DEBKAfile Exclusive: Al Qaeda declares Cyber Jihad on the West
October 30, 2007, 9:31 PM (GMT+02:00)
Symbol of al Qaeda's Cyber Warriors
In a special Internet announcement in Arabic, picked up by DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources, Osama bin Laden’s followers announced Monday, Oct. 29, the launching of Electronic Jihad. On Sunday, Nov. 11, al Qaeda’s electronic experts will start attacking Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites. On Day One, they will test their skills against 15 targeted sites expand the operation from day to day thereafter until hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report that, shortly after the first announcement, some of al Qaeda’s own Web sites went blank, apparently crashed by the American intelligence computer experts tracking them.
The next day, Oct. 30, they were up again, claiming their Islamic fire walls were proof against infidel assault.
They also boasted an impenetrable e-mail network for volunteers wishing to join up with the cyber jihad to contact and receive instructions undetected by the security agencies in their respective countries.
Our sources say the instructions come in simple language and are organized in sections according to target. They offer would-be martyrs, who for one reason or another are unable to fight in the field, to fulfill their jihad obligations on the Net. These virtual martyrs are assured of the same thrill and sense of elation as a jihadi on the “battlefield.”
In effect, say DEBKAfile’s counter-terror experts, al Qaeda is retaliating against Western intelligence agencies’ tactics, which detect new terrorist sites and zap them as soon as they appear. Until now, the jihadists kept dodging the assault by throwing up dozens of new sites simultaneously. This kept the trackers busy and ensured that some of the sites survived, while empty pages were promptly replaced. But as al Qaeda’s cyber wizards got better at keeping its presence on the Net for longer periods, so too did Western counter-attackers at knocking them down. Now Bin Laden’s cyber legions are fighting back. The electronic war they have declared could cause considerable trouble on the world’s Internet.
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
A JOURNALIST'S DILEMMA
Shocking Inside DC Scandal Rumor: A Media Ethics DilemmaRon Rosenbaum.com ^ 10/29/07 Ron Rosenbaum
Posted on 10/30/2007 6:09:13 PM PDT by jimboster
So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that “everyone knows” The LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate. “Everyone knows” meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. “Sitting on it” because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me )not an LAT person) knows I write and didn’t say “don’t write about this”.
If it’s true, I don’t envy the LAT. I respect their hesitation, their dilemma, deciding to run or not to run it raises a lot of difficult journalism ethics questions and they’re likely to be attacked, when it comes out—the story or their suppression of the story—whatever they do.
I’ve been sensing hints that something’s going on, something’s going unspoken in certain insider coverage of the campaign (and by the way this rumor the LA Times is supposedly sitting on is one I never heard in this specific form before. By the way, t’s not the Edwards rumor, it’s something else.
And when my source said “everyone in Washington”, knows about it he means everyone in the elite Mainstream media, not just the LA Times, but everyone regularly writing about the Presdidential campaign knows about it and doesn’t know what to do with it. And I must admit it really is was juicy if true. But I don’t know if it’s true and I can’t decide if I think it’s relevant. But the fact that “everyone” in the elite media knew about it and was keeping silent about it, is, itself, news. But you can’t report the “news” without reporting the thing itself. Troubling!
It raises all sorts of ethical questions. What about private sexual behavior is relevant? What about a marriage belongs in the coverage of a presidential campaign? Does it go to the judgment of the candidate in question? Didn’t we all have a national nervous breakdown over these questions nearly a decade ago?
Now, as I say it’s a rumor; I haven’t seen the supporting evidence. But the person who told me said it offhandedly as if everyone in his world knew about it. And if you look close enough you can find hints of something impending, something potentially derailing to this candidate in the reporting of the campaign. Which could mean that something unspoken, unwritten about is influencing what is written, what we read.
Why are well wired media elite keeping silent about it? Because they think we can’t handle the truth? Because they think it’s substantively irrelevant? What standards of judgment are they using? Are they afraid that to print it will bring on opprobrium. Are they afraid not printing it will bring on opprobrium? Or both?
But alas if it leaks out from less “responsible” sources. then all their contextual protectiveness of us will have been wasted.
And what about timing? They, meaning the DC elite media, must know if it comes out before the parties select their primary winners and eventual nominees, voters would have the ability to decide how important they felt it to the narrative of the candidate in question. Aren’t they, in delaying and not letting the pieces fall where they potentially may, not refusing to act but acting in a different way—taking it upon themselves to decide the Presidential election by their silence?
If they waited until the nominees were chosen wouldn’t that be unfair because, arguably, it could sink the candidacy of one of the potential nominees after the nomination was finalized? And doesn’t the fact that they “all” know something’s there but can’t say affect their campaign coverage in a subterranean, subconscious way that their readers are excluded from?
I just don’t know the answer. I’m glad in a situation like this, if there is in fact truth to it, that I wouldn’t have to be the “decider”. I wouldn’t want to be in a position of having to make that choice. But it’s a choice that may well decide a crucial turning point in history. Or maybe not: Maybe voters will decide they don’t think it’s important, however juicy.
But should it be their choice or the choice of the media elites? It illustrates the fact that there are still two cultures at war within our political culture, insiders and outsiders. As a relative outsider I have to admit I was shocked not just by this but by several other things “everyone” down there knows.
There seem to be two conflicting imperatives here. The new media, Web 2.0 anti-elitist preference for transparency and immediacy and the traditional elitist preference for reflection, judgment and standards—their reflection, their small-group judgment and standards. Their civic duty to “protect” us from knowing too much.
I feel a little uneasy reporting this. No matter how well “nailed” they think they have it, it may turn out to be untrue. What I’m really reporting on is the unreported persistence of a schism between the DC media elites and their inside knowlede and the public that is kept in the dark. For their own good? Maybe they’d dismiss it as irrelevant, but shouldn’t they know?
I don’t know.
Posted on 10/30/2007 6:09:13 PM PDT by jimboster
So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that “everyone knows” The LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading Presidential candidate. “Everyone knows” meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. “Sitting on it” because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me )not an LAT person) knows I write and didn’t say “don’t write about this”.
If it’s true, I don’t envy the LAT. I respect their hesitation, their dilemma, deciding to run or not to run it raises a lot of difficult journalism ethics questions and they’re likely to be attacked, when it comes out—the story or their suppression of the story—whatever they do.
I’ve been sensing hints that something’s going on, something’s going unspoken in certain insider coverage of the campaign (and by the way this rumor the LA Times is supposedly sitting on is one I never heard in this specific form before. By the way, t’s not the Edwards rumor, it’s something else.
And when my source said “everyone in Washington”, knows about it he means everyone in the elite Mainstream media, not just the LA Times, but everyone regularly writing about the Presdidential campaign knows about it and doesn’t know what to do with it. And I must admit it really is was juicy if true. But I don’t know if it’s true and I can’t decide if I think it’s relevant. But the fact that “everyone” in the elite media knew about it and was keeping silent about it, is, itself, news. But you can’t report the “news” without reporting the thing itself. Troubling!
It raises all sorts of ethical questions. What about private sexual behavior is relevant? What about a marriage belongs in the coverage of a presidential campaign? Does it go to the judgment of the candidate in question? Didn’t we all have a national nervous breakdown over these questions nearly a decade ago?
Now, as I say it’s a rumor; I haven’t seen the supporting evidence. But the person who told me said it offhandedly as if everyone in his world knew about it. And if you look close enough you can find hints of something impending, something potentially derailing to this candidate in the reporting of the campaign. Which could mean that something unspoken, unwritten about is influencing what is written, what we read.
Why are well wired media elite keeping silent about it? Because they think we can’t handle the truth? Because they think it’s substantively irrelevant? What standards of judgment are they using? Are they afraid that to print it will bring on opprobrium. Are they afraid not printing it will bring on opprobrium? Or both?
But alas if it leaks out from less “responsible” sources. then all their contextual protectiveness of us will have been wasted.
And what about timing? They, meaning the DC elite media, must know if it comes out before the parties select their primary winners and eventual nominees, voters would have the ability to decide how important they felt it to the narrative of the candidate in question. Aren’t they, in delaying and not letting the pieces fall where they potentially may, not refusing to act but acting in a different way—taking it upon themselves to decide the Presidential election by their silence?
If they waited until the nominees were chosen wouldn’t that be unfair because, arguably, it could sink the candidacy of one of the potential nominees after the nomination was finalized? And doesn’t the fact that they “all” know something’s there but can’t say affect their campaign coverage in a subterranean, subconscious way that their readers are excluded from?
I just don’t know the answer. I’m glad in a situation like this, if there is in fact truth to it, that I wouldn’t have to be the “decider”. I wouldn’t want to be in a position of having to make that choice. But it’s a choice that may well decide a crucial turning point in history. Or maybe not: Maybe voters will decide they don’t think it’s important, however juicy.
But should it be their choice or the choice of the media elites? It illustrates the fact that there are still two cultures at war within our political culture, insiders and outsiders. As a relative outsider I have to admit I was shocked not just by this but by several other things “everyone” down there knows.
There seem to be two conflicting imperatives here. The new media, Web 2.0 anti-elitist preference for transparency and immediacy and the traditional elitist preference for reflection, judgment and standards—their reflection, their small-group judgment and standards. Their civic duty to “protect” us from knowing too much.
I feel a little uneasy reporting this. No matter how well “nailed” they think they have it, it may turn out to be untrue. What I’m really reporting on is the unreported persistence of a schism between the DC media elites and their inside knowlede and the public that is kept in the dark. For their own good? Maybe they’d dismiss it as irrelevant, but shouldn’t they know?
I don’t know.
DANA RISHPY SERIES:PART 6
Postscript
Part Six (Last segment)
Silvia Cherem
Bello Melchor: The Case is Closed
CANCUN, MX - The prosecutor of Quintana Roo, Bello Melchor Rodriguez denied the possibility that Dana Rishpy, the young Israeli tourist who disappeared in Tulum on the night of March 30, 2007, had been killed in the state and he repeated his version of the story. He said that this girl, without a passport and without money, traveled to Belize, where she was allegedly seen by several people.
In what were his first statements on the case after the leading newspaper in Mexico City, La Reforma began with the publication of a story in several segments, the prosecutor said that if Dana had been killed, her body would have already been found, and stated assuredly that "we have the evidence, that she was seen in Central America. "
He said that the director of Police , Diddier Vazquez, had traveled to Belize and met with people who saw and recognized the photographs that the agents brought.
Among the alleged proof, he mentioned that they had statements from the owner of the place where she stayed and her daughter "and three or four more."
He even pledged that "an officer of immigration saw her in Belize."
(Noticaribe) Bello Melchor said that, with regard to the Attorney-General's Office in Quintana Roo, and the disappearance of Dana, "of course the is case closed." (Noticaribe)
The publication, La Reforma, in the past five days postulated at least two new clues regarding what might have happened to this Israeli girl aged 25, who disappeared six months ago in the Riviera Maya.
First, a reader found that the police in El Cerrito, California, posted on the Internet. It was posted that on September 18th, they had arrested Matthew Ryan Walshin, a 38 year old resident of Henderson, Nevada. He had caused a minor at riot number 11100 on San Pablo Avenue, and was released hours later, pending the proceeds of an assault charge in Contra Costa County (report number 07-17543, in the page http://www.el/ cerrito.org/police/pr_0709.html? tpl = prn).
This permitted us to contact the investigator, Lozada (who prefers to skip his full name), a former San Francisco policeman who has investigated the case, and has monitored Matthew during the past four months, and recounted what happened that day.
The other contribution came from a reader who lives in the North of the Country and travels constantly to Playa del Carmen. When she saw the photo of Dana in La REFORMA she realized that, without knowing it then, she spent time with the young girl in what might have been the last hours of her life.
'Mati resists'
Recruited by the family Rishpy, Lozada, had for over 20 years worked undercover to catch murderers. He followed Matthew at a distance from May 7th . His mission was to seek a rapprochement, just a friendly interview to inquire about the case of Dana.
On September 18th he decided it was time to make his move. For weeks he had been sharpening his claws. But unlike other hippies who stay up to one month in the same site, Matthew was a nomad reluctant to make contact with strangers.
"He was partying with music and drugs. There was no way to follow his passage, or deal with it. He stayed only one or two nights and left. So, this went on for months, mostly in Northern California. Sometimes he would drive for six to eight hours from one state to another. There are those who would say that such behavior is the characteristically erratic and vagabond style of hippies, but I know that in my experience he acted because he was fleeing justice, "says Lozada.
Lozada affirmed that he appeared paranoid and vigilant, watching in the rear view mirror continuously to ensure that he was not followed. Moreover, despite having three cars , he only drove rentals ,changing continuously.
That Tuesday in mid-September, Lozada, who told REFORMA, after he testified regarding incident # 07-17543's Police Contra Costa County, thought that it was time to act.At 10 pm, the car that Matthew drove to Marin County , El Cerrito, licensed 5YKH064, was parked next to the fast food restaurant Weinerschnitzel, on Madison, west of San Pablo Avenue.
Matthew would soon reappear. .The investigator waited. He was accompanied by detectives Robert Tower, Leonard Morrow, Steve del Fierro and Rich Cairns, who were traveling in another car. At 10:45 PM, Matthew arrived. The street was lit and Lozada could fully recognize his face. He walked toward him. . The driver's door was already open. . Lozado identified himself as private investigator. Matthew responded: "I know what you want, so you came about the girl in Mexico." "Yes, I was hired by her parents," replied Lozada.
With nervousness, Matthew moved his left hand toward his waist. Lozada feared that he was armed and asked if he had a gun. Matthew began shouting angrily: "Dammit! I will kill you! ". He tried to use his car keys to stab Lozado in the eye a couple of times, but the investigator was able dodge him. . He tried to reassure him "I just want to speak with you."
Matthew managed to finally contain the keys in his hand. " He repeated with anger, "I kill you!" . To subdue him, Lozada wrestled him to the ground with the help of Del Torre, who came to lend support. Matthew defended himself shouting loudly, "Help, help! ... Michael,we are private investigators, drop the gun! ". Lozada and his team heard a gunshot from the apartment that Matthew left. His friend Michael lived there. With the help of Del Torre, they handcuffed the suspect and waited for the local police. Matthew repeated to them, "You are never going to find her!" .
Officers Sagan, Hernandez and Pierson, and Sergeant Cliatt arrested Matthew. He was held for for a few hours and released. Next, we learn that the disappearance of Dana Rishpy is on the list of "Most Wanted" FBI (http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=48334).
Lozada has no doubts. Matthew, perhaps along with his cousin Steven Miller, who was also at the Mezzanine party and whom little is known, was involved in the disappearance and possible murder of Dana. "His background indicates such," he says. "Although he tried to provide a convincing alibi contacting the family after the disappearance, he is only repeating a pattern of conduct."
Lozada also reveals that in 1989 Matthew went to prison for having drugged to unconsciousness a girl on the campus of the University of Santa Cruz, and then raped her. " "He put something in her drink and then sexually abused her," he says. As a result he went to jail six months and was on probation a few years.
However, in 1998, the charge was reduced in his file. The charge of sex crime became a mere "wrongdoing", ie, a misdemeanor, allegedly for "good behavior". "I have worked 24 years with such cases and never have I seen a change in qualification like that. I guess he had the support of his parents, very good lawyers, " concludes Lozada
The investigator failed to "interview" Matthew and that option is already lost. .Therefore, for the Rishpys, the last hope of knowing what happened to her daughter now lies in the media and in the responsible action of the Mexican authorities. . They expect, no more and no less, than the FBI to take the case and extradite Matthew Ryan Walshin. Perhaps then, they will know well where is Dana's body.
Part Six (Last segment)
Silvia Cherem
Bello Melchor: The Case is Closed
CANCUN, MX - The prosecutor of Quintana Roo, Bello Melchor Rodriguez denied the possibility that Dana Rishpy, the young Israeli tourist who disappeared in Tulum on the night of March 30, 2007, had been killed in the state and he repeated his version of the story. He said that this girl, without a passport and without money, traveled to Belize, where she was allegedly seen by several people.
In what were his first statements on the case after the leading newspaper in Mexico City, La Reforma began with the publication of a story in several segments, the prosecutor said that if Dana had been killed, her body would have already been found, and stated assuredly that "we have the evidence, that she was seen in Central America. "
He said that the director of Police , Diddier Vazquez, had traveled to Belize and met with people who saw and recognized the photographs that the agents brought.
Among the alleged proof, he mentioned that they had statements from the owner of the place where she stayed and her daughter "and three or four more."
He even pledged that "an officer of immigration saw her in Belize."
(Noticaribe) Bello Melchor said that, with regard to the Attorney-General's Office in Quintana Roo, and the disappearance of Dana, "of course the is case closed." (Noticaribe)
The publication, La Reforma, in the past five days postulated at least two new clues regarding what might have happened to this Israeli girl aged 25, who disappeared six months ago in the Riviera Maya.
First, a reader found that the police in El Cerrito, California, posted on the Internet. It was posted that on September 18th, they had arrested Matthew Ryan Walshin, a 38 year old resident of Henderson, Nevada. He had caused a minor at riot number 11100 on San Pablo Avenue, and was released hours later, pending the proceeds of an assault charge in Contra Costa County (report number 07-17543, in the page http://www.el/ cerrito.org/police/pr_0709.html? tpl = prn).
This permitted us to contact the investigator, Lozada (who prefers to skip his full name), a former San Francisco policeman who has investigated the case, and has monitored Matthew during the past four months, and recounted what happened that day.
The other contribution came from a reader who lives in the North of the Country and travels constantly to Playa del Carmen. When she saw the photo of Dana in La REFORMA she realized that, without knowing it then, she spent time with the young girl in what might have been the last hours of her life.
'Mati resists'
Recruited by the family Rishpy, Lozada, had for over 20 years worked undercover to catch murderers. He followed Matthew at a distance from May 7th . His mission was to seek a rapprochement, just a friendly interview to inquire about the case of Dana.
On September 18th he decided it was time to make his move. For weeks he had been sharpening his claws. But unlike other hippies who stay up to one month in the same site, Matthew was a nomad reluctant to make contact with strangers.
"He was partying with music and drugs. There was no way to follow his passage, or deal with it. He stayed only one or two nights and left. So, this went on for months, mostly in Northern California. Sometimes he would drive for six to eight hours from one state to another. There are those who would say that such behavior is the characteristically erratic and vagabond style of hippies, but I know that in my experience he acted because he was fleeing justice, "says Lozada.
Lozada affirmed that he appeared paranoid and vigilant, watching in the rear view mirror continuously to ensure that he was not followed. Moreover, despite having three cars , he only drove rentals ,changing continuously.
That Tuesday in mid-September, Lozada, who told REFORMA, after he testified regarding incident # 07-17543's Police Contra Costa County, thought that it was time to act.At 10 pm, the car that Matthew drove to Marin County , El Cerrito, licensed 5YKH064, was parked next to the fast food restaurant Weinerschnitzel, on Madison, west of San Pablo Avenue.
Matthew would soon reappear. .The investigator waited. He was accompanied by detectives Robert Tower, Leonard Morrow, Steve del Fierro and Rich Cairns, who were traveling in another car. At 10:45 PM, Matthew arrived. The street was lit and Lozada could fully recognize his face. He walked toward him. . The driver's door was already open. . Lozado identified himself as private investigator. Matthew responded: "I know what you want, so you came about the girl in Mexico." "Yes, I was hired by her parents," replied Lozada.
With nervousness, Matthew moved his left hand toward his waist. Lozada feared that he was armed and asked if he had a gun. Matthew began shouting angrily: "Dammit! I will kill you! ". He tried to use his car keys to stab Lozado in the eye a couple of times, but the investigator was able dodge him. . He tried to reassure him "I just want to speak with you."
Matthew managed to finally contain the keys in his hand. " He repeated with anger, "I kill you!" . To subdue him, Lozada wrestled him to the ground with the help of Del Torre, who came to lend support. Matthew defended himself shouting loudly, "Help, help! ... Michael,we are private investigators, drop the gun! ". Lozada and his team heard a gunshot from the apartment that Matthew left. His friend Michael lived there. With the help of Del Torre, they handcuffed the suspect and waited for the local police. Matthew repeated to them, "You are never going to find her!" .
Officers Sagan, Hernandez and Pierson, and Sergeant Cliatt arrested Matthew. He was held for for a few hours and released. Next, we learn that the disappearance of Dana Rishpy is on the list of "Most Wanted" FBI (http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/brief.cfm?id=48334).
Lozada has no doubts. Matthew, perhaps along with his cousin Steven Miller, who was also at the Mezzanine party and whom little is known, was involved in the disappearance and possible murder of Dana. "His background indicates such," he says. "Although he tried to provide a convincing alibi contacting the family after the disappearance, he is only repeating a pattern of conduct."
Lozada also reveals that in 1989 Matthew went to prison for having drugged to unconsciousness a girl on the campus of the University of Santa Cruz, and then raped her. " "He put something in her drink and then sexually abused her," he says. As a result he went to jail six months and was on probation a few years.
However, in 1998, the charge was reduced in his file. The charge of sex crime became a mere "wrongdoing", ie, a misdemeanor, allegedly for "good behavior". "I have worked 24 years with such cases and never have I seen a change in qualification like that. I guess he had the support of his parents, very good lawyers, " concludes Lozada
The investigator failed to "interview" Matthew and that option is already lost. .Therefore, for the Rishpys, the last hope of knowing what happened to her daughter now lies in the media and in the responsible action of the Mexican authorities. . They expect, no more and no less, than the FBI to take the case and extradite Matthew Ryan Walshin. Perhaps then, they will know well where is Dana's body.
Monday, October 29, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 5
Honey On Ashes (Part Five)
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (05 October 2007)
Upon their arrival in Cancun, the Rishpys saw Dana's face on every corner . In the signs that their son had installed throughout the city, their daughter was smiling. The image was clouded with the inscription: "Missing. Dana Rishpy (25). " In her absence, a few days before, she had just turned 25 years old. A 5 thousand US dollar reward was offered to anyone who gave information about her whereabouts. The phones of the National Center for Federal Police were flooded with calls of false information.
The Israelis, and especially the Rishpys, were accustomed to seeing Dana's photo on posters. When she was 4 years old, a photographer friend asked permission to photograph her. The image of the little "doll" with green eyes and a pixie look was so profound that the Moshav Lajish used it to advertise the grapes that were produced in Israel. Dana was seen in all corners of the country. Trucks, windows, shelves, supermarkets, fruit boxes, and other spectacular places.
As a child, everyone knew her. Until very recently, her picture remained on fruit stickers. However, unlike those ads, her picture was now in Mexico. It seemed like honey on ashes.
Dania and Dror arrived in Mexico committed as a couple. No matter what the future held, they vowed to remain united. A few days before traveling, while still in Israel, they were introduced to a man who had suffered the murder of his son in the United States four years ago. He was 20 years younger than Dror, but he was already an old man.
Smoking and with despair, his fingers yellow from nicotine, he told them that not only had his son died, but he lost everything. Woman, family, money, friends, health, appetite and sleep. He never managed to find his son's body and the memory of his life passed. Each family member had an idea of how to respond to the loss, and the recriminations ended in irreconcilable breaks. "We were advised to not let it destroy us, to recognize that life continues. We promised that we would not fall into the black hole. We would live for our children, for our grandchildren, and for ourselves. "
The rhetoric seemed easy, but tears and pain were inevitable, loss of appetite and sleep. Dania was content with an illusory hope: "While there is no body, all theories and possibilities are open."
But not Dror, for him, the scene was stark. Dana had been killed. "Once I was disturbed to see her hair so long. I said, Dana, I am afraid that someone will strangle you with your hair. She was proud of her femininity. Today, I am appalled to have thought that. It torments me what she might have endured in her last moments. Perhaps Matthew wanted to rape her or drug her. Dana is not intimidated. She was tall, very fast, capable of defending herself, and he strangled her. I suppose that he did not want to kill her, but that happened ... There is no consolation. "
Key Witness
Dror thinks that Matthew could not have gotten rid of her body alone. Someone helped him. He arrived in Mexico with the intention of finding the accomplice. "They did not throw her into the sea or a sinkhole, nor did they leave her out in the open. I think that they buried her more than a meter deep in the sand dunes of the Biosphere Reserve, and as the culprits, stayed in Tulum until it was ascertained that it would be impossible to find her. "
"The Hungarian" who claims to be a businessman selling shirts and crafts, was the witness who Dror Rishpy was looking for. When he was finally questioned by police on May 25, Zsolt Fejer, who was not identified with any official document, said that on Friday, March 30th, he attended a party at the Hotel Mezzanine. He was alone. Around one o'clock in the morning, "Matthew" and eight of his friends "asked Fejer for a ride to Playa Esperanza (Hope Beach). Fejer rented a cabin in Hydens Hideout, where he was staying with his Argentinian wife and their toddler , who were visiting. He said that he agreed to give a"ride" to whoever could climb into the back of his red pickup truck. He was sure that there were a lot of people. But he only remembered "Matthew" and a girl with long hair. Around 3:00 am he said, "Matthew" woke him up and asked to borrow a blanket. From there, he knew nothing more. A week later, "Matthew" had told him that he was in possession of a backpack of a girl who had "gone on a trip."
The deposition of "The Hungarian" who admits that gave capsules of Ecstasy to Matthew, remained without further questioning. Police know, and confirmed in a later interview, which was conducted recently by a team of independent investigators, that he is a distributor of LSD, ecstasy and other drugs at parties and beaches. Nobody followed up on him.
The authorities also questioned the matter of the blanket. He said that Mati left it in the morning on the fence, but nobody verified if " The Hungarian" actually had returned it to the hotel. The blanket could have been tested to confirm or reject the hypothesis that it was used in the crime. It is suspected that this blanket, borrowed by a friend in the early morning hours, served to carry Dana's dead body. "The Hungarian" perhaps knows more than he has confessed. Perhaps he helped his friend to remove the body after the murder, "said Dror.
The Rishpys recognize that the local police initially tried to investigate They questioned the receptionist of the hotel. They went to about 30 places to explore jungle areas, mangroves and sinkholes. They inquired at airports and bus stations. They searched the leasing records in Tulum. They conducted searches in Campeche. This, however, was insufficient.
Bello Melchor, the State Attorney General ordered on the 27th of May, "Find her dead or alive." However, as summer approached and the influx of tourists, their attention was diverted. "In Tulum, there exists a symbiotic relationship with drugs, tourism and the complicity of the authorities, "says Raphael, Dana's uncle.
When the authorities in Quintana Roo, felt that they had exhausted all channels, they carried the search to Belize, in order to "locate Dana elsewhere,". They did this to propagate the idea that Quintana Roo is a safe area. On June 7th, Didier Vazquez, director of the Judicial Police of Quintana Roo,Jorge Rishmawy Avila agent of the Public Prosecutor of Tulum, and Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the Judicial Police of the state, departed for Central America to find Dana.
Following the route from the border, i.e from Corozal to Cayo Plascencia, they proceeded to show Dana Rishpy's photo to the villagers. They were accompanied by Santiago Góngora,of the Belize Police. Most of the people they questioned stated they had not seen Dana. Only one hesitated.
When they met with Peral Leslei, a woman 69 years old, who resides in Plascencia, they showed her photos of "a couple". Dana Rishpy and Matthew Walshin. She said that a few days earlier, they had been there. She did not know their names, but believed that they had gone to the Honduras. She noted, "I am not sure, but it seems to be them ." That was enough for the day of June 14th. A few days later, Bello Melchor, State Attorney General, forcefully declared that he had evidence that Dana was with her boyfriend "in Belize, and that they were headed for the Honduras.
When the television sounded this note on the evening news, Dania and Dror started receiving calls from acquaintances: "She's alive, she's alive." They knew that was impossible. Matthew remained in the United States and they knew exactly where. It was illogical, moreover, that Dana would have traveled without papers, without money and without calling. It was a stunt from the State Attorney General.
A few days later, Itzhak Erez, Israeli Consul,asked his counterpart of the Israeli embassy in El Salvador to seek Peral Leslei in Plascencia.
He arrived with new photos. However, this time of a niece who looked totally different than Dana. They showed the photos to the woman and asked if she recognized Dana Rishpy. She replied immediately, "I already told them that it is was her."
"It was obvious that this woman had reasons to confirm the information. I do not know if it was about money or the need to return a favor. What is a fact is that the information was false, "says Itzhak Erez.
Dania Rishpy called the TV stations on the night of June 14th to deny the alleged appearance of Dana. No one responded to her call nor corrected the error. Five weeks later, on July 21th, the Rishpys decided to return to Israel. The night before, Juancho, a dancer brought them to Mercedes Saviñon, a Mexican girlfriend. She gave her version of the crime stating that Dana had died by hanging.
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (05 October 2007)
Upon their arrival in Cancun, the Rishpys saw Dana's face on every corner . In the signs that their son had installed throughout the city, their daughter was smiling. The image was clouded with the inscription: "Missing. Dana Rishpy (25). " In her absence, a few days before, she had just turned 25 years old. A 5 thousand US dollar reward was offered to anyone who gave information about her whereabouts. The phones of the National Center for Federal Police were flooded with calls of false information.
The Israelis, and especially the Rishpys, were accustomed to seeing Dana's photo on posters. When she was 4 years old, a photographer friend asked permission to photograph her. The image of the little "doll" with green eyes and a pixie look was so profound that the Moshav Lajish used it to advertise the grapes that were produced in Israel. Dana was seen in all corners of the country. Trucks, windows, shelves, supermarkets, fruit boxes, and other spectacular places.
As a child, everyone knew her. Until very recently, her picture remained on fruit stickers. However, unlike those ads, her picture was now in Mexico. It seemed like honey on ashes.
Dania and Dror arrived in Mexico committed as a couple. No matter what the future held, they vowed to remain united. A few days before traveling, while still in Israel, they were introduced to a man who had suffered the murder of his son in the United States four years ago. He was 20 years younger than Dror, but he was already an old man.
Smoking and with despair, his fingers yellow from nicotine, he told them that not only had his son died, but he lost everything. Woman, family, money, friends, health, appetite and sleep. He never managed to find his son's body and the memory of his life passed. Each family member had an idea of how to respond to the loss, and the recriminations ended in irreconcilable breaks. "We were advised to not let it destroy us, to recognize that life continues. We promised that we would not fall into the black hole. We would live for our children, for our grandchildren, and for ourselves. "
The rhetoric seemed easy, but tears and pain were inevitable, loss of appetite and sleep. Dania was content with an illusory hope: "While there is no body, all theories and possibilities are open."
But not Dror, for him, the scene was stark. Dana had been killed. "Once I was disturbed to see her hair so long. I said, Dana, I am afraid that someone will strangle you with your hair. She was proud of her femininity. Today, I am appalled to have thought that. It torments me what she might have endured in her last moments. Perhaps Matthew wanted to rape her or drug her. Dana is not intimidated. She was tall, very fast, capable of defending herself, and he strangled her. I suppose that he did not want to kill her, but that happened ... There is no consolation. "
Key Witness
Dror thinks that Matthew could not have gotten rid of her body alone. Someone helped him. He arrived in Mexico with the intention of finding the accomplice. "They did not throw her into the sea or a sinkhole, nor did they leave her out in the open. I think that they buried her more than a meter deep in the sand dunes of the Biosphere Reserve, and as the culprits, stayed in Tulum until it was ascertained that it would be impossible to find her. "
"The Hungarian" who claims to be a businessman selling shirts and crafts, was the witness who Dror Rishpy was looking for. When he was finally questioned by police on May 25, Zsolt Fejer, who was not identified with any official document, said that on Friday, March 30th, he attended a party at the Hotel Mezzanine. He was alone. Around one o'clock in the morning, "Matthew" and eight of his friends "asked Fejer for a ride to Playa Esperanza (Hope Beach). Fejer rented a cabin in Hydens Hideout, where he was staying with his Argentinian wife and their toddler , who were visiting. He said that he agreed to give a"ride" to whoever could climb into the back of his red pickup truck. He was sure that there were a lot of people. But he only remembered "Matthew" and a girl with long hair. Around 3:00 am he said, "Matthew" woke him up and asked to borrow a blanket. From there, he knew nothing more. A week later, "Matthew" had told him that he was in possession of a backpack of a girl who had "gone on a trip."
The deposition of "The Hungarian" who admits that gave capsules of Ecstasy to Matthew, remained without further questioning. Police know, and confirmed in a later interview, which was conducted recently by a team of independent investigators, that he is a distributor of LSD, ecstasy and other drugs at parties and beaches. Nobody followed up on him.
The authorities also questioned the matter of the blanket. He said that Mati left it in the morning on the fence, but nobody verified if " The Hungarian" actually had returned it to the hotel. The blanket could have been tested to confirm or reject the hypothesis that it was used in the crime. It is suspected that this blanket, borrowed by a friend in the early morning hours, served to carry Dana's dead body. "The Hungarian" perhaps knows more than he has confessed. Perhaps he helped his friend to remove the body after the murder, "said Dror.
The Rishpys recognize that the local police initially tried to investigate They questioned the receptionist of the hotel. They went to about 30 places to explore jungle areas, mangroves and sinkholes. They inquired at airports and bus stations. They searched the leasing records in Tulum. They conducted searches in Campeche. This, however, was insufficient.
Bello Melchor, the State Attorney General ordered on the 27th of May, "Find her dead or alive." However, as summer approached and the influx of tourists, their attention was diverted. "In Tulum, there exists a symbiotic relationship with drugs, tourism and the complicity of the authorities, "says Raphael, Dana's uncle.
When the authorities in Quintana Roo, felt that they had exhausted all channels, they carried the search to Belize, in order to "locate Dana elsewhere,". They did this to propagate the idea that Quintana Roo is a safe area. On June 7th, Didier Vazquez, director of the Judicial Police of Quintana Roo,Jorge Rishmawy Avila agent of the Public Prosecutor of Tulum, and Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the Judicial Police of the state, departed for Central America to find Dana.
Following the route from the border, i.e from Corozal to Cayo Plascencia, they proceeded to show Dana Rishpy's photo to the villagers. They were accompanied by Santiago Góngora,of the Belize Police. Most of the people they questioned stated they had not seen Dana. Only one hesitated.
When they met with Peral Leslei, a woman 69 years old, who resides in Plascencia, they showed her photos of "a couple". Dana Rishpy and Matthew Walshin. She said that a few days earlier, they had been there. She did not know their names, but believed that they had gone to the Honduras. She noted, "I am not sure, but it seems to be them ." That was enough for the day of June 14th. A few days later, Bello Melchor, State Attorney General, forcefully declared that he had evidence that Dana was with her boyfriend "in Belize, and that they were headed for the Honduras.
When the television sounded this note on the evening news, Dania and Dror started receiving calls from acquaintances: "She's alive, she's alive." They knew that was impossible. Matthew remained in the United States and they knew exactly where. It was illogical, moreover, that Dana would have traveled without papers, without money and without calling. It was a stunt from the State Attorney General.
A few days later, Itzhak Erez, Israeli Consul,asked his counterpart of the Israeli embassy in El Salvador to seek Peral Leslei in Plascencia.
He arrived with new photos. However, this time of a niece who looked totally different than Dana. They showed the photos to the woman and asked if she recognized Dana Rishpy. She replied immediately, "I already told them that it is was her."
"It was obvious that this woman had reasons to confirm the information. I do not know if it was about money or the need to return a favor. What is a fact is that the information was false, "says Itzhak Erez.
Dania Rishpy called the TV stations on the night of June 14th to deny the alleged appearance of Dana. No one responded to her call nor corrected the error. Five weeks later, on July 21th, the Rishpys decided to return to Israel. The night before, Juancho, a dancer brought them to Mercedes Saviñon, a Mexican girlfriend. She gave her version of the crime stating that Dana had died by hanging.
"We leave physically, but we will not rest until we know what happened the night of March 30th, when Dana disappeared. We find it incomprehensible that if Matthew Ryan Walshin could be seen as a possible suspect, the State Attorney General has not filed a request to extradite him from the US. We are strongly opposed to the continuation of lies. Dana never left Mexico. With the support of the Israeli government, we will continue the search. We hope to find our daughter ... soon. "
The family is looking for the PGR to get involved in the case. On July 1st, Bello Melchor Rodriguez and Carrillo, Attorney General of Quintana Roo, decided to close the case. "How can it be possible that with such evidence that the crime was committed in their state, Bello Melchor would give up?" . The State Attorney said, without any sense of shame, the PGJE gave up because "Dana is playing games with the authorities."
(Expresión Libre, 1 de julio de 2007). Businessmen and hoteliers in the area, outraged at the turbulence, the spread of drugs and organized crime, murder and the disappearance of tourists in Quintana Roo, have demanded more than once the removal of the Attorney General (Free Expression, July 1 2007). Laura Susana Martinez Cardenas, an inspector from the State Commission for Human Rights, has alleged that in Quintana Roo "nothing is expedited without a bribe."
The case of Dana is just another murder, to add to an extensive list. The most notorious was that of Canadians Dominic and Annunziata Lanero, slain in their fourth floor room at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort in Cancun, five-star hotel on February 20, 2006, after attending the wedding of their daughter Lily. More than a year later, with no progress in that brutal murder of the Laneros, without any breakthrough in the disappearance of Dana Rishpy, Quintana Roo residents wonder how long will extortion, inefficiency and tortuous application of justice continue in the State.
Cop eats pot brownies, Thinks he's dying. Idiot.
If we "are what we eat", then this guy needs to be "weeded" out.
FIRE THE FIREMEN
FDNY firefighters arrested in firehouse arson
9:36 PM EDT, October 28, 2007
Two firefighters have been arrested on charges of setting fire to a Manhattan firehouse. The Fire Department says the two men, who didn't work at the firehouse where the fire was set, face felony charges of arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
The Fire Department says the men are accused of using a flammable liquid to set an apparatus door on fire at Engine 34 in Manhattan. A firefighter on the scene saw smoke entering the firehouse and alerted on-duty firefighters, who extinguished the flame.
The Fire Department is not releasing any information on why the men may have set the fire. No information was immediately available on their lawyers
9:36 PM EDT, October 28, 2007
Two firefighters have been arrested on charges of setting fire to a Manhattan firehouse. The Fire Department says the two men, who didn't work at the firehouse where the fire was set, face felony charges of arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
The Fire Department says the men are accused of using a flammable liquid to set an apparatus door on fire at Engine 34 in Manhattan. A firefighter on the scene saw smoke entering the firehouse and alerted on-duty firefighters, who extinguished the flame.
The Fire Department is not releasing any information on why the men may have set the fire. No information was immediately available on their lawyers
Sunday, October 28, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 4
Hands Bound
(Part Four)
Silvia Cherem for La Reforma
Mexico City (04 October 2007) . Dror and Dania Rishpy arrived in Mexico in late May. Time was passing and they were tired of mourning long distance. Since there was very little they could do in Israel,they preferred to be at the scene. There, they could put pressure on, and shout to the four winds that their daughter had to appear. They were appalled by the lack of effort in the investigation, and the bureaucratization of the judicial system. The police in Quintana Roo never questioned key witnesses in depth, neither requested the American authorities to have Matthew Ryan Walshin make a statement about the disappearance of their daughter.
Dan, Dana's brother, and her uncle Rafael, who also traveled from Israel, had been in Mexico three weeks between Cancun and Tulum. They too were frustrated with the paralysis of the authorities. With the passage of days, already two long months after her disappearance, clues seemed exhausted.
The Clumsiness of an Investigation
Dana's family was concerned, above all, that questions to witnesses were not incisive. Flor Pastrana, for example,indigenous advocate aged 34, was a friend of Matthew's since 1996. It was she who rented him an apartment for a nominal amount. Apartment number 2 Chemuyil 13, where he took refuge after the disappearance of Dana. She was barely questioned . This woman, who in 2001 stayed at the home of Matthew on Maui, became embroiled in a thicket of contradictions to justify (pages 51 and 52 of the preliminary investigation T-386/2007).
Pastrana declared that on March 31st in the afternoon, the day that Matthew said that Dana "had not returned from the ruins," she met him. He told her that he wanted to move because Vincent, a craftsman, had threatened him.
Mixing interchangeably the names Mirador (Viewpoint) and Caribbean Sea, Flor said that Matthew did not change hotels then, but much later, because "he couldn't deal with everything, his stuff and the girl's (...) and he was wary of leaving the girl's backpack with someone else."
She stated that she read a note from Dana in English which said: "Wait for me, I will return", a note that investigators knew never existed. And if someone claimed that Matthew did not wait long enough, Flor added, "Mati had wanted to wait for the girl longer, but could not deal with the threats of the artisans."
She adds more information. In April, ie, after Dana's disappearance, Matthew bought a truck that was still parked in the front of the apartment that he rented. The public prosecutor never asked her why did she believe that Matthew abandoned his car. Why did he buy a car if he was only using his bike. Also, if she maintained communication with him , and where was the note that she assured that she had read.
"The court acknowledges that Flor lied in her statements, as a blog on the Internet reveals regarding the case (http://yourfreepress.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-evidence-in-rishpy-case.html ); she defends Matthew, almost always anonymously, "says Dror.
The family also was concerned that the police had taken more than a month until May 25 to question Zsolt Fejer, a Hungarian citizen aged 34, a friend of Matthew, tattooed on every inch of his body, who, as already stated and contained in the dossier, sold drugs in Tulum and Playa del Carmen. A group of private investigators who recently took the case said that the "Hungarian", as he is nicknamed, told them that he sold Matthew tablets of ecstasy and LSD.
The investigation that led to "The Hungarian" as a witness was valuable. He appears in the pictures of the party near Dana and the people, where he is well identified. Everyone recognized him as a "friend of Matthew." "When we arrived in Tulum, we questioned why he had not been called yet to testify. The policemen responded that they had failed to identify him. The surprise came when we were leaving the offices of the police. My brother turned around and there, he saw "The Hungarian" himself.
"Surely he is protected. Most likely, he distributes money to the police in order to sell drugs in the area, "says Dania.
The findings of the police were spurious. The first week of May, for example, Dan and Raphael found the car that apparently belonged to Matthew. It was a gray Toyota pickup truck with plate number XPV 605 from Oregon. Police broke the glass and said they had found traces of blood, which would qualify the crime as murder.
The police of Quintana Roo, after securing and guarding the car, ordered on May 10th that the Department of Expert Services conduct a blood test with luminol to certify the findings. In the Mexican and Israeli media, information was widely circulated. There was talk of a clue"conclusive". The family, through Interpol in Jerusalem, sent Dana's hair sample. Her DNA would be compared with the blood that was in the vehicle.
However, the chemist, Arnulfo Mendez, of the Expert Services Branch, conducted three expert opinions that were contradictory. First, on May 10th, he confirmed that on the floor of the rear of the car and at the top of the trunk, there was a presence of blood. Then, that the chemo luminescence reagent was positive in the middle of the door. And finally, three days later, when applying benzidine, noted that there were no traces of human blood.
For Dror, this was either a means of entertaining the press, or a way of "masking the murder. " Dania has an uncle in Germany who is a specialist in DNA. He is internationally famous. He said that it was absolutely absurd that an expert could doubt whether it was human or animal blood, because even with a microscopic sample, it can be determined. Worse still to doubt whether it was blood or not .
The researchers who took the case recently cast doubt on any finding in his car. The only indication that points to Matthew are the dubious statements of Flor, and also in back of the apartment where he was living. There is an area where pigs and poultry are slaughtered for consumption at local restaurants. It is possible that waste products of meat, fat and animal blood had been tracked into the car and that the experts confused it with human blood.
The agony of uncertainty
From Israel, the Rishpys had acted in concert with the Mexican investigators, mobilizing resources and efforts. Their house in Haifa was a cauldron of activity during the entire month of May. The friends of the family and friends of the children ,Dalit (40), Dafna (37) and Dan (35) offered any kind of help.
"There were so many calls and suggestions, we were overwhelmed. We never knew we had so many acquaintances. " A friend of Dania living in Belgium, traveled to Haifa to handle the torrents of information.
With support from investigators, they knew Matthew's whereabouts. He continually moved within the USA. Maui, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Nevada ... Cities where his wealthy mother now remarried , owns property and pays mortgages on behalf of her son. A confidante of Dana's parents contacted Matthew's mother at her home in Las Vegas, and let her know that he was suspected of murder. She listened and said that she would offer no help..
Matthew, for his part, opted for silence. He acted on the advice of his father, Perry Walshin, a lawyer who in his youth defended an accomplice of Charles Manson, murderer of Sharon Tate. Matthew stopped answering e-mails, paying his expenses with credit cards or answering his cell. With a new image as a hippy, his full grown beard seemed outdated. Mati, as he liked to call himself, began to jump from city to city, avoiding any traces.
Faced with the impossibility of finding strong clues , acquaintances of the family began to contact witches, shamans and scholars. One said that Dana was abducted in one of the boats moored in Tulum. "We had to come to the area to see that there were no boats." Another imagined that Dana was traveling on a ship bound for Saudi Arabia to join the harem of a sheik, an explanation more in tune with the culture of the Middle East than with the Mexican reality. One further stated that Dana had fallen from a cliff, and that she was lost in the ocean. " "The Israeli experts who were in Mexico told us that if she had drowned, hundreds of carrion birds would have found her body. In addition, the current would wash ashore bones or pieces of clothing. But, there was nothing. One impossible hypothesis. "
Each proposal opened a sea of possibilities. Possibly in a boat with round windows, held hostage by a woman. Trapped in a forest in Venezuela, drugged against her will. Hidden in a jungle, and like the tale of witches, her mother had to go decoding locks on her way to release her. Trapped in a cave in Chihuahua. In a weakened state in a car in the jungle. A psychic lit hundreds of candles imbued with sugar and cinnamon with Dana's name. Another meditated with objects and photographs.
Almost all insisted that she was alive, but not how to get to her. " "We were very confused.There were no clear clues from the psychics, nor the police. Our family was consumed with despair. Our children were awoken by Dana's cries for help, without being able to help her. "
Before traveling to Mexico, Dror visited Uri Geller at his home in London. Geller is world renowned for his psychic powers and, and has been a friend of his for decades. Without promising results, he requested a photo of Dana. He did not give them false hopes, but contacted a multimillionaire who has investigative offices worldwide, assuring them that he might help. "Tell nothing to no one and never give his name," said Dror.
This tycoon was the first person they visited when, in late May, the Rishpys arrived in Mexico. He had already sent a specialist to Cancun. They were confident that that day would have bundles of information that would clarify the record. They hoped Dana would be found alive. The investigator, a bald man, said that he took Dana's photo to all the brothels in the Riviera Maya, and that nobody knew her. He went to groups in the underworld, without obtaining results. Rather than giving him information,they made him wary.
He said that since the first day he arrived in Quintana Roo, he realized that they followed him and took photos. "We urge you to beware. The mafia in Cancun is boiling. Do not say that you are helping Dana's parents. They can kill them. " They will cut their wings.
With more information than the police, he began his slow journey in Mexico. His hands were tied also.
(Part Four)
Silvia Cherem for La Reforma
Mexico City (04 October 2007) . Dror and Dania Rishpy arrived in Mexico in late May. Time was passing and they were tired of mourning long distance. Since there was very little they could do in Israel,they preferred to be at the scene. There, they could put pressure on, and shout to the four winds that their daughter had to appear. They were appalled by the lack of effort in the investigation, and the bureaucratization of the judicial system. The police in Quintana Roo never questioned key witnesses in depth, neither requested the American authorities to have Matthew Ryan Walshin make a statement about the disappearance of their daughter.
Dan, Dana's brother, and her uncle Rafael, who also traveled from Israel, had been in Mexico three weeks between Cancun and Tulum. They too were frustrated with the paralysis of the authorities. With the passage of days, already two long months after her disappearance, clues seemed exhausted.
The Clumsiness of an Investigation
Dana's family was concerned, above all, that questions to witnesses were not incisive. Flor Pastrana, for example,indigenous advocate aged 34, was a friend of Matthew's since 1996. It was she who rented him an apartment for a nominal amount. Apartment number 2 Chemuyil 13, where he took refuge after the disappearance of Dana. She was barely questioned . This woman, who in 2001 stayed at the home of Matthew on Maui, became embroiled in a thicket of contradictions to justify (pages 51 and 52 of the preliminary investigation T-386/2007).
Pastrana declared that on March 31st in the afternoon, the day that Matthew said that Dana "had not returned from the ruins," she met him. He told her that he wanted to move because Vincent, a craftsman, had threatened him.
Mixing interchangeably the names Mirador (Viewpoint) and Caribbean Sea, Flor said that Matthew did not change hotels then, but much later, because "he couldn't deal with everything, his stuff and the girl's (...) and he was wary of leaving the girl's backpack with someone else."
She stated that she read a note from Dana in English which said: "Wait for me, I will return", a note that investigators knew never existed. And if someone claimed that Matthew did not wait long enough, Flor added, "Mati had wanted to wait for the girl longer, but could not deal with the threats of the artisans."
She adds more information. In April, ie, after Dana's disappearance, Matthew bought a truck that was still parked in the front of the apartment that he rented. The public prosecutor never asked her why did she believe that Matthew abandoned his car. Why did he buy a car if he was only using his bike. Also, if she maintained communication with him , and where was the note that she assured that she had read.
"The court acknowledges that Flor lied in her statements, as a blog on the Internet reveals regarding the case (http://yourfreepress.blogspot.com/2007/05/new-evidence-in-rishpy-case.html ); she defends Matthew, almost always anonymously, "says Dror.
The family also was concerned that the police had taken more than a month until May 25 to question Zsolt Fejer, a Hungarian citizen aged 34, a friend of Matthew, tattooed on every inch of his body, who, as already stated and contained in the dossier, sold drugs in Tulum and Playa del Carmen. A group of private investigators who recently took the case said that the "Hungarian", as he is nicknamed, told them that he sold Matthew tablets of ecstasy and LSD.
The investigation that led to "The Hungarian" as a witness was valuable. He appears in the pictures of the party near Dana and the people, where he is well identified. Everyone recognized him as a "friend of Matthew." "When we arrived in Tulum, we questioned why he had not been called yet to testify. The policemen responded that they had failed to identify him. The surprise came when we were leaving the offices of the police. My brother turned around and there, he saw "The Hungarian" himself.
"Surely he is protected. Most likely, he distributes money to the police in order to sell drugs in the area, "says Dania.
The findings of the police were spurious. The first week of May, for example, Dan and Raphael found the car that apparently belonged to Matthew. It was a gray Toyota pickup truck with plate number XPV 605 from Oregon. Police broke the glass and said they had found traces of blood, which would qualify the crime as murder.
The police of Quintana Roo, after securing and guarding the car, ordered on May 10th that the Department of Expert Services conduct a blood test with luminol to certify the findings. In the Mexican and Israeli media, information was widely circulated. There was talk of a clue"conclusive". The family, through Interpol in Jerusalem, sent Dana's hair sample. Her DNA would be compared with the blood that was in the vehicle.
However, the chemist, Arnulfo Mendez, of the Expert Services Branch, conducted three expert opinions that were contradictory. First, on May 10th, he confirmed that on the floor of the rear of the car and at the top of the trunk, there was a presence of blood. Then, that the chemo luminescence reagent was positive in the middle of the door. And finally, three days later, when applying benzidine, noted that there were no traces of human blood.
For Dror, this was either a means of entertaining the press, or a way of "masking the murder. " Dania has an uncle in Germany who is a specialist in DNA. He is internationally famous. He said that it was absolutely absurd that an expert could doubt whether it was human or animal blood, because even with a microscopic sample, it can be determined. Worse still to doubt whether it was blood or not .
The researchers who took the case recently cast doubt on any finding in his car. The only indication that points to Matthew are the dubious statements of Flor, and also in back of the apartment where he was living. There is an area where pigs and poultry are slaughtered for consumption at local restaurants. It is possible that waste products of meat, fat and animal blood had been tracked into the car and that the experts confused it with human blood.
The agony of uncertainty
From Israel, the Rishpys had acted in concert with the Mexican investigators, mobilizing resources and efforts. Their house in Haifa was a cauldron of activity during the entire month of May. The friends of the family and friends of the children ,Dalit (40), Dafna (37) and Dan (35) offered any kind of help.
"There were so many calls and suggestions, we were overwhelmed. We never knew we had so many acquaintances. " A friend of Dania living in Belgium, traveled to Haifa to handle the torrents of information.
With support from investigators, they knew Matthew's whereabouts. He continually moved within the USA. Maui, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Nevada ... Cities where his wealthy mother now remarried , owns property and pays mortgages on behalf of her son. A confidante of Dana's parents contacted Matthew's mother at her home in Las Vegas, and let her know that he was suspected of murder. She listened and said that she would offer no help..
Matthew, for his part, opted for silence. He acted on the advice of his father, Perry Walshin, a lawyer who in his youth defended an accomplice of Charles Manson, murderer of Sharon Tate. Matthew stopped answering e-mails, paying his expenses with credit cards or answering his cell. With a new image as a hippy, his full grown beard seemed outdated. Mati, as he liked to call himself, began to jump from city to city, avoiding any traces.
Faced with the impossibility of finding strong clues , acquaintances of the family began to contact witches, shamans and scholars. One said that Dana was abducted in one of the boats moored in Tulum. "We had to come to the area to see that there were no boats." Another imagined that Dana was traveling on a ship bound for Saudi Arabia to join the harem of a sheik, an explanation more in tune with the culture of the Middle East than with the Mexican reality. One further stated that Dana had fallen from a cliff, and that she was lost in the ocean. " "The Israeli experts who were in Mexico told us that if she had drowned, hundreds of carrion birds would have found her body. In addition, the current would wash ashore bones or pieces of clothing. But, there was nothing. One impossible hypothesis. "
Each proposal opened a sea of possibilities. Possibly in a boat with round windows, held hostage by a woman. Trapped in a forest in Venezuela, drugged against her will. Hidden in a jungle, and like the tale of witches, her mother had to go decoding locks on her way to release her. Trapped in a cave in Chihuahua. In a weakened state in a car in the jungle. A psychic lit hundreds of candles imbued with sugar and cinnamon with Dana's name. Another meditated with objects and photographs.
Almost all insisted that she was alive, but not how to get to her. " "We were very confused.There were no clear clues from the psychics, nor the police. Our family was consumed with despair. Our children were awoken by Dana's cries for help, without being able to help her. "
Before traveling to Mexico, Dror visited Uri Geller at his home in London. Geller is world renowned for his psychic powers and, and has been a friend of his for decades. Without promising results, he requested a photo of Dana. He did not give them false hopes, but contacted a multimillionaire who has investigative offices worldwide, assuring them that he might help. "Tell nothing to no one and never give his name," said Dror.
This tycoon was the first person they visited when, in late May, the Rishpys arrived in Mexico. He had already sent a specialist to Cancun. They were confident that that day would have bundles of information that would clarify the record. They hoped Dana would be found alive. The investigator, a bald man, said that he took Dana's photo to all the brothels in the Riviera Maya, and that nobody knew her. He went to groups in the underworld, without obtaining results. Rather than giving him information,they made him wary.
He said that since the first day he arrived in Quintana Roo, he realized that they followed him and took photos. "We urge you to beware. The mafia in Cancun is boiling. Do not say that you are helping Dana's parents. They can kill them. " They will cut their wings.
With more information than the police, he began his slow journey in Mexico. His hands were tied also.
DANA RISHPY SERIES:PART 3
The Squaring of a Crime
by Silvia CheremMexico City (October 3, 2007)
Dana disappeared in Tulum. Her parents were alarmed by her absence. An American named Mati was the key to knowing more about her. Nevertheless, her disappearance was viewed with suspicion. Police in Quintana Roo did not help much, and the family wanted better results.
The first question that Itzhak Erez, consul of the Israeli embassy in Mexico asked Dror Rishpy when he telephoned him in Israel on April 24th was, whether Mati, just Mati only because nobody even knew his full name, was credible.
For him, Mati was a questionable piece of the puzzle, and now he didn't even respond to emails sent to him. Even so, rather than listening to his intuition, Dror wanted to cling to rationality: "He is totally trust worthy. He is a decent guy who told us about the disappearance of Dana. You should not be wary. "
On May 25, Erez organized several plans of action. He designed a flyer detailing the disappearance of Dana, which included photos, names and contact information, in English, Hebrew and Spanish. They were posted near Cancun and Tulum. An Israeli doctor who lives in Cancun contacted Stern offering to serve as a guide and support in the area. Stern began interviewing Israelis living in the Riviera Maya, in an attempt to obtain information. He sent an email to Mati, who never responded, and reserved a flight to leave that same night for the Federal District in Cancun.
Mark Stern arrived at the airport at midnight. At 5:00 am on May 26th, he departed for Tulum to meet two hours later with Mario Fernando Lira Manzanero, commander of the local Judicial Police. That same morning , he organized a small brigade of volunteers, policemen and journalists to start the search.
They started in the Caribbean Sea, bungalows where they found the backpack. With a photograph of Dana in their hands, they combed the archaeological area, beach ,fishermen and the jungle. They asked at each step if someone had seen or recognized her. They spoke with the people involved and searched for witnesses, attempting to unravel the threads of an unexplained disappearance.
At mid-morning, with no major findings, Mark Itzhak Stern decided to separate from Itzhak Erez to direct a two-pronged investigation: one regarding Dana, and another attempting to locate Mati. With the support of the commander and Lira Aviv Gezonterman, a 32 year old Israeli , who lives in the area and spoke with Dana at the Mezzanine party, Stern began looking for Mati.
Mati was the last person who saw Dana alive, it was he who gave notice of the backpack. He sought him as a witness, not as a suspect.
Findings
Despite the fact that everyone knew Mati in Tulum, the police still did not know his full name. Michaela, owner of a German restaurant Saffron confirmed having seen him the previous night. She was his neighbor, he lived above her apartment, and that night she heard his footsteps, moving furniture, and noise. He caused mistrust. He caused her German shepherd, always quiet, to become nervous.
She led the police to his apartment. The door was open, and they entered without touching anything. Mati, however, was no longer there. Probably, before the mobilization and the leaf letting of Dana's photo throughout the area of Cancun and Tulum. Mati, whose name is Matthew Ryan Walshin, had left a few hours earlier. Precisely when they were searching his room, now empty, he boarded flight 316, U.S. Airways Cancun to San Francisco, via Phoenix. He had been on the Riviera Maya nearly three months, from February 5th until April 26th.
In that small space with a kitchenette, rustic and dirty, littered with cigarette butts everywhere, there were still ice cubes in a refrigerator, cold drinks and a newspaper from Miami dated April 25, the day before.
He paid his bill through April 28th to Flor Pastrana Flores, his friend since 1996 and owner of that apartment in the village, on federal highway Tulum-Playa del Carmen and behind the nightclub Cabaret. He paid a symbolic amount. Only thousand 100 pesos for almost 15 days. He had taken refuge there a couple of weeks ago, when he left the hotel Caribbean Sea, after leaving Dana's backpack in charge of the hotel receptionist.
Matthew Ryan Walshin, who fled from justice, became the prime suspect. On the floor of the apartment, in his haste to leave, he left his driver's license issued in Los Angeles, California. It revealed his photograph, fingerprint, address in the United States and personal data. He was not 32 years old, as he told Dana, but 38 (born December 22, 1968).
From Israel, the Rishpys hired a group of soldiers who specialize in finding bodies in disaster areas. While their hope was that their daughter was kidnapped or drugged against her will, the group was sent to see if she had drowned or died falling from a cliff. They arrived in Tulum in the first days of May, and, since they did not speak Spanish, they were accompanied by Dan, Dana's brother, who lived in Spain.
Besides looking at pieces of clothing and bones in the vicinity of the beach, they examined tiny objects in the jungle with thoroughly trained dogs, studied sea currents and constantly questioned people about Dana and Matthew. Information flowed in droplets. In fact, it was almost zero.
"As for the Mexican police, they did not like the foreign investigators in the area and drove them off. Unknowingly, they made a mistake. "
Dan learned that a young photographer spoke about the weekly party at the Mezzanine. sent He reviewed his photos from March 30, and found several pictures of Dana. She was sitting back watching the show of Afroamerican drummers. taking pictures, walking alone, chatting with Steven William Miller, uncle or cousin Matthew, of whom nothing is reported in the police investigation. Dana is wearing a long sleeved green and black sweatshirt and black trousers. She is carrying her camera on her belt.
Dan noted that none of these objects sweatshirt, trousers or camera were in his sister's backpack, now,in the custody of the police. He concluded that in the heat of Tulum, which exceeds 40 degrees Celsius at noon, Dana could not have gone on March 31st wearing those clothes. If she really left for the ruins at 11:30, in the words of Matthew in one of his emails, she would have worn shorts and a short-sleeved shirt Additionally, she would have put those same clothes from the night before in her backpack.
Also, he noted that,as obsessive as she was about protecting herself from the sun's rays, she would have taken a hat and sunscreen, which were still packed.
Matthew had lied. Dana disappeared on the night of March 30, after the party at the Mezzanine, and not, as Matthew said, the morning of March 31st. Dana never went to the ruins, everything suggests that Dana died that night.
Lines of Investigation
The Public Prosecutor's Office began to take statements from potential witnesses. In each of the testimonies that are recorded in the preliminary investigation T-386/2006 the name "Matt" or "Matio" appears: a man tan and thin, with a thick beard, long blond curls and drugged out blue eyes. Almost every person interviewed described him as problematic and questionable.
Olaf, an employee of Don Cafeto, remembered him accosting some female Argentine tourists. Zsolt, a Hungarian who was his friend, said that "Matthew" had "problems with women" because he sought to have sex with them against their will. Yaad, a former girlfriend, stated that Matthew was impotent and was always stoned on marijuana and ecstasy tablets. Another young woman anonymously noted that Mati continuously stalked her.
The testimony of Scott, an American who on his own volition traveled to Mexico to give a statement regarding the disappearance of Dana, is revealing. This disciple of the psychic Ann Brennan, author of "Hands that heal," said that on April 4th, he chatted with Matthew on the beach.
They spoke of real estate and their shared desire to buy properties in the area. Scott recounted that day, that Matthew began to talk about a girl that he had met, who had gone to the ruins and had never returned.
He said her backpack was "impeccably organized," and he sought to show it to Scott. Scott questioned him as to why he had not given the backpack to the police. He Insisted that there something was wrong, because five days had passed. Matthew replied, "I am afraid of telling them because then they might suspect me."
A couple of days later, around 23:00 am, well into the night, Matthew arrived frightened at Scott's bungalow. Disheveled, he, insisted that he did not know what to do with the backpack. He alluded to the passport, a thousand dollars, which the girl left in a yellow card and contact details of her parents. Scott shifted the burden. "Go to the Police." Matthew refused.
Scattered and anxious, speaking incoherently. His anguish was eased only when he left. Then, he would seek council from his father, a lawyer in Los Angeles.
Scott said that Matthew never returned to see him. He said that Mati harassed women and that on one occasion, a man chased him on the beach to beat him. "I get the hunch that he is unstable, unbalanced and in need of care," he concluded.
A couple of weeks later, with the assistance of Interpol, the Mexican police entered into the record file number DGAPII/5315/07 that Matthew Ryan Walshin had an extensive criminal history in the United States. The office of Sheriff of the county of Santa Cruz and Lakeport records state that in 1989 Matthew was charged with rape, resisting and obstructing a police officer and contempt of court. In 1990, he was charged again for rape and sexual assault, and sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days in jail.
In 1993, he relapsed, and was accused of sexual assault in Santa Cruz, and later in San Francisco. (Source: Silvia Cherem / newspaper Reforma)
Octubre 3, 2007 08:20 AM October 3, 2007 08:20 AM
Saturday, October 27, 2007
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 2
The Wrong Target (Part Two)
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (Oct. 2, 2007)
Dania Rishpy hung up the phone on April 7 and wrote her daughter an e-mail: "Dear Dana: a boy who is called Mati called us to tell us that he left your bag at the reception desk. He said that he had to go. Please call or send us an email to know how you are. "
She had communicated with her family by e-mail 10 days before, on March 28th. She seemed happy.
She reported that she had been in Cancun, in a small hotel where she met people "really cute" on the 27th, two Frenchmen, and 28th, a German, who toured the beaches of Cancun that she photographed. She sent the pictures. On the 29th, she thought about going to Isla Mujeres, where, she wrote, she would surely find many Israelis. " She said, "I still did not see Israelis, but all other tourists are wonderful." Three times she mentioned the words "very nice people." In hindsight, Dana seems naive.
"Many of the Israeli backpackers lower their guard when traveling. They feel that far from the Middle East, they are out of danger. They need to relieve their tension, and to hear young people, build relationships and live intensely, without concern, breaking down vigilance maintained at home. They think that all will be good, "explains David Dafni,a representative in Mexico.
In New York, Dania continually checked their e-mail, awaiting news from her daughter, but the days passed and there was no response. "Dana, please take care of yourself and contact us. Do not forget to put on sun screen. We love you. " "Dana: What's happening? Why haven't we heard from you? Call us. "
Intuitive as they say women are, this mother tried not to be alarmed. "I understand that when you are traveling, it is sometimes difficult to communicate. While we camped in Patagonia, we had no contact with the family for just over two weeks. I was not worried. I was comfortable thinking. "No news is good news ". I believed that if something had happened, we would have heard. "
Dania was one of those who believed that her family was shielded with a mantle of luck. "During the last war, from our apartment, we saw the whole of northern Israel, to the mountains of Lebanon. When Hezbolláh attacked, we listened to the sirens, and Dana and I ran to the basement shelter. We only stayed a few minutes, then curious, we went to see from the terrace where the bomb had fallen. She believed that the bad things only happened to others. "
However, in New York, she began to have strange premonitions that something was going to happen. "I have never felt anything like this, it was inexplicable." I felt that this life had been "too good" and imagined the impending death of someone. She thought of her parents, with more than nine decades of life.
Dror, to whom she confessed her concern, was worried about their son Dan, a resident of Valencia. "I called so many times that I was left feeling uneasy. For our heads, we never thought that the problem would be Dana. " On Sunday, April 15, Dania checked e -mail shared by family members. She noted that Dana had not used her e- mail for two weeks. Messages were still unopened. They had accumulated. Dania recognized all senders: Israeli friends, family, cousins scattered around the world. One, however, immediately caught her attention: "Flower Power." When she opened it, she thought that nickname could refer to hippies or drugs.
"Dana is a vegetarian since age 4. She is always concerned about healthy living, does not support cigarettes or alcohol. She would not wear anything from animal skin, much less tolerate people who consume drugs. It was strange to relate to someone with that nickname. "
The e-mail was from Mati. At 16:45 am on April 7, after speaking with Rishpy, "Flower Power" wrote to Dana: "Hello, I am going to the Caribbean Sea. Your bags will be with the receptionist. It's Saturday and I have to move on. I hope you have a good trip. Take care. Mati."
"Where is the Caribbean Sea?" Dania entered into Google to find out whether it was the name of a hotel in Cancun. There were more than 800,000 references, nothing precise. Also, she had the phone number of Mati. They did not call. Dror, the father of Dana, chose to write: "Hi, Mati. Until now we have not heard of Dana. Do you have any idea where she could be? Please, please, because we are beginning to worry. Thank you very much for your help. Dania and Dror. "
That same day, Mati replied: "Hello, Dror, I am Mati. I have not seen or heard anything about Dana from Saturday March 31. She mentioned that she met a young Australian in Isla Mujeres before coming to Tulum. It was assumed that I was going to find her at 1:00 on Saturday, 31st in the bungalow. The last time I saw her was at 11:30am this Saturday. She was going to go to the ruins, possibly with some young people from Quebec. I never saw her at 1:00, so I left a note on the door for her to meet me 200 meters from there, on a camping site on the beach that she knew from the day before. Sorry, but I have no more information. Take care. Mati. "
The information fell like a deluge. It was the first time in their life they heard the word Tulum. They knew nothing of its lush forests, archaeological sites and sacred places. The ideas began to turn in their minds. If from March 31st Mati had not seen Dana, why was it not reported until April 7, one week later? Why did he not sound the alarm? Why, despite opening the bag and finding the phone number of her parents, and knowing that there was money, documents and all her personal items, he did not call immediately? However, they tried to calm down; He was their only source of information, and they preferred to cling to the hope of optimism. Dana certainly was alright.
Dror sent Mati another message and asked the name of the cabin in Tulum, and if he knew of any other person who had been in contact with Dana. On April 16, Dror received the second message from Mati. "The cottages are called Caribbean Sea. They are on the beach north of Tulum, next to the ruins. I do not have the name of anyone. Take care. Mati. " Again they searched on the Internet and did not find a hotel with the name of the Caribbean Sea.
They resumed communication: "Do you have the address, telephone or e-mail? We want to know if Dana picked up her backpack that you left at the reception ... Mati seemed closed. He never said he was still in Tulum, did not provide any evidence of his identity or showed the slightest intention to help find Dana.
On April 21st, with short language and brief communication, he replied for the last time: "I do not have any info on the Caribbean Sea, but it is next to Don Cafeto. Perhaps that will be useful." Everything smelled bad. That day, Dania and Dror flew back to Israel. They departed bound for Tel Aviv and not Mexico. They thought that there, they could have better results with the support of acquaintances and the Missing Persons Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. " Without speaking Spanish without knowing anyone what we were going to do in Mexico? Stand on the beach in Tulum crying, to shout that our daughter disappeared? ".
On April 23rd, the Rishpys searched the internet for a phone number of the Judicial Police of Tulum. An officer named Paul responded. It was he who on the 24th went with a team of policemen to the Caribbean Sea cabins, located on the beach, in the archeological zone. His intention was to make a tour of the dozen rustic bungalows with sand floors, made of wood, without electricity and roof guano, to investigate whether Dana was there.
Sergio Canul, receptionist and in charge of the place, which only carries a record of the first names of their guests, denied the presence of the Israeli and confirmed that her black backpack with green and turquoise markings, had been left there for 17 days.
The face of fate
That same day, with the discovery of the backpack,was just the beginning of the first page of the judicial record. They had already spent 25 long days since the disappearance of Dana. That day, too, the Israeli embassy in Mexico and the media, Mexican and Israelis would have the first information about the case.
All Dana 's belongings"from shoes and clothes, to her toothbrush," perfectly arranged in clean bags were stored inside the backpack. In another package was a smaller envelope, with eight "travelers checks" of $ 100, her Mastercard, her ticket back to Tel Aviv, her passports "Israeli, German (by the nationality of her mother) and the Economic Community European, "a coupon and a couple of journals written in Hebrew.
Dana was obsessive in recording every moment of her life. At her home in Haifa, she had dozens of newspapers, photographs and letters, including a diary of all her dreams ." She had up to five or six per night. Her mother, shocked by many testimonies documenting and opening her life recently joked with her. "Oh, Dana, documents every moment as if she were going to die soon." At that moment, she laughed. Today, the heart of Dania reflects on that premonition.
On the last page of the diary today in possession of the Judicial Police, Dana wrote in Hebrew on March 30, probably the last day of his life. "I went to Isla Mujeres and took a boat back to Cancun, two trucks and a taxi, and I find myself on the beach in Tulum, which is out of this world. "
She says that, on the bus to Tulum, she met two Swiss and an American who rode to Playa del Carmen. They confirmed what they feared. Tulum was crowded with tourists. She continued, "We took a taxi together to the beach.
It was the last time anyone saw her, perhaps her last night. "How lucky I am!" , was the last thing she wrote, but luck is only one side of chance. The arrow gave its destination to the wrong target.
Silvia Cherem
Mexico City (Oct. 2, 2007)
Dania Rishpy hung up the phone on April 7 and wrote her daughter an e-mail: "Dear Dana: a boy who is called Mati called us to tell us that he left your bag at the reception desk. He said that he had to go. Please call or send us an email to know how you are. "
She had communicated with her family by e-mail 10 days before, on March 28th. She seemed happy.
She reported that she had been in Cancun, in a small hotel where she met people "really cute" on the 27th, two Frenchmen, and 28th, a German, who toured the beaches of Cancun that she photographed. She sent the pictures. On the 29th, she thought about going to Isla Mujeres, where, she wrote, she would surely find many Israelis. " She said, "I still did not see Israelis, but all other tourists are wonderful." Three times she mentioned the words "very nice people." In hindsight, Dana seems naive.
"Many of the Israeli backpackers lower their guard when traveling. They feel that far from the Middle East, they are out of danger. They need to relieve their tension, and to hear young people, build relationships and live intensely, without concern, breaking down vigilance maintained at home. They think that all will be good, "explains David Dafni,a representative in Mexico.
In New York, Dania continually checked their e-mail, awaiting news from her daughter, but the days passed and there was no response. "Dana, please take care of yourself and contact us. Do not forget to put on sun screen. We love you. " "Dana: What's happening? Why haven't we heard from you? Call us. "
Intuitive as they say women are, this mother tried not to be alarmed. "I understand that when you are traveling, it is sometimes difficult to communicate. While we camped in Patagonia, we had no contact with the family for just over two weeks. I was not worried. I was comfortable thinking. "No news is good news ". I believed that if something had happened, we would have heard. "
Dania was one of those who believed that her family was shielded with a mantle of luck. "During the last war, from our apartment, we saw the whole of northern Israel, to the mountains of Lebanon. When Hezbolláh attacked, we listened to the sirens, and Dana and I ran to the basement shelter. We only stayed a few minutes, then curious, we went to see from the terrace where the bomb had fallen. She believed that the bad things only happened to others. "
However, in New York, she began to have strange premonitions that something was going to happen. "I have never felt anything like this, it was inexplicable." I felt that this life had been "too good" and imagined the impending death of someone. She thought of her parents, with more than nine decades of life.
Dror, to whom she confessed her concern, was worried about their son Dan, a resident of Valencia. "I called so many times that I was left feeling uneasy. For our heads, we never thought that the problem would be Dana. " On Sunday, April 15, Dania checked e -mail shared by family members. She noted that Dana had not used her e- mail for two weeks. Messages were still unopened. They had accumulated. Dania recognized all senders: Israeli friends, family, cousins scattered around the world. One, however, immediately caught her attention: "Flower Power." When she opened it, she thought that nickname could refer to hippies or drugs.
"Dana is a vegetarian since age 4. She is always concerned about healthy living, does not support cigarettes or alcohol. She would not wear anything from animal skin, much less tolerate people who consume drugs. It was strange to relate to someone with that nickname. "
The e-mail was from Mati. At 16:45 am on April 7, after speaking with Rishpy, "Flower Power" wrote to Dana: "Hello, I am going to the Caribbean Sea. Your bags will be with the receptionist. It's Saturday and I have to move on. I hope you have a good trip. Take care. Mati."
"Where is the Caribbean Sea?" Dania entered into Google to find out whether it was the name of a hotel in Cancun. There were more than 800,000 references, nothing precise. Also, she had the phone number of Mati. They did not call. Dror, the father of Dana, chose to write: "Hi, Mati. Until now we have not heard of Dana. Do you have any idea where she could be? Please, please, because we are beginning to worry. Thank you very much for your help. Dania and Dror. "
That same day, Mati replied: "Hello, Dror, I am Mati. I have not seen or heard anything about Dana from Saturday March 31. She mentioned that she met a young Australian in Isla Mujeres before coming to Tulum. It was assumed that I was going to find her at 1:00 on Saturday, 31st in the bungalow. The last time I saw her was at 11:30am this Saturday. She was going to go to the ruins, possibly with some young people from Quebec. I never saw her at 1:00, so I left a note on the door for her to meet me 200 meters from there, on a camping site on the beach that she knew from the day before. Sorry, but I have no more information. Take care. Mati. "
The information fell like a deluge. It was the first time in their life they heard the word Tulum. They knew nothing of its lush forests, archaeological sites and sacred places. The ideas began to turn in their minds. If from March 31st Mati had not seen Dana, why was it not reported until April 7, one week later? Why did he not sound the alarm? Why, despite opening the bag and finding the phone number of her parents, and knowing that there was money, documents and all her personal items, he did not call immediately? However, they tried to calm down; He was their only source of information, and they preferred to cling to the hope of optimism. Dana certainly was alright.
Dror sent Mati another message and asked the name of the cabin in Tulum, and if he knew of any other person who had been in contact with Dana. On April 16, Dror received the second message from Mati. "The cottages are called Caribbean Sea. They are on the beach north of Tulum, next to the ruins. I do not have the name of anyone. Take care. Mati. " Again they searched on the Internet and did not find a hotel with the name of the Caribbean Sea.
They resumed communication: "Do you have the address, telephone or e-mail? We want to know if Dana picked up her backpack that you left at the reception ... Mati seemed closed. He never said he was still in Tulum, did not provide any evidence of his identity or showed the slightest intention to help find Dana.
On April 21st, with short language and brief communication, he replied for the last time: "I do not have any info on the Caribbean Sea, but it is next to Don Cafeto. Perhaps that will be useful." Everything smelled bad. That day, Dania and Dror flew back to Israel. They departed bound for Tel Aviv and not Mexico. They thought that there, they could have better results with the support of acquaintances and the Missing Persons Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. " Without speaking Spanish without knowing anyone what we were going to do in Mexico? Stand on the beach in Tulum crying, to shout that our daughter disappeared? ".
On April 23rd, the Rishpys searched the internet for a phone number of the Judicial Police of Tulum. An officer named Paul responded. It was he who on the 24th went with a team of policemen to the Caribbean Sea cabins, located on the beach, in the archeological zone. His intention was to make a tour of the dozen rustic bungalows with sand floors, made of wood, without electricity and roof guano, to investigate whether Dana was there.
Sergio Canul, receptionist and in charge of the place, which only carries a record of the first names of their guests, denied the presence of the Israeli and confirmed that her black backpack with green and turquoise markings, had been left there for 17 days.
The face of fate
That same day, with the discovery of the backpack,was just the beginning of the first page of the judicial record. They had already spent 25 long days since the disappearance of Dana. That day, too, the Israeli embassy in Mexico and the media, Mexican and Israelis would have the first information about the case.
All Dana 's belongings"from shoes and clothes, to her toothbrush," perfectly arranged in clean bags were stored inside the backpack. In another package was a smaller envelope, with eight "travelers checks" of $ 100, her Mastercard, her ticket back to Tel Aviv, her passports "Israeli, German (by the nationality of her mother) and the Economic Community European, "a coupon and a couple of journals written in Hebrew.
Dana was obsessive in recording every moment of her life. At her home in Haifa, she had dozens of newspapers, photographs and letters, including a diary of all her dreams ." She had up to five or six per night. Her mother, shocked by many testimonies documenting and opening her life recently joked with her. "Oh, Dana, documents every moment as if she were going to die soon." At that moment, she laughed. Today, the heart of Dania reflects on that premonition.
On the last page of the diary today in possession of the Judicial Police, Dana wrote in Hebrew on March 30, probably the last day of his life. "I went to Isla Mujeres and took a boat back to Cancun, two trucks and a taxi, and I find myself on the beach in Tulum, which is out of this world. "
She says that, on the bus to Tulum, she met two Swiss and an American who rode to Playa del Carmen. They confirmed what they feared. Tulum was crowded with tourists. She continued, "We took a taxi together to the beach.
The Swiss found a cabin, and I accepted the offer of the American to share his. His name is Mati, he is from Santa Monica. He is 32 years old. He has lived here for two months, working in real estate. I do not know his intentions, but I do not want anything to do with him; At least until he takes a bath and cuts his hair. He seems friendly, but he stinks. "
She refers to Mati as being kind to her when she told him of her experience in Isla Mujeres.
There, Dana had met some youth, who she wanted to make friends and was rejected. She added, "It's incredible how everything can change in one day. Today, I am happy to be here and not having to stay in Isla Mujeres another night . " She wrote, she would go to a bar with live music at night. Her story finishes off with a lapidary sentence: "What a good fortune to meet a guy like Mati, who knows this place!" .
That night, Dana and Mati went to a beach party that was organized every Friday at the Hotel Mezzanine. According to statements by Israelis, Americans and Mexicans, Dana was there. They saw her taking photos including some that documented her last final minutes.
It was the last time anyone saw her, perhaps her last night. "How lucky I am!" , was the last thing she wrote, but luck is only one side of chance. The arrow gave its destination to the wrong target.
Friday, October 26, 2007
"YOU'RE DOIN' A FINE JOB BROWNIE"
Looks like NYPD point man, Paul Browne would like to do away with Press Pass credentials. The press pass has been a coveted tool for covering stories in New York City. It allows a journalist access to events that the general public is excluded from. Now if Mr. Browne has his way, then one would surmise that "news" coverage would be reduced to a single voice. That of the governing agency. This has been quite effective in China, Russia and other dictatorships.
See Browne rant in this video.
See Browne rant in this video.
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 1
"Confirmed: disappeared." CIUDAD DE MEXICO, MX. October 1, 2007
Dana wanted to go to Patagonia with her parents, but made the decision too late, and it was not possible to include her in the tour. She found a ticket to Cancun round trip for only 120 dollars and decided to travel to the Mexican Caribbean, with the marvelous beaches, but never imagining the nightmare that awaited her and her family.
The first call was received by her parents on April 7.
A young man telephoned the Rishpy's apartment in New York; The number was recorded in Dana's diary. Dania, the mother answered. It was a brief exchange, seemingly trivial.
. "I am Mati, I met your daughter She left her backpack with me and I got to go."
He did not say where or when they met, or his full name or where he had to go. Her parents did not ask. "Leave it in the hotel lobby reception. Please make a note so she knows where to find her things when she returns. " For Rishpy the call was irrelevant. Her daughter, a young highly predictable, and sensible girl, surely she had left for some sight seeing at the ruins, perhaps to Chichen Itza, and would return in the afternoon. Nothing to worry about.
Dana, of Israeli and German nationality, had traveled to Cancun on March 26 from Los Angeles. She was the youngest of the family. She was born more than 10 years after her three older siblings and grew up as the baby adored by her parents. She traveled with them They were tireless adventurers They had traveled through various corners of the world. And now both retired Dror was an El Al pilot for over 35 years, Dania, a travel agent, enjoyed knowing exotic places. Twice a year, they stayed in a house on the island of Menorca and in their apartment in New York City.
It was not the first time that Dana was traveling alone. At the conclusion of her military service, compulsory in Israel, Dana visited Thailand. And now, after her trip to San Francisco, where she was looking for a computer animation school, arrived in Mexico eager to meet other people and enjoy the sun and the beach. Initially she wanted to go to South America, but her parents advised against it.
. "It seemed that it might be dangerous for a young woman traveling alone."
She, then found a cheap ticket to Cancun and, as if destiny was on track, her parents gave her permission to travel. ""We had been there 30 years ago, and the image of a secure paradise stayed in our memory."
Dana, a swirl of energy, wanted to take a rest from her numerous activities of sports and artistic projects. In Israel, the whole world knew her. For four years, she dubbed voices for children's programs on Israeli TV.
Specifically, she was the voice of Sakura Kinomoto, the heroine of the popular Japanese series "Cardcaptor Sakura". Israeli children from 7 to 15 were fascinated by this character. There is even a Web site for Sakura and a regular group of fans.
She was also trained and won first place in a 100 meter race. She then moved her footsteps to learn animation techniques hoping to work in Pixar/ Walt Disney films as a producer. She also began a promising career as a singer.
With an inexhaustible imagination, a few months before leaving Israel she wrote a rock song with her friend Boaz Peleg. They made a home video filmed in the garden of her home, which is posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com / watch? v = I0hPuEpm9uE). This was not only popular, because nearly a thousand Israelis saw her video in a week. But it prompted a call from a producer who invited her to compose more songs, to launch her career.
In a paradox of destiny, more than 300,000 people have viewed her video after her disappearance. In her video,Dana is wearing a black shirt with the words "Alive" (alive). Determined and beautiful, with an overwhelming personality, she sings to the young men to leave her in peace, that they should enable her to breathe. Aludía a Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie y Chagai. Aludía to Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie and Chagai. In words that now fly like dried leaves, the seductive Dana sang her desire for freedom, she did not want to be tied to anyone. She wanted to be a new girl to dance and live without any load: "I am just a girl, and there are many others, if love appeared, I would recognize it... Let me in peace."
Tired of superficial relations, Dana appeared to anticipate that, far from Israel, on the other side of the world, a man in the wrong place, would leave her breathless and lifeless ... Despite her brimming desire to live.
Cancun, a date with destiny
Dania and Dror, parents of Dana, left Israel to Patagonia at the end of January 2007.
Despite being 70 and 63 years, respectively, they would go to backpack for two weeks in the area of El Calafate, walking with a team of experts on the trail in Perito Moreno, enjoying breathtaking views of lakes, glacial formations and landslides . "Certainly we are more adventurous than any of our four children. Dana decided too late that she wanted to come with us, and it was not possible to include her. The group was closed. "
The night before leaving, the last to be shared with Dana, her home was ablaze with activity. Israeli journalists were there to interview Dror Rishpy. He enjoyed being celebrity for a day, and never imagined that as a paradox of destiny, upon his return to Israel, again found the press at home. This time, for reasons unexpected, devastating.
The newly released film "The Last King of Scotland.", was shown in Israel that January. Dror Rishpy had been the personal pilot of Idi Amin from 1965 to 1967. Following the independence of the African country, Israel gave intelligence and military assistance to Uganda. Journalists sought to review the past.
Dror, who had not seen the film, said that, before Amin became the macabre and evil tyrannical dictator, Idi Amin was like a child who liked to be amused and laugh. Daily, he asked to fly over the savanna frightening lions and elephants, which ran terrified at the sound of the plane and the wind that originated in it's wake. The then chief of the Armed Forces of Uganda once wanted to fly beside a buffalo to see it bombed by plane from the air. When, after much discussion, he became convinced that they could crash, he gave a gun to his son to shoot and kill the animal. He then shot him, and embracing their prey, traveled on satisfied.
"To Dana these stories were always entertaining. Being girlish seemed to be fascinating, and she has always been a little child, "confesses Dania, who, unlike Dror, still talks about her in the present tense. "She was 25 years old, but seemed, 16. We loved her tenderness and innocence: collection of stuffed animals and Care Bears, she enjoyed children's movies and liked to play at being my baby. She hugged me all the time. We are so close. I do not know if I can survive without her. "
While they went to Patagonia, Dana would travel to the United States. Dror and Dania found themselves mid-March in New York City. They would enjoy a couple of weeks together, attending concerts, listening to operas, visiting art exhibitions.
Dana departed from Tel Aviv to New York in February. She had already completed a course in animation at the Open University of Israel in Ramat Hasharon, Kfar Hayarok, and was skilled in managing the software Photoshop and Freehand She wanted to find a school to improve her animation techniques in the United States.
First, she stayed a couple of weeks in New York, learning photography in the studio of Ron Habib, a friend of the family. He has documented scenes of war in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan for Time magazine. From there, she left for San Francisco, where she found a couple of Animation Schools. One of which, after taking advice from their parents, she applied to. Finally she visited with some cousins of her mother in Los Angeles. "She discovered that part of the family, and stayed there a couple of weeks," said Dania.
Dania and Dror expected Dana to return to New York, speaking on a daily basis with her. She equivocated whether she wanted to stay in Los Angeles or travel to the warm climate of South America. It was then that she found the $ 120 ticket to Cancun. "Anything was better than the cold," she said. She did not know that she was wrong. (Source: Silvia Cherem / Reforma)
Dana wanted to go to Patagonia with her parents, but made the decision too late, and it was not possible to include her in the tour. She found a ticket to Cancun round trip for only 120 dollars and decided to travel to the Mexican Caribbean, with the marvelous beaches, but never imagining the nightmare that awaited her and her family.
The first call was received by her parents on April 7.
A young man telephoned the Rishpy's apartment in New York; The number was recorded in Dana's diary. Dania, the mother answered. It was a brief exchange, seemingly trivial.
. "I am Mati, I met your daughter She left her backpack with me and I got to go."
He did not say where or when they met, or his full name or where he had to go. Her parents did not ask. "Leave it in the hotel lobby reception. Please make a note so she knows where to find her things when she returns. " For Rishpy the call was irrelevant. Her daughter, a young highly predictable, and sensible girl, surely she had left for some sight seeing at the ruins, perhaps to Chichen Itza, and would return in the afternoon. Nothing to worry about.
Dana, of Israeli and German nationality, had traveled to Cancun on March 26 from Los Angeles. She was the youngest of the family. She was born more than 10 years after her three older siblings and grew up as the baby adored by her parents. She traveled with them They were tireless adventurers They had traveled through various corners of the world. And now both retired Dror was an El Al pilot for over 35 years, Dania, a travel agent, enjoyed knowing exotic places. Twice a year, they stayed in a house on the island of Menorca and in their apartment in New York City.
It was not the first time that Dana was traveling alone. At the conclusion of her military service, compulsory in Israel, Dana visited Thailand. And now, after her trip to San Francisco, where she was looking for a computer animation school, arrived in Mexico eager to meet other people and enjoy the sun and the beach. Initially she wanted to go to South America, but her parents advised against it.
. "It seemed that it might be dangerous for a young woman traveling alone."
She, then found a cheap ticket to Cancun and, as if destiny was on track, her parents gave her permission to travel. ""We had been there 30 years ago, and the image of a secure paradise stayed in our memory."
Dana, a swirl of energy, wanted to take a rest from her numerous activities of sports and artistic projects. In Israel, the whole world knew her. For four years, she dubbed voices for children's programs on Israeli TV.
Specifically, she was the voice of Sakura Kinomoto, the heroine of the popular Japanese series "Cardcaptor Sakura". Israeli children from 7 to 15 were fascinated by this character. There is even a Web site for Sakura and a regular group of fans.
She was also trained and won first place in a 100 meter race. She then moved her footsteps to learn animation techniques hoping to work in Pixar/ Walt Disney films as a producer. She also began a promising career as a singer.
With an inexhaustible imagination, a few months before leaving Israel she wrote a rock song with her friend Boaz Peleg. They made a home video filmed in the garden of her home, which is posted on YouTube (www.youtube.com / watch? v = I0hPuEpm9uE). This was not only popular, because nearly a thousand Israelis saw her video in a week. But it prompted a call from a producer who invited her to compose more songs, to launch her career.
In a paradox of destiny, more than 300,000 people have viewed her video after her disappearance. In her video,Dana is wearing a black shirt with the words "Alive" (alive). Determined and beautiful, with an overwhelming personality, she sings to the young men to leave her in peace, that they should enable her to breathe. Aludía a Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie y Chagai. Aludía to Ofer, Yoni, Tomer, Eyal, Dor, Ronnie and Chagai. In words that now fly like dried leaves, the seductive Dana sang her desire for freedom, she did not want to be tied to anyone. She wanted to be a new girl to dance and live without any load: "I am just a girl, and there are many others, if love appeared, I would recognize it... Let me in peace."
Tired of superficial relations, Dana appeared to anticipate that, far from Israel, on the other side of the world, a man in the wrong place, would leave her breathless and lifeless ... Despite her brimming desire to live.
Cancun, a date with destiny
Dania and Dror, parents of Dana, left Israel to Patagonia at the end of January 2007.
Despite being 70 and 63 years, respectively, they would go to backpack for two weeks in the area of El Calafate, walking with a team of experts on the trail in Perito Moreno, enjoying breathtaking views of lakes, glacial formations and landslides . "Certainly we are more adventurous than any of our four children. Dana decided too late that she wanted to come with us, and it was not possible to include her. The group was closed. "
The night before leaving, the last to be shared with Dana, her home was ablaze with activity. Israeli journalists were there to interview Dror Rishpy. He enjoyed being celebrity for a day, and never imagined that as a paradox of destiny, upon his return to Israel, again found the press at home. This time, for reasons unexpected, devastating.
The newly released film "The Last King of Scotland.", was shown in Israel that January. Dror Rishpy had been the personal pilot of Idi Amin from 1965 to 1967. Following the independence of the African country, Israel gave intelligence and military assistance to Uganda. Journalists sought to review the past.
Dror, who had not seen the film, said that, before Amin became the macabre and evil tyrannical dictator, Idi Amin was like a child who liked to be amused and laugh. Daily, he asked to fly over the savanna frightening lions and elephants, which ran terrified at the sound of the plane and the wind that originated in it's wake. The then chief of the Armed Forces of Uganda once wanted to fly beside a buffalo to see it bombed by plane from the air. When, after much discussion, he became convinced that they could crash, he gave a gun to his son to shoot and kill the animal. He then shot him, and embracing their prey, traveled on satisfied.
"To Dana these stories were always entertaining. Being girlish seemed to be fascinating, and she has always been a little child, "confesses Dania, who, unlike Dror, still talks about her in the present tense. "She was 25 years old, but seemed, 16. We loved her tenderness and innocence: collection of stuffed animals and Care Bears, she enjoyed children's movies and liked to play at being my baby. She hugged me all the time. We are so close. I do not know if I can survive without her. "
While they went to Patagonia, Dana would travel to the United States. Dror and Dania found themselves mid-March in New York City. They would enjoy a couple of weeks together, attending concerts, listening to operas, visiting art exhibitions.
Dana departed from Tel Aviv to New York in February. She had already completed a course in animation at the Open University of Israel in Ramat Hasharon, Kfar Hayarok, and was skilled in managing the software Photoshop and Freehand She wanted to find a school to improve her animation techniques in the United States.
First, she stayed a couple of weeks in New York, learning photography in the studio of Ron Habib, a friend of the family. He has documented scenes of war in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan for Time magazine. From there, she left for San Francisco, where she found a couple of Animation Schools. One of which, after taking advice from their parents, she applied to. Finally she visited with some cousins of her mother in Los Angeles. "She discovered that part of the family, and stayed there a couple of weeks," said Dania.
Dania and Dror expected Dana to return to New York, speaking on a daily basis with her. She equivocated whether she wanted to stay in Los Angeles or travel to the warm climate of South America. It was then that she found the $ 120 ticket to Cancun. "Anything was better than the cold," she said. She did not know that she was wrong. (Source: Silvia Cherem / Reforma)
DANA RISHPY SERIES: PART 1
Famed Mexican journalist, Silvia Cherem (shown in photo) has written a six part series regarding the disappearance of Dana Rishpy. It is with great pride that we are able to provide it to you. The article originally appeared in the leading Mexican paper, LA REFORMA.PART 1
DANA RISHPY CONFIRMED MISSING
By Silvia Cherem
Grupo Reforma
Dana Rishpy traveled to Cancun to escape the cold New York weather and what she found was death.
Although her body was never found or evidence of a homicide, Dror and Dania parents of the young Israeli have no doubt that she was murdered somewhere in the Riviera Maya, on the night of March 30.
Their certainty is well founded. For four months of despair, they undertook the desperate but unsuccessful search for their daughter. Throughout this time, they managed to identify and locate the prime suspect: Matthew Ryan Walshin, an American citizen with a history of criminal sexual offenses.
The pain over the loss of their daughter joined the frustration and hopelessness of negligent and at times deceitful actions of the authorities of Quintana Roo, especially the Attorney Bello Melchor Rodriguez.
The state officials not only demeaned the clues about the crime, but decided to make it a matter of youthful immaturity, underscoring without any evidence that the girl disappeared as a person " conflicted and drug addicted", and went happily " with her bridegroom " to Belize and the Honduras.
"Everything was absolutely untrue. Dana is still unaccounted for. Surely, Dana does not exist any more, "regrets Dror Rishpy, interviewed shortly before returning to Israel. He was desolated that he could not even provide a decent funeral for his daughter.
From today , we present this story, which moves from a young crime victim, to the neglect by the authorities. And finally, to the anguish of her parents.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
OPEN LETTER TO MATTHEW WALSHIN AND FRIENDS
In a series of anonymous responses to "MATTHEW WALSHIN BUSTED AGAIN", posted on YFP, Rafael Martínez Alequín would like to respond.Statement: Anonymous states that Martínez Alequin cannot be trusted when he "printed untrue statements about Matthew's record"
Response: YFP stated earlier that Walshin had served five years in an Oregon prison for rape. YFP corrected that statement with later information that Walshin served six months in prison and subsequently five years probation. Although some of the info was incorrect, this does not exonerate Walshin from his charge of sexual assault for which he served time.
Statement: "The Mayor of New York does not want him covering council meetings because of his strange and rambling incoherent questioning."
Response: Martínez Alequin does cover City Council meetings in NYC as well as the press conferences of Mayor Michael Blomberg. One need only to view the blog and will see evidence of such. The latest being an interview with City Councilman James Oddo which is posted on YOU TUBE. Martínez Alequin's issue with Bloomberg is the right for blog journalists to be Press pass credentialed.
This issue applies not only to Martínez Alequin but to bloggers throughout the US.
Statement: As to the recent arrest of Matthew, it is stated. "The actual cops did not arrest Matthew it was a citizens arrest made by these corrupt undercover cops"
Response: Firstly, how do cops make a "citizen's arrest". Secondly, how do you know that they are corrupt? And if Matthew justly defended himself, then why was he charged with assault? Surely, the court would have seen things from his point of view. Contrary to opinion, the court record states that he has to appear for parole violation. That is not the opinion of YFP, it is the California court record. (see blog post)
Statement: "The facts are Matthew was the first one to tell Dana's family by phone and email that she had disappeared. Also Matthew told about ten friends in Tulum that Dana disappeared
does that sound like someone who had something to do with the disappearance it does not make sense."Response: Well....it could sound like a perfectly contrived alibi on the part of Matthew. As for Matthew contacting Dana's parents. It was Dana's parents who contacted Matthew when they did not hear from her. Three weeks later, he disappeared.
Statement: "Dana went to the pyramids so she was seen by other people who either can't remember or won't admit it."
Response: Surely you are joking! Dana was a beautiful, slender woman with hair down to her waist. She had light eyes and pale skin. She stood out in a crowd. Surely someone would have seen her if she had "really" visited there.
Statement: (In regards to Matthew) "He did leave Mexico when he realized how corrupt Melchor Rodriguez was as he falsely accused two canadian women of murdering a couple. Also
he (Matthew) gave the family valueable information"
Response: Matthew fails to define why Melchor Rodriguez is corrupt. He cites that Rodriguez falsely accused two Canadian women of murdering a couple. Yes, that murder is still unresolved but that does not make a case for Rodriguez being corrupt. As for the valuable information that Matthew allegedly gave Dana's family, they speak otherwise. On the contrary, they feel that he withheld information and is yet to reveal more facts. (see blog posts from Dana's parents)
Statement: "Matthew did not want to end up like Eric Volz in Nicaragua who is serving 30 years for a crime he did not commit. He had ten witnesses that said he wasn't there. Mexico would rather blame a gringo than do a real investigation to get the heat off there own backs. All for the money and tourism"
Response: For Matthew to compare himself with Volz is ludicrous.
Volz is a former resident of Nashville and a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, where he majored in Latin American Studies.[2] Volz later moved to Managua, where he sold real estate and launched EP (El Puente) Magazine, advocating for smart growth and ecotourism.[3] Volz is the son of a former member of The 77s. Matthew has a past that is somewhat suspect to say the least. He has benefited from the legal aid of his father, Perry Walshin, esq. and in all the articles regarding Matthew, we are yet to learn of his employment history.
Statement: "Also he was not the last person seen with Dana"
Response: Really? Then who were the last people seen with Dana? What happened to Matthews's cousin, Steve Miller? He was part of the entourage. Why have we not heard from him? Matthew's friend, El Hungaro stated that Matthew borrowed a blanket from him on the night of Dana's disappearance. At that point, Dana was in Matthew's company. When the blanket needed to be located for forensic purposes, it suddenly disappeared.
YFP has documented this story from it's inception. Many anonymous posts have defended Walshin. In the judgment of YFP, he is innocent until facts prove otherwise. However, there is troubling information which casts doubt on the protestations of his defenders. Matthew did relay information to Dana's parents. But, her parents feel that more has been withheld than revealed. Matthew's dash for the border was swift and deliberate. The cooperation of Mexican authorities has been slow and bumbling. Key evidence has been lost or not assessed properly.
Important witnesses have not been interrogated and Matthew continues to watch the unfolding events with impunity.
So YFP extends an invitation to Matthew and friends to submit a videotape detailing their protests and or information. You are encouraged to remain anonymous. If you do not want to be seen, then simply cover your face with a scarf. We will provide the forum and the space for your side of the story. Bring it on boys.....bring it on!
HISPANIC POLICE SUE RACIST SUPERVISOR
N.J. Officers Sue Commander, Say He's White Supremacist
POSTED: 5:19 pm CDT October 24, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. -- Five Hoboken police officers sued their city and a commander on Wednesday, charging they have endured racial slurs and intimidation from a superior because they are Hispanic.
The federal lawsuit they filed claims that a commanding officer is a white supremacist and that the police chief has taken no action against him.
The commander who was sued, Lt. Angelo Andriani, was not at headquarters on Wednesday. A desk sergeant in the morning declined to take a message for him, and did not have a current phone extension for the lieutenant. An officer Wednesday evening at police headquarters took a message for Andriani, but it was not immediately returned. No listings for Andriani could be found in Verona.
Police Chief Carmen V. LaBruno did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Bill Campbell, a spokesman for Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
In the lawsuit, the officers claim that Andriani regularly used the n-word and said "the white race was destined to rule and dominate others."
"It's very difficult to do your duties under these circumstances," Sgt. Edwin Pantoja, one of the officers who sued, told reporters at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
Another of the officers, Detective George Fonseca, said, "You suck it up and do what you got to do to survive. I have a family to support." Fonseca, a former Marine, choked up as he related that his children by his first wife, a black woman, are biracial.
According to the lawsuit, when the Hispanic police complained to about their commander's behavior, he would "respond with threats, intimidation and harassment."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to be paid by the city and Andriani.
The Hispanic officers also charged that from 2004 to 2006, Andriani ordered them to perform chores at his home in Verona, including digging holes for a deck, cleaning his boat, and shucking 10 bushels of corn.
POSTED: 5:19 pm CDT October 24, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. -- Five Hoboken police officers sued their city and a commander on Wednesday, charging they have endured racial slurs and intimidation from a superior because they are Hispanic.
The federal lawsuit they filed claims that a commanding officer is a white supremacist and that the police chief has taken no action against him.
The commander who was sued, Lt. Angelo Andriani, was not at headquarters on Wednesday. A desk sergeant in the morning declined to take a message for him, and did not have a current phone extension for the lieutenant. An officer Wednesday evening at police headquarters took a message for Andriani, but it was not immediately returned. No listings for Andriani could be found in Verona.
Police Chief Carmen V. LaBruno did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Bill Campbell, a spokesman for Hoboken Mayor David Roberts, said they had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
In the lawsuit, the officers claim that Andriani regularly used the n-word and said "the white race was destined to rule and dominate others."
"It's very difficult to do your duties under these circumstances," Sgt. Edwin Pantoja, one of the officers who sued, told reporters at a news conference announcing the lawsuit.
Another of the officers, Detective George Fonseca, said, "You suck it up and do what you got to do to survive. I have a family to support." Fonseca, a former Marine, choked up as he related that his children by his first wife, a black woman, are biracial.
According to the lawsuit, when the Hispanic police complained to about their commander's behavior, he would "respond with threats, intimidation and harassment."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages to be paid by the city and Andriani.
The Hispanic officers also charged that from 2004 to 2006, Andriani ordered them to perform chores at his home in Verona, including digging holes for a deck, cleaning his boat, and shucking 10 bushels of corn.
GIULIANI APPROVES BLIND GUN OWNERS
Giuliani: Blind Should Be Able to Carry Guns
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Mosheh Oinounou
LEBANON, N.H. — Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani is leaving the door open to allowing the blind and physically disabled to carry guns.
During a town hall meeting in northwestern New Hampshire Tuesday night, Giuliani told a former police officer blinded in the line of duty and concerned about the former New York City mayor's stance on guns, "You don't have to worry."
"You have a constitutional right, that is protected, to bear and carry arms. It is the Second Amendment," Giuliani told about 200 attendees in a high school gymnasium in Lebanon. "If someone disagrees with that, you have to get the Constitution changed."
He added that he believes in only three restrictions for those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment right — a previous criminal record, a history of mental instability and an age requirement.
Kenyon Tuthill, 61, who served as a Suffolk County, N.H., police officer until his injury, told FOX News that he was satisfied with Giuliani's answer.
During his two terms as mayor, Giuliani supported strict gun laws at both the local and national level and advocated the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. But as a presidential candidate, he vows to protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level allowing state and local authorities to determine their own "reasonable" restrictions.
New Hampshire, the Live Free Or Die State, is known for its limited gun-control laws, including no waiting period for purchases, no background checks for buyers of rifles and shotguns and no restrictions on children under 18 possessing firearms, according to the Brady Campaign, a gun-control advocacy group.
But the rural state with lots of sportsmen and a high rate of gun ownership annually has fewer than 100 total murders, including non-gun crimes, and Second Amendment rights are hugely important to constituents of both parties.
New Hampshire allows the blind to possess firearms, Tuthill said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
By Mosheh Oinounou
LEBANON, N.H. — Republican presidential front-runner Rudy Giuliani is leaving the door open to allowing the blind and physically disabled to carry guns.
During a town hall meeting in northwestern New Hampshire Tuesday night, Giuliani told a former police officer blinded in the line of duty and concerned about the former New York City mayor's stance on guns, "You don't have to worry."
"You have a constitutional right, that is protected, to bear and carry arms. It is the Second Amendment," Giuliani told about 200 attendees in a high school gymnasium in Lebanon. "If someone disagrees with that, you have to get the Constitution changed."
He added that he believes in only three restrictions for those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment right — a previous criminal record, a history of mental instability and an age requirement.
Kenyon Tuthill, 61, who served as a Suffolk County, N.H., police officer until his injury, told FOX News that he was satisfied with Giuliani's answer.
During his two terms as mayor, Giuliani supported strict gun laws at both the local and national level and advocated the federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. But as a presidential candidate, he vows to protect Second Amendment rights at the federal level allowing state and local authorities to determine their own "reasonable" restrictions.
New Hampshire, the Live Free Or Die State, is known for its limited gun-control laws, including no waiting period for purchases, no background checks for buyers of rifles and shotguns and no restrictions on children under 18 possessing firearms, according to the Brady Campaign, a gun-control advocacy group.
But the rural state with lots of sportsmen and a high rate of gun ownership annually has fewer than 100 total murders, including non-gun crimes, and Second Amendment rights are hugely important to constituents of both parties.
New Hampshire allows the blind to possess firearms, Tuthill said.
THE FAT POLICE ARE AT IT AGAIN
NYC tries again to get calories on menus
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 24, 8:52 PM ET
NEW YORK - Burger joints beware: New York's calorie crusaders are at it again. City health officials announced Wednesday that they hope to revive their stalled plan to force fast-food chains to add calorie counts to the big menu boards that hang above their counters.
The city's original effort to put calories on menus was struck down by a judge in September, but Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the regulation has been reworked and is ready for a second try.
"People deserve to have more information when they are ordering food," he said.
Like the previous regulation, the new version presented to the Board of Health on Wednesday would require restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell to list a calorie count for each menu item as prominently as the price.
City officials have argued that action is needed to address an obesity epidemic in the city, which they blame partly on more residents relying on fast food for a large percentage of their regular meals.
The idea, Frieden said, is to make people think twice about ordering a 1,000 calorie lunch, which for many people is about half the recommended daily total of calories.
Health officials believe that New York City was the first place in the U.S. to enact a regulation requiring some restaurants to put calorie information on menus.
Since then, other cities and states have considered similar rules. California lawmakers passed a bill similar to New York's regulation, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, enacted a menu labeling rule in July.
As with the original rule, the new policy wouldn't apply to most fine dining establishments, or the thousands of family owned delis and pizza shops around the city; only chains with 15 or more stores will be covered, and then only restaurants serving standardized portion sizes that can easily be measured for calorie content.
Restaurants are, nevertheless, almost certain to sue for a second time over the plan.
New York State Restaurant Association Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt called the proposal unfortunate.
"It goes beyond the scope of good government," he said. "It is micromanaging small business."
Fast-food companies have argued that the calorie data will clutter menus and irritate customers, who don't necessarily want to be confronted with health data.
In their first lawsuit, restaurants also argued that the health department doesn't have the authority to impose such a rule.
A federal judge agreed, to some extent. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell said the initial rule conflicted with federal food labeling laws. But he also suggested that a few adjustments could resolve those legal hurdles.
The revised rule contains one major change:
Initially, the policy only applied to restaurants that had already decided to offer nutritional information voluntarily to customers. Most fast-food giants have made nutritional information available on posters or Web sites for years, and the city argued that it would be easy for them to provide some of the same information on their menus.
This time, restaurants would be required to post calorie information whether they had done so previously or not.
The city's Board of Health took the first step toward approving the regulation Wednesday by voting to publish it and hold a public hearing. A final approval vote would not take place until January.
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 24, 8:52 PM ET
NEW YORK - Burger joints beware: New York's calorie crusaders are at it again. City health officials announced Wednesday that they hope to revive their stalled plan to force fast-food chains to add calorie counts to the big menu boards that hang above their counters.
The city's original effort to put calories on menus was struck down by a judge in September, but Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the regulation has been reworked and is ready for a second try.
"People deserve to have more information when they are ordering food," he said.
Like the previous regulation, the new version presented to the Board of Health on Wednesday would require restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell to list a calorie count for each menu item as prominently as the price.
City officials have argued that action is needed to address an obesity epidemic in the city, which they blame partly on more residents relying on fast food for a large percentage of their regular meals.
The idea, Frieden said, is to make people think twice about ordering a 1,000 calorie lunch, which for many people is about half the recommended daily total of calories.
Health officials believe that New York City was the first place in the U.S. to enact a regulation requiring some restaurants to put calorie information on menus.
Since then, other cities and states have considered similar rules. California lawmakers passed a bill similar to New York's regulation, but it was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this month. King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, enacted a menu labeling rule in July.
As with the original rule, the new policy wouldn't apply to most fine dining establishments, or the thousands of family owned delis and pizza shops around the city; only chains with 15 or more stores will be covered, and then only restaurants serving standardized portion sizes that can easily be measured for calorie content.
Restaurants are, nevertheless, almost certain to sue for a second time over the plan.
New York State Restaurant Association Executive Vice President E. Charles Hunt called the proposal unfortunate.
"It goes beyond the scope of good government," he said. "It is micromanaging small business."
Fast-food companies have argued that the calorie data will clutter menus and irritate customers, who don't necessarily want to be confronted with health data.
In their first lawsuit, restaurants also argued that the health department doesn't have the authority to impose such a rule.
A federal judge agreed, to some extent. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell said the initial rule conflicted with federal food labeling laws. But he also suggested that a few adjustments could resolve those legal hurdles.
The revised rule contains one major change:
Initially, the policy only applied to restaurants that had already decided to offer nutritional information voluntarily to customers. Most fast-food giants have made nutritional information available on posters or Web sites for years, and the city argued that it would be easy for them to provide some of the same information on their menus.
This time, restaurants would be required to post calorie information whether they had done so previously or not.
The city's Board of Health took the first step toward approving the regulation Wednesday by voting to publish it and hold a public hearing. A final approval vote would not take place until January.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
STATEN ISLAND BP FUMING MAD WITH DA
Molinaro Slams SI D.A., Advertises Grandson's InnocenceStaten Island Borough President James Molinaro placed a full page ad in the Staten Island Advance blasting Staten
Island D.A. Daniel Donovan. Molinaro called the trial and the sentencing of his 18-year-old grandson Steven to 5 years in jail a "miscarriage of justice."In 2006, Steven was arrested for beating up a 14-year-old Staten Island Advance paper boy and, this year, Molinaro was accused of violating an order of protection and driving down the paper boy's street.
D.A. Donovan took himself off the case, because he was once Molinaro's deputy borough president, and the Manhattan D.A's office prosecuted the young Molinaro.
In spite of some questionable evidence, the jury found Molinaro guilty of criminal contempt. When sentencing the young man to the maximum, the judge said, "You have been given every opportunity to escape prison in this case.... It's your actions that have brought us to where we are today, not anything anyone else has done."Molinaro's advertisement includes the following phrases, per the Advance:
...Because of District Attorney Donovan's concerns about the 'appearance of impropriety,' dozens of other defendants face the same fate. Appearances, it seems, can be deceiving. And deny equal justice under the law. And produce a miscarriage of justice...The ad also mentioned how the Manhattan prosecutor pointed at and mentioned Borough President Molinaro.
Donovan, who faces re-election, issued a statement saying, "As District Attorney I have both legal and ethical obligations to bring to the attention of the Court any actual or apparent conflict of interest concerning cases that come before me."
Steven Molinaro's lawyers are going forward with an appeal. And Ron Kuby and Curtis Sliwa discussed the ad during their radio show; Sliwa suggested, "Why didn't he just eliminate all those words and just say, 'Donovan, I thought you were my friend. You were my deputy borough president. You should have thrown the case in the direction of my [grandson].'"
NAZI CONCERT COMING TO MIDTOWN
Marko Perkovic (known as Thompson on stage, portrayed by Kitler is coming to town, and the protesters are awaiting -- with good reason. The Croatian rock star is known for nostalgically warbling for the Ustaša regime and glorifying the Nazis in his songs, and we can't imagine his anti-Semitism sing-a-longs are going to be very popular here in New York. The musician isn't all about the controversial topics (though it does get him lots of publicity), he also croons tunes about God and family.
Can these lighter topics balance out his glorification of war and his nation's Nazi past? No...but he'll be bringing his full set for two shows to the Croatian Center in Midtown next month anyway.
In past concerts, he has performed an anthem of the country's Nazi-backed military regime — the Ustaša — that references extermination camps where tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were killed during World War II. He greets adoring crowds with a famous Ustaša slogan — and many respond with the Nazi salute.
"To glorify what happened during the Holocaust is not what we need in the world today, nor do we need it in this city — after the events we have recently been through. To play with that for the sake of music, or even conviction, I find it totally repugnant," the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate, Mark Weitzman, said. Many individuals and organizations, including Weitzman, have been in talks with the Croatian Embassy, who are equally as interested in stopping these shows (in an attempt to clean up their image with interesting in joining the European Union).
Interestingly enough, tickets are being sold in a number of places around town, including some popular Croatian bars in Astoria -- the proprietors of which don't see why the $45 ticket is so controversial. In fact, many are touting him as a Croatian hero and "good person."
By Jen Carlson in Event , Music , http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (9) Recommend
Can these lighter topics balance out his glorification of war and his nation's Nazi past? No...but he'll be bringing his full set for two shows to the Croatian Center in Midtown next month anyway.
In past concerts, he has performed an anthem of the country's Nazi-backed military regime — the Ustaša — that references extermination camps where tens of thousands of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were killed during World War II. He greets adoring crowds with a famous Ustaša slogan — and many respond with the Nazi salute.
"To glorify what happened during the Holocaust is not what we need in the world today, nor do we need it in this city — after the events we have recently been through. To play with that for the sake of music, or even conviction, I find it totally repugnant," the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate, Mark Weitzman, said. Many individuals and organizations, including Weitzman, have been in talks with the Croatian Embassy, who are equally as interested in stopping these shows (in an attempt to clean up their image with interesting in joining the European Union).
Interestingly enough, tickets are being sold in a number of places around town, including some popular Croatian bars in Astoria -- the proprietors of which don't see why the $45 ticket is so controversial. In fact, many are touting him as a Croatian hero and "good person."
By Jen Carlson in Event , Music , http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (9) Recommend
HATE SYMBOL LEGISLATION
New York Considers Anti-Noose LawBy MICHAEL GORMLEY,
AP
Posted: 2007-10-23 12:29:02
Filed Under: Crime News, Nation News
ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 22) - Following a rash of cases involving nooses, the state Legislature Monday moved toward making it a felony to display the symbol of lynchings in the Old South in a threatening manner.
There have been several high-profile cases where nooses have been found around the country. One became known as the "Jena Six" case, which resulted in a huge demonstration last month.
"We won't tolerate this," said Sen. Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who sponsored the measure that passed Monday in the Senate . "There is no place for racism and intimidation in America." The bill also covers etching, drawing or painting the symbol. He said that, as in the case of Nazi symbols and burning crosses, an intent to threaten or harass would be part of an anti-noose law. The Democrat -led Assembly may convene Tuesday and could consider the measure then. Skelos said the recent "rash of incidents clearly demonstrates the need for tough new penalties." Monday's Senate vote came as New York City police said a black high school teacher in Brooklyn had been targeted with a letter containing racial slurs and a string tied into a noose.
The teacher told police she received the letter and the noose through the mail. Police say they have no suspects. Nooses were also found earlier this month on a black professor's door at Teachers College at Columbia University, outside a post office near ground zero in lower Manhattan and in locations on Long Island. There have been no arrests.
There have been a number of other nooses found in high-profile incidents around the country, including in a black Coast Guard cadet's bag and on a Maryland college campus. It was also in the so-called Jena Six case in Louisiana, where six black teenagers are accused of beating a white student. The incident happened after nooses were hung from a tree on a high school campus there.
2007-10-23
Read Related Blogs and Articles
AP
Posted: 2007-10-23 12:29:02
Filed Under: Crime News, Nation News
ALBANY, N.Y. (Oct. 22) - Following a rash of cases involving nooses, the state Legislature Monday moved toward making it a felony to display the symbol of lynchings in the Old South in a threatening manner.
There have been several high-profile cases where nooses have been found around the country. One became known as the "Jena Six" case, which resulted in a huge demonstration last month.
"We won't tolerate this," said Sen. Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who sponsored the measure that passed Monday in the Senate . "There is no place for racism and intimidation in America." The bill also covers etching, drawing or painting the symbol. He said that, as in the case of Nazi symbols and burning crosses, an intent to threaten or harass would be part of an anti-noose law. The Democrat -led Assembly may convene Tuesday and could consider the measure then. Skelos said the recent "rash of incidents clearly demonstrates the need for tough new penalties." Monday's Senate vote came as New York City police said a black high school teacher in Brooklyn had been targeted with a letter containing racial slurs and a string tied into a noose.
The teacher told police she received the letter and the noose through the mail. Police say they have no suspects. Nooses were also found earlier this month on a black professor's door at Teachers College at Columbia University, outside a post office near ground zero in lower Manhattan and in locations on Long Island. There have been no arrests.
There have been a number of other nooses found in high-profile incidents around the country, including in a black Coast Guard cadet's bag and on a Maryland college campus. It was also in the so-called Jena Six case in Louisiana, where six black teenagers are accused of beating a white student. The incident happened after nooses were hung from a tree on a high school campus there.
2007-10-23
Read Related Blogs and Articles
Monday, October 22, 2007
LANDLORD BULLY BILL PROPOSED
Council bill would let tenants sue landlords over intimidation
By: Philip Newman
10/18/2007
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Tenant advocates report a rise in complaints of landlords harassing renters to drive them out of rent-stabilized apartments, but a law proposed in the City Council would enable renters to sue landlords for relief.
"For too long, tenants have been powerless against landlords who seek to pursue them illegally through threats, interruption of basic services and, increasingly, through frivolous court proceedings," said Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan).
"This bill gives them a fair chance to fight back - by using the power of the law to counter the tools of intimidation."Garodnik and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) are co-sponsoring the bill.Council Speaker Christine Quinn hailed the proposed legislation, saying "if this bill is passed - and it will be - landlords can be fined from $1,000 to $5,000."Tenant advocates report what they say is a dramatic increase in recent years of landlord harassment of tenants as market rents keep rising and some landlords use non-legal methods to force out tenants who are paying controlled rents.
©Times Ledger 2007
By: Philip Newman
10/18/2007
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
Tenant advocates report a rise in complaints of landlords harassing renters to drive them out of rent-stabilized apartments, but a law proposed in the City Council would enable renters to sue landlords for relief.
"For too long, tenants have been powerless against landlords who seek to pursue them illegally through threats, interruption of basic services and, increasingly, through frivolous court proceedings," said Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan).
"This bill gives them a fair chance to fight back - by using the power of the law to counter the tools of intimidation."Garodnik and Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) are co-sponsoring the bill.Council Speaker Christine Quinn hailed the proposed legislation, saying "if this bill is passed - and it will be - landlords can be fined from $1,000 to $5,000."Tenant advocates report what they say is a dramatic increase in recent years of landlord harassment of tenants as market rents keep rising and some landlords use non-legal methods to force out tenants who are paying controlled rents.
©Times Ledger 2007
BLOOMBITO'S COP GETS POPPED
Bloomberg's Cop Jumped at Fulton Street Station!
Earlier today, the following incident was noted on the Gothamist Newsmap: "EDP / Injured Officer: Fulton And Broadway Manhattan, NY 10/22/2007 1:39 p.m." Now it turns out it was no ordinary officer - it was one of the police officers assigned to guard Mayor Bloomberg! The attacker was restrained and taken to a hospital for observation.
Mayor Bloomberg was with other city officials and his security details. A 30-year-old, "disheveled-looking" man yelled at an officer, "I hate you" and then a profanity. Then he attacked the officer, knocking him to the platform.
Mayor Bloomberg was not hurt. The AP says the mayor was about to board the train during the attack, while City Room says it's unclear where the Mayor was, but he and his entourage were transferring from an A to a 4 or 5 back to City Hall (they had been in Brooklyn for an event).
The Mayor has made a point of taking the subway, even though he gets chauffeured from his townhouse to the nearest express subway station in the mornings.
Earlier today, the following incident was noted on the Gothamist Newsmap: "EDP / Injured Officer: Fulton And Broadway Manhattan, NY 10/22/2007 1:39 p.m." Now it turns out it was no ordinary officer - it was one of the police officers assigned to guard Mayor Bloomberg! The attacker was restrained and taken to a hospital for observation.
Mayor Bloomberg was with other city officials and his security details. A 30-year-old, "disheveled-looking" man yelled at an officer, "I hate you" and then a profanity. Then he attacked the officer, knocking him to the platform.
Mayor Bloomberg was not hurt. The AP says the mayor was about to board the train during the attack, while City Room says it's unclear where the Mayor was, but he and his entourage were transferring from an A to a 4 or 5 back to City Hall (they had been in Brooklyn for an event).
The Mayor has made a point of taking the subway, even though he gets chauffeured from his townhouse to the nearest express subway station in the mornings.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
MARTÍNEZ SAYS ADIOS TO THE RNC
Latino Head of RNC Resigns in FrustrationHispanics were supposed to be a key part of Karl Rove's permanent Republican majority. The comprehensive immigration reform plan pushed by President Bush was both the product of the president's immigrant-friendly views and Karl Rove's belief that allowing Hispanic immigrants a path to citizenship would lead thousands of those immigrants (and their kids) into the arms of the GOP. Instead, the issue of immigration has been so bungled by the GOP (and so captured by the rabid anti-immigrant portion of the party's base) that Mel Martínez, the Cuban-born senator from Florida, is resigning his post as head of the RNC.
The Republican Party's highest-ranking Latino official abruptly resigned Friday, marking the latest casualty in the GOP's bitter internal fight over immigration and dealing another setback to President Bush's years-long effort to court Latino voters.
The announcement by Sen. Mel Martínez of Florida that he was quitting as general chairman of the Republican National Committee came after he had expressed frustration over the tenor of the immigration debate within his party. MartEinez will remain in his Senate post.
The announcement by Sen. Mel Martínez of Florida that he was quitting as general chairman of the Republican National Committee came after he had expressed frustration over the tenor of the immigration debate within his party. MartEinez will remain in his Senate post.
"Mel Martinez was a symbol of the party's outreach to Latinos, and that seems to be disappearing," said Lionel Sosa, a longtime Republican strategist and advisor to GOP presidents since Ronald Reagan. "It is not a good day for Latino Republicans, that's for sure."
The White House had engineered the ascent of the Cuban-born Martinez over the objections of many conservatives as part of an effort to repair the GOP's image among Latinos. That image suffered when Republican congressional leaders and conservative activists stymied administration-backed measures that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Stein on 10/20/07 at 7:33 AM
The White House had engineered the ascent of the Cuban-born Martinez over the objections of many conservatives as part of an effort to repair the GOP's image among Latinos. That image suffered when Republican congressional leaders and conservative activists stymied administration-backed measures that would have created a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.
Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Stein on 10/20/07 at 7:33 AM
RANDY LEVINE RUDY'S PR MACHINE
Now, when it comes to Giuliani spreading his gospel on Yankees outlets, there are no obstacles. With Steinbrenner owning the Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network, all self-serving projects can be pushed.
When YES’ cameras zoomed in on Giuliani, wearing a Yankee cap and pullover and pounding his baseball glove, it was evident where this was going. Giuliani was the catcher in Sunday’s “first pitch” ceremony. This meaningless exhibition game with Pittsburgh was the perfect venue for him to reach a captive audience of Yankees fans.
When YES’ cameras zoomed in on Giuliani, wearing a Yankee cap and pullover and pounding his baseball glove, it was evident where this was going. Giuliani was the catcher in Sunday’s “first pitch” ceremony. This meaningless exhibition game with Pittsburgh was the perfect venue for him to reach a captive audience of Yankees fans.
Giuliani was in Tampa for a morning political fundraiser. And while Steinbrenner may be a Republican at heart, he has essentially entrusted team president Randy Levine with all the day-to-day operations of the ballclub (baseball and otherwise), and was said to have taken a very passive role in the Yankee mascot’s presidential whistle stop.
Levine is pals with Giuliani. He also was a trusted deputy when Rudy was mayor. Giuliani might as well have the keys to both broadcast booths. Suzyn (Georgie Girl) Waldman said as much when she offered Giuliani a season pass to the radio side.
“You will be going to a lot of cities (to campaign),” Waldman said in the bottom of the fourth. “So when we (the Yankees) are in the same town, you should come up and do an inning or two.”
Before his radio appearance, Giuliani visited YES’ booth in the top of the inning. Play-by-play man Kay greeted Giuliani, saying: “Just like old times.” Kay was right. As always, Giuliani’s presence was annoying and distracting. Still, Kay gets credit for attempting to steer clear of politics and keep Giuliani talking baseball.
No such luck during Giuliani’s radio appearance. After making the first two outs, the Yankees went on to score seven runs, giving Ma and Pa Pinstripe ample time to turn the “interview” into an overtly political, pom-pom waving, Giuliani gush-a-thon.
The subject of Giuliani’s relationship with his son Andrew, or the current state of Rudy’s friendship with Bernard Kerik, were not going to be part of this Twinkie munch.
Sterling, in disingenuous mode, claimed not to be “a political” person, but insisted because America is “broadening and changing” Giuliani will be accepted by people who hold a variety of political and moral beliefs. (NY Daily News, Bob Reissman)
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REBBE ABUSE VS. KORANIC TEACHING
The Coalition Against Madrassas has filed a law suit. Perhaps they should be as concerned about Yeshiva schools also.
October 19, 2007 New York, New York — Citizens for American Values in Public Education Inc. and the Stop the Madrassa announce the filing this week by the Stop the Madrassa Community Coalition [“STM”] of an Article 78 Proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the New York City Department of Education [the “DOE”] The lawsuit follows an insufficient response to requests under the Freedom of Information Law for complete information concerning textbooks, lesson plans and design documents to be used at the Khalil Gibran International Academy [“KGIA”].
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, October 20, 2007
An open letter from a former Yeshivah boy about his personal experiences with Rebbe abuse and brutality
NOTE:The opinions in this letter do not reflect those of the blog administration, nor does the blog administration vouch for the accuracy of any of the facts stated in this letter. This letter is the sole opinion and personal account of its author.
I had Rokeach in Chasan Sofer. He "taught" the 6th grade when I had him and was as brutal as one of the posters said he was. There was this kid in my class named, Yaakov D'Vorkas (spelling?), who threw a spitball in class. Rokeach's face turned a deep red. He went over to the kid, and threw him against some lockers we had in the room and began kicking him as hard as he could.
I remember the kid was curled up in a fetal position while he took this beating. As he was doing this, Rokeach kept saying in Yiddish, which I will paraphrase, "you are not allowed to throw spitballs in my class." He said this over and over. I am still haunted by this. I just dreamt about it the other day actually. (hell, I was lucky. my poor brothers went to the Viener Yeshiva and had Rabbi Gold in the 4th grade. This guy, who had a terrible speech defect, would slap the kids silly.
It later turned out he and his wife were running a heimeshe brothel on the side and I remember hearing something about drugs.)I wish I could say this was the only time I was exposed to violence, neglect, or sexual abuse, but it wasn't. There myriad times this happened. I went to Yeshiva Torah Temimah too. Kolko was there, Margo was there, etc. Margo is a fat, money grubbing blowhard.
Everyone in the yeshiva knew that and we all mocked him openly. I had a friend in high school who was wearing a yarmulke that apparently too small by Margo's standards so he snatched it off my friend's head and threw it to the ground. I thought that was a wonderful way to instill a deep love of the religion for one. I could go on and on about the sexual abuse that was covered up, the violence that was perpetrated against us, the neglect (especially in Camp Adas Yereim - Meir Birnhack was there - wow was he brutal.
There was a junior counselor there one year when I had Levi Kranz as a counselor who sprayed deodorant in my bunkmate's eyes because he had used some curse word and wouldn't
apologize. Camp Na'arim was only slightly better. I cant remember the owner's name but he was another fat moneygrubber who had a violent temper. You definitely made sure to steer clear of him. I went to Yeshiva Darchei Moshe in flatbush, off of ocean parkway and Ave M I think.
I had a rabbi there, mind you I was 18 at the time who had a real fondness for me and would constantly attempt to grope me. I left pretty soon after that.), and the sheer stupidity of the people running these yeshivas, camps, etc, but I wont. Suffice it to say, I am not frum. I wouldn’t eat kosher food if I was starving to death, I have a visceral reaction to anything relating to Orthodox Judaism and if I had kids I would never let them near a yeshiva of any sort - orthodox, reform, conservative, whatever. If you care about your sons and daughters, you won’t either.
Good luck.Z-dog
Leave Comment ---This article posted by Chaptzem : 7:48 PM
October 19, 2007 New York, New York — Citizens for American Values in Public Education Inc. and the Stop the Madrassa announce the filing this week by the Stop the Madrassa Community Coalition [“STM”] of an Article 78 Proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the New York City Department of Education [the “DOE”] The lawsuit follows an insufficient response to requests under the Freedom of Information Law for complete information concerning textbooks, lesson plans and design documents to be used at the Khalil Gibran International Academy [“KGIA”].
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, October 20, 2007
An open letter from a former Yeshivah boy about his personal experiences with Rebbe abuse and brutality
NOTE:The opinions in this letter do not reflect those of the blog administration, nor does the blog administration vouch for the accuracy of any of the facts stated in this letter. This letter is the sole opinion and personal account of its author.
I had Rokeach in Chasan Sofer. He "taught" the 6th grade when I had him and was as brutal as one of the posters said he was. There was this kid in my class named, Yaakov D'Vorkas (spelling?), who threw a spitball in class. Rokeach's face turned a deep red. He went over to the kid, and threw him against some lockers we had in the room and began kicking him as hard as he could.
I remember the kid was curled up in a fetal position while he took this beating. As he was doing this, Rokeach kept saying in Yiddish, which I will paraphrase, "you are not allowed to throw spitballs in my class." He said this over and over. I am still haunted by this. I just dreamt about it the other day actually. (hell, I was lucky. my poor brothers went to the Viener Yeshiva and had Rabbi Gold in the 4th grade. This guy, who had a terrible speech defect, would slap the kids silly.
It later turned out he and his wife were running a heimeshe brothel on the side and I remember hearing something about drugs.)I wish I could say this was the only time I was exposed to violence, neglect, or sexual abuse, but it wasn't. There myriad times this happened. I went to Yeshiva Torah Temimah too. Kolko was there, Margo was there, etc. Margo is a fat, money grubbing blowhard.
Everyone in the yeshiva knew that and we all mocked him openly. I had a friend in high school who was wearing a yarmulke that apparently too small by Margo's standards so he snatched it off my friend's head and threw it to the ground. I thought that was a wonderful way to instill a deep love of the religion for one. I could go on and on about the sexual abuse that was covered up, the violence that was perpetrated against us, the neglect (especially in Camp Adas Yereim - Meir Birnhack was there - wow was he brutal.
There was a junior counselor there one year when I had Levi Kranz as a counselor who sprayed deodorant in my bunkmate's eyes because he had used some curse word and wouldn't
apologize. Camp Na'arim was only slightly better. I cant remember the owner's name but he was another fat moneygrubber who had a violent temper. You definitely made sure to steer clear of him. I went to Yeshiva Darchei Moshe in flatbush, off of ocean parkway and Ave M I think.
I had a rabbi there, mind you I was 18 at the time who had a real fondness for me and would constantly attempt to grope me. I left pretty soon after that.), and the sheer stupidity of the people running these yeshivas, camps, etc, but I wont. Suffice it to say, I am not frum. I wouldn’t eat kosher food if I was starving to death, I have a visceral reaction to anything relating to Orthodox Judaism and if I had kids I would never let them near a yeshiva of any sort - orthodox, reform, conservative, whatever. If you care about your sons and daughters, you won’t either.
Good luck.Z-dog
Leave Comment ---This article posted by Chaptzem : 7:48 PM
THE DEMISE OF JOE TORRE
Long before Joe Torre's refusal to accept his one year contract, the formation of a not so "comfy" relationship with the Yankees was brewing. In Torre's own words, all was not well with he and Yankee president, Randy Levine.
WFAN’s Mike Francesa and Chris Russo pointed their fingers squarely at team president Randy Levine as the man who orchestrated the Steinbrenner statement. Francesa, an unapologetic Yankee fan, was particularly virulent, painting Levine as an interloper from the business side of the organization who is attempting to thrust himself into the power vacuum in the Yankees’ front office. It was Levine who announced the offer and Torre’s decision in the conference call yesterday, and it is believed that it was Levine who led the movement to get rid of Torre. Francesa called for Levine to be fired, saying that Levine, who joined the team in 2000 after Torre had already won three World Series and was on his way to a fourth, is exploiting his role in the plans for the new stadium to insert himself into the baseball side of the organization despite a lack of knowledge about the game.
IT WAS RANDY LEVINE WHO SAID THE FOLLOWING:
Where was Levine when Torre was saving Darryl Strawberry's life? Where was Levine when Torre was lecturing inner city youth about proper parenting and the evil of domestic abuse? Where was Levine when Torre baby sat Alex Rodriguex until he was finally able to perform?
Giuliani in the hopes that he too might benefit from a Giuliani win. It is always a good thing to impress your mentor.
The Yankee organization has big bills. Their multi million dollar stadium will be paid by box seat holders and the minions that will supposedly flock to the new stadium in 2009. Courtesy of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión and the other politicians who sold out to Yankee bosses, there are big payoffs to be made. When Torre did not deliver a World Series, the prospect of diminishing revenue was too much to bear.
Levine will replace Torre very quickly. Torre's successor was probably informed of his new job even before Joe ended his farewell press conference. But if Yankee management thinks that the fans and the ball players will react favorably to the new coach, they should consider several factors. Torre was not only a motivator but a father figure. He filled a void to many of those players. Torre himself had issues with his own father and knew intuitively what his flock needed. He understood what it was to lose. He did it with dignity and the knowledge of how to improve.
A new coach will have a difficult adjustment. One only has to look at past examples such as the wrong choices in coaches for the NFL as well as the NBA. The players did not cooperate. And if the players do not like the coach, the fans will not either. So.....Randy Levine and the almighty.
Steinbrenner clan have the last word. But it is the fans that flock to the Bronx, not the wealthy box seat holders who have the final fiscal decision. The instant that the price of hot dogs and tickets are raised is the moment that the average patron will stop coming to the stadium.The instant the Joe Torre legacy begins to fade is the moment of truth for Yankee fans. Levine et, al will ultimately pay the real price.
'POT 2.0': WHERE CAN I GET SOME?
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 20, 2007.
The feds have started issuing dire warnings about the potency of today's marijuana, calling it "Pot 2.0." Will it backfire and tempt more to toke?
Heard the latest from the Feds regarding their multi-billion dollar war on weed? According to warnings posted on the DEA's new website JustThinkTwice.com, today's cannabis is nearly twice as strong as the pot available in the 1970s and 80s. Sounds like its time for the Drug Enforcement Administration to don some new duds. How about t-shirts saying: "I've arrested millions, and all I got was stronger pot?"
Naturally, law enforcement and federal bureaucrats have little sense of humor when it comes to these matters. "We're no longer talking about the drug of the 1960s and 1970s," Drug Czar John Walters told Reuters News Wire. (The Czar failed to explain why if previous decades' pot was innocuous police still arrested you for it.) "This is Pot 2.0."
Speaking recently to the Associated Press, DEA chief Mark R. Trouville, who heads the agency's Miami office, took an even more dire tone. "This ain't your grandfather's or your father's marijuana," he said. "This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you."
For our friends at the DEA, here's a news flash. Unlike booze, sleeping pills, or even aspirin, pot poses no risk of fatal overdose, regardless of its THC content. (In fact, my physician can prescribe me a pill called Marinol that's 100 percent THC and nobody at the Drug Czar's office seems to mind.) Moreover, cannabis consumers readily distinguish between low potency and high potency marijuana and moderate their use accordingly -- taking smaller and fewer puffs of the "good stuff" than they do the "shwag."
Besides, isn't variety the spice of life? Last time I visited my local, state-sanctioned liquor store I had my choice of a head-spinning variety of alcoholic beverages, all of various strengths and sizes. I passed on the Bacardi 151, picked up a pint of vodka (80 proof) and then went next door to the supermarket to buy a six-pack of beer (7 percent alcohol by volume). Other customers made similar purchases. Nobody from the White House seemed terribly concerned.
But what the suggestion that today's pot is so addictive that just one puff is a one-way ticket to drug rehab? In this case, the devil is in the details.
According to the latest data from federal Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS), more individuals are, in fact, enrolled in drug treatment for pot than ever before. However, this increase is a direct result of the fact that more Americans are being arrested for pot than ever before. (For example, a new study published in the online journal BMC Public Health reports among the 27,000+ adults entered into Texas drug treatment clinics between 2000 and 2005, a whopping 70 percent of them were diverted to treatment as a condition of sentencing, parole, or probation.) Faced with the choice of jail or attending drug treatment, most offenders -- not surprisingly -- choose treatment, whether they need it (most don't) or not.
So let's review, shall we? Our federal government wants Americans to get off the pot. So they spend billions of dollars outlawing the plant and driving its producers underground where breeders clandestinely develop stronger and more sophisticated herbal strains than ever existed prior to prohibition. The Feds then go out and inadvertently give America's pot farmers billions of dollars in free advertising by telling the world that their weed is more potent than anything Allen Ginsberg, Tommy Chong or Jerry Garcia ever smoked in their heyday. In response, tens of millions of Americans head immediately to their nearest street-corner in search of a dealer (or college student) willing to sell them a dimebag of the new, super-potent pot they've been hearing about on TV.
Perhaps it's time for the DEA to heed their own advice and "just think twice."
The feds have started issuing dire warnings about the potency of today's marijuana, calling it "Pot 2.0." Will it backfire and tempt more to toke?
Heard the latest from the Feds regarding their multi-billion dollar war on weed? According to warnings posted on the DEA's new website JustThinkTwice.com, today's cannabis is nearly twice as strong as the pot available in the 1970s and 80s. Sounds like its time for the Drug Enforcement Administration to don some new duds. How about t-shirts saying: "I've arrested millions, and all I got was stronger pot?"
Naturally, law enforcement and federal bureaucrats have little sense of humor when it comes to these matters. "We're no longer talking about the drug of the 1960s and 1970s," Drug Czar John Walters told Reuters News Wire. (The Czar failed to explain why if previous decades' pot was innocuous police still arrested you for it.) "This is Pot 2.0."
Speaking recently to the Associated Press, DEA chief Mark R. Trouville, who heads the agency's Miami office, took an even more dire tone. "This ain't your grandfather's or your father's marijuana," he said. "This will hurt you. This will addict you. This will kill you."
For our friends at the DEA, here's a news flash. Unlike booze, sleeping pills, or even aspirin, pot poses no risk of fatal overdose, regardless of its THC content. (In fact, my physician can prescribe me a pill called Marinol that's 100 percent THC and nobody at the Drug Czar's office seems to mind.) Moreover, cannabis consumers readily distinguish between low potency and high potency marijuana and moderate their use accordingly -- taking smaller and fewer puffs of the "good stuff" than they do the "shwag."
Besides, isn't variety the spice of life? Last time I visited my local, state-sanctioned liquor store I had my choice of a head-spinning variety of alcoholic beverages, all of various strengths and sizes. I passed on the Bacardi 151, picked up a pint of vodka (80 proof) and then went next door to the supermarket to buy a six-pack of beer (7 percent alcohol by volume). Other customers made similar purchases. Nobody from the White House seemed terribly concerned.
But what the suggestion that today's pot is so addictive that just one puff is a one-way ticket to drug rehab? In this case, the devil is in the details.
According to the latest data from federal Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS), more individuals are, in fact, enrolled in drug treatment for pot than ever before. However, this increase is a direct result of the fact that more Americans are being arrested for pot than ever before. (For example, a new study published in the online journal BMC Public Health reports among the 27,000+ adults entered into Texas drug treatment clinics between 2000 and 2005, a whopping 70 percent of them were diverted to treatment as a condition of sentencing, parole, or probation.) Faced with the choice of jail or attending drug treatment, most offenders -- not surprisingly -- choose treatment, whether they need it (most don't) or not.
So let's review, shall we? Our federal government wants Americans to get off the pot. So they spend billions of dollars outlawing the plant and driving its producers underground where breeders clandestinely develop stronger and more sophisticated herbal strains than ever existed prior to prohibition. The Feds then go out and inadvertently give America's pot farmers billions of dollars in free advertising by telling the world that their weed is more potent than anything Allen Ginsberg, Tommy Chong or Jerry Garcia ever smoked in their heyday. In response, tens of millions of Americans head immediately to their nearest street-corner in search of a dealer (or college student) willing to sell them a dimebag of the new, super-potent pot they've been hearing about on TV.
Perhaps it's time for the DEA to heed their own advice and "just think twice."
Saturday, October 20, 2007
CHRISTIAN RIGHT SAYS RUDY WRONG
Evangelicals reject Giuliani
Published: Saturday October 20, 2007
Several thousand Christian conservative voters rebuffed an olive branch from Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday, over his support for abortion rights.
The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but was unable to win over a cross-section of a crucial party voting bloc at a huge "Values Voter" conference in Washington.
In a presidential candidate straw poll of 5,775 evangelical voters at the meeting and online, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came out on top, narrowly ahead of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Giuliani trailed in eighth, with just 1.85 percent of the vote, despite earlier telling the conference 10 weeks before the first Republican party nominating contest "you have absolutely nothing to fear from me."
The result highlighted doubts over whether Giuliani, revered as a US hero for his role in steadying New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001, can win the Republican nomination due to his liberal social record.
"I am not going to pretend to you I can be all things to all people," thrice married Giuliani, who also has a record of supporting gay rights, earlier told the conference.
"You know we have some areas of disagreement, but I believe we have many many, more areas of agreement," Giuliani said, in an candid speech.
"The one thing you can count on with me is, I will always be honest with you," said Giuliani, who said he would work to cut the number of abortions and boost adoptions if elected president.
But Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, which organized the conference, said he could not vote for Giuliani, even if he was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
"I will not vote for a pro-abortion rights candidate," Perkins said.
Published: Saturday October 20, 2007
Several thousand Christian conservative voters rebuffed an olive branch from Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday, over his support for abortion rights.
The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but was unable to win over a cross-section of a crucial party voting bloc at a huge "Values Voter" conference in Washington.
In a presidential candidate straw poll of 5,775 evangelical voters at the meeting and online, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came out on top, narrowly ahead of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Giuliani trailed in eighth, with just 1.85 percent of the vote, despite earlier telling the conference 10 weeks before the first Republican party nominating contest "you have absolutely nothing to fear from me."
The result highlighted doubts over whether Giuliani, revered as a US hero for his role in steadying New York after the September 11 attacks in 2001, can win the Republican nomination due to his liberal social record.
"I am not going to pretend to you I can be all things to all people," thrice married Giuliani, who also has a record of supporting gay rights, earlier told the conference.
"You know we have some areas of disagreement, but I believe we have many many, more areas of agreement," Giuliani said, in an candid speech.
"The one thing you can count on with me is, I will always be honest with you," said Giuliani, who said he would work to cut the number of abortions and boost adoptions if elected president.
But Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, which organized the conference, said he could not vote for Giuliani, even if he was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
"I will not vote for a pro-abortion rights candidate," Perkins said.
RACIST HIDDEN AGENDA OF SPITZER OPPONENTS
Governor Eliot Spitzer's mandate to grant driver's licenses to the undocumented has sparked a huge controversy. However, behind the scenes, something more sinister is evolving. The anti immigration movement is slowly being infiltrated by white supremacists. One must question those who are the most vocal. Let us consider the protest of one Peter Gadiel. Mr. Gadiel unfortunately lost his son , an employee of Cantor, Fitzgerald on 9-11. Mr. Gadiel is also the president of an organization known as "9-11 Families for a Secure America"
In a response to Spitzer’s decision, president of 9/11 Families for a Secure America ,Peter Gadiel told the Times that “Governor Spitzer will demonstrate abject stupidity and breathtaking disregard for the victims of 9/11 if he hands these powerful ID’s to people who sneak across our borders. Terrorists here illegally used licenses to kill my son and thousands of others in the World Trade Center; if they do it again using New York licenses issued by this governor, the blood of the victims will be on Mr. Spitzer’s hands.
The problem here is that Mr. Gadiel was listed on the board of directors of an organization called
F.A.I.R. in 2004. ( Federation for American Immigration Reform.)
FAIR was created following a factional split in Zero Population Growth led by John Tanton. Along with Sidney Swensrud and Sharon Barnes, Tanton founded FAIR in 1979. FAIR’s links to other local and national organizations that are stridently anti-immigrant, anti-Latino, and supremacist have undermined FAIR’s own credibility and led to questions about the underlying agenda of its restrictionist approach to immigration. Referring to FAIR and associated groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center concluded an article on immigrant hate groups stating: “Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans believe that immigration needs to be cut below current levels, although that does not imply that they support the ideas of white supremacists or other bigots…. The danger is not that immigration levels are debated by Americans, but that the debate is controlled by bigots and extremists whose views are anathema to the ideals on which this country was founded.”
FAIR is also funded by a little known group called the PIONEER FUND. The Pioneer Fund located at 954 Lexington Avenue in New York City supplied funding for the Bell Curve, a book that argued the lesser intelligence of Blacks and a scientific study pioneered by William Shockley which assessed that Blacks were inherently inferior.
While presenting itself as an organization that simply advocates for immigration reform in the public interest, the Federation receives significant funding-- rarely noted in press accounts-- from a foundation that is explicitly motivated by a racist, eugenicist ideology. For years, the Federation has been supported by the Pioneer Fund, a trust founded in 1937 by Wycliffe P. Draper, a textile millionaire who promoted sending blacks back to Africa.
The Pioneer Fund has been described in the London Sunday Telegraph (3/12/89) as a "neo-Nazi organization closely integrated with the far right in American politics." Pioneer is one of the Federation's key financial backers. According to Internal Revenue Service records, the group has received more than $1 million from Pioneer since 1982. In 1992, the most recent year for which figures are available, Pioneer gave the Federation $130,000.
The Pioneer Fund's charter specified that its trustees should give scholarships only to students "who are citizens of the United States...who are deemed to be descended predominately from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution." In 1983, due to public criticism, the word "white" was omitted.
Although Governor Spitzer's proposal is somewhat flawed, one must also scrutinize it's opponents as much as one scrutinizes the edict.
In a response to Spitzer’s decision, president of 9/11 Families for a Secure America ,Peter Gadiel told the Times that “Governor Spitzer will demonstrate abject stupidity and breathtaking disregard for the victims of 9/11 if he hands these powerful ID’s to people who sneak across our borders. Terrorists here illegally used licenses to kill my son and thousands of others in the World Trade Center; if they do it again using New York licenses issued by this governor, the blood of the victims will be on Mr. Spitzer’s hands.
The problem here is that Mr. Gadiel was listed on the board of directors of an organization called
F.A.I.R. in 2004. ( Federation for American Immigration Reform.)
FAIR was created following a factional split in Zero Population Growth led by John Tanton. Along with Sidney Swensrud and Sharon Barnes, Tanton founded FAIR in 1979. FAIR’s links to other local and national organizations that are stridently anti-immigrant, anti-Latino, and supremacist have undermined FAIR’s own credibility and led to questions about the underlying agenda of its restrictionist approach to immigration. Referring to FAIR and associated groups, the Southern Poverty Law Center concluded an article on immigrant hate groups stating: “Opinion polls consistently show that a majority of Americans believe that immigration needs to be cut below current levels, although that does not imply that they support the ideas of white supremacists or other bigots…. The danger is not that immigration levels are debated by Americans, but that the debate is controlled by bigots and extremists whose views are anathema to the ideals on which this country was founded.”
FAIR is also funded by a little known group called the PIONEER FUND. The Pioneer Fund located at 954 Lexington Avenue in New York City supplied funding for the Bell Curve, a book that argued the lesser intelligence of Blacks and a scientific study pioneered by William Shockley which assessed that Blacks were inherently inferior.
While presenting itself as an organization that simply advocates for immigration reform in the public interest, the Federation receives significant funding-- rarely noted in press accounts-- from a foundation that is explicitly motivated by a racist, eugenicist ideology. For years, the Federation has been supported by the Pioneer Fund, a trust founded in 1937 by Wycliffe P. Draper, a textile millionaire who promoted sending blacks back to Africa.
The Pioneer Fund has been described in the London Sunday Telegraph (3/12/89) as a "neo-Nazi organization closely integrated with the far right in American politics." Pioneer is one of the Federation's key financial backers. According to Internal Revenue Service records, the group has received more than $1 million from Pioneer since 1982. In 1992, the most recent year for which figures are available, Pioneer gave the Federation $130,000.
The Pioneer Fund's charter specified that its trustees should give scholarships only to students "who are citizens of the United States...who are deemed to be descended predominately from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution." In 1983, due to public criticism, the word "white" was omitted.
Although Governor Spitzer's proposal is somewhat flawed, one must also scrutinize it's opponents as much as one scrutinizes the edict.
Friday, October 19, 2007
BLOOMQUINN'S POWDER OUTAGE
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police are investigating a package containing white powder that was found outside the office of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on Wednesday, a police spokesman said.
The package was opened by an employee from the mailroom, the spokesman said.
The incident recalled the anthrax attacks of 2001.
In the months after the September 11 attacks, five people died and several were sickened when anthrax was sent in letters to media and government offices in New York, Washington, Florida and elsewhere. Those cases have not been solved.
Quinn is openly gay and an advocate for same-sex couple rights. She is often talked about as a potential candidate for mayor in 2009.
The package was opened by an employee from the mailroom, the spokesman said.
The incident recalled the anthrax attacks of 2001.
In the months after the September 11 attacks, five people died and several were sickened when anthrax was sent in letters to media and government offices in New York, Washington, Florida and elsewhere. Those cases have not been solved.
Quinn is openly gay and an advocate for same-sex couple rights. She is often talked about as a potential candidate for mayor in 2009.
CLINTON'S FUTURE IN FORTUNE COOKIE
An unlikely treasure-trove of donors for ClintonLATimes ^ October 19, 2007 Peter Nicholas and Tom Hamburger
An unlikely treasure-trove of donors for Clinton
The candidate's unparalleled fundraising success relies largely on the least-affluent residents of New York's Chinatown - some of whom can't be tracked down.
NEW YORK -- Something remarkable happened at 44 Henry St., a grimy Chinatown tenement with peeling walls. It also happened nearby at a dimly lighted apartment building with trash bins clustered by the front door.
And again not too far away, at 88 E. Broadway beneath the Manhattan bridge, where vendors chatter in Mandarin and Fujianese as they hawk rubber sandals and bargain-basement clothes.
All three locations, along with scores of others scattered throughout some of the poorest Chinese neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, have been swept by an extraordinary impulse to shower money on one particular presidential candidate -- Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Dishwashers, waiters and others whose jobs and dilapidated home addresses seem to make them unpromising targets for political fundraisers are pouring $1,000 and $2,000 contributions into Clinton's campaign treasury. In April, a single fundraiser in an area long known for its gritty urban poverty yielded a whopping $380,000. When Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) ran for president in 2004, he received $24,000 from Chinatown.
.....
And Clinton's success in gathering money from Chinatown's least-affluent residents stems from a two-pronged strategy: mutually beneficial alliances with powerful groups, and appeals to the hopes and dreams of people now consigned to the margins.
Clinton has enlisted the aid of Chinese neighborhood associations, especially those representing recent immigrants from Fujian province. The organizations, at least one of which is a descendant of Chinatown criminal enterprises that engaged in gambling and human trafficking, exert enormous influence over immigrants. The associations help them with everything from protection against crime to obtaining green cards.
.....
An unlikely treasure-trove of donors for Clinton
The candidate's unparalleled fundraising success relies largely on the least-affluent residents of New York's Chinatown - some of whom can't be tracked down.
NEW YORK -- Something remarkable happened at 44 Henry St., a grimy Chinatown tenement with peeling walls. It also happened nearby at a dimly lighted apartment building with trash bins clustered by the front door.
And again not too far away, at 88 E. Broadway beneath the Manhattan bridge, where vendors chatter in Mandarin and Fujianese as they hawk rubber sandals and bargain-basement clothes.
All three locations, along with scores of others scattered throughout some of the poorest Chinese neighborhoods in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx, have been swept by an extraordinary impulse to shower money on one particular presidential candidate -- Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Dishwashers, waiters and others whose jobs and dilapidated home addresses seem to make them unpromising targets for political fundraisers are pouring $1,000 and $2,000 contributions into Clinton's campaign treasury. In April, a single fundraiser in an area long known for its gritty urban poverty yielded a whopping $380,000. When Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) ran for president in 2004, he received $24,000 from Chinatown.
.....
And Clinton's success in gathering money from Chinatown's least-affluent residents stems from a two-pronged strategy: mutually beneficial alliances with powerful groups, and appeals to the hopes and dreams of people now consigned to the margins.
Clinton has enlisted the aid of Chinese neighborhood associations, especially those representing recent immigrants from Fujian province. The organizations, at least one of which is a descendant of Chinatown criminal enterprises that engaged in gambling and human trafficking, exert enormous influence over immigrants. The associations help them with everything from protection against crime to obtaining green cards.
.....
Thursday, October 18, 2007
BIANCA JAGGER DEPICTED AS EVICTED
Bianca Jagger to be booted from home [her Park Avenue apartment because of her immigration status]news.com.au ^
Posted on 10/18/2007 4:33:34 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Jagger to be booted from home
From correspondents in New York
October 19, 2007 08:59am Article from: Reuters
A NEW York appeals court has ruled that a landlord can evict Bianca Jagger from her Park Avenue apartment because of her immigration status.
The former wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger has lived in the rent-stabilised apartment for 20 years and argued that it was her primary residence and her landlord should be barred from evicting her.
A British citizen who was born in Nicaragua, Jagger is in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa.
Her lawyer Ryan Goldstein had argued that mould in the apartment had made it unliveable and she had stopped paying the $US4614 ($5148) a month rent in 2003.
The landlord, Katz Park Avenue Corporation, said Jagger was in the US on a tourist visa and was not eligible to maintain permanent residence.
The 3-2 decision by New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division reversed a lower court's finding.
The decision, which noted that the environmental activist also had a luxury apartment in London's Belgravia, said Jagger would also have to pay back rent and other fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au
Posted on 10/18/2007 4:33:34 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Jagger to be booted from home
From correspondents in New York
October 19, 2007 08:59am Article from: Reuters
A NEW York appeals court has ruled that a landlord can evict Bianca Jagger from her Park Avenue apartment because of her immigration status.
The former wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger has lived in the rent-stabilised apartment for 20 years and argued that it was her primary residence and her landlord should be barred from evicting her.
A British citizen who was born in Nicaragua, Jagger is in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa.
Her lawyer Ryan Goldstein had argued that mould in the apartment had made it unliveable and she had stopped paying the $US4614 ($5148) a month rent in 2003.
The landlord, Katz Park Avenue Corporation, said Jagger was in the US on a tourist visa and was not eligible to maintain permanent residence.
The 3-2 decision by New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division reversed a lower court's finding.
The decision, which noted that the environmental activist also had a luxury apartment in London's Belgravia, said Jagger would also have to pay back rent and other fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au
OY VAY JOSE
Looks like the court took a few photos of B&H electronics store. The Orthodox run business will have to shell out the big bucks for missing a few mitzvahs (good deeds).
B&H pays $4.3M to settle discrimination complaint
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, October 16th 2007, 3:46 PM
B&H Photo and Electronics Corp. has agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle allegations that it discriminated against Hispanic workers.
In its complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the photo and equipment outlet paid Hispanic staff working in its warehouses less than other laborers.
B&H also failed to promote Hispanic workers and did not provide them with health benefits, the EEOC said.
Under the agreement, B&H agreed to raise the wages of its Hispanic employees to correspond with those of non-Hispanics. It also agreed to distribute $4.3 million to individuals who were paid less or denied promotions or benefits because they are Hispanic
B&H pays $4.3M to settle discrimination complaint
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Tuesday, October 16th 2007, 3:46 PM
B&H Photo and Electronics Corp. has agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle allegations that it discriminated against Hispanic workers.
In its complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said the photo and equipment outlet paid Hispanic staff working in its warehouses less than other laborers.
B&H also failed to promote Hispanic workers and did not provide them with health benefits, the EEOC said.
Under the agreement, B&H agreed to raise the wages of its Hispanic employees to correspond with those of non-Hispanics. It also agreed to distribute $4.3 million to individuals who were paid less or denied promotions or benefits because they are Hispanic
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
MATHEW WALSHIN PAROLE VIOLATOR
Mathew Walshin is yet to disclose what he knows about the disappearance of Dana Rishpy, www.findana.com. However, as a result of his latest altercation with the law, it appears that Mathew has violated parole in California.
2:00 PM VIOLATION OF PROBATION HEARINGS Lee Justice Ctr: Hearing Room - 13 (4th Floor)
Case Information:
Time
Duration
Case Style
Case Number
Proceeding
Attorney
2:00 PM
Watts, Lovell
07CT2737
continuation
Kanaski
Williams, James Leroy
00CT31244
Gill
Petithomme, Jean Claude
07MM489
Gavin
Wise, Angela
07MM22739
Gavin
Kotek, Veronica L.
05MM3183
continuation
Rosario
Walsh, Matthew Ryan
07CT699
continuation
Rosario
2:00 PM VIOLATION OF PROBATION HEARINGS Lee Justice Ctr: Hearing Room - 13 (4th Floor)
Case Information:
Time
Duration
Case Style
Case Number
Proceeding
Attorney
2:00 PM
Watts, Lovell
07CT2737
continuation
Kanaski
Williams, James Leroy
00CT31244
Gill
Petithomme, Jean Claude
07MM489
Gavin
Wise, Angela
07MM22739
Gavin
Kotek, Veronica L.
05MM3183
continuation
Rosario
Walsh, Matthew Ryan
07CT699
continuation
Rosario
NYPD RESPONDS TO ROID STORY
From: DCPI [mailto:DCPI.DCPI@nypd.org] Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 10:58 PM To:
DCPI Subject: STATEMENT RE: CHANNEL 11 REPORT
Without seeking comment or confirmation from DCPI, WPIX-TV, channel 11 reporter Arthur Chi'en this evening broadcast an erroneous report which wildly distorted and exaggerated the facts in an IAB investigation, in cooperation with state health officials, in which six police officers are being investigated for the possible improper use of prescriptions to obtain anabolic steroids for non-medical, personal use.
A pharmacy employee was arrested yesterday in connection with the investigation. While the officers' conduct being investigated could result in disciplinary action, no arrests of police officers are anticipated.
Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne
DCPI Subject: STATEMENT RE: CHANNEL 11 REPORT
Without seeking comment or confirmation from DCPI, WPIX-TV, channel 11 reporter Arthur Chi'en this evening broadcast an erroneous report which wildly distorted and exaggerated the facts in an IAB investigation, in cooperation with state health officials, in which six police officers are being investigated for the possible improper use of prescriptions to obtain anabolic steroids for non-medical, personal use.
A pharmacy employee was arrested yesterday in connection with the investigation. While the officers' conduct being investigated could result in disciplinary action, no arrests of police officers are anticipated.
Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne
POSSIBLE NYPD 'ROID SCANDAL
October 16, 2007
Sources tell CW11 30 NYPD officers are being arrested in connection with a steroid ring involving the use of the substance, considered a narcotic, and possibly its distribution. The officers being sought work in precincts throughout Brooklyn and Staten Island and several are already in police custody.
According to sources the case was developed federally by the Drug Enforcement Agency, which in February launched a major raid in Orlando, Florida, seizing volumes of evidence and arresting its owners. Those files contained names of clients including Scott Schoeneweis of the New York Mets, Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals and boxer Evander Holyfield. Even at that time, authorities indicated more arrests could come.
"Somewhere down the road there may or may not be arrests in this case," Carl Metzger of Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation said. The steroid investigation reached into New York last month in Queens, but no one expected that it would lead to the NYPD. According to sources, at least 5 weeks ago the NYPD Internal Affairs division was contacted by the DEA. The culmination of their investigation is likely the biggest takedown of NYPD cops in the history of the city. In addition, sources close to the investigation say the sting includes a high ranking member of the NYPD whose name the CW11 is withholding.
Sources tell CW11 30 NYPD officers are being arrested in connection with a steroid ring involving the use of the substance, considered a narcotic, and possibly its distribution. The officers being sought work in precincts throughout Brooklyn and Staten Island and several are already in police custody.
According to sources the case was developed federally by the Drug Enforcement Agency, which in February launched a major raid in Orlando, Florida, seizing volumes of evidence and arresting its owners. Those files contained names of clients including Scott Schoeneweis of the New York Mets, Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals and boxer Evander Holyfield. Even at that time, authorities indicated more arrests could come.
"Somewhere down the road there may or may not be arrests in this case," Carl Metzger of Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation said. The steroid investigation reached into New York last month in Queens, but no one expected that it would lead to the NYPD. According to sources, at least 5 weeks ago the NYPD Internal Affairs division was contacted by the DEA. The culmination of their investigation is likely the biggest takedown of NYPD cops in the history of the city. In addition, sources close to the investigation say the sting includes a high ranking member of the NYPD whose name the CW11 is withholding.
THE OTHER HOLOCAUST VICTIMS
THE UNTOLD STORY OF NAZI BLACK GENOCIDE
Sep. 25 (GIN) - Hitler referred to them as “Rhineland bastards” - the hundreds of children born of German mothers and African fathers. The men were African soldiers deployed by the French army in Germany’s Rhineland after WW1.
Finally a memorial is to be erected outside the home of one Black victim of the Nazi Holocaust, giving a name to the nameless. Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed, originally from Tanzania, married a German woman and was charged with ‘miscegenation’. He died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, in November 1944.
The idea behind the memorial - part of the Stolperstein Project, is to remember the millions of nameless and forgotten Blacks, Gypsies, Disabled, Homosexuals, Communists. It coincides with the publication of “Truthful Till Death” by Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst – a book which focuses attention on the persecution of black people under the Third Reich, which included forced sterilisation and, ultimately, extermination.
When complete, the Stolperstein (meaning ‘stumbling block’) project will consist of 12,000 markers outside houses, giving the name of the person or persons who lived there and the date on which they were taken to a concentration camp. Its aim is to stop future generations from thinking of the Holocaust in terms of anonymous, faceless numbers.
Sep. 25 (GIN) - Hitler referred to them as “Rhineland bastards” - the hundreds of children born of German mothers and African fathers. The men were African soldiers deployed by the French army in Germany’s Rhineland after WW1.
Finally a memorial is to be erected outside the home of one Black victim of the Nazi Holocaust, giving a name to the nameless. Mahjub bin Adam Mohamed, originally from Tanzania, married a German woman and was charged with ‘miscegenation’. He died in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, in November 1944.
The idea behind the memorial - part of the Stolperstein Project, is to remember the millions of nameless and forgotten Blacks, Gypsies, Disabled, Homosexuals, Communists. It coincides with the publication of “Truthful Till Death” by Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst – a book which focuses attention on the persecution of black people under the Third Reich, which included forced sterilisation and, ultimately, extermination.
When complete, the Stolperstein (meaning ‘stumbling block’) project will consist of 12,000 markers outside houses, giving the name of the person or persons who lived there and the date on which they were taken to a concentration camp. Its aim is to stop future generations from thinking of the Holocaust in terms of anonymous, faceless numbers.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
CHENEY AND OBAMA ARE COUSINS
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There's no sign of a family reunion planned, but U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are distant cousins.n So says the vice president's wife, Lynne Cheney, who said she discovered that her husband of 43 years is eighth cousins with the senator from Illinois.
The two men could hardly be more different. Cheney is an advocate for pursuing the war in Iraq to try to stabilize the country, while Obama wants to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. Mrs. Cheney told MSNBC on Tuesday that it was "an amazing American story that one ancestor ... could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths."
The common ancestor was Mareen Devall, who the Chicago Sun-Times said was a 17th century immigrant from France. Mrs. Cheney said she discovered the link through family research for her new book, "Blue Skies, No Fences," about growing up in Wyoming.
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
The two men could hardly be more different. Cheney is an advocate for pursuing the war in Iraq to try to stabilize the country, while Obama wants to get U.S. troops out of Iraq. Mrs. Cheney told MSNBC on Tuesday that it was "an amazing American story that one ancestor ... could be responsible down the family line for lives that have taken such different and varied paths."
The common ancestor was Mareen Devall, who the Chicago Sun-Times said was a 17th century immigrant from France. Mrs. Cheney said she discovered the link through family research for her new book, "Blue Skies, No Fences," about growing up in Wyoming.
(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Check the website http://www.opensecrets.com/ to review who is contributing to the Presidential candidates. Interesting!
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Monday, October 15, 2007
THE HITLERS OF LONG ISLAND
Getting to know the Hitlers
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 20/01/2002
Page 1 of 3
FOR more than 50 years, the relatives of Adolf Hitler have hidden under false names in Long Island , New York. They have not spoken publicly since the Second World War. In a revelatory new book to be launched this week, they break their silence. David Gardner tells their story.
The faint lilt of German folk music floated through the open window of the dark-wood alpine bungalow as I walked down the short path to the front door. The property straddled two small roads on a forested private estate nestling into one of the bays tucked behind slivers of land protecting the New York coastline from the full impact of the Atlantic Ocean.
Neither close enough to New York city to be overrun by urban sprawl nor fashionable enough to compete with the wealthy weekend getaways in the Hamptons, it was a community left largely untouched by the passing of the years.
This was the place where Liverpool-born William Patrick Hitler had chosen to escape from the world.
For more than five decades, scores of historians and academics had been searching in vain for any clues that would solve one of the untold mysteries of the Second World War: whatever happened to the English Hitler?
William Patrick was the son of Adolf Hitler's half-brother, Alois, but there was little family affection: "Uncle Adolf" referred to William Patrick as "my loathsome nephew".
After a difficult childhood in England, a spell in Germany before the war, and a tour of duty as a US seaman fighting with the Allies during the war, the burden of his name simply became too much. William Patrick Hitler adopted a double-barrelled surname and dropped out of sight in 1946, creating a new life for himself a world away from the horror of the Holocaust.
Now I was about to ask his widow the question she had been dreading for 50 years: "Is your real name Mrs Hitler?"
I knew William Patrick would not be answering the door. I had just been to visit his grave, a 20-minute drive away, at the closest Roman Catholic cemetery, where I was given the name and address of his widow, Phyllis.
The music stopped and a tall, elegantly-dressed woman peered from behind the screen and spoke with a distinct German accent. Even from behind the grey mesh I could tell the reason for my visit was already dawning on her. She must have envisaged this very conversation countless times over the years.
"Perhaps we will talk about it when the boys are older," she said. "We were married a long time and my husband never wanted anyone to know who he was. Now my sons don't want anything to do with it. It was all too long ago. There has been enough trouble with this name."
Despite my polite attempts to persuade her to tell me more, she was adamant she did not want to talk about her extraordinary family secret.
It was only when I drove slowly away from the house that I realised the implications of what Phyllis had told me; that the Hitler line did not die out with William Patrick Hitler when he died in 1987, aged 76. It lived on through her sons.
From that first, short conversation with William Patrick's widow through subsequent dealings with her family over a period of three years for my book, The Last of the Hitlers, and a Channel 5 documentary, set to be screened on February 4, I have kept a pledge not to reveal the name adopted by the Hitler family in New York, nor the town where they live.
I was to discover that the Hitler bloodline was carried on through William Patrick's four sons - one of whom died in a road accident in 1989 - and that the brothers had decided in a remarkable pact not to have children themselves in order that Adolf Hitler's genes would die with them.
The eldest of these sons holds an even more remarkable secret; he was named after his despotic uncle.
So an Adolf Hitler lives on to this day in a forgotten corner of America. Alexander Adolf Hitler understands the enduring fascination with his great-uncle but, like his mother, he doesn't want his life overturned, and possibly endangered, by revealing his true identity.
He told me: "I know that in England there is still a lot of interest in Hitler and it is on the television and in books and newspapers more often than it is here. Just make sure you say good things about my father because he was a good guy. He came to the United States, he served in the US Navy, he had four kids and he had a pretty good life."
Continued
1
2
3
Next page
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Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 20/01/2002
Page 1 of 3
FOR more than 50 years, the relatives of Adolf Hitler have hidden under false names in Long Island , New York. They have not spoken publicly since the Second World War. In a revelatory new book to be launched this week, they break their silence. David Gardner tells their story.
The faint lilt of German folk music floated through the open window of the dark-wood alpine bungalow as I walked down the short path to the front door. The property straddled two small roads on a forested private estate nestling into one of the bays tucked behind slivers of land protecting the New York coastline from the full impact of the Atlantic Ocean.
Neither close enough to New York city to be overrun by urban sprawl nor fashionable enough to compete with the wealthy weekend getaways in the Hamptons, it was a community left largely untouched by the passing of the years.
This was the place where Liverpool-born William Patrick Hitler had chosen to escape from the world.
For more than five decades, scores of historians and academics had been searching in vain for any clues that would solve one of the untold mysteries of the Second World War: whatever happened to the English Hitler?
William Patrick was the son of Adolf Hitler's half-brother, Alois, but there was little family affection: "Uncle Adolf" referred to William Patrick as "my loathsome nephew".
After a difficult childhood in England, a spell in Germany before the war, and a tour of duty as a US seaman fighting with the Allies during the war, the burden of his name simply became too much. William Patrick Hitler adopted a double-barrelled surname and dropped out of sight in 1946, creating a new life for himself a world away from the horror of the Holocaust.
Now I was about to ask his widow the question she had been dreading for 50 years: "Is your real name Mrs Hitler?"
I knew William Patrick would not be answering the door. I had just been to visit his grave, a 20-minute drive away, at the closest Roman Catholic cemetery, where I was given the name and address of his widow, Phyllis.
The music stopped and a tall, elegantly-dressed woman peered from behind the screen and spoke with a distinct German accent. Even from behind the grey mesh I could tell the reason for my visit was already dawning on her. She must have envisaged this very conversation countless times over the years.
"Perhaps we will talk about it when the boys are older," she said. "We were married a long time and my husband never wanted anyone to know who he was. Now my sons don't want anything to do with it. It was all too long ago. There has been enough trouble with this name."
Despite my polite attempts to persuade her to tell me more, she was adamant she did not want to talk about her extraordinary family secret.
It was only when I drove slowly away from the house that I realised the implications of what Phyllis had told me; that the Hitler line did not die out with William Patrick Hitler when he died in 1987, aged 76. It lived on through her sons.
From that first, short conversation with William Patrick's widow through subsequent dealings with her family over a period of three years for my book, The Last of the Hitlers, and a Channel 5 documentary, set to be screened on February 4, I have kept a pledge not to reveal the name adopted by the Hitler family in New York, nor the town where they live.
I was to discover that the Hitler bloodline was carried on through William Patrick's four sons - one of whom died in a road accident in 1989 - and that the brothers had decided in a remarkable pact not to have children themselves in order that Adolf Hitler's genes would die with them.
The eldest of these sons holds an even more remarkable secret; he was named after his despotic uncle.
So an Adolf Hitler lives on to this day in a forgotten corner of America. Alexander Adolf Hitler understands the enduring fascination with his great-uncle but, like his mother, he doesn't want his life overturned, and possibly endangered, by revealing his true identity.
He told me: "I know that in England there is still a lot of interest in Hitler and it is on the television and in books and newspapers more often than it is here. Just make sure you say good things about my father because he was a good guy. He came to the United States, he served in the US Navy, he had four kids and he had a pretty good life."
Continued
1
2
3
Next page
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
DON'T BLAME THE SANDMAN
By Michael Cusenza
Councilman James Sanders (D-Laurelton) clarified this week the nature of a questionable payment detailed in the recently-released City comptroller’s Audit Report on the Other Than Personal Service Expenditures of the New York City Council. The report stated that the Council made a questionable payment of $1,496 on a voucher that had no council member certification stamp or signature. According to a source, this payment was attributed to Sanders.
Mike Duncan, Sanders’ chief of staff, said the voucher in question refers to an invoice for newsletters over which the councilman had no control. Sanders never saw the invoice because it was sent to the attention of Angel Lopez at the office of the City Council at 250 Broadway in Manhattan. Duncan said that’s where the invoice was signed-for and handled.
Friday, October 12, 2007
HEVESI FAMILY SOAP OPERA CONTINUES
Hevesi’s Son Implicated In Probe
by Colin Gustafson, Assistant Editor
10/11/2007 The Queens Chronicle
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More members of the Hevesi political dynasty are finding themselves in hot water this week as state investigators widen the scope of their probe into the family’s allegedly illicit financial dealings. The state attorney general is demanding that a business owned by former Forest Hills lawmaker Daniel Hevesi turn over financial records on suspicion that they might reveal improper business ties with his father, the former Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
For more than four years, the elder Hevesi oversaw the state’s $154 billion pension fund — one of the nation’s largest — from which financial businesses across the state have long vied to win business. Now, prosecutors believe Daniel Hevesi, who left the state Senate unexpectedly in 2002 to work in the financial services industry, may have received fees for connecting some of those investors with the fund his father managed. His criminal defense attorney adamantly denied the charges, telling The New York Times last week that her client would willingly turn over documents subpoenaed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office.
But the younger Hevesi’s potential conflicts of interest could be wide ranging, prosecutors believe. After not seeking re-election to a third term in Albany, the former legislator worked for York Stockbrokers, a firm that has acted as a “placement agent,” or intermediary, between financial businesses and the pension fund, according to published reports. Daniel Hevesi later joined Praetorian Securities, an investment firm that has acted as a placement agent for part of the city’s pension fund. Additionally, in 2005, he was hired by the hedge fund Third Point Capitol, just months after the comptroller’s office had invested in the company.
The Hevesi family’s lawyers have staunchly denied wrongdoing by their clients in those transactions, asserting that none of Daniel Hevesi’s investments were brokered through — or had anything to do with — his relationship with his father. Still, the family has been hard-pressed to avoid the harsh glare of scandal recently. Last winter, Alan Hevesi resigned as comptroller after pleading guilty to felony charges that he used state workers to chauffeur his ailing wife around the state capital.
The guilty plea quickly spurred further investigations by both Cuomo and Albany County’s district attorney, David Soares. Since then, the separate probes have implicated a slew of other friends and relatives — including Hevesi’s younger son, Forest Hills Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi. Investigators began looking deeper into the assembylman’s campaign records earlier this year after uncovering political contributions from investment firms in which Alan Hevesi had invested millions of dollars in pension funds.
Andrew Hevesi’s office declined to comment on the probe, but said the legislator was prepared to cooperate with authorities. “We’ve been aware of this (the probe) for a while and have seen it coming down the pipes,” said Todd Ferrara, a spokesman for the assemblyman. “The governor’s folks have said they’re interested in knowing more, but no decisions have been made yet. So we haven’t taken a position ... either.”
by Colin Gustafson, Assistant Editor
10/11/2007 The Queens Chronicle
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
More members of the Hevesi political dynasty are finding themselves in hot water this week as state investigators widen the scope of their probe into the family’s allegedly illicit financial dealings. The state attorney general is demanding that a business owned by former Forest Hills lawmaker Daniel Hevesi turn over financial records on suspicion that they might reveal improper business ties with his father, the former Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
For more than four years, the elder Hevesi oversaw the state’s $154 billion pension fund — one of the nation’s largest — from which financial businesses across the state have long vied to win business. Now, prosecutors believe Daniel Hevesi, who left the state Senate unexpectedly in 2002 to work in the financial services industry, may have received fees for connecting some of those investors with the fund his father managed. His criminal defense attorney adamantly denied the charges, telling The New York Times last week that her client would willingly turn over documents subpoenaed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office.
But the younger Hevesi’s potential conflicts of interest could be wide ranging, prosecutors believe. After not seeking re-election to a third term in Albany, the former legislator worked for York Stockbrokers, a firm that has acted as a “placement agent,” or intermediary, between financial businesses and the pension fund, according to published reports. Daniel Hevesi later joined Praetorian Securities, an investment firm that has acted as a placement agent for part of the city’s pension fund. Additionally, in 2005, he was hired by the hedge fund Third Point Capitol, just months after the comptroller’s office had invested in the company.
The Hevesi family’s lawyers have staunchly denied wrongdoing by their clients in those transactions, asserting that none of Daniel Hevesi’s investments were brokered through — or had anything to do with — his relationship with his father. Still, the family has been hard-pressed to avoid the harsh glare of scandal recently. Last winter, Alan Hevesi resigned as comptroller after pleading guilty to felony charges that he used state workers to chauffeur his ailing wife around the state capital.
The guilty plea quickly spurred further investigations by both Cuomo and Albany County’s district attorney, David Soares. Since then, the separate probes have implicated a slew of other friends and relatives — including Hevesi’s younger son, Forest Hills Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi. Investigators began looking deeper into the assembylman’s campaign records earlier this year after uncovering political contributions from investment firms in which Alan Hevesi had invested millions of dollars in pension funds.
Andrew Hevesi’s office declined to comment on the probe, but said the legislator was prepared to cooperate with authorities. “We’ve been aware of this (the probe) for a while and have seen it coming down the pipes,” said Todd Ferrara, a spokesman for the assemblyman. “The governor’s folks have said they’re interested in knowing more, but no decisions have been made yet. So we haven’t taken a position ... either.”
TIME TO PULL THE PLUG ON ANNIE
Jews Not Perfect Enough for Ann Coulter
Yet more proof Ann Coulter likes to hear herself talk - and that talk shows like that! She appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and talks about how Jews need perfecting - "we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say" - to the point of being Christians. Deutsch was shocked, argued with her, and went to commercial by saying, "Ann Coulter, author of If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans, and if Ann Coulter had any brains, she would not say Jews need to be perfected. I'm offended by that personally."
Media Matters has a transcript of the show, and there was a pretty wacky part leading up the "perfecting Jews" moment.
COULTER: I give all of these speeches at megachurches across America, and the one thing that's really striking about it is how utterly, completely diverse they are, and completely unself-consciously. You walk past a mixed-race couple in New York, and it's like they have a chip on their shoulder. They're just waiting for somebody to say something, as if anybody would. And --
DEUTSCH: I don't agree with that. I don't agree with that at all. Maybe you have the chip looking at them. I see a lot of interracial couples, and I don't see any more or less chips there either way. That's erroneous.
COULTER: No. In fact, there was an entire Seinfeld episode about Elaine and her boyfriend dating because they wanted to be a mixed-race couple, so you're lying.
DEUTSCH: Oh, because of some Seinfeld episode? OK. Interesting, Seinfeld is a show created by some "imperfect" Jews! If anything, we'd like this to be a sign to the bookers at talk shows: Stop the Ann Coulter madness and stop inviting her on.
By Jen Chung in TV Link Comments (46)
Yet more proof Ann Coulter likes to hear herself talk - and that talk shows like that! She appeared on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, and talks about how Jews need perfecting - "we just want Jews to be perfected, as they say" - to the point of being Christians. Deutsch was shocked, argued with her, and went to commercial by saying, "Ann Coulter, author of If Democrats Had Any Brains, They'd Be Republicans, and if Ann Coulter had any brains, she would not say Jews need to be perfected. I'm offended by that personally."
Media Matters has a transcript of the show, and there was a pretty wacky part leading up the "perfecting Jews" moment.
COULTER: I give all of these speeches at megachurches across America, and the one thing that's really striking about it is how utterly, completely diverse they are, and completely unself-consciously. You walk past a mixed-race couple in New York, and it's like they have a chip on their shoulder. They're just waiting for somebody to say something, as if anybody would. And --
DEUTSCH: I don't agree with that. I don't agree with that at all. Maybe you have the chip looking at them. I see a lot of interracial couples, and I don't see any more or less chips there either way. That's erroneous.
COULTER: No. In fact, there was an entire Seinfeld episode about Elaine and her boyfriend dating because they wanted to be a mixed-race couple, so you're lying.
DEUTSCH: Oh, because of some Seinfeld episode? OK. Interesting, Seinfeld is a show created by some "imperfect" Jews! If anything, we'd like this to be a sign to the bookers at talk shows: Stop the Ann Coulter madness and stop inviting her on.
By Jen Chung in TV Link Comments (46)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
NEW HAVEN COP TO POLICE NEW YORK CITY
So they couldn't fill this position from the ranks of NYPD?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City’s No. 3 cop leaving for job in NYC
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
10/09/2007
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NEW HAVEN — The third highest ranking officer in the Police Department will retire to become the chief investigator with New York City’s Business Integrity Commission.
Capt. Stephen Verrelli, 52, confirmed Monday he accepted the position in New York and will end is 26-year career in about three weeks.
His annual pension will be about $86,000. His new position will pay $110,000."This city and this Police Department has been very good to me and my family for 26 years and I mean that in sincerity," he said. At the same time, this opportunity and the financial stability it will afford his family was impossible to pass up.Verrelli spent the last 4½ years running the department’s largest division, uniformed services, overseeing about 325 officers and day-to-day patrol operations.
Before that, he ran the information services division, which includes the communications, MIS and records departments.New York’s Business Integrity Commission, formerly known as the Organized Crime Control Commission, was created in 2001 to consolidate the regulatory jurisdiction over the private carting industry, businesses operating in the city’s public wholesale markets and the shipboard gambling industry.
The commission’s Web site says there are about 1,100 active carting companies operating in New York and about 150 wholesale businesses operating in three of the city’s wholesale public markets.BIC Commissioner Michael Mansfield, a former longtime prosecutor in Queens County, took over in August and is undertaking a commissionwide overhaul. He said he looked for a person "whose integrity was beyond reproach" and "a strong law enforcement professional" to fill the newly created position.
Verrelli fit the bill."I think the city of New Haven is going to be sorry to lose him. New Haven’s loss is New York City’s gain," Mansfield said.Verrelli joined the department in 1982 and served as district manager in the East Shore and Fair Haven as a lieutenant in the mid- to late-1990s. As a captain, he took over information services in 1999 and his current post in March 2003, when Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. vacated the spot to become assistant chief.He’s leaving at a time when the department is in flux, beset by a federal corruption probe and depleted ranks across the board, and is preparing for final recommendations from a national consultant hired to study the department in the wake of the probe.
Despite the challenges, he said, he was confident the department would thrive again.Last year, Verrelli was one of the front-runners for an assistant police chief position but was passed over.He said he harbors no ill will, but, "I now see myself risen to about as high in this organization as I’m going to achieve."He expressed gratitude to former police chiefs Nicholas Pastore and Melvin H. Wearing, and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. for giving him the opportunity to succeed here.The departure will leave seven of eight captain spots vacant, and currently the department has just 40 percent of its mid-management ranks — lieutenant and captain — filled.
Promotions for both are planned this fall.Also, there are seven vacancies in the sergeant rank, but there is an active promotional list. City officials have not said why the promotions weren’t made, but the presumption in the department was that one of the next candidates in line, Detective Jose Silva, was rumored to be in the crosshairs of the FBI. He pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor civil rights violation and Ortiz is seeking his termination through the Board of Police Commissioners.
©New Haven Register 2007
Email to a friendPrinter-friendlyTop
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City’s No. 3 cop leaving for job in NYC
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
10/09/2007
Email to a friendPrinter-friendly
NEW HAVEN — The third highest ranking officer in the Police Department will retire to become the chief investigator with New York City’s Business Integrity Commission.
Capt. Stephen Verrelli, 52, confirmed Monday he accepted the position in New York and will end is 26-year career in about three weeks.
His annual pension will be about $86,000. His new position will pay $110,000."This city and this Police Department has been very good to me and my family for 26 years and I mean that in sincerity," he said. At the same time, this opportunity and the financial stability it will afford his family was impossible to pass up.Verrelli spent the last 4½ years running the department’s largest division, uniformed services, overseeing about 325 officers and day-to-day patrol operations.
Before that, he ran the information services division, which includes the communications, MIS and records departments.New York’s Business Integrity Commission, formerly known as the Organized Crime Control Commission, was created in 2001 to consolidate the regulatory jurisdiction over the private carting industry, businesses operating in the city’s public wholesale markets and the shipboard gambling industry.
The commission’s Web site says there are about 1,100 active carting companies operating in New York and about 150 wholesale businesses operating in three of the city’s wholesale public markets.BIC Commissioner Michael Mansfield, a former longtime prosecutor in Queens County, took over in August and is undertaking a commissionwide overhaul. He said he looked for a person "whose integrity was beyond reproach" and "a strong law enforcement professional" to fill the newly created position.
Verrelli fit the bill."I think the city of New Haven is going to be sorry to lose him. New Haven’s loss is New York City’s gain," Mansfield said.Verrelli joined the department in 1982 and served as district manager in the East Shore and Fair Haven as a lieutenant in the mid- to late-1990s. As a captain, he took over information services in 1999 and his current post in March 2003, when Chief Francisco Ortiz Jr. vacated the spot to become assistant chief.He’s leaving at a time when the department is in flux, beset by a federal corruption probe and depleted ranks across the board, and is preparing for final recommendations from a national consultant hired to study the department in the wake of the probe.
Despite the challenges, he said, he was confident the department would thrive again.Last year, Verrelli was one of the front-runners for an assistant police chief position but was passed over.He said he harbors no ill will, but, "I now see myself risen to about as high in this organization as I’m going to achieve."He expressed gratitude to former police chiefs Nicholas Pastore and Melvin H. Wearing, and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. for giving him the opportunity to succeed here.The departure will leave seven of eight captain spots vacant, and currently the department has just 40 percent of its mid-management ranks — lieutenant and captain — filled.
Promotions for both are planned this fall.Also, there are seven vacancies in the sergeant rank, but there is an active promotional list. City officials have not said why the promotions weren’t made, but the presumption in the department was that one of the next candidates in line, Detective Jose Silva, was rumored to be in the crosshairs of the FBI. He pleaded guilty last week to a misdemeanor civil rights violation and Ortiz is seeking his termination through the Board of Police Commissioners.
©New Haven Register 2007
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YFP EXCLUSIVE WITH JAMES ODDO
NYC City Councilman, James Oddo spoke his mind when a Norwegian TV crew began a "faux" interview. Oddo, although a Republican reacted to inappropriate questions regarding both Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton, when he realized that he was being duped.
Jimmy did not mince words. And although his rant did not meet the "polite society" standard, he made his point. Mae West said, "When people are easily shocked, they need to be shocked more often." Oddo shocked them out of their polite comfort zone and spoke from the heart.
YFP is privileged to have had the opportunity of an EXCLUSIVE interview with Oddo regarding his reaction to the aftermath of the incident. Badda bing, badda bang!
Jimmy did not mince words. And although his rant did not meet the "polite society" standard, he made his point. Mae West said, "When people are easily shocked, they need to be shocked more often." Oddo shocked them out of their polite comfort zone and spoke from the heart.
YFP is privileged to have had the opportunity of an EXCLUSIVE interview with Oddo regarding his reaction to the aftermath of the incident. Badda bing, badda bang!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
CITY COUNCILMAN RANTS THE F-BOMB
NYC Councilman James Oddo (R-Staten Island) has never been one to mince words or emotions. Whether one agrees with him or not, you always know where you stand with Jimmy.
And, he relayed that to a Scandinavian "faux" interviewer.
Their crew may have gotten reality video but it looks as though Jimmy won that round. Watch him dole out diplomacy Staten Island style. Kudos to Oddo!
And, he relayed that to a Scandinavian "faux" interviewer.
Their crew may have gotten reality video but it looks as though Jimmy won that round. Watch him dole out diplomacy Staten Island style. Kudos to Oddo!
THE POLICE POISON PEN LETTER
From NYPD RANT (Lenny Levitt)
The Deputy Inspector and The Bravest Fund October 8, 2007
Did a high-ranking New York City Police Department official rip off a firemen's fund for 9/ll victims?
According to the anonymous letter circulating at the highest levels of the police department, Deputy Inspector Vincent Marra of the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Intelligence Division, received $1,000 from The Bravest Fund of firefighters in 2002 to help pay for surgery to remove a benign tumor from his chest.
A source in the Intelligence Division said Marra elected to have his surgery via his back rather than through his chest to avoid possible scarring but that his medical insurer refused to cover the cost. A review of The Bravest fund's filings with the state's attorney general's office reveals that the fund gave Marra $1,000 in 2002.
The Bravest Fund's mission statement, also filed with the state, says it was established "for the primary purpose of raising money from the pubic and private sources for the ultimate benefit to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster, as well as for firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers and their families who are victims of tragedies in general."
The Bravest Fund's attorney, Joe Pierpont, said in a telephone interview two weeks ago that Marra's check had been signed by one of the fund's three directors, its treasurer Bill Eisengrein. But he said the Fund had no records of Marra's file, including his application to justify the award, perhaps because it was a relatively small grant. Pierpont explained that any one of the Fund's three directors can sponsor an award and that Eisengrein had sponsored Marra's at the behest of another police officer, who approached him about Marra.
Asked the identity of that officer - whose name is mentioned in the anonymous letter which was sent to Internal Affairs Chief Charles Campisi and First Deputy Commissioner George Grasso - Pierpont said last week that Eisengrein "doesn't remember. He remembers it was a friend but does not remember it well enough as it happened a long time ago." Eisengrein could not be reached for comment.
The officer who had approached Eisengrein on Marra's behalf is a second-grade female detective in the Intelligence Division. She declined comment when contacted by this reporter, who also obtained a copy of the anonymous letter. The letter went on to say that initially Marra - aware that the female detective was friendly with Eisengrein - had promised to promote her to first-grade if she were able to obtain $10,000 from The Bravest Fund.
According to the letter, after she explained to Marra she could only get $1,000 for him, Marra said "he would not be able to get her promoted due to D.C. Cohen not knowing who she was." Cohen is Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen, who for the past six years has been revered by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as the city's protector from a future terrorist attack. Already, says a police official, there are indications the department is attempting to downplay Marra's case. "They want to deep-six that letter," said the official. Marra did not return messages left at his office and on his cell phone. According to police sources, he recently filed for retirement.
The Deputy Inspector and The Bravest Fund October 8, 2007
Did a high-ranking New York City Police Department official rip off a firemen's fund for 9/ll victims?
According to the anonymous letter circulating at the highest levels of the police department, Deputy Inspector Vincent Marra of the Criminal Intelligence Section of the Intelligence Division, received $1,000 from The Bravest Fund of firefighters in 2002 to help pay for surgery to remove a benign tumor from his chest.
A source in the Intelligence Division said Marra elected to have his surgery via his back rather than through his chest to avoid possible scarring but that his medical insurer refused to cover the cost. A review of The Bravest fund's filings with the state's attorney general's office reveals that the fund gave Marra $1,000 in 2002.
The Bravest Fund's mission statement, also filed with the state, says it was established "for the primary purpose of raising money from the pubic and private sources for the ultimate benefit to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster, as well as for firefighters, police officers, emergency service workers and their families who are victims of tragedies in general."
The Bravest Fund's attorney, Joe Pierpont, said in a telephone interview two weeks ago that Marra's check had been signed by one of the fund's three directors, its treasurer Bill Eisengrein. But he said the Fund had no records of Marra's file, including his application to justify the award, perhaps because it was a relatively small grant. Pierpont explained that any one of the Fund's three directors can sponsor an award and that Eisengrein had sponsored Marra's at the behest of another police officer, who approached him about Marra.
Asked the identity of that officer - whose name is mentioned in the anonymous letter which was sent to Internal Affairs Chief Charles Campisi and First Deputy Commissioner George Grasso - Pierpont said last week that Eisengrein "doesn't remember. He remembers it was a friend but does not remember it well enough as it happened a long time ago." Eisengrein could not be reached for comment.
The officer who had approached Eisengrein on Marra's behalf is a second-grade female detective in the Intelligence Division. She declined comment when contacted by this reporter, who also obtained a copy of the anonymous letter. The letter went on to say that initially Marra - aware that the female detective was friendly with Eisengrein - had promised to promote her to first-grade if she were able to obtain $10,000 from The Bravest Fund.
According to the letter, after she explained to Marra she could only get $1,000 for him, Marra said "he would not be able to get her promoted due to D.C. Cohen not knowing who she was." Cohen is Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence David Cohen, who for the past six years has been revered by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as the city's protector from a future terrorist attack. Already, says a police official, there are indications the department is attempting to downplay Marra's case. "They want to deep-six that letter," said the official. Marra did not return messages left at his office and on his cell phone. According to police sources, he recently filed for retirement.
Monday, October 8, 2007
IS RUDY A DOUBLE AGENT?
Questions are being raised over Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's policy on terrorism, after a report revealed he has strong ties to two foreign investment consortia working to own or lease U.S. toll roads, including the Trans-Texas Corridor 35, which is identified as part of the I-35 "NAFTA Superhighway."& Giuliani Firm Advises Cintra in First Privatization of Toll Road in Texas.
DALLAS (March 1, 2007) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton counties.
The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road. Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million. "Cintra was awarded this project because of its proven expertise and competitive proposal," said Thomas O. Moore, partner with Bracewell & Giuliani. "This is the largest transportation deal of 2007. This is one of only five deals in the country."
Three firms have competed for the Comprehensive Development Agreement for State Highway 121 since last summer. The proposals were reviewed and scored based on selection criteria set forth by the Regional Transportation Council, the metropolitan planning agency for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
This CDA is a public-private partnership that allows the provider to handle all facets of developing the toll road, including completing construction and operating and maintaining the corridor. Cintra, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferrovial specialized in toll roads and car parks, is one of the world's leading private-sector developers of transport infrastructure. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1803916/posts
==============================================
DALLAS (March 1, 2007) Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton counties.
The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road. Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million. "Cintra was awarded this project because of its proven expertise and competitive proposal," said Thomas O. Moore, partner with Bracewell & Giuliani. "This is the largest transportation deal of 2007. This is one of only five deals in the country."
Three firms have competed for the Comprehensive Development Agreement for State Highway 121 since last summer. The proposals were reviewed and scored based on selection criteria set forth by the Regional Transportation Council, the metropolitan planning agency for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
This CDA is a public-private partnership that allows the provider to handle all facets of developing the toll road, including completing construction and operating and maintaining the corridor. Cintra, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferrovial specialized in toll roads and car parks, is one of the world's leading private-sector developers of transport infrastructure. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1803916/posts
==============================================
HAIR'S THE REAL STORY
Beauty Blogger Belatedly Canned For Saying Something Marginally Offensive
Later, Hater!
Breaking! Glamour’s former beauty blogger once said something that was inadvertently offensive to black people. Naturally, she’s promptly fired, a mere six weeks after the fact.
ALWAYS composed Cindi Leive - the Glamour editrix who presides over the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) - shocked staffers at a recent editorial meeting when she became “outraged” and “furious” at fashion editor Ashley Baker. Leive had just read a story in American Lawyer magazine, which reported that during a presentation in June to a group of women at a law firm, Baker had declared that “dreadlocks or Afros are a definite ‘no.’ “
As for us, we can’t decide what’s more shocking. The fact that Glamour magazine had a hidden follicle bigot in their midsts, or that EIC Cindi Leive is only just learning about all this now, despite the fact that the story is six weeks old, and Baker blogged about the now infamous presentation the very same day it happened.
Later, Hater!
Breaking! Glamour’s former beauty blogger once said something that was inadvertently offensive to black people. Naturally, she’s promptly fired, a mere six weeks after the fact.
ALWAYS composed Cindi Leive - the Glamour editrix who presides over the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) - shocked staffers at a recent editorial meeting when she became “outraged” and “furious” at fashion editor Ashley Baker. Leive had just read a story in American Lawyer magazine, which reported that during a presentation in June to a group of women at a law firm, Baker had declared that “dreadlocks or Afros are a definite ‘no.’ “
As for us, we can’t decide what’s more shocking. The fact that Glamour magazine had a hidden follicle bigot in their midsts, or that EIC Cindi Leive is only just learning about all this now, despite the fact that the story is six weeks old, and Baker blogged about the now infamous presentation the very same day it happened.
CUBA SI, US HEALTH CARE.....NO
HEALTHCARE
Canadian firms offer Cuban healthcare to U.S. Canadian patients
Two Canadian companies are offering to send U.S. and Canadian patients to get healthcare in Cuba for reduced prices.
Posted on Sun, Oct. 07, 2007
Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
What's available on the Web about medical tourism
Seeking healthcare abroad
of Choice Medical ServicesIn the burgeoning business of traveling overseas for medical treatment, two Canadian companies hope to make an imprint by offering healthcare to Canadian and U.S. residents in socialist Cuba.
''We looked throughout Latin America or the Caribbean for a cheap source of medical services,'' says Daren Jorgenson, owner of Choice Medical Services in Winnipeg. ``Cuba is well known for high standards of healthcare.''
Some experts dispute the reference to high standards, but no one disputes the prices. Hip replacement, which can cost up to $38,000 in the United States, can be done in Cuba for $7,600, Jorgenson says. A tummy tuck can be had for $2,800, compared with $5,200 in the United States.
Soaring costs in the United States and a growing number of uninsured have emboldened patients to look overseas for healthcare. The Florida-based Medical Tourism Association estimates that several hundred thousand Americans now travel for health services each year.
Many countries -- from India to Mexico -- have become popular destinations for patients, and many entrepreneurs in the United States and elsewhere have set up companies to facilitate the process.
Cuba is a special case, because the U.S. embargo makes it illegal for Americans to spend money there for treatment.
Three South Florida experts on Cuban healthcare say foreigners with dollars receive much better care than Cubans, but still there could be problems getting treatment in Cuba. And a Miami ophthalmologist disputes the claims of another Canadian company, which says Cuba's doctors are able to prevent a type of blindness that Canadian and U.S. doctors can't.
Still, Milica Z. Bookman, co-author of Medical Tourism in Developing Countries, says Cuba has ''the infrastructure and a well-trained workforce. They're poised to take off'' as a major healthcare destination for Americans if or when the embargo ends.
''Cuba already is a destination for Spaniards and Italians and many others,'' says Bookman, who with U.S. government permission plans to travel to Cuba next month to study its healthcare system. ``. . . They're pushing this -- it's big and it's going to be much bigger.''
Leaders of both Canadian firms acknowledge the irony of Canadians, who have a government healthcare system in which everyone is guaranteed treatment, going to Cuba for surgery.
''It's a political scandal here,'' says Alexandre ''Sandy'' Rhéaume, of Health Services International in Frampton, Quebec. ``People are waiting 12 to 18 months for certain kinds of surgery.''
Rhéaume and Jorgenson say Michael Moore's movie Sicko did a fine job of describing Cuba's healthcare but was flat wrong about no waits for care in Canada. ''Moore is out to lunch'' in ''the stuff he says about Canada,'' Jorgenson says.
For Americans without health insurance, Cuba's lower prices are the lure. A Georgia carpenter says he was delighted to get Cuban care. ``I've been hurting, and I was looking outside the United States for something I could afford.''
The carpenter, who refused to reveal his name because he was violating U.S. law by breaking the embargo, talked with The Miami Herald in a phone interview set up by Choice Medical.
The man, in his early 60s, suffered from a torn rotator cuff that made working impossible. Without insurance, shoulder surgery could have cost him $14,000 to $20,000 in the United States.
After researching on the Internet, he found that Choice Medical could arrange for the same surgery for $4,000 at Clínica Cira Central García in Havana. The price didn't include airfare but did cover nine days in the country, a personal tour guide and some sightseeing while recovering.
Later, the man talked with The Miami Herald from Havana. ''It came out real good,'' he said of the surgery. The hospital was ``better than I expected. All the people are so friendly.''
MANY AMERICANS
Asked if he was given special treatment because it was rare for them to see a U.S. citizen, he said, ``No, there are a lot of Americans down here.''
Experts say the Georgia man clearly received the best care Cuba had to offer -- and far better than most Cubans get. ''There are three tiers,'' says Jaime Suchlicki, head of Cuban studies at the University of Miami. ''There's foreigners paying in dollars.
The second is for the [Communist] party and the military, and then there's the common people,'' who often have to wait for treatment and have a hard time getting needed prescriptions.
But ''Cuba has a good foreign medical operation,'' which it has been promoting for years, Suchlicki says. ``Probably the doctors are as good as any doctors. The facilities are fairly good by Canadian or European standards. I wouldn't have a heart operation in Cuba. But a face-lift? Sure.''
Jesús Monzon, an obstetrician-gynecologist who left Cuba in 1995, says that while diagnostic tests were difficult for Cubans to get in Pinar del Río, where he practiced, they were readily available for foreigners treated in Havana. Regular doctors had no access to the latest clinical developments, but those dealing with foreigners did.
René Rodriguez, a Cuban-born physician now living in Miami, thinks Cuba would be a ''lousy place'' to have surgery. ``If anything happens to them there, what are they going to do? The doctors there are not responsible. We have a legal system that makes doctors responsible.''
In fact, legal recourse and follow-up care after surgery are issues for foreigners receiving care in many countries.
Both Canadian companies just started this year. Jorgenson, owner of Choice Medical, is a major pharmacist-entrepreneur in Winnipeg with investments in clinics, a hotel, a salon and a spa.
Jorgenson said he was exploring healthcare business opportunities in India when he realized how large medical tourism had grown there.
He started to look at Western Hemisphere options.
''There are all sorts of rogue operations in Mexico along the U.S. border,'' Jorgenson says. ``. . . Cuba was clearly the safest place to deal with. . . . We've had Canadians go down and observe surgeries and stuff. They might say the equipment is not the latest and greatest, but the procedures and techniques are sound.''
''We are not taking high-risk patients,'' Jorgenson says. But surgeries for hip, knee, shoulder -- all elective procedures that Canadians have to wait for -- can be done in Cuba. Jorgenson called Cuba's healthcare system ''almost like Fidel's oil,'' because it attracts so many who have hard currency.
The people who run the other Canadian company, HSI, are considerably less known than Jorgenson. Its founder, Lucie Vermette, has described herself as a Quebec businesswoman who says she became interested in Cuba after waiting for six months to see a specialist.
Rhéaume, the company's vice president, says HSI is a nonprofit dedicated to getting people good, cheap care.
Unlike Choice Medical, which attempts to get the entire medical bill paid upfront, HSI charges a $250 filing fee to set up the paperwork for a patient to go to Cuba. The patient pays the medical bill in Cuba, and HSI gets 10 percent of that as its fee, Rhéaume says.
The company promises a lot. An HSI press release says two of its clients were told by Canadian doctors that they would go blind because Canada had no treatment for their degenerative disease, retinitis pigmentosa. But after the two patients went to Cuba, the company boasted that ''these two clients of HSI will not go blind!!!'' The press release gave the full names of the two patients, but Rhéaume said they were not available for interviews.
SKEPTICAL OF CLAIMS
Doctors in Cuba have been treating retinitis pigmentosa for years, but U.S. experts are skeptical about HSI's claims of Cuba's prowess.
Nina Berrocal of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami says she recently examined a patient in Puerto Rico who had gone to Cuba for treatment of the disease. He said his vision might have stabilized for a while, but then he went blind. ''Basically, the cells die, and nobody can stop that,'' Berrocal says.
Bill Doran, chief executive of Choice Medical Services, says the company thought that most of its customers would be Canadians. ``But almost 50 percent of the inquiries were from the United States. . . . We wouldn't be doing this if people didn't need the services.''
Canadian firms offer Cuban healthcare to U.S. Canadian patients
Two Canadian companies are offering to send U.S. and Canadian patients to get healthcare in Cuba for reduced prices.
Posted on Sun, Oct. 07, 2007
Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
What's available on the Web about medical tourism
Seeking healthcare abroad
of Choice Medical ServicesIn the burgeoning business of traveling overseas for medical treatment, two Canadian companies hope to make an imprint by offering healthcare to Canadian and U.S. residents in socialist Cuba.
''We looked throughout Latin America or the Caribbean for a cheap source of medical services,'' says Daren Jorgenson, owner of Choice Medical Services in Winnipeg. ``Cuba is well known for high standards of healthcare.''
Some experts dispute the reference to high standards, but no one disputes the prices. Hip replacement, which can cost up to $38,000 in the United States, can be done in Cuba for $7,600, Jorgenson says. A tummy tuck can be had for $2,800, compared with $5,200 in the United States.
Soaring costs in the United States and a growing number of uninsured have emboldened patients to look overseas for healthcare. The Florida-based Medical Tourism Association estimates that several hundred thousand Americans now travel for health services each year.
Many countries -- from India to Mexico -- have become popular destinations for patients, and many entrepreneurs in the United States and elsewhere have set up companies to facilitate the process.
Cuba is a special case, because the U.S. embargo makes it illegal for Americans to spend money there for treatment.
Three South Florida experts on Cuban healthcare say foreigners with dollars receive much better care than Cubans, but still there could be problems getting treatment in Cuba. And a Miami ophthalmologist disputes the claims of another Canadian company, which says Cuba's doctors are able to prevent a type of blindness that Canadian and U.S. doctors can't.
Still, Milica Z. Bookman, co-author of Medical Tourism in Developing Countries, says Cuba has ''the infrastructure and a well-trained workforce. They're poised to take off'' as a major healthcare destination for Americans if or when the embargo ends.
''Cuba already is a destination for Spaniards and Italians and many others,'' says Bookman, who with U.S. government permission plans to travel to Cuba next month to study its healthcare system. ``. . . They're pushing this -- it's big and it's going to be much bigger.''
Leaders of both Canadian firms acknowledge the irony of Canadians, who have a government healthcare system in which everyone is guaranteed treatment, going to Cuba for surgery.
''It's a political scandal here,'' says Alexandre ''Sandy'' Rhéaume, of Health Services International in Frampton, Quebec. ``People are waiting 12 to 18 months for certain kinds of surgery.''
Rhéaume and Jorgenson say Michael Moore's movie Sicko did a fine job of describing Cuba's healthcare but was flat wrong about no waits for care in Canada. ''Moore is out to lunch'' in ''the stuff he says about Canada,'' Jorgenson says.
For Americans without health insurance, Cuba's lower prices are the lure. A Georgia carpenter says he was delighted to get Cuban care. ``I've been hurting, and I was looking outside the United States for something I could afford.''
The carpenter, who refused to reveal his name because he was violating U.S. law by breaking the embargo, talked with The Miami Herald in a phone interview set up by Choice Medical.
The man, in his early 60s, suffered from a torn rotator cuff that made working impossible. Without insurance, shoulder surgery could have cost him $14,000 to $20,000 in the United States.
After researching on the Internet, he found that Choice Medical could arrange for the same surgery for $4,000 at Clínica Cira Central García in Havana. The price didn't include airfare but did cover nine days in the country, a personal tour guide and some sightseeing while recovering.
Later, the man talked with The Miami Herald from Havana. ''It came out real good,'' he said of the surgery. The hospital was ``better than I expected. All the people are so friendly.''
MANY AMERICANS
Asked if he was given special treatment because it was rare for them to see a U.S. citizen, he said, ``No, there are a lot of Americans down here.''
Experts say the Georgia man clearly received the best care Cuba had to offer -- and far better than most Cubans get. ''There are three tiers,'' says Jaime Suchlicki, head of Cuban studies at the University of Miami. ''There's foreigners paying in dollars.
The second is for the [Communist] party and the military, and then there's the common people,'' who often have to wait for treatment and have a hard time getting needed prescriptions.
But ''Cuba has a good foreign medical operation,'' which it has been promoting for years, Suchlicki says. ``Probably the doctors are as good as any doctors. The facilities are fairly good by Canadian or European standards. I wouldn't have a heart operation in Cuba. But a face-lift? Sure.''
Jesús Monzon, an obstetrician-gynecologist who left Cuba in 1995, says that while diagnostic tests were difficult for Cubans to get in Pinar del Río, where he practiced, they were readily available for foreigners treated in Havana. Regular doctors had no access to the latest clinical developments, but those dealing with foreigners did.
René Rodriguez, a Cuban-born physician now living in Miami, thinks Cuba would be a ''lousy place'' to have surgery. ``If anything happens to them there, what are they going to do? The doctors there are not responsible. We have a legal system that makes doctors responsible.''
In fact, legal recourse and follow-up care after surgery are issues for foreigners receiving care in many countries.
Both Canadian companies just started this year. Jorgenson, owner of Choice Medical, is a major pharmacist-entrepreneur in Winnipeg with investments in clinics, a hotel, a salon and a spa.
Jorgenson said he was exploring healthcare business opportunities in India when he realized how large medical tourism had grown there.
He started to look at Western Hemisphere options.
''There are all sorts of rogue operations in Mexico along the U.S. border,'' Jorgenson says. ``. . . Cuba was clearly the safest place to deal with. . . . We've had Canadians go down and observe surgeries and stuff. They might say the equipment is not the latest and greatest, but the procedures and techniques are sound.''
''We are not taking high-risk patients,'' Jorgenson says. But surgeries for hip, knee, shoulder -- all elective procedures that Canadians have to wait for -- can be done in Cuba. Jorgenson called Cuba's healthcare system ''almost like Fidel's oil,'' because it attracts so many who have hard currency.
The people who run the other Canadian company, HSI, are considerably less known than Jorgenson. Its founder, Lucie Vermette, has described herself as a Quebec businesswoman who says she became interested in Cuba after waiting for six months to see a specialist.
Rhéaume, the company's vice president, says HSI is a nonprofit dedicated to getting people good, cheap care.
Unlike Choice Medical, which attempts to get the entire medical bill paid upfront, HSI charges a $250 filing fee to set up the paperwork for a patient to go to Cuba. The patient pays the medical bill in Cuba, and HSI gets 10 percent of that as its fee, Rhéaume says.
The company promises a lot. An HSI press release says two of its clients were told by Canadian doctors that they would go blind because Canada had no treatment for their degenerative disease, retinitis pigmentosa. But after the two patients went to Cuba, the company boasted that ''these two clients of HSI will not go blind!!!'' The press release gave the full names of the two patients, but Rhéaume said they were not available for interviews.
SKEPTICAL OF CLAIMS
Doctors in Cuba have been treating retinitis pigmentosa for years, but U.S. experts are skeptical about HSI's claims of Cuba's prowess.
Nina Berrocal of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami says she recently examined a patient in Puerto Rico who had gone to Cuba for treatment of the disease. He said his vision might have stabilized for a while, but then he went blind. ''Basically, the cells die, and nobody can stop that,'' Berrocal says.
Bill Doran, chief executive of Choice Medical Services, says the company thought that most of its customers would be Canadians. ``But almost 50 percent of the inquiries were from the United States. . . . We wouldn't be doing this if people didn't need the services.''
TIME FOR COLUMBUS TO TAKE A HIKE
Lynn Marie Honeywill: Kick Columubus of the Calendar
Oct 9, 2006 5:00 AM
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - During Columbus Day ceremonies today you probably won’t hear Christopher Columbus’ description of the slave trade in the West Indies following his landfall there 514 years ago.
In a letter to a friend referring to the European colonists’ enslavement of islanders, Columbus wrote in 1500 that it was easy to obtain native women cheaply, noting that “there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from [ages] 9 to 10 are now in demand ... ”
This doesn’t sound like the heroic Christopher Columbus we studied in grade school. So why exactly have we, as a nation, celebrated this man with a federal holiday every second Monday in October since 1971?
Do we honor Columbus for urging his patrons, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, to enslave Caribbean residents for profit?
Indeed, Columbus did more than recommend slavery; he was the pioneer of slavery in the New World. He launched a slave trade with Spain of West Indies’ peoples.
Certainly we do not commemorate Columbus’ shameful journey in shackles back to Spain to answer for his mismanagement of the Spanish colonies, including abuse leading to the decimation of native populations, particularly on the island of Hispaniola, now home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
His administration established a quota-based labor system that forced natives to forgo cultivating food to search for the island’s scarce native gold.
Administrators chopped off the hands of natives who failed to turn in their gold quotas.
Given Columbus’ historical record of exploitation and abuse of native peoples, there is no reason to observe Columbus Day. Let’s kick Columbus off the national calendar.
Perhaps you protest that Columbus Day celebrates Columbus’ achievements as the great explorer who discovered the New World (not new to the people already living there), the bold hero who, in 1492, boldly sailed west through largely uncharted waters in pursuit of a lucrative westward ocean trade route to Asia.
Remember that Columbus himself never claimed to discover a New World, only a shortcut to Asia. And his navigational calculations were flawed, to say the least.
By greatly underestimating the earth’s circumference, he figured Japan to be about 7,000 to 8,000 miles closer to Europe than it actually is.
If the vast American continent and contiguous islands hadn’t blocked his route, Columbus and his sailors may never have safely reached land.
Still, Columbus’ historical importance is indisputable. His daring and ingenious use of dead-reckoning navigation through largely uncharted waters forever transformed our world by linking then still-medieval Europe with the American hemisphere.
But even without his personal U.S. holiday, Columbus is overloaded with honors. At least 47 U.S. municipalities and counties are named after Columbus, including the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia, as well as numerous organizations and institutions. Even an entire nation, Colombia, bears his name.
It may be too late to change place names like the District of Columbia, but Columbus’ injustice and cruelty toward his fellow human beings — all for his pursuit of profit and glory — disqualifies him from being honored by us each year with a federal holiday.
Worried that eliminating Columbus Day will create a gap in the federal holiday schedule? Then let’s replace it with a new one: Native American Day.
Lynn Marie Honeywill is a freelance writer living in Baltimore. She can be reached at Lhoneywillwriter@hotmail.com.
Oct 9, 2006 5:00 AM
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - During Columbus Day ceremonies today you probably won’t hear Christopher Columbus’ description of the slave trade in the West Indies following his landfall there 514 years ago.
In a letter to a friend referring to the European colonists’ enslavement of islanders, Columbus wrote in 1500 that it was easy to obtain native women cheaply, noting that “there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from [ages] 9 to 10 are now in demand ... ”
This doesn’t sound like the heroic Christopher Columbus we studied in grade school. So why exactly have we, as a nation, celebrated this man with a federal holiday every second Monday in October since 1971?
Do we honor Columbus for urging his patrons, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, to enslave Caribbean residents for profit?
Indeed, Columbus did more than recommend slavery; he was the pioneer of slavery in the New World. He launched a slave trade with Spain of West Indies’ peoples.
Certainly we do not commemorate Columbus’ shameful journey in shackles back to Spain to answer for his mismanagement of the Spanish colonies, including abuse leading to the decimation of native populations, particularly on the island of Hispaniola, now home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
His administration established a quota-based labor system that forced natives to forgo cultivating food to search for the island’s scarce native gold.
Administrators chopped off the hands of natives who failed to turn in their gold quotas.
Given Columbus’ historical record of exploitation and abuse of native peoples, there is no reason to observe Columbus Day. Let’s kick Columbus off the national calendar.
Perhaps you protest that Columbus Day celebrates Columbus’ achievements as the great explorer who discovered the New World (not new to the people already living there), the bold hero who, in 1492, boldly sailed west through largely uncharted waters in pursuit of a lucrative westward ocean trade route to Asia.
Remember that Columbus himself never claimed to discover a New World, only a shortcut to Asia. And his navigational calculations were flawed, to say the least.
By greatly underestimating the earth’s circumference, he figured Japan to be about 7,000 to 8,000 miles closer to Europe than it actually is.
If the vast American continent and contiguous islands hadn’t blocked his route, Columbus and his sailors may never have safely reached land.
Still, Columbus’ historical importance is indisputable. His daring and ingenious use of dead-reckoning navigation through largely uncharted waters forever transformed our world by linking then still-medieval Europe with the American hemisphere.
But even without his personal U.S. holiday, Columbus is overloaded with honors. At least 47 U.S. municipalities and counties are named after Columbus, including the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia, as well as numerous organizations and institutions. Even an entire nation, Colombia, bears his name.
It may be too late to change place names like the District of Columbia, but Columbus’ injustice and cruelty toward his fellow human beings — all for his pursuit of profit and glory — disqualifies him from being honored by us each year with a federal holiday.
Worried that eliminating Columbus Day will create a gap in the federal holiday schedule? Then let’s replace it with a new one: Native American Day.
Lynn Marie Honeywill is a freelance writer living in Baltimore. She can be reached at Lhoneywillwriter@hotmail.com.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
THEY ARE OUT THERE
The CIA warns several European countries of possible al Qaeda attacks which may include Paris “waste water system” as target
October 5, 2007, 4:48 PM (GMT+02:00)
A French official told AP Thursday that the warning referred to al Qaeda agents possible planning suicide or bombing attacks in London and cities in Italy, France and Germany.
Le Monde reported that the CIA had intercepted an e-mail on Sept. 11 addressed to Salah Gasmi, a notorious activist of “al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa,” which is based in Algeria.
In Washington, there is deep concern about a potential threat from members of an Islamist cell who escaped arrest in Germany after three senior members were detained in September, foiling a plot to attack US and other targets in Germany. Up to 10 others are though to have escaped. At least one considered extremely dangerous is now believed to be in Britain.
October 5, 2007, 4:48 PM (GMT+02:00)
A French official told AP Thursday that the warning referred to al Qaeda agents possible planning suicide or bombing attacks in London and cities in Italy, France and Germany.
Le Monde reported that the CIA had intercepted an e-mail on Sept. 11 addressed to Salah Gasmi, a notorious activist of “al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa,” which is based in Algeria.
In Washington, there is deep concern about a potential threat from members of an Islamist cell who escaped arrest in Germany after three senior members were detained in September, foiling a plot to attack US and other targets in Germany. Up to 10 others are though to have escaped. At least one considered extremely dangerous is now believed to be in Britain.
CITY HALL ACADEMY FADES AWAY
Back in March of 2003, Mayor Bloomberg opened up the City Hall Academy at the Tweed Courthouse. The school offered two-weeks "residencies" for students, giving them an "inter-disciplinary approach" to learn about NYC and its history. Mayor Bloomberg, who made education reform one of the cornerstone of his mayoral platform (it's a big part of his "national" persona, too!), had said, "The opening of City Hall Academy demonstrates our commitment to excellence, achievement, and innovation in the public school system. City Hall Academy will provide New York City children and their teachers a unique opportunity to study and participate in the cultural and historical fabric of the City.”
Today, the NY Times reports on City Hall Academy's closing without the same kind of pomp that greeted its opening. The school had been moved to Harlem last year ("to make room for a charter school run by a wealthy patron") and was closed this year because the Department of Education wanted to "spend money elsewhere." The charter school that now resides at the Tweed Courthouse is the Ross Global Charter Academy, founded by Courtney Sale Ross, which the city had wanted to move into an existing Lower East Side school.
That suggestion riled up the LES school's parents - as well as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - and with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein supporting the charter school concept, Ross moved to the Tweed Courthouse and City Hall Academy was moved uptown. Which made learning about the founding of the city a little more difficult, since much of the curriculum relates to lower Manhattan sights, like New Amsterdam and, uh, City Hall.
One critic of Mayor Bloomberg, Sol Stern at the Manhattan Institute, told the Times, "It was just another little gimmick. There was no great need for this; it was one of those ideas that was another rollout and press release for them to prove that they are shaking things up.” The DOE's statement to the Times: "City Hall Academy was a valuable demonstration site for best practices from around the city."
Today, the NY Times reports on City Hall Academy's closing without the same kind of pomp that greeted its opening. The school had been moved to Harlem last year ("to make room for a charter school run by a wealthy patron") and was closed this year because the Department of Education wanted to "spend money elsewhere." The charter school that now resides at the Tweed Courthouse is the Ross Global Charter Academy, founded by Courtney Sale Ross, which the city had wanted to move into an existing Lower East Side school.
That suggestion riled up the LES school's parents - as well as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver - and with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein supporting the charter school concept, Ross moved to the Tweed Courthouse and City Hall Academy was moved uptown. Which made learning about the founding of the city a little more difficult, since much of the curriculum relates to lower Manhattan sights, like New Amsterdam and, uh, City Hall.
One critic of Mayor Bloomberg, Sol Stern at the Manhattan Institute, told the Times, "It was just another little gimmick. There was no great need for this; it was one of those ideas that was another rollout and press release for them to prove that they are shaking things up.” The DOE's statement to the Times: "City Hall Academy was a valuable demonstration site for best practices from around the city."
Saturday, October 6, 2007
THE DOWN SIDE OF THE HPV VACCINE
The campaign to vaccinate young girls in NYC continues. In a recent update from the NYC Department of Health, it was not only condoned but encouraged. But now, there is more evidence of the dark side of this vaccine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene
2 Lafayette Street, 19th Floor, CN21
New York, NY 10007
212-676-2259
September 2007
THE 2007 RECOMMENDED CHILDHOOD AND
ADOLESCENT IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
along with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and
the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
released the Recommended Childhood and Adolescent
Immunization Schedule for 2007 earlier this year. This
harmonized schedule has been updated to reflect revised
recommendations and includes recommendations for the
use of newly licensed vaccines.
The 2007 schedule has been separated into two parts: one schedule
for persons aged 0–6 years (Figure 1) and another for persons
aged 7–18 years (Figure 2). Specific vaccines recommended for
certain high-risk groups are indicated. The importance of the early
adolescent visit is emphasized.
Changes to the 2007 schedule include:
• Rotavirus vaccine is recommended as a 3-dose schedule at ages 2, 4,
and 6 months. The first dose should be administered no sooner than
6 weeks of age and no later than the end of the 12th week; subsequent
doses should be administered at 4–10 week intervals. The final dose in
the series should be given before the end of the 32nd week.
• Influenza vaccine is recommended for all children 6 months to 59
months of age.
• All persons are recommended to receive two doses of varicella vaccine.
The first dose is recommended at 12 months of age and a second dose
at 4–6 years of age. All older children who have documentation
of only one dose of varicella vaccine should receive a 2nd dose.
• The new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended
in a 3-dose schedule with the second and third doses administered
2 and 6 months after the first dose. Routine vaccination with HPV is
recommended for all females aged 11–12 years; the vaccination series
can be started in females as young as 9 years; and catch-up vaccination
is recommended for females aged 13–18 years who have not yet
received this vaccine or who have not completed the full vaccine series.
The vaccine is licensed for use in females up through age 26.
But here are the latest results:
8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccineAdverse reactions from Gardasil number in thousands
Posted: October 6, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Another eight deaths in just the past few months are being connected to Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus and is being considered by many states as mandatory for all schoolgirls, according to documents released by Judicial Watch.
There also have been another 1,824 adverse reactions to the drug, bringing the "known total" of such problems to 3,461, according to the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.
"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Tom Fitton, the group's president. "These adverse reactions reports suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even be fatal."
WND previously has reported how Merck was lobbying state lawmakers to require the vaccination, but gave that up after its activities were unveiled.
WND also reported when a key researcher into human papillomavirus, which is targeted by Gardasil, reported it needed more testing, and how even the Centers for Disease Control suggested the vaccine should not be mandatory.
The dispute primarily has been over proposed state and other governmental requirements that schoolgirls be vaccinated against an infection transmitted only by sexual contact.
The target of the vaccine is cervical cancer, since studies show that those who have HPV have a higher chance of later developing cervical cancer. However, opponents note that such cancers develop most often in older women, while the plan is to require girls as young as 11 or 12 years old to be inoculated. They cite the lack of evidence that the vaccine would have an impact later in life.
Judicial Watch said it obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the Freedom of Information Act detailing the new 1,824 cases.
Those cases include as many as eight deaths related to the vaccine, on top of the three deaths reported earlier among 1,637 earlier reports of adverse effects.
Among the new information Judicial Watch found:
"Information has been received … concerning a 17 year old female who in June 2007 … was vaccinated with a first dose of Gardasil … During the evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."
"Information has been received … concerning a 12 year old female with a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiency … who on 01-MAR-2007 was vaccinated IM into the left arm with a first does of Gardasil … On 01-MAR-2007 the patient presented to the ED with ventricular tachycardia and died."
"Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician concerning an 'otherwise healthy' 13 year old female who was vaccinated with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient experienced … paralysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic nerve…At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."
The flood of adverse reactions during 2007 reported to the FDA through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, included 347 serious reactions.
"Of the 77 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 33 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities. Other serious side effects continue to be reported including, paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures," Judicial Watch said.
And these numbers may not even include all the cases, Judicial Watch said. It filed a lawsuit this week against the FDA for failing to fully respond to its requests for information involving the vaccine.
Specifically Judicial Watch wanted access to correspondence between Merck and the FDA regarding the vaccine, communications between the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline, which is working on a similar vaccine, called Cervarix, and reports by consumers, health professionals and others regarding problems with the HPV vaccine.
When the organization's investigation into the HPV vaccine issue arose, and the first reports starting coming in, Fitton described it as "a catalog of horrors."
One earlier report, No. 275438-1, describes the reaction as coronary artery thrombosis, sudden cardiac death. "Given Gardasil vaccine dose #1 3/12/07. Collapsed and died on 3/26/07… Echocardiogram revealed very enlarged right ventricle, small left ventricle as well as large blood clots within both the right atrium & right ventricle."
Another report noted that the woman was vaccinated and "died of a blood clot 8 hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine."
Officials with the Abstinence Clearinghouse noted in a position paper that groups including the Texas Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine have come out publicly against mandatory vaccination.
"The reasoning of these medical associations is clear. They are not opposed to medical progress, and certainly support all efforts to combat life-threatening diseases. The problem, as these organizations see it, lies in the fact that the drug only went through three and a half years of testing, leaving the medical community somewhat in the dark as to what serious adverse effects might result in the long term," the group said.
"Along with the potential of serious adverse effects is the question of efficacy. There is evidence that after approximately four years, the vaccine's potency significantly declines. The long-term value of the vaccine has yet to be determined; if it wears off within six years, will girls and women need to repeat the battery of injections they originally received?" the organization wondered.
Michigan was the first state to introduce a plan to require the vaccine to be given to young girls, but the proposal failed. Ohio also considered a failed plan in 2006.
Then in 2007, after Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign and contributions to Women in Government, lawmakers in at least 39 states and the District of Columbia worked on sponsoring such plans.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene
2 Lafayette Street, 19th Floor, CN21
New York, NY 10007
212-676-2259
September 2007
THE 2007 RECOMMENDED CHILDHOOD AND
ADOLESCENT IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
along with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and
the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
released the Recommended Childhood and Adolescent
Immunization Schedule for 2007 earlier this year. This
harmonized schedule has been updated to reflect revised
recommendations and includes recommendations for the
use of newly licensed vaccines.
The 2007 schedule has been separated into two parts: one schedule
for persons aged 0–6 years (Figure 1) and another for persons
aged 7–18 years (Figure 2). Specific vaccines recommended for
certain high-risk groups are indicated. The importance of the early
adolescent visit is emphasized.
Changes to the 2007 schedule include:
• Rotavirus vaccine is recommended as a 3-dose schedule at ages 2, 4,
and 6 months. The first dose should be administered no sooner than
6 weeks of age and no later than the end of the 12th week; subsequent
doses should be administered at 4–10 week intervals. The final dose in
the series should be given before the end of the 32nd week.
• Influenza vaccine is recommended for all children 6 months to 59
months of age.
• All persons are recommended to receive two doses of varicella vaccine.
The first dose is recommended at 12 months of age and a second dose
at 4–6 years of age. All older children who have documentation
of only one dose of varicella vaccine should receive a 2nd dose.
• The new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended
in a 3-dose schedule with the second and third doses administered
2 and 6 months after the first dose. Routine vaccination with HPV is
recommended for all females aged 11–12 years; the vaccination series
can be started in females as young as 9 years; and catch-up vaccination
is recommended for females aged 13–18 years who have not yet
received this vaccine or who have not completed the full vaccine series.
The vaccine is licensed for use in females up through age 26.
But here are the latest results:
8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccineAdverse reactions from Gardasil number in thousands
Posted: October 6, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Another eight deaths in just the past few months are being connected to Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus and is being considered by many states as mandatory for all schoolgirls, according to documents released by Judicial Watch.
There also have been another 1,824 adverse reactions to the drug, bringing the "known total" of such problems to 3,461, according to the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.
"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Tom Fitton, the group's president. "These adverse reactions reports suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even be fatal."
WND previously has reported how Merck was lobbying state lawmakers to require the vaccination, but gave that up after its activities were unveiled.
WND also reported when a key researcher into human papillomavirus, which is targeted by Gardasil, reported it needed more testing, and how even the Centers for Disease Control suggested the vaccine should not be mandatory.
The dispute primarily has been over proposed state and other governmental requirements that schoolgirls be vaccinated against an infection transmitted only by sexual contact.
The target of the vaccine is cervical cancer, since studies show that those who have HPV have a higher chance of later developing cervical cancer. However, opponents note that such cancers develop most often in older women, while the plan is to require girls as young as 11 or 12 years old to be inoculated. They cite the lack of evidence that the vaccine would have an impact later in life.
Judicial Watch said it obtained documents from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the Freedom of Information Act detailing the new 1,824 cases.
Those cases include as many as eight deaths related to the vaccine, on top of the three deaths reported earlier among 1,637 earlier reports of adverse effects.
Among the new information Judicial Watch found:
"Information has been received … concerning a 17 year old female who in June 2007 … was vaccinated with a first dose of Gardasil … During the evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."
"Information has been received … concerning a 12 year old female with a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiency … who on 01-MAR-2007 was vaccinated IM into the left arm with a first does of Gardasil … On 01-MAR-2007 the patient presented to the ED with ventricular tachycardia and died."
"Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician concerning an 'otherwise healthy' 13 year old female who was vaccinated with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient experienced … paralysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic nerve…At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."
The flood of adverse reactions during 2007 reported to the FDA through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, included 347 serious reactions.
"Of the 77 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 33 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities. Other serious side effects continue to be reported including, paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures," Judicial Watch said.
And these numbers may not even include all the cases, Judicial Watch said. It filed a lawsuit this week against the FDA for failing to fully respond to its requests for information involving the vaccine.
Specifically Judicial Watch wanted access to correspondence between Merck and the FDA regarding the vaccine, communications between the FDA and GlaxoSmithKline, which is working on a similar vaccine, called Cervarix, and reports by consumers, health professionals and others regarding problems with the HPV vaccine.
When the organization's investigation into the HPV vaccine issue arose, and the first reports starting coming in, Fitton described it as "a catalog of horrors."
One earlier report, No. 275438-1, describes the reaction as coronary artery thrombosis, sudden cardiac death. "Given Gardasil vaccine dose #1 3/12/07. Collapsed and died on 3/26/07… Echocardiogram revealed very enlarged right ventricle, small left ventricle as well as large blood clots within both the right atrium & right ventricle."
Another report noted that the woman was vaccinated and "died of a blood clot 8 hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine."
Officials with the Abstinence Clearinghouse noted in a position paper that groups including the Texas Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, and the American Academy of Environmental Medicine have come out publicly against mandatory vaccination.
"The reasoning of these medical associations is clear. They are not opposed to medical progress, and certainly support all efforts to combat life-threatening diseases. The problem, as these organizations see it, lies in the fact that the drug only went through three and a half years of testing, leaving the medical community somewhat in the dark as to what serious adverse effects might result in the long term," the group said.
"Along with the potential of serious adverse effects is the question of efficacy. There is evidence that after approximately four years, the vaccine's potency significantly declines. The long-term value of the vaccine has yet to be determined; if it wears off within six years, will girls and women need to repeat the battery of injections they originally received?" the organization wondered.
Michigan was the first state to introduce a plan to require the vaccine to be given to young girls, but the proposal failed. Ohio also considered a failed plan in 2006.
Then in 2007, after Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign and contributions to Women in Government, lawmakers in at least 39 states and the District of Columbia worked on sponsoring such plans.
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES RIGHT WING POLICY
Southwest Airlines seems to be flying Right wing. Although YFP does not agree with the label on this person's tee shirt, YFP does disagree with the Airline's arbitrary censorship. Contrast this recent occurrence with Ralph Nader's support of the airline three years ago. Where is Ralffie on this issue now?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Southwest Airlines said it will apologize to a passenger who was told he would be removed from a flight if he didn't change clothes, the second time in recent months the budget carrier has been forced to do so.
Joe Winiecki, of Largo, Florida, boarded a Southwest flight in Columbus, Ohio, wearing a fictional fishing shop T-shirt which featured the words, "Master Baiter."
Winiecki, who was traveling home, said he was in his seat when an employee told him he had to change his T-shirt, turn it inside out, or get off the plane.
Winiecki protested that the airline was infringing on his right to free speech, but changed his shirt fearing he would miss the flight and a day's work.
Second woman says Southwest made her cover up
Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Friday the employee made a mistake because the Dallas-based airline does not have a dress code.
The airline apologized this summer after a college student wearing a denim miniskirt and a sweater over a tank top was told to change her outfit or get off a flight departing from San Diego.
Kyla Ebbert, who was 23, told the story on "The Dr. Phil Show." She was read a printed apology from Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly on the show.
Ebbert was allowed to fly after agreeing to alter her outfit. The airline offered Ebbert free tickets and tried to make light of the mix-up in humorous advertising.
Ebbert declined the tickets.
After the Ebbert encounter, Southwest President Colleen Barrett sent employees a generally worded e-mail reminding them that the airline has no dress code, Mainz said.
Southwest, like other airlines, has language in its contract of carriage that states it reserves the right to deny service to customers whose clothing is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive."
Airline officials have discussed giving employees more specific examples of what is considered lewd or offensive, Mainz said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004
Nader Presidential Campaign Announces Southwest Airlines as its Unofficial Campaign Airline
Based on several years of experience with an upstart airline from Texas, the Nader Presidential campaign announces Southwest Airlines as its unofficial campaign airline.
“George W. Bush has his Air Force One to under-reimburse for campaign trips. John Kerry has his leased Boeing 757 to tour the country. But we have Southwest Airlines and its entire fleet of aircraft at our disposal,” declared independent Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader.
“Frugal tickets, pleasant, responsive people, with humor and a desire to say yes, and very interesting passengers to converse with combined, for us, to make this selection,” he added. All passengers fly coach on Southwest, as befits a Presidential campaign for the people. No one at Southwest Airlines was contacted about this announcement.
Nader had a good word for Southwest Airlines founder, Herb Kelleher. “Mr. Kelleher has demonstrated that the lowest paid chief executive, now chairman of the Board, of any major domestic airline, has produced better service, lower fares, and more profits, in dollars, than the top largest three airlines combined over the past three years.
This record comes because he cares about his employees and passengers far more than the kind of compensation packages, contingent stock options, and golden parachutes demanded by his counterparts,” said Nader. “’Pay less, get more’ is the reverse of so many big corporate CEOs in recent years, who paid themselves more and gave less, if they did not collapse their company (Enron, WorldCom, etc.) outright,” Nader declared.
In return, the Nader campaign asks nothing more than the ear of management for any signs of airline deterioration that should be reversed. Oh, one more request – keep the roasted peanuts coming. Pretzels just don’t do it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- Southwest Airlines said it will apologize to a passenger who was told he would be removed from a flight if he didn't change clothes, the second time in recent months the budget carrier has been forced to do so.
Joe Winiecki, of Largo, Florida, boarded a Southwest flight in Columbus, Ohio, wearing a fictional fishing shop T-shirt which featured the words, "Master Baiter."
Winiecki, who was traveling home, said he was in his seat when an employee told him he had to change his T-shirt, turn it inside out, or get off the plane.
Winiecki protested that the airline was infringing on his right to free speech, but changed his shirt fearing he would miss the flight and a day's work.
Second woman says Southwest made her cover up
Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz said Friday the employee made a mistake because the Dallas-based airline does not have a dress code.
The airline apologized this summer after a college student wearing a denim miniskirt and a sweater over a tank top was told to change her outfit or get off a flight departing from San Diego.
Kyla Ebbert, who was 23, told the story on "The Dr. Phil Show." She was read a printed apology from Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly on the show.
Ebbert was allowed to fly after agreeing to alter her outfit. The airline offered Ebbert free tickets and tried to make light of the mix-up in humorous advertising.
Ebbert declined the tickets.
After the Ebbert encounter, Southwest President Colleen Barrett sent employees a generally worded e-mail reminding them that the airline has no dress code, Mainz said.
Southwest, like other airlines, has language in its contract of carriage that states it reserves the right to deny service to customers whose clothing is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive."
Airline officials have discussed giving employees more specific examples of what is considered lewd or offensive, Mainz said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2004
Nader Presidential Campaign Announces Southwest Airlines as its Unofficial Campaign Airline
Based on several years of experience with an upstart airline from Texas, the Nader Presidential campaign announces Southwest Airlines as its unofficial campaign airline.
“George W. Bush has his Air Force One to under-reimburse for campaign trips. John Kerry has his leased Boeing 757 to tour the country. But we have Southwest Airlines and its entire fleet of aircraft at our disposal,” declared independent Presidential candidate, Ralph Nader.
“Frugal tickets, pleasant, responsive people, with humor and a desire to say yes, and very interesting passengers to converse with combined, for us, to make this selection,” he added. All passengers fly coach on Southwest, as befits a Presidential campaign for the people. No one at Southwest Airlines was contacted about this announcement.
Nader had a good word for Southwest Airlines founder, Herb Kelleher. “Mr. Kelleher has demonstrated that the lowest paid chief executive, now chairman of the Board, of any major domestic airline, has produced better service, lower fares, and more profits, in dollars, than the top largest three airlines combined over the past three years.
This record comes because he cares about his employees and passengers far more than the kind of compensation packages, contingent stock options, and golden parachutes demanded by his counterparts,” said Nader. “’Pay less, get more’ is the reverse of so many big corporate CEOs in recent years, who paid themselves more and gave less, if they did not collapse their company (Enron, WorldCom, etc.) outright,” Nader declared.
In return, the Nader campaign asks nothing more than the ear of management for any signs of airline deterioration that should be reversed. Oh, one more request – keep the roasted peanuts coming. Pretzels just don’t do it.
Friday, October 5, 2007
IS BLOOMBITO LYING?
Bloomberg Talks About Discrimination Lawsuits
Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the various lawsuits alleging that his company, Bloomberg LP, discriminates against women. He believes that he was personally named in one of lawsuits "because I’m so visible, that obviously I’m a target." He added, "We think there's no substance to it whatsoever and the company will vigorously defend it and that's that.
The Mayor has things more interesting by seemingly equivocating on his role at Bloomberg LP. After last week's lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was filed, he said he didn't know anything about the lawsuit, "You'll have to talk to Bloomberg L.P. I haven't worked there, as you know, in an awful long time." Yesterday, he admitted that he was told about the EEOC suit and that his company would "vigorously" defend itself.
When this week's lawsuit contended that the mayor is involved in discussions with the chief executive about female executives' "disparate treatment," he changed his stance about his role at the company somewhat by saying, "I know what’s going on – any major decisions, I’m the major stockholder in the company. And the Conflicts of Interest board says I have a perfect right to have whatever rights a major stockholder would have.
Nobody makes a major decision in terms of product changes or things of that nature. I certainly don’t get involved in the day-to-day stuff of personnel or anything else like that.” Bloomberg owns 68% of Bloomberg LP.
Douglas Muzzio, political science professor at Baruch College, told the Post, "Telling you what he [initially] told you comes as close to a lie as I can think of."
Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the various lawsuits alleging that his company, Bloomberg LP, discriminates against women. He believes that he was personally named in one of lawsuits "because I’m so visible, that obviously I’m a target." He added, "We think there's no substance to it whatsoever and the company will vigorously defend it and that's that.
The Mayor has things more interesting by seemingly equivocating on his role at Bloomberg LP. After last week's lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was filed, he said he didn't know anything about the lawsuit, "You'll have to talk to Bloomberg L.P. I haven't worked there, as you know, in an awful long time." Yesterday, he admitted that he was told about the EEOC suit and that his company would "vigorously" defend itself.
When this week's lawsuit contended that the mayor is involved in discussions with the chief executive about female executives' "disparate treatment," he changed his stance about his role at the company somewhat by saying, "I know what’s going on – any major decisions, I’m the major stockholder in the company. And the Conflicts of Interest board says I have a perfect right to have whatever rights a major stockholder would have.
Nobody makes a major decision in terms of product changes or things of that nature. I certainly don’t get involved in the day-to-day stuff of personnel or anything else like that.” Bloomberg owns 68% of Bloomberg LP.
Douglas Muzzio, political science professor at Baruch College, told the Post, "Telling you what he [initially] told you comes as close to a lie as I can think of."
TO PEE OR NOT TO PEE....THAT IS THE QUESTION
Democratic chairman charged in public urinationOctober 04, 2007
New Windsor -- 2:10 p.m. -- The chairman of the Orange County Democratic Committee, Jonathan Jacobson, was charged last night with exposure after he pulled over his white convertible at the exit of a Quick Chek gas station, ran over to the passenger side of his car and urinated on the lawn next to Union Avenue.
That got him noticed by two New Windsor patrol officers, as well as a Quick Chek employee, who was outside of the store at 9:40 p.m. when it happened, according to a police report. Police approached Jacobson as he got back in the car. An officer asked Jacobson if he knew why he had been stopped, and Jacobson replied: "Because I went on the side of the road." Jacobson, 54, a Newburgh resident, told police he had just come from an Orange County legislative committee meeting, that he had stopped off for gas and that he needed to urinate. He did not appear to have been drinking, according to the report.
A call to the Quick Chek confirmed that the 24-hour convenience store inside did have accessible public bathrooms at the time. Officers ticketed Jacobson for exposure of a person, a violation. He is due in court on Oct. 23. Jacobson's attorney Paul Trachte responded for Jacobson, who did not return calls. "Obviously he had to go very badly, and he pulled over," Trachte said. "It was late at night."
Check out Rudy Giuliani's rant on public urination:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-876313430827249232
New Windsor -- 2:10 p.m. -- The chairman of the Orange County Democratic Committee, Jonathan Jacobson, was charged last night with exposure after he pulled over his white convertible at the exit of a Quick Chek gas station, ran over to the passenger side of his car and urinated on the lawn next to Union Avenue.
That got him noticed by two New Windsor patrol officers, as well as a Quick Chek employee, who was outside of the store at 9:40 p.m. when it happened, according to a police report. Police approached Jacobson as he got back in the car. An officer asked Jacobson if he knew why he had been stopped, and Jacobson replied: "Because I went on the side of the road." Jacobson, 54, a Newburgh resident, told police he had just come from an Orange County legislative committee meeting, that he had stopped off for gas and that he needed to urinate. He did not appear to have been drinking, according to the report.
A call to the Quick Chek confirmed that the 24-hour convenience store inside did have accessible public bathrooms at the time. Officers ticketed Jacobson for exposure of a person, a violation. He is due in court on Oct. 23. Jacobson's attorney Paul Trachte responded for Jacobson, who did not return calls. "Obviously he had to go very badly, and he pulled over," Trachte said. "It was late at night."
Check out Rudy Giuliani's rant on public urination:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-876313430827249232
Thursday, October 4, 2007
GIULIANI MONEY LAUNDERING?
Democratic group accuses Giuliani of money launderingInside Bay Area ^ October 2, 2007 Steven Harmon
Posted on 10/04/2007 7:41:33 AM PDT by Kuksool
SACRAMENTO — A Democratic group on Monday filed formal complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani of violating campaign laws, including money laundering. The complaints, made by Californians for Fair Election Reform, accuse Giuliani, through his friend Paul Singer, of establishing a Missouri "front" organization to
solicit illegal donations to support a ballot measure that would overturn California's winner-take-all system of allocating electoral votes.
Such a change would provide the Republican presidential nominee a chance to pick up roughly 20 electoral votes by dividing them up by congressional districts.
Singer, a hedge-fund billionaire and a policy adviser and regional finance director for Giuliani, revealed last week that he was the sole contributor to the committee, Take Initiative America, which donated $175,000 to the ballot measure.
Singer's disclosure that he'd contributed to the group came a day after top campaign officials for the GOP-backed electoral initiative — GOP attorney Tom Hiltachk, spokesman Kevin Eckery and fund-raiser Marty Wilson — resigned in protest after the lawyer in charge of Take Initiative America, Charles Hurth III, refused to disclose who contributed to the committee.
Although the initiative effort appears dead — in part because funding never materialized beyond Singer's contribution — the alleged violations are serious, said Chris Lehane, spokesman for the Democratic group.
"We want to get to the bottom of this," he said at a San Francisco news conference.
Singer's contribution, said James Harrison, the attorney who filed the complaint, raises questions about potential money laundering, illegal coordination between a candidate and an independent committee, and whether federal contribution limits were exceeded.
"As an agent of Giuliani's, Singer would be prohibited from soliciting or directing a contribution in excess of $2,300," said Harrison, who works with San Leandro-based Remcho, Johansen & Purcell, a firm specializing in election law. "We'd like the FEC to determine what Giuliani knew, when he knew it, what conversations he and Singer had about the contribution and how TIA was created. Whose idea was it? How did it come about?"
A spokesman for Giuliani denied any coordination with the initiative effort — the Campaign for Equal Representation — or the Take Initiative America committee.
"This is completely independent from our campaign," said Jarrod Agen, "and frankly it's not an initiative that serves our campaign's best interests."
Democrats also accused the Giuliani campaign of trying to conceal Singer's identity.
Under California law, the Campaign for Equal Representation was required to disclose its true source of funding. It identified Take Initiative America, which was created on Sept. 11, but Hurth, the lawyer behind the committee, refused to disclose where the $175,000 came from.
"We know that Singer intended his money to be used for the effort in California," Harrison said, "so, clearly, TIA was nothing more than a pass through.
"In California, that's considered money laundering."
Lehane said he's convinced Giuliani's campaign was behind the effort. He noted that Charles Bell, a partner with Hiltachk's firm, gave $1,300 to Giuliani's campaign days before the initiative was filed; Hurth had given $2,000 to Giuliani; his spokesman, Jonathan Wilcox, was a spokesman for former California GOP candidate Bill Simon; Simon himself is a co-chair for Giuliani's California campaign and a policy adviser.
"When you went through all these folks, virtually every road ultimately led back to Giuliani," Lehane said. "The one conclusion that one could safely draw is that it was the Giuliani campaign that was ultimately behind this."
Giuliani, in a statement last week, said he would have had no reason to be behind the initiative.
"As far as I'm concerned, you can leave it the way it is," he said. "In fact, in some ways you might consider, I think that this is a state I can win. That might actually favor some of the other Republican candidates who might have a more difficult time winning this state. I think this is a state that I've got a 50-50 chance of winning. So as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind leaving it that way."
Contact Steven Harmon at 916-441-2101 or sharmon@cctimes.com.
Posted on 10/04/2007 7:41:33 AM PDT by Kuksool
SACRAMENTO — A Democratic group on Monday filed formal complaints with the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, accusing Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani of violating campaign laws, including money laundering. The complaints, made by Californians for Fair Election Reform, accuse Giuliani, through his friend Paul Singer, of establishing a Missouri "front" organization to
solicit illegal donations to support a ballot measure that would overturn California's winner-take-all system of allocating electoral votes.
Such a change would provide the Republican presidential nominee a chance to pick up roughly 20 electoral votes by dividing them up by congressional districts.
Singer, a hedge-fund billionaire and a policy adviser and regional finance director for Giuliani, revealed last week that he was the sole contributor to the committee, Take Initiative America, which donated $175,000 to the ballot measure.
Singer's disclosure that he'd contributed to the group came a day after top campaign officials for the GOP-backed electoral initiative — GOP attorney Tom Hiltachk, spokesman Kevin Eckery and fund-raiser Marty Wilson — resigned in protest after the lawyer in charge of Take Initiative America, Charles Hurth III, refused to disclose who contributed to the committee.
Although the initiative effort appears dead — in part because funding never materialized beyond Singer's contribution — the alleged violations are serious, said Chris Lehane, spokesman for the Democratic group.
"We want to get to the bottom of this," he said at a San Francisco news conference.
Singer's contribution, said James Harrison, the attorney who filed the complaint, raises questions about potential money laundering, illegal coordination between a candidate and an independent committee, and whether federal contribution limits were exceeded.
"As an agent of Giuliani's, Singer would be prohibited from soliciting or directing a contribution in excess of $2,300," said Harrison, who works with San Leandro-based Remcho, Johansen & Purcell, a firm specializing in election law. "We'd like the FEC to determine what Giuliani knew, when he knew it, what conversations he and Singer had about the contribution and how TIA was created. Whose idea was it? How did it come about?"
A spokesman for Giuliani denied any coordination with the initiative effort — the Campaign for Equal Representation — or the Take Initiative America committee.
"This is completely independent from our campaign," said Jarrod Agen, "and frankly it's not an initiative that serves our campaign's best interests."
Democrats also accused the Giuliani campaign of trying to conceal Singer's identity.
Under California law, the Campaign for Equal Representation was required to disclose its true source of funding. It identified Take Initiative America, which was created on Sept. 11, but Hurth, the lawyer behind the committee, refused to disclose where the $175,000 came from.
"We know that Singer intended his money to be used for the effort in California," Harrison said, "so, clearly, TIA was nothing more than a pass through.
"In California, that's considered money laundering."
Lehane said he's convinced Giuliani's campaign was behind the effort. He noted that Charles Bell, a partner with Hiltachk's firm, gave $1,300 to Giuliani's campaign days before the initiative was filed; Hurth had given $2,000 to Giuliani; his spokesman, Jonathan Wilcox, was a spokesman for former California GOP candidate Bill Simon; Simon himself is a co-chair for Giuliani's California campaign and a policy adviser.
"When you went through all these folks, virtually every road ultimately led back to Giuliani," Lehane said. "The one conclusion that one could safely draw is that it was the Giuliani campaign that was ultimately behind this."
Giuliani, in a statement last week, said he would have had no reason to be behind the initiative.
"As far as I'm concerned, you can leave it the way it is," he said. "In fact, in some ways you might consider, I think that this is a state I can win. That might actually favor some of the other Republican candidates who might have a more difficult time winning this state. I think this is a state that I've got a 50-50 chance of winning. So as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind leaving it that way."
Contact Steven Harmon at 916-441-2101 or sharmon@cctimes.com.
BLOOMQUINN SHILLS THE BILLS
2007
So Many City Council Bill Introductions, Fewer Bills Passed
Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introduced since Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills.
The article also lists the top ten City Council members who introduce the most bills. Number 1 is Peter Vallone Jr, who has introduced 54 bills, including the anti-voyeurism bill and banning pit bulls, (14 have passed), while number 9 is Speaker Quinn, who has introduced 37 and passed 28. Her 76% bill-passing rate, which also translates to the statistic that she alone has "introduced 27 percent of the bills that have become law," speaks to her power.
Bills can pass more easily if they are supported by more senior Council members, such as ones who sit on influential committees, and if the Speaker supports the bill. City Council member Tony Avella attributes his low bill-passing rate - 10% - to the fact that he doesn't "fall in line no matter what," noting, "If you're independent and you speak your mind you get punished." The example GG cites is interesting:
Avella has accused Quinn of intentionally blocking his legislation, such as a 2006 bill that would have required the replacement of damaged stop signs within 48 hours. The council last week adopted similar legislation, which requires the replacement of all missing and damaged street signs within three days. The sponsor of that bill was Joseph Addabbo.
Sometimes members propose bills to raise awareness or maybe to get their name out there. Sometimes ideas don't even make it to the bill stage because the Council has other strategies. City Council Darlene Mealy said, "The City Council staff will let you know whether it's good legislation or bad legislation. All I'm going to say is it's not what you know, it's who you know."
Here's Gotham Gazette's full list of City Council members and the number of bills they introduce and get passed. And here's the City Council's website - find out who your Council member is if you don't know.
By Jen Chung in http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (3) Recommend this!
So Many City Council Bill Introductions, Fewer Bills Passed
Gotham Gazette has a fantastic analysis of what happens to the hundreds of City Council bills that have been introduced since Christine Quinn become the City Council Speaker. The article points out many interesting things. For instance, out of the 622 bills introduced, 68% of them are never heard of again. About 15% do get hearings, but are never voted on, and only 17% actually pass to become bills.
The article also lists the top ten City Council members who introduce the most bills. Number 1 is Peter Vallone Jr, who has introduced 54 bills, including the anti-voyeurism bill and banning pit bulls, (14 have passed), while number 9 is Speaker Quinn, who has introduced 37 and passed 28. Her 76% bill-passing rate, which also translates to the statistic that she alone has "introduced 27 percent of the bills that have become law," speaks to her power.
Bills can pass more easily if they are supported by more senior Council members, such as ones who sit on influential committees, and if the Speaker supports the bill. City Council member Tony Avella attributes his low bill-passing rate - 10% - to the fact that he doesn't "fall in line no matter what," noting, "If you're independent and you speak your mind you get punished." The example GG cites is interesting:
Avella has accused Quinn of intentionally blocking his legislation, such as a 2006 bill that would have required the replacement of damaged stop signs within 48 hours. The council last week adopted similar legislation, which requires the replacement of all missing and damaged street signs within three days. The sponsor of that bill was Joseph Addabbo.
Sometimes members propose bills to raise awareness or maybe to get their name out there. Sometimes ideas don't even make it to the bill stage because the Council has other strategies. City Council Darlene Mealy said, "The City Council staff will let you know whether it's good legislation or bad legislation. All I'm going to say is it's not what you know, it's who you know."
Here's Gotham Gazette's full list of City Council members and the number of bills they introduce and get passed. And here's the City Council's website - find out who your Council member is if you don't know.
By Jen Chung in http://gothamist.com/news_nyc/ Link Comments (3) Recommend this!
DON'T GAMBLE ON ATLANTIC CITY MAYOR
Mayor of Atlantic City goes AWOL; Wife says he's sick
The mayor of Atlantic City, N.J., vanished last week. Officials say Mayor Robert Levy is "absent on temporary medical leave," but won't share any details about his hospitalization with the public or press.
"A week ago, Levy signed seven ordinances and then vanished from public life amid a cloud of rumored arrests and resignations," The Press of Atlantic City reports. The (Philadelphia) Inquirer says Levy, who was caught last year lying about his military service, drove off in a city-owned Dodge Durango on Sept. 26.
Levy is said to have verbally transferred power to an underling on Sept. 26. His wife tells On Deadline that city officials don't know what's wrong with the mayor or where he's being treated.
"He hasn't disappeared because disappearing would mean that no one knows where he is," Hazel Levy says. "I know where he is. He is in the hospital and he will be back."
That irks some critics, who want the head of the city council to step in as acting mayor until a special election can be held to select a replacement. KYW-TV describes it as a "constitutional crisis."
"It's not that we have poor leadership - we have no leadership. If there is an investigation, the mayor has to come forward and tell us," Councilman Tim Mancuso says, according to the local paper. "He needs to indicate what is wrong and what has happened. If he is sick, fine and dandy, but we need to know."
Domenic Cappella, the city's business administrator who claims to be acting mayor, says he knows where Levy is, but lawyers have advised him that a federal privacy law bars him from sharing that information with the public. (That's not true, according to legal experts. We have requested comment from Kimberly Baldwin, the city's lawyer, about her interpretation of the HIPAA statute, which appears to govern medical and insurance providers, not employers.)
Robert Calendar, an 80-year-old who was at last night's hearing to discuss his landlord, says the situation is ridiculous. "Monkeys with typewriters on their back can do a better job than this," he tells the Press.
Does he have a point? The Inquirer says a third of the city council is in prison or waiting to be sent there. Another legislator was caught on tape last year with a prostitute, the paper says.
Last November, Levy admitted that he wasn't a member of U.S. Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets, during his two tours in Vietnam. He claimed otherwise during his campaign to become mayor, and Editor & Publisher theorizes that the revelations of his dishonesty may have led to his disappearance.
"Since he was elected, the city has essentially been run by the business administrator and that hasn't changed," Press reporter Derek Harper, who wrote the expose, tells the trade magazine. "He's a nice guy who just got in over his head."
We asked Hazel Levy if the revelations about her husband's claims to have been an elite Green Beret were responsible for his absence. "He's sick. He's sick and I don't think the other thing put him in the hospital," she says.
Update at 1:22 p.m. ET: Baldwin, the city's attorney, says she's not aware of any other municipality that has invoked HIPAA as the reason for withholding information about a government official, but says that her interpretation of the federal statute indicates that Atlantic City is covered by the privacy law because it is self-insured. She says everyone is treated the same, and notes that the privacy protections would apply to any other city employee, not just the mayor.
If he doesn't return to work within 60 days, there's a provision of state law that directs the city council to select an acting mayor.
The mayor of Atlantic City, N.J., vanished last week. Officials say Mayor Robert Levy is "absent on temporary medical leave," but won't share any details about his hospitalization with the public or press.
"A week ago, Levy signed seven ordinances and then vanished from public life amid a cloud of rumored arrests and resignations," The Press of Atlantic City reports. The (Philadelphia) Inquirer says Levy, who was caught last year lying about his military service, drove off in a city-owned Dodge Durango on Sept. 26.
Levy is said to have verbally transferred power to an underling on Sept. 26. His wife tells On Deadline that city officials don't know what's wrong with the mayor or where he's being treated.
"He hasn't disappeared because disappearing would mean that no one knows where he is," Hazel Levy says. "I know where he is. He is in the hospital and he will be back."
That irks some critics, who want the head of the city council to step in as acting mayor until a special election can be held to select a replacement. KYW-TV describes it as a "constitutional crisis."
"It's not that we have poor leadership - we have no leadership. If there is an investigation, the mayor has to come forward and tell us," Councilman Tim Mancuso says, according to the local paper. "He needs to indicate what is wrong and what has happened. If he is sick, fine and dandy, but we need to know."
Domenic Cappella, the city's business administrator who claims to be acting mayor, says he knows where Levy is, but lawyers have advised him that a federal privacy law bars him from sharing that information with the public. (That's not true, according to legal experts. We have requested comment from Kimberly Baldwin, the city's lawyer, about her interpretation of the HIPAA statute, which appears to govern medical and insurance providers, not employers.)
Robert Calendar, an 80-year-old who was at last night's hearing to discuss his landlord, says the situation is ridiculous. "Monkeys with typewriters on their back can do a better job than this," he tells the Press.
Does he have a point? The Inquirer says a third of the city council is in prison or waiting to be sent there. Another legislator was caught on tape last year with a prostitute, the paper says.
Last November, Levy admitted that he wasn't a member of U.S. Army Special Forces, known as the Green Berets, during his two tours in Vietnam. He claimed otherwise during his campaign to become mayor, and Editor & Publisher theorizes that the revelations of his dishonesty may have led to his disappearance.
"Since he was elected, the city has essentially been run by the business administrator and that hasn't changed," Press reporter Derek Harper, who wrote the expose, tells the trade magazine. "He's a nice guy who just got in over his head."
We asked Hazel Levy if the revelations about her husband's claims to have been an elite Green Beret were responsible for his absence. "He's sick. He's sick and I don't think the other thing put him in the hospital," she says.
Update at 1:22 p.m. ET: Baldwin, the city's attorney, says she's not aware of any other municipality that has invoked HIPAA as the reason for withholding information about a government official, but says that her interpretation of the federal statute indicates that Atlantic City is covered by the privacy law because it is self-insured. She says everyone is treated the same, and notes that the privacy protections would apply to any other city employee, not just the mayor.
If he doesn't return to work within 60 days, there's a provision of state law that directs the city council to select an acting mayor.
RUSSIANS LEAVE NUKE REACTOR PROJECT
As you scratch your head and ask what relevance does the article below have to the New York City area, consider the following. If things "heat up" in the middle east, they will not heat up in our homes. History shows a correlation between an increase in the price of oil and war activity in the area.
DEBKAfile reports: Russians employed at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor suddenly depart in a body, according to local Arab sources
October 1, 2007, 11:32 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Khorramshar News Agency, which is published by the ethnic Arab underground of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan, reported early Oct. 1 that the entire staff of Russian nuclear engineers and experts employed in building the nuclear reactor at Bushehr had abruptly packed their bags Friday, Sept. 28, and flew back to Russia.
The agency’s one-liner offers no source or explanation. DEBKAfile have obtained no corroboration of its report from any other source.
The story appears to have originated with the ethnic Arabs who live near the reactor or who come in contact with its Russian staff. If true, DEBKAfile can offer three hypothetical scenarios to account for the Russians’ precipitate departure:
1. Another crisis has cropped up in the patchy Russian-Iranian dealings over the Bushehr reactor. This is unlikely because Russian president Vladimar Putin is due for a high-profile visit to Tehran on Oct. 16, when he plans to sign a series of nuclear accords with the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, Moscow, like Beijing, stands foursquare behind Iran’s efforts to delay harsher sanctions for its continued uranium enrichment. Only this week, the two powers gained Iran two to three months’ grace by forcing a delay in the UN Security Council session that was to have approved a third round of sanctions.
2. Moscow or Tehran has been tipped off that a US or Israeli attack is imminent on the Bushehr plant and Iran’s other nuclear installations and acted to whip Russian personnel out of harm’s way.
3. Moscow has learned that an Iranian pre-emptive attack is imminent against American targets in Iraq and the Persian Gulf and/or Israel.
Aside from these hypothetical scenarios, DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report that the Khorramshar News Agency keeps its ear to the ground on happenings in Bushehr, because it is claimed by Khuzistan separatists as Arab land which they will fight to liberate from Iranian “occupation.”
DEBKAfile reports: Russians employed at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor suddenly depart in a body, according to local Arab sources
October 1, 2007, 11:32 AM (GMT+02:00)
The Khorramshar News Agency, which is published by the ethnic Arab underground of Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan, reported early Oct. 1 that the entire staff of Russian nuclear engineers and experts employed in building the nuclear reactor at Bushehr had abruptly packed their bags Friday, Sept. 28, and flew back to Russia.
The agency’s one-liner offers no source or explanation. DEBKAfile have obtained no corroboration of its report from any other source.
The story appears to have originated with the ethnic Arabs who live near the reactor or who come in contact with its Russian staff. If true, DEBKAfile can offer three hypothetical scenarios to account for the Russians’ precipitate departure:
1. Another crisis has cropped up in the patchy Russian-Iranian dealings over the Bushehr reactor. This is unlikely because Russian president Vladimar Putin is due for a high-profile visit to Tehran on Oct. 16, when he plans to sign a series of nuclear accords with the Islamic Republic. Furthermore, Moscow, like Beijing, stands foursquare behind Iran’s efforts to delay harsher sanctions for its continued uranium enrichment. Only this week, the two powers gained Iran two to three months’ grace by forcing a delay in the UN Security Council session that was to have approved a third round of sanctions.
2. Moscow or Tehran has been tipped off that a US or Israeli attack is imminent on the Bushehr plant and Iran’s other nuclear installations and acted to whip Russian personnel out of harm’s way.
3. Moscow has learned that an Iranian pre-emptive attack is imminent against American targets in Iraq and the Persian Gulf and/or Israel.
Aside from these hypothetical scenarios, DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources report that the Khorramshar News Agency keeps its ear to the ground on happenings in Bushehr, because it is claimed by Khuzistan separatists as Arab land which they will fight to liberate from Iranian “occupation.”
GIULIANI SIGNS YANKEE MEAL VOUCHER
Dinner, on the city’s tab (Giuliani's fiscal conservatism)metro new york ^ OCT 4, 2007 patrick arden and tiffany kilfeather
Posted on 10/03/2007 10:14:16 PM PDT by ellery
Yanks deduct meals — and more — from rent
MANHATTAN. Maybe that $444 steak dinner was brain food.
The New York Yankees counted this meal ticket as part of a food-and-bar tab it deducted from the rent it pays to the city, using a clause inserted into its Parks Dept. lease by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on his last day in office. That provision allowed the team to deduct all “planning costs” for a new stadium up to $25 million through Dec. 31, 2005.
Since the deal was inked in 2001, the Yanks have subtracted at least $22.5 million from its city rent to pay for all sorts of things, from $700-an-hour lobbyists to a portion of executive salaries. But by the end of 2005 the team had yet to use up its allotment.
That might explain why the team was allowed to deduct $9,035,636 from its rent after the lease clause had expired, as revealed by journalist Neil deMause and the government watchdog group Good Jobs New York.
Under a Freedom of Information Law request, they reviewed receipts and invoices the Yankees presented to the Parks Dept., including $28,000 in souvenirs and $31,364 for food and drinks over just two nights of the 2005 postseason.
“No cost was too small,” said Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, who sent out an itemized list yesterday that had such “planning expenses” as a dozen crystal baseballs, meals for umpires, sending batting helmets to Tampa, a farewell lunch for an intern and a tow-truck bill.
“Elected officials are turning a blind eye to the fact that the Yankees seem to have unfettered access to the public trough,” Damiani said. Good Jobs’ running tally of government subsidies going to the new stadium now stands at $737.6 million.
DeMause published the findings in yesterday’s Village Voice. A mayoral spokesman told Metro the provision allowing for these deductions from rent had been “extended when the stadium project was delayed.” The Yankees did not return calls.
The city comptroller last audited the planning-cost deductions in 2002, though it frequently finds overstatements in annual maintenance deductions. While some city officials have pinned the blame on Giuliani’s love of the Yankees, Damiani also blames Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Never once did Giuliani claim the stadium would cost taxpayers nothing,” she said.
Posted on 10/03/2007 10:14:16 PM PDT by ellery
Yanks deduct meals — and more — from rent
MANHATTAN. Maybe that $444 steak dinner was brain food.
The New York Yankees counted this meal ticket as part of a food-and-bar tab it deducted from the rent it pays to the city, using a clause inserted into its Parks Dept. lease by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on his last day in office. That provision allowed the team to deduct all “planning costs” for a new stadium up to $25 million through Dec. 31, 2005.
Since the deal was inked in 2001, the Yanks have subtracted at least $22.5 million from its city rent to pay for all sorts of things, from $700-an-hour lobbyists to a portion of executive salaries. But by the end of 2005 the team had yet to use up its allotment.
That might explain why the team was allowed to deduct $9,035,636 from its rent after the lease clause had expired, as revealed by journalist Neil deMause and the government watchdog group Good Jobs New York.
Under a Freedom of Information Law request, they reviewed receipts and invoices the Yankees presented to the Parks Dept., including $28,000 in souvenirs and $31,364 for food and drinks over just two nights of the 2005 postseason.
“No cost was too small,” said Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, who sent out an itemized list yesterday that had such “planning expenses” as a dozen crystal baseballs, meals for umpires, sending batting helmets to Tampa, a farewell lunch for an intern and a tow-truck bill.
“Elected officials are turning a blind eye to the fact that the Yankees seem to have unfettered access to the public trough,” Damiani said. Good Jobs’ running tally of government subsidies going to the new stadium now stands at $737.6 million.
DeMause published the findings in yesterday’s Village Voice. A mayoral spokesman told Metro the provision allowing for these deductions from rent had been “extended when the stadium project was delayed.” The Yankees did not return calls.
The city comptroller last audited the planning-cost deductions in 2002, though it frequently finds overstatements in annual maintenance deductions. While some city officials have pinned the blame on Giuliani’s love of the Yankees, Damiani also blames Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Never once did Giuliani claim the stadium would cost taxpayers nothing,” she said.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
MATTHEW WALSHIN BUSTED AGAIN!
Looks like Mathew is in trouble once again.
Report Number 07-17543
On Tuesday September 18, 2007 at about 11:00 pm El Cerrito Police Officers responded to a report of a disturbance in the 11100 block of San Pablo Ave. After an investigation Matthew Walshin, a 38 year old male resident of Henderson, was arrested for assault. Walshin was released pending the filing of charges by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office.
Any questions or inquiries regarding this incident should be referred to Detective Corporal Susan Garman (510-215-4418).
3000 GOLD MINERS TRAPPED
West 47th Street in New York City is known as the Jewelry Center of the United States. Millions of dollars in diamonds and gold are traded and bought there every day. But at what cost? Please pray for these men.
SA Gold Mine Collapse Traps 3,000
Updated: 22:07, Wednesday October 03, 2007
Three thousand workers are trapped in a gold mine near Johannesburg, in South Africa.
A burst water pipe is thought to have caused a shaft to collapse at Harmony Gold's Elandsrand Mine in Carletonville, according to the workers' union.
It was not immediately possible to get comment from the management of the mine, nor information on how deep down the shaft is.
The spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers said the managers were meeting with union members.
Lesiba Seshoka said miners had gone down the shaft then the water pipe burst and they have not been heard from since about 0900 GMT this morning.
"It's a terrible situation," he said: "The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground."
Gold mine shafts in South Africa are typically 3,000 meters below ground and more, he said.
The union feared the men could be trapped without oxygen because of collapsed earth, or impeded by rockfalls and mud slides caused by the burst water pipe.
Johannesburg is South Africa's economic capital and gold-mining centre.
SA Gold Mine Collapse Traps 3,000
Updated: 22:07, Wednesday October 03, 2007
Three thousand workers are trapped in a gold mine near Johannesburg, in South Africa.
A burst water pipe is thought to have caused a shaft to collapse at Harmony Gold's Elandsrand Mine in Carletonville, according to the workers' union.
It was not immediately possible to get comment from the management of the mine, nor information on how deep down the shaft is.
The spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers said the managers were meeting with union members.
Lesiba Seshoka said miners had gone down the shaft then the water pipe burst and they have not been heard from since about 0900 GMT this morning.
"It's a terrible situation," he said: "The only exit is blocked, probably by a fall of ground."
Gold mine shafts in South Africa are typically 3,000 meters below ground and more, he said.
The union feared the men could be trapped without oxygen because of collapsed earth, or impeded by rockfalls and mud slides caused by the burst water pipe.
Johannesburg is South Africa's economic capital and gold-mining centre.
GOD SQUAD NIXES RUDY
ELECTION 2008'Christian revolt' against Giuliani brewing3rd-party challenge to Republicans grows more likely
Posted: October 3, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Rudy Giuliani"A lot of conservative Christians will never vote for Rudy Giuliani," says pastor, commentator and radio talk host Chuck Baldwin.
"Giuliani is unabashedly pro-choice," Baldwin argued in an interview with WND, "He is the most pro-abortion candidate the Republican Party has."
Baldwin is the pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., a frequent commentator and a prominent member of the Constitution Party.
"A growing number of Christian values voters believe Giuliani's open support of abortion disqualifies him from ever being president," Baldwin said. "A revolt against the Republican Party from within is gaining momentum, and Giuliani's front-runner status has galvanized opposition from the ranks."
As WND reported, some of the top leaders in Christian pro-family activism – including James Dobson of Focus on the Family – met in Salt Lake City last weekend to plot a strategy should Giuliani or another supporter of legalized abortion be nominated by the Republican Party as its presidential candidate.
The Constitution Party, which will hold a strategy session in Council Bluffs, Iowa, later this month, is expected to launch a third-party challenge for the presidency in 2008.
"Right now, I don't intend to be the Constitution Party's presidential candidate," Baldwin told WND. "But the case for a strong third party challenge grows stronger every day."
Giuliani's problems with the Republican base were compounded in April when he issued an "in your face statement" that the Republican Party has to "get over" issues like opposing abortion.
Echoing themes advanced by President Bush's adviser Karl Rove, Giuliani has urged the Republican Party to move to the political center, arguing, "Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we are a party characterized by what we're for, not if we're a party that's known for what we're against."
A growing number of Christian leaders on the political right disagree, especially if the Republican Party decides to tolerate abortion as a strategy to gain voters in 2008.
"I'm tired of being threatened by the Republican Party that if I don't support Giuliani or one of their other pro-abortion front-runners, Hillary Clinton will be elected president," Baldwin stated.
Nor are Christian leaders who have traditionally supported Republican Party candidates responding to the threat that Sen. Clinton will win unless they hold their noses and support Giuliani.
"There is no way I am going to vote for a Republican candidate who has a history of supporting abortion, regardless of who wins the presidency as a consequence of that decision," Baldwin said.
Baldwin also objected to Giuliani's globalist tendencies and his active support of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
"Giuliani's law firm is also deeply tied into the construction of the NAFTA Superhighway," Baldwin pointed out. "Giuliani would advance the Bush administration's Security and Prosperity Partnership agenda toward a North American Union, in a manner that would seriously threaten United States sovereignty."
WND reported Giuliani's Houston law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, is the sole legal representative of Cintra, an investment consortium in Spain.
Cintra has signed with the Texas Department of Transportation, TxDOT, a definitive comprehensive development agreement to build the four-football-fields wide Trans-Texas Corridor, TTC-35, parallel to Interstate 35 from the southern tip of Texas at Laredo to the Texas border with Oklahoma, passing Austin, San Antonio and Dallas in the process.
According to the agreement, Cintra will own the operating and toll rights on TTC-35 for 50 years after the superhighway is completed.
The agreement promises Spain investment returns, with the option to exercise non-compete clauses preventing TxDOT from developing competing freeways, including I-35, as alternatives to the TTC-35 toll road.
"We have to quit voting for Republican Party candidates like robots," Baldwin argued. "We've been mind-numbed into decades of demonizing liberals. Being conditioned to vote Republican is not good enough anymore, not when the Republican Party sees no problem promoting open pro-abortion candidates as their presidential front-running candidates."
Baldwin concluded: "Were tired of the Republican Party lie. Rudy Giuliani is the last straw. We're saying 'no more,' even if it means the end of the Republican Party."
Posted: October 3, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Rudy Giuliani"A lot of conservative Christians will never vote for Rudy Giuliani," says pastor, commentator and radio talk host Chuck Baldwin.
"Giuliani is unabashedly pro-choice," Baldwin argued in an interview with WND, "He is the most pro-abortion candidate the Republican Party has."
Baldwin is the pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., a frequent commentator and a prominent member of the Constitution Party.
"A growing number of Christian values voters believe Giuliani's open support of abortion disqualifies him from ever being president," Baldwin said. "A revolt against the Republican Party from within is gaining momentum, and Giuliani's front-runner status has galvanized opposition from the ranks."
As WND reported, some of the top leaders in Christian pro-family activism – including James Dobson of Focus on the Family – met in Salt Lake City last weekend to plot a strategy should Giuliani or another supporter of legalized abortion be nominated by the Republican Party as its presidential candidate.
The Constitution Party, which will hold a strategy session in Council Bluffs, Iowa, later this month, is expected to launch a third-party challenge for the presidency in 2008.
"Right now, I don't intend to be the Constitution Party's presidential candidate," Baldwin told WND. "But the case for a strong third party challenge grows stronger every day."
Giuliani's problems with the Republican base were compounded in April when he issued an "in your face statement" that the Republican Party has to "get over" issues like opposing abortion.
Echoing themes advanced by President Bush's adviser Karl Rove, Giuliani has urged the Republican Party to move to the political center, arguing, "Our party is going to grow, and we are going to win in 2008 if we are a party characterized by what we're for, not if we're a party that's known for what we're against."
A growing number of Christian leaders on the political right disagree, especially if the Republican Party decides to tolerate abortion as a strategy to gain voters in 2008.
"I'm tired of being threatened by the Republican Party that if I don't support Giuliani or one of their other pro-abortion front-runners, Hillary Clinton will be elected president," Baldwin stated.
Nor are Christian leaders who have traditionally supported Republican Party candidates responding to the threat that Sen. Clinton will win unless they hold their noses and support Giuliani.
"There is no way I am going to vote for a Republican candidate who has a history of supporting abortion, regardless of who wins the presidency as a consequence of that decision," Baldwin said.
Baldwin also objected to Giuliani's globalist tendencies and his active support of the Trans-Texas Corridor.
"Giuliani's law firm is also deeply tied into the construction of the NAFTA Superhighway," Baldwin pointed out. "Giuliani would advance the Bush administration's Security and Prosperity Partnership agenda toward a North American Union, in a manner that would seriously threaten United States sovereignty."
WND reported Giuliani's Houston law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani, is the sole legal representative of Cintra, an investment consortium in Spain.
Cintra has signed with the Texas Department of Transportation, TxDOT, a definitive comprehensive development agreement to build the four-football-fields wide Trans-Texas Corridor, TTC-35, parallel to Interstate 35 from the southern tip of Texas at Laredo to the Texas border with Oklahoma, passing Austin, San Antonio and Dallas in the process.
According to the agreement, Cintra will own the operating and toll rights on TTC-35 for 50 years after the superhighway is completed.
The agreement promises Spain investment returns, with the option to exercise non-compete clauses preventing TxDOT from developing competing freeways, including I-35, as alternatives to the TTC-35 toll road.
"We have to quit voting for Republican Party candidates like robots," Baldwin argued. "We've been mind-numbed into decades of demonizing liberals. Being conditioned to vote Republican is not good enough anymore, not when the Republican Party sees no problem promoting open pro-abortion candidates as their presidential front-running candidates."
Baldwin concluded: "Were tired of the Republican Party lie. Rudy Giuliani is the last straw. We're saying 'no more,' even if it means the end of the Republican Party."
ARMING THE 51st STATE
Congress approves $1.2 billion worth of US-funded Israeli arms purchases, including 50 huge GBU-28 guided bunker busters
October 2, 2007, 10:30 PM (GMT+02:00)
American GBU-28 guided bunker buster sold to Israel
DEBKAfile’s military sources report the package, discussed by US Pentagon and Israel defense ministry officials, aims at replenishing the seriously depleted Israel Air Force stocks of missiles, bombs and fuel to their level prior to the 2006 Lebanon war, ready for any potential war contingency. Some of these items will be delivered shortly; others over a five-year period.
They include thousands of missiles, tens of thousands of new bombs worth $799 million and 132 million gallons of jet fuel worth $308 million.
The accent of this consignment will be on the heaviest American bombs designed for such subterranean targets as the bunker fortresses of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hizballah and on operating and guidance systems for upgrading Israeli Air Force ammunition.
The list, according to US defense sources, also includes 10,000 JDAM tail kits for high precision guidance of bombs in all weathers at ranges of up to 25 km, which are designed for use with the GBU-29-32 bunker busters; 4,000 laser-guided Paveway II munitions kits; more than 11,000 Mk-84 and Mk-82 bombs; 2,000 heavy fortifications-penetrating BLU-109 bombs; and 50 GBU-28 5,000-pound guided bunker busters.
The Israeli Air Force will also receive 500 Sidewinders AIM-9M, and 200 AIM-120C (AMRAAM) medium range air-to-air missiles.
The American DefenseNews.com quotes Israeli industry executives, including the state-owned Rafael Armament Development Authority, Israel Aerospace Industries and Military Industries, as concerned by the country’s increasing dependence on American weaponry. While appreciative of American generosity, they complain that locally made, alternative products are often more capable than US systems and better adjusted to Israeli needs. They took particular exception to the defense ministry’s plans to stock up on US Sidewinders and AMRAAM missile when the Python-5, Derby and follow-on indigenous systems are specifically designed for the Israeli Air force.
This massive purchasing program, say Israeli industry sources, not only denies their firms billions of shekels in new orders, but threatens to erode their international sales of such items as Israeli-built air-to-air missiles, which have made their mark on world markets.
October 2, 2007, 10:30 PM (GMT+02:00)
American GBU-28 guided bunker buster sold to Israel
DEBKAfile’s military sources report the package, discussed by US Pentagon and Israel defense ministry officials, aims at replenishing the seriously depleted Israel Air Force stocks of missiles, bombs and fuel to their level prior to the 2006 Lebanon war, ready for any potential war contingency. Some of these items will be delivered shortly; others over a five-year period.
They include thousands of missiles, tens of thousands of new bombs worth $799 million and 132 million gallons of jet fuel worth $308 million.
The accent of this consignment will be on the heaviest American bombs designed for such subterranean targets as the bunker fortresses of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hizballah and on operating and guidance systems for upgrading Israeli Air Force ammunition.
The list, according to US defense sources, also includes 10,000 JDAM tail kits for high precision guidance of bombs in all weathers at ranges of up to 25 km, which are designed for use with the GBU-29-32 bunker busters; 4,000 laser-guided Paveway II munitions kits; more than 11,000 Mk-84 and Mk-82 bombs; 2,000 heavy fortifications-penetrating BLU-109 bombs; and 50 GBU-28 5,000-pound guided bunker busters.
The Israeli Air Force will also receive 500 Sidewinders AIM-9M, and 200 AIM-120C (AMRAAM) medium range air-to-air missiles.
The American DefenseNews.com quotes Israeli industry executives, including the state-owned Rafael Armament Development Authority, Israel Aerospace Industries and Military Industries, as concerned by the country’s increasing dependence on American weaponry. While appreciative of American generosity, they complain that locally made, alternative products are often more capable than US systems and better adjusted to Israeli needs. They took particular exception to the defense ministry’s plans to stock up on US Sidewinders and AMRAAM missile when the Python-5, Derby and follow-on indigenous systems are specifically designed for the Israeli Air force.
This massive purchasing program, say Israeli industry sources, not only denies their firms billions of shekels in new orders, but threatens to erode their international sales of such items as Israeli-built air-to-air missiles, which have made their mark on world markets.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
BLOOMBITO GETS RIPPED OFF
Thieves Targeted Mayor Bloomberg's Money
Two men were arraigned for trying to steal hundreds of thousands from billionaire Mayor Bloomberg. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau outlined the two schemes:
Odalis Bostic forged two checks from Bloomberg's personal Bank of America account. One was for $190,000, the other was for $230,000, and both were "issued in the name of the mayor’s financial manager, Geller & Company," according to CityRoom. Bostic deposited them into two different bank accounts, but when Bank of America realized the checks were forged, the bank contacted the DA's office.
And because the DA's office was investigating Bostic's scheme, they found out that Charles Nelson actually succeeded in stealing from the mayor. He took $10,000 from the mayor's bank account and transferred it into an eTrade account. Wow, Mayor Bloomberg's personal bank account information must be floating around there!
Bostic was charged with attempted grand larceny and Nelson was charged with grand larceny. Recently it was revealed that Mayor Bloomberg's personal wealth doubled. Related: The guys who stole from rich people they found on the Forbes 400 list - Bloomberg happens to be #25.
Two men were arraigned for trying to steal hundreds of thousands from billionaire Mayor Bloomberg. Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau outlined the two schemes:
Odalis Bostic forged two checks from Bloomberg's personal Bank of America account. One was for $190,000, the other was for $230,000, and both were "issued in the name of the mayor’s financial manager, Geller & Company," according to CityRoom. Bostic deposited them into two different bank accounts, but when Bank of America realized the checks were forged, the bank contacted the DA's office.
And because the DA's office was investigating Bostic's scheme, they found out that Charles Nelson actually succeeded in stealing from the mayor. He took $10,000 from the mayor's bank account and transferred it into an eTrade account. Wow, Mayor Bloomberg's personal bank account information must be floating around there!
Bostic was charged with attempted grand larceny and Nelson was charged with grand larceny. Recently it was revealed that Mayor Bloomberg's personal wealth doubled. Related: The guys who stole from rich people they found on the Forbes 400 list - Bloomberg happens to be #25.
GPS WILL POLICE THE POLICE
NYPD Plans To Install GPS In Patrol Vehicles; The Chief Newspaper
Could Speed Dispatch And Aid Officers In Unfamiliar Areas By REUVEN BLAU
The NYPD is developing a plan to place high-tech Global Positioning Systems in its patrol vehicles to help improve emergency response times and bolster officer safety during car chases and other emergencies.
The GPS devices will also enable department supervisors to better monitor the location of the squad cars and track how fast the vehicles are moving prior to accidents or other incidents.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the NYPD was working with the city's technology department on the plan, but declined to elaborate. The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications is planning to place the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology in much of the city's fleet of thousands of vehicles.
By all accounts, the NYPD's program is in its nascent stages, as it remains unclear what software the department plans to use to centralize the system and how the technology will be tied to the new 911 center that the city is currently moving to develop.
The Bloomberg administration has already installed the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) devices in its ambulances and fire engines, and recently launched a pilot program for Sanitation Department collection trucks.
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association declined to comment on the NYPD's plans. The planned system could also ultimately be used to discipline officers who are caught straying from their assigned posts or involved in speeding accidents.
An official from the Captains Endowment Association said the union had heard about the department's plan, and had no intentions of opposing the move. Several of the NYPD's other unions indicated that they were unaware of the GPS initiative.
A DoITT spokesman said the NYPD's program was still being worked out. "A lot of the details (extent of installation, types of AVL to be installed, different options for its use), however, are still being determined, as agencies decide whether/how AVL technology can assist in achieving their critical objectives in the field," said DoITT spokesman Nicholas T. Sbordone in an e-mail.
Discussing the NYPD's plan, he added, would therefore be premature. "The general vision, though, is to install AVL in appropriate city vehicles to enhance the quality of delivery of city services to New Yorkers," he added.
The AVL devices would likely be used to help reduce response times, boost employee safety, enhance fleet management and route planning, and detect vehicular problems for preventive maintenance.
In April 2006, the Fire Department installed AVL technology in nearly 1,100 of its ambulances, engines, ladder trucks, rescue and battalion vehicles. The program followed a successful EMS pilot that provided dispatchers with accurate data on the location of emergency vehicles, allowing them to improve dispatching operations, Mr. Sbordone said.
"Under that pilot, the average EMS response time to the most serious medical emergencies was reduced by 33 seconds," he added.
In total, 1,565 Fire and EMS vehicles throughout the city have been equipped with AVL, which cost nearly $50 million, according to the city. "In an emergency, every second counts," said Mayor Bloomberg after the plan was announced. "By providing our dispatcher with a real-time 'picture' of where resources are located, we'll get help where it's needed more quickly and efficiently. This is a great investment in the health and safety of all New Yorkers."
AVL uses standard GPS technology to track the real-time movements of equipped vehicles, helping dispatchers more accurately deploy emergency resources, the FDNY said.
Using a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the earth, the AVL system combines GPS technology and street-level mapping to pinpoint the longitude, latitude and course direction of any equipped vehicle, the city said.
The AVL devices have proved particularly valuable in ambulances, because they are not dispatched from a central location and are able to move within their response areas, city official involved in the program said.
Police patrol cars work in a similar manner, responding to emergency calls on the basis of which officers nearby are available. That presents something of a contrast with the FDNY, which uses trained dispatchers to send specific units to each emergency. That may create problems for the NYPD, according to one union source, who asked to remain anonymous.
"It would be a real plus for the NYPD, but they don't have a real dispatch system," he said last week. "Basically all that money being spent is totally useless unless they change the whole concept on how they dispatch police cars."
Law-enforcement agencies across the nation have also been installing GPS devices in their patrol cars.
More than 130 Chicago police cars in the department's Special Operations Section have been equipped with the state-of-the-art system. That unit has been under close scrutiny after four officers from the division were charged with brazenly invading and robbing homes in a headline-grabbing case.
Locally, the Nassau County Police Department recently placed GPS devices in its roughly 230 vehicles "to enhance safety so that we have an idea of where our officers are at all times," said Detective Lieut. Kevin Smith. The system can also be used to make sure officers are patrolling the proper areas, he said. "There are benefits on a supervisory level as well," he remarked. "You can trace an officer's movements over time to see if there is any way he's neglecting his post by the path he takes."
He stressed that the program was primarily designed to increase officer safety. "If an officer gets in a pursuit and is unfamiliar with the terrain, we have mapping capabilities that can offer him assistance through our communication bureau," he said.
The technology has also been used as a new crime-fighting tool. Last year, the Los Angeles Police Department became the first law enforcement agency to equip patrol cars with a mechanism that thrusts and attaches a GPS device onto an escaping car. The LAPD hopes that device will help reduce the number of high-speed car chases throughout the city.
Michael J. Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, noted that the NYPD leases some of the cars undercover officers use, which could complicate the department's GPS plan. "They don't really look like department cars," he remarked. "I think technology as a whole can be a double-edged sword. It serves some good purposes, like safety issues, but it also borders on civil rights violations. People monitor where you are at all times."
Could Speed Dispatch And Aid Officers In Unfamiliar Areas By REUVEN BLAU
The NYPD is developing a plan to place high-tech Global Positioning Systems in its patrol vehicles to help improve emergency response times and bolster officer safety during car chases and other emergencies.
The GPS devices will also enable department supervisors to better monitor the location of the squad cars and track how fast the vehicles are moving prior to accidents or other incidents.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said the NYPD was working with the city's technology department on the plan, but declined to elaborate. The Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications is planning to place the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) technology in much of the city's fleet of thousands of vehicles.
By all accounts, the NYPD's program is in its nascent stages, as it remains unclear what software the department plans to use to centralize the system and how the technology will be tied to the new 911 center that the city is currently moving to develop.
The Bloomberg administration has already installed the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) devices in its ambulances and fire engines, and recently launched a pilot program for Sanitation Department collection trucks.
The Patrolmen's Benevolent Association declined to comment on the NYPD's plans. The planned system could also ultimately be used to discipline officers who are caught straying from their assigned posts or involved in speeding accidents.
An official from the Captains Endowment Association said the union had heard about the department's plan, and had no intentions of opposing the move. Several of the NYPD's other unions indicated that they were unaware of the GPS initiative.
A DoITT spokesman said the NYPD's program was still being worked out. "A lot of the details (extent of installation, types of AVL to be installed, different options for its use), however, are still being determined, as agencies decide whether/how AVL technology can assist in achieving their critical objectives in the field," said DoITT spokesman Nicholas T. Sbordone in an e-mail.
Discussing the NYPD's plan, he added, would therefore be premature. "The general vision, though, is to install AVL in appropriate city vehicles to enhance the quality of delivery of city services to New Yorkers," he added.
The AVL devices would likely be used to help reduce response times, boost employee safety, enhance fleet management and route planning, and detect vehicular problems for preventive maintenance.
In April 2006, the Fire Department installed AVL technology in nearly 1,100 of its ambulances, engines, ladder trucks, rescue and battalion vehicles. The program followed a successful EMS pilot that provided dispatchers with accurate data on the location of emergency vehicles, allowing them to improve dispatching operations, Mr. Sbordone said.
"Under that pilot, the average EMS response time to the most serious medical emergencies was reduced by 33 seconds," he added.
In total, 1,565 Fire and EMS vehicles throughout the city have been equipped with AVL, which cost nearly $50 million, according to the city. "In an emergency, every second counts," said Mayor Bloomberg after the plan was announced. "By providing our dispatcher with a real-time 'picture' of where resources are located, we'll get help where it's needed more quickly and efficiently. This is a great investment in the health and safety of all New Yorkers."
AVL uses standard GPS technology to track the real-time movements of equipped vehicles, helping dispatchers more accurately deploy emergency resources, the FDNY said.
Using a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the earth, the AVL system combines GPS technology and street-level mapping to pinpoint the longitude, latitude and course direction of any equipped vehicle, the city said.
The AVL devices have proved particularly valuable in ambulances, because they are not dispatched from a central location and are able to move within their response areas, city official involved in the program said.
Police patrol cars work in a similar manner, responding to emergency calls on the basis of which officers nearby are available. That presents something of a contrast with the FDNY, which uses trained dispatchers to send specific units to each emergency. That may create problems for the NYPD, according to one union source, who asked to remain anonymous.
"It would be a real plus for the NYPD, but they don't have a real dispatch system," he said last week. "Basically all that money being spent is totally useless unless they change the whole concept on how they dispatch police cars."
Law-enforcement agencies across the nation have also been installing GPS devices in their patrol cars.
More than 130 Chicago police cars in the department's Special Operations Section have been equipped with the state-of-the-art system. That unit has been under close scrutiny after four officers from the division were charged with brazenly invading and robbing homes in a headline-grabbing case.
Locally, the Nassau County Police Department recently placed GPS devices in its roughly 230 vehicles "to enhance safety so that we have an idea of where our officers are at all times," said Detective Lieut. Kevin Smith. The system can also be used to make sure officers are patrolling the proper areas, he said. "There are benefits on a supervisory level as well," he remarked. "You can trace an officer's movements over time to see if there is any way he's neglecting his post by the path he takes."
He stressed that the program was primarily designed to increase officer safety. "If an officer gets in a pursuit and is unfamiliar with the terrain, we have mapping capabilities that can offer him assistance through our communication bureau," he said.
The technology has also been used as a new crime-fighting tool. Last year, the Los Angeles Police Department became the first law enforcement agency to equip patrol cars with a mechanism that thrusts and attaches a GPS device onto an escaping car. The LAPD hopes that device will help reduce the number of high-speed car chases throughout the city.
Michael J. Palladino, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, noted that the NYPD leases some of the cars undercover officers use, which could complicate the department's GPS plan. "They don't really look like department cars," he remarked. "I think technology as a whole can be a double-edged sword. It serves some good purposes, like safety issues, but it also borders on civil rights violations. People monitor where you are at all times."
Monday, October 1, 2007
THE BLUE WALL BRAWL
Yonkers police investigate Sept. 14 beating By WILL DAVID THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original Publication: September 29, 2007) YONKERS - The city's police said yesterday that they were investigating the Sept. 14 beating of a 26-year-old Yonkers man who may have been beaten by at least one off-duty New York City police officer. Yonkers investigators are also trying to determine whether New York City uniformed police officers arrived at the scene of the McLean Avenue assault before they did and released the suspect.
The victim, said Yonkers Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett, was badly pummeled and may lose one eye. More than one person may also be responsible for the beating, which occurred in the east corridor of McLean that is populated with numerous pubs, Yonkers police said. "We are not discounting that more than one person may be responsible," said Charles Gardner, Yonkers assistant police chief .
Yonkers detectives and the Internal Affairs Unit are working on the case. Hartnett said New York City police were working with them on the investigation. "We are working closely," Hartnett said. Reached for comment, Sgt. Reginald Watkins, a spokesman for the New York City police said Yonkers police could not speak on behalf of the NYPD. Asked if he had any information about the McLean Avenue assault, Watkins said: "We don't know anything about this." It is a Yonkers police investigation, he said.
Hartnett said the incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 14 at 942 McLean Ave. on the sidewalk of Fagan's Ale House and Rockin Robins Bar & Night Club. New York City police responded to the report of an assault and called Yonkers police to tell them that a man was on the ground, Hartnett said. When Yonkers police arrived, they found the victim on the ground.
"He sustained significant head injuries," Hartnett said, adding that the man may lose an eye. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment. Hartnett said the Yonkers police investigation surrounds who assaulted the man, not an investigation into how New York City may have handled the incident as a first responder. Hartnett said there were allegations that New York City police detained an off-duty police officer and released him before Yonkers police arrived.
Asked why the incident wasn't made public until yesterday, Hartnett said he held the news conference because there were press inquires about the incident. Hartnett gave out little facts about the incident, saying: "It is an ongoing criminal case. If I give out too much, it might impede our investigation." Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 914-377-7724 or 914-377-7725. All calls will be kept confidential.
(Original Publication: September 29, 2007) YONKERS - The city's police said yesterday that they were investigating the Sept. 14 beating of a 26-year-old Yonkers man who may have been beaten by at least one off-duty New York City police officer. Yonkers investigators are also trying to determine whether New York City uniformed police officers arrived at the scene of the McLean Avenue assault before they did and released the suspect.
The victim, said Yonkers Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett, was badly pummeled and may lose one eye. More than one person may also be responsible for the beating, which occurred in the east corridor of McLean that is populated with numerous pubs, Yonkers police said. "We are not discounting that more than one person may be responsible," said Charles Gardner, Yonkers assistant police chief .
Yonkers detectives and the Internal Affairs Unit are working on the case. Hartnett said New York City police were working with them on the investigation. "We are working closely," Hartnett said. Reached for comment, Sgt. Reginald Watkins, a spokesman for the New York City police said Yonkers police could not speak on behalf of the NYPD. Asked if he had any information about the McLean Avenue assault, Watkins said: "We don't know anything about this." It is a Yonkers police investigation, he said.
Hartnett said the incident happened around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 14 at 942 McLean Ave. on the sidewalk of Fagan's Ale House and Rockin Robins Bar & Night Club. New York City police responded to the report of an assault and called Yonkers police to tell them that a man was on the ground, Hartnett said. When Yonkers police arrived, they found the victim on the ground.
"He sustained significant head injuries," Hartnett said, adding that the man may lose an eye. The man was taken to the hospital for treatment. Hartnett said the Yonkers police investigation surrounds who assaulted the man, not an investigation into how New York City may have handled the incident as a first responder. Hartnett said there were allegations that New York City police detained an off-duty police officer and released him before Yonkers police arrived.
Asked why the incident wasn't made public until yesterday, Hartnett said he held the news conference because there were press inquires about the incident. Hartnett gave out little facts about the incident, saying: "It is an ongoing criminal case. If I give out too much, it might impede our investigation." Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 914-377-7724 or 914-377-7725. All calls will be kept confidential.
JAY WALKING BECOMES POLITICIZED
Acting Teaneck Police Chief Fred Ahearn said about a half-dozen Thomas Jefferson students got summonses for jaywalking. He declined to discuss the details in the case of the girl placed under arrest.Police say the crackdown, done at the request of the school principal, was successful. They say kids will stick to the sidewalks of Hartwell Street, where frazzled residents have complained about their litter and conduct.
That's successful?With all the frankness and anger that came out at the meeting Wednesday, the police may have better insights into black parents' allegations that their kids were singled out. Claiming instances of selective enforcement in the issuance of jaywalking summonses, several speakers cited Orthodox Jews frequently walking Teaneck streets in large groups, crossing streets and slowing driving on the Sabbath to a crawl.
Police denied showing favoritism or targeting African-American children. Ahearn and a traffic division officer, Lt. Robert Carney, said the middle school was not singled out: Teaneck High School students got a few summonses, too."I don't know what race was brought back to the school," Ahearn added. "We don't enforce the law by race, religion, creed or ethnicity." The denials fell on deaf ears.Police explained their heavy-handed ticketing tactics at Thomas Jefferson as protecting the children. Acting in the spirit of the maxim, "It takes a village to raise a child," parents, police, preachers and educators work together to instill the village's values.http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMDEwNjgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
That's successful?With all the frankness and anger that came out at the meeting Wednesday, the police may have better insights into black parents' allegations that their kids were singled out. Claiming instances of selective enforcement in the issuance of jaywalking summonses, several speakers cited Orthodox Jews frequently walking Teaneck streets in large groups, crossing streets and slowing driving on the Sabbath to a crawl.
Police denied showing favoritism or targeting African-American children. Ahearn and a traffic division officer, Lt. Robert Carney, said the middle school was not singled out: Teaneck High School students got a few summonses, too."I don't know what race was brought back to the school," Ahearn added. "We don't enforce the law by race, religion, creed or ethnicity." The denials fell on deaf ears.Police explained their heavy-handed ticketing tactics at Thomas Jefferson as protecting the children. Acting in the spirit of the maxim, "It takes a village to raise a child," parents, police, preachers and educators work together to instill the village's values.http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTEmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcyMDEwNjgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5
NUNS DUKE IT OUT
Italian archbishop closes convent after nuns come to blows
Published: Sunday September 30, 2007
A convent in southern Italy is being shut down after a quarrel among its last three remaining nuns ended in blows, press reports said Sunday.
Sisters Annamaria and Gianbattista, reportedly upset about their mother superior's authoritarian ways, scratched her in the face and threw her to the ground at Santa Clara convent near Bari in an incident in July that was kept quiet until now.
Archbishop Giovanni Battista Pichierri tried to reconcile the nuns but finally decided in late August that they had "clearly lost their religious vocation" and asked the Vatican for permission to close the convent.
Sisters Annamaria and Gianbattista moved to another convent, but Sister Liliana barricaded herself inside, refusing to leave, the reports said, adding that she suspected Battista Pichierri of planning to cede the convent to another community.
Liliana has been at the convent since its founding in 1963.
Published: Sunday September 30, 2007
A convent in southern Italy is being shut down after a quarrel among its last three remaining nuns ended in blows, press reports said Sunday.
Sisters Annamaria and Gianbattista, reportedly upset about their mother superior's authoritarian ways, scratched her in the face and threw her to the ground at Santa Clara convent near Bari in an incident in July that was kept quiet until now.
Archbishop Giovanni Battista Pichierri tried to reconcile the nuns but finally decided in late August that they had "clearly lost their religious vocation" and asked the Vatican for permission to close the convent.
Sisters Annamaria and Gianbattista moved to another convent, but Sister Liliana barricaded herself inside, refusing to leave, the reports said, adding that she suspected Battista Pichierri of planning to cede the convent to another community.
Liliana has been at the convent since its founding in 1963.
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