Yeshiva World News

Every email, phone call and website visit is to be recorded and stored after the Coalition Government revived controversial Big Brother snooping plans.

It will allow security services and the police to spy on the activities of every Briton who uses a phone or the internet.

Moves to make every communications provider store details for at least a year will be unveiled later this year sparking fresh fears over a return of the surveillance state.

The plans were shelved by the Labour Government last December but the Home Office is now ready to revive them.

It comes despite the Coalition Agreement promised to “end the storage of internet and email records without good reason”.

Any suggestion of a central “super database” has been ruled out but the plans are expected to involve service providers storing all users details for a set period of time.

That will allow the security and police authorities to track every phone call, email, text message and website visit made by the public if they argue it is needed to tackle crime or terrorism.

The information will include who is contacting whom, when and where and which websites are visited, but not the content of the conversations or messages.

The move was buried in the Government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, which revealed: “We will introduce a programme to preserve the ability of the security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies to obtain communication data and to intercept communications within the appropriate legal framework.

“This programme is required to keep up with changing technology and to maintain capabilities that are vital to the work these agencies do to protect the public.

“Communications data provides evidence in court to secure convictions of those engaged in activities that cause serious harm. It has played a role in every major Security Service counter­terrorism operation and in 95 per cent of all serious organised crime investigations.

“We will legislate to put in place the necessary regulations and safeguards to ensure that our response to this technology challenge is compatible with the Government’s approach to information storage and civil liberties.”

But Isabella Sankey, director of policy at Liberty, said: “One of the early and welcome promises of the new Government was to ‘end the blanket storage of internet and email records’.

“Any move to amass more of our sensitive data and increase powers for processing would amount to a significant U-turn. The terrifying ambitions of a group of senior Whitehall technocrats must not trump the personal privacy of law abiding Britons.”

Guy Herbert, general secretary of the No2ID campaign group, said: “We should not be surprised that the interests of bureaucratic empires outrank liberty.

“It is disappointing that the new ministers seem to be continuing their predecessors’ tradition of credulousness.”

(Source: Telegraph UK)

Lakewood, NJ – For a man who had lived here only one year, Bill Hobday felt remarkably secure as a candidate for Township Committee in early 2002. He already had Republican Party backing and faced no opponent in the June primary.

The only matter left was a meeting … a courtesy, he thought … with local Orthodox Jewish leaders who called themselves the Vaad.

Hobday wasn’t prepared for what followed. Within a week of that interview, the Vaad issued a newsletter telling the Jewish community to write in another candidate’s name on Election Day, that of 28-year-old Air Force chaplain Menashe Miller. The bulletin was headlined, “We MUST Knock Out Bill Hobday!!!’‘

Five days later, 3,732 ballots were cast for Miller, defeating Hobday by a 60 percent margin. It was one of only a handful of times in Ocean County history that a write-in challenger ousted an official candidate in a municipal election.

“I was unfamiliar with the power structure here,’’ said Hobday, now 68. “It was a terrible shock to us.’‘

Scroll forward eight years to 2010, and it’s the Vaad that’s now experiencing a jolt … one so intense a local official likened it to an “Orthodox Tea Party’’ backlash.

Known as a potent political force able to steer entire voting blocs, this body of rabbis, businessmen and government liaisons was unable in recent months to muster enough Orthodox community support for its most established darling.

In this bubble of rigid customs and clear hierarchies, a consensus has formed that the grip of the old order is slipping as technology and new thinking take hold.

It is struggling, they say, to keep up with an expanding Orthodox population as fresh voices speak out and the economy shifts personal priorities.

“We’re at a point where the community has minds of its own and does not just follow recommendations without understanding them,’’ Vaad member Avrohom Moshe Muller said. “It puts us in a different position.’‘

Some Lakewood leaders argue that a splintered Orthodox constituency may hurt the town’s influence at the state level. Others see the diminished leadership role as a healthy swing toward an open political system.

(Read More: Asbury Park Press)

NPR News has terminated the contract of longtime news analyst Juan Williams after remarks he made on the Fox News Channel about Muslims.

Williams appeared Monday on The O’Reilly Factor, and host Bill O’Reilly asked him to comment on the idea that the U.S. is facing a dilemma with Muslims.

O’Reilly has been looking for support for his own remarks on a recent episode of ABC’s The View in which he directly blamed Muslims for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Co-hosts Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg walked off the set in the middle of his appearance.

Williams responded: “Look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”

Williams also warned O’Reilly against blaming all Muslims for “extremists,” saying Christians shouldn’t be blamed for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

But strong criticism followed Williams’ comments.

Late Wednesday night, NPR issued a statement praising Williams as a valuable contributor but saying it had given him notice that it is severing his contract. “His remarks on The O’Reilly Factor this past Monday were inconsistent with our editorial standards and practices, and undermined his credibility as a news analyst with NPR,” the statement read.

Williams’ presence on the largely conservative and often contentious prime-time talk shows of Fox News has long been a sore point with NPR News executives.

His status was earlier shifted from staff correspondent to analyst after he took clear-cut positions about public policy on television and in newspaper opinion pieces.

(Source: NPR)

Only 26 percent of New York City voters want Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for president in 2012, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Marist College poll found that nearly two-thirds of people in the Big Apple — 64 percent — want him to stay on the sidelines.

The three-term mayor — who briefly flirted with the idea of running in 2008 as an Independent, according to a host of media reports — received a 50 percent job approval from the city’s voters in the survey.

“If Michael Bloomberg starts thinking presidential, there will be no great send-off from New York City voters,” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

In a late-September interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Bloomberg dismissed the idea of a 2012 run, saying he was not considering it.

“I think we should all pull behind Barack Obama,” he said. “He’s our president.”

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: NY Post)

The campaign to recall Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has erupted into a pitched battle, with the mayor drawing significant funding from the police union as his chief critic said recall petitions are pouring in faster than they can be counted.

Blasting the county’s new budget as “morally wrong,” Miami billionaire Norman Braman told a luncheon crowd of the Downtown Bay Forum Wednesday he has already collected nearly enough petitions to call a special election to decide the mayor’s fate.

“All I’m doing is providing the spark. I hope the spark will spread so we can get into meaningful charter reform,” Braman said.

After launching the campaign in a fury over a county budget that raised the property tax rate while handing raises to most county employees, Braman said about 53,000 people have signed petitions, which are being checked against a list of registered voters to verify validity.

Braman, who has hired a professional petition gathering firm, has until Dec. 5 to collect signatures from at least 4 percent of registered voters in the county — about 52,000 people — in order to put the recall question before voters. He said he plans to gather 90,000 names to ensure a comfortable margin against invalid petitions.

Alvarez, working to beat back the recall drive, is finding big support from a longtime ally: the Police Benevolent Association.

A political action committee the mayor formed to combat the recall has collected $54,650 in contributions since its formation Sept. 25. Of that, $50,000 has come from the Dade County Police Benevolent Association PAC, according to a report covering the period through Oct. 8.

Alvarez headed Miami-Dade County police before becoming mayor and has worked to protect the police budget — and salaries — while in office.

Under collective bargaining agreements hammered out by Alvarez’s administration, Miami-Dade County police are in line for 13 percent pay increases in the period between Sept. 2010 and Sept. 2011. That’s higher than the 3 percent raises granted to most county employees in the final quarter of the current fiscal year. The mayor said the hike will help put police pay in line with that of county firefighters.

In a statement, Alvarez said, “After 20 months of negotiation, a contract for the PBA was presented to the County Commission who approved the agreement, with little discussion, by a vote of 12-1. I was a dues-paying member of the PBA for 28 years.

“I believe in public safety and appreciate that the PBA, without asking, donated to the PAC and is standing behind me in a time of need.”

The Miami-Dade PBA plans to join other county unions at a pro-Alvarez rally 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the 1600 block of Southwest 27th Avenue — near Braman’s recall headquarters.

“Our support is not only well known — it’s well founded,” said John Rivera, president of the PBA. “You’ve got to go right into the lion’s mouth if you want to tame the lion.”

PACs are permitted to collect unlimited funds to promote their causes.

The only expenditure listed on the mayor’s PAC so far is a $26,000 payment to his attorney Bruce Rogow, who is providing counsel on defeating the recall effort.

Alvarez formed the PAC, Citizens for Truth, three weeks ago in a quick response to Braman’s campaign.

Alvarez has been making his case in public appearances and on local TV and radio programs. His top aide, County Manager George Burgess, continuing efforts to explain the administration’s view, is slated to speak to the Beacon Council Thursday morning.

Braman’s luncheon talk Wednesday — which drew about 90 business people, union members and other residents — turned into a heated exchange when Martha Baker, president of the SEIU Local 1991, which represents 5,000 Jackson Health System employees, shouted from a luncheon table of healthcare workers that Braman wasn’t providing the full picture of the employee concessions that preceded their 3 percent raises.

Baker said union members are getting a 3 percent raise in the third-year of three-year contracts — in which the first two years included no increases. County employees also agreed to contribute 5 percent of their pay toward health insurance and to forgo additional compensation, such as flex and longevity pay, for one year.

“Are you aware that poor people on Social Security have had no increase?” shot back Braman, saying the protracted economic downturn was no time to raise the property tax rate. “Are you aware of that?”

Braman said the recall drive should be part of a larger overhaul of county government, including charter changes that would limit the terms of county commissioners and provide several at-large commissioners to complement the district seats.

Amid Braman’s presentation, several unidentified people crashed the luncheon, passing out color printed fliers attacking him, until the forum’s president, Annette Eisenberg, ordered them to leave.

Standing at the lectern, Braman held up a flier to the audience, saying “When you can’t argue the issues, this is what you do.”

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: Miami Herald)

From the IRS:

The IRS is warning New York taxpayers about a new phishing scam. Phishing, a word play on “fishing” for information, is a scam in which Internet fraudsters send seemingly legitimate e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information.

Alternately, the purpose of an e-mail scam may be to download malware, or malicious code, onto the recipient’s computer when the recipient opens an attachment to the e-mail or clicks on a link within the e-mail. The malware could take over the victim’s computer hard drive, giving someone remote access to the computer, or it could look for passwords and other information and send them to the scamster.

The IRS wants New Yorkers to be aware of a recent scam in which recipients receive an e-mail that claims to come from the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. EFTPS is a tax payment system that allows individuals and businesses to pay federal taxes electronically via the Internet or phone. This scam in directs recipients to a bogus website containing malicious software which can infect the intended victim’s computer

Dianne Besunder, IRS spokeswoman for New York, notes that this scam has begun to turn up in some New Yorkers e-mail inboxes. “We have received reports that local taxpayers have received an e-mail claiming to be from EFTPS stating that tax payments made by the recipient have been rejected. It is important that taxpayers do not fall for this scam. The IRS and the Financial Management Service, the Treasury bureau that owns EFTPS, never communicates payment information through e-mail,” Besunder said.

If you receive an IRS related e-mail that you suspect is a phishing attempt or directs you to an imitation IRS website, please forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. You can also visit IRS.gov and enter the keyword phishing for additional information.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(YWN Desk – NYC)

The Obama administration has notified Congress of plans for a multiyear, multibillion-dollar weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, a State Department official said Wednesday.

The sale is meant to further align the Saudi military relationship with the United States and enhance the ability of the kingdom to defer and defend threats to it and its oil structure, which “is critical to our economic interests,” said Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary for political and military affairs, at a State Department news conference.

The deal, worth up to $60 billion over 20 years, will include the sale of 84 F-15 aircraft, the upgrade of 70 older-model F-15 aircraft and almost 200 helicopters.

Congress has 30 days to raise any objections to the deal.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: CNN)

New York is instituting new filing requirements in order to ensure the integrity of the home foreclosure process, the state’s chief judge said Wednesday.

Lawyers bringing foreclosure claims will now be required to file an affirmation that they themselves have taken reasonable steps to verify the accuracy of documents filed in support of residential foreclosures.

“We cannot allow the courts in New York State to stand by idly and be party to what we now know is a deeply flawed process, especially when that process involves basic human needs–such as a family home–during this period of economic crisis,” said New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in a statement.

The new filing requirement goes into effect immediately. In new cases, the affirmation must be filed along with the initial request for judicial intervention. In pending cases, it must accompany a request for judgment or must be submitted to the court referee if a judgment has been entered, but the property hasn’t yet sold.

The move comes as attorneys general nationwide have raised questions in recent weeks about failures in the foreclosure review process, including so-called “robo-signing” where mortgage-servicing employees allegedly signed affidavits without fully reviewing the underlying documents. As a result, several of the nation’s largest banks have temporarily suspended foreclosures in states where court approval is required.

Bank of America Corp. has said it will be resubmitting foreclosure documents next week in 23 states where courts must approve the process. The bank said an internal review of 102,000 cases found no underlying problems. GMAC Mortgage, a unit of Ally Financial, also indicated earlier this week that it is restarting the foreclosure process.

Last week, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which temporarily suspended foreclosures in 23 states and is reviewing foreclosures in many more, said its average foreclosure in New York takes 792 days, one of the longest rates in the nation.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: WSJ)

Carl Paladino needs “more than a minor miracle” to catch up to Andrew Cuomo, according to the pollster for Siena College Research  Institute, which this morning said the Buffalo business man is now 37 points behind the Democratic frontrunner.

The latest poll shows Cuomo with 63 percent to Paladino’s 26 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

And given the controversies that have dogged Paladino the past few weeks, voters are increasingly saying they just don’t like him. He is now viewed unfavorably by 69 percent of the likely voters surveyed, compared to 34 percent for Cuomo.

Also among the more telling indicators of trouble for Paladino, 64 percent of upstate voters view him unfavorably compared to 29 percent who have a favorable opinion of him.

In a head-to-head matchup between Cuomo and Paladino among upstate voters, Cuomo leads 57 percent to 33 percent.

The poll results depict a Paladino campaign unraveling after weeks of candidate self-acknowledged mistakes, controversial remarks several topics, relentless attack ads by Democrats and what the Paladino campaign says has been unfair coverage by many New York media.

Noteworthy, though, is that the new poll is based mostly on responses by voters who were telephoned in the days leading up to this week’s gubernatorial debate on Long Island. How, or if that gathering might have affected the overall standing won’t be known until the next poll is released within a week or so.

“Cuomo leads by 59 points in New York City, 25 points in the downstate suburbs and 24 points upstate. He leads by 22 points among men and 50 points among women. He leads by better than two-to-one among independent voters, and even has the support of 30 percent of Republicans, while Paladino has the support of just nine percent of Democrats and 26 percent of independents,” said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg.

Greenberg said Paladino’s unfavorable rating is at a lower level than Gov. David Paterson ever witnessed in his ratings among New Yorkers. And 69 percent called him a “loose cannon.”

While Republicans are making in-roads in congressional and state legislative contests in New York, Democrats would win all the statewide contests if the election were held today, the new poll found.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: Buffalo News)

Atlanta-based Graco Children’s Products Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling 2 million strollers because of strangulation and entrapment risks.

The recall follows reports of at least four strangulation deaths linked to the strollers. Children have also become entrapped in the strollers – resulting in cuts and bruises. When unharnessed, an infant can go through the opening between the stroller tray and seat bottom and his or her neck can become entrapped and strangulation can occur, the CPSC said in a statement.

The recall includes older versions of Graco’s Quattro Tour and MetroLite Strollers and travel systems sold between November 2000 and December 2007.

The strollers were manufactured before a January 2008 voluntary industry standard that required a bigger opening between the stroller’s tray and the seat bottom.

The strollers were sold at nationwide stores like Babies R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Kmart, Meijers, Sears, Target, and Walmart.

The strollers were priced between $90 and $190 and the travel systems sold between $190 and $250 and were manufactured in China.

The model numbers involved in recall include:

Quattro Stroller (Sold November 2002-December 2007): 35735

7111ASB

7111BKW

7111CLN

7111CUN

7111DIA

7111HEA

7111HIG

7111LAG

7111KSH

7112CNP

7112MTR

7113CJR

7113CMR

7113COT

7119GGG

7119WSR

7121MAY

7125QST

7126RNS

7127LEG

7132RXY

7134SMB

7138RNS

Quattro Stroller Travel System (Sold October 2002 to October 2007)

35760

7411ATR

7411BGN

7411BGN2

7411BLB

7411KBK

7411KBK2

7411LV

7411MCH

7411MCH2

7411MLY

7411MLY2

7419LIM

7419LIM2

7419OWD2

7B00BDA

7B00DRB

7B00KAS

7B01MNS

7B03CST2

MetroLite Stroller (Sold November 2000 to December 2007) 1104

1240

6110DW

6110F3

6110S7

6110TS7

6111FKB

6111VIN

6113SCR

6114HAV

6114JAM

6114LAG

6114NGS

6116NRF

6120SHL

6121CJG

6121CNP

6121GGG

6121MTR

6123EME

6124LRD

6125SMB

6J01DAI

6J01HRL

6J03RIT

6J04JEN

6J05MIN

MetroLite Travel System (Sold December 2000 to June 2005)

1070

7000KSB

7308DEL

7308DEL2

7308DEL4

7308TYR

7308TYR2

7406PLT

7408MRT

7409GRG

7410CON

7413CML

7413MRN

C7413CML

If you have a recalled stroller visit Graco’s website or call 877-828-4046 to receive a free repair kit.

For more information about the recall and specific model numbers visit: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or Graco.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(Source: ABC News)

A half dozen New York officials today strongly endorsed Attorney General nominee Eric Schneiderman’s plan to create a “New York Sanctions And Financing the Enemy” (NY-SAFE) task force to investigate and launch enforcement actions against businesses and financial entities that operate in New York that trade with, or invest in, Iran and other countries that sponsor terrorism or that seek nuclear weapons in violation of state or federal law. Recently, the United States imposed heightened sanctions against Iran for maintaining its illegal and dangerous nuclear weapon program.

The officials supporting Schneiderman’s plan include: Congress members Gary Ackerman, Eliot Engel, Nita Lowey, Jerry Nadler, Anthony Weiner, and Assembly member Dov Hikind.

“Law enforcement agencies cannot do enough to enforce sanctions imposed on terrorist sponsoring states or states that are trying to develop nuclear weapons,” said Eric Schneiderman. “In the past decade the New York State Attorney General has partnered with local and federal authorities to enforce securities laws, take down multi-state drug gangs, and expose national health care fraud schemes. The NY-SAFE task force will carry on this tradition with investigations and enforcement actions against businesses that violate U.S. sanctions by illegally doing business with Iran, or other states that sponsor terrorism.”

Schneiderman has pledged to use the Attorney General’s broad powers to investigate and stop businesses from engaging in illegal conduct in order to stop businesses from violating federal sanctions or state laws that prohibit trading with, or investing in, hostile countries such as Iran. U.S. sanctions also prohibit trading or doing business with a wide range of terrorist groups and countries with atrocious human rights violations.

The NY-SAFE task force will be designed to partner with federal and state law enforcement agencies, and add resources to the critical objective of enforcing sanctions against hostile states and terrorist groups. The Attorney General’s additional resources and broad ability to subpoena business and launch special expedited civil actions will especially enhance multi-agency efforts to enforce U.S. sanctions.  Under section 63(12) of the Executive Law, for example, the Attorney General can quickly investigate businesses suspected of violating U.S. sanctions, and obtain a court order to stop the illicit activity.

Schneiderman also pledged to bring criminal prosecutions when possible and appropriate under the Martin Act (state securities fraud laws) and other laws. When the facts warrant he will seek special authority from the Governor to allow the NY-SAFE task force to criminally prosecute such businesses for money laundering and other laws.

Local law enforcement has in the past taken a lead on sanctions enforcement. For example, in 2009, the Manhattan District Attorney successfully prosecuted Credit Swisse for illegally funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to Iran, Libya, Sudan and other nations. The NY-SAFE task force will be headed by a senior prosecutor from the Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice and, since many violators are banks and brokerages that illegally finance Iran and other states and terrorist groups, a senior prosecutor from the Investor Protection Bureau.

“The dirty secret of sanctions is that they have been under-enforced for decades. Tapping the unrealized potential of the Attorney General’s office can help reverse this under-enforcement,” said US Rep. Gary Ackerman.”We know that the Attorney General can often investigate business activities of large firms more quickly than federal agencies or District Attorneys. Eric’s decision to create a NY-SAFE task force to apply that ability to illegal international financing and profiteering demonstrates that he will fight crime and corruption wherever it occurs,” said US Rep. Eliot Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

“Eric Schneiderman’s creative plan to leverage the powers of the Attorney General’s office in the fight against businesses that violate U.S. sanctions is bold and innovative,” said US Rep. Nita Lowey. “The Sheriff of Wall Street has a new target – financiers that illegally profit by willfully, recklessly, or ignorantly ignoring sanctions. And it is important to remember that this not just about Iran but also other hostile states. The US has imposed certain sanctions against countries and officials with horrendous human rights records, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, Belarus, and Zimbabwe. Eric’s vision of the Attorney General’s office with the NY-SAFE task force will send a clear message that violations of US sanctions will be thoroughly investigated and not tolerated,” said US Rep. Jerrold Nadler. “Iran sponsors terrorism and is no friend of the US and no friend of the peace process in the middle-east.  Eric Schneiderman’s establishment of the New York Sanctions And Financing the Enemy task force will give our economic sanctions the teeth necessary to send a strong message to Iran and other hostile countries. Friends of Israel will have a friend with the future New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman,” said US Rep. Anthony D. Weiner. “New York law enforcement needs to stand up to firms that put sales ahead of safety here and in Israel. We applaud Eric Schneiderman’s proposal for the NY SAFE Task force,” said Assembly member Dov Hikind.

Have you checked out YWN Radio yet? Click HERE to listen!

(YWN Desk – NYC)