premium inflation, his policy could very likely set off the tax if it goes into effect in 2013, as the Baucus plan proposes.<br /><br />Even if most employees around the nation might initially escape, experts say more people’s insurance plans would cross into the taxable range in future years. If the inflation rate in premiums continues its pace of the last 10 years, even the average cost of family coverage would probably cross the threshold within a few years of the tax’s going into effect.<br /><br />“That number is going to grow and grow and grow,” said Marissa Milton, analyst for the HR Policy Association, which represents employers’ benefit managers.<br /><br />Ms. Milton drew a comparison to the alternative minimum tax — modified in 1986, supposedly as a way to keep affluent people from using deductions to avoid paying taxes. In reality, it has ended up capturing more and more middle-class taxpayers, Ms. Milton said. Likewise, the insurance excise tax “is going to affect a lot of families,” she said.<br /><br />By his own calculation, Robert Hansen, business professor at Dartmouth, is one of the Americans who might be considered to have luxurious coverage, because the cost of his benefits could easily top $25,000.<br /><br />But that supposedly “gold-plated coverage,” he said, includes the cost of related benefits, like dental coverage and the money in his flexible spending account — all of which would be subject to the excise tax.<br /><br />And who will pay the $1,450 in additional taxes Mr. Hansen would incur? “In the end, look in the mirror,” he said.<br /><br />“It’s the worst kind of economic engineering,” he said. “You end up with something that looks like the I.R.S. code.”<br /><br />Small employers would also be hit by the taxes — and, again, not because they offer overly generous coverage. Instead, small businesses tend to pay more for their insurance than bigger employers that can negotiate better premiums.Liar Liarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-88222846524359575252009-09-21T10:00:19.065-04:002009-09-21T10:00:19.065-04:00http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/world/asia/21aid...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/world/asia/21aid.html<br /><br />ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — As the United States prepares to triple its aid package to Pakistan — to a proposed $1.5 billion over the next year — Obama administration officials are debating how much of the assistance should go directly to a government that has been widely accused of corruption, American and Pakistani officials say.Bim Bam identityhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/world/asia/21aid.html?hpwnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-19988573207398693092009-09-21T09:57:12.812-04:002009-09-21T09:57:12.812-04:00The Internal Revenue Service will announce on Mond...The Internal Revenue Service will announce on Monday that it is extending its amnesty program intended to root out those suspected of using offshore accounts to evade taxes. The move comes as a flood of wealthy Americans with secret accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere are coming forward to disclose their hidden assets.<br /><br />The I.R.S. will give such account holders an additional 22 days, until Oct. 15, to reveal their accounts if they hope to escape stiffer penalties, a government official said late Sunday. After that, the government plans to prosecute those suspected of tax evasion whose identities it learns but who do not come forward.<br /><br />The so-called voluntary disclosure program, which began in March as a way of luring American clients of the Swiss bank UBS out of the woodwork, has attracted 3,000 taxpayers so far, compared with just 80 last year, the official said. Some of the taxpayers are clients of other banks.<br /><br />UBS is preparing to hand over 4,450 client names under a deal reached last month with the I.R.S. and the Justice Department, which is investigating the bank’s offshore services. In February, UBS admitted its criminal wrongdoing with the services and paid a $780 million fine.<br /><br />The original deadline for the amnesty program was Wednesday.<br /><br />Investors who come forward before Oct. 15 will be subject to a reduced penalty, of 5 to 20 percent, depending in part on whether their wealth was inherited.<br /><br />They will also be hit with the penalty just once, on the highest balance in the accounts over the last six years, instead of for each of the six years, a level that can leave account holders owing more in taxes than they have.Margo's accountantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-32492578097258022492009-09-21T09:50:12.263-04:002009-09-21T09:50:12.263-04:00September 21, 2009
House Moves to Extend Unemploy...September 21, 2009<br /><br />House Moves to Extend Unemployment Benefits<br /><br />By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<br />Filed at 9:19 a.m. ET<br /><br />A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and expected to pass easily would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.<br /><br />The 13-week extension would supplement the 26 weeks of benefits most states offer and the federally funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved in legislation last year and in the stimulus bill enacted last February.<br /><br />Critics of unemployment insurance argue that it can be a disincentive to looking for work, and that extending benefits at a time the economy is showing signs of recovery could be counterproductive.<br /><br />Stettner predicted that Congress will likely have to continue extending jobless benefits through 2011.<br /><br />McDermott said his bill would extend for a year a federal unemployment tax of $14 per employee per year that employers have been paying for more than 30 years.Free lunch for Shmarya and his favorite peoplenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-47799405900954003492009-09-21T08:41:00.300-04:002009-09-21T08:41:00.300-04:00Embattled New York Governor David Paterson didn’t ...Embattled New York Governor David Paterson didn’t deny reports that the White House wants to him step aside, fearing his low approval ratings are beyond repair, but told the New York Post he was still running -- for now.<br /><br />Sources have said Rep. Gregory Meeks has carried the message from President Obama, and Paterson Sunday didn’t deny having serious talks with the Queens Democrat, the New York Post reported.<br /><br />"I mean I have had a number of conversations with a number of different people," Paterson told reporters at the African American Day Parade in Harlem.<br /><br />"They were confidential. I’m not going to discuss them ... I’m not talking about any specific conversations. As I said, I am running for office. I’m not going to discuss confidential conversations."<br /><br />Paterson insisted he’s running in 2010Son of Boognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-51734371844492245282009-09-21T08:31:53.518-04:002009-09-21T08:31:53.518-04:00The Jewish Press
Friday, September 18, 2009
Page ...The Jewish Press<br />Friday, September 18, 2009 <br />Page 71<br /><br />“A Plea To Marry Jewish In Odessa<br /><br />An amphitheater overflowing with Jewish students was the background for a plea “to preserve your ties with our eternal Jewish family and to Our Father” by Rabbi Leib Tropper, chairman of the rabbinic committee of the Eternal Jewish Family (EJF). Speaking via live hookup during the opening of a major shabbaton in Odessa, Ukraine, Rabbi Tropper received wide applause when he pleaded, “do not sever your ties to our glorious past and even more to what will be a glorious future.” The shabbaton was part of a major initiative by EJF to stem the tide of assimilation in intermarriages in Jewish communities around the world. It was sponsored in conjunction with Nefesh Yehudi and funded by the Wolfson and Horn Families and Tikva, a local kiruv organization.<br /><br />Rabbi Tropper was followed by Menachem Lubinsky, president of LUBICOM Marketing Consulting and special consultant to EJF. Noting that it was the week marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the systematic destruction of eastern European Jewry by the Nazis, Lubinsky added, “What better time than now to reaffirm our commitment to Jewish eternity?”…<br /><br />The session was introduced by Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, Odessa’s chief rabbi and architect of the remarkable resurgence of Jewish life in Odessa…<br /><br />…More than 25 young frum couples have gone through Tikvah and Shma Yisroel (a network of Torah institutions) and will be the leaders of a new frum communty in Odessa for years to come.<br /><br />EJF will be organizing similar events in America and Asia. EJF is funded by the Kaplan Foundation, and headed by Tom Kaplan its chairman.”publicity hundtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-44653590015532889232009-09-21T08:29:50.267-04:002009-09-21T08:29:50.267-04:00HAMODIA
27 ELUL 5769 | COMMUNITY | SEPTEMBER 16, 2...HAMODIA<br />27 ELUL 5769 | COMMUNITY | SEPTEMBER 16, 2009<br />Special Feature | By Menachem Lubinsky<br />(Pages:) C10 & C12<br /><br />The Emerging Story of a Miracle in Odessa<br /><br />[Lengthy two page article written by LUBICOM president, with a buried mention of EJF and its involvement with this project]:<br /><br />“…Ohr Somayach became one of the first kiruv organizations to function here, they appointed Rabbi Shlomo Baksht, a young idealistic, energetic talmid chacham, to assume the task of bringing a semblance of Yiddishkeit to this spiritually ravaged seaport city. What he accomplished in the 17 years he has been here is nothing short of a miracle, an accomplishment few would have dared to dream of in a community that had been all but abandoned…<br /><br />The occasion is a Shabbos in Elul designed to further strengthen the kiruv efforts of Nefesh Yehudi, funded by the Wolfson/Horn families and the anti-intermarriage programs of the Eternal Jewish family, funded by Tom Kaplan and led by Rabbi Leib Tropper, Rosh Yeshivah Kol Yaakov/Horizons…<br /><br />At the opening session on Thursday evening, Rabbi Tropper’s plea to marry Jewish is carried on a huge screen in a nearby amphitheater. I amplify his thoughts with a reflection on the historic moment of making 70 years since the beginning of Churban Europe…<br /><br />Rabbi Refoel Kruskal…built two chinuch institutions. But these are not the best of times for him or Rabbi Baksht. “We had to cut our budget from $11 million to $8 million as a result of the recession, when it became more difficult to raise funds.” That meant cutting out a newspaper that went to 10,000 homes, ceasing a media station that reached out to Ukrainian Jews…”<br /><br />…Rabbi Baksht is frustrated at how much there is to do and the limited resources with which he has to work…”publicity hundtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-30377197913561786162009-09-21T00:54:03.228-04:002009-09-21T00:54:03.228-04:00http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21vacci...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21vaccine.html<br /><br />When she cleans the rooms of patients with swine flu symptoms, Jana Newton, a housekeeper at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, has to suit up for her own protection in a mask, gloves, gown and hairnet.<br /><br />But she still does not want the one thing that would give her a far better defense — a flu shot.<br /><br />She is not alone.<br /><br />Also, although the original intent was to protect the recipient and cut down on absenteeism, it slowly became clear that in hospitals, fewer flus in doctors and nurses meant fewer dead patients.<br /><br />“I was an epidemiologist at San Francisco General in the early 1990s,” Dr. Gerberding said. “Among bone marrow transplant patients and others who were profoundly immune-suppressed, outbreaks of flu and other viruses could be very deadly. That changed the paradigm.”<br /><br />Still, many workers dislike them.Maimonides Hospital Horror Showhttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/nyregion/21vaccine.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-9194018104068988042009-09-18T17:01:43.604-04:002009-09-18T17:01:43.604-04:00TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmad...TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Friday the Holocaust was a "lie" and a pretext to create a Jewish state that Iranians had a religious duty to confront.<br /><br />"The pretext Holocaust for the creation of the Zionist regime is false. It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim," he told worshippers at Tehran University at the end of an annual anti-Israel "Qods (Jerusalem) Day" rally.<br /><br />"Confronting the Zionist regime is a national and religious duty."<br /><br />Since coming to power in 2005, Ahmadinejad has provoked international condemnation for saying the Holocaust was a "myth" and calling Israel a "tumor" in the Middle East.<br /><br />His government held a conference in 2006 questioning the fact that Nazis used gas chambers to kill 6 million Jews in World War II.<br /><br />The hardline president, who often rails against Israel and the West, warned leaders of Western-allied Arab and Muslim countries about dealing with Israel.<br /><br />"This regime (Israel) will not last long. This regime has no future. Its life has come to an end," he said.<br /><br />Israel, the United States and their European allies suspect Iran of trying to use its nuclear program to build an atomic bomb. Tehran insists its nuclear work is aimed at generating electricity.<br /><br />Iran rejected any Middle East peace plan that did not guarantee the rights of the Palestinians.<br /><br />The hardline leader played down the importance of any protests he may face in New York during his upcoming trip to attend the U.N. General Assembly.<br /><br />"These futile actions have no political value. The Iranian nation will not blink an eye over your actions," he said to chants of "Death to Israel."<br /><br />BROOKLYN (Reuters) - YTT's Leopold Margulies said on Friday that molestation was a "lie" and a pretext to create competition to the "best yeshiva" that Hungarians had a duty to confront. "The pretext is false. It is a lie based on an unprovable claim," he told worshippers at 555 Ocean Pkwy at the end of erev Rosh Hashana selichos. "Confronting UOJ is a Hungarian and Agudah duty." Since he drove a bus for Torah Vodaath, Margulies has provoked international controversy for saying molestation was a "myth" and calling UOJ a "tumor" in Klal Yisroel. His administration held a conference in 2006 with Twerski and Mandel questioning the fact that Kolko used the YTT boiler room & his private bathroom to molest little Jews. The hardline "rosh yeshiva", who often rails against UOJ and his supporters, warned rabbonim about dealing with UOJ. "This blog (UOJ) will not last long. This regime has no future. Its life has come to an end," he said. Rav Blau and other sensible rabbonim suspect Margulies of allowing YTT to be used as a den of iniquity. Margulies insists that there is only learning of Torah on the premesis. Margulies rejected any discussions of Kolko that did not guarantee his rights to tamper with the beis din. The Agudah's Jacob Perlow played down the importance of any protests outside the fresser convention. "These futile actions have no value. The "gedolim" will not blink an eye over your picketing and protests," he said to chants of "Down with UOJ."Both versions of the story are correctnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-77008468800685266312009-09-18T15:33:49.108-04:002009-09-18T15:33:49.108-04:00WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government and ...WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government and states are girding themselves for the next foreclosure crisis in the country's housing downturn: payment option adjustable rate mortgages that are beginning to reset.<br /><br />"Payment option ARMs are about to explode," Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said after a Thursday meeting with members of President Barack Obama's administration to discuss ways to combat mortgage scams.<br /><br />"That's the next round of potential foreclosures in our country," he said.<br /><br />Option-ARMs are now considered among the riskiest offered during the recent housing boom and have left many borrowers owing more than their homes are worth. These "underwater" mortgages have been a driving force behind rising defaults and mounting foreclosures.<br /><br />In Arizona, 128,000 of those mortgages will reset over the the next year and many have started to adjust this month, the state's attorney general, Terry Goddard, told Reuters after the meeting.<br /><br />"It's the other shoe," he said. "I can't say it's waiting to drop. It's dropping now."<br /><br />The mortgages differ from other ARMs by offering an option to pay only the interest each month or a low minimum payment that leads to a rising balance in the loan's principal.<br /><br />When the balance of the loan reaches a certain level or the mortgage hits a specific date, the borrower must begin making full payments to cover the new amount. The loan's interest rate also may have been fixed at a low level for the first few years with a so-called teaser rate, but then reset to a higher level.<br /><br />Because the new monthly payments can be five or 10 times what borrowers are accustomed to paying, they "threaten a much greater hit to the consumer than the subprimes," Goddard said, referring to the mortgages often extended to less credit-worthy borrowers that fed the first wave of the financial crisis.<br /><br />Many economists say there is still a huge supply of unsold homes lingering on the market and that, coupled with a frenzy of more foreclosures ahead, should depress home prices for the rest of 2009.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-16895631705227903272009-09-18T15:31:21.299-04:002009-09-18T15:31:21.299-04:00May you and yours be sealed for blessings for this...May you and yours be sealed for blessings for this coming year. L'Shana Tovah, and Shalom.Ahavahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12795309173195607578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-75718755120306730452009-09-18T13:46:49.852-04:002009-09-18T13:46:49.852-04:00WASHINGTON (AP) -- The deadly fire at Angeles Nati...WASHINGTON (AP) -- The deadly fire at Angeles National Forest is renewing a push from California lawmakers for a national registry of convicted arsonists.<br /><br />The current House bill states the registry would contain the Social Security number and address of the arsonist, his or her place of employment, a description of their vehicles, a photograph, a set of finger and palm prints as well a physical description and a description of the criminal offense.<br /><br />First-time offenders would remain on the registry for five years, two-time offenders for 10 years and anyone convicted of three or more offenses would remain on the registry for life. Those required to be included on the database will have to verify their registration at least once a year.<br /><br />The legislation makes the Justice Department responsible for maintaining a national arsonist and bomber Internet site. <br /><br />Nationally, there were nearly 63,000 arsons in 2008UOJ gets resultsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-67077598479069224442009-09-18T13:40:23.644-04:002009-09-18T13:40:23.644-04:00http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/us/politics/16ju...http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/us/politics/16justice.html<br /><br />Congress passed a law barring State Department officials from attending United Nations meetings presided over by terrorist nations, but the New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel has advised that officials "may disregard" the law because it infringes on the president's foreign policy prerogatives.Ho Ho Holder and Bim Bam go to bat for terroristsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21519732.post-8840533415779487642009-09-18T13:32:41.953-04:002009-09-18T13:32:41.953-04:00http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/16/health-reform-bau...http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/16/health-reform-baucus-taxes-personal-finance-zerbe.html<br /><br />Senate Finance Plan Disguises Taxes<br /><br />Dean Zerbe, 09.16.09, 08:00 PM EDT<br /><br />They may not be called taxes, but they'll hurt just the same.<br /><br />The main revenue raiser in this plan is a tax beginning in 2013, on insurance coverage with a value that exceeds $21,000 for a family or $8,000 for an individual. The more you look at this provision, the more convoluted it appears and the worse the paperwork burden for business owners and their accountants. The employer must aggregate all the different health coverage (health, dental, vision, supplemental, etc.) provided to an individual and also include any coverage in the form of reimbursements from a Health Savings Account, or a Health Reimbursement Account, plus employer contributions to an HSA. The small business must then apportion those excess amounts among the different insurance providers, issue a W-2 that includes the values to the employee and also report all this to the Internal Revenue Service.<br /><br />So just to be clear, let's say an insurance company issues an insurance policy to a family with a cost of $19,000. The family also has a contribution made on its behalf to an HSA and has dental and supplemental coverage. All these items together total $30,000. The employer figures this all out, pro rates the excess (over $21,000) amounts to each insurer (even though no single one is over $21,000), and the insurers pays the IRS a 35% tax on that pro-rated amount. Naturally, if the employer doesn't report correctly to the IRS, there will be a significant fine. No discussion by the Committee of the compliance cost this will impose on small-business owners.<br /><br />These premium taxes are on top of $60 billion in new "fees" based on market share that are imposed on health insurers. My green eye-shade friends tell me that that this fee/tax will increase premiums by 2% to 4%.<br /><br />Another hidden tax hike: Employers offer employees the chance to put pre-tax money into HSAs and flexible spending accounts to help them cover their growing share of health costs (deductibles, uncovered items, copays). The Committee is tightening significantly what HSA and FSA money can be used for. Only those medical costs that are currently allowed to be claimed as itemized deductions could be paid for with money from HSAs and FSAs. In addition, the Committee will specifically not allow the purchase of over-the-counter drugs to be covered by these accounts. Even more significant , the proposal would limit the amount put in an FSA to $2,000 a year. (An employee having extensive dental work can easily exceed that in a year.) It all means more taxesMore stealth taxes from Obama and Democratsnoreply@blogger.com