Office Lady Dresses – Brooklyn, NY Ami Magazine An
AMI Magazine Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter interviews Gerard Marrone Esq.
Brooklyn, NY – When my eyes meet Gerard Marrone’s gentle gaze as he walks this July morning into Ami offices with the aid of a cane, I know almost instantaneously that before me is someone who did not do only one admirable deed. Marrone’s eyes reflect a refinement and empathy that are refreshing as they are so out of the ordinary. His gait is unsteady, yet there is an unmistakable air of dignity about him, an underlying ambition that seems to propel him forward. As he takes a seat at the conference table, he starts the conversation with one simple refrain that he repeats over and over again throughout our time together, “It’s not about me; it’s about Leiby.”
Gerard Marrone, Esq., is the attorney who resigned from his position as co-counsel on the defense team of Levi Aron, the man who admitted to the murder of Leiby Kletzky, a”h. While his resignation has warmed people’s souls like few things recently have, he has also been ridiculed and maligned by some in the legal profession for abandoning a client. Many are wondering too how he could walk away from such a high profile case—the type of career making case with extensive media coverage that attorneys crave.
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Gerard Marrone, though, is bewildered by all of the media attention that has come his way as a result of his decision to step down as one of Levi Aron’s defense lawyers. “I had reporters camped outside of my office.” He relates to me that this was to his surprise because, “this case is not about my decision to step back. It was a personal choice; I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t intend for it to be so widely known.”
Marrone tells me that he was surprised by Aron’s leading counsel, Pierre Bazile, for announcing the decision in a press release this past Friday. “Pierre Bazile is the one who brought me into the case. He asked me to assist him. It was all very quick; I was thrust into this case very quickly as the second counsel. I was retained on Thursday, July 14th, the day of the arraignment, and we did the arraignment in half an hour. By July 29th, the next Wednesday morning, though, on my drive back from the Queens courthouse, I decided to drop the case.”
Bazile announced Marrone’s resignation and then subsequently stated that Jennifer McCann, a prominent defense attorney who is experienced in defending clients with insanity pleas, has replaced Marrone. “The press release triggered the media interest, when in reality there was no disagreement; we parted as friends,” Marrone told me.
Marrone, an Italian American who was born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and grew up in Queens, has been working as a criminal defense attorney for the past 10 years and is thus no stranger to dealing with people who have committed serious crimes. “Yet,” he says with somberness, “I felt dead and empty every time I thought about Leiby. This has nothing to do with whether Levi Aron is guilty or not. He is innocent until proven guilty. It’s just that I personally couldn’t do this.”
It wasn’t just Marrone who was repulsed by the horrific murder of that innocent child. Marrone and others who were present at the arraignment witnessed inmates screaming obscenities from holding pens as Aron was led into the courtroom. This was only a few hours after a crowd shouted “murderer!” outside the police station. One of the inmates screamed out as Aron passed him: “I’m in for robbery, but I’ll kill you for what you did to a kid.” Even among prison inmates, murderers like Levi Aron are held in contempt, and are at risk for being harmed. For instance, notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was killed by fellow inmates while serving his prison sentence.
Marrone agreed to meet with me to discuss the turn of events in what he said would be the last time. “After this, I’m not speaking about this anymore,” he said. And so, I find myself sitting in the Ami conference room for an exclusive interview with Gerard Marrone, Esq., a neighborhood attorney who is based in Ridgewood, Queens. Marrone works in a small practice with one other attorney, where he mostly practices criminal law. We start the interview by looking through the pictures of Leiby that were featured in the most recent issue of Ami. Marrone is moved by these photos of “an angelic face. When it comes to children, it’s a different ballgame; a different story,” he exclaims with a heavy, yet gently constrained sigh.
The Torah states that our father Abraham is the father of every human being who has accepted the yoke of Heaven. Leiby is, by way of analogy, the son of every such person. Those who think that Leiby united the Jewish community got it wrong; Leiby united all of mankind. I realized this when I spoke to, among others, Inspector Sprague of the 66th Precinct. I recognize this again this morning.
The story of Leiby’s passing is the tale of one unspeakable villain. It is, however, at the same time, the tale of thousands of heroes. Yet Marrone’s public act of loving-kindness is something that transcends even those countless heroic deeds.
Someone once penned the following lines: “A hero is someone who fights all kinds of injustice but also who is merciful. A hero is someone who is compassionate to other’s needs and difficulties, someone who is loyal to fighting injustice and sincere in what they are doing but with wisdom. Show me a person with the attributes of being merciful, compassionate, loyal, sincere, and wise and I will not only show you a hero but a Legend.”
Marrone, I quickly realize, is not merely a hero. In my book he is a legend.
Marrone is a person who wears many hats. In addition to being a competent lawyer, he is also a real estate broker, motivational coach, mentor, and the recent author of Unleash Your Amazing Potential: Find your Perfect Grace: a self-help book aimed at “helping my clients to be the best they can be—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.” Indeed, Marrone appears to be a deeply spiritual person, an aspect of his personality that he touches upon often in the interview. Spirituality is a topic that he lectures about in seminars that he gives pro bono.
I ask him about his seminars. “How did you start down this path?” I want to know his story.
“On November 6, 1994, I was the victim of a crime—I was shot in the back. I was 21 years old at the time, and my sister was 16. We encountered the shooter at a party where he was bothering my sister. I asked him to leave her alone, and he pulled out a gun. I got in between him and my sister when he shot at her, and a bullet was lodged in my sixth vertebrae. I was immediately paralyzed from the chest down, and I fell to the floor right near the shooter’s car. He shot at my sister, and luckily, he missed. A friend rolled me onto my side, but the shooter ran over my arm with his car.”
“Did you think you were going to die?” I inquire.
“In that moment, I didn’t know if I would live or die, the bullet had pierced my lung—it had gone through my right lung and hit my spine. Lying there on the ground, though, I felt a spiritual presence before the panic set in. I was taken to the Jamaica hospital ICU, where I was for two weeks. The doctors had a hard time inflating my lung because of a small tear, but, miraculously, on the morning of my surgery my lung instantly went up—it healed itself! My whole story is one miracle after another.”
“What do you attribute these miracles to?” I ask him.
“Faith in G-d,” is his three-worded response.
“It was my destiny,” he says. “Everything that happened to me was meant to be. If I can help even one person with my story, it would have all been worth it to me.”
“Do you think about it often?”
“I think about it every day in one form or another. I spent one month at Jamaica Hospital, after which I was transferred to Mt. Sinai hospital where I spent two months in rehabilitation—to get used to a wheelchair. The entire experience was a roller coaster ride. By the time I got to Mt. Sinai I was moving my left leg.”
“Was your life still in danger at that point?”
“Once I got to the hospital, I was always in stable condition, I knew that I’d live, but I didn’t know if I would be able to walk, get married, have children, or get a job. Every ounce of muscle fiber that I got back, I was so focused on working on, because I wanted my life back so badly—it drove me to achieve. When I left the hospital I was able to stand within one month of movement. My right leg lagged behind. I was in a wheelchair for five months; there was a progression to get out of it.”
“Do you ever use a wheelchair now?” I ask Mr. Marrone, who to this very day walks with a very apparent limp.
“No. I don’t want to go back mentally to that. But on a hot summer day, I’m exerting three times as much energy as you do to get around. I have back pain every morning when I wake up, in varying degrees. It’s a dull, consistent pain.”
“What happened to the shooter?”
“The shooter was 18 years old. He was arrested at the time and got five to 15 years in jail, and was released after doing about 8 years.”
“How do you feel about having your assailant set free?”
His answer surprises me: “I chose to forgive him and let go of my anger and desire for revenge. I did this because to hold onto that anger would destroy my soul and I wouldn’t be able to move forward, so I chose to forgive him.”
“Did you ever see him again? Did he reach out to you?”
“No, he never reached out to me and I never saw him again,” Mr. Marrone says.
“Did you participate in his trial? How did you feel toward the attorneys representing him?”
“I did participate in the trial. When I saw his attorney, I understood that it was nothing personal; he had a job to do. I had been working for attorneys for many years and understood this.”
Overall, I learn from Mr. Marrone that he greatly respects our legal system and the way that it works; he repeats throughout our conversation his belief that everyone deserves legal defense, that we are all “innocent until proven guilty.” He then explains his decision to join the legal profession.
“In college I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I went into law to help the victim. Everyone is a victim, either of the system, their thoughts, or their circumstances. In our system 95 percent of cases lead to a plea negotiation. In my capacity, I have the ability to negotiate a fair disposition with the prosecutor. Most of the people I work with—and I work with everyone from those accused of petty crime to homicide. And I want to help them get on the right road.”
Mr. Marrone feels that practicing law “gives me the opportunity to help people and give them a chance at life. It isn’t easy. People need to give the D.A. office more credit,” he says with a chuckle.
About the effect that his injury had on his outlook, Mr. Marrone believes: “My injury grounded me. If I were able to walk again, I could achieve any goal. I let go of my anger, started meditating, and adopted a positive perspective on life and gratitude to G-d for what I have. I look at how blessed I am with a wife, kids, a career, and friends. I have everything I want and need in my life and I am blessed.”
Mr. Marrone uses his life experience in his seminars and in his book to teach people. “What do you tell them?” I ask.
“About having a positive state of mind; never give up. At first, I looked at myself as a victim and then turned that around. With a positive state of mind, identify a goal and put your faith into achieving that goal. Also, the need for a balance in your life between family, work, and hobbies. Find what’s important to you. My book is 320 pages, it’s a memoir and journey for the reader that I took 18 months to write, and self published this past February.”
“What motivated you to get your story down on paper?” I wonder.
“I’m a little shy and modest. I did it for my sons and the people I mentor, so they should know what I went through.
“The seminars are held once a month, they are usually free. I do them to help people and it makes me a better person, because when I teach I need to become the student. I am keeping myself sharp and in a positive state of mind.”
“Does your handicap affect you still today?”
“It makes things more challenging. But in adversity we find wisdom and become the person that we are. Everyone has adversity; how you handle it makes you the person you are. Everything boils down to what’s in your mind.”
I am curious about Mr. Marrone’s role as a criminal defense attorney, and what this means to him. “It’s not my job to ask. If someone is arrested, I don’t judge; my job is to defend. The defense can be an alibi or self-defense. What I do isn’t black or white, it’s grey, and is case by case. The job is to find truth and justice in the situation.”
“When facing the victim and the victim’s family, though, how do you feel, does this mean anything to you?” I ask.
“There is always the human aspect of it,” Mr. Marrone pauses at length here, “But there are often mitigating circumstances,” he finishes his thought.
Mr. Marrone confirms that he has worked with other high profile cases before. “But nothing like this,” he asserts.
“A high profile case like this is rare, why walk away?”
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many attorneys would take this case to get exposure. There is also a significant fee involved,” he answers.
“Have you ever walked away from a case before?” I ask him.
“I probably have, but never for these reasons. I respect the system. We are all innocent until proven guilty…but Leiby’s murder is different,” he says quietly. “I know everything that everyone else knows; I wasn’t privy to anything else. I met with Levi, but didn’t know more.”
“So what was different in this case, why did you leave?” I want him to articulate what I believe I already know the answer to.
“The way that Leiby was killed, possibly tortured, and the way the body was disposed of was too much for me to bear. He reminds me of my kids. My own eldest son is only seven years old.” Mr. Marrone shares with me at this point about his own three sons—Steven aged seven; Gerard, four years old; and Andrew, 11 months. It didn’t matter that Leiby was from a different religion, or dressed differently from his own children. “He was a little boy, a gift from G-d, the same gift that I got three times. It doesn’t matter what he wears or where he prays,” Marrone says softly, with tears brimming in his eyes. I am exceptionally moved, and it takes me a moment to collect myself before I move on with my next question.
“When did you decide to leave the case?” I finally ask.
“I walked away once I saw the medical examiner’s documentation,” he replies. “There were two causes of death: he was smothered and the boy was given a cocktail of drugs.”
“Do you think the drugs eased his pain?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” this thought is obviously painful for Mr. Marrone, he swallows hard and continues with his train of thought: “It wasn’t a line I wanted to cross. I have an esquire at the end of my name Office Lady Dresses, but I’m also a human being. We are all created by G-d. I’m insignificant, but the way he was so tragically killed wasn’t something I wanted to visit every day. I walked away because of Leiby.
“Everyone, though, is entitled to a defense,” he reiterates here again.
I want to know if Mr. Marrone is aware of the many negative, and some absurd, responses his actions have garnered. Mr. Marrone replies that he does not follow the blogs, yet I sense that some of the comments hurt him. “People don’t even know who I am, or what it means to be a criminal attorney; yet they make very hateful remarks. There is a lot of hate out there.”
He negates many of the rumors, such as those that claim he “is involved with the mafia.” “I represent all types of people from DWIs to organized crime. It’s so silly, absolutely false, a bold faced lie. A criminal defense attorney represents a lot of people, so it’s easy for people to take a shot at you. But this doesn’t bother me, I am who I am.”
“In addition to being a father, did your spirituality and religion influence your decision to leave the case?” I ask Mr. Marrone.
“It was being a father, a human being, a son, a neighbor, a friend…. Everyone is making a big deal about the fact that I withdrew from the case, but it’s not about me, I’m a nobody. It’s about Leiby,” he reemphasizes.
From our conversation, I glean that Mr. Marrone, a man of conviction, came to this bold conclusion on his own. He admitted that his family “gave positive feedback for his decision,” but “my wife is too busy with the boys to have gotten involved.”
“Do you look back, or think about the person who took over for you?”
“No, not at all. I made unequivocally the right decision. I don’t follow the blogs. Everyone is entitled to the facts, but no one knows me and my heart. They have no idea who I am, my reasons. I have only been a criminal defense lawyer for 10-and-a-half years, but I’ve seen a lot. You have to feel good about what you are doing.”
I read to Mr. Marrone from an article in New York Magazine Evening Dresses, titled, “Was Levi Aron’s Defense Attorney Wrong for Quitting?” where one writer argues about Mr. Marrone, “that he’s a quitter, that he cannot be relied upon to stand firm and fulfill the obligations he willingly took on, even though it means that he must steel himself to the challenge of representing the worst among us….” This writer goes on in the article to quote Marrone who he claims said: “Knowing what he went through, just putting two and two together, you know they made more than one attempt.”
I wanted Mr. Marrone’s response to these accusations.
He counters with the following: “The writer has a lot of the facts wrong. I didn’t walk away from an individual. My decision was because of what the little boy experienced. I don’t know everything. I learned things as the case began to unfold. I came on to the case so quickly, without a lot of the facts. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty. The author is saying that I had an obligation to stay with the client and regardless of Leiby, I should have had no fear.
“I had no fear. I probably took the higher road. I walked away from a high profile case that would have attracted other attorneys. I have no obligation to stay on any case.
“What if you are the lead counsel?” I ask.
“There are different things that need to be done procedurally. It would be different; I’d have to ask the judge permission to resign.
“People can say what they want about me, I did what I thought was right. Be a defense attorney and then criticize me” are Mr. Marrone’s final thoughts on the matter.
I want Mr. Marrone to know that we are all stirred by his decision. “This is an emotional time for our community. The fact that we know there will be attorneys looking to get Levi Aron off…the fact that there is an attorney who stepped down, it really moved us.” I relate to him.
“What message would you like to give to Leiby’s parents?” I offer.
“I’d be honored to pay my respects to his parents. From one parent to another, I have no words to express my condolences for their grief. They will never be made whole. What happened to their son was so senseless and horrific. Leiby will never go forward, he won’t go to high school, get married, or have his own children. It was his right to experience life and no parent should have to bear this. The side of Leiby’s face reminded me of my own kid’s face…,” he says pointing to a picture in Ami’s prior issue. “What a cute, little face. I’ve handled cases from good to bad, but when it comes to a child….” Mr. Marrone’s voice trails off at the end of his emotional response.
“Everyone I’ve been in contact with was so moved. This transcends race, religion, and creed. It doesn’t matter where you live or pray. This is a tragedy for everyone,” he says.
I ask Mr. Marrone about his experience in Boro Park today, how it feels to be a mere seven blocks from where Leiby once lived, and not far from the place of his murder.
“This is the first time I’m in Boro Park since Leiby’s murder. When I see any child I think of him, even though I never met him or his family. I was so touched by him. Coming here and seeing little children here makes me think of him. I’m on hallowed ground here, where something very significant occurred. I felt somberness and respect driving here today. How could I not?” he rhetorically asks, visibly choking up with tears.
“Do you feel a connection to Leiby? A spiritual connection?” I gently ask.
“No one knows me, it’s insignificant,” he reiterates, “But I do feel connected to him in his death.”
“Do you feel that you gave him something?”
Mr. Marrone’s answer is powerful, and takes my breath away: “I don’t know, answering this gives me significance, and I’m so insignificant.” He paused for a moment that is thick with grief, “It’s between Leiby and I, at night when I pray.”
“This was one of my most moving interviews,” I confide in him. “You are a hero to us. It is about you, because you made a statement.” Yes, despite criticism, Mr. Marrone stuck to his convictions. Not only did he shy away from discussing the details of the case because of his respect for the defense, the very act of walking away was from the case was something he did out of his own principles, something that he decided to do on his own—he walked away from it all: the fame and the legal fees.
Mr. Marrone humbly declines my praises, and when I ask him to pose for pictures, he shyly acquiesces. I tell him that I intend to use one of the pictures for the cover of this week’s Ami, to which he replies: “You don’t have to.”
As I bid him farewell, Mr. Marrone leaves me with the following haunting words: “I felt dead within me, because of my emotional attachment to Leiby.”
The rest of my day is an emotionally draining one, as I replay our conversation in my mind over and over again. It is all so overwhelming. I am weighed down by the horror that we are still revisiting each day; but also overwhelmed by the living example of this heroic legend whom I was most privileged to meet.
Although the world was exposed to a darkness last week that shrouded us completely, as evil was exposed as a certain reality—here is the bearer of a shining light who came out through the contrasting darkness. Amidst the outpouring of humanity that we experienced, here is one exceptional individual who, through his compassionate actions, personified humanity.
Sequin Dresses – EU hits Syria with more sanctions
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers agreed new sanctions against Syria Monday, targeting its central bank and seven cabinet ministers to try to curb funding for the government and increase pressure on President Bashar al-Assad.
The measures, expected to be enforced this week, include prohibiting trade in gold and other precious metals with Syrian state institutions and a ban on cargo flights from Syria operated by the country’s carriers.
“Today’s decisions will put further pressure on those who are responsible for the ruthless campaign of repression in Syria,” the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Catherine Ashton, said in a statement.
“The measures target the regime and its ability to conduct the appalling violence against civilians. As long as the repression continues, the EU will keep imposing sanctions.”
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the sanctions, at least the tenth round imposed by the EU on Syria, were critical for putting pressure on Assad to end violence in which around 6,000 people have been killed over the past 11 months.
But other than sanctions, few concrete steps emerged from Monday’s talks, underlying the West’s difficulty in finding a solution to the crisis in Syria, with efforts to get a U.N. Security Council resolution blocked by China and Russia.
EU governments renewed international calls on Damascus to allow humanitarian aid into Syria but offered no plan on how to enforce this. France, one of EU’s military powers, has suggested that U.N. set up humanitarian corridors in Syria to alleviate civilian suffering. But any such move would have to secure backing from Moscow and Beijing and that remains unlikely.
EU institutions and governments have allocated 8 million euros ($10.77 million) for humanitarian assistance in Syria, but lack of access is hindering the delivery of aid.
DIVIDED OPPOSITION
EU states also reiterated their support for the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group, but said anti-government activists needed to come up with a unified approach and alleviate concerns about sectarian conflict in the country.
In her statement, Ashton referred to the Syrian National Council as “an important interlocutor” rather than as the EU’s sole point of contact with Syrian groups arrayed against Assad.
That contrasts with last year’s recognition of Libya’s rebel council as that country’s legitimate representative.
Western concerns at the divisions among the Syrian opposition are complicating efforts to lend support to them and adding to worries that the Syrian conflict could further inflame sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East.
“We’ve talked to a number of different groups in Syria and we’ve been saying to them: ‘come together and try to form a group together to be able to represent as many people as possible’,” Ashton said.
“Inclusivity would enable everyone to feel they have a future. We want to see a united opposition Prom Ball Gowns, that’s so important, if they are going to be able to reach out to all the people.”
Sunni Muslims account for about 70 percent of Syria’s 23 million people. Assad has strong backing among fellow Alawites, a sect with its roots in Shi’ite Islam. There are also large minority communities of Christians, ethnic Kurds and others.
EU governments have steadily ratcheted up sanctions against Syria over the past six months but have been careful to take the lead from Arab states in their approach.
Monday’s decision complements an oil embargo imposed in September Sequin Dresses, and extends the list of people targeted. More than a hundred Syrians, including Assad, already face asset freezes and visa bans.
European firms are also banned from doing business with nearly 40 Syrian companies and institutions, some of them large businesses involved in trading and exploring for oil.
Western sanctions are taking a toll on the Syrian economy and powering discontent among the middle classes, from which Assad draws much of his support.
Oil sanctions have damaged a vital source of hard-currency income – EU states used to buy some 90 percent of oil exports, and the Syrian pound has hit record lows against the dollar on the black market.
But Assad shows no sign of easing the crackdown on protesters and armed rebels fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army.
(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
World Syria
Party Dresses – Liberia vote to proceed after Nobe
DAKAR (Reuters) – Liberia’s presidential election will go ahead next Tuesday as scheduled after incumbent Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was named joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday Evening Gowns, the West African country’s election body said.
“We are going to go ahead as planned Party Dresses, everything is on course. The Nobel Peace Prize award for the President in no way impacts the running of the election,” Nathan Mulbah, public information officer for the National Elections Commission, said by telephone.
(reporting by Mark John; editing by Richard Valdmanis)
World
Strapless Evening Dresses – Manufacturing grows, b
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in seven months in December, extending a recent run of encouraging economic data and suggesting that expansion of the world’s biggest economy will accelerate in 2011.
The Institute for Supply Management’s national factory activity index rose to 57 from 56.6 in November, marking the 17th consecutive month of growth in the manufacturing industry, with a rise in new orders providing momentum for further growth.
A separate report on Monday showed construction spending hit a five-month high in November, more evidence that the U.S. economy picked up steam in the final quarter of last year.
“These good numbers continue the story of an economic recovery,” said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Advisors in New York. “For the market in general, we’re off to a new start and people are optimistic.”
Monday’s data dovetailed with strong readings on employment and consumer spending over the last few months of 2010, leading economists to bet a fragile U.S. recovery may this year finally turn into self-sustaining growth.
Congress’ decision last year to extend U.S. tax cuts has also aided consumers and lifted U.S. stock indexes, and economists say that may convince the Federal Reserve to end a $600 billion stimulus program as planned in mid-2011.
“We’re (starting) off the new year on a strong foot,” said Zach Pandl, U.S. economist at Nomura Securities Office Lady Dresses, adding the manufacturing report “suggests the economy is accelerating and growth should be 3 percent in the first quarter.”
European factory output also accelerated in December while growth in China and India slowed but remained robust. A healthy global economy is good news for U.S. exporters.
JOBLESS RATE STILL HIGH
Construction spending was lifted by investment in public projects, which rose 0.7 percent, while private investment rose to the highest level since June despite continued housing market weakness.
A caveat for the sunny outlook remains the unemployment rate, which stood at 9.8 percent in November and is expected to remain high for much of the year. The government’s closely watched employment report due Friday is expected to show employers added 140,000 jobs last month, not enough to make much of a dent in the jobless rate.
Even the otherwise promising ISM report showed factory sector employment slipped to a nine-month low.
Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, also said the ISM index provides little insight about smaller firms and has tended to overstate the pace of economic growth over the last three quarters.
But Paynet Inc said Monday that borrowing by small U.S. businesses jumped in November to he highest in more than two years, its fourth straight double-digit rise.
Economists at Goldman Sachs said last week they think signs of stronger U.S. growth will at least dissuade the Fed from adding to a $600 billion bond-buying program when it ends in mid-2011.
The bank’s economics team had predicted the bond-buying scheme, aimed at boosting growth and holding down long-term interest rates, could swell to as much as $2 trillion, but have since “beaten a hasty retreat.”
“If real GDP grows at a 3-1/2 percent to 4 percent pace in the first half of 2011 Strapless Evening Dresses, it is hard to see” the Fed persist with additional bond purchases, they wrote in a note to clients.
Goldman still expects inflation to remain low and said the Fed is likely to hold short-term interest rates near zero all year and possibly through 2012.
So far, inflation has been modest. While the ISM report showed prices paid for materials hit a seven-month high last month, analysts say that has yet to be passed to consumers.
(Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in Washington, James Kelleher in Chicago and Ryan Vlastelica and Emily Flitter in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Small Business Money
Long Sleeved Cocktail Dresses – James Murdoch quit
LONDON (Reuters) – James Murdoch has resigned from the boards of the publishing units within News Corp’s British newspaper arm, which used to include the now-defunct News of the World tabloid at the center of the phone hacking scandal, regulatory filings show.
Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert and deputy chief operating officer of News Corp, remains chairman of News International, the News Corp unit that houses its British newspapers, and a member of the Times editorial board.
The News International unit has been damaged this year by the revelation that people working for the popular Sunday tabloid hacked into the phones of thousands to generate news.
Slow-burning investigations into the matter became front-page national news when it was revealed in July that one of the victims was missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler, who appeared to have been picking up voicemails but was later found murdered.
Ex-News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks resigned as chief executive of News International the following week, and was replaced by Tom Mockridge, the former head of News Corp-owned Sky Italia Vest Dresses, on July 15.
“Following the appointment of Tom Mockridge as CEO of News International, in September James Murdoch stepped down from the boards of a number of News International subsidiary companies including News Group Newspapers (NGN) and Times Newspapers Ltd (TNL),” News International said in a statement.
Mockridge replaced Murdoch on the two company boards.
The filings show that Murdoch resigned on September 13 from Times Newspapers Ltd and on September 19 from NGN. September 13 was the date on which he discovered he would be recalled by a British parliamentary committee to answer more questions.
NGN is the company that has been sued by many of the phone-hacking victims, including Hollywood star Jude Law and his ex-girlfriend, actress Sienna Miller.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens said he did not believe the move had any legal implications for the phone-hacking cases. “He’s either liable for what happened under his watch, or he’s not,” he told Reuters.
James Murdoch survived a vote to remain on the News Corp board last month only thanks to support from his family and another loyal shareholder.
Next week Long Sleeved Cocktail Dresses, he faces shareholders of British satellite broadcaster BSkyB, who will have to decide whether he should remain as non-executive chairman.
Some News Corp investors would like to see the company sell its newspapers, in which media interest is disproportionate to the small contribution they make in revenues and profits.
Ivor Gaber, professor of political journalism at London’s City University, said the move could indicate that Murdoch was still worried over his own exposure to the phone hacking scandal or that News Corp was preparing to sell its UK newspaper holdings.
“The Sun is now the only thing keeping the ship afloat, in commercial terms,” he told Reuters.
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Chris Wickham)
Rupert Murdoch Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News
Formal Gowns – Cain may find pot of gold at end of
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The campaign trail did not end at the White House for Herman Cain Wrap Dresses, but it might yet lead him to a pot of gold.
The former restaurant executive and motivational speaker could translate his sudden fame into hefty speaking fees and a nationwide talk-radio audience now that he has abandoned his campaign, according to executives in the public speaking, broadcast and publishing industries.
Industry experts say that post-campaign, Cain could triple his speaking fee to more than $50,000 – nearly as much as charged by Newt Gingrich, the current front-runner in the Republican nomination race.
“He’s crossed into the celebrity speaker status now,” said one executive with 25 years of experience in the public speaking industry.
Bigger prizes, like a television talk show or a lucrative book deal, are less likely due to his messy exit from the race and relatively short tenure in the public eye, agents and executives say.
Still, Cain’s roller-coaster bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, which ended on Saturday amid allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity, has opened up plenty of opportunities.
“Cain is worth more money now than he was before,” said Michael Harrison, the publisher of Talkers, a trade publication that covers the talk-radio industry.
Cain has amassed considerable wealth over his career as a business executive. His most recent financial disclosure form put his net worth between $2.9 million and $6.8 million.
He has remained mum since dropping out of the race Formal Gowns, though he has signaled that he might endorse another candidate within days. Former campaign officials are setting up a website called The Cain Solutions to promote policies like his “9-9-9″ tax reform, according to ABC News.
For moneymaking ideas, he can look to others who have earned millions after leaving politics.
Former President Bill Clinton received a $15 million advance for his memoirs. Former President George W. Bush has made at least that much in speaking fees since leaving office in 2009, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Even those who lose elections can win big paydays.
Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008, earned at least $12 million from speeches and television and book deals in eight months after quitting as Alaska Governor in July 2009, according to ABC.
Cain is not likely to reach that level of success – he has never held public office, and he dropped out of the presidential race before the first votes were cast.
The allegations of sexual harassment and infidelity that drove him from the race could also hamper his prospects if he does not resolve the issue, either by admitting guilt and apologizing or producing proof that they are unfounded, a Republican strategist said.
“If he wants to be a public figure, to max out his potential he needs to deal with that issue,” said Rick Tyler, a former aide to Gingrich.
A NATIONAL AUDIENCE
Cain earned roughly $100,000 per year as host of a conservative talk radio show in Atlanta before he launched his presidential bid, according his personal disclosure form.
Cain was a skillful broadcaster but not widely known within the industry, said Harrison, the Talkers publisher. Now he could appeal to a national audience.
“I think he’s got what’s known as presidential pixie dust all over him,” Harrison said.
A new book would give Cain a chance to boost his profile as well but several publishing-industry executives said his appeal is limited at this point.
The market for political books tends to track the popularity of their authors, and Cain could be a marginal figure by the time a new book would reach shelves a year from now.
“I’d be very surprised if we’re still talking about Herman Cain in six months,” said Peter Osnos, editor at large of Public Affairs Books, which has published books by Vladimir Putin and George Soros.
Cain’s autobiography, “This Is Herman Cain! My Journey to the White House” has sold about 32,000 retail copies since it was released in October, but sales have dropped sharply in recent weeks along with Cain’s poll standings. That is a respectable figure, according to one publishing executive who spoke on condition of anonymity, but far short of the 115,000 retail copies that Gingrich’s latest nonfiction book has sold since its release in June.
Cain’s publisher, Threshold Editions, said there are 155,000 copies of his autobiography in print, but declined further comment.
Cain’s prospects in television are likewise murky.
The sexual allegations by five women are not enough to keep him off the air, several industry experts said – after all, CNN hired Eliot Spitzer after a prostitution scandal drove him from the New York state governor’s office.
But Spitzer’s brief tenure on the air showed that staying on the air can be as difficult as getting there in the first place.
Cain’s skills as an orator and broadcaster are offset by high-profile gaffes – such as his cringe-inducing inability to state a clear policy on Libya. It is not clear whether he would have the depth to cover a range of topics or the discipline to succeed in a tightly scripted, highly produced environment such as a television talk show, several experts said.
“He could be a novelty act at the beginning, but then at a certain point he’d have to have substance,” said Bill LaPlante, executive director of Media Alliance, an agency for television journalists.
Even so, it is possible he could get a shot.
“You can’t apply science and rationality to it, because science and rationality don’t matter – it’s show business,” said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University.
Cain’s campaign reported $1.3 million in cash at the end of September, the last period for which data is available, with $675,000 in debts. Cain saw an uptick in fundraising as his popularity increased and raised several million dollars in October, according to his campaign.
(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
Politics Barack Obama Election 2012
Coat Dresses – Tunisian court frees former Libya p
TUNIS (Reuters) – A Tunisian court of appeal has freed Muammar Gaddafi’s former Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, who was sentenced to six months in jail last week after he was arrested near the North African country’s border with Algeria.
“The judge has decided to free Mahmoudi and two of his aides Coat Dresses,” his lawyer Wrap Dresses, Mabrouk Korchid told Reuters.
In the highest profile detention of a Gaddafi associate to date, the court jailed Mahmoudi for illegally entering the country.
(Reporting By Tarek Amara; Writing by Joseph Nasr)
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Discount Herve leger Dresses – New York NY Daily N
New York Police officers check vehicles entering Times Square in New York September 10, 2011. National and city leaders will commemorate on Sunday the ten-year anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001 with a ceremony unveiling a memorial and museum. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
New York – Cops are searching for three stolen construction vehicles as part of their sweeping lockdown of the city amid fears of an Al Qaeda car bombing plot timed for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday.
The vehicles – two of which belonged to Tully Construction in Queens, a company doing roadwork on West St. near 1 World Trade Center – were swiped earlier this month, a police spokesman revealed Saturday.
On Sept. 1 Herve leger Feather Dresses, a dark green Chevy van with a 2-inch horizontal stripe and a yellow turret light was boosted from a construction site at the westbound onramp of the Long Island Expressway. Police said the driver left the vehicle temporarily to talk to coworkers when it was stolen.
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The next night at 9:30, three men broke into a construction locker at a Tully storage facility on Ditmars Blvd. and loaded roughly $70,000 in tools and construction equipment into the stolen van and another vehicle, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.
He cautioned that there were no concrete ties to the reported anniversary attack plot.
“This may very well be industrial savvy thieves looking to steal expensive construction equipment, but it’s receiving greater scrutiny because of the threat environment,” Browne said.
A worker at Tully Construction headquarters Queens who refused to give his name said the company management told employees to be sure to carry ID when they drive around in company vans in case they were stopped by police.
“We are working on 9A right now in front of the World Trade Center. There are guys constantly driving their own cars and company vans on and off [the job site,]” he said. “If somebody’s that smart, it’s scary. It’s kind of freaky to think that someone would think it through that much and plan a terrorist attack like that.”
A third van, a white Econoline Budget Rental truck stolen from Liberty Storage in Jersey City on Aug. 20, is also being eyed for possible ties to the bomb threat. Thieves disabled the burglar alarm, cut the phone lines and took surveillance tapes along with the vehicle.
“They made a considerable effort not to be detected Herve leger Dresses,” Browne said.
The thefts of construction vehicles surfaced as senior officials told the Associated Press there is no evidence that Al Qaeda operatives have slipped into the country.
Officials have been on high alert since Wednesday over “specific and credible” information about a plot involving three veteran terrorists recruited by Al Qaeda and carrying U.S. passports. The plot was planned for Washington or New York on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, investigators told the Daily News.
More at The NY Daily News
Discount Little Black Dresses – U.S. to ease requi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Monday eased new environmental barriers to some oil and gas deepwater projects, but companies will still have to meet stringent regulations before drilling resumes.
Oil companies and Republican lawmakers have complained that regulations imposed after the BP oil spill have brought Gulf of Mexico drilling to a standstill.
The department’s decision to waive some environmental requirements comes as Noble Corp announced that Marathon Oil Co
canceled a four-year, $752 million contract for a deepwater rig in the Gulf due to lack of drilling permits.
The policy will impact 13 companies with projects that were already underway when the department imposed its ban on deepwater drilling. Companies will be able to forego additional environmental reviews depending on new calculations of the worst-case flow rate estimates for their wells.
While removing one potential obstacle for these companies, it does not automatically mean drilling will begin immediately.
Affected companies such as Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell Little Black Dresses, which were drilling wells when the department imposed its moratorium, must still meet new offshore drilling regulations before restarting their projects.
“We are taking into account the special circumstances of those companies whose operations were interrupted by the moratorium and ensuring that they are able to resume previously approved activities,” said Michael Bromwich Prom Dresses, head of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
Since lifting its ban in October on drilling at depths more than 500 feet, the department has yet to approve any new deepwater exploration drilling permits.
Shell characterized the government’s move as a good first step, but said more action is needed “to improve the timeliness and efficiency of the permitting process,” according to a statement from the oil company.
Republicans, who will control the House of Representatives in the new Congress, vow to press the Obama administration on the slow permitting process.
Although the agency said it was still working to enhance its environmental reviews in the future, Bromwich called Monday’s announcement “a significant step” toward allowing the affected companies resuming their permitted activity.
The National Ocean Industries Association applauded the department’s decision, but said companies still need clarity on certain new drilling regulations.
“This is a positive development for an industry that has been anxiously waiting to get back to work,” NOIA President Randall Luthi said in a statement.
Other companies affected by the new drilling policy include: Marathon Oil Co, Murphy Oil Co, Noble Energy Inc and Statoil.
(Additional reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by John Picinich and Jim Marshall; Editing by David Gregorio and Sofina Mirza-Reid)
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Discount Long Sleeved Dresses – New York Oy vey! Y
Yiddish teacher Miriam Udel, left, leads a class in singing a song to teach Yiddish at Emory University Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011 in Atlanta. This isn't music appreciation or even a class at a synagogue. It's the first semester of Yiddish at Emory University in Atlanta, one of just a handful of such program at colleges across the country studying the Germanic-based language of Eastern European Jews. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
New York – A group of American college students stands in a semicircle, clapping and hopping on one foot as they sing in Yiddish: “Az der rebe zingt, Zingen ale khsidim!”
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“When the rebbe dances, so do all the Hasidim,” the lyrics go.
This isn’t music appreciation or even a class at a synagogue. It’s the first semester of Yiddish at Emory University in Atlanta—one of just a handful of college programs across the country studying the Germanic-based language of Eastern European Jews.
The language came close to dying out after the Holocaust as millions of Yiddish speakers either perished in Nazi concentration camps or fled to other countries where their native tongue was not welcome. Emory and other universities like Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and McGill University in Canada are working to bring the language back, and with it, an appreciation for the rich history of European Jewish culture and art.
“If we want to preserve this, we need to do so actively and consciously,” said Miriam Udel, a Yiddish professor at Emory who uses song to teach the language. “The generation that passively knows Yiddish is dying out. There are treasures that need to be preserved because we’ll lose access to them if we let Yiddish die.”
Experts estimate there are between 1 million and 2 million native Yiddish speakers in the world, but only about 500,000 speak it in the home—mostly orthodox Jews. When YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City began offering summer programs in Yiddish in 1968, they were the only such program in the world.
Now, they compete with summer intensive Yiddish programs in Tel Aviv Feather Dresses, Israel; Ottawa, Canada; Indiana and Arizona, said YIVO’s dean, Paul Glasser. About 20 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada now offer some Yiddish courses, though just a few of them have degrees in the language.
The interest has grown because of the younger Jewish generation, which doesn’t feel their parents’ embarrassment that their family spoke Yiddish rather than English, Glasser said.
“Eighteen-year-olds today don’t have that,” he said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. No one can question their American-ness.”
Emory student Matthew Birnbaum, a junior, said he took Udel’s Yiddish class because he feels a personal connection to the language—his grandparents still speak it.
“It’s taught me a lot about my own roots and where my people have come from,” he said. “It’s been a really interesting learning experience, not just from the language perspective but also from the historical perspective.”
It’s not just college classes where the interest in Yiddish has grown.
Klezmer music has made a comeback with young musicians like Canadian Yiddish hip-hop artist Socalled—whose real name is Josh Dolgin—and Daniel Kahn, a New York-based folk singer who is recording with some of the most popular Yiddish performers in the world.
At the Folkspiene national Yiddish theater and the New Yiddish Rep theater company, both in New York City, young actors flood auditions for “Gimpl Tam” and “The Learning Play of Rabbi Levi-Yitzhok, Son of Sara, of Berditchev.” The Congress for Jewish Culture holds coffee houses monthly where young Yiddish musicians perform and bring in guest speakers like graphic novel artist Ben Katchor Long Sleeved Dresses, hoping to appeal to a younger audience.
A search for Yiddish on Facebook produces dozens of links to groups like “Di Kats der Payats (The Cat in the Hat in Yiddish)” and “Yiddish Slang Dictionary.”
“This is what everyone in Yiddish is trying to do: to get to the younger generations and show people what’s out there,” said Shane Baker, president of the congress and a non-Jewish actor who appears in Yiddish productions at Folkspiene and New Yiddish Rep. “They used to say in the family: `Speak Yiddish so the children don’t understand if you’re talking about something serious or arguing.’ Now a hook is: `Speak Yiddish so your parents won’t know what you’re saying.’”
At Emory, Udel’s students spend a semester learning Yiddish grammar through songs and reading before performing the music a cappella at Atlanta nursing homes and Emory’s Jewish student center. The performances give them more confidence in their language abilities and help them connect with older Yiddish speakers, she said.
All the students in this semester’s class are Jewish, Udel said, but she’s had non-Jews—or goyim—in past years.
The class had only a handful of students when upperclassmen registered for courses over the summer, but the class filled up during freshman registration, Udel said.
Emory freshman Elizabeth Friedman, 18, said she signed up because she was unsure what to take during her first semester at college. She said the class, which has become like a family, is a fun respite from her “dense” pre-business coursework.
“That is why I love this class—there’s so much interaction, so much teamwork and much talking, it’s like you’re learning so much without feeling the stress,” the Los Angeles native said. “In the final, I realized how much I learned from the beginning because I was never naturally good at languages.”