Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt, is the new bestseller by Michael Lewis. It shows in minute detail how investors investors have been consistently ripped off by big Wall Street banks. The crux of the issues is that brokers is that the incentives of investors and brokers are not aligned….
Category: Culture
Is “Senior” a Dirty Word?
As Baby Boomers start to retire en masse, market research has shown that they object to being called seniors. This is understandable in a culture that places a lot of value on youth and seems not to have the same respect for the elderly. In a culture based on biblical…
Self Serving Executives of Our Non-profits
This week the Froward published an article that exposed which executives of major American Jewish organizations took personal pay cuts while firing staff and which did not. Out of the twenty one organizations surveyed only nine of the executives did so. Three of them refused to comment. The rest laid…
Matisyahu Reexamined
What does one do when one makes a mistake? First it is important to realize the mistake and admit it and then if it affected others an apology in warranted. I want to confess that I made a mistake and would like to apologize for it. Now there are times…
Internet Culture is Bad for Society
In his latest column in The Forward and in other of his recent writings, David Klinghoffer has complained bitterly about the names and insults that have been hurled at him by what he terms as mostly “liberal Jews” because he dared to point out the influence Darwinism had on Hitler’s…
Chasidic Rap Explosion
What is Jewish about Jewish music? This is a question that has been debated by makers of Jewish music from time immemorial. Music and song have always been a major part of Jewish religious life. It was obvious that songs that were sung in the Synagogue and Temple as part…
David Blaine: Is There Another Way?
David Blaine is currently encased in a human aquarium at Lincoln Center in New York City doing another one of his stunts. Although I am not impressed by the showmanship of the man what he says does impress me. When asked about his 44-day stay without food in a box…
God’s Response to Reality TV
In the UK Millions of people have tuned in on a daily basis to watch a group of ordinary people living their lives. Big Brother fervour had grabbed the people in the UK once again. But hang on, what is so attractive about watching ordinary people doing ordinary things? How…
God’s Response to Reality TV
Millions of people all over the country tune in on a daily basis to watch a group of ordinary people living their lives. Big Brother fervour had grabbed the nation once again. But hang on, what is so attractive about watching ordinary people doing ordinary things? How is it that…
Matisyahu: Rabbi or Rebel?
Matisyahu is now an international phenomenon; he is a reggae singer with a difference. Instead of dreadlocks he sports a trilby. His beard is predicated on the Kabbalists’ theosophy instead of Rastafarian tradition and his clothing places him in an Ultra Orthodox Jewish enclave rather than a black ghetto. Now…