Wg 3 20 fin by David Watterson

Vol. VI, No. XII

Westchesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Influential Weekly

Mayor Mike Spano Dismisses Yonkersites By HEZI ARIS, Page 3 GOVERNMENT

opinion/education

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Hen Island Smoke, Mirrors Really Does Lay and the Golden Eggs Common Core

Heroin Abuse in the Hudson Valley

By Nancy King, Page 5

By RICH MONETTI, Page 6

By NICHOLAS TAMPIO, Page 6

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SHERIF AWAD The 3rd African Festival in Luxor Page 8 Dr. OREN LEVIN-WALDMAN

Minimum Wage Is Really

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RAYMOND IBRAHIM Islamic Jihan and the Doctrine of Abrogation Page 13 JOHN SIMON A New Genre Page 14 Mayor MARY C. MARVIN

Adopting Regulations to Reflect Economic Reality

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LUKE HAMILTON

Graft: The Common Core of Progressiveness

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RICHARD BRODSKY Cuomo Tested on Left, Right Page 18 BARBARA BARTON SLOANE

Spring Goes Sexy! Page 20

rience fundraising, knowledge of what development entails and experience working with sponsors/donors; 2) Operations Manager- must have a good knowledge of computers/software/ticketing systems, duties include overseeing all box office, concessions, movie staffing, day of show lobby staffing such as Merchandise seller, bar sales. Must be familiar with POS system and willing to organize concessions. Full time plus hours. Call (203) 438-5795 and ask for Julie or Allison

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Community Section ............................................................................... 4 Community Section ............................................................................... 44 Business ................................................................................................ Business ................................................................................................ Calendar ............................................................................................... 44 Calendar ............................................................................................... 45 Charity .................................................................................................. Creative Disruption ............................................................................ 56 Charity .................................................................................................. Contest Cultural Perspective ........................................................................... 766 Contest .................................................................................................. Creative Disruption ............................................................................ Energy Issues ....................................................................................... Creative Disruption ............................................................................ Education ............................................................................................. 867 In Memoriam ....................................................................................1078 Education ............................................................................................. Fashion .................................................................................................. 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Campaign Trail ..................................................................................20 Government Section ............................................................................17 Albany Correspondent ....................................................................17 Economic Development....................................................................17 Albany Correspondent Mayor Marvin’s Column..................................................................20 .................................................................18 Education ...........................................................................................21 Mayor Marvin’s Column .................................................................18 Government .......................................................................................19 The Hezitorial ....................................................................................21 Government .......................................................................................19 OpEd Section .........................................................................................23 LegalSection ....................................................................................................23 OpEd .........................................................................................23 Ed Koch Commentary.....................................................................23 People ..................................................................................................24 Ed Koch Letters toCommentary.....................................................................23 the Editor ..........................................................................24 Strategyto...............................................................................................24 Letters Editor............................................................................25 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A non profit OF Performing Arts Center is seeking two job positions- 1) DirecTODY OF THE CHILD AND TO SEEK ENFORCEMENT VISITATION RIGHTS WITH THE CHILD. tor of Development- FT-must have a background in development or expeBY ORDER OF THE FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK rience fundraising, knowledge of what development entails and Feature Section.................................................................................................................................. 3 experience working with sponsors/donors; 2) Operations Manager- must have a TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENT(S) WHO RESIDE(S) OR IS FOUND AT [specify The Hezitorial................................................................................................................................ good knowledge of computers/software/ticketing systems, duties3 include address(es)]: overseeing all box office, concessions, movie staffing, day of show Government.................................................................................................................................. 5 lobby Westchester On the Level is usually heard from Monday to Friday, from NY 1010701 a.m. to 12 Last known addresses: TIFFANY RAY: 24staffing Garfieldsuch Street, Yonkers, as#3, Merchandise seller, bar sales. Must be familiar with POS Noon on the Internet: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel. Opinion/Education. ..................................................................................................................... system willing to organize concessions. Call (203) Last known addresses: KENNETH THOMAS: 24 and Garfield Street, #3, Yonkers, NY 10701 Full time plus hours. 6 Because of the importance of a Federal court case438-5795 purporting corruption bribery and ask for Julie orand Allison Health............................................................................................................................................. 6 An Order to Show Cause under Article 10 of the Family Court Act having been filed with this Court allegations, programming be suspended for the days of March 26 to 29, 2012. YonWestchester On theseeking Levelwith heard Monday to Friday, from to is modify the from placement for the above-named child. 10 a.m. to 12 Noon

Westchester On On the the Level Level with with Narog Narog and Aris Westchester and Aris Aris and

kersthe Philharmonic Orchestra Sadewhite is our scheduled Friday, Section......................................................................................................................... 7 Westchester OnCommunity the Level is Conductor heard fromJames Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m.guest to 12 Noon on Internet: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel. Join YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear before this Court at Yonkers Family Court March 30. on the Internet: by http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel. Join Events. . ............................................................................................................................................ 7 the conversation calling toll-free to 1-877-674-2436. Please stay on topic. located at 53that So. Broadway, Yonkers, New York, the 28th day ofon March, 2012 at 2;15 pm in the It is howeverby anticipated theto jury will conclude itsonPlease deliberation either Monthe conversation calling toll-free 1-877-674-2436. stay on topic. afternoon of said day to answer the petition and to show cause why said child should not be Richard Narog March and Hezi Aris are your that co-hosts. In thewe week beginning February 20th and ending8on Cultural Perspectives................................................................................................................... day or Tuesday, 26 or regular with adjudicated to27. be aShould childbe andthe why case, you should will not beresume dealt withour in accordance the Richard Narog andhave Hezi areneglected your In the week beginning February 24th,schedule we an Aris exciting of guests. programming and announce fact on the Yonkers Tribune website.February 20th and ending8on provisions of Article 10entourage ofthat the co-hosts. Family Court Act. Film................................................................................................................................................. February 24th, we have exciting entourage ofshow. guests. Richard Narog and Hezian Aris are co-hosts of the Every Monday is Public special. On Monday, February 20th, Wade, participant in http:// PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, thatKrystal you have the right toabecelebrated represented by a lawPolicy.................................................................................................................................. 9 Every Monday is special. Monday, 20th, celebrated participant in http:// yer, and ifOn the Court finds youFebruary are unableKrystal to pay forKrystal a lawyer, you haveathe right to havewho a lawyer www.TheWritersCollection.com is our guest. Wade isWade, a mother of three works fifty miles assigned by the Court. Music. . ........................................................................................................................................... 10 www.TheWritersCollection.com our guest. Krystal is a novel mother threeaccepted who works fifty miles from home and writes in her “spare is time.” “Wilde’s Fire,”Wade her debut hasofbeen for publication from home and writes ininher “spare time.” “Wilde’s Fire,” debut has been publication PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, thather if you fail tonovel appear at the timeaccepted andHow placefor Technology.................................................................................................................................. 11 it? and should be available 2012. Not farFURTHER behind is her second novel, “Wilde’s Army.” does she do noted in above, the Court and determine the petition as provided by law.Army.” How does she do it? and available 2012. Notwill farhear behind is her second novel, “Wilde’s Tuneshould in andbefind out. Current Commentary............................................................................................................... 12 Dated: January 30, 2012 BY ORDER OF THE COURT Tune in and find out. Co-hosts Richard Middle Narog2 and Aris will relish the1 column dissection column CLERK OF THE COURTof all things politics on Tuesday, February EastHezi Forum.................................................................................................................... 13 Co-hosts Richard andPresident Hezi ArisChuck will relish the dissection of his all things politicsfrom on Tuesday, February 21st. Yonkers CityNarog Council Lesnick will share perspective the august inner Eye on Theatre. . ........................................................................................................................... 14 21st. Yonkers Lesnick will share 22nd. his perspective from the august sanctum of theCity CityCouncil CouncilPresident ChambersChuck on Wednesday, February Stephen Cerrato, Esq., will inner share sanctum of the City Chambers Wednesday, February 22nd. Esq.,be will share Time.............................................................................................................................................. 15 his political insight onCouncil Thursday, Februaryon 23rd. Friday, February 24th hasStephen yet to beCerrato, filled. It may a propihis political Thursday, February 23rd. Friday, February 24th has yet to be filled. It mayofbeThat a propitious day toinsight sumGovernment. uponwhat transpired throughout the week. A sort of BlogTalk Radio version Was .................................................................................................................................... 16 tious day toThat sumWas up what transpired throughout the week. 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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

FeatureSection

Page 3

Charter School

THE HEZITORIAL

Mayor Mike Spano Dismisses Yonkersites in Educational Excellence 260 Warburton Ave. Yonkers NY 10701 High Stakes Political Power Play By HEZI ARIS

Financial Armageddon Looms in Yonkers

January 17, 2014 was the day Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano advised the City of Yonkers (CoY) his intent on making the Yonkers Board of Education (YBoE) a department of the City of Yonkers (CoY). It was also that day that Yonkers Public Schools (YPS) Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio had advised him the YBoE requisitioned $55 million more from the CoY than they were “allegedly” permitted. At issue were two separate sums, designated in part for FY 2012-2013 and another for FY 2013-2014; together valued at $55 million. In each of the specified fiscal year budgets noted, the “allocated” sums were defined their monetary value and rationalized as part of the Gap Equilibrium Adjustment (GEA), best understood as an I.O.U. The GEA was shorthand for New York State admitting they did not have the necessary funds they permitted to be included in each of Mayor Mike Spano’s Budgets, approved by the Yonkers Board of Education Trustees, Mayor Mike Spano’s Office, The Yonkers City Council (YCC), and New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. With the GEA permitted to stand, New York State admitted the funds were not readily available, but when they became evident, such as in a time of a state surplus, they would be made available to CoY. There was no specific deadline by which the GEA was to be delivered, only an Albany-like designation for an I.O.U. The revelation would undergo many metamorphoses. The telling is herein with all its warts, bruises, broken limbs, fund

raising efforts, campaign efforts. If ever there was a time to outshine the BBC’s original “House of Cards” with Ian Richardson and/ or Netflix’s “House of Cards” with Kevin Spacey, CoY’s got it all going on by miles. NYS Comptroller signed off on the two budgets because he understood the $55 million in GEA funding could not be spent until they would be released by Albany to the city coffers. They money had never been sent and therefore was never received. Where did the city get the money from which it paid? The issue is from where was money paid to the tune of $55 million if the funds were not in the Yonkers City coffer. Mayor Spano’s announcement won immediate approval for abrogating the YBoE’s financially dependent school district to be made a department of CoY. The rationale for maintaining the status quo of the YBoE has earned supporters over the years, as have detractors who suggest the YBoE become a department of CoY, and others who prefer different models. The squabbles over one model over another have eclipsed many years of sustained bickering in which one side or another would extinguish the other’s argument. The skirmishes would become known every time the simmering embers over one perspective issue were about to be extinguished. Alas, this last battle has been brought to its loftiest heights ever imagined. And who better that Mayor Mike Spano to lead the charge from behind. Yes, from behind. Mayor Mike Spano blamed then Superintendent Pierorazio for the crisis that was revealed. Mayor Spano claimed Pierorazio, after advising Mayor Spano the “so-called” overspending / shortfall / deficit, offered his resignation, to which, with alacrity, Mayor Spano accepted despite Pierorazio being employed by the

YBoE Trustees and NOT Mayor Spano. Contesting the scenario divulged by spokespeople for Yonkers City Hall, Yonkers Tribune reported that it was Nick DeSantis, partner in the firm O’Connor Davies Munns & Dobbins, LLP, employed by CoY and the Yonkers City Council, was in fact the finder of the $55 million “discrepancy”. DeSantis is presently the also engaged as the auditing fir for the YBoE. Caught in another maelstrom of political doing and undoing, the drama within Yonkers was ratcheted to the hilt. If anyone knows drama, its Yonkers and Yonkersites. Mayor Spano advised that Pierorazio advised of his retirement. Mayor Spano’s assertion was proven false. It would take over a month’s time for Pierorazio to conclude a financial departure. The day Pierorazio’s departure was legally concluded was also the day YBoE Trustee President Dr. Nader Sayegh, Esq., shepherded the accession first divulged by the Yonkers Tribune of Dr. Michael Yazurlo to be its interim Superintendent. Interim, because the plan is for the YBoE to be soon dissolved. The assertion that a forensic review of the books would be forthcoming is another pipe dream now over two months over due. It seems Mayor Mike Spano is intent on running out the clock. Remember April 1st, 2014. No, it isn’t an April Fool’s joke. It is likely to be the day the end game is revealed. Then again, this is the Yonkers Tribune, we’ll put the kibosh on the silence… we’ll do the telling! Yonkers City Council President Liam McLaughlin, in 2014 acceded to office as president after a short hiatus from public service, in which he previously earned 10-years serving in the capacity of Yonkers City Councilman, and Minority

Continued on page 4

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Designated a “Featured” BlogTalk Radio program, has been operating for over two years via the Internet with Co-Hosts Richard Narog and Hezi Aris every weekday, from 10 a.m. to 12 Noon. Listen to the show live or on demand. Share your perspective by calling (347) 205-9201 or by clicking onto the following hyperlinks: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ westchesteronthelevel

Visit our Website:

www.charterschoolofeducationalexcellence.org

We are accepting new student applications for Grades K-8 Estamos aceptando nuevas solicitudes de estudiantes para los grados K-8

Information Sessions • Sesiones Informativas Thursday, March 20, 2014 @ 5:30PM Jueves, Marzo 20, 2014 a las 5:30PM

260 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, NY Application Deadline April 1, 2014 La Fecha Limite Para Entregar La Solicitud Del Sorteo es Abril 1, 2014 Lottery Date: April 8, 2014 La Loteria se Llevara a Cabo en Abril 8, 2014 For an application or more information please call: Para obtener informacion Llame al :

914.476.5070 X 13 “We aim to inspire, motivate and instill a love for learning in all children.”

Page 4

THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

THE HEZITORIAL

Mayor Mike Spano Dismisses Yonkersites in High Stakes Political Power Play Continued from page 3

and Majority Leader. Considering Mayor Spano’s overreaching effort to appease McLaughlin’s mentor, former Mayor John Spencer, and “friend and Family” member of Clan Spano, et al, despite the denials (think Kathy Spring Spencer’s WIB job, her hiring to McLaughlin’s Chief of Staff, and so much more), and Mayor Spano’s support of McLaughlin’s candidacy, a pure “non-aggression pact” political play, and any cerebrally challenged individual can appreciate why McLaughlin was quick to support Mayor Spano’s call for transforming the YBoE into a department of CoY. Yet few people know that Robert Ferrito, former YBoE Trustees president is the man whispering into McLaughlin’s ear. It’s mind boggling how the very person, who after being term-limited out as YBoE Trustees president, and his failed political campaign effort thereafter, needing a “no show job”, would find then Mayor Phil Amicone, also desirous of bringing the YBoE under the aegis of CoY as a department, engaged Ferrito’s services to the tune of $125,000 per year. Ferrito’s incendiary demeanor and in your face “I know better” attitude, coupled with his allegiance to Spencer and not to Amicone would find his welcome no longer welcomed. When Ferrito found himself kicked out into the cold by Amicone, Yonkers Tribune demanded to know what the $250,000 remuneration “earned” by Ferrito came to. It turned out to be an innocuous, two-paragraph long notice that Ferrito could not find any way to making the YBoE a department of CoY. Notwithstanding his lackluster performance years ago, Ferrito is under the impression that he is the go to man to tell McLaughlin how to get it done when he didn’t have a clue then, and doesn’t now. Ferrito is nothing more than a beard to maintain Mayor Spano’s smile and socalled good nature in using others to do his bidding, or should we say, former New York State (NYS) Senator and lobbyist extraordinaire Nick Spano, owner of Empire Strategic Planning ESP), among others we will mention herein. Nick Spano recently sent an email to invite Republicans, among others, to fundraise for Governor Andrew Cuomo’s reelection bid. Nick Spano (Republican) has engaged Real Estate Broker and former partner Paul Adler (Rand Commercial Realty), a Democrat, in that effort. The event is to take place on April 3, 2014, at the Doubletree Inn, in Tarrytown, NY. Former Republican U.S. Senator Al D’Amato, Esq., Founder and Managing Director of the lobbying firm Park Strategies, LLC,

is known to be a New York State “kingmaker”. D’Amato has every intention to do just that. He has endorsed the Nick Spano / Paul Adler effort to benefit Governor Cuomo. Al D’Amato, Nick Spano, and Paul Adler believe they have been able to see into their crystal ball, a clairvoyant tool suggestive of a sort of ESP; they have doubled down on incumbent Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is acknowledged to hold over a 40 percentage points lead over any and all challengers, including Republicans Rob Astorino (declared candidate) and Carl Paladino (undeclared candidate). The “Donald”Trump, true to form, only days’ ago pulled out of contention; a passive / aggressive move supportive of Governor Cuomo. The Yonkers “drama / crisis” is tied to Albany at the hip. In fact, it was over two years ago that Governor Andrew Cuomo walked into the Polish Community Center in support of the City of Yonkers. He won the mayorship for Mike Spano. Within less than 30 seconds Governor Cuomo shared in his strong belief in CoY and Yonkersites; that he would not think otherwise, despite the vocal naysayers. “I believe in Yonkers,” he said to unwavering applause and a standing standing ovation from seemingly everyone in the cavernous room. “ I know Mike Spano is best for Yonkers!” When Governor Cuomo was advised of the “crisis” by Mayor Spano, the Governor was going to exact a price. In the past, Mayor Spano asked Governor Cuomo to sign off on bringing a Control Board to Yonkers. The Governor refused. He advise Mayor Spano if that was what he wanted, he had best act. Governor Cuomo would not step over Mayor Spano in that regard. Recognize that from the first days of Mayor Spano’s accession to office, as payback for the Governor’s support of Mike Spano, and truth be told, Governor Cuomo not truly confident in Mayor Spano’s ability to govern, had designated Yonkers Deputy Mayor Sue Gerry be installed, managed by Lawrence Schwartz, Secretary to Governor Cuomo, former gubernatorial confidante, who is Governor Cuomo’s “Man Friday”, the “to guy”. When Governor Cuomo heard that the $55 million over-spending spree accrued under Mayor Spano’s watch he advised Larry Schwartz to take care of it. Instructions that resonate well with Schwartz. Governor Cuomo didn’t care how it would be done, he just wanted it done. Schwartz knows Governor Cuomo is the “man”! Schwartz demanded heads role. With YBoE Trustee Sayegh at the helm, Yonkers Public Schools (YPS) Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Joseph Brachitta resigned. Eventually, so did YPS Superintendent Pierorazio. But that wasn’t enough.

As more political pressure was exacted, Schwartz was to learn that the $55 million “spending spree” had ballooned to $119. Even that figure is uncertain. A final forensic study has yet to be completed. Mayor Spano wants control of the YBoE as a department so as to add another 4,000 patronage jobs under his control. The chessboard was set. Schwartz on one side, Mayor Spano on the other; Yonkersites, the perennial pawns forced to fight, get wounded, and die; forced to wage battle with the “generals” guiding and managing the war of political will and skill from the back. In such a battle, Yonkersites are close to losing once again. Time is short. April 1st looms. No, not April Fools, instead, it is the day by which the New York State Legislature is to adopt Governor Andrew Cuomo’s FY20142015 Budget. Should that budget maintain the present one-sentence resolution promoted by Republican Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Independent Democratic Coalition Leader Jeff Klein, that of transforming the YBoE into a department of CoY, the change will have been made without a word heard from parents, students, teachers, or from among other stakeholders; Yonkersites will me marginalized and dismissed once again. But there is more. The animosity created upon former Senator Nick Spano’s trouncing in the polls, bringing present Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, maintains his call for her demise. In fact, Mayor Spano spent the most recent days in Albany awaiting the Republican / IDC inclusion of transforming the YBoE into a department as Mayor Spano deems it appropriate, despite no public discussion, no Yonkers City Council discussion.This seems to be the environment that best suits Mayor Spano; perhaps that speaks to the newly adopted gait strutted by Mayor Spano. Will the public find the resolve to stand up to Mayor Spano and those standing to protect him in this high stakes chess game? To be sure, Senator Stewart-Cousins feels the pain. Mayor Mike Spano has culled Human Right Deputy Carlos Moran, a Democratic Ward Leader, Wilson Terrero, recently defeated Yonkers City Council Majority Leader (District 2), given a job with WIB at Mayor Spano’s insistence, and Jose Alvarado, the one time Westchester County Legislator, Yonkers Constituent Services employee, then disgraced and removed Yonkers City Clerk, to operate in tandem in support of the yet to declare Republican candidate Robert Forti intentioned to campaign against Senator Stewart-Cousins, while Westchester County Legislator Virginia Perez was until the last few days intending to

primary the three-term senator. Interesting is it not… all Democrats looking to defeat and diminish the Democratic Senate Conference Leader. Big mistake. At issue is not whether CoY will find Governor Cuomo bailing Yonkers out of its own mess. That will transpire; it is almost a foregone conclusion. This is an election year. At issue is who and how much are we talking about in dollars and cents, who is at fault, what are the corrective best practices so as not to repeat this outcome again, and how did CoY pay over $119 million to teachers, vendors, among other employees and suppliers if they never received the money they spent beyond what they received? The YBoE spent, as far as we now know, $119 million more that they had received for the benefit of the YPS by requisitioning funds from Finance Commissioner John Liszewski to comply with Mayor Mike Spano’s two FY approved budgets, no more and no less. That amount was exceeded by the YBoE to the tune of $119 million. In order for the YBoE to satisfy the bills it pays, it requisitions Finance Commissioner Liszewski for the funds. They are then “wired” to the account either maintained by the YBoE or are paid by CoY for the benefit of the YPS. The fact that $119million more than was allotted to the YPS was spent logically suggests that there is a “slush” fund that had existed to which no administration in Yonkers ever revealed to the taxpayers in Yonkers, much less in Albany. The scam continues. Taxes were never lowered. They continue to rise. The slush fund was used for other purposes. Yonkersites know for what those items are. Another issue, another day. Yonkersites and some elected officials are only concerned about getting the money. They have no interest in coming to an agreement about getting the money and in the same breath setting up fail-safe mechanisms that would not permit a similar overspending to take place. And there is no interest in revealing in what secret account Commissioner Liszewski was able to draw against in order to pay for $119 million more than he had in the city coffers. As a point of fact, City Hall asserts the city side of the budget is in deficit to the tune of $50 million. City Hall presently faces a $169 million hole they want to fill. It is evident that there is a problem in the Department of Finance and that the CoY, despite claiming to have hired an Internet Technology specialist, MIS Director Bob Cacace, has in the past 18 months or so been at the helm but has yet to engage a melding of financial software that would have mitigated this crisis. So, is this real, Memorex, or a political assault to gain patronage over 4,000 by holding over 1,000 jobs possible to be dismissed at ransom if

funding is not gained. But then again, should future funding resuscitate in kind that spent? Why? The money was there to spend. It is taxpayer money squirreled for reasons never shared with the taxpayer but is taxpayer money collected from the taxpayer years ago. The taxpayer cannot be responsible for Mayor Spano’s lack of oversight and control of the Department of Finance or its inept Finance Commissioner John Liszewski, or its pandering and inept CPA Nick DeSantis who was the person who advised Mayor of this calamity but did so after two years time. Why wasn’t this issue brought forward last year. This is starting to smell like a concocted brew that betters the witches depicted in Shakespeare’s Macbeth as they delight in the mix they brew in a large iron caste cauldron. Now that the New York State Senate has voted to transform the YBoE into a department of CoY, and the New York State Assembly not including it as part of their budget proposal, the NYS Legislature will need to reconcile both houses. Since Governor Cuomo seems intent on winning Yonkers in the upcoming election, despite Yonkersites having yet to become engaged in a discussion over the issues, there is only one given… that is, the budget will be approved by April 1st, at worst very close to that date. Are there any guarantees that the YBoE cannot continue its spending spree prior to the YBoE becoming a department is legally devised? How so? Has the Oracle Software been melded with the YPS? Will there be a run of the YBoE? Meanwhile, Mayor Spano has told MIS Director Bob Cacace, Human Resources Commissioner Paula Redd Zeeman, Parks, Recreation & Conservation Commissioner Yvette Hartsfield, Finance Commissioner John Liszewski, and DPW Commissioner Thomas Meier to work together on a streamlining process best for CoY. This should have been done 2 years ago; better late than never. I wonder if any of them have learned anything over these past two years that they can translate worthy to benefit Yonekrsites. Their paltry two year resume is wanting. What a total shame. The takeaway is that the YBoE Board of Trustees will be dissolved, including Dr. Nader Sayegh, Esq., who was effectively used to shepherd the process without a hiccough, and whose good nature and finesse focused on the issues that served Mayor Spano well, yet respectful of the children and their parents. Unfortunately, Dr. Sayegh continues to suffer the anti-Arab bigotry that is evident in City Hall’s conduct. He will be removed and dismissed when the YBoE is dissolved and in its wake a Department of Education and a Chancellor will be chosen. The big deal is that iunstead of $260,000

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THE HEZITORIAL

Mayor Mike Spano Dismisses Yonkersites in High Stakes Political Power Play Continued from page 4

plus perks per annum ads afforded Pierorazi, City Hall will reduce the remuneration by $60 to $80,000 less. Whoop de doo. The drama will soon climax. Where will Yonkers stand? Will Mayor Mike Spano win this battle or will it be an unsatisfying skirmish to gain its reprise over

another propitious political moment? Will Yonkersites learn from which account the funds were expended? Will there be a failsafe mechanism to protect the taxpayer’s money? Will Yonkersites’ voices be heard and once heard, will they be heeded? Does anyone care? If people are not stirred to give

expression, Mayor Mike Spano’s conduct will send a shudder through the political climate in Yonkers and New York State. My money is on Mike Spano!!! He has disengaged and dismissed enough people in Yonkers who believed they were working for Yonkers’ benefit by clinging dearly to serving Mayor Spano that they instead now find they were used and are irrelevant to the

equation. So many people were silent over the last two years, nay, let’s count it as 18 years instead, that there are none among those in Yonkers able to speak. The outlook; Mayor Spano will be drunk with power and destructive because of his inability, and that of his staff to do much of anything of value for Yonkers other than to possibly create a different imprint on the city landscape that

will cost Yonkersites more dearly. Yonkers is still awaiting an financial statement on the Ridge Hill Project. It still offers nothing to the financial needs of CoY. I suggest we ask Forest City Ratner to build Yonkers from the ground up and give them an inducement of 50 years to close the deal. Hallelujah. Comment as you see fit!

GOVERNMENT

Hen Island Really Does Lay Golden Eggs By NANCY KING Insider politics and corruption is just the way of life for any governing entity and after a while I think most folks come to realize that even if the lowliest of elected officials start out with good intentions, they almost always are led astray by the offering of a golden egg. The City of Rye is just as unclean as any other governing body; they’re just different to look at. Most of them are wealthy and white and so much more adept at lying and

concealing it. This cast of characters involving Hen Island is long and convoluted but they’re all connected by a very strong thread; and that’s the ability to manipulate the truth. The Hen Island fiasco started to heat up when current NYS Assemblyman Steve Otis was the Mayor of Rye. Having been former State Senator Suzi Openheimer’s right hand man, Otis was already skilled at playing Three Card Monty learning how to play the game as a legislative aide in Albany. By the time Otis was seated in the Mayor’s chair, summer resident Ray Tartaglione was starting to ask some serious questions about

everywhere, and the banks of batteries that the homeowners were using for power. He promised to write a strong report that was to include all of the violations he had observed. Interestingly, that inspection and subsequent report pretty much went nowhere. Again, Tartaglione continued to put pressure on Westchester County and on the Rye City Council; he was granted a second inspection. They sent the same Inspector but this time his demeanor toward Mr. Tartaglione was chilly, distant. Inspector Smith concluded there were no violations to be seen even when the conditions of the island were clearly the same after his second inspection. Was he threatened by Otis, the then town attorney Kevin Plunkett (now Westchester

Hen Island and if he was getting a stone wall of silence from the Rye Town Council. Tartaglione started firing the same questions to county officials. And like all good “duck and deflect” elected officials, Westchester County brought in a health inspector to investigate the allegations that Tartaglione was making and more than likely, to get Tartaglione off their backs. What Westchester County Inspector Smith saw on Hen Island that day were conditions that he ultimately described as barbaric. No potable water, raw sewage being emptied into the harbor, debris piled up

County Deputy Executive) or was he granted a golden egg in order to amend his report? Paying off politicians with political favors seems to be a Hen Island tradition. In order to insure that things would remain status quo for the Kuder Island Corporation, lead Investigator Gatto took Inspector Smith off the case and replaced him with Deputy Commissioner Lenny Myerson who was later terminated from his employment with Westchester County because he was sympathetic and in agreement with Mr. Tartaglione and his Heal the Harbor group. While all of this is going on, Rye resident Doug French decides to run for

Continued on page 6

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

GOVERNMENT

Hen Island Really Does Lay Golden Eggs Continued from page 5

mayor on the platform that he would restore civility to the governing board of Rye and that he would work his hardest to ban the 7-foot character, Mr. Floatie (Heal the Harbor’s mascot) from future council meetings. However it didn’t take too long once French was elected to have a few skeletons of his own fall out of the closet. The mayor, who had promised transparency, civility, and said he would restore the trust of the residents of Rye was also practicing a

little bit of deception on the side… he was collecting 2 Star Tax exemptions! While living across town in one residence, French had a secondary rental investment property across town that he not only had tenants in but that he was claiming a tax exemption on. Big oops! Doug French had also completely renovated that investment property without any building permits and a certificate of occupancy! One can only presume he couldn’t bear to see his taxes rise and be found out for committing fraud. He made

sure he was getting as many golden eggs as he could fit in his pocket. At this juncture, Mr. Floatie, Ray Tartaglione and Heal the Harbor were the least of his problems. Rye Councilmember Joe Sack had gone rogue and was not only asking for answers but he was offering solutions to fix Hen Island. The rest of the council including former legislative candidate Suzanna Keith and current County Legislator Catherine Parker sat there silently while the Mayor French unraveled as he was questioned about this issue by Mr.Targalione and Rye resident Leon Sculti. So much for banning the circus, French had

become the circus… and still Hen Island continued to stink. Flash forward to winter 2014. Sack is now mayor. French has paid back over 16K that he had stolen from the taxpayers. Parker had found her way to the County Legislature, Keith is off the board, former city attorney Kevin Plunkett is now Westchester County Deputy Executive, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has acknowledged that Hen Island is the epicenter of vector borne disease in the county and yet Hen Island remains the same. One can’t help but wonder how the

Kuder Island Corporation can get away with not making improvements to their little plot of personal paradise and just who is protecting them? It is almost time for the warmer weather of spring. Returning along with the summer residents of Hen Island will be all of its existing issues unless Mayor Sack, the County of Westchester, and the Board of Managers of the Kuder Island cooperative step out of the 19th Century and fix that island.

opportunity. As a result of the RTTT, schools are spending finite resources on corporate education consultants, a new teacher evaluation system (APPR), and technology so that all students may take the Common Core tests (PARCC) at the same time. In turn, schools are eliminating classes in art, music, science, social studies, and foreign languages. Second, there are legal grounds that states can use to fight back against federal education policies. The RTTT application does not contain a repayment penalty for withdrawing from a commitment, and no state has bound itself forever to the RTTT provisions.The federal government has other weapons at its disposal, including withholding Title I money, but this does not mean that the New York should just accept flawed education standards. Let’s be honest. New Yorkers did not in any meaningful sense choose the Common Core. Governor David A. Patterson submitted a Race to the Top application at the height of the financial crisis. The Common Core standards were not field tested anywhere. We are only just now discovering what the Common Core means in practice, and many parents are doing everything in their power to stop it. Politicians cannot make the Common Core problem disappear with smoke and mirrors. Sooner or later, most people will admit that the Common Core has been a

failure. Why wait? Nicholas Tampio is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Fordham University. Tampio researches the legacy of the Enlightenment in contemporary politics and philosophy. His first book, Kantian Courage, considers how Anglo-American, Continental, and Islamic political theorists renovate Kant’s critical philosophy. Tampio’s second book, Deleuze’s Political Vision, explains why Gilles Deleuze’s masterpiece, A Thousand Plateaus, ought to enter the political theory canon. He is currently preparing an article on whether democracies should have national education standards. Tampio has published peer-reviewed articles in leading journals such as Political Theory, Politics & Religion, and Theory & Event. Tampio earned his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University and has served as the assistant editor of Political Theory. Previously, Tampio taught at the University of Virginia, George Mason University, and Hamilton College.

Nancy King is a freelance writer.

OPINION / EDUCATION

Smoke, Mirrors, and the Common Core By Prof. NICHOLAS TAMPIO All across the country, politicians are looking for ways to get parents to stop protesting the Common Core. One strategy, in states such as Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania, is to rebrand the controversial educational standards. Another strategy is to pass legislation that gives the appearance of change but ensures that the Common Core has time to cement its place in schools. Thus, on March 5, the New York State Assembly passed billed A8929. The bill relates to the use of Common Core assessments, teacher and principal training, and the release of student data. The bill does not permit school districts to stop using a curriculum based on the Common Core standards. The bill postpones for one year the use of Common Core tests to evaluate teachers. In the meantime, students will take Common Core tests and teachers will practice teaching to the tests that will, soon enough, determine if they are fired or not. The bill requires the Education Commissioner to develop a Common Core training program for teachers and principals.

In related news, the state now requires aspiring teachers to pass a certification test on whether they can plan lessons aligned to the Common Core. The New York educational system will soon be permeated by the Common Core pedagogy. The bill grants parents a right to opt-out disclosure of personal data or biometric records to third-parties, including commercial vendors. And yet the bill also authorizes the Education Commissioner to determine what types of third-parties that parents may withhold data from. In other words, the data-sharing provision of the bill tells the fox to guard the henhouse. As a parent, I am troubled by developments in the New York Assembly. My kindergartner comes home exhausted after a day of school with almost no time for unstructured play. As the child developmental psychologist Megan Koschnick explained at a conference at Notre Dame in September 2013, the Common Core standards are developmentally inappropriate, virtually insured to give many children math and reading anxiety. There is no good way to implement bad standards. Fortunately, some New York politicians

listen to parents on the issue of the Common Core. There is a bill (A8844 & S6604), with bipartisan support, that calls for a Blue Ribbon Commission to hold hearings, do research, and make recommendations to the governor and legislature regarding curriculum and testing before moving forward, if at all, with the Common Core.The bill requires New York’s education leaders to think before they act: a sensible proposal. The Assembly, however, voted to defeat this bill as an amendment to A8929. Why? One reason may be that in 2010, the U.S. Department of Education gave New York $700 million in Race to the Top (RTTT) funds on condition that the state adopt common standards, participate in a testing consortium, evaluate teachers based on student test scores, and collect data on students. Still, the New York legislature should fight back against overreaching federal education policy. First, the RTTT places financial burdens on the state and school districts. New York parents and teachers have recently filed a lawsuit against the governor and Education Department for failing its constitutional obligation to ensure that every student has access to a meaningful education

For New Yorkers who would like more information about the Common Core and the effort to stop it, there will be an iRefuse rally on Saturday, March 29 at Comsewogue High School in Port Jefferson Station from 12 Noon to 4 pm. Speakers include Dr. Joe Rella, Dr. Mercedes Schneider, NYS Assemblyman Al Graf, and Co-Founder of Stop Common Core in New York State Yvonne Gasperino.

health

Heroin Abuse in the Hudson Valley By RICH MONETTI

US Representative Sean Patrick Maloney recently held another of his town hall meetings via phone and engaged the Hudson Valley on an issue that certainly merited the “emergency” tagline attached to the telephone link

up. “It’s an epidemic in the Hudson Valley,” said Congressman Maloney of the alarming rise of heroin and prescription drug use. Bringing people together to talk about solutions is the most important factor in solving it,” he added. With the problem cutting across all geographic and demographic boundaries in the Hudson Valley, Congressman Maloney

was not mum about what it means to think otherwise. “Denial equals disaster,” said Maloney. As such, collaboration kept coming up among the panel that included a number of experts on both the criminal justice and prevention sides. “When treatment is working with criminal justice, when both are working in conjunction with mental health, there’s a

tendency for a much tighter plan and much better results,” said Chief Gerald Schramek of the Putnam County Sheriff ’s Office. The $625,000 of federal funds the congressman just secured for the area certainly won’t hurt, but when you’re in the position of Janice from Poughkeepsie, available resources don’t necessarily ease the tragedy. “I’m the heartbroken mother of a 23-yearold daughter who is addicted to heroin,” said Janice, “and rehab only happens when the addict consents to get help,” she added of her

daughter’s reluctance. In response, Martin Colavito of Team Newburgh extended a potentially effective course of action beyond waiting for rock bottom – all while the chance of an overdose looms ever present. “If you can get the person to agree to an out-patient evaluation, it could get the wheels turning and gets addicts to possibly make a decision they wouldn’t have considered otherwise,” said the representative of the prevention organization.

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Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

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But unfortunately real life can be a different matter. “That doesn’t always happen,” Chief Schramek admitted. Regardless, law enforcement has begun to engender a synergy from the local level, through the state and up to the federal. “The Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated 32 regions across the country as high intensity drug trafficking areas,” said Chunacey Parker, Director of the NY/NJ High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. “Intended to promote cooperation on all three levels to make the streets safer,” Parker said, “It’s a community investment,” Still, Parker definitely understands the limits of simply trying to arrest the problem away. “One thing is for sure, law enforcement isn’t going to solve this problem alone,”

emphasized Parker. Along those lines, the effort includes raising awareness with respect to the danger prescription drugs represent as they lay fallow in medicine cabinets. “Kids experiment with them, and that can lead to heroin use. So we partner with doctors to prescribe medications in the safest manner possible. We also have take-back programs to get the extra drugs out of the home,” said Parker. The conversation eventually coming to a close, Congressman Maloney implored it not to end nonetheless. “We’ve got to keep talking about it and get smart as communities,” concluded the congressman.

Westmoreland Sanctuary’s final volunteer Interest Day will be held on March 23rd. Every Interest Day will provide information about general volunteer opportunities, the ability for advancement in various areas of volunteer work such as education, conservation, and working with animals. March 23rd will focus on trail maintenance with an opportunity to participate in a hands-on example of the volunteer program. The Lewisboro Library’s traditional Irish night celebrating post-St. Patrick’s Day

is back… on March 22nd at the South Salem Presbyterian Church the Clancy Tradition band will be in concert, it’s a popular event so make sure to arrive early, doors open at 7:30pm. Spring has finally sprung, can summer be far away? I am just not quite ready to put in my air conditioners yet…see you next week.

health

Heroin Abuse in the Hudson Valley Continued from page 6

In a sense, for the next caller, those decisions were mandated for her child. “My 18-year-old son started getting high in the 8th grade, was out of school by 10th, and is now in jail,” said Betty from Cornwall. Getting high and dealing drugs became his life. Betty revealed that “Benito’s” confinement doesn’t exactly leave the rest of the family free of an incarceration of its own. “This situation affects not only the child but the entire family. Our family has practically fallen apart, and it has taken everything I have to keep us together,” said Betty. That said, she expressed frustration that not enough of a link exists between drugs

abuse and mental health. “What they really need is intervention, and I couldn’t get it through the schools or the local hospitals,” said Betty. Congressman Maloney certainly sympathized, but expressed confidence that the services are out there. “We need to do a better job of advertising what type of mental health and treatment services are available,” said Congressman Maloney. As such, he recommended a call to local departments of mental health. “I would explain the situation and ask for an evaluation. They can then make the appropriate referrals,” said Maloney. Statewide, OASIS.NY.GOV provides

a vast run down of services. “The ability to find any modality, they can go on the website and begin to get hope at a moments notice,” said Kristin McConnell, M.S. Executive Director National Council on Alcoholism & Other Drug Dependencies/Putnam. But a stint in rehab doesn’t necessarily make the streets safe from the addict that has either been released from a program or from jail. This was pointed out rather abruptly by a caller from Walden. “We just had our first murder,” said Donna in alluding to a drug connection. Chief Schramek concurred on the dilemma and outlined the proper course in each case. “One requirement of leaving any type of treatment is a discharge plan until they can acquire the next level of support,” advised Schramek.

Rich Monetti has been a freelance writer since 2003. He lives in Westchester County.

CommunitySection EVENTS

News & Notes from Northern Westchester By MARK JEFFERS “March Madness” is upon me… I’ve made my college hoop picks; cleaned the garage, and finally took Santa off the roof! I almost didn’t have enough time to write this week’s “sane” edition of “News & Notes.” Our friends at Grand Prix NY in Mount Kisco have launched “Fresh Green Light,” an innovative driving school for new teen drivers and their parents, in the Bedford, Chappaqua and Mount Kisco communities. The school offers quality driving lessons and experiential classes, I wonder if my wife could enter…? The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester will host its 20th annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner on Saturday, June 7th at Lexus of Mt. Kisco with Stuart Marwell, a Club alum, as honoree. The Somers Library Foundation is holding a Spring Bridge and Games Luncheon on April 23rd with proceeds going to help better the library. Manhattanville College’s International Film Festival presents “Women in a Global Context: Then and Now,” through April 10th. Calling all Westchester Moms… “Moms In Training” is a new program to the Westchester / Hudson Valley’s Team In Training campaign and will start in April 2014.“Moms In Training”is a flexible 9-week work-out program that will take place every Saturday morning at 9am at various running

trails and parks throughout Westchester County, with proceeds going to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society which uses the money to fund critical research in all blood cancer areas like Leukemia and Lymphoma and to provide support and advocacy. I don’t know about you, but our shrubs took a beating this winter, so my wife and I are sure to attend “Great Shrubs for Your Landscape”slide program at Lasdon Park and Arboretum in Somers on March 23rd. Get the kids ready… the 19th Annual Kids Fair presented by Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center is Saturday, March 29th; it’s a day of education and fun for kids and their families. The Katonah Museum of Art presents its newest exhibit,“Jasper Johns & John Lund: Masters in the Print Studio.” The duo’s work has been shown together before, but never as the singular focus of an exhibit, so don’t miss it. The exhibit begins on March 23rd and runs through June 15th. Hudson Chorale will be holding an interesting fundraiser in April: “My Business Is to Sing,” a musical theatrical event based on the life and works of Emily Dickinson, written by a local playwright Barbara Dana. All proceeds benefit the Hudson Chorale which uses them to support local musicians. I better start working on my slam dunk… as the New York Knicks D-League team has a new home at the Westchester County Center in White Plains starting this fall for the 2014-15 season. Former Knicks

star guard Allan Houston will be the General Manager. You won’t want to miss this act… as the comedic landmark Bananas Comedy Club comes to Mount Kisco’s Holiday Inn… see nationally known Comics Bob Luparello (our buddy and neighbor) & Rich Francese as they bring their Comedic Talents to the Holiday Inn on March 22nd.

Mark Jeffers resides in Bedford Hills, New York, with his wife Sarah, and three daughters, Kate, Amanda, and Claire.

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

The 3rd African Festival in Luxor By SHERIF AWAD Opening this week in Egypt is special guest Danny Glover who honors the Luxor African Film Festival (LAFF) by his attendance. The African American screen star will present his Guinea-Bissauan drama The Children’s Republic. Written and directed by Flora Gomes, it is a futuristic tale of an African city that is ruled by children following a horrific and tragic civil war that killed their parents. Conflict arises when child

(Ethiopia), Rooftops (Algeria), Imbabazi (Rwanda), Kadjike (Guinea), Kampala Story (Uganda), Yam-Dam (Burkina Faso), They Are the Dogs (Morocco), Tall as Baobab Tree (Senegal) and The Mice Room (Egypt). The latter is an independent collaborative feature made by six Alexandrian filmmakers; Ahmed Magdy Morsy, Hend Bakr, Mayye Zayed, Mohamad El-Hadidi, Mohamed Zedan, and Nermeen Salem. Written as six interweaving segments, all cast and crew were volunteers. The stories revolve around Amr who comes back to meet his father at his death bed. Moussa who spends

Peter Machen soldiers from the outside enter this unusual community of children. In the Long Narratives Competition, fourteen films will be screened. They include Bastardo (Tunisia), Battle of Tabato (Guinea-Bissau), Black Diamonds (Mali), Durban Poison (South Africa), Dust and Fortunes (Zimbabwe), Horizon Beautiful

Danny Glover in Children’s Republic

Flora Gomes his day afraid of crossing the street, Dahlia who is worried on her wedding day, Rawya who starts a to discover night-life, and Maha who is packing to leave the country. The jury for this competition will be headed by the great Malian filmmaker Producer Souleymane Cissé with the membership of Actress and Director Naky Sy Savané (Côte d’Ivoire), Director Ridha Behi (Tunisia), Actress Elham Shaheen (Egypt), and Director of Photography Samir Farag (Egypt). The Long Documentaries Competition includes Aliens (Somalia), Angola Ano Zero (Angola), The Devil’s Lair (South Africa), Emirs in Wonderland (Tunisia), Nana Benz (Togo), The River (Algeria), Small Small Things (Liberia), Touba (Senegal), Tough Bond (Kenya) and William and the Windmill (Malawi). Its jury will be headed by NYAFF Founder Mahen Bonetti (Sierra Leone), and the membership of Producer Pedro Pimenta (Mozambique), Director Daoud Aoulad-Syad (Morocco), Durban Festival Manager Peter Machen (South Africa), and Film Critic Fathi Kharat (Tunisia). The jury of short documentaries and narratives will be headed by Critic Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda (Congo), and the membership of Critic Mahrez Karoui (Tunisia),

Azu

Keith Shiri (Nigeria), Scriptwriter Attia alDardiri (Egypt) and Director Amir Ramses (Egypt). The jury of the competition of freedom films will be headed by Director Omar Abdel-Aziz (Egypt) with the membership of Director of Photography Sameh Selim (Egypt), Actress Jehan Fadel (Egypt), Actress Salwa Mohamed Ali (Egypt), and Critic Ahmed Fayek (Egypt). The festival received more than 450 films from 50 African countries from which 150 films were selected. The 3rd edition will

include the participation of 17 non-African countries in the Freedom Films. Among them, the historical drama Azu by Luis Alberto Lamata (Venezuela) that opened in 1780, when a group of slaves fleeing a sugarcane plantation are chased down by Don Manuel Aguirre, an obsessed farmer who has set his sights on Azu, the beautiful slave. The film’s Director Luis Alberto Lamata who was born in Born 1959 in Caracas, Venezuela, is known for Jericó (1991), Nude with Oranges (1994) and Bolívar, el hombre de las dificultades (2013). Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad is a film / video critic and curator. He is the film editor of Egypt Today Magazine (www.EgyptToday. com ), and the artistic director for both the Alexandria Film Festival, in Egypt, and the Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The Netherlands. He also contributes to Variety, in the United States, and is the film critic of Variety Arabia (http://varietyarabia.com/ ), in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Al-Masry Al-Youm Website (http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/ node/198132 ) and The Westchester Guardian (www.WestchesterGuardian.com ).

film

“Omar”– Is Achieving the Impossible Possible? By LEE DANIELS It is comforting to know that there still exists a place where people communicate face-to-face and through written word rather than text and email; where the glare of TV and Internet are not omnipresent; where bread is still baked by hand; and where walking is a more common mode of transportation than cars, for every small purpose.

The irony of this paradigm of simplicity is that the setting for this film, like other war-torn corners of the globe such as Afghanistan, Syria, and DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), is centered among the unending unrest and violence that is today the Israeli-occupied territories of Palestine’s West bank. Childhood friends Tarek, Amjad, and Omar clandestinely train for and carry out a guerrilla night attack on a nearby Israeli

camp, shooting a soldier. Eventually, Israeli security forces track down the culprits, who manage to evade them, though Omar is shot during the pursuit, imprisoned, and tortured. Unwilling to divulge the identities of his two cohorts, he is offered freedom by his Israeli handler Rami, and the chance to follow through with his plans to marry the object of his affection, Tarek’s younger sister, Nadia, in exchange for turning in the

others, or life in jail. Faced with this physically and morally excruciating choice, and subsequently finding himself moving back and forth in an ever-narrowing “hot box,” like a runner caught between two bases, of loyalty for his friends on one side and his love for Nadia on the other, sets Omar in motion through a series of dramatic twists and turns punctuated by fast-paced chase scenes rivaling that of any James Bond thriller. Director Hany Abu-Assad’s work in this film is a masterpiece of situational irony. The remnants of fighting and

shelling evident in the West Bank’s city of Nablus, a center of violence between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian militant groups from 2000-2006, starkly contrast with its otherwise bucolic landscape and color, crisscrossed by fields, narrow ruelles winding through whitewashed residential neighborhoods and a bustling marketplace, all underneath the majestic backdrop of the Central Highlands range. One of the techniques he uses most effectively to heighten this theme is

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

Page 9

film

“Omar”– Is Achieving the Impossible Possible? Continued from page 8

imagery denoting a fleeting or illusory promise of freedom deftly interposed throughout the film: a bug crawling across the prison floor where Omar is held; a boy riding on horseback across a field; photograph portraits of fishing buoys strewn across a beach and a sailboat on the walls of Rami’s office; a mural of a bright sun shining down in a tranquil, blue sky on a mural on the separation

wall between Israel and the West Bank, which Omar routinely climbs to meet with Tarek and Amjad and see Nadia. The image of the wall, and the fact that the film was shot in both Nazareth, on the Israeli side, as well as in Nablus, are metaphors used by Abu-Assad to highlight both the contrast and duality of life on both sides of the wall. The director’s portrayal of the border

that is artificially, politically, and militarily imposed is used to illuminate the paradox that the people of the two nations are not much different from each other in terms of human beings, rather than victims caught up in the area’s age-old territorial conflict. Most powerful among the film’s humanistic messages, however, is the ever-mounting fear, anger and confusion experienced by Omar which are tempered by his unfailing loyalty and sacrifice, and finally his perseverance and strength of character to

“At home nowhere and everywhere, but here and now, and straddling the border once again.” – Sean O’Brien, “The Landing-Stage,” November acknowledge failure, accept, and rather than perpetuate pain, anguish and danger upon himself, Tarek’s family, Nadia, or Amjad, decide to make the ultimate sacrifice at the film’s end. “We believed in the unbelievable,” Omar says, in an intimate confessional with Nadia in one of the last scenes,looking back two years since Tarek’s death and Nadia’s marriage to Amjad. Would that one day, this insight--a wisdom that must be so hard-fought to realize, after centuries of sacrifice and loss by both worlds still at odds in the Middle East, and their allies--may be passed on. Omar, 2013, was winner of awards at

Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. Directed by Hany Abu-Assad; produced by Adopt Films, Long Island City, NY; 98 minutes; in Arabic/Hebrew with subtitles. With Adam Bakri as Omar, Samer Bisharat as Amjad, Eyad Hourani as Tarek, Tarek (Eyad Hourani)Tarek (Eyad Hourani)Waleed Zuaiter as Agent Rami, and Leem Lubany as Nadia. Through March 19th at The Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, NY. Photos by and courtesy of Adopt Films, LLC.

Lee Daniels is Arts & Leisure writer for The Westchester Guardian an editor for Kiev, Ukraine-based ICU.

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Having just been released from prison Omar (Adam Bakri) comforts his young seamstress girlfriend Nadia (Leem Lubany) in a scene from the new thriller by Hany Abu-Assad, “Omar,” an Adopt Films release.

PUBLIC POLICY

Minimum Wage is Really an Efficiency Wage By Prof. OREN LEVIN-WALDMAN Market “purists” are steadfast in their belief that increasing the minimum wage will lead to lower employment. The standard textbook model holds that as workers lower their wage demands, employers will demand more of their services. A wage floor only prevents workers from accepting lower wages in exchange for opportunities to work. Therefore, fewer workers will be hired, with the result being lower employment. But opponents of minimum wage increases are only citing half of the model. What the model really says is that

a minimum wage if it is effective will do either one of two things: it will either result in the layoff of those workers whose value is less than the minimum or it will result in an increase in productivity among lowefficiency workers. Of course, one way to increase efficiency would be to substitute technology for low-skilled workers. But given that most low-skilled workers are concentrated in the fast-food and retail sectors, that option may have limitations. Another way to increase productivity is for employers to invest in the human capital of their workers by providing them with the type of training that will enable them to become more productive. In other words, instead of thinking of the minimum wage as a social negative

because of supposed employment effects, it is time to think of it more as the efficiency wage it could be intended to achieve greater productivity and prosperity. The idea of the minimum wage as an efficiency wage dates back to a famous essay by Sidney Webb in 1912, and is ironically recognized by the competitive market model. Webb argued that better paid workers would be able to better maintain themselves, and because that meant they would be eating better they would come to work with more energy and naturally work more efficiently. But higher wages would also improve their morale, as they would feel better about the work they were doing. This would lead them to put more effort into their jobs. Employers

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

PUBLIC POLICY

Minimum Wage is Really an Efficiency Wage Continued from page 9

too would see that their workers were working harder and would seek to invest more into their improvement in order to justify the higher wage. Consequently, overall efficiency would improve, thereby leading to increases in productivity. The notion that a minimum wage improves efficiency is often referred to as the “Webb” effect. But it has found expression in the competitive market model, albeit in a slightly different, if not somewhat bizarre form. In a famous paper about 30 years ago, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz — who more recently has been arguing about the dangers of rising income inequality — along with Carl Shapiro argued that the minimum wage can be an efficiency wage to the extent that employees earning higher wages will take steps to avoid shirking. Employees who receive higher wages have a stronger incentive to hold onto their jobs because the costs

associated with job loss. Moreover, employers also derive benefit because the costs of higher wages are offset by savings in monitoring costs. Of course, the anti-shirking argument isn’t a whole lot different from the Webb effect. The former couches it in the standard economics language of incentives and disincentives, whereas the latter suggests that improved efficiency flows from improved morale. One is merely more easily quantified than the other. Still, the idea is the same. Higher wages lead to greater efficiency for the simple reason that better paid workers not only have greater incentive to put more effort into their work, but they have less incentive to pick up and leave. In other words, employers who pay higher wages don’t have to lay off workers or necessarily raise prices in order to prevent the increase from eating into profits. They can save money from reduced turnover, which

only decreases the costs of recruitment and retraining. It would appear that amidst the national policy debate over whether to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour as being pushed by Democrats in Congress and the President, some employers have come to recognize that there really is greater efficiency to be derived from higher wages. Consider that Cosco pays its workers an average of $20 an hour because it wants to keep its employees. The Gap recently announced that it would be raising its minimum wage to at least $9.00 an hour because it too doesn’t want to lose good employees. A spokesperson for the national chain actually said they were committed to investing in its workforce. The American Consumer Satisfaction Index recently reported that those stores with the lowest levels of consumer satisfaction were also not surprisingly among those paying the lowest wages. That alone should be a warning. One gets what one pays for. Consumers dissatisfied with the service

they are getting will naturally go elsewhere. Paying a higher wage, then, is not as some on the right would derisively label a “feel-good” measure, but in the end is about the bottom line. We cannot continue to be a prosperous nation if we cling to the belief that efficiency is defined as greater output for less input, including labor costs. The market place is not simply a place to pursue our own selfish interests with total disregard for our neighbors. That is a gross misreading of Adam Smith. Rather, the market place is the way we achieve the most efficient organization of the greatest number of people for achieving a common purpose: prosperity. People forget that Smith was above all a moral philosopher. It would be nice if more low-wage employers on their own could come to recognize the greater efficiency in higher wages. As most still cling to the first part of the competitive market model, wages need to be increased through policy. Were a minimum of $10.10 to be adopted and then indexed

to either the inflation rate or productivity increases, all future increases could then be planned for because they would be anticipated. This then would be less of a shock to the system, which again would only improve efficiency. It is time to recognize the efficiency benefits of the minimum wage. Oren Levin-Waldman is professor of public policy in the School for Public Affairs at Metropolitan College of New York (olevinwaldman@metropolitan.edu ) and author of several books on wage policy. They include the just published: Wage Policy, Income Distribution and Democratic Theory (http://www.routledge. com/books/details/9780415779715/#reviews); The Political Economy of the Living Wage: A Study of Four Cities (M.E. Sharpe 2005); and The Case of the Minimum Wage: Competing Policy Models (SUNY Press 2001). He is a researcher for the Employment Policy Research Network (EPRN), and some of his work can be found at http://www.employmentpolicy.org/ people/oren-levin-waldman.

MUSIC

THE SOUNDS Steve Hunter “The Manhattan Blues Project” OFBLUE Deacon Records www.SteveHunter.com By Bob Putignano Hunter’s extensive and musically diverse collaborations include working with Peter Gabriel, Mitch Ryder’s Detroit (not Ryder’s Detroit Wheels,) Dr. John, Flo & Eddie, Thelma Houston, Alice Cooper, Jack Bruce, Aerosmith, David Lee Roth, Leslie West, Jason Becker, and a long list of other well-known artists. Who can forget his tremendous guitar solo on Lou Reed’s “Intro/ Sweet Jane,” (particularly the “Intro”) from Reed’s “Rock & Roll Animal” LP. At the time of this album I immediately became addicted on Hunter and needed to find out more. I later learned that Hunter is also a solo artist who is immensely respected for his proficiency as a guitarist that’s sharply skilled and comfortable in multiple musical settings. On this recording Hunter features rock guitarist Joe Satriani on “Twilight in Harlem,” plus actor/guitarist Johnny Depp

MEA CUPLA

and Joe Perry on the rocking “The Brooklyn Shuffle.” Bassist Tony Levin also appears on a cover of Peter Garbriel’s “Solsberry Hill,” and the closing “Sunset In Central Park.” Nine of these twelve tunes are authored by Hunter. The album opens with his dreamy “Prelude to the Blues” tastefully unravels into a gorgeous vamp that sets the tone for this fine recording. “222 W. 23rd” is a magnificent stroll with mild rapping that (at times) explodes into fiery and expressive solos from Hunter.The spatial “A Night at the Waldorf ” is another fine vehicle for Hunter to display his appetizing and clear guitar lines. Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill” is instrumentally addressed with bassist Tony Levin guesting providing the pulsating bottom end for Hunter to work his electric and acoustic guitar solos over. Note; both Hunter and

In the March 13, 2014 edition of The Westchester Guardian, on page 11, in the article entitled, “Poison: Friend or Foe?” by Helen Weisman, the caption under the picture of the scene of witches scene from a Macbeth play read “Gold Poison Frog.” It should have read, “Witches Scene from Macbeth,” photographed by and courtesy of Franne Rosenthal. The editor is most apologetic for my error.

Levin played on Gabriel’s debut recording with “Solsbury Hill” so this is not only a fond tribute to Gabriel, it’s also a mini band reunion from that original album. Hunter also pays homage to John Lennon and George Harrison on his “Flames at the Dakota” with obvious slide sounds of Harrison, and vibe of Lennon, its simply exquisite. Suddenly things get dirty and gritty on Hunter’s “The Brooklyn Shuffle” that also features the guitars of Johnny Depp and Joe Perry making for a solid and swinging blues romp complete with Karen Hunter’s fun-filled background vocals. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is presented stunningly, respectfully, and is completely reverent to Gaye’s classic yet has its own elegant and distinctive glow. The initially haunting “Twilight in Harlem” features solos by guitarists Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman that ultimately lifts-off into guitar heaven. This recording closes with Hunter’s “Sunset in Central Park,”Tony Levin returns to the bass chair, as Hunter delivers (yet another) pretty guitar tune (with two cellos) that peacefully concludes “The Manhattan Blues Project” which really isn’t a blues album, but is a high quality project. In summary high-profile guests Tony Levin (bass on two tracks,) guitarists Joe Satriani, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp all add

their own flavors and merge smartly. But in the end and appropriately so, it’s all about Hunter’s unique and heartfelt revelations, that positively satisfies “The Manhattan Blues Project” from beginning to end. Now legally blind, Hunter offers “musical” visions that are remarkable for all of us to appreciate and enjoy.

For fifteen years Bob Putignano has been pivotal at WFDU with his Sounds of Blue radio show: www.SoundsofBlue.com Previously a senior contributing editor at BluesWax, Blues Revue, and Goldmine magazines, and Music Editor for The Westchester Guardian and Yonkers Tribune. Putignano can be contacted at: bob8003@yahoo.com.

THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

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TECHNOLOGY / CREATIVE DISRUPTION

The 101st Column By JOHN F. McMULLEN

In my last column, I wrote about the many changes that have occurred in the high tech world that surrounds all of us. In that piece, I did not mention the one technology that had the greatest impact on my own life. On September 22nd of last year, I launched “The johnmac Radio Show,” a weekly hour plus interview show hosted on the Internet. The experience has been so enjoyable that it has led me to recently introduce a second show, a 15 minute “johnmac’s Radio Rants” that allows me to tell stories and, occasionally, voice opinions. A little background – over my career, I have been an interviewee or a member of a panel on a radio or TV show. In most cases, I’d go into a studio and sit around a table with the host. If it were a radio show with callers, I put on earphones with an attached microphone to hear and speak to the caller. On two occasions, I was interviewed at a technology event with the interview recorded at the event and played later on the air. Additionally, I often called shows and was a regular caller to Bill Mazer’s morning radio show on the old WEVD in New York. Each of these events was a “real kick” for me as I have had a life-long interest in radio, going back to the days of listening to episodes of “Lone Ranger” and “The Shadow” as a child – I was able to visualize

all of the happenings as they were broadcast. As I got older and was ready for Rock and Roll music, so was New York Radio as the adventure and variety shows faded away and were replaced by Alan Freed, “Cousin Brucie”, and the “WMCA Good Guys.” I also, with a friend, Bill McLoughlin, wandered the halls of New York Radio Station, WMGM, and was brought into the studio to join both the “Sam Taub Sports Show” and “The Blossom Seeley / Benny Fields Show.” Even though the latter show used us as foils for commercials (“For John and Billy to grow up strong, they’ll need to eat their Silvercup bread.”), I loved it. About this time, I raised enough money to purchase a big Grundig Multiband Radio to listen to stations all over the United States (or at least as far west as the foothills of the Rocky Mountains) and, through shortwave, stations from all over the world. When I got a little older and was out in the Wall Street workplace, the “CB Boom” came along and I embraced it. With a Midland mobile CB (enhanced by a linier amplifier – illegal at the time) and a Yasweau base station, I was “Captain America” (KACK9932) and knew where all the delays were on the West Side Highway (a group of us met every morning for breakfast at the Market Diner with some booming in their order over the radio from “Midspan GWB” -- the group included accountants, technologists, clerks, UPS workers, engineers,

stockbrokers – even the writer of “Maize Doats” and “Nina Never Knew.”). From CB, I moved into Ham Radio (WB2RWC) and, then, as my career advanced, as a guest on shows devoted to technology (such as the long-running “Personal Computer Show” on New York City’s WBAI). As the time required to satisfy my writing and teaching commitments expanded, I had more or less given up any dreams of being a regular guest on a show or even hosting my own show. Then last summer, I was a call-in guest on Bruce Owens’ “Hudson Valley Talk Radio” show on the local WLNA. Those short interviews were followed by long ones on my Westchester Guardian editor, Hezi Aris’s daily show ”Westchester On The Level” – my first experience with Internet Radio – and I was hooked all over again. I began to read about what was involved in becoming an Internet Radio host and found that not that much was required – an outfit called “BlogTalkRadio,” the same firm that hosts Westchester On The Level provided a platform and software to allow broadcasting from one’s own personal computer. The cost of the service ranges from free to $39.00 per month on upward, depending on the amount of hours required. The platform includes a virtual studio with the ability to upload recordings, automatic scheduling, and Skype and telephone hosting. Just as I was considering whether I would go into this, I got an invitation from a friend, political activist Margaret “Maggie”

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

TECHNOLOGY / CREATIVE DISRUPTION

The 101st Column Continued from page 11

Mulvihill, to be a guest on a political Internet radio show she was starting on Wednesday nights, “Current Talk Radio.” I guested and was further hooked; the icing on the cake came when Maggie told me that her producer, Dan Jeffairjian, had put together a network of shows, “RapidTalkRadio”, and would provide assistance in setting up a show. I contacted him and, on September 22, 2013, I hosted my first show, an interview with Dr. Paul Levinson, professor at Fordham University, writer of non-fiction and fiction, and musician – and “The johnmac Radio Show” was on the air. After a bit of a rocky start, the broadcasts came together as I became more comfortable with the platform and Dan loosened the network ties a little, having us each set up our own independent stations, while remaining affiliated with the other network hosts. I’ve broadcasted every Sunday night at 7PM eastern time (for 1 to 1 ½ hour shows) since the initial talk with Paul, interviewing novelists, poets, columnists, editors & publishers, academics, government officials, law enforcement (former federal prosecutor, FBI, and federal administrative judge), religious leaders, and old friends – in other words, people that I find interesting and believe that my audience will too. Additionally, I recently began a series of 15 minute shows focused on story–telling and, possibly, from time-to time, personal opinion (I generally try to keep my opinion out of the interview shows, wanting the audience to concentrate on my interviewee). This show, as mentioned above, is entitled “johnmac Radio Rants.” All of the previous episodes of both shows are available online and are listed with the appropriate URL at my web home, www.johnmac13. com (there are ads at the beginning of the shows – the network profits from them and the host gets nothing). I’ll welcome any

comments or criticisms of the shows – send them to johnmac13@gmail.com I’ve been a published writer for over 30 years – non-fiction (a book on telecommunications and over 1,500 columns, news stories, magazine articles, and anthology pieces), fiction (a novel and a few short stories), and poetry (magazine pieces and a public collection). While I knew from the beginning that “I had to write,” it took me a while to understand the motivation for the different types of writing. I finally came to recognize that: I write non-fiction to share my knowledge with others. I’m also a college teacher and want people to “know what I know” (as well as realize the importance of what I think is important – in the case of these columns, the technology innovation than constantly disrupts the world around us). I write fiction because I like to tell stories (I’ve been told for years that I should write a book of the stories I tell about “the old neighborhood,” Inwood (Manhattan, NYC) when it was an Irish Catholic / Jewish neighborhood, containing more bars than any other neighborhood in New York City. I’m in the process of doing that – and the new radio show is a forerunner of it). I write poetry because it helps me understand my feelings, my views, and the world around me. I would generally hope that readers would like my poetry but, really, I don’t care if they do --while I write the prose for other people, I write the poetry for myself. Other than the columns, I, like most writers, don’t write expecting to make a lot of money from it. I like people to buy my novel and poetry, mainly because it provides encouragement to me and, also, partially subsidizes the large quantity of books and electronic devices I buy—but, to paraphrase many writers, “if you start out writing to become rich, you’ll be both disappointed and broke.” What does all this focus on writing have to do with radio? A good deal, both

at the specific and in overall theory. At the specific level, I write a script before every interview show (the story telling one has been totally ad lib so far) – and the script preparation takes me longer than the show. I go through the guest’s bio, most recent work, and areas of expertise and, then, put together a script that is, more or less, a road map of how I want to steer the interview – but it provides for deviation into other areas, adlibbing, and greater concentration on areas which the guest appears to wish to spend time discussing. In short, the script hopefully provides the basis for a relaxed conversation. The theory kicked in for me as I was, coincidently,reading John Naughton’s “From Guttenberg To Zuckerberg: Disruptive Innovation In The Age Of The Internet” (Quercus, 2014; ISBN 978-1-62365-0629). The book, which I recommend highly, deals with the importance of the Internet and, to get us there, explains it both in terms of history and its possible future impact on our lives. Naughton, the author of a previous book on the history of the Internet, writes that he is constantly asked by seemingly bewildered people questions all with the underlying “Why is the Net such a big deal?” In analyzing the questions, he determines that his interrogators are not “stupid or ignorant. Nor are they short of information. About the Net; au contraire, they are awash with conflicting data about it. It’s just that they don’t know what it all means.” He writes that he asked himself the question “What would you really need to know to understand the Internet and its implications?” He then answered the question, writing “It turns out that you don’t need to know that much. You need to understand some history and some basic technological principles. You need to know a little about the architectural principles that underpin the network’s design. You need a different perspective on networking than you get from the news media. And most of all you need to look at the Internet

phenomenon in terms of what it’s doing to our media ecosystem – the information environment that influences how human culture evolves. What this amounts to is a smallish number of Big Ideas that will, I hope, increase enlightenment and reduce the bewilderment of which Castells writes so eloquently.” (The scholar Manuel Castells had described this lack of Internet understanding as “informed bewilderment.”) Naughton then spends the rest of the book delving into these Big Ideas. An area that I found of particular interest in relation to radio is Naughton’s reference to how the invention of the printing press changed both our social constructs and the way our brains work. He writes “Prior to printing, all human communication occurred in a social context. ‘But with the printed book,’ writes (Neil) Postman, ‘another tradition began, the isolated reader and his private eye. Orality became muted, and the reader and his response became separated from a social context.’” Naughton continues, “In that sense, reading is an antisocial act that imposes distinctive demands on the reader: immobility: isolation; silence; concentration; the ability to immerse oneself in the thought processes of the writer and to remember and make links with the thoughts of other writers as expressed in other texts; and so on. These are not abilities that are genetically determined: they have to be taught – and learned.” Naughton goes on to draw on the work of neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, author of the 2008 “Proust and the Squid: The Story and the Science of the Reading Brain,” who pointed out that “human beings only invented reading a few thousand years ago and that this invention actually changed the way our brains are organized, which in turn altered the way our species evolved.” (We see later in the book that our brains are still changing as we learn to deal with the highspeed linking and association brought on by the Net). Many may have dwelt on the “isolation

of reading” to which Naughton refers – but I haven’t. Books have always plunged me into a world of stories or ideas which stimulated my thoughts as much as people around me. However, in reading Naughton’s words, the ideas contained within strike a chord and perhaps have something to do with both my lifelong fascination with radio and my enjoyment in doing it. The radio shows hopefully reduce the isolation – the storytelling one is only one step from the printed page; the listener hears my voice, similar to a storyteller sitting around a campfire. The show, however, when listened to “live” is real time (without cutting into the 15 minute time or expanding it, perhaps, I can open it to e-mail or instant messaging and bring listener comments into play). The interview show, on the other hand, is geared for inclusion. Whether listened to live or later, the user hears a two-way conversation rather than just an author lecturing as he / she plugs a book. Moreover, when listed to live, the listener has the option of “calling in” and joining the conversation. What I used to have to do by going into a studio iat the old WMGM or WBAI in New York City and sitting at a table with a microphone (and earphones, if callers) with an engineer in a control room is now accomplished at a desk in my office with a MacBook Pro, a broadband connection, and a headset. This is true Creative Disruption! Creative Disruption is a continuing series examining the impact of constantly accelerating technology on the world around us. These changers normally happen under our personal radar until we find that the world as we knew it is no more. John F. McMullen is a writer, poet, college professor and radio host. Links to other writings, podcasts, and radio broadcasts at http://www. johnmac13.com .

CURRENT COMMENTARY

How Did Basic Travel Security Break Down In Malaysia? By LARRY M. ELKIN Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 seized the world’s attention this week, with most of the focus rightly on the 239 people aboard when it disappeared. Yet amid the mounting concern and the frantic search, we were left to wonder how an obvious

security breakdown could have happened. Two of the passengers aboard Flight 370 used stolen passports and two more may have had suspect identities, according to The Associated Press. Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein emphasized that authorities were investigating the entire passenger manifest, not just the four suspicious names.

Yesterday, authorities identified the two men traveling on the stolen passports as Iranian nationals who may have been simply trying to reach Europe in search of employment or asylum. Malaysian authorities asserted that the pair had no known ties to terrorism and were not believed to be part of a plot, although in the absence of any direct evidence, it is not clear how authorities reached that conclusion. We do

know that the false documents the two men presented are among the 60,000 passports reported stolen annually in Thailand. As the search for the aircraft, its wreckage and its presumably deceased passengers widened yesterday, we could only speculate about whether the airplane disappeared due to terrorist attack, hijacking, or any sort of foul play at all. It is entirely possible that the suspicious passengers were

victims of an accident, just like everyone else on the Boeing 777. Yet the fact that they managed to get on the flight using names other than their own is very worrisome to anyone who cares about aviation security in an age of random violence. Interpol knew about the stolen passports, but the international police agency reported that no authorities checked the documents against Interpol’s database of stolen travel documents before the doomed flight took off. Interpol Secretary General

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dark brown hair, someone presenting it who is 5’2” and blond should raise some questions. The stolen Austrian passport did have biometric features, Bloomberg reported. Immigration officers in the Kuala Lumpur International Airport routinely check features such as faces and thumb prints, but when their system crashes or slows, agents key in information manually, bypassing the checks. The fact that two passengers with fake identities made it onto an international flight aboard a national flag carrier, bound for a country that recently suffered a terrorist attack, is startling. Even though there is no evidence at this point connecting the missing flight to the attack earlier this month at a train station in Kunming, many have speculated about a link between the two incidents. Potential terrorism aside, 153 of the flight’s passengers held passports from mainland China. The Chinese are upset. We all should be. If my daughter was about fly from Istanbul to Madrid, would I be able to see ahead of time how vigilant Turkey is in checking the passport of each person who boards her flight? A quick search indicates that a nonstop flight from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport to Madrid-Barajas would almost certainly be on Turkish Airlines, but the airline gives no special information about identification procedures. The airport’s website advises that all passengers must have identification in order to board, but does not describe what measures (if any) are used to make sure that the ID presented is legitimate.

Turkey is a member of Interpol, yet it is not easy to find how often Turkish officials search the stolen travel document database. And while Turkey’s relatively complicated visa requirements are easy to find, I would have to spend much longer and dig much harder to learn what precautions Turkish security officials take to make sure the person presenting the visa is the one named in the document. Even if I spend that time, will I get the information I want? Until I can answer yes, and until every country is rigorous about exercising basic security measures and knowing who is on board, then the facts that air travel is exceptionally safe and that incidents like the disappearance of this Malaysian flight are vanishingly rare will not be enough to keep travelers, especially leisure travelers, from having second thoughts about taking a vacation on a far-away beach.

CURRENT COMMENTARY

How Did Basic Travel Security Break Down In Malaysia? Continued from page 12

Ronald Noble said that “only a handful of countries” among its 190 members routinely make such checks. The most basic step in airline security

is to know who is on the plane. It comes as a surprise, then, to most travelers that passports inspected at airports around the world are not routinely checked for authenticity. Interpol reported that while

its database is searched more than 800 million times annually, these queries come from a relatively small number of countries: The U.S. alone is responsible for more than 250 million searches, the U.K. more than

120 million and the United Arab Emirates more than 50 million. Other member nations check the database seldom or not at all because of

limited facilities or the costs involved. Apparently most Asian countries are habitually lax. Even without checking with Interpol, there are other options for making sure the

people boarding flights are who they claim to be. For example, some passports have biometric features to identify their holders. If a passport says the bearer is 5’9” and has

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Islamic Jihad and the Doctrine of Abrogation By RAYMOND IBRAHIM While other scriptures contain contradictions, the Koran is the only holy book whose commentators have evolved a doctrine to account for the very visible shifts which occur from one injunction to another. No careful reader will remain unaware of the many contradictory verses in the Koran, most specifically the way in which peaceful and tolerant verses lie almost side by side with violent and intolerant ones. The ulema were initially baffled as to which verses to codify into the Shari’a worldview—the one that states there is no coercion in religion (2:256), or the ones that

command believers to fight all non-Muslims till they either convert, or at least submit, to Islam (8:39, 9:5, 9:29). To get out of this quandary, the commentators developed the doctrine of abrogation, which essentially maintains that verses revealed later in Muhammad’s career take precedence over earlier ones whenever there is a discrepancy. In order to document which verses abrogated which, a religious science devoted to the chronology of the Koran’s verses evolved (known as an-Nasikh wa’l Mansukh, the abrogater and the abrogated). But why the contradiction in the first place? The standard view is that in the

Continued on page 14

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Islamic Jihad and the Doctrine of Abrogation Continued from page 13

early years of Islam, since Muhammad and his community were far outnumbered by their infidel competitors while living next to them in Mecca, a message of peace and coexistence was in order. However, after the Muslims migrated to Medina in 622 and grew in military strength, verses inciting them to go on the offensive were slowly “revealed”—in principle, sent down from Allah—always commensurate with Islam’s growing capabilities. In juridical texts, these are categorized in stages: passivity vis-á-vis aggression; permission to fight back against aggressors; commands to fight aggressors; commands to fight all non-Muslims, whether the latter begin aggressions or not. [1] Growing Muslim might is the only variable that explains this progressive change in policy. Other scholars put a gloss on this by arguing that over a twenty-two year period, the Koran was revealed piecemeal, from passive and spiritual verses to legal prescriptions and injunctions to spread the faith through jihad and conquest, simply to acclimate early Muslim converts to the duties of Islam, lest they be discouraged at the outset by the dramatic obligations that would appear in later verses.[2] Verses revealed towards the end of Muhammad’s career—such as, “Warfare is prescribed for

you though you hate it”[3]—would have been out of place when warfare was actually out of the question. However interpreted, the standard view on Koranic abrogation concerning war and peace verses is that when Muslims are weak and in a minority position, they should preach and behave according to the ethos of the Meccan verses (peace and tolerance); when strong, however, they should go on the offensive on the basis of what is commanded in the Medinan verses (war and conquest). The vicissitudes of Islamic history are a testimony to this dichotomy, best captured by the popular Muslim notion, based on a hadith, that, if possible, jihad should be performed by the hand (force), if not, then by the tongue (through preaching); and, if that is not possible, then with the heart or one’s intentions.[4] That Islam legitimizes deceit during war is, of course, not all that astonishing; after all, as the Elizabethan writer John Lyly put it, “All’s fair in love and war.”[5] Other non-Muslim philosophers and strategists—such as Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes—justified deceit in warfare. Deception of the enemy during war is only common sense. The crucial difference in Islam, however, is that war against the infidel is a perpetual affair—until, in the words of the Koran, “all chaos ceases, and all religion

belongs to Allah.”[6] In his entry on jihad from the Encyclopaedia of Islam, Emile Tyan states: “The duty of the jihad exists as long as the universal domination of Islam has not been attained. Peace with non-Muslim nations is, therefore, a provisional state of affairs only; the chance of circumstances alone can justify it temporarily.”[7] Moreover, going back to the doctrine of abrogation, Muslim scholars such as Ibn Salama (d. 1020) agree that Koran 9:5, known as ayat as-sayf or the sword verse, has abrogated some 124 of the more peaceful Meccan verses, including “every other verse in the Koran, which commands or implies anything less than a total offensive against the nonbelievers.”[8] In fact, all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence agree that “jihad is when Muslims wage war on infidels, after having called on them to embrace Islam or at least pay tribute [jizya] and live in submission, and the infidels refuse.”[9] Obligatory jihad is best expressed by Islam’s dichotomized worldview that pits the realm of Islam against the realm of war. The first, dar al-Islam, is the “realm of submission,” the world where Shari’a governs; the second, dar al-Harb (the realm of war), is the non-Islamic world. A struggle continues until the realm of Islam subsumes the non-Islamic world—a perpetual affair that continues to the present

day. The renowned Muslim historian and philosopher Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) clearly articulates this division: In the Muslim community, jihad is a religious duty because of the universalism of the Muslim mission and the obligation to convert everybody to Islam either by persuasion or by force. The other religious groups did not have a universal mission, and the jihad was not a religious duty for them, save only for purposes of defense. But Islam is under obligation to gain power over other nations.[10] Raymond Ibrahim, author of “Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians” (Regnery, April, 2013) is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum. First published in FrontPageMagazine.com on March 6, 2014; http://www.meforum.org/3787/ islamic-jihad-abrogation-doctrine [1] Ibn Qayyim, Tafsir, in Abd al-’Aziz bin Nasir al-Jalil, At-Tarbiya al-Jihadiya fi Daw’ al-Kitab wa ‘s-Sunna (Riyahd: n.p., 2003), pp. 36-43. [2] Mukaram, At-Taqiyya fi ‘l-Islam, p. 20. [3] Koran 2: 216. [4] Yahya bin Sharaf ad-Din anNawawi, An-Nawawi’s Forty Hadiths, p.

16, accessed Aug. 1, 2009. [5] John Lyly, Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit (London, 1578), p. 236. [6] Koran 8:39. [7] Emile Tyan, The Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1960), vol. 2, s.v. “Djihad,” pp. 538-40. [8] David Bukay, “Peace or Jihad? Abrogation in Islam,” Middle East Quarterly, Fall 2007, pp. 3-11, f.n. 58; David S. Powers, “The Exegetical Genre nasikh al-Qur’an wa-mansukhuhu,” in Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur’an, Andrew Rippin, ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988), pp. 130-1. [9] Jalil, At-Tarbiya al-Jihadiya fi Daw’ al-Kitab wa ‘ s-Sunna, p. 7. [10] Ibn Khaldun,The Muqadimmah. An Introduction to History, Franz Rosenthal, trans. (New York: Pantheon, 1958), vol. 1, p. 473. Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (Regnery, April, 2013) is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

EYE ON THEATRE

A New Genre By JOHN SIMON There is an auspicious new theatrical form nowadays: the nonsense play. Two respected elder English woman playwrights represent it currently to critical and, slavishly, audience acclaim. There are two possible reactions to nonsense in the theater. One is to reject it outright. The other, thanks to sufficient hype, is to savor or pretend to savor it—I don’t know which is worse. This may elicit two kinds of laughter. One mocking, out of well-deserved contempt; the other, in deference to unmerited rave reviews, meant to show how smart you are in getting the (feeble) jokes. That should be an embarrassment to thinking members of the audience, in case there are any such. So we have, first, Bryony Lavery’s “Stockholm,” presented by the cutely named One Year Lease Theater Company. This is a two-character play of 70 minutes and belongs to the minimalist branch of nonsense. In it, a young couple, Kali (the very pretty Christina

Bennett Lind) and Todd (the not unappealing Richard Saudek), enact and spout consummate nonsense that only occasionally, as if by mistake, deviates into sense. There is, properly speaking, no plot, but some preparations for a vacation trip to Stockholm, including viewing Bergman’s oeuvre and some talk in bogus Swedish. The couple inhabits a surreal cellar (at least in this production), what with large black flats for walls at different angles and featuring window-like apertures of odd shapes irregularly placed, a stairway leading nowhere, and a curiously shaped couch of some hard material on which only a fakir might consider resting. There are also a few diminutive shelves but not the fridge called-for by the script. The dialogue is what might be

exchanged by the more harmless inmates of a mental institution. The action is mostly pantomime: near-gymnastics, near-dance, near-fighting and simulated sex. Although there are listed both a costume and an associate costume designer, the actors, except when they strip to their underwear, sport the plainest department-store clothing, casually picked off a bargain shelf. Herewith a few samples from the stage directions and from what is spoken, shouted, or even declaimed in unison (direction by Nick Flint, choreography by Natalie Lomonte). They start to drink one another/ They start to cut each other up and eat each other . . ./ They savor and devour each other.Todd (the name suggestive of the German for death) to

Kali (named after the Hindu goddess of death and destruction): “You must apply to me in writing if you need to go in the fridge.” Both (in unison): “Our love is strong . . . impenetrable/ Can/ Move mountains/ Ford rivers/ Survive three months of Serbian builders.” Again Both: “A leopard doesn’t change his acne.” Another woman, of whom Kali is jealous, is told over the telephone, among

other things,“Nowhere you look is far enough away for you./ You are a black hole/ We are very disappointed to discover you still do not/ Realise this.” And again: “They’ll find in this cellar/ Look/ squashed flat on the cement floor,/ Their children.” From the phone, with the receiver on, issue loud voices of unseen parents and others. There were a few desperate souls in the audience who laughed at this stuff, and at the end there was polite applause. I felt sorry for the actors, thinking, “Forgive them. They know not what they do.” The reviewers, dependably, gushed. In the Times: “thoughtchurning, deeply poignant”; in Newsday: “delightful, thoughtful and mysterious”; in Time Out: “bravura theatre” and * * * * (four stars). Venue: 59E59 Theater B, 59 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022. Box Office: (212) 279-4200 With Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information,” we get maximalist nonsense. Fifty-seven, very short, perfectly disconnected scenes take up nearly two hours and the services of fifteen actors of various ages and colors, playing perhaps a hundred parts.

Continued on page 15

an over-commodified culture. As despair quietly takes more prisoners, Doing Good will be recognized as the key to escape. Ironically, the Internet that has been

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Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

Page 15

EYE ON THEATRE

A New Genre News & Notes from Northern Westchester Greek times who found out about the diagonal of a square and they drowned him CALENDAR because no one wanted about things like Continued from page 14 that. Like what? Against a background of three flats exhibiting a black-on-white grid, we get quick set Numbers that make you uncomfortable and t [sic [ relate to oranges. changes involving replacement of one or don’ a winter forum on Saturday, January 11th, By MARK JEFFERS I can how they might to do that.and two unaccountable objects, e.g., a grounded “Wildsee Flowers of thewant Wetlands Onebrief of intervals the trickiest tasks Drown him? bicycle. During the of darkness Waysides? What Are We Losing? What winter season should have kept quiet about it if between changesfor weusgetthis either terrible musicis Maybe Can WeheUse?” storing the Christmas deco- he knew they couldnt [sic] stand it. or unmotivated noise. Congratulations and good luck to our rations in that our Churchill garage while Is that what youHayden do? as he has signed on The gimmick here is has friend Kenny making room cars There was in fact an undrowned Hippasias, written goofy miniature skits for ontothewhich with the University of Albany to play baseball so weand can her plowclever our driveway. Good news to who had nothing to do with the diagonal of she usual director, James and further his education next year… report… Frosty andallSanta now goingsdriving a square, whatever that is. Macdonald, applied kindsare of stage The first of the 2014 Home Gardening our not car, mentioned but we made to shut on in enough the text.room So we get Lecture Series at the Anthony Veteran Park DINNER the door… Kudosgetups to myand wife. It awas her characters in clown noses, couple in Ardsley I did tell youwill be “Right Tree in the Right planning that finish up this side-by-side in aallowed verticalme bed,toa woman seated Place, with Amy Albam.” you didn’ t [sic] week’ s editionwith of “News Notes.” on a trashcan casters,&a pair on a sofa with , the On Saturday, January I did I said Wednesday we’re going11 tothdinner A inbiga bouffant thank you goesdress, out and to the the girl wedding Armstrong Education Center will host a with Lionslooking Club ofdistraught, Bedford Hills theirbizarre $500 man and for other workshop on the Wild Suburbia Project donation to the Bedford Hills Free configurations mostly unrelated to theLibrary script. but you didn’t [sic] from 10amI to Noon. This project yes because remember because youcaptures said Why would oneprograms. care for any of it? Let me to benefit youth important information about local wildlife, quoteGrab three your scenesX’ins,full. Q’s and Z’s and head all right I must have forgotten I’m sorry their movement, and interactions. All are over to the Katonah Memorial House yes you did IRRATIONAL encouraged th I’m sorry to become citizen scientists and for thereal? Katonah Scrabble onanJanuary 11number Is irrational help sightings ofuse all the wildlife here Note record the inconsistent of apostrophes. Tournament. It’ s real to me.Everyone is asked to register in in Westchester County. advance, equipment and score sheets will be Inconsistency of bigger kinds thrives, as do But can you have an irrational number of If you have a and need speed and it sentence fragments nonforsequiturs. provided. oranges? seems the way my daughters drive, then you The Katonah of Art is holding SEX Not as things stand,Museum no. will want to check out Grand Prix’s newest six-session art workshops for children 3 Whatforsexracing evolved to do isofgetallinforI’m not comfortable with the whole idea. st addition enthusiasts ages. to 5 five years of age through January 21 . from twofoot setslong of slot genestrack so with you It features an 80 There was someone called Hippasius in mation For more information give them a call at get offspring that is not identical to you. adjustable speeds, promising fun for racers 914-232-9555. of all ages. Drivers are able to design and The Pound Ridge Library is holdingTIME DAYLIGHT SAVING build their own custom NASCAR body in

Otherwise you just keep getting the same thing over and over again like hydra or starfish. So sex essentially is information. You don’t [sic] think that while we’re doing it do you? It doesn’t [sic] hurt to know it. Information and also love. If you’re lucky. GPNY’s Art Garage and then head for the So that, youcar see,racing is where title extenof the slot track. “Slot is athe logical show comes from: “Information and Love.” sion to our existing racing-related offerings A pretty weird juxtaposition. Note the and fits very well with our long term goal clumsiness of the first sentence. And now, of making Grand Prix a destination where for good measure, the beginnings of two families, friends and corporate groups can somewhat longer scenes. enjoy time together doing whatever it is they SAVANT love, all under one roof.” said Grand Prix did President you haveNat forMundy. lunch on NewWhat York’s Vice October 1998?Chamber Orchestra will Thethird Orpheus Chicken soup I had birthday withthea be celebrating theirand 40tha salad. chicken soup in a blue ThePerforming salad had at the concert on January 26thbowl. tomatoes, lettuce and alfalfa sprouts but no Arts Center at Purchase College. red onion because I didn’t want my breath to A very well deserved celebration is set th when I went to the movies smell like onion for January 25 as Bedford 2020 will hold with my brother Celebration in the afternoon. a Community honoring Lee The movie began 2:15. Etc. Roberts for 20 years ofatservice for the town. You know I will be in attendance at this FACTS beer lover’ event... the[sic] Big Who wass dream-come-true the president of Cocacola Brewnineteen NY Beertwenty Festival Westchester from fiveattothe seven. County Center in White Plains on February HB Jones. willsmallest be over village 200 different brews to 8th. There What is the in central Asia try; I’m getting thirsty already… [sic]? Qat. Calling all tweens and teens, come and make an awesome adorable Penguin Where would you seeand a huish? Backpack Nametag from Duct Tape at The In a gnu’s fur. Field Library in Peekskill on January 27th. It is a perfect wintery way to personalize any of your bags, backpacks, or luggage. All supplies

How many diamonds were mined in 1957? Sixty thousand and four hundred and twenty eight. Name two traditional ingredients of poulash. are included free of charge; for middle and Duck and fennel. high school age. Etc. IRepresentative ask you: Don’tSean you just feel Maloney that Ms. Patrick Churchill full of poulash? to say, will be theis keynote speaker Needless at the Antioch in a show like that you direcBaptist Church’ s cannot annualevaluate Reverend tion acting. But you the Dr. and Martin Luther KingcanJr.evaluate Memorial reviewers who rave about it. January 10th, Scholarship Banquet on Friday, Venue: Minetta Lane office Theatre, 18 at 7pm. Contact the church at 914Minetta New York, NY 10012. 241-0189Lane, for ticket information.

Tickets: (212) 420-8214. John Simon has written for over 50 years on theatre, film, literature, music and fine arts for the If Donald Trump runsNew for Criterion, governor, Hudson Review, New Leader, can I become the new of “Celebrity National Review,New Yorkhost Magazine, Opera Apprentice”? you nextBroadway.com week. News, Weekly See Standard, and Bloomberg News. Heinreviews the New Mark Jeffers resides Bedfordbooks Hills,forNew York, York Times Book Review and Washington Post. with his wife Sarah, and three daughters, Kate, To learn more, visit the www.JohnSimonAmanda, and Claire. Uncensored.com website.

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A Nonsensical Look Into a New Weekly Event Improving Lives for All By GLENN SLABY We lose an hour sleep every year from our valuable weekends and it’s miserable. Do you remember when we turned the clocks back for one hour that Saturday evening, November 2nd? It was a nice feeling knowing I would be getting an extra hour of sleep. Like finding $20 in your pocket. So why limit such an experience? Why not set the clocks back one hour every Saturday night. Think of the potential unleashed: the economic, social, and health benefits, (both physical and psychological) and don’t forget the religious and the spiritual gains as well. Of course we can’t do this for the entire year, just for 24 weeks, a complete cycle, in time for the delights of April Showers. Let’s begin by examining this annual event closely. Finding the Right Words to Describe

Changing the Time. A point of contention is its title. Is what we do every year called daylight savings time or is it daylight saving time or maybe its daylight-saving time? The first has savings as an adjective and states we’re saving more than one daylight like having more than one savings. But what are you actually saving – daylight or time? Can you save time multiple times when you’re talking about one block of future time – an hour? And are you saving daylight only once when you initially move the clocks back once, but time and daylight keeps moving forward, so how can you save something that’s intangible, nonphysical but real and moving and can’t be touched, tasted or smelled. It’s there and you have no influence over it. Now, we’re not even sure what is time nor what time is it? The second phrase has saving daylight, but you’re not really “saving” daylight, just

Continued on page 16

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Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

A Nonsensical Look Into a New Weekly Event Improving Lives for All Continued from page 15

moving it around a little. Also, is time being referred to as not as in hours but as in ‘the time to feed the cat’, an action word, therefore it is a moment that passes after you changed the clock or fed the cat, so for the next six months, daylight saving time is just the wrong words. It’s like saying every moment is an action - cat feeding time. So therefore, time is both a constant moment and a singular action moment like when Einstein stated that time (or light) is both a particle and a wave, two separate things functioning as one, where each piece can be more than one, therefore multiple particles and waves or only one wave or particle or particles behaving like a wave but yet really a wave? Or maybe it’s like the Trinity three in one - but separate, together, equal but different, but also united and individually distinct which after 2,000 years of human wisdom and knowledge, it’s still not any clearer except that more people are aware of the fact that we don’t know what we

don’t know and we may need another 2,000 years to ask the right question with words that haven’t been invented yet. (Can words be invented-they’re intangible not physical. Like an idea, or knowledge are they invented?). Let’s just call it Daylight Time. The last phrase, daylight-saving time is related to the weapon used in daylight known as a (day) light-saber. The Economics of Daylight Time It’s now time to review the positive aspects of improving daylight time for our newly relabeled “Stretched-out Saturdays”. (We have Hump Wednesdays and Dress Down Fridays, so why not?) Productivity needs consumption and consumptions needs time. They are equals having a co-dependent relationship – again, like the Trinity. All three need the others to satisfy their goals. Time is a constraint, but the less you do the slower the time travels. But more time means more production. And the more free time a person has, the more likely they will spend money.

Consumption increases, but it needs the production of consumer goods and the time to produce them and consumption needs time to consume. One feeds the other, creating jobs and putting currency into the market place giving all concerned the one thing we do not have enough of – time, which means money which we do control, but never seem to have enough of to purchase more to consume more as time moves faster. Would it not be great to spend that extra hour hanging out, shopping with friends and family? Think of the economic boost to clubs, bars, movie theaters, restaurants as there’s more time for more people to spend. Clubs will be serving more, consumption increases while creating wealth (tips), followed by an increase in production and manufacturing of alcohol, soda, ice, green olives and liquor bottles. Someone has to make more labels and don’t forget those little plastic straws. Increase in production means more jobs and more revenue, more

money to spend. If you’re not a drinker, like me, bowling alleys and movies will be open later. Diners will be serving more people more pickles, meaning more consumption, more production. And don’t forget the bingo halls – another round/game of round robin. – again more tea, coffee and snacks sold – with the knowledge that one more game will be no problem with that one hour of extra sleep.(Also, expect an increase in births as more couples find more consistent alone time. Consumption brings production. Boosting the economy, again.) I’m sure our religious leaders are tired of seeing members of their congregations dozing off in Church. (You really can see a lot from that pulpit, especially those heads bobbing up and down.) It means that more parishioners will be more refreshed. Choirs will sing better. The collection plates fuller. The pews fuller. The Mechanics of Changing Back the Clocks I finally found a way to adjust all the clocks in one swift move. You know it’s

very annoying trying to adjust the microwave clock, the stove clock, the VCR clock, the cable box clock, the kitchen clock and the thermostat clock. Then there’s the cell phone clock, the car clock, the wrist clock (watch), the alarm clock and the radio clock. And maybe the lap top clock, the desktop clock, the I-pad clock and the kindle clock. That’s a lot of manuals to read. The only clock to adjust that doesn’t need a manual is my kitchen clock – but of course that’s the only clock that needs a ladder. That’s a lot of clocks, stress and loss of the sleep you wanted to get in the first place. My own method for this is simple – just shut off the main power switch for one hour and before you know it you’re ready for that much needed sleep. Slaby is married and has one son. A former accountant with an MBA, he is a part-time freelancer contributing to The Westchester Guardian. He struggles with mental illness, yet works at the New Rochelle Public Library and at St. Vincent’s Hospital of Harrison, New York.

GovernmentSection MAYOR Marvin’s COLUMN GOVERNMENT

Adopting Regulations to Reflect Current Economic Reality By Mayor MARY C. MARVIN Our downtown business consultant, Phillips Preiss and Grygiel LLC, recently sent the Village a progress report of our Downtown Planning Study. They suggested some straightforward changes to the Village code for which there was strong support within all the constituent groups surveyed. The consultants recommend loosening the restrictions on outdoor tables / eating to allow a broader range of downtown uses to take advantage of seating through both a zoning change and the institution of an annual licensing program. As example, a Code change would allow a business like Chantilly Pastry Shop to have bistro chairs out front where a customer could have a coffee / breakfast and read the paper. They also recommended that outdoor dining licenses, when granted, be valid for one year and renewed annually. Currently,

when our land use boards grant these licenses, they last as long as the business is in operation. The consultants’ logic is that the merchant can be made more accountable for cleanliness, garbage removal, sidewalk obstruction if renewal of the benefit was predicated yearly on adhering to Village standards. The consultants also received very positive feedback from the groups interviewed concerning the display of outdoor merchandise. However, they do believe that the Village is remiss in not having regulations delineating standards for both the type and location of the merchandise. They recommend that stores be permitted to feature large items such as garden equipment, household furnishings, antiques and plants as they provide attractive and visually interesting displays within the public right of way which enhance a pedestrian experience in an outdoor / walking business district such as ours. Sidewalk display items should only be of the kind that would

normally grace a store window. Small merchandise items such as clothing and shoes, canned and bottled items should be prohibited in order to avoid a cluttered and unattractive appearance. Additionally, since retail displays may impede pedestrian traffic, distance standards must be set forth to ensure safety is paramount over merchandising. Again, the consultants recommend a yearly renewal process to ensure that the merchants remain compliant with all provisions of the permit. Per the Trustees’ directive, the consultants were also tasked to review our Zoning Code and procedures with an eye toward identifying and then implementing changes that help to create a more “business friendly” environment and providing greater clarity and certainty to merchants seeking to enter Bronxville. Some of the issues that came to the fore include re-defining various commercial uses such as personal services, retail uses and “service establishments” to eliminate confusion. Given the prevalence of on-line

purchasing, the consultants also suggested we revisit the current restrictions on personal service establishments along Pondfield Road. As example, would it be a detriment to have a bright, airy ballet studio among the shops? Our consultants also re-examined the current square footage cap of store occupancy of 5,000 square feet, given the needs of some very successful stores looking to come to our area. Most importantly, they encouraged us to create a user friendly land use application checklist so prospective merchants/tenants would know upfront exactly the needs and timeframe to open a business in Bronxville. Our colleagues in Scarsdale just recently employed the same consultants and acted on many of their suggestions resulting in very positive changes and increased occupancy in their Village and we expect to do the same. On a very positive note, Village landlords have at least six new businesses that have received all their approvals and will be up and operating this spring greatly adding to the vitality of our business district.

The Trustees are acutely aware that many of our Zoning and Planning Code regulations were written for a time and an economic environment that no longer exists and will never return. To that end, emulating our neighbors in Scarsdale, we plan to work with our Zoning, Planning and Design Review Boards as well as our merchants via the Chamber of Commerce to craft changes to our regulations that reflect the current economic reality while at the same time not sacrificing the ambience and standards that make Bronxville a unique village and shopping destination. We also are investigating ways we can work with our art students/garden clubs/ high school in conjunction with our landlords to make what empty stores remain attractive to the passerby. Our business district is a crown jewel in Westchester and we as a community must do everything we can to keep it vibrant and attractive. Mary C. Marvin is the mayor of the Village of Bronxville, New York. If you have a sug- gestion or comment, consider directing your perspective by directing email to mayor@ vobny.com.

THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

ethics

Graft: The Common Core of Progressivism By LUKE HAMILTON What do President Obama and a convicted felon have in common? More than you might suspect [extra credit for those who answered, “Not as much as they should!”] Last Friday in Chicago, Jeri Wright was convicted by a federal jury on 11 counts, including fraud, money laundering, and lying to federal agents. She was accused of misappropriating taxpayer funds that had been granted to the non-profit charity “We Are Our Brothers Keeper”. The charity was supposed to use the $1.25-million state grant to train minority youth and women to become bricklayers and electricians. Instead, prosecutors argued Wright and her accomplices spent the money on Las Vegas vacations, home renovations, and other luxury items. Wright is the daughter of Jeremiah Wright, who was the pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ and close personal friend of the President and First Lady. The jury took just 2 hours to return the verdict. She was found guilty on all charges. Last month, President Obama announced the creation of a new Presidential initiative named, “My Brother’s Keeper”. He has said that he was inspired to act by the death of Trayvon Martin. The President has cobbled together a coalition of private business leaders, who have pledged to provide funds for the program, and government leaders including members of his own Cabinet, who have agreed to advise the program. The

President decided to create an interagency taskforce for My Brother’s Keeper, enlisting the help of Secretary Holder, Secretary Duncan, Secretary Perez, and other senior staff members. According to Valerie Jarrett, this initiative “will be a lifelong commitment” and not something in which the President is involved only when in office. The goal of the initiative is to promote involvement in the lives of young black men in various ways, such as providing pre-kindergarten education, lifting elementary reading proficiency, and discouraging schools from enforcing a “zero tolerance” policy around discipline. Despite the fact that both programs are similarly named, there are differences between the two. President Obama’s program looks to engage private businesses with non-profits and government officials to accomplish its goal. His initiative also benefits from the involvement of some of the most high-ranking civilians in the country, while Wright’s program was run by a suburban police chief and her overpaid husband. Aaaaand that might be the extent of the differences between the two. Obviously they share a similar name, based on the biblical story of Cain and Abel. Candidate Obama has been quoted as saying that one of his favorite themes / lessons from the Bible is that “I am my brother’s keeper.”Of course, this is not a biblical phrase or lesson. A portion of the phrase comes from the mouth of the world’s first murderer, when he is asked the whereabouts of his brother by God Himself. In response, Cain flippantly asks God if he is his “brother’s keeper”. Obama,

Wright, and progressive leftists have taken this sarcastic rejoinder as a rallying cry for the redistribution of the wealth of others. Beyond the name itself, both programs also share an over-arching ideology. The driving force behind both initiatives is that it “takes a village to raise a child” and so the village should pay for each child’s upbringing. The unspoken gist, which should be offensive to all black Americans,is that young black men need a special government program in order to succeed. The implication is that somehow society let them down and so society should pay the government to fix things, when in reality it is government who has let them down and these publically-elected leeches continue to feed off their ostracization. The best training initiative in the world is a job. If there’s a young man or woman interested in becoming an electrician but without the necessary knowledge and skill, they should work as an apprentice and learn the trade while being paid for their work. Naturally, they would be paid much less than those who are training them, until they develop some proficiency at the job. This benefits the employer, who receives low-cost/low-skill labor and insures that his workforce will regenerate. And it benefits the young workers, being gainfully employed, no matter the skill level they’ve developed. Work is important for a healthy society and a healthy economy. Unfortunately this situation is rare, due to wage control mandated by labor unions and their political benefactors.They mandate wage-floors which are too far above what entry-level labor is

Continued on page 18

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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

ethics

Graft: The Common Core of Progressivism

trade money for votes. It is a sadistic system, which bears the fingerprints of Progressives stretching back to FDR and beyond. At least FDR considered the Right to a Job as one of our foundational rights. Today’s Progressives simply demand a Right to an Income, hold the job. The answer to solving the crippling unemployment statistics in the black and Latino communities does not contain higher minimum wages, mandated by the government. It scales back government interference with time-tested economic truths. If we truly do consider ourselves the

keeper of our brother, we should seek gainful employment for him; but not through government programs. Through a robust economy where any man, woman, and teen can find a job which will pay them what their labor is deemed to be worth. Because the goal of any healthy society should be to produce brothers who need no keepers. Free men keep themselves. And that’s what professional leeches like President Obama and Jeri Wright want to keep the youth of America from understanding.

corporate giveaways that Paul Ryan and the tea party would endorse.The Republicans and the right have nowhere to go. The left seems to forgive the economic policies because of victories on social issues. Good re-election politics and a shrewd appeal to national Dems in 2016. Time to quiet down and let events unroll. But no, he pushes and, one-two-three, things start to change. He energizes the dispirited right by talking about “extreme conservatives.” He energizes the bewildered left by top-of-hislungs opposition to de Blasio’s plan to tax the rich for pre-K, and again with estate and corporate tax cuts for the 1 percent. Now he’s energizing Republicans by stepping into their internal decision about who to run for governor. None of it necessary, none of it helpful to a re-election effort framed by his 62.5 percent margin in 2010.

His biggest concern ought to be the growing revolt on the left. It starts with rankand-file anti-frackers, who don’t trust him or the decison-making process. The Green Party is moving toward a challenge. There are lots of union members who have never been on board, feel they have nothing to lose and could join in. Worse, there are stirrings in the Working Families Party, the 800-pound gorilla in state politics. For a while, it seemed possible for Cuomo to run as the WFP candidate if a public campaign finance law passed. But WFP rank-and-file are getting antsy and trying to stop that deal. Real opposition to the tax cuts, fracking, the split among Senate Dems, and the takeno-prisoners style is building, and the WFP cannot move where it’s membership doesn’t want to go. If these forces get together, Cuomo has

a problem. Imagine one Green Party/WFP candidate beating him up from the left and an often underestimated Rob Astorino beating him up from the right. He’ll win. But it won’t be pretty. And it muddies a 2016 message to a very progressive national Democratic Party. Cuomo understands that he’s got a brewing revolt on the left and will try to bridge the gap. Whether rank-and-file WFPers and Greenies have gotten so far out of control as to stop the deal is to be seen. He’s been terrific at controlling interest groups. Controlling activists and citizens is a different ball game. He’s being tested. First published on March 3, 2014 by The Hearst Corporation© in The Albany Times Union

The GOP: Playing David to The Tea-Party’s Uriah

on Benghazi and the perpetrators are behind bars. The IRS has been investigated and all those involved with malfeasance have been indicted. NSA wrongdoing has been corrected and new policies enacted. Obamacare has been rendered null and void after the long fight to defund it. And the debt and deficit have been declining because Republicans who hold the purse strings said ‘no’ on the frequent abuse of the debt ceiling.” Now that would be something to run on! Sadly, here’s the truth: Since Boehner has gaveled up, the republicans have been the complicit party, acting more like an abused wife peeking out from behind the drapes than the Farrah Fawcett they should be – sewing the sheets together and burning the bed. In regard to true opposition, Newt Gingrich accomplished more as the minority leader in 1993 than John Boehner has as the Speaker of the House. If you remember, the Clinton’s had tried to pass “gays in the military,” a tax bill, and Hillary-care only to fail over and

over. Gingrich, as an opposition leader, fought against Clinton failures and forged an opposition agenda with greater success than John Boehner has against Obama victories. With the level of corruption running rampant in our nation’s capital one would expect a “Contract with America,” town-hall meetings, one minute speeches, press conferences and investigations. One would expect there to be more than Senators’Cruz, Lee and Paul and Congressmen Gowdy and Amash to be speaking out. And you would expect them to be leading the charge and not the object of sniping from their own party. One would expect the party that holds the purse strings to reign in the spending, stand fast on principle, and cut off funds to a travel office that has seen the lavish waste of an Imperial presidency reach 1.4 billion a year. The Obamas have out-spent all previous presidencies even with three years to go. Who in office is speaking about the transgressions? Who is calling for heads to roll on Benghazi, the NSA, Fast and Furious, and the IRS

Continued from page 17

often worth, forcing the taxpayer to pick up the tab for training them to an artificially adjusted entry-level value; not to mention all of the government officials with sticky fingers who are involved at every step of the way. We don’t need these government graft-gremlins to serve as a third party with their hand in the money jar. We need them to get out of the way and let free-market economic principles do their work.

This is why minimum wage legislation is so harmful to the workers lowest on the salary scale. If employers were allowed to pay any amount they chose, everyone would benefit. The reality is that young Americans find it very difficult to break into the labor market because many entry-level positions have been priced out of their skillset. Consequently, they aren’t entering the economy or the real-estate market, choosing instead to live with parents and depend on government programs designed to

Luke

Hamilton

classically-trained,

Shakespearean actor from Eugene, Oregon who happens to be a liberty-loving, right-wing, Christian constitutionalist. When not penning columns for ClashDaily.com, Hamilton spends his time astride the Illinois-Wisconsin border, leading bands of liberty-starved citizens from the progressive gulags of Illinois to [relative] freedom. Hamilton is the creative mind/voice behind Pillar & Cloud Productions, a budding production company which resides at www. PillarCloudProductions.com. He owes all to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose strength is perfected in his weakness.

POLITICS / CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Cuomo Tested on Left, Right By RICHARD BRODSKY Andrew Cuomo is as politically deft as any New York governor since Nelson Rockefeller. He’s had his way, for good reasons and bad, on policy and politics. He’s taken hard left-wing social positions and gotten them through a state Senate nominally in the hands of Republicans. He’s taken hard right-wing positions on economic policy and gotten them past the leftish Assembly. He scares both labor and business, runs agencies and authorities with an iron fist, blesses the split among Senate Democrats, brings casinos to upstate, raises millions (more than $33 million so far this election), beats up

the occasional dissident mayor (see Miner, Syracuse and de Blasio, New York City). New York’s government is many things, but it’s no longer dysfunctional. Yet, as his father could tell him, when you lose your touch, all bets are off. There’s no reason to panic in Cuomoland. He’s odds-on for a big victory in November. But the smooth machine has hit some speed bumps, especially if he still harbors national ambitions. It all comes back to the early decision to move left on social issues and right on economic issues. “Progr-actionary” politics, as one gifted journalist called it. We know about gay marriage and guns for the left. For the right, he pushed the upstate economy, tax and spending cuts and

Brodsky is a fellow at the Demos think tank in New York City and at the Wagner School at New York University.

POLITICS

By JOHN KIRKWOOD Mitch McConnell (R-epulsive, KY.) is talking tough about tea party-backed candidates challenging GOP Establinishtas in this year’s midterm elections, “I think we are going to crush them everywhere,” the Senate Minority Leader told The New York Times. “I don’t think they are going to have a single nominee anywhere in the country.” This remark is in stark contrast to tea party “Joan of Bark,” Sarah Palin, who in her keynote speech at CPAC challenged Old GOP saying, “You know that 2010 GOP election victory that swept you into power, you didn’t build that — the tea party did!” I don’t know why people keep clamoring for a third party when we don’t even have a second one yet but with leaders like Mitch

McConnell, I completely understand the frustration. It’s the same reason we kvetch when the president bows and apologizes to enemies, yet expresses disdain and hostility toward fellow Americans. It appears McConnell and “Old GOP” have taken a page out of the Alinsky Papers because they talk tougher about the tea-party than they do of the Marxist regime that is currently running the country. Did I say “running”? – I meant, “ruining.” It appears the war to save the Republic must first be waged and won in the Republican Party. Recently I polled my readers for a list of the many accomplishments since the Tea-Party Revolution of 2010. The question went like this: “Can you help me list 5 major accomplishments of the Republicans that swept into office in 2010? What have the Republicans accomplished since they stripped the gavel

from Pelosi and handed it to Boehner? Can you name any conservative victories? Thanks ahead of time.” I was quickly told that “the Republicans” couldn’t accomplish anything because of Prince Harry and his merry band of Cenataurs. So I revised the question to include stonewalling as an accomplishment: you know, like when John Boehner and the boys stopped the raising of the debt ceiling and defunded Obamacare. Right? Most of those that were polled left exasperated and came up with nil but there were some who “got their GOP on” and suggested that the passing of thirty jobs bills was an accomplishment. Boasting over thirty “ceremonial”jobs bills that haven’t created one job: seems kind of like praising penis enlargement pills, but it is something, I guess. David Steiger,co-host of the Uncommon Show quipped: “They nailed Hillary & Co.

THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN

Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

Page 19

POLITICS

The GOP: Playing David to The Tea-Party’s Uriah targeting? And these are only the scandals we know about. When there are strong conservative voices acting as watchmen on the wall, like Joe Walsh of Illinois and Allen West of Florida, they’re abandoned by the GOP leadership like David did Uriah the Hittite. When the GOP failed to “strangle in the cradle” conservative Ken Cuccinelli’s bid for the gubernatorial race in the Virginia primary election, they scuttled it with friendly fire in the general. And now Mitch McConnell is running ads against the tea-party and promising to crush their opposition. When it comes to the silent coup of the Marxists in this country, “Old GOP” has been nothing but a spectator, and when true patriots run in from the sidelines to try and stop the bleeding they’re beaten back as

“tea-party Hobbits.” As for conservative victories since 2010, I can only think of three: Chick-fil-a, Duck Dynasty, and gun control. And what were the flashpoints of these great victories? - A guy who makes chicken sandwiches, a guy who makes duck calls and the NRA: all standing for principle against tyranny and backed by the cheers and support of “We the People!” The only black eye that the President has received legislatively has been the NRA coordinated ass-kicking following the Sandy Hook massacre which saw both democrats and republicans jumping on the president’s gun control bandwagon only to be stopped cold by a true opposition campaign. Immigration may be another place the president fails but it won’t be a recompense of a united GOP. If it happens it will be for the same reason that victory was had over gun

control – scared democrats joining with constitutional republicans. You know, those same guys that Mitch McConnell is trying to crush in the primaries. John Kirkwood is a son of Issachar. He is a Zionist, gun-toting, cigar-smoking, incandescent light bulb-using, 3.2 gallon flushing, fur-wearing, Chinese (MSG) eating, bow-hunting, SUV driving, unhyphenated American man who loves his wife, isn’t ashamed of his country and does not apologize for his Christianity. He Pastors Grace Gospel Fellowship Bensenville, where “we the people” seek to honor “In God we Trust.” He hosts the Christian wake up call IN THE ARENA every Sunday at noon on AM 1160 and he co-hosts UnCommon Sense, the Christian Worldview with a double shot of espresso on UncommonShow.com. He is the proud homeschooling dad of Konnor, Karter and Payton and the “blessed from heaven above” husband of the Righteous and Rowdy Wendymae.

LE G A L N O T I C E S BLUEPAC ADVISORS, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 9/17/13 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 20 Oscaleta RD South Salem, NY 10590. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity. BLUEPAC PARTNERS, LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 9/17/13 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 20 Oscaleta RD South Salem, NY 10590. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity. BLUEPAC PARTNERS FUND, LP Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Westchester Co. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/8/13. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LP 20 Oscaleta RD South Salem, NY 10590. DE address of LP: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity. GLORIA LOUZAO LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/29/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Zussman Law PLLC, Attention: Michael J. Zussman, Esq. 425 East 79th St Ste. 1F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN LEGAL ADVERTISING: 914.576.1480 10:30AM-5PM

TRINITY SHARP REALTY LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 9/17/13 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Solomon Borg 630 Third Ave New York, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation of Oxyto, LLC. Art Of Org. filed with SSNY on 12/16/2013. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail shall mail process to: C/O UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC. 7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202 BROOKLYN, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. EMER LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/29/14. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Zussman Law PLLC, Attention: Michael J. Zussman, Esq. 425 East 79th St Ste. 1F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any lawful activity. WISDOM ADVISORY, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/20/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 6 Hadden Road Scarsdale, NY 10583. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

RUBIUS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/10/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Corporate Creations Network Inc. 15 North Mill St Nyack, NY 10960. Purpose: Any lawful activity. BODMODS LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/4/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Zussman Law PLLC Attn: Michael J. Zussman, Esq. 425 E. 79th St Ste. 1F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any lawful activity. JT DIAGNOSTICS, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/11/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Stern Keiser & Panken, LLP 1025 Westchester Ave Ste. 305 White Plains, NY 10604. Purpose: Any lawful activity. MELVILLE GARAGE LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/5/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 305 North Ave New Rochelle, NY 10801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Thursday, MARCH 20 2014

FRILLS, FLOUNCES and FASHION

Spring Goes Sexy!

Bright, Fun Looks for This Happy Season By BARBARA BARTON SLOANE Spring 2014 is about an alteration in clothes. It’s about boiling down everything that was on the runways to the one thing (or several things) to buy this season that will instantly update a look. Happily, the statements are simple: Try a skirt that hits midcalf or the upper ankle. Feel the power of flowers, whether rendered in embroidery or printed in a giant hibiscus. Take cues from your favorite gallery and wear something artful. Stacey Bendet started the Alice + Olivia

Alice Olivia

brand in 2002 based on a pair of great fitting pants. These days, her line is best known for girly cocktail dresses. Go figure. Prom-y looks were again at the center of things for Spring. “It’s preppy meets pretty,”said Bendet at her always-packed show. One festive, romantic look was a stand-out: a cropped top in a tender-leaf-colored hue was worn with a tea-length pleated skirt, its silver shoes completing this shining example of a Spring stunner. The brand is totally commercial, and Bendet is totally OK with that. “It’s contemporary, you know?” she opined. Where Joseph Altuzarra’s fall collection felt a bit strained, his Spring show put the emphasis on effortlessness; in this case

ease was a code word for basics. Altuzarra loves separates but be it blouse or cropped jacket or skirt, each piece was thoughtfully considered. It takes a ton of work to look so artfully deshabillé as one of his models did in her striped silk shirt buttoned-down (almost to the waist) and three-quarter-length skirt with a thigh-high slit. Willowy silhouette established, Altuzarra offered variations on a theme and where other designers make a fetish of fantasy, he genuinely gets off on making clothes for real life. For him it’s the everyday, only elevated. A huge luxury liner slid into Pier 92 during Catherine Maladrino’s presentation which served as the perfect backdrop for something not planned, but it might as well have been. Only an actual yacht in Saint-Tropez would have been a more appropriate setting to debut these Spring looks. Malandrino was inspired by this seaside

BCBG Max Azria

escape’s famed regatta, Les Voiles de SaintTropez. “It’s about performance, but it’s also about poetry,” she said, referring to both the race and her new lineup. She focused less on saucy little dresses and more on sporty separates and maxi looks whose skirts were made for fluttering in the Mediterranean breeze. A memorable design was her tomato-red bell bottom trousers paired with a nautically -patterned top that fell just below the hip. From her light-as-a-feather skirts to embellished blouses and bright harem pants, Malandrino’s Spring femme will have plenty of inspired looks to choose from. The BCBG Max Azria brand is entering its 25th year in fashion and judging by the Spring show, they aren’t experiencing any quarter-of-life crisis. Co-designer Lubov Azria says that she and husband Max approached this season by reflecting on their archives and identifying the designs that felt

BCBG Max Azria

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most meaningful. “In the end, we realized that it was less about particular pieces and more about the overall process.” True to the label’s feminine DNA, the couple softened up all that starched cotton and tailored twill with swaths of silk georgette and sheer mesh panels. A flirtatious approach was carried out in a decidedly dream dress, its top sheer with inserts of white, gray and gold; below the waist, netting over an opaque cream mini-skirt. This season, I’m glad to report that there’s fashion for every taste and much to lust after. Let the shopping begin! Beauty / Fashion Editor Barbara Barton Sloane keeps us informed on the capricious and engaging fashion and beauty scene. As Travel Editor she is constantly globe- hopping to share her unique experiences with our readers; from the exotic to the sublime.

Catherine Malandrino