April 21, 2009 | 3:57 pm

Baby preacher raises the roof

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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The GeekHeeb sent this video, via BoingBoing, of a baby preacher. I think he is speaking in tongues.

April 21, 2009 | 1:47 pm

Harman, AIPAC and lobbying for alleged spies

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Rep. Jane Harman, one of the leading Democrats on intelligence issues, is in a bit of hot water over a report that she promised to intervene for two AIPAC officials accused of spying for Israel. The news was first reported in Congressional Quarterly, and I heard reporter Jeff Stein talk about it yesterday on KPCC’s Patt Morrison program.

The story seems to have legs, particularly because there is an NSA transcript of Harman’s conversation in question. Here’s the follow-up from The New York Times:

The official with access to the transcripts said someone seeking help for the employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group, was recorded asking Ms. Harman, a longtime supporter of its efforts, to intervene with the Justice Department. She responded, the official recounted, by saying she would have more influence with a White House official she did not identify.

In return, the caller promised her that a wealthy California donor — the media mogul Haim Saban — would threaten to withhold campaign contributions to Representative Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who was expected to become House speaker after the 2006 election, if she did not select Ms. Harman for the intelligence post.

Ms. Harman denied Monday having ever spoken to anyone in the Justice Department about Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, the two former analysts for Aipac. Her office issued a statement saying, “Congresswoman Harman has never contacted the Justice Department about its prosecution of present or former Aipac employees.”

The statement did not, however, address whether Ms. Harman had contacted anyone at the White House or had participated in phone calls in which she was asked to intervene in exchange for help in being named chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee.

David Szady, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s former top counterintelligence official who ran the investigation of Mr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman, said in an interview Monday that he was confident Ms. Harman had never intervened. “In all my dealings with her, she was always professional and never tried to intervene or get in the way of any investigation,” Mr. Szady said.

The officials who were familiar with the transcripts, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue involved intelligence matters, also said they knew of no evidence that Ms. Harman had intervened in the case.

In case you were wondering, Harman, who has been my congressional rep since I moved to the South Bay, is Jewish. But this story seems to have much more to do with personal politics than Israel’s best-interest.

For more on Rosen and Weissman, read this article Jeffrey Goldberg (see) wrote for The New Yorker in 2005.

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April 21, 2009 | 12:03 am

Philanthropy and investing: ‘Both tax-deductible at this point’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

The Atlantic has a great cover story this month from Jeffrey Goldberg, the veteran of Middle East politics. This article is a bit off the beaten path for Goldberg. Instead of Israel or Islamic terrorism or politics, it deals with the financial crisis and why he got such bad advice from his broker at Merrill Lynch.

If you were one of millions of Americans who did everything you were told to do and now find yourself in the worst financial position of your life, read Goldberg’s article.

In it, he visits with financial advisers and catching them stumbling over catch phrases and investment cliches. For example: a video of Richard Bernstein, the chief investment strategist at Merril, l telling clients they need to “lengthen their investment horizon.”

Goldberg writes:

To which I would add this observation from Keynes: “In the long run, we are all dead.”

This is what I heard Bernstein say: give up. You’re not going to make money on your investments in the next 10 years, or 15, or 20, so you should stop worrying about your portfolio and go to the movies like everyone else.

I called Bernstein and asked him if he was, in fact, advocating a form of Stoicism. He said I was misinterpreting his views. “This is not some sort of psychological compensation device. What I’m saying is that in looking for investment ideas, we should be looking over a five-, six-, seven-year time period. You have to give an investment strategy time to reach gestation.”

But my investment strategy gestated for 15 years. And then it died.

As I write this, the markets are back down to 1997 levels. In Japan, they’ve sunk to 1983 levels. I pointed out to Bernstein that 1983 was 26 years ago. The investor who bought Japanese equities in 1983 and held on to them has stayed absolutely flat. “That’s not correct,” Bernstein said. “That doesn’t take into account dividend payments.”

Even with all those munificent dividend payments, my net worth has dropped by a third, and new vistas of worry open up for me each day.

Goldberg mentions some of the bad advice he and others received from Merrill. Among the “buy and hold” picks was Nokia. To which I had to send Goldberg this e-mail:

Not to be disappointed, I saw you included Nokia in the can’t-miss picks from Merrill. This brought back memories far more traumatic than the 35 percent I’ve recently lost off the top of my FMA. When I graduated from high school, my grandfather gave me $5,000 to get started. I decided to invest $4,000 in the stock market and put the rest in my money market savings account. I didn’t have a stock broker, but my father’s referred me to one of his juniors. He talked a big game but actually knew less than nothing about investing and recommended putting all my money into Nokia—96 shares at $41 a piece. I didn’t know better, and before I finished my first quarter of college, the stock had fallen to under $12 a share. As you know, it never recovered.

Yeah, that was an expensive lesson.

You can read Goldberg’s article, “Why I Fired My Broker,” here. The money quote was found at a small gathering Goldberg attends of wealthy New Yorkers who want to give back.

“I thought this was a perfect time to talk about philanthropy and investing, because they’ve merged,” Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital and leader of the discussion, said in his opening remarks. “They’re both tax-deductible at this point.”

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April 20, 2009 | 6:58 pm

Footage of Ahmadinejad’s speech that sparked a walkout

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Just what did the Iranian president say that made folks at the United Nations conference so angry? Watch his speech above.

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April 20, 2009 | 1:08 pm

It’s a walkout: Iran’s president sparks protest at UN meeting

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

It’s always a circus when Mahmoud’s at the UN. From the AP:

GENEVA – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Israel of being the “most cruel and racist regime,” sparking a walkout Monday by angry Western diplomats at a U.N. racism conference.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his tirade against Israel during a global racism conference. Ban says the Iranian leader used his speech “to accuse, divide and even incite,” directly opposing the aim of the meeting.

The hardline leader’s appearance overshadowed the substance of the weeklong United Nations attempt to stamp out intolerance worldwide. The United States and eight other Western countries, expressing concerns about its fairness, were already boycotting the event.

Protesters dressed with clown wigs and holding placards repeatedly interrupted Ahmadinejad’s speech with shouts of “Shame! shame!” and “Racist! racist!” throwing soft red objects on the podium. Later, about 100 members of mainly pro-Israel and Jewish groups blocked Ahmadinejad’s entrance to a scheduled news conference.

Ahmadinejad, in a rambling speech, accused Israel of being the “most cruel and racist regime” and pointed the finger at the United States and Europe for helping to establish the country after World War II “under the pretext of Jewish suffering.”

That prompted a walkout by some 40 diplomats from European countries such as Britain and France, which had threatened to leave the conference if it descended into anti-Semitic or other rhetoric harshly critical of Israel, which marred the U.N.‘s last racism gathering.

The boycotting countries expressed concern that Muslim countries would drown out many issues with calls for a denunciation of Israel and a global ban on criticizing aspects of the Islamic faith.

“As soon as he started to address the question of the Jewish people and Israel, we had no reason to stay in the room,” said French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei.

Speaking directly after Ahmadinejad, Norway’s foreign minister said the Iranian leader’s comments “run counter to the very spirit of dignity of the conference.”

Watch the ABC News report here.

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April 20, 2009 | 11:35 am

Obama and friends celebrating the Seder

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I neglected to post this photo two weeks ago of the White House Seder that President Obama hosted. That’s the leader of the free world reading from the Haggadah.

For a high-res version, click here.

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April 18, 2009 | 6:25 pm

‘B.C.’ to publish collection of religious-themed comics

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

“Do you believe in heaven and hell?”

Johnny Hart’s comic strip “B.C.” has always had its religious themes. Next month, you’ll be able to find them compiled in a book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Here’s the word from the publisher:

Any reader can find him or herself in the cast of cavemen and women: humble B.C., Peter the Philosopher, one-legged Wiley, or the strong and intimidating Fat Broad. These characters, combined with Hart’s gift of using an ancient setting for modern commentary, made B.C. a goldmine for hilarious comics on any number of subjects. By his own admission, however, the famed cartoonist’s favorite strips were those that involved matters of faith.

“I Did It His Way” represents the realization of one of Hart’s deepest desires.  When Hart passed away the day before Easter 2007, he was hard at work on gathering these religious strips into a collection to share with his readers. His daughter, Perri, coordinated efforts with his wife, Bobby, to make the collection a reality, “This book is a dream that Johnny and I shared,” remembers Bobby. “I knew I had to finish our dream.”

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April 17, 2009 | 7:37 pm

Mel Gibson’s faithfulness

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Mel Gibson is back in the limelight thanks to divorce proceedings started Monday by his wife. ABC News comes up with this headline: “Philandering Fundamentalist? Mel Gibson’s alleged infidelity doesn’t seem to mesh with his staunch Catholicism.”

No duh. Though I wouldn’t call his traditionalist theology “staunch Catholicism.” More like backwards Catholicism, or, put more diplomatically, pre-Vatican II Catholicism.

For past stories on Gibson, check out “Entertainment Weekly goes Church Lady” and “Mel Gibson still Hollywood’s star Christian.”

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April 17, 2009 | 5:03 pm

Jets home schedule forgets about the Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

J-E-T-S—Jets! Jets! Jets! Or so the cheer goes. But maybe somebody in New York needs to learn how to spell Jews.

When the NFL season schedule was released yesterday, Gary Stern found that a quarter of the New York Jets’ home games—that’s two of eight—overlap with the holiest days of the Jewish year. Stern writes:

The Jets’ home opener is on Rosh Hashanah and their second game, also at home, will end on the eve of Yom Kippur.

The NFL offices are in NYC, so you would think someone there knows that there are a lot of Jews in New York.

Jets owner Woody Johnson isn’t happy. In a letter to the league, he wrote: “I am extremely disappointed with the league’s decision to schedule us to play at home on consecutive Sundays that are in direct conflict with the Jewish High Holy Days. There has long been an understanding that neither the Jets not the Giants fans should have to bear completely the brunt of this issue since we are in the largest Jewish market in the country.”

Unlike the Jets, the New York Giants thought ahead and requested road games for those two days.

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April 17, 2009 | 4:04 pm

USC to save Hebrew Union College?

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I knew the folks at USC loved the Jews—but enough to save HUC’s L.A. campus from closure?

A source told Jewish Journal editor-in-chief Rob Eshman that the University of Southern California and Hebrew Union College-Jewish institute of Religion, which already share some faculty and facilities, are working on a deal to fold the L.A. campus into USC as a Jewish studies program.

“Its a win win,” the source said. “HUC gets a big chunk of money for what it owns—about a block of prime real estate by the USC campus—and USC gets to solidify a Jewish studies and outreach program that it has been building for some time now.”

USC would no doubt be interested in that property, which sits between the Greek houses and the USC campus. How would this happen? Well, the source told Rob that Stanley Gold—chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a past chair of the boards of trustees at both HUC-JIR and USC—is helping make it happen.

“All roads lead to Gold,” the source said.

This is all unconfirmed right now. I’d call Gold to verify, but Rachel Heller is already doing that, and I don’t like stepping on toes. Even if it’s true, I’ve got to imagine discussion will be pretty hush-hush.

*Updated: More on the HUC campus closure story from The Jewish Week. A sampling regarding a letter sent before last week’s:

In an earlier letter to the college community, written last month, Rabbi Ellenson had warned: “Unless conditions improve quickly and significantly, the projections for the next several years could be even worse [than this year’s $3 million loss]. We cannot sustain such losses and survive.”

But the rabbi said the structural changes to be considered in the 134-year-old institution should turn things around.

“I have every confidence we will emerge from this a stronger institution,” Rabbi Ellenson told The Jewish Week on Monday.

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April 17, 2009 | 3:41 pm

Reflecting on the J Street lobby

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

J Street started a year ago as a Jewish lobby for doves. There was some criticism of the group then, and I still hear some today. Most memorably, J Street attacked then-president candidate John McCain for “exploiting the Holocaust” and releasing a survey of American Jewish attitudes.

A year in, The Washington Post reviews J Street’s record and finds that the PAC has dramatically exceeded expectations. An excerpt:

In a break with common practice among U.S. Jewish groups, J Street has not been shy about aggressively criticizing Israeli leaders. This month, the group launched an unusual YouTube video accusing new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of running a “racist and incendiary” election campaign and alleging that many U.S. Jewish leaders are “whitewashing what Lieberman stands for.”

David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, told the Jewish Week newspaper that such criticism “doesn’t help Israel.”

J Street also came under fire for loudly criticizing Israel’s recent military incursion against the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip. “While there is nothing ‘right’ in raining rockets on Israeli families or dispatching suicide bombers, there is nothing ‘right’ in punishing a million and a half already-suffering Gazans for the actions of the extremists among them,” J Street wrote in a message to its members.

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, called J Street’s position on the Gaza conflict “morally deficient, profoundly out of touch with Jewish sentiment and also appallingly naïve.”

One of J Street’s biggest targets is Washington’s preeminent pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has more than 100,000 members and spent $2.5 million on lobbying last year. J Street, by contrast, has spent little on lobbying so far; AIPAC does not directly contribute to candidates as J Street does.

AIPAC declined to comment on J Street or its aims. But Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the new group has a long way to go before it can rival AIPAC, which has often taken hawkish positions on Israeli defense issues.

“AIPAC has found a way over a half-century to tremendously energize people about their mission,” Alterman said. “Can J Street build a donor base who believe that it is something that is vital in the way that AIPAC does? I don’t know if that’s possible.”

You can read the rest here.

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April 17, 2009 | 2:54 pm

Imagining a world of Christian video games

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Redmond Carolipio found a pretty funny blog post at Live Granades. It’s called “If Christians Made Vidoegames Like We Make Shirts.”

Red writes:

You must see this and feel the power yourself. Be sure to leave your arrow on the picture to see the sweet captions.

Personally, I’m all about “God of Love.” If Jesus is rocking the pitchfork in the game, I am SO upgrading the crap out of it. Eat it, Blades of Chaos.

I think I’m more of a “Tomb Raider: Magdalene” man.

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