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Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day – April 7th & 8th

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Day will be observed this year starting Wednesday evening, 7 April 2021 through Thursday, 8 April 2021. The official State Opening Ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day will take place on Wednesday, 7 April, at 20:00, in Warsaw Ghetto Square, Yad Vashem, on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem. Israel’s President H.E. Mr. Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu will both deliver remarks at the Opening Ceremony. Yad Vashem’s Acting Chairman Ronen Plot will kindle the Memorial Torch. Roza Bloch will speak on behalf of the survivors.

During the ceremony, Holocaust survivors will light six torches. First torch: Shmuel Naar; second torch: Zehava Gealel; third torch: Yossi Chen; fourth torch: Halina Friedman; fifth torch: Sara Fishman; sixth torch: Manya Bigunov. During the ceremony, short videos about each of the torchlighters will be shown. Produced and directed by Shlomo Hazan, these videos will be available on the Yad Vashem website in the section dedicated to Holocaust Remembrance Day 2021.

Israeli singers David Daor and Meshi Kleinstein, as well as the IDF Paratroopers’ Honor Guard, will participate in the ceremony, which will also include narrative pieces by Israeli actor Dean Miroshnikov. The moderator for the ceremony will be Hila Korach. The ceremony will last approximately 75 minutes.

As in past years, the ceremony will also feature a traditional memorial service, including the recitation of a chapter from Psalms by Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau. The Rishon LeZion, Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef will recite the Kaddish mourner’s prayer, and Cantor Avraham Kirshenbaum will recite El Maleh Rahamim, the Jewish prayer for the souls of the martyrs.

Yad Vashem will broadcast the State Opening Ceremony live with simultaneous translation into English, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew and Russian via its websites in their respective languages. Additionally, for the first time, Yad Vashem will offer simultaneous translation in Arabic available on the Yad Vashem YouTube Channel in Arabic. The live feed will also be accessible via Facebook (only live in English and Hebrew).

The State Opening Ceremony will also be broadcast live on Israeli television – Channels 11, 12, 13, 9 and 20, as well as by Walla, N-12 and Y-Net, and via radio – Galei Tzahal and KAN Radio – and will last approximately 75 minutes.

Yad Vashem Online

 Yad Vashem has created special mini-sites dedicated to Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day containing information about the events and ceremonies taking place throughout the day. Also included in the mini-sites are relevant educational materials and a new online exhibition entitled, “The Onset of Mass Murder: The Fate of Jewish Families in 1941.” Using photographs, documentation and testimonies from Yad Vashem’s unrivalled collections, the exhibition tells the stories of the Jewish families in the wake of Operation Barbarossa, and their ultimate fate in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Eastern Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania and Yugoslavia.

“Generations Light the Way”

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, moments before the beginning of the State Opening Ceremony, Yad Vashem and Tzohar invite the public, as families, to take part in the “Generations Light the Way” initiative by lighting six memorial candles in memory of the six million victims of the Shoah, and reciting the traditional mourner’s prayer “El Maleh Rahamim” and/or the poem “Nizkor – Let us Remember” by Holocaust survivor Abba Kovner.

Ongoing Campaigns

Yad Vashem continues to call on the public to fill out Pages of Testimony to commemorate the names of Jews murdered during the Holocaust. Volunteers are available to help Holocaust survivors and their family members submit Pages of Testimony. Yad Vashem is also prolonging the nationwide Gathering the Fragments campaign in an effort to rescue more Holocaust-related documents, artifacts, photographs and artworks, and interview, document and record video testimonies of survivors. For more information on all of these ongoing commemorative projects: +972-2-6443888 or [email protected]

 

Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, was established in 1953. Located in Jerusalem, it is dedicated to Holocaust commemoration, documentation, research and education.

www.yadvashem.org

 

Millionaires In NYC Set To Face Highest Tax Rate In US

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
AP

(AP) — The highest-earning New Yorkers would face the nation’s steepest income tax rate under a budget lawmakers expected to vote on Tuesday.

It would serve as a win for the Democratic party’s left-wing, who say that millionaires in Manhattan penthouses have fared far better amid the pandemic then struggling small businesses and low-income New Yorkers.

States including California, Minnesota and Washington are also considering wealth taxes, raising taxes on capital gains or setting new top income tax rates. President Joe Biden — who said on the campaign trail he’d raise income taxes on high earners — has proposed tax hike s on wealthy individuals and families and a corporate tax rate increase to pay for his infrastructure plan.

Democrats in New York hope the tax increase could bring in at least $3 billion and prevent the need for spending cuts in years to come. Assembly Member Helene Weinstein said the bill would be introduced Tuesday, and Sen. Liz Krueger said the leaders of the Assembly and Senate have agreed on the bill.

New York’s top income tax rate is currently 8.82%, while New York City residents face an additional 3.88% top tax rate.

Democrats want to raise the combined top tax rate for New York City millionaires above California’s top income tax rate of 13.3%, though exact details of the proposal weren’t available Tuesday afternoon.

Senate Democratic Majority spokesperson Mike Murphy said he expected the public could view the revenue bill online shortly. Spokespeople for the governor and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s office didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

Democrats won control of the state Senate in 2018, but they gained more leverage last year by winning a veto-proof supermajority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed newfound openness to raising taxes on top-earners this year — his budget proposal included a limited, temporary tax increase on high-earners if New Yorkers didn’t receive extra COVID-19 aid.

He’s also long warned that raising taxes on the wealthy could drive them out of New York at a time when the state’s economy is still recovering from COVID-19 economic shutdowns last week. His budget director, Robert Mujica, has said the top 1% of earners pay 40% of New York’s income taxes.

And Mujica has said an additional $12 billion in expected federal COVID-19 aid could prevent the need for a tax hike.

But Democratic legislative leaders who have pushed forward with a proposed tax hike said there’s no conclusive evidence that tax hikes drive out the rich. And they criticize years of “fiscal austerity” under Cuomo, as health care costs rise and educational advocacy groups call for more spending on schools.

Medicaid costs have skyrocketed as New York has boosted enrollment, raised the minimum wage for all workers and taken on more Medicaid bills once shouldered by counties.

Eric Adams Pushes Plan To Reduce Crime As Shootings Skyrocket In NYC

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

(TJVNEWS.COM)Mayoral candidate Eric Adams took to Bronx Courthouse with local leaders in the anti-gun violence movement; SOS (Save Our Streets), Harlem Mothers Save, and National Community Peace Building Commission, and pushed his plan to reduce shootings and crime in New York City following a bloody week of shootings and a huge overall spike in violent crime this year.

 

“We will not go backward on crime. We fought too hard and lost too many to go back. We need a plan and we need action,” Borough President Adams said. “Today I am putting forward my crime plan for New York City because our city faces an unprecedented crisis that threatens to undo the progress we have made against crime. As a police officer who patrolled the streets in a bulletproof vest and as an organizer who has fought for anti-violence resources four our communities of color for decades, I will not stand by and watch lawlessness spread through our city, infecting our neighborhoods with the same terrible swiftness of COVID-19.”

 

Adams’ plan to reduce crime includes: reinventing the anti-crime unit as an anti-gun unit; fully funding the City’s Crisis Management System; allowing for more centralized coordination between law enforcement, community groups and hospitals; and improving communication and coordination between CMS and NYPD to prevent retaliatory violence once a shooting has occurred.

 

“Enough is enough. In 2006 I stood with Eric Adams when I started my organization and asked this question: Who is giving our kids these guns? Eric Adams and I have been doing this a long time. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. We need a leader to take the helm. We need a strong mayor. We need a leader who is going to take gun violence serious.” said Jackie Rowe-Adams of Harlem Mothers Save.

 

Adams would also change NYPD structure to have cops focus on police work and not clerical duties and other jobs that can be filled by civilians, freeing up budget to go toward the anti-violence groups that are critical work on the ground to keep communities of color safe.

“Talk is cheap. In two months we will have a leader who will decide who lives and who dies. This election is about public safety. The only thing we need from our next mayor is someone who has been there and done that and understands how to save lives. Guess who was there in the 80’s and 90’s? Eric Adams. Guess who understands where we are, where we are coming from and where we need to go? Eric Adams.” said Sheikh Musa Drammeh of National Community Peace Building Commision.

You can read the entire Adams’ Agenda to Reduce Crime here.

“By saving money through technology and efficiency, and using it to fund targeted initiatives that reduce serious crime, I will more effectively deploy resources while ensuring that police do the real police work needed to get the bad guys and prevent crime in the first place,” Adams said.

In just the last few days, the city has experienced a high number of horrific street shootings that have led to deaths and serious injuries. This follows a bloody previous week in which shooting incidents were up 257% from the same time last year, and a month of March in which the city saw a 73% increase in shooting victims from March 2020. Overall, there has been an approximately 50% increase in the number of shooting incidents and victims in New York this year so far compared to last year.

Florida Democrats Defend DeSantis Against Attack From ‘60 Minutes

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
AP

BY ZACHARY STIEBER(EPOCH TIMES) 

Several Florida Democrats are challenging a report by the CBS News program “60 Minutes” that attempted to paint the state’s vaccination partnership with the Publix grocery store chain as nefarious.

The program on April 4 explored the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Florida, which has experienced a similar COVID-19 death rate to California and other states despite having much looser restrictions.

In one heated exchange, a reporter pressed Gov. Ron DeSantis on the use of Publix stores to administer vaccines, claiming the fact that Publix contributed $100,000 to his political action committee before the chain was chosen could be seen as evidence of a “pay-for-play” scheme.

DeSantis called the allegation “a fake narrative,” offering a lengthy explanation of what had unfolded. It included state officials reaching out to pharmacies besides CVS and Walgreens because those two companies were tasked with delivering vaccines to long-term care facilities. Publix was the first to say it was ready for the second set of distribution and administration.

DeSantis also said he visited four different Publix stores during a trial run and found feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and that he solicited advice from Palm Beach officials.

“Here’s some of the options: We can do more drive-through sites, we can give more to hospitals, we can do the Publix, we can do this. They calculated that 90 percent of their seniors live within a mile and a half of a Publix. And they said, ‘We think that would be the easiest thing for our residents,’” he said.

“60 Minutes” omitted 356 words from DeSantis’ 423-word answer.

The reporter then repeated her “pay for play” accusation.

“I just disabused you of the narrative. And you don’t care about the facts,” DeSantis said.

Jared Moskowitz, a former Democratic state senator who now runs the state Division of Emergency Management, said in a tweet on April 4 that Publix was recommended by his agency, “as the other pharmacies were not ready to start.”

“No one from the Governors office suggested Publix. It’s just absolute malarkey,” he wrote.

In a statement on April 5, Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner, also a Democrat, said the “60 Minutes” reporting was “intentionally false.”

“I know this because I offered to provide my insight into Palm Beach County’s vaccination efforts and 60 minutes declined,” he said, adding that he and other officials asked the governor to expand the state’s partnership with Publix, not the other way around.

“We asked and he delivered,” Kerner wrote. “They had that information, and they left it out because it kneecaps their narrative.”

CBS News and “60 Minutes” did not respond to requests by The Epoch Times for comment.

Publix, in a statement to news outlets, called the suggestion of a link between campaign contributions and the vaccination efforts “irresponsible.”

“We are proud of our pharmacy associates for administering more than 1.5 million doses of vaccine to date and for joining other retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia to do our part to help our communities emerge from the pandemic,” it stated.

Florida had administered over 10.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses as of April 5, one of the highest totals in the nation. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP virus.

Other officials said the reporting on April 4 regarding Florida was concerning.

Nikki Fried, Florida’s Democratic commissioner of agriculture, said the program “is exposing the nation” to the governor’s “failings & corruption.”

State Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter, “I made the initial call when pay for play happened in my district. I and so many others fought for equitable distribution of the vaccine in Black + Brown communities.”

Others said another focus of the program, DeSantis’s prioritization on vaccinating seniors, turned out to be the right move, and that the Republican was being attacked because of signs he could run for president in 2024.

“Seniors were prioritized for vaccine, DeSantis was criticized for breaking from CDC and he turned out to be right,” Florida GOP Vice Chairman Christian Ziegler said in a tweet. “Now, in the name of 2024, the media is generating a new narrative to attack.”

Poll: Overwhelming Majority Support Voter ID, Disagree with MLB’s Georgia Boycott

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
AP”

The vast majority of U.S. likely voters believe voter ID is necessary and disagree with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) decision to pull the All-Star game and Draft from Atlanta over the state’s election integrity law, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Tuesday found.

The survey asked respondents if they believe voter ID laws are necessary to a “fair and secure election process.” The vast majority, 75 percent, said “yes,” 19 percent said “no,” and six percent said they remained unsure. A majority of both Republicans, 89 percent, and Democrats, 65 percent, believe voter ID laws are necessary for a free and fair election. Seventy-one percent of those unaffiliated with either major party agree.

The survey also asked respondents for their opinions on the left-wing boycotts of Georgia over the recently signed election law, which despite the left’s narrative, actually increases days for early voting.

The law also requires voters to show an identification to vote absentee by mail, although voters can “verify their identities with the last four digits of their social security number; a utility bill; a bank statement; a government check; a paycheck; or another government document with their name and address on it,” per Fox News, which cited Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office.

“Some people have called for a  boycott of businesses in Georgia, which recently passed an election law requiring voters to show identification. Do you support or oppose such a  boycott?” the Rasmussen survey asked.

Fifty percent said they opposed the boycotts, 37 percent said they supported it, and 13 percent said they remained unsure. However, opinions vary drastically on party lines, as 50 percent of Democrats support the boycott and 63 percent of Republicans oppose it. A plurality of those unassociated with either major political party, 47 percent, oppose the boycott.

The survey, taken April 1 and 4 among 1,000 likely U.S. voters, has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

The MLB caved last week and announced its decision to move the All-Star game and Draft from Atlanta, a city with a sizeable black population, due to the election integrity measure Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed into law, even though the law actually expands some voting.

“I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft,” Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said. “Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”

Its decision will cost Atlanta as much as $190 million in revenue:

The MLB has since tapped Denver, Colorado, as the host city despite the fact that it also requires proof of identification to vote and has fewer early voting days than the Peach State.

Philadelphia Amir Confirms His Neighborhood Belongs to Muslims Only

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0

by Leonard Getz

Qasim Rashad, the Amir of the United Muslim Masjid in South Philadelphia confirmed what many observers over the years have suspected, that the mosque’s goal is to create and sustain a “Muslim only” enclave  just blocks away from City Hall

      Mr. Rashad was the guest speaker on a recent Council on American-Islamic Relations-Philadelphia sponsored webinar. He made it clear “the Muslims took these buildings over” and expressed disappointment that part of the neighborhood has become gentrified.  He spoke with reverence for the mosque’s financial backer, legendary musician Kenny Gamble a.k.a. Luqman Abdul Haqq who, through his Universal Companies, owns many properties in the neighborhood including the building on the corner of 15th and Christian streets where the United Muslim Masjid has operated since 1994. Gamble didn’t hide his intention when he purchased these properties.  “We are not just here for Universal; we are down here for Islam.” Lately Gamble has been in embroiled in charges of bribery and the FBI is looking into Kenny’s Universal Properties role in charges of corruption against Councilman Kenyatta Johnson.

Rashad boasted about his membership in the American Muslim Council in Washington DC and his friendship with its founder Abdulrahman Alamoudi who, Rashad admitted, got “caught up in Homeland Security issues.” Indeed, Alamoudi was sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2004 for planning to assassinate  King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. He also raised money for al-Qaeda through the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development which was convicted of raising funds for Hamas. Alamoudi also expressed remorse that the 1998 US Embassy bombing in Kenya and Tanzania did not kill any Americans.

Rashad explained that the American Muslim Council was the forerunner to the Muslim Alliance in North America or MANA. Rashad knew the leader of MANA, Jamil -al-Amin  or H. Rap Brown of the Black Panthers who said “if America don’t come around we’re gonna burn it down.” Currently, Brown is in prison for murdering a Georgia sheriff.

Rashad is proud that MANA’s first two meetings were held at the United Muslim Majid. Kenny Gamble sits on the board of MANA along with Siraj Wahhaj, a co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Rashad admitted that gun violence is a problem in Philadelphia and that many perpetrators and victims are Muslim even during the holy month of Ramadan, a time for Muslim reflection and prayer. But he seemed oblivious to the possibility that UMM may be responsible for fostering gun violence. In an effort to attract youth to UMM Rashid said he “gives them want they want,” and what the youth want is target practice. UMM also runs the Jawala Scout camps where Muslim youth engage in firearms training, hand-to-hand combat and wear paramilitary uniforms. One young man on the webinar attended the Jawala Scouts camp and said he “learned a lot about Islam” at the camp.

Rashad said that “Muslims are the best among mankind” especially with their commitment to social justice which, he said is “part of our DNA.” By way of example of social justice advocates he pointed to CAIR, Bobby Seale, the Black Panther party and the Nation of Islam, though admitted that the NOI has a “different perspective on non-violence.”

CAIR was founded by members of the terrorist organization Hamas at a meeting that took place in Philadelphia. CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal case against the Holy Land Foundation, convicted of raising money in the United States for Hamas.

Bobby-Seale was one of the founders of the Black Panthers a political organization that had a history of violent confrontation with police.

Both The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League declared the Nation Of Islam a hate group espousing deep racist, anti-Semitic and anti-gay leanings.

Rashad went on to say that Islam is better than Christianity because their Iftar meals take place every day for a month while Christmas was only one day. He is also looking into changing the name of “Christian Street” to “Muslim Way.”

The Muslim enclave in Philadelphia is thought to be the most successful in America. Gamble is also making inroads in Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles. The question is, why are many Muslim neighborhoods quartering themselves off from the rest of society? One of the goals of MANA is to “Promote Islamic unity and tolerance between Muslims . . . within the wide-path of Shari’ah.” Shari’ah law includes controlling an individual’s relationship with its neighbors. According to the National Center for Constitutional law Shari’ah is incompatible with the United States constitution.

While on the surface Gamble’s ridding the south Philadelphia neighborhood of its blight may be commendable its ulterior purpose of setting itself apart from the community in order to follow the dictates of MANA and Shari’ah law is a worrisome proposition and should be a warning sign to the people of Philadelphia.

Americans’ Fear Of Catching COVID-19 Drops To Record Low: Gallup

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
. (NIAID-RML via AP)

BY RJ REINHART-Gallup Press Release

At the same time Americans’ satisfaction with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has surged, their concerns about getting the virus and about the availability of coronavirus tests and hospital services/treatment have fallen to record lows.

Thirty-five percent of U.S. adults now say they are very or somewhat worried about contracting COVID-19, the lowest point in Gallup’s trend since April 2020. Twenty-two percent of Americans are very or moderately worried about access to hospital services/treatment, and 14% are just as worried about access to COVID-19 tests.

Line graph. The percentages of Americans who worry about catching COVID-10, access to medical services and treatments, and tests for the disease. 35% of Americans now worry about contracting COVID-19. 22% worry about access to medical services and treatments. And, 14% are concerned about access to tests for the disease.

These data come from Gallup’s latest COVID-19 probability-based web panel survey, conducted March 15-21 as vaccination rates continued to climb across the country. The current 35% worried about contracting COVID-19 is down 14 percentage points from February, and well off the record-high 59% of Americans who voiced concerns about catching the disease last summer. That high came as the number of COVID-19 cases surged following the lifting of restrictions on businesses in June.

Worry about contracting COVID-19 is down among almost all key segments of society since February, especially among older adults. The decline among older Americans, and the decline more generally, may be tied to the increase in the percentage of Americans who are fully vaccinated. That group has one of the lowest levels of worry among all major subgroups, with 21% (down from 36%) expressing concerns about getting COVID-19.

Americans’ Worry About Contracting COVID-19, by Subgroup
How worried are you that you will get the coronavirus (COVID-19)? (% Somewhat/Very worried)
Feb 14-21 Mar 15-21 Change
% % pct. pts.
U.S. adults 49 35 -14
Gender
Men 44 29 -15
Women 54 39 -15
Age
18-44 53 42 -11
45-64 46 32 -14
65+ 46 21 -25
Race/Ethnicity
White adults 46 30 -16
Non-White adults 56 45 -11
Party ID
Democrats 69 50 -19
Independents 43 30 -13
Republicans 27 17 -10
Education
College graduate 58 40 -18
Not college graduate 45 32 -13
Vaccination status
Fully vaccinated 36 21 -15
Partially vaccinated 55 37 -18
Plan to get vaccinated 66 49 -17
Do not plan to get vaccinated 19 19 0
GALLUP PANEL, 2021

However, substantial subgroup differences in levels of worry persist, particularly by political affiliation. Half of Democrats continue to be very or somewhat worried about contracting the disease, compared with 17% of Republicans and 30% of independents. Additionally, there are substantial differences among age groups, with 42% of those aged 18 to 44 worried, compared with 32% of those aged 45 to 64 and 21% of those aged 65 and older.

Naturally, being vaccinated is associated with lower levels of worry about contracting COVID-19, but this only applies to those who are fully vaccinated. Among those Americans who report having received the full course of the vaccine, 21% are worried about catching COVID-19. But the rate among those only partially vaccinated (defined as receiving only one dose of a two-dose vaccine) is 37%, similar to the national average.

Those who plan to get the vaccine but have not currently done so are the most likely segment of Americans to be concerned about contracting the disease, with 49% saying so. Conversely, those who do not plan to be vaccinated are among the least likely, with 19% reporting worry about contracting COVID-19.

Roughly Eight in 10 Americans See Situation Improving

This decline in worry comes as Americans’ assessment of the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is the most positive, by far, that it’s been at any point during the pandemic. Seventy-seven percent of Americans now say the situation is getting better, up from 60% in February and 33% in January. Before January, the high was 47%, recorded last June as states were lifting restrictions on businesses. Positive impressions of the situation have sunk below 20% several times, including as recently as December.

Line graph. Americans’ perceptions of the COVID-19 situation in the U.S. 77% now see the situation as improving, while 7% see it as getting worse.

Perceptions that the COVID-19 situation is getting better have improved among all key subgroups, although slight differences persist. Notably, the percentage of Republicans who say the situation is improving increased by 23 points to 75%, though this remains below the 84% of Democrats who now say the same. Additionally, optimism among men rose 20 points; 80% now say the COVID-19 situation is getting better.

Americans’ Perceptions of the Current State of the Coronavirus Situation
What’s your impression of the coronavirus situation in the U.S. today?
Feb 14-21 Mar 15-21 Change in “getting better”
% % % % pct. pts.
Getting better Getting worse Getting better Getting worse
U.S. adults 60 14 77 7 +17
Gender
Men 60 13 80 6 +20
Women 61 14 74 9 +13
Age
18-44 58 14 74 8 +16
45-64 59 14 77 7 +18
65+ 68 12 85 6 +17
Race/Ethnicity
White adults 60 13 77 6 +17
Non-White adults 62 15 76 10 +14
Party ID
Democrats 71 12 84 6 +13
Independents 53 17 69 10 +16
Republicans 52 11 75 5 +23
Education
College graduate 70 10 82 5 +12
Not college graduate 57 14 74 8 +17
Vaccination status
Fully vaccinated 73 8 88 4 +15
Partially vaccinated 74 9 83 5 +9
Plan to get vaccinated 65 14 80 7 +15
Do not plan to get vaccinated 45 14 63 10 +18
Responses indicating the situation is “staying the same” not included
GALLUP PANEL, 2021

Modestly Fewer Americans Seeing COVID-19 Disruption

As they have from the early days of the pandemic, a majority of Americans (64%) continue to say their lives have been disrupted a great deal or fair amount by the coronavirus situation. This is down modestly from the 70% who said the same in February and roughly equal to the 65% recorded last June. At that time, states began loosening restrictions on businesses as infection rates dropped. However, the number of cases climbed again shortly after, and these restrictions largely returned.

The drop in the percentage of Americans seeing COVID-19-related disruption in their lives may be at least partly due to a decline in the number of adults who say they are engaging in strict social distancing practices.

Line graph. Americans’ perceptions of disruption in their lives due to COVID-19. 64% of Americans now say their lives have been disrupted due to the disease, while 36% say they have not experienced disruption due to COVID-19.

When asked how long they believe the disruption from COVID-19 will continue, a majority of Americans see it continuing for the foreseeable future. Thirty-three percent say it will last “a few more months,” while 44% predict it will persist through the end of 2021 and 19% see it continuing longer. A different version of this question asked in February found 38% of Americans believing the disruption would last through the first half of 2021 while 52% believed it would continue longer than that.

Bottom Line

Americans have become substantially less worried about contracting COVID-19 as a growing proportion of adults have been fully vaccinated and as satisfaction with the vaccine rollout has improved. These shifts have occurred while coronavirus infection rates have fallen substantially from highs reached in January of this year. Optimism about the COVID-19 situation has also spiked to a record high. Gallup previously observed a meaningful relationship between Americans’ perceptions of the coronavirus situation and changes in reported numbers of daily new cases.

After the March survey was conducted, infection rates began to rise again. This may be at least partially connected to the decrease in reported strict social distancing by Americans at a time when more contagious variants of the virus are spreading. Public health experts see the U.S. now in a race to get large numbers of Americans vaccinated before those variants spread further. The outcome of that race will determine the future course of infections in the U.S. and will likely determine whether Americans show continued increasing optimism about the COVID-19 situation or a course correction in their attitudes.

Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.

France Arrests Female Islamic Extremist Allegedly Plotting Easter Terror Attack on Church

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
social media

CHRIS TOMLINSON

French security services arrested an 18-year-old woman, along with her mother and three sisters, on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack on a church.

The General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), France’s domestic security service, raided the teen’s home in Béziers on Saturday night. The investigation was sparked by the discovery of a social media post, which led police to believe the girl wanted to commit an act of terror in a Montpellier church during an Easter service.

During a search of the family home, investigators discovered chemicals used in bomb-making and instructions on how to manufacture explosive devices. They also found prepared devices, comprised of several bottles, filled with marbles and taped together, newspaper Le Parisien reports.

The raid also turned up material related to Islamic State and a sword, but it was not clear if the blade was linked to the foiled attack.

According to Le Parisien, the area in which the family lived, the Devèze district, is known to have a bad reputation. Neighbours described the family as being withdrawn, keeping to themselves.

Shortly after the operation, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said: “Thank you to the DGSI and its agents who protect the French every day.”

The foiled attack comes months after a church in the city of Nice was targeted by a radical Islamic Tunisian illegal migrant who murdered three people and injured several others.

Christian churches and other places of worship have been targetted several times in the past by members and supporters of Islamic State, with one of the most brutal attacks taking place in July 2016 when two Islamists murdered Roman Catholic priest, Father Jacques Hamel.

Breitbart

How the Transgender Movement is Destroying Feminism

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
AP/Robin Rayne)
By Phyllis Chesler(American Thinker)
In 2005, I published a book with the title The Death of Feminism. I saw it all coming. But I did not foresee the rise of a transgender movement.

On March 31st, an allegedly feminist Open Letter Supporting Trans Women and Girls, was circulated. Among other things, it stated that “We acknowledge with clarity and strength that transgender women are women and that transgender girls are girls. And we believe that honoring the diversity of women’s experiences is a strength, not a detriment to the feminist cause.”

Interestingly, there is absolutely no mention of trans men — those who were born female but who have or want to become male. As we now know, there is an alarming spike among teenage girls in America who hope to solve their teenage sorrows such as low self-esteem, body image discomfort, trauma based on sexual violence, eating disorders, psychiatric suffering, etc., by cutting off their breasts, surgically removing their uteri and ovaries, and taking potentially lethal hormones to prevent puberty, and to grow facial hair and muscle.

The Open Letter continues: “It is time for the long history of assaults (legislative, physical, social, and verbal) against trans women and girls to end.”

I certainly agree with such a goal but wonder why the letter does not mention, even as an aside, or as context, the long history of sexual, physical, legal, economic, social, and verbal assaults against biological women, in their homes, on the streets, at work, in shelters, and as sex slaves. The letter remains silent about who the perpetrators of such violence might be.  I believe they are mainly gay and straight men who buy sex from trans women or who become enraged because they desire them.

The letter loses its way when it claims that “anti-trans sports bans are as unnecessary as they are harmful — and that women athletes at both the professional and college-level support inclusion.”

Is this really true?

I wonder whether these mainly Hollywood Lights (in both senses of that word), who have signed this Open Letter are only in favor of expanding their concept of what is female to include those who wish to dress in stereotypically “feminine” ways? Or those who wish to appear as ungainly, even “ugly” as possible, in female dress and jewelry? Or, more to the point, to those who wish the right to service both straight and gay men sexually for money free of police harassment?

What am I not understanding here? In what way does this constitute liberation for women? If the issue is poverty, racism, illiteracy, and unemployment, why not say so? Why choose to deal with these realities by making it easier for poor girls and women of color — and trans women of color, to work as prostitutes?

The letter insults radical feminists by describing us as “self-identified feminists… whose vitriol is, in fact, not feminist at all… who now cloak their bigotry in language about protecting or supporting women.”

The transgender movement is well known for shaming, harassing, and silencing all those feminists who have a rational, objective critique of what has become a well-funded, Orwellian movement of Big Brothers in which disagreement is not tolerated — in fact, it is howled down. Any other point of view on the trans issue has already been disappeared in the academic world, in the media, and in  international and national legal instruments. In fact, it has already made its way onto numerous government medical forms in which unsuspecting elders, waiting in line to be vaccinated,  are asked if they are trans, non-binary, or other.

Am I now one of those “self-identified feminists who have been promoting damaging and violent ideas about trans people for years?”

Me? Really? I barely wrote about this subject; I did not even think about it.

Ideally, I believe in civil and equal rights for every human being.  However, I do not believe in focusing on a trendy, diversionary minority over and above the totally unmet needs of a majority. We have never had enough shelters for battered women (of all colors, yes) including prostituted girls and women. Why are these signatories not fighting for that?

Ah, but when I read the names of the signatories I grew very quiet. I understand the psychological “rush” that attends being asked to sign a petition with some Very Famous Names on it. The thrill of belonging to a tribe of some kind. The desire for popularity—especially among women.

I understand why Hollywood actors, comediennes, models, celebrities, veterans of the shill game known as the Women’s March, Black Trans activists would sign on. But why would the Center for Reproductive Rights do so? Chelsea Clinton — is she planning to run for the Presidency? The Coordinator of the Lesbian Herstory Archives? The local Domestic Violence Shelters in Connecticut, Iowa, Memphis, and South Carolina? Legal Momemtum, the Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund? The National Women’s History Museum? Planned Parenthood Federation of America? Is the Tahirih Justice Center inundated with trans women of color who are immigrants? Do they outnumber biological immigrant women? Do lesbian activists really believe that the increasingly all-male gay and trans movements include or will include them?

Oh, I would really like to know.

I remember the lesbians who handed out condoms to gay men on Fire Island as the AIDS crisis raged when their ferries docked. I do not remember gay men fighting for funding for research for ovarian or breast cancer.

However, what are Gloria Steinem’s, the Ms. Foundation’s, and Catharine MacKinnon’s names doing here? Are they now all wholly owned subsidiaries of the Democratic Party or of Hollywood? Do they just need to remain au courant? Or do they actually have a feminist and political analysis of the very well-funded transgender movement? If so, I would dearly love to read it.

Do these signatories all really see transgender women as somehow liberating all womankind? From gang-rape? FGM? Honor killings? From sexual harassment, sexual slavery, pornography? And mainly, from bone-grinding poverty?

The Open Letter quotes Audre Lorde: “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” Lorde also said that we cannot abolish the Master’s House by using the Master’s tools. Thus, these revolutionaries-on-the-page alphabetize the signatories by first, not last names. Thus, Alicia Garza may be found under “A” not “G” and “Ashley Judd” is also listed under “A,” not under “J.” Am I to assume that our last names are all slave names? That my honorable father’s name which I have kept all my life was a slave or a slave-Master?

At this moment, I cannot view any of these signatories as part of the solution.

Abbas’ Critics Call for His Expulsion, Warn ‘People will Come for Him’

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Mahmoud Abbas supporters in Gaza City in 2020. (Majdi Fathi/TPS)

By: Baruch Yedid

There is a great deal of tension within the Fatah’s ranks and senior officials told TPS that there is an atmosphere of rebellion against the rule of Mahmoud Abbas, who is now perceived as responsible for crushing the organization and splitting it into rival factions.

“Disaster, collapse, black day, the end of Fatah,” the organization’s activists say, raising the possibility that the situation will worsen if Abbas also ousts Marwan Barghouti from the Central Committee.

Many elements are now joining the criticism against Abbas, including those who worked alongside Yasser Arafat, including foreign officials, officers and former senior officials, and are attacking Abbas as responsible for the drama and historical division in Fatah.

Fatah officials are even talking about the death of the movement.

Activists of Mouhamed Dahlan and Barghouti are calling for personal accountability with Abbas and his family members and even claim that they should be expelled from the area.

A senior Fatah official said that “this is Abu Mazen’s (Abbas’s) last battle for survival with the younger generation of the movement and he is expected to end his tenure like the Shah in Iran even though he feels strong now, like the Shah, on the eve of the revolution … Abu Mazen is responsible for the destruction of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, and he does not hesitate to allow Hamas to enter the PLO … The Palestinian People’s Court will come for him, not for nothing did Abu Mazen rush to renew security coordination with Israel,” he said.

Fatah is now talking about growing unrest in the PA-controlled territories and the possibility of acts of violence flaring up between the camps in Fatah. It is estimated in Ramallah that the Dahlan camp in the Gaza Strip has also become very strong in recent years and that the number of registered activists there is 92,000.

Meanwhile, there is growing speculation in Ramallah that Abu Mazen is approaching the decisive moment and the chances are high that he will announce the postponement of the elections while justifying the dramatic step in Israel’s refusal to allow ballot boxes in eastern Jerusalem. A senior official says there is an understanding, almost a decision by Abu Mazen, to postpone the election and save Fatah.

A security source in the Palestinian Authority explains that it is not for nothing that the PA recently demanded that 18 polling stations be set up in Jerusalem, and not just six, in order for Israel to refuse and pave the way for Abu Mazen to announce the postponement of the election.

Another source says that Israel is now pushing for Abu Mazen not to continue the election campaign, based on an intelligence assessment that has been formed in Israel according to which he is expected to be defeated.

A senior Ramallah official confirmed that businessmen Samar Khuri and Bashar al-Gaza, Abu Mazen’s friends, were sent to the US and are trying to check the pulse of the American response in case Abu Mazen decides to postpone the election.

The source says that the intelligence services in the US and Europe are increasing their interest in the Palestinian arena in light of the deteriorating situation in Fatah. (TPS)

 

 

Prosecution Claims Netanyahu Abused Power in 1st Day of Testimony in Corruption Case

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters the Jerusalem District Court, April 5, 2021. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)

By: Paul Shindman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court Monday at the start of the evidentiary stage of his trial on charges of corruption but left the court room immediately at the end of the opening speech and did not stay to hear any testimony, Kann News reported.

The hearing opened with a speech by the prosecutor from the State Attorney’s Office, attorney Liat Ben-Ari, who told the court that “the awareness of the Prime Minister that things are given to him because of his public status is what allows us to define things as bribery.”

“Defendant 1 is the Prime Minister of Israel, who according to the indictment made improper use of the great governmental power entrusted to him, inter alia, to demand and derive improper benefits from the owners of major media outlets in Israel in order to advance his personal affairs for a long time. To be re-elected,” Ben-Ari told the court.

At the beginning of the trial in February, Netanyahu pleaded not guilty. For years, the prime minister has maintained that the allegations against him are a witch hunt by people seeking to force him from power because they could not defeat him at the ballot box.

Ben-Ari alleged that Netanyahu’s communications regarding news coverage by the Walla news network were not just ordinary conversation.

“The discussion is not objective communication or not – but an impact on content,” said Ben-Ari. The main witness phase of the trial is expected to last up to several weeks, centering on the issue of whether or not Netanyahu and co-defendant Shaul Elovitch conspired to alter news coverage of the prime minister.

Elovitch at the time was CEO of the Bezeq communications company that had the controlling interest of the news website Walla, with Bezeq allegedly receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits from legislation Netanyahu advanced as long as Walla gave him positive coverage.

The first witness was former Walla CEO Ilan Yeshua, who testified that the biased coverage on the news site was done in exchange for regulatory benefits.

Yeshua said that Elovitch and his wife had told him on several occasions that if the prime minister’s wife Sara got angry, Netanyahu would get angry – and if he got angry, “we would be harmed,” as they put it.

Yeshua testified that senior staff members at the prime minister’s office constantly called him with articles ready to run on the website, and that the Elovitches pressured him to run articles critical of Netanyahu’s opponents.

As he delved into the details of how Shaul and Iris Elovitch had allegedly pressured him, Iris Elovitch at one point shouted towards the witness box, “How much can you lie?”

Yeshua’s testimony is expected to run through the end of the month, and the prosecution is expected to call at least 300 witnesses. Although only half of the witnesses are expected to be called to testify, the trial might continue for up to three years before a verdict is reached.

The defense is not obligated to announce at this point which witnesses it will bring. Netanyahu does not have to testify in court himself, but such a move may strengthen the suspicions against him, so he is likely to choose to testify at the relevant stage in the trial, Kann reported. (World Israel News)

Read more at: worldisraelnews.com

 

 

Alleged Ex-Mossad Agent Offered to help Jordanian Prince’s Family Flee: Report

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Alleged Ex-Mossad Agent Offered to help Jordanian Prince’s Family Flee: Report

By: AP

Jordanian authorities said Sunday they foiled a “malicious plot” by a former crown prince, Hamzah bin Hussein, to destabilize the kingdom with foreign support, contradicting the senior royal’s claims that he was being punished for speaking out against corruption and incompetence.

Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister, claimed an individual with links to foreign intelligence services had offered services to Hamzah’s wife on Saturday afternoon to try to get her out of the country.

The Jordanian news site Amoon identified the individual as an Israeli named Roy Shaposhnik, and reported that an “informed source” told the site that the individual is a former member of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.

In a statement to the Associated Press, Shaposhnik identified himself as a “former Israeli” businessman living in Europe, and a close friend of Hamzah’s, but denied ever being an intelligence agent.

He said he offered to host Hamzah’s wife and children after hearing about the prince’s predicament. The offer, he said, was based on the “strong personal friendship” between their families.

Faced with rival narratives, the United States and Arab governments quickly sided with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, reflecting the country’s strategic importance in a turbulent region.

Domestically, Hamzah’s unprecedented criticism of the ruling class — without naming the king — could lend support to growing complaints about poor governance and human rights abuses in Jordan.

At the same time, the king’s tough reaction — placing his popular half-brother under house arrest and accusing him of serious crimes — illustrated the limits on public dissent he is willing to tolerate.

“The kingdom’s stability and security transcend everything,” said Safadi, as he accused Hamzah and two senior Jordanian officials of conspiring with foreign elements to destabilize the kingdom. “The plot is totally contained.”

Yet Safadi’s news conference Sunday did little to address questions surrounding the weekend’s dramatic events. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, Hamzah had announced in a secretly recorded video leaked to the media that he had been placed under house arrest.

Hamzah’s mother, Noor, weighed in on Twitter, writing Sunday: “Praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander. God bless and keep them safe.”

Abdullah and Hamzah are both sons of the late King Hussein, who remains a beloved figure two decades after his death. Upon ascending to the throne in 1999, Abdullah named Hamzah as crown prince, only to revoke the title five years later. While the two are said to have generally good relations, Hamzah has at times spoken out against government policies, and more recently had forged ties with powerful tribal leaders in a move seen as a threat to the king.

In his video, Hamzah, 41, accused Jordan’s ruling class of corruption and stifling freedom of expression.

“I’m not part of any conspiracy or nefarious organization or foreign-backed group, as is always the claim here for anyone who speaks out,” he said. He said his love for the country is seen as “a crime worthy of isolation, threats and now being cut off.”

Hamzah is a popular figure in Jordan, widely seen as pious and modest. But in his televised address, Safadi painted a far different picture, accusing the prince of engaging in a secret plot that would have harmed national security had it not been foiled at the last minute.

“When they (security services) intercepted certain communications speaking about a zero hour, then it was clear that they (the alleged plotters) moved from designs and planning to action,” Safadi said. “As a result, it was necessary for the security and intelligence apparatuses to move to throttle at birth this malicious plot.”

Safadi did not provide specifics on the alleged plot or say what other countries were purported to have been involved. But he said that some 14 to 16 associates of Hamzah had been arrested, in addition to two former senior officials, Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family. Awadallah is a former Cabinet minister and one-time head of the royal court.

Safadi said Hamzah was warned Saturday by the country’s military chief to halt his activities but rejected the request. He claimed the prince recorded the conversations, passed them to foreign sources and issued his video message “in an attempt to distort facts and to gain sympathy domestically and internationally.”

He said the prince’s activities amounted to “incitement and efforts to mobilize citizens against the state.”

Safadi accused Awadallah, now a prominent businessman in the Gulf, of handling the contacts with foreigners. He also claimed an individual with links to foreign intelligence services, later identified by as Amoon as Shaposhnik, had offered services to Hamzah’s wife on Saturday afternoon to evacuate her from the country.

Safadi declined to say whether the prince would be charged with a crime, saying only there were attempts to resolve the matter amicably.

Such public clashes between the highest ranks of the long-ruling family are unheard of, and any signs of instability in Jordan could raise concerns throughout the region.

The United States swiftly announced its “full support” for Abdullah. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait all expressed solidarity with the king.

Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian political analyst, said the strong support for Abdullah reflected his generally good relations across the region as well as a concern that similar troubles could strike other countries.

None of the leaders in the region “would like to see havoc hitting any regime,” Kamhawi said. “It could be contagious.”

The U.S. considers Jordan a major ally, granting it access to military equipment and assistance. U.S. special forces and other troops routinely train with the Jordanians. The kingdom hosts some 3,000 American troops.

Jordan made peace with Israel in 1994. The countries maintain close security ties, but relations have otherwise been tense in recent years, largely due to differences linked to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz called Jordan a “strategic ally” and dismissed the turmoil as an “internal Jordanian matter.”

Jordan, a country of some 10 million people, has been shaken by a series of crises in recent years, from the rise of the Islamic State group in neighboring countries to an influx of Syrian refugees and an economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Bessma Momani, a professor of international relations at Ontario’s Waterloo University, said the house arrest of Hamzah was “self-defeating” because it is likely to strengthen the prince’s popularity.

Nonetheless, she said it sent a powerful message to the Jordanian public. “If a prince can be stymied, no Jordanian is immune from the heavy hand of the state,” she said. (AP)

 

3 Times Square Set for $25 Million Post-Pandemic Face-Lift

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Three Times Square, a famed office-tower in Midtown Manhattan, is about to undergo a $25 million revamp. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

By Benyamin Davidsons

Three Times Square, a famed office-tower in Midtown Manhattan, is about to undergo a $25 million revamp.  The Rudin family, which owns the 30-story building in a joint venture, said they will transform the building into a 21st century workplace destination.

The building, also known as the Thomson Reuters Building, located on 7th Avenue between 42nd Street and 43rd Street, had tapped architects Fox & Fowle some 20 years ago before opening in 2001.  As reported by the NY Post, now, it will again use the same architects, now known as FXCollaborative, to tweak the trophy tower for a successful post-pandemic future.

The tower, which offers roughly 855,000 square feet of commercial space, is facing dwindling demand for office space due to the pandemic, along with other commercial buildings.  As more businesses and employees have been working remotely, the tower faces the departures of several of its significant tenants over the next 12 months, including Bank of Montreal and FTI Consulting.  It now has the daunting task of filling the entire building with newly leased tenants.  Citywide, physical office occupancy is still at just 15 percent, and the Times Square area has been particularly hard hit.

Three Times Square was already designed to be energy efficient and does not require heating, with glass curtain walls with metal panels, which also promote natural daylighting.  Still rather than struggle to fill the building in a difficult market, and offer discounted pricing and lock in concessions on long term leases, the Rudin family has decided to take this time to undergo upgrades.

The tower, which had served as the headquarters for Reuters Group PLC, will not need extensive improvements, as it already has state-of-the-art air-filtration systems, and already offers private outdoor terraces. FXCollaborative will work on just two major improvements.  The first is creating a new, glass-walled, triple-height lobby.  Second will be a new space on the 16th floor dedicated for tenants amenities–including a spacious dining area and lounge overlooking Times Square, a conference and events center, as well as a modern fitness center and spa.   Rudin Management CEO William Rudin said the upgrades and in particular the lobby will make it a “sanctuary from all that’s happening outside”.  The lobby will also install a touchless-entry destination elevator system. Rudin told the Post that asking rents will be in the low $70s per square foot on base floors, and in the mid-$80s for higher floors.  Marketing will be led by leasing legend John Cefaly of the Cushman & Wakefield team.

 

NY Socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein’s Trump World Tower Condo Sold by Creditors

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Jocelyn Wildenstein, a socialite known as ‘Catwoman’ for her looks following extensive plastic surgery, had her residence sold by creditors. Credit: Yahoo

By Benyamin Davidsons

Jocelyn Wildenstein, a socialite known as ‘Catwoman’ for her looks following extensive plastic surgery, had her residence sold by creditors.  As reported by the NY Post, one of three condo units she owned at the Trump World Tower in Midtown Manhattan has been sold.  An administrator appointed by her creditors sold the single unit on the 51st floor of the Midtown East tower for $2 million.

Wildenstein, formerly a big spender, had owned three units at the luxury tower and combined the units, demolishing several walls, to create a five-bedroom, 5,160-square-foot single residence.  The unit was sold gutted, and stripped of all its former glory, beautiful fixtures and furniture.

Swiss-born Wildenstein, 80, had been married to the late billionaire and art dealer Alec Wildenstein.  The couple had a messy divorce in 1999, and she was reportedly awarded a whopping $2.5 billion in the divorce settlement. Somehow, she made it from billionaire to bankrupt.

The combined three units at the Trump World Tower, located at 845 United Nations Plaza between 47th and 47th streets, were first put up for sale by Wildenstein in 2015 asking $17.5 million.  The residence didn’t sell and was relisted for $13 million in February 2017, but to no avail. By 2018, Wildenstein filed for bankruptcy.  The two remaining units, from her combined apartment are still up for sale, for a total price of $5.6 million, but they can also be sold individually.  The apartments are side-by-side but not connected, and they boast views of the Empire State Building, the East River,  and the Chrysler Building.

The 72-floor luxury apartment building, completed by Donald Trump in 2001, reportedly has 376 units and has boasted apartment sales to many well-known rich and famous figures.  Some of the illustrious names to have owned apartments in the building include Bill Gates, Harrison Ford, Sophia Loren, Yankees Star Derek Jeter and Kellyanne Conway.  The building was briefly the tallest all-residential tower in the world.  It was also once famed as the New York City’s most valuable condo tower, getting assessed at $238 million in 2016.

As per the Real Deal, the last major apartment sold at the posh building was in mid-December 2020, with a $9 million unit sold to Steven Maksin, CEO of Moonbeam Capital Investments, and his wife Natalie.

MLB Moves All-Star Game to Colorado, Which Has Voter ID and Fewer Early Voting Days than GA

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
AP

DYLAN GWINN

According to a report, Major League Baseball (MLB) is expected to announce that they have decided to relocate the All-Star Game from Atlanta, Georgia, to Denver, Colorado.

A person familiar with the situation revealed the decision to the Associated Press Monday night.

MLB removed the All-Star Game from Atlanta after Georgia passed a series of voter reforms aimed at safeguarding the integrity of their elections. MLB and other corporations claimed that the new law acted as a “voter suppression” measure by shortening early voting periods and requiring ID.

Putting the falseness of those claims aside, for a moment, one would think that if MLB were so appalled by those measures, they would move their All-Star game to a place that fewer voting restrictions, not more.

However, that is not the case.

Not only does the state of Colorado require proof of identification when casting a ballot to vote, but it also has fewer early voting days than Georgia.

As for the claims that Georgia’s voting laws represent some attempt at severely restricting people’s ability to vote, even the Washington Post gave President Biden four Pinocchios for saying that the Georgia law changed election day voting hours.

As the Breitbart’s Joel Pollak reports:

‘What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick … deciding that you’re going to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work,” [Biden] said during last week’s news conference. The following day, Biden claimed the law ended voting hours early “so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.’
However, Biden’s assertions are not accurate. Election Day hours in Georgia, which are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., have not changed. Those in line by 7 p.m. are permitted to cast their vote.
‘Nothing in the new law changes those rules,’ the Washington Post reported.
Georgia’s law did, however, make changes to early voting, but the Post explained that experts said the ‘net effect was to expand the opportunities to vote for most Georgians, not limit them.’

Pollak continues:

Critics have also claimed that the law prohibits people from drinking water while waiting in line to vote. In fact, voters are permitted to drink ‘self-service water from an unattended receptacle.’ The law bans a practice called “line warming,” in which party operatives hand out water or other goods to people outside polling places, using the opportunity to campaign.
The local Atlanta Journal-Constitution issued a correction after claiming the law limited voting hours: ‘A previous version of this story said the new law would limit voting hours. On Election Day in Georgia, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and if you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to cast your ballot. Nothing in the new law changes those rules.’
The law limits the early voting period before runoff elections, but Georgia’ early voting period is still more generous than that of some other states, including Biden’s home state of Delaware. Georgia allows no-excuse absentee voting, unlike other states — including Delaware and the state of New York, where baseball’s Hall of Fame is located.
Many other provisions of the Georgia law make voting more accessible, not less. For example, it formally allows drop boxes, which were just a temporary measure in the 2020 election.

Many had questioned whether MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred had read Georgia’s voting laws before deciding to pull the All-Star Game from Atlanta. Now, given that he’s decided to play the game in a state with equal or even more restrictive voting requirements, one can fairly ask if he’s read anyone’s laws?

Breitbart

Savvy Buyers Take Advantage of Lower Prices for NYC Condos Since Exodus from City

By
Sholom Schreirber
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0
Homes and rentals in New York City continue to drop in price, following the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo Credit: AP

By:  Hellen Zaboulani

Homes and rentals in New York City continue to drop in price, following the COVID-19 pandemic.   While many landlords and building owners have been trying to hold on to their properties awaiting better prices,  keeping apartments empty indefinitely is not a viable option for most.  Many owners have come under pressure as mortgages, maintenance and taxes must be paid.  Owners have unwittingly been selling at discounts and offering generous concessions.

The falling prices have led to “a home buyers’ bonanza in Manhattan,” as per an article by the NY Times.  Savvy shoppers are buying at deep discounts, realizing that this is an opportunity to snag a deal in residential Manhattan real estate.  As reported by the Times, the exodus from the city has forced developers to cut condo prices by up to 50 percent in certain parts of Manhattan including Tribeca and the East Village, making the market significantly weaker than other areas including Brooklyn and Queens. Manhattan’s luxury real estate has actually seen prices dwindle since 2017, followed by the pandemic which dealt a heavy blow.

While sales activity has started to pick up, prices haven’t.  In fact, in the first quarter of 2021 a whopping 97 percent of the 2,457 Manhattan homes sold were at or below the asking price, the highest share since 2009, as per a Miller Samuel analysis reported by the Real Deal.  Many large developers, which had started constructed during a peak market, are selling units in bulk or even converting to rentals, as a result of the weak market.

“From here on in, it has to go up,” Gary Barnett, the chairman of Extell Development Company told the Times, after admitting that three out of six of the company’s aggressive condos projects are expected to lose money.  The Real Estate developer is not alone in conceding that loses must be taken and units must be sold despite the discounted prices.

Related Companies, one of New York’s biggest landlords, is also making deals at two of its projects.  Residential condos at 35 Hudson Yards and 15 Hudson Yards are now seeing 23 and 17 percent discounts respectively. “Pricing is a reflection of market conditions, and as a result of current pricing there is really strong sales momentum,” said a Related spokeswoman.

 

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