Obama, Big Pharma, & you (mimus you)

Newsweek

So it looks as though we are going to get a health-care-reform bill. Now the question is whether it will be reform, or "reform": whether it will improve the way we care for people in this country or, for the most part, be a taxpayer-funded boon to the warped and wasteful industry we already know. Call me naive or cynical—or both—but I can't quite get my mind around the notion that the way to bring "change we can believe in" is to cut an upfront deal with Billy Tauzin.  (Click here to follow Howard Fineman).

Nothing against Billy, of course. At 66, Wilbert Joseph "Billy" Tauzin II is what he is: a Louisiana politician and former congressman with the Bayou-bred knack for cloaking brainpower and bare-knuckle tactics in bonhomie; a masterful mixologist of power and money; and, since 2005, the president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which he joined (for a reported $2.5 million a year) shortly after playing the key congressional role in enacting a Medicare prescription-drug plan that is a bonanza for the industry he now (officially) serves.

Barack Obama ran on the claim that he would be the new sheriff in town, that he and his posse of fresh-faced Rhodes Scholars would tame the capital's ruling class. But the first thing that he and his tacticians, Rahm Emanuel and Jim Messina, did on health care was to strike a bargain with Tauzin. Big Pharma, it was agreed last June, would kick in $80 billion over 10 years to help shrink the "donut hole" in seniors' Medicare prescription-drug coverage and would spend $150 million on a pro-reform ad campaign. In exchange, the White House would oppose congressional attempts to extract more, and would specifically fight two common-sense, long-overdue reforms that Big Pharma fears most: allowing imports of cheaper drugs and empowering Medicare to negotiate directly with the industryto keep prices down, as the VA long has done. The administration has similar understandings with other stakeholders, such as the hospital and doctors' groups—and still hopes to engineer one with the health insurers. [...[

Ebay offers honeycake from Skverrer Rebbe

EBAY

Sex offenders barred from places of Worship

Time

North Carolina is a proud member of the so-called Bible Belt of states that take their religion seriously. So some eyebrows were raised when James Nichols was arrested for attending church.

His offense? Nichols, a convicted sex offender, had chosen to worship at a church that has a nursery where kids play while their parents pray. Now Nichols, 31, who only recently got out of prison, is fighting back, challenging the legality of a new law that took effect in December prohibiting registered sex offenders from coming within 300 ft. — nearly a football field's length — of any facility devoted to the use, care or supervision of minors. (See pictures of John 3:16 in pop culture.)

As more states have adopted laws regulating where sex offenders can go, it was only a matter of time before the noble goal of protecting children butted heads with the sacrosanct First Amendment right to worship where and when you choose. Which takes precedence? [...]

Change in the Arab Middle-East

CNN

The Arab Middle East teaches minorities some tough life lessons and shapes them in ways that might surprise you. While the effect of a conservative patriarchal society is expected to keep people under the thumb of tradition, culture and tribal and religious beliefs — sometimes too much oppression and control yields opposite results.

Having lived in several parts of the Middle East as a child, I learned that a woman doesn't exist except as someone's daughter, sister, wife or mother. Her opinion is not required, her emotions don't count and she has no rights whatsoever – except those granted to her by a male.

With a few recent exceptions, an Arab woman's testimony is not accepted in court. Most Arab women can't travel outside their countries without permission from a male guardian, and most Arab women still can't give nationality to their children. In Saudi Arabia women are not even allowed to drive cars. A popular Arabic saying describes it best: a good woman "has a mouth that eats but not one that speaks." [...]

Gra: Torah comes from the poor - not the rich

כתר ראש אורחות חיים

סח] הזהרו בבני עניים שמהם תצא תורה' [נדרים פא.], והיינו שבני עניים מקבלים פעולה בהישיבה יותר מבני העשירים, מפני שאבותיהם לא הרבו עליהם בהוצאות שכר למוד ונשאר אצלם הכל בכח ובהישיבה מוציאים מכח אל הפועל, ולא כן בני חעשירים. שכבר הוציאו עליהם למלמדים מופלגים כו׳ כל מה שהיה בכוחם הוציאו אל הפועל, ומזה תקיש לשאר אופניםל פ ):

לט)להתחבר עם עניים והמתנהגים בשפלות, ולישב עמהם בכדי שיסתפק במה שימצא את עצמו (באור רבינו משלי ט״ז ייט) < וכמו מעשה דר״ע שמצא הצשיר יושב בין הנגניים.

Shabbos Elevators - view of Tzomet Institute

Shabbos Elevators Tzomet Oct 11 2009

Muslim Anti-Semite - formerly an Orthodox Jew

Fox News

A New York bicycle cabbie who last year used his Web site to mock the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl posted a prayer calling for the murder of Jews and exhorting Muslims to "throw liquid drain cleaner in their faces." And there's nothing authorities can do about it.

Yousef al-Khattab, who runs RevolutionMuslim.com and pedals a pedicab in New York City, insists the words he has posted on his Web site are a prayer, and not a threat — and that his hatred is protected by the First Amendment.

"If it was a threat, I'd be in jail," the 41-year-old al-Khattab told Foxnews.com from his home in Queens. "I'm asking my God, that's what it is. Every supporter of Israel is an enemy combatant and the immune system is not anti-Semitic for resisting disease."

Al-Khattab removed the Oct. 7 post a "few days ago" and replaced it with a post about a mosque in Jerusalem.

An American-born Jew formerly known as Joseph Cohen who converted to Islam after attending an Orthodox rabbinical school — al-Khattab called on Allah to carry out "wrath on the Jewish occupiers of Palestine & their supporters." [...]

Reporting abuse is becoming more acceptable

NYTimes (hat tip to Joseph & Efraim)


For decades, prosecutors in Brooklyn routinely pursued child molesters from every major ethnic and religious segment of the borough’s diverse population. Except one.

Of some 700 child sexual abuse cases brought in an average year, few involved members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community — about 180,000 followers of Hasidic and other sects who make up the largest such cluster outside Israel. Some years, there were one or two arrests, or none.

But in the past year, there have been 26. District Attorney Charles J. Hynes has brought charges against a variety of men — yeshiva teachers, rabbis, camp counselors, merchants and relatives of children. Eight have been convicted; 18 await trial. [...]

Virus might cause Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

NYTimes

Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome are infected with a little known virus that may cause or at least contribute to their illness, researchers are reporting.

The syndrome, which causes prolonged and severe fatigue, body aches and other symptoms, has long been a mystery ailment, and patients have sometimes been suspected of malingering or having psychiatric problems rather than genuine physical ones. Worldwide, 17 million people have the syndrome, including at least one million Americans.

An article published online Thursday in the journal Science reports that 68 of 101 patients with the syndrome, or 67 percent, were infected with an infectious virus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV. By contrast, only 3.7 percent of 218 healthy people were infected. Continuing work after the paper was published has found the virus in nearly 98 percent of about 300 patients with the syndrome, said Dr. Judy A. Mikovits, the lead author of the paper. [...]

ACORN legally extorts money from banks

Yahoo reports

WASHINGTON – Conservative Republicans are capitalizing on the troubles of community activist group ACORN — ranging from charges of voter registration fraud to embarrassing videos of its employees — to revive their long-standing fight against a federal law that grades banks on their investments in poor and minority neighborhoods.

The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act was intended to end redlining, a practice in which banks in effect walled off many inner-city neighborhoods from mortgage loans. But some GOP lawmakers say it has outlived its purpose and is being used inappropriately by ACORN to shake down banks for money. They want to repeal the law, scale it back or at least block a Democratic proposal to expand it.

Critics of the law are linking it to ACORN — a subject many Democrats wish would go away — at every opportunity. [...]

Advice & appeal for R' Tropper and his opponent

I wish to offer some gratuitious advice to both sides of what looks like an awesome battle of attrition with terrible waste of time, effort and opportunity for both sides. I speak as someone who admires both of you but at the same time has been viewed as an enemy by both of you. Thus I view myself as a neutral observer.

I wish to commend R' Tropper for the change of tone and/or commentators who are defending him. It certainly makes a much more positive and convincing impression than the previous.

As you are aware this blog is carefully monitored by both sides of the dispute. And thus you are able to get a feel for the arguments your opponent will likely use in court as well as a chance to test your own.

R' Tropper your previously posting was typified by arrogant rage i.e., you lost it. It clearly was to your detriment. Why you used that approach - despite having access to the top people in public relations is a real puzzle. Hopefully the current postive change will be permanent and we can respectfully talk and agree and disagree.

On the other hand, a word of free advice to the plaintiff. You are not doing yourself any good by your video's and photo spreads showing you associating with major Jewish icons and themes - while at the same time there is an equal number of video's and photo spreads showing what an outsider with money is capable of getting. You also severely damaged yourself by threatening to sue me in civil court for merely allowing discussion of the issues - despite the fact that the vast majority of posts were very positive. It wasn't consistent with the image of a sweet hearted do gooder that you have tried to cultivate. It was the steel fist without a velvet glove

You can't be an outsider and insider simultaneously. In sum your public relations department needs to be more reality oriented and be concerned with producing an authentic public image for you - instead of the caricature that they have succeeded.

Please remember what you acknowledged to me - that you have surrounded yourself with people whose main concern is to maintain influence over you and profit from you - not necessarily to do what is in your best interests.

What is occuring is that neither side has real supporters - the major concern of most is to watch the spectacle in the sense of Roman gladiators fighting each other to the death before a crowd of excited on lookers. It isn't too late to change the situation and to back off from confrontations in court - whether beis din or secular. Perhaps you can get a panel of arbitrators. There will be not be a clear winner in this dispute - but the Jewish people will clearly be losers. Instead of devoting both your enormous energies and talents to helping others - your energy is are being directed to destroy your hated opponent.

Schooling should not be started to soon

ספר החינוך מצוה תיט

מדיני המצוה מה שאמרו זכרונם לברכה [סוכה מ"ב ע"א], מאימתי מתחיל האב ללמד את בנו תורה, משיתחיל לדבר מלמדו תורה צוה לנו משה [דברים ל"ג, ד'], ופסוק ראשון מקריאת שמע שהוא שמע ישראל [שם ו', ד']. ואחר כך מלמדו מעט מעט מפסוקי התורה עד שיהא בן שש או בן שבע שמוליכו אצל מלמדי תינוקות. וראוי לכל בן דעת שיתן לבו שלא להכביד עול הילד בלימוד בעודנו רך האברים ורך הלבב, עד שיגדל ויתחזק כח לבו ותוקף אבריו, ועצמותיו ימלאו מוח, ויוכל לסבול יגיעת הלימוד ולא יקרנו חולי ההתעלפות בסיבת היגיעה רבה עליו, ואולם אחר התחזק כוחו ויאורו עיניו להבין לקול מוריו, אז ראוי וכשר הדבר ומחוייב להביא צוארו בעולה של תורה ולא ירפוהו ממנה אפילו כחוט השערה, ישקוהו תמיד מיין רקחה ויאכילוהו מדבשה.

Killing rapists to stop attack:R' Aviner

YNet

Fight off your attacker: Women attacked by rapists are permitted to kill them to ward off the attack, Beit El Chief Rabbi Shlomo Aviner ruled in a newsletter published Saturday.

“In either word or deed, fight him off. Yell out loud so that everyone can hear you. If he touches you, slap him. If he attempts to do worse, and there is no other choice, you can kill him…yes, kill him,” Rabbi Aviner wrote.

The rabbi also noted in his article that his advice falls well within the guidelines of Israeli law, which is also on his side. ”A young man broke into a woman’s apartment and wanted to have his way with her. She killed him and the court ruled that in this instance she had the right to use reasonable force in order to defend herself, and that her actions were justified.”

In an article entitled “Don’t Let Men Harass You” the Rabbi urges women to resist all forms of sexual harassment, either in word or deed, and advises women “to not allow men to treat them like an object for their own use and pleasure.” [...]

Rav Sternbuch warned against demonizing Hadassah

מכות ואלימות באמבולנס שפינה את הרב רוזנברגר

update