The Legacy Of Islamic Antisemitism by Andrew G. Bostom

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3256 Andrew G. Bostom is the author of the highly acclaimed The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims.

The Legacy Of Islamic Antisemitism by Andrew G. Bostom

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3256 Michael Finch, Janey Levy (from the Horowitz Freedom Center) introduce the night's speaker. Andrew G. Bostom is the author of the highly acclaimed The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance IV

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar!

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Jack Rio

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with Sean Kanan and Matthew Borlenghi from the new movie Jack Rio.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Judy Tenuta

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with Judy Tenuta comedian. She's working on a reality show. She has a new album coming out, "Try this again pigs!"

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Carmen Perez

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with singer/actress Carmen Perez.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Leyla Milani

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with Leyla Milani of Deal or No Deal.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Eva LaRue

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with Eva LaRue. Her friends produced this movie so she thought she'd tag along.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere - Carmen Perez

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Actress Carmen Perez discusses Hint water in Spanish at the Chasing Baja premiere.

HintTV: Chasing Baja Premiere

http://www.drinkhint.com Drink water, not sugar! Interview with Hollywood Wolf and Justice from American Gladiators. They discuss season two. They're out of training. Top rated NBC TV show. Energy. Adrenalin.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance III

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Frozen River Is A Beautiful Movie

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3213 This is an honest portrayal of poor people trying to make do the best they can on the border between Canada and the United States. They’re lured by the money to get into smuggling, which makes for an exciting movie. If they’d just kept working at minimum wage conventional jobs, I’d have fallen asleep.

The Wackness Is Dope

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3198 Kurt Cobain has just died. Rudolph Giuliani is cleaning up the city. The protagonist is named Luke Shapiro. What kind of name is that? The Talmud says "Luke" is among the most goyish names imaginable. Anyone named Luke must be bad for the Jews.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance II

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

David Corn Writes On Phil Gramm, Subprime Mess

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1094 Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. Talk about a market failure.

Credit Default Swaps

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1094 Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. Talk about a market failure.

Subprime Refinance Mess

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1094 Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. Talk about a market failure.

Phil Gramm & The Refinance Mess

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1094 Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. Talk about a market failure.

Who's To Blame For Refinance Mess?

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1094 Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. Talk about a market failure.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance III

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance II

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Avi Davis of American Freedom Alliance

http://www.americanfreedomalliance.org AFA hosts an international conference on academic freedom at USC June 15 and June 16. Speakers include Victor Davis Hanson, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt.

Holly Randall Live From Your Moral Leader's Hovel

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3178 I slip Holly Randall some extra-strong mint kosher chewing gum. She hates it. June 8, 2008. She'd just taken me to lunch at Milk N' Honey for my birthday. She reads and comments on the Jewish Journal's profile of me.

Holly Randall Builds Me Up, Buttercup

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3178 I slip Holly Randall some extra-strong mint kosher chewing gum. She sings with me, Build Me Up, Butter Cup.

Holly Randall Discovers She Hates Kosher Gum

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3178 I slip Holly Randall some extra-strong mint kosher chewing gum. She hates it. June 8, 2008. She'd just taken me to lunch at Milk N' Honey for my birthday.

Christina DeRosa Models For Hadaka Sushi III

http://www.hadakasushi.com “Sushi gone naughty” is the theme behind Hadaka Sushi. What does that mean exactly? The exotic menu includes rolls such as the G-Spot, as well as more intimate services where diners can literally eat the raw stuff off the body of a model.

Christina DeRosa Models For Hadaka Sushi III

http://www.hadakasushi.com “Sushi gone naughty” is the theme behind Hadaka Sushi. What does that mean exactly? The exotic menu includes rolls such as the G-Spot, as well as more intimate services where diners can literally eat the raw stuff off the body of a model.

Christina DeRosa Models For Hadaka Sushi II

http://www.hadakasushi.com “Sushi gone naughty” is the theme behind Hadaka Sushi. What does that mean exactly? The exotic menu includes rolls such as the G-Spot, as well as more intimate services where diners can literally eat the raw stuff off the body of a model.

Christina DeRosa Models For Hadaka Sushi

http://www.hadakasushi.com “Sushi gone naughty” is the theme behind Hadaka Sushi. What does that mean exactly? The exotic menu includes rolls such as the G-Spot, as well as more intimate services where diners can literally eat the raw stuff off the body of a model.

Hairdresser Frederic States IV

http://www.fredericstates.com After a stint at Prive, Frederic decided to create an environment where clients could actually relax while beautifying. The result: his home studio, a tranquil West Hollywood space, decorated with Moroccan and Indian elements (gauzy fabrics, big comfy pillows, and vibrant pinks, oranges, and reds).

Hairdresser Frederic States III

http://www.fredericstates.com After a stint at Prive, Frederic decided to create an environment where clients could actually relax while beautifying. The result: his home studio, a tranquil West Hollywood space, decorated with Moroccan and Indian elements (gauzy fabrics, big comfy pillows, and vibrant pinks, oranges, and reds).

Hairdresser Frederic States II

http://www.fredericstates.com After a stint at Prive, Frederic decided to create an environment where clients could actually relax while beautifying. The result: his home studio, a tranquil West Hollywood space, decorated with Moroccan and Indian elements (gauzy fabrics, big comfy pillows, and vibrant pinks, oranges, and reds).

Hairdresser Frederic States

http://www.fredericstates.com After a stint at Prive, Frederic decided to create an environment where clients could actually relax while beautifying. The result: his home studio, a tranquil West Hollywood space, decorated with Moroccan and Indian elements (gauzy fabrics, big comfy pillows, and vibrant pinks, oranges, and reds).

Carmody & Co Stationery Store In Pasadena

http://www.carmodynco.com/ I talk to store manager Marcie Pastre. "We are also happy to announce our new line of invitations, The Party Girl, by Karen Adams. Her creative style portrays unique designs for any special occasion!"

Carmody & Co Stationery Store In Pasadena

http://www.carmodynco.com/ I talk to store manager Marcie Pastre. Terry Clougherty, owner, is proud to display her store's new Truly Mom personal organizers and stationery, as pictured above.

I Died And Went To Clothes Heaven III

http://www.clothesheaven.com I interview Larayne L. Brannon at her Pasadena boutique Clothes Heaven, a designer resale clothing store. 626-440-0929 Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Escada, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Gautier, Prada, Gucci

I Died And Went To Clothes Heaven II

http://www.clothesheaven.com I interview Larayne L. Brannon at her Pasadena boutique Clothes Heaven, a designer resale clothing store. 626-440-0929 Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Escada, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Gautier, Prada, Gucci

I Died And Went To Clothes Heaven

http://www.clothesheaven.com I interview Larayne L. Brannon at her Pasadena boutique Clothes Heaven, a designer resale clothing store. 626-440-0929 Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Escada, Jil Sander, Calvin Klein, Gautier, Prada, Gucci

Who is Huma Abedin?

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3139 A 32-year old beauty of Indian and Pakistani parentage, better known as US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s "body person", is being wooed by a US lawmaker known for his anti-Muslim views.

Huma Abedin - Anthony Weiner

http://www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/huma_abedin.htm Who is Hillary Clinton's mysterious body person Huma Abedin? Huma is Muslim. She's spent half of her life in Saudi Arabia. Now she's supposedly dating a Jewish congressman.

I Survived The Shul Banquet

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3133 I had a good time. How embarrassing? How nerdy? How Modern Orthodox. Moshav Band. I start slinging around the circle faster and faster. "Which part of my body will give out first?" I wonder. "Will it be my knees or my heart? I’m gonna have a heart attack right here on the dance and they’re going to call an ambulance and rush me to Kaiser and then we’ll find out it was just a panic attack."

I Prepare For The Shul Banquet

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3133 Should I wear my tzitzit in or out? Should I wear my tefillin? My Borat speedo? Should I book a room at the Beverly Hilton? Should I take a taxi or jog? Should I talk to people or stand apart and read a book?

Mortgage Villains

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=1025 Bad guys. Wall Street. President Bush. Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Refinance Now

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=989 Wright says getting a fixed rate is a smart choice because, "Rates are good for one thing you can get 30 year fixed for approximately 6% very nominal fees most of us who follow rates are under the opinion rates can only go up from here."

UK Mortgage Crisis

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=991 Northern Rock is planning to more than double the number of people working in its debt management business in a move that will spark fresh fears of widespread repossessions over the coming year.

Mortgage Workouts

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=993 Students of that peerless chronicler of contemporary America, Tom Wolfe, would remember his modern epic, A Man in Full, which immortalised such "workout artistes" through Harry Zales, whose stock-in-trade is the art of deflating the ever-ballooning egos of big and mighty defaulters, like the protagonist Charlie Crocker, and making them eat out of his hands.

Refinance: Mortgages Rates Rise

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=990 Interest rates for long-term mortgages rose this week to their highest levels since March, pushed up by the threat of inflation. The national average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.08 percent for the week ending Thursday, up from 5.98 percent the week before, according to mortgage financing company Freddie Mac.

Kevin MacDonald - The Professor Anti-Semites Love

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3118 Historically, we have tended to benefit from niche businesses, such as banking during the primacy of Catholicism, when it was prohibited to Catholics, and entertainment during the primacy of Protestants, when they looked down on such businesses. We do tend to be far more visible, disproportionately to our numbers.

Rabbi Who Voided Druckman Conversions: Hearing And Speech Impaired Cannot Convert, Any Conversion Done Invalid

From FailedMessiah:

Basing himself of the halakhic idea that…

…deaf and dumb Jews are exempt from mitzvot, haredi Rabbi Avraham Sherman – a close follower of the haredi "gadol hador" Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv – ruled that people with severe hearing or speech problems cannot convert to Judaism.

In part, Rabbi Sherman's "logic" works like this:

1. A deaf or dumb person is exempt from mitzvah observance.
2. Converting to Judaism mean accepting on one's self the "yoke of the mitzvot" (commandments).
3. Since a deaf or dumb person is exempt from mitzvot, he cannot accept on himself the "yoke of mitzvot" he is exempt from observing.
4. Therefore, any conversion performed on a deaf or dumb individual is invalid.

Rabbi Sherman makes at least two clear errors:

1. He ignores modern Jewish legal decisions – including decisions from American haredi rabbis – that allow deaf Jews to be called to the Torah, and deaf and dumb Jews to be counted in a minyan, be married, and perform other mitzvot. (These rulings are based on several things, one of which is the ability – lacking in the pre-modern world – to educate and communicate with the deaf and dumb.
2. Secondly, "accepting the yoke of the commandments" does not mean a convert must observe every commandment. There are commandments few Jews will ever observe because the situation that calls for their observance does not exist for them. In other words, these commandments are situational – sending away the mother bird, for example or, for all of us today, offering sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. And women – who are also exempt from some mitzvot – can convert. They accept on themselves only the mitzvot women are required to keep. More fundamentally, there is no halakhic evidence that pre-haredi conversion meant observing every mitzvah that could be fulfilled. There was no concept of a convert observing every mitzvah from day one of his conversion.

A deaf or dumb person who converts does so because – like any true convert – he wants to join the Jewish people and share our common destiny.

In pre-haredi times, that meant walking away from idol worship and becoming a monotheist, accepting God and rejecting idols. Haredim have taken what was once a noble idea and trashed it.

Exempting deaf and dumb from mitzvot does not mean barring the deaf and dumb from Judaism.

The import of this ruling is much like the import of the ruling Sherman issued against Rabbi Druckman's conversions – and against Rabbi Druckman himself.

Because issues of personal status by Israeli law controlled by the Chief Rabbinate and the rabbinical courts, Jews who adopted babies only to find as the grew that the babies were deaf and dumb are now the adoptive parents of non-Jews. Deaf or dumb converts who married born Jews now must separate from their spouses, and, if the convert is a woman, their children are not Jewish.

Israel must immediately separate synagogue from state. There is simply no other choice.

Here is Rivkah Luvich's report:

Rabbi says deaf 'ineligible for conversion'
Those who cannot hear, cannot fulfill mitzvoth and therefore, believes rabbinical court in 2008, cannot convert to Judaism

Anyone inflicted with a severe hearing and speech impediment cannot undergo Jewish conversion. This harsh statement was recently made by Rabbi Avraham Sherman of the Chief Rabbinical Court, in a ruling now made public.

And so the story goes: Many years ago a deaf woman appeared before the Conversions Court and declared her desire to become a Jew so she could marry her Jewish love. The court ruled in the majority that there was no point in converting her, since the Halacha exempts the deaf from performing mitzvahs; and since the conversion would be rendered insignificant, there was no way to perform it.

The court's reasoning was that since the Halacha says that "one who is deaf, one who is young and one who is a simpleton shall be exempt form ordinance," the woman in deemed incapable of observing mitzvahs, thus incapable of accepting the burden of ordinance, which is the cornerstone of conversion.

Rabbi Shlomo Dichovsky, in the minority opinion, looked at the core issue of "accepting the burden of faith," and whether it should be considered a prerequisite for conversion or its essence. Dichovsky believes that the deaf can be converted. The woman's entitlement, he said, will not rest on the spiritual-practical plane of observing mitzvahs alone, but on the overall plane of being a part of the Jewish people.

"The appellant has every right to seek conversion since she resides and works among Jewish people," he wrote. "Conversion should be hers if she so wants it."

Rabbi Sherman, however, remained adamant: "Any conversion preformed on the deaf will have no spiritual bearing. Observing mitzvahs has nothing to do with the act of conversion, not should anyone refer to it as such. It is the impartation of being Jewish without the essence of Jewishness."

I was upset by his words. The thought that parts of Jewish law categorically prevent admission of the deaf into the flock sent shivers down my spine. What happens if a family wants to adopt a deaf child? The Rabbinical Court would not agree to convert the child. And what if a family wishes to convert and one of its sons is hearing impaired? Will the court convert all but one?

The thought that there are some among the nations who will not be able to become Jews because a physical impairment apparently renders them devoid of the spiritual capability to embrace Judaism's ordinance, shakes my Jewish world to its core.

This is not my Judaism.

Nor is it mine.

Why I Converted To Judaism

http://lukeford.net/ The son of a preacher man, I became interested in Judaism through listening to Dennis Prager on KABC AM 790 in Los Angeles.

Why I Believe In God

http://lukeford.net/ I was raised a Christian. I flirted with atheistic communism. I came to Judaism through Dennis Prager. Here are arguments I find compelling for belief in God. I have no proof.

How to tie your kangaroo down?

http://lukeford.net/ My brother Paul had a pet joey aka a baby kangaroo. Here's how he put it to sleep every night.

How to wrap tefillin

http://lukeford.net/ How to wrap tefillin (phylacteries). A step by step guide with all the blessings and instructions for the right kavannah (mindset).

Jackie Mason Bombs In London

From the Jewish Chronicle:

The organisers sold the event using Jackie Mason’s name as a draw, but in reality the audience Israel 60 Gala Show got a lot more excited about a lesser known performer on the night.

Sarit Hadad is Israel’s biggest pop star and even counts Madonna as a fan — but she is hardly known in the UK. So it came as a surprise that the young Zionists in the 7,500 -strong crowd last Thursday night went bonkers over her — singing along to the lyrics, waving their Israeli flags, and doing the conga in the aisles as she sung her brand of Middle Eastern-infused pop. The sense of solidarity in the audience was overwhelming.

When the 29-year-old singer-songwriter showed off her fast finger work on the darbuka (a Middle Eastern drum), it proved how versatile the former Eurovision Song Contest entrant is.

In comparison, the king of kosher comedy Jackie Mason went down like a lead gefilte fish. His jokes about Indian doctors, gay interior designers and “schwarzer” US presidential candidates felt dated and unfunny and caused some members of the audience to walk out. His impression of Henry Kissinger and an admittedly rather funny gag about Moshe Dayan proved how long he has been using this material.

The former rabbi got a few laughs as he delivered his punchlines which invariably included the words “putz” or “shmuck” or “yenta”, but mostly out of a kind of nostalgia.

His observation that Barack Obama had not done anything particularly noteworthy apart from being black — and even then he is only half-black as his mother is black but his father is white — verged on the offensive. No less questionable was his line: “If you ordered a black couch and something the colour of Barack Obama turned up, you wouldn’t be happy.”

His gags about Israelis not looking like they are related to the less than athletic Jews of the diaspora were well observed and relevant to the event. “In Israel they are tough Jews,” he said. “I know because when I saw them I thought they were Puerto Ricans.”

At certain points during his impressions, he descended into a series of splutters and spits, which were supposed to be funny but were actually an obvious cover for a lack of dexterity.

There was a sense that while British Jews hold Mason close to their hearts as the most demonstrably Jewish comic in the world and quite clearly pro-Israel with it, his performance here showed it is high time for him to give up the Borscht Belt act and hand over to the new generation of Jewish comedians.

Trembling Before God

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3029 My friends have a pure love? Not the friends I know. Trembling with excitement? Yeah, they’re trembling with excitement to get out from under the thumb of the rabbis. They’re trembling with excitement to no longer be vulnerable to the machinations of a Beit Din. They’re trembling with excitement to take back control of their lives.

Take A Shower Like A Woman

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3026 Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins. Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced with real passion fruit.

Is Religion Totalitarian?

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3020 And what the heck would happen if I started to get some of the things I was putatively praying for — fear of G-d, love of G-d, love of Torah, obedience to G-d’s commandments, distancing myself from evil men and slutty women?

European Rabbis Void Conversions Done By Rabbi Haim Druckman

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3036 Following the lead of Israel’s haredim, the largely haredi Conference of European Rabbis has voided every conversion done by Rabbi Haim Druckman and Israel’s Conversion Authority.

Reverse Mortgages

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=850 Over the last decade, low interest rates, of between 5 and 6 percent, spurred a frenzy of competition and led to "exotic" loan products that made it possible for almost anyone to buy a house.

Mortgage Recovery Will Be Slow

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=849 Repair and recovery of the U.S. mortgage markets will be a gradual process that demands both market and regulatory discipline, Federal Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner said today.

Into My Life

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3032 Though I present a facade of openness on my blog, I’m as wary as the next bloke about letting people into my life. Here are some ways people typically disqualify themselves from entering my life

Mortgages Crisis?

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=853 Bank balance sheets ballooned due to the inability to sell assets at the same time accounting rules drained capital. This required banks to slow lending when loans were most needed.

Mortgage Crisis

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=853 The meltdown in the subprime mortgage market has caused a great deal of turmoil in the financial markets and hardship for individual homeowners and financial institutions. If there is a banking crisis, I have seen no evidence of it.

Mortgages Blues

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=850 Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

US Home Prices Down 3% In First Quarter

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=851 U.S. house prices sank 3.1 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to a government report, as buyers waited for values to stop falling. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Should The Federal Reserve Intervene To Prevent Bubble Trouble?

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=855 "The Princeton squad argues that the Fed can and should try to restrain bubbles," the Journal wrote, "rather than following former Chairman Alan Greenspan's approach: watchful waiting while prices rise and then cleaning up the mess after a bubble bursts."

Israel's Conversion Controversy

Amy Klein writes:

In response, Rabbi Benjamin Lau, nephew of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the former chief rabbi of Israel, wrote an opinion piece in the newspaper, Ha'aretz.

Jewish Journal: What do you think the ramifications will be of the Ashkelon rabbinical court trying to annul Rabbi Haim Druckman's conversion?
Rabbi Benjamin Lau: First you have to understand the context: Nearly 30 years ago, the Israeli Rabbinate gave Rav Druckman and Rav Zefanya Drori the mandate to create special courts for conversion. Since then, thousands of people were converted to Judaism by these religious courts, and now this judge wanted to annul one of these conversions [which were sanctioned by the Rabbinate]. It started with one rabbi -- Rabbi Atia -- who wrote a few words dealing with the convert in his psak din [ruling], but the majority of it was terrible words about [Religious Zionist] Rav Druckman.
BL: It was an assault against him personally and against the Religious Zionists.

JJ: Can one 'undo' a conversion?
BL: It's a machloket [rabbinic dispute].

JJ: But what does this mean for the future of conversions? It's not just the Religious Zionists -- I think the majority of rabbis in Israel feel the needs of Israelis are so strong that we cannot play a game with the religious courts with those whose outlook is so narrow.

JJ: You are talking about the Lithuanians, a sector of the ultra-Orthodox.
BL: If we talk about all the religious people in Israel, 50 percent are what we call mesorat- traditional, who keep some mitzvot and make Kiddush, but maybe will drive on Shabbat, but have a connection to the religion. About another 25 percent are Religious Zionists, knitted kippah- wearing Jews. The remaining 25 percent of the religious are the Charedim [ultra-Orthodox], who live in a closed society, a ghetto.
BL: Yes. The Chief Rabbinate serves the State of Israel. If you work officially under the flag of Israel, you cannot be against it [as many ultra-Orthodox do not support the State of Israel]. Everyone who serves the State of Israel office should be a creative partner to the needs of the state.

JJ: Many Israelis have been complaining for a long time about the religious hijacking of life-cycle services, such as marriage, divorce, brit milah, conversions, etc. How would the Religious Zionists differ from the Lithuanians?
BL: The secular know that Religious Zionists are partners with them all the way. The secular and Religious Zionists are together -- this is a fact.

JJ: Are you aligned with Conservative and Reform groups in Israel, which are increasingly appealing to many who are turned off by the ultra-Orthodox?
BL: I must tell you as an Israeli rabbi, it's not an issue.
BL: We follow halacha, but we connect with a big smile. If you have good will, people find a way.

JJ: What does your uncle, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the former chief rabbi of Israel, think of your stance against the Lithuanians?
BL: I think about my uncle and his responsibility to all of klal Yisrael-the people of Israel, he serves all the people around the world.

JJ: Are you afraid?
BL: Afraid? I'm just a rabbi. How is Tzohar going to change the way things work in Israel?

JJ: What else is Tzohar doing? I learned the idea of community outside of Israel. It's unbelievable how late the idea of community [is in coming to] Israel.

JJ: Why do people in Israel need a community? Isn't Israel itself a community?
BL: We are talking about the cities. Settlements are communities. Kibbutzim are communities. Small towns are communities. But in the big cities, there are community rabbis, but most people are not in touch with them.

The idea of community is to break the walls between the sections -- if the regular synagogues serve the religious people, a secular person will never ever come into a synagogue. If you interview me in 20 years, the idea of community will have spread around the country.

Live With My Ex-GF Diana Klein

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=3000 Diana Klein aka Dyana and Luke were together in the Spring and summer of 1993. Things ended very badly. Now they chat live in Luke's cam room.

Will The Rubashkins Serve Time?

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2993 Monday’s raid on the Agriprocessors plant, in which 389 immigrants were arrested and many held at a cattle exhibit hall, was the Bush administration’s largest crackdown on illegal workers at a single site. It has upended this tree-lined community, which calls itself "Hometown to the World."

Refinance Abroad

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=800 Refinance abroad. Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Refinance: Easy Loans & Great Perils

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=799 This one got messed up by easy loans. Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Cincinnati Chabad Rabbi Sholom Kalmanson

On April 16, I got an email from somebody calling himself the "Satmarer Chosid" poking fun of Rabbi Kalmanson’s emotional speech about the rebbe (Rabbi Menachem Schneerson).

On April 17, I got more emails criticizing Rabbi Kalmanson.

I surfed the web and found a website where he got a ton of criticism.

On April 17, I emailed Rabbi Kalmanson for a response to these negative things said about him.

I did not hear back.

Today I finally got to speak with Rabbi Kalmanson.

He said he never received my email of April 17.

Luke: "I wanted to get your point of view."

Rabbi Kalmanson: "First you put all this shmutz about me on there and now you’re asking me for my point of view?"

"I would assume that one would try to get a second side or try to check something out unless there’s a motive here for all this?

"Anybody who is in the public eye as much as I am, literally traveling the globe, I have become a lightning rod. One item that you have there can you back up factually? Nothing. I challenge you to do that. Not that I have anything against you. I’m just trying to understand. What are the motives of this story?"

Luke: "I write a blog on Jewish life. The only motive is to try to find out what is true."

Rabbi Kalmanson: "All that you have there is dirt upon dirt upon dirt. You haven’t said one thing that may resemble some truths. If you were going to go looking, I’m sure you’d find some positives as well."

Luke: "I’m willing to go through things point by point."

We talk about my missing email of April 17.

Rabbi Kalmanson: "I’ve been dealing with media for many many years. I’ve been in the public eye for 40 years. It was brought to my attention last night by somebody. That was the first I’ve seen of it."

"Is there anything that you’ve written that you have an ounce of back-up? Even a shred?"

Luke: "I believe that all of it is accurate."

Rabbi Kalmanson: "Where do you have it accurate that the rebbe did or did not send me to serve under Rabbi [Zelig] Sharfstein?

"The rebbe sent me to Cincinnati. Rabbi Sharfstein never came to Cincinnati as a shaliach (emissary of the rebbe). Rabbi Sharfstein got married in 1956. Through Torah Mesorah as a work referral service, he came to the Chofetz Chaim Hebrew Day School in Cincinnati to become a teacher. He did not succeed. He became a principal to finish off the year. He did not succeed. Rabbi Silver, who was the chief rabbi at the time, took him in as a kosher supervisor. There he remained until an issue occurred.

"I was the one who saw to it that he got promoted to the rabbi of Nevalde Yeah (sp?). Nobody else did.

"The people who dealt with myself and the rebbe at the time have passed away. You may have heard the name of Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Reichitz (sp?)? He was an emissary of the rebbe to go to Rabbi Sharfstein’s father-in-law to not stand in the way of this particular shaliach [referring to Rabbi Kalmanson’s Cincinnati appointment for the rebbe]."

"I don’t really care. I just want to know what motive somebody in Los Angeles has to come forward and besmirch somebody.

"Let me ask you: If I am this big of a bumpkin, how come I am traveling around the globe speaking on behalf of issues of Chabad? Why would anyone emulate somebody who defied the rebbe? In Chabad, that would be the worst negative that you could talk about. Somebody defied the rebbe’s instructions? Would somebody in Chabad emulate a person like that?"

Luke: "That’s a good point."

Rabbi Kalmanson: "I travel to Israel, Australia, England, around the globe, all 50 states. If I was as big of a bum as you make me out to be? If I defied the rebbe’s will, I don’t think anybody would bother with me. I would be laid away somewhere like many other people. There are thousands of shalichim (emissaries for Chabad) around the world. Some are quieter than others. Some are just going on with their routine daily lives and nobody remembers that they are there with the exception of something occurs."

"Every person who is high profile has enemies. You become a lightning rod."

"Can you tell me one place where I have wasted money? And have needed someone else to manage my money? That was a statement in the blog."

Luke: "I quote from another blog that you are the only person to open and then close two educational institutions."

Rabbi: "Really? First of all, the yeshiva is open. I don’t know what you’re talking about. On the other hand, I will show you hundreds of institutions around the world. This is no different than any other business. If a person sits and does nothing, you can’t fail.

"The girls’ school didn’t close because of failure. My wife who was running it got breast cancer. She couldn’t run it at that time. That nobody’s telling you.

"That there are 15 or 20 other institutions in the city that are open under my auspices, that nobody talks about. That are very successfully running."

"Don’t you see through the dirt and the garbage?"

Luke: "I’m hearing what you’re saying and I’m taking careful notes."

"So the only schools that have closed?"

Rabbi: "Let me explain to you something… We have a successful Chabad house in the Amberley area. That’s the regional headquarters. We have a successful Chabad house in Mason and on the campus [of Ohio State?], we have a successful institution in Blue Ash, in Dayton, we have a Russian center, we have several synagogues running here… We have a mesivta — a yeshiva high school running. We have a cheder. We have a successful summer camp with 300 or 400 children. We have a separate winter camp. It’s the only American Camping Association accredited camp in this region.

"Just from this alone, tell me where my failures are?"

Luke: "I could not. Let me come back to you. Let me talk to my sources."

Rabbi: "You shouldn’t be taking anonymous garbage. If somebody is bold enough to make an accusation against somebody, let them stand up and say it openly. If I get mad at you, I can call some other blogger and make anonymous accusations against you. Obviously I don’t have to live up to any standards. If I want to besmirch somebody, I’ll do it straight to their face."

"I could call you up and say that so-and-so slept with somebody’s wife. Are you going to then print it? If you want to have some semblance of credibility, things should be checked out, or at least call the other side before you put it on the blog and see what he has to say. You can be like a journalist and provide both sides."

"From what I’ve told you now, you can check me out. Check to see how many institutions are running successfully under me."

Luke: "I’m going to do what you say and then I’ll come back to you."

Internet entrepreneur Richard J. Gordon

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2997 TRIBUTES on the Web site of Richard J. Gordon‘s company strike all of the uplifting chords one would expect of a digital maverick.

What happened to Luke Ford?

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2999 What’s going on with pioneer blogger and charismatic Internet personality Luke Ford? The Woodstein of the pornography industry-turned-conflicted Orthodox Jew has always been a controversial figure, but as long as we’ve known him, he’s also been a well-groomed, camera-ready media star.

Israel Funds Its First Reform Temple

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2998 In Modiin, Israel, the first state-funded non-Orthodox synagogue has just opened. Though Orthodox congregations routinely get funding from the government for buildings, upkeep and even rabbi’s salaries...

David Sacks Has The Sweetest Torah

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2994 Born and raised in New York City, David Sacks attended Harvard College, graduating with a degree in Government in 1984. While there he began his comedy writing career as an editor of the school’s humor magazine, The Harvard Lampoon. Upon graduating, David moved to Los Angeles and began writing for television.

Refinance UK

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=822 Scots paying highest rates. Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Refinance Australia

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=821 Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Refinance Your Mortgage

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=823 Refinance, Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Refinance Misery Another's Gain

http://refinancemortgagenow.net/blog/?p=819 Refinance misery, Reverse mortgage. Credit score, money in the bank, clean up your credit, pay the fees. Home equity loan, refinance mortgage rates, refinance house, homerefinance, debt consolidation, loan mortgages, home loans

Rabbis Avi Weiss, Marc Angel Launch New Orthodox Rabbis Group

http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2998 Rabbi Avi Weiss and Rabbi Marc Angel have launched a new group for Orthodox rabbis called the International Rabbinic Fellowship, which they hope can be an answer to the Rabbinic Council of America and its constant edging to the right.

Every Mitzvah Is A Big Mitzvah

As I lay down on my blankets on the floor, she takes a seat.

"I just went to Torah classes," she said. "I learned that we never know how profound a mitzvah can be."

I pat a spot next to me.

"No," she says. "I just came back from a Torah class. I'm not doing that with you anymore. We're just friends.

"We sometimes think, 'What's the big deal with foregoing some pleasure?' But every mitzvah profoundly affects us and the universe. Every mitzvah helps heal the shattered vessels."

We toss the football back and forth until it falls between us.

She gets up, picks up the football, looks at me, and reluctantly sits beside me.

"I'm only sitting," she says. "So I don't have to yell across the room."

I rub her back.

She sighs.

"I want to play with you," she says, "but first I need to cover that."

She takes a towel but it is too heavy to hang over my Jerusalem poster.

"Don't worry about it," I say. "That's stupid."

"No, I can't look at that if I'm going to be naughty."

I throw her a sheet. She drapes it over the tacks and covers the poster.

Every mitzvah is a big mitzvah.

Joanna Angel - Yeshiva Girl Turned Adult Star

http://www.lukeford.net Joanna Angel went to yeshiva through 8th grade. She was raised an Orthodox Jew. She graduated from Rutgers with a degree in English and became a tattooed Adult star.

What Are The Advantages Of Plastic Bags Vs. Paper?

Here's a report with a lot of links:

Today’s ‘Grab Bag’ on The Whole Foods’ Greenwashing- Campaign

Some little known facts that the average consumer should know, but probably doesn’t…

While there may be some debate on the environmental benefits of Paper V Plastic Bags, see here and here (I know, don’t yawn) I intend to showcase some of the lesser known facts in this debate, such as:

Paper bags are a hidden tax on the consumer, I pinged a grocery store purchase manager in regard to the additional cost to switch from plastic bags to paper bags. According to my source, plastic bags cost about 1 cent per bag. Paper bags without handles cost more than 6 cents per bag. The outfit for whom he works has a few less than 150 stores, and he says it would cost them an additional $14,642,600 dollars to convert to paper bags. Whole Foods has 270 stores. You do the math, and guess who pays? And you wondered why shoppers call it ‘Whole Paycheck’?

Speaking of their well earned moniker, SLATE Magazine ran a story entitled ‘The Dark Secrets of Whole Foods’ which suggests that even the socially conscious media can’t resist labeling Whole Foods "Whole Paycheck" and "wholesome, healthy for the wholesome, wealthy"— while detailing why WALMART, yes, WALMART may be the bigger democratizing force in bringing organic food to the masses. In other words, nothing that we didn’t already know (do you detect a slight bias towards lower prices, you’re right).

Even granola crunching left wing media bias seems to suggest that there are doubts among the faithful:

The Georgetowner’s (Epitome of Upper Crust, Left Wing Bluebloods – in other words, Whole Foods’ Target Demographic) Online edition posted the first week of March included the following little gem.

# # #

The Georgetowner.com

March 7, 2008

EDITORIAL

Beware of Green Band Aids By Claire Sanders Swift

In these “super green” times, if people and businesses want to make the world a betterplace, they’d better start paying attention to the real facts behind the flashy marketingcampaigns and put their resources into proven long term solutions. Case in point: the “evil”plastic bags being “bagged” in Whole Foods’latest campaign are being replaced with “100%”recyclable and “recycled” paper bags. No matter how good this sounds, it is misleading.

Presenting paper packaging as the answer to our lifelong environmental woes is a short termband-aid to a long term problem. Americans consume more than 10 billion paper bags each year (according to the Wash Post.). But those paper bags came from some 14 million trees, which are cut down annually for paper bag production.

Environmentalists argue that these are renewable resources. Are all these trees replanted? And not all paper bags are necessarily made from “100%” recycled paper in the fi rst place either. A new study claims paper bags generate more greenhouse gasses,will consume more energy and pollution anduse more fossil fuels than plastic bags. And the EPA says paper bags have about the samechance of getting recycled as the plastic bags out there now.

And they may not even get recycled in the first place. If a recyclable product is tainted with food, paper or plastic, it goesstraight to the dump.

And what happens at the dump is surprising too. Paper doesn’t deteriorate like we thinkit does many times. Garbage expert William Rathje, founder of

The Garbage Project at TheUniversity of Arizona, makes the point that paper does not necessarily degrade rapidly inlandfills.

According to the EPA, the “current research demonstrates that paper in today’slandfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does. Infact, nothing completely degrades in modernlandfill due to the lack of water, light, oxygen,and other important elements that are necessary for the degradation process to be completed.”

Over the years billions of dollars have been spent designing campaigns for recycling.Through all the hoopla and fanfare the hard truth is, it’s expensive to recycle and takes serious effort from start to finish. It requires resources (real money), clean products and communitycommitment to get recyclables from their recycling bins to their actual recycling destinationsand back to the consumer. It’s a serious, smart effort by the community that goes past the campaigning.

Bottom line? Don’t assume that the “100% recyclable paper bags” or the “green” stamp ofapproval is the answer to our world’s energy and environmental problems. Instead of “stompingout”, or “banning” or “bagging” for short term solutions like paper packaging, real efforts needto be spent on researching and implementing creative ways of reducing, reusing or recyclingfrom beginning to end to get where we need to go.

Love to hear from you, my readers, more examples of WF Hypocrisy…where are you when we need you CorpWatch.org?

I'm Still Live On My Cam!

I'm chatting with 18yo Emma from Ireland and the publisher of a Jewish newspaper in the MId-West.

Join the conversation.

YourMoralLeader: I'm not like other men who are so visually driven and hounded by their base urges
YourMoralLeader: Emma, you are the queen of my chat room. Anyone you want booted, you just say the word!
Emma: Lol
Emma: Thats your job Luke
YourMoralLeader: I want to protect your virtue!
Emma: lol... thanks :)
Emma: Nice shirt
guest6: You really do this. On webcam all the time? - Wow
Emma: hehe
guest6: I read your book "Yesterday's news tomorrow."
guest6: I enjoyed it.
guest6: I am a publisher of a Jewish paper in the midwest.
YourMoralLeader: wow
YourMoralLeader: very cool
guest6: Do you make any money from your books?
YourMoralLeader: Can we do an interview for my blog about your experiences in Jewish journalism?
YourMoralLeader: Very little
YourMoralLeader: Sum total from all five, less than $3000
guest6: Or is it more from your "industry" work?
YourMoralLeader: I've made most of my money from writing on porn, yes.
YourMoralLeader: But quit that six months ago.
Emma: lol
YourMoralLeader: so now I live off credit cards
guest6: I may not be the best one for this. I am not Alana Newhouse.
YourMoralLeader: and escort work!
YourMoralLeader: how many papers you print each week?
YourMoralLeader: yeah, she's hot and funny
guest6: I started the paper here. It competes with a PR rag.
YourMoralLeader: how many papers you print each week?
guest6: I come out twice a month. It sucks. I am the pub, the editor, the layout designer and many time reporter of breaking news
GUAPO: what it do!
guest6: We are a small two person operation. I am considering getting out of it. the "Calling" is gone.
guest6: I am also a member of the local Orthodox community, so I enjoyed your observations.
GUAPO: yo feelin well today luke?
YourMoralLeader: 6, it is a tough road, not much $$$
GUAPO: yeah luke i felt that anger in you yesterday son

I'm Live On My Cam And Taking Questions!

From my cam chat:

Emma: Luke is sunbathing
924BiggestFan: lmao is that him
RussianDragon: what a sight
Emma: lol
Emma: yeah
Emma: Its him
924BiggestFan: lmao
Emma: Whats funny?
Emma: lol
924BiggestFan: hehe
Emma: He looks like a simpson…the colour I mean
924BiggestFan: yeah he does
Emma:
Emma: It’s his camera
924BiggestFan: how long has he been out there
Emma: 10 minutes
924BiggestFan: k
924BiggestFan: looks hot there
churchchime: yeah lol its bart waiting to ki ck ball ……………………….
Emma: Are you female biggest?
924BiggestFan: yeah
Emma: I havn’t been sleeping very well latley
RussianDragon: about 23h
churchchime: isnt it rude to have the host to leave?
RussianDragon: but when i’m talking to interesting people
Emma: What do you mean Church?
RussianDragon: i make exception
Emma: lmao Luke
Emma: He is actually gonna sleep there
Emma: Won’t he turn into a crisp?
RussianDragon: probably
Emma: Oh no
RussianDragon: crispy jew
Emma: lol
Emma: omg lol
Emma: Does look nice there
Emma: wb Lukenese, german
Emma: Your upside down
Emma:
YourMoralLeader: Emma, you’ve turned my world upside down
Emma: gee
Emma: Lol
Emma: Oh smooth Luke
RussianDragon: uhm some polish
Emma: Very smooth

QuietStorm: how can you "think" to write your blog while watching the conversation in the chat??
QuietStorm: avon calling
Gina: can we come too?
QuietStorm: you look rather pained now Luke
Emma: Wb Mysteryman
MysteryMan: He is pained because he has read that article discussing that Muslims now outnumber Roman Catholics, and he fears for his patrimony
MysteryMan: A world with more Muslims than Catholics is a world that is especially perilous to the Jew.
Emma: Gee wizz
MysteryMan: Ireland too, knows of this invasion.
MysteryMan: In fact, a paranoid Jew might regard liberal immigration policies as a form of antisemitism.
QuietStorm: Hey, is this SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE or something???
MysteryMan: His old lady on the phone again
QuietStorm: hey MM shalom
MysteryMan: "We are too weak to attack the Jews ourselves, too lazy, also. So let’s admit a few million fecund muslims to do the job for us"
MysteryMan: This is antisemitism, v3.0
MysteryMan: Hitler like Islam.
MysteryMan: I have read it in his Table Talk and in Mein Kampf
YourMoralLeader: How do you guys feel about a Torah sage sucking on a lollipop while listening to a Torah lecture?
MysteryMan: Evocative of fellation and pedophillia
QuietStorm: please repeat that ???
Emma: Its strange that someone would actually do that
MysteryMan: Likely such a person might be thinking impure thoughts for which another concentric ring of provity must be erected
MysteryMan: Since it looks bad, no sucking on anything in a shul
MysteryMan: Better safe than sorry

MysteryMan: Any other questions?
QuietStorm: I get it….MysteryMan is Luke
MysteryMan: Shhhhhhh
MysteryMan: Rumors
MysteryMan: Luke has been mistaken for all sorts of characters in years past.
MysteryMan: None of which he was so far as I know
Gina: it sucks.. not good middot
MysteryMan: Rabbis should also not have vaginal orificies, whether they were born with them or not

Whole Nonsense

Whole Foods needs to consider a name change. "Whole Nonsense" more accurately describes their recent campaign to "educate" the public about the company's use of 100% recycled paper bags. Whole Foods wants people to believe that this effort is new or extraordinary; it's not. If anything, the company is guilty of having perpetuated a gross lie: that plastic bags are more expensive or harmful to the environment. The facts tell a completely different story -- information Whole Foods has not disclosed to its consumers! These "100%" recycled paper bags are a way for Whole Foods to generate easy PR and boost their bottom line. Nothing more. Message to consumers: stay away from these tactics.

Ray Haynes writes for the Examiner:

Washington DC (Map, News) - Every year companies pull out their green camouflage as Earth Day approaches. That's happening now as corporate titans lead the battle to ban plastic bags in the name of environmental protection. But what they really are trying to protect are their profits and greenwash their reputations.

While there are so many meaningful ways to improve the environment, legislators target a symbol - a plastic grocery bag - to try to promote an environmental agenda.

For instance, the biggest paper bag maker in the country is Duro Bag Manufacturing Co. The firm's interest is obvious: Outlaw its competition to increase its profits.

It's a wonderful scam. Arguing for a plastic ban allows Duro to mask its self-interest with eco-rhetoric. The company, which might be one of the biggest consumer of trees in the nation, is selling an image more than a product.

A similar game is being played by Whole Foods Market, which made a big, noisy splash announcing that it was phasing out use of plastic bags.

Proclaimed the company press release, the firm was "The first U.S. supermarket to commit to completely eliminating disposable plastic grocery bags to help protect the environment and conserve resources."

Naturally, Whole Foods is selling reusable bags as a replacement. The company also pledged to continue offering paper bags of "100 percent" recycled materials.

It's all marketing hype. The paper bags used by Whole Foods come from Duro, and only consist of 40 percent "post consumer" content, which is roughly the same as every other paper bag on the market.

Whole Foods has not been clear how it will report its use of paper or its sale of reusable bags. Whole Foods has not been transparent, or honest about the content of its bags in the media or about the harmful environmental impact of recycled paper.

Moreover, in the search for marketing bang, these companies ignore the basic fact that plastic bags can be recycled. Indeed, it costs an incredible 91 percent less to recycle equivalent weights of plastic and paper, and the plastic recycling market is growing as consumers become aware of the option.

Plastic bags, made from natural gas, also are tree-friendly. In contrast, the production of even "recycled" paper bags requires constant infusions of virgin timber. Countless more trees will die so Whole Foods can provide its customers with paper bags.

It takes about 40 percent less energy to make plastic bags, which generate about 80 percent less waste than paper sacks. Producing plastic bags also gives off just 40 percent of the greenhouse gases as producing paper ones.

So if plastic is better than recycled paper, what is Whole Foods really up to? Profits are crumbling, the acquisition was a disaster, this is a publicity stunt to deflect attention from the real issue. This is about economics, not the environment.

They've been caught red handed participating in the worst corporate sin in the eyes of the environmental community by trying to re-brand itself as the ultimate good corporate citizen, sacrificing its interests on behalf of the environment.

The result, it obviously hopes, will be increased sales, market share, and profits. For the uninitiated, the term is "green washing." The company needs that kind of boost.

Last year, Whole Foods purchased a smaller competitor, Wild Oats. The marriage does not appear to be entirely happy, as Whole Foods' profits during the first quarter of this year were down 27 percent.

Two years ago the company came under fire for betraying its purported commitment to corporate social responsibility by stifling dissident shareholders who wanted to raise controversial questions at the meeting.

Obviously, Duro Bag is entitled to sell its bags and Whole Foods is entitled to stock whatever bags it wishes. But neither company should mislead the public about the environmental impact of its actions.

Americans are going green. But they need the facts to make wise decisions. Unfortunately, most of what they've been hearing about the difference between paper and plastic bags has been marketing spin. No one should decide for the consumers, armed with the facts; they will make the right choice.

Ray Haynes served in the California legislature from 1992-2006 as a Senator and Assemblyman, and was the National Chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council in 2000.

News Flash: Reporters Woefully Ignorant About Finance

Kudos to Matthew Vadum for exposing the intellectual laziness of Reuters, in its attacks against payday loans. Rather than do some modest research, or even display a modicum of objectivity, Reuters (like many other news organizations) would rather attack these loans. Never mind the millions of people who use these services, or the independent studies that support the use of payday lending as a vital means of financial support. Thankfully, Vadum lets readers know that Reuters has a partisan agenda -- an agenda that comes at the expense of truth and decent reporting. For shame.

Matthew Vadum writes:

As a recovering journalist, it has always amazed me how little journalists, even those specializing in financial reporting, know about the basic principles of economics. Similarly, it has always fascinated me how otherwise reasonable reporters can be reduced to self-righteous anti-capitalist ideologues, spouting the kind of anti-market drivel that one might have heard at a Communist Party meeting in the 1930s.

Nowadays journalists routinely attack lenders who take a chance on the poor. Take the case of “‘Pay day’ loans exacerbate housing crisis,” an article by Nick Carey of Reuters. In it, Carey lectures his readers, identifying with certainty what is making the “housing crisis” worse. The culprit he identifies is the payday lending industry, a subset of the subprime sector so regularly vilified by liberals, including Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Subprime lenders are the Devil incarnate to the mainstream media, and especially so when people are nervous about the economy. The media is currently saturated with stories about subprime lending, or as liberals usually call it, “predatory lending.” Press stories typically start with a profile of a poor person down on his luck who takes out a loan at a high interest rate. Or perhaps the story is about a homebuyer stretched to the limit who takes out a loan at what seems to be an initial low interest rate. The story then describes how after a time the unfortunate borrower is stuck with exorbitant fees and crippling monthly payments, having failed to understand the terms of the loan or anticipate changing economic conditions.

The Reuters article treats all payday borrowers as victims, oppressed by America’s evil capitalist system. Carey bases his article almost entirely on anecdotal evidence and on statements by activists with an axe to grind: apart from the borrowers themselves, every single person or group quoted in the article is at the left end of America’s political spectrum. Carey also confuses cause with effect, ignoring the possibility that homeowners facing foreclosure may already be doomed financially by the time they head to the local money mart for a payday loan.

By the way, a payday loan is a short-term unsecured loan typically for a very small amount. Think of it as consumer bridge financing on a small scale. The idea is for borrowers to repay the principal and interest (and any applicable service charges) on their next payday. Such loans are easy to obtain. For example, LoanMartUSA.com allows loan applicants in Arizona and California to apply online by filling out a fairly simply form.

Payday lenders charge a significant premium in the form of interest to such borrowers, who are typically not creditworthy and often poor – sometimes very poor. If payday borrowers can’t get the money they really, really, really need, they have to go without, or seek illicit financing.

The stench of socialism permeates the article, in which Robert H. Frank, an economics professor at Cornell University, is quoted saying giving out payday loans is the same as “handing a suicidal person a noose.” Such loans “lead to more bankruptcies and wipe out people’s savings, which is bad for the economy.” Deregulation of the financial services industry in the 1990s is to blame, Frank says. Translation: bigger government is the solution because people can’t be trusted to run their own lives.

Left out of the article was the fact that Professor Frank has long been a cheerleader for activist government. Frank’s website links to his published works, among them gems such as “The Income Gap Grows” (Philadelphia Inquirer, November 27, 2005), “Overrated: Repeal of the Estate Tax” (New York Times, December 27, 2003), and a guilt-tripping ode to tax increases entitled “Which Do We Need, Bigger Cars or Better Schools?” (NYT, July 31, 1999).

Carey quotes Uriah King, a policy staffer at the Durham, North Carolina-based Center for Responsible Lending. “We’re hearing from around the country that many folks are buried deep in pay day loan debts as well as struggling with their mortgage payments,” King says. This is anecdotal evidence from a group that treats market fluctuations as an excuse for government intervention in the marketplace. Not surprisingly, the Center, and other groups pushing for a crackdown on payday lending, take big grants from left-wing funders that don’t trust people to run their own lives. From 2002 to 2005, the Center accepted $100,000 from George Soros’s Open Society Institute, $100,000 from the Ford Foundation, $150,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation, and $500,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. (For more on the Center for Responsible Lending, see “Demonizing Subprime Lenders: Liberal Groups Oppose Consumer Choice,” by Melanie Sans and Matthew Vadum, in Organization Trends, October 2007, published by Capital Research Center.)

Whole Foods & Whole Truth

Whole Foods needs to change its name to "Whole Foods, Half Truth." The company is promoting its use of 100% recycled paper bags, when the reality is far different than this piece of corporate PR. There is nothing new - repeat: nothing new - to this announcement, as if Whole Foods is somehow a revolutionary brand taking great risks for the benefit of the environment. Give me a break! In truth, tons of supermarkets nationwide use 100% recycled paper bags -- without misleading consumers or seeking accolades from a gullible press corps. Folks, please educate yourselves on this matter lest you fall victim to another cheap promotional stunt from a company that wants your money.

Melissa Goldberg posts:

In January Whole Foods announced that it would stop offering its customers plastic bags by Earth Day 2008 (April 22). While I initially commended the company for taking such a great initiative to reduce our landfills and stop clogging our waterways of plastic, they are now proudly offering their customers 100% recycling paper bags. 100% recycled? You mean the bags are made from the paper we put on our curbside?

Whole Foods, let's be honest. Yes you are a great company, and sell great products, but this claim is deceptive to your consumer who think of you as the authority on everything good for you and the environment.

As child of a printing family, the 100% recycled paper bags now offered at Whole Foods got me thinking. Growing up, I used to go to my dad's printing plant and see paper scraps left over from the printing process being sent back to be recycled. This was standard practice.

So when I went food shopping recently at Whole Foods and saw the paper bags, I had to question it. 100% recycled, really? What percentage is really from waste from the consumer? Or curbside recycling?

Well, according a Whole Foods public relations representative, the recycled fiber content is 40% post consumer and 60% post industrial (waste). She stated, "we (Whole Foods) are excited to be moving away from any virgin fiber materials in our paper bags."

Post consumer? Post industrial? What does that mean? Well, listen-up.

Post-consumer waste is paper that has been purchased and used by the consumer (you and me) and recycled by the municipal and private sector recycling system -- curbside recycling. What we the public accept has the definition of recycled.

Post-industrial waste is otherwise known as pre-consumer waste. It is the reintroduction of manufacturing scrap (trimmings from paper production) back into the manufacturing process. Basically it is the paper made out of paper trimmings and scraps left over from the manufacturing process. Just like I saw in my dad's printing plant more than 20 years ago.

Pre-consumer, or as Whole Foods calls it post-industrial, is used in the manufacturing industry and in the traditional sense, is not considered recycled. For decades, pre-consumer paper waste has been recycled. The paper was never marked recycled because manufacturers never got credit for it. But in the 1980's when the demand for recycled paper began to rise, producers began to claim pre-consumer waste as recycled fiber. However, there had been no change in their manufacturing practices.

Paper grocery bags are customarily made of pre-consumer (post-industrial) recycled paper -- from 40-90% of the material. So in reality, Whole Foods is not doing anything new. It is basically a "green" public relations stunt to make them look better in the marketplace. This is a practice known as "greenwashing" and as a committed environmentalist, I find it a bit offensive.

Forty percent post-consumer waste, that is it? A company like Whole Foods who has based their entire brand and position in the marketplace as being better for you, better for the environment, can do better or a least be honest about their claims. Nowhere on the bag does it reveal any of this information.

Come on Whole Foods, give us the Whole Truth.

To learn more about federal guidelines for the use of environmental marketing claims go to the Federal Trade Commission site.