The Values That Make Judaism Unique

Posted on November 2, 2007 by Luke Ford

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach writes in The Jewish Press:

Two weeks ago I debated Michael Steinhardt, the renowned philanthropist and self-declared atheist, and Prof. Noah Feldman, arguably America’s foremost thirty-something legal mind, on the subject of whether or not Jews are different based on their values. Are we as a people distinct based on the values we cherish, or are we like everyone else?

To be sure, Jews are fiercely devoted to their identities. Even when they assimilate and/or marry out, they still never give up the title "Jew," as they rarely ever convert to the religion of their non-Jewish spouse. It’s as if they feel innately that there is something infinitely meaningful in the simple title "Jew."

But can we identify the values that make Jewish identity so consequential to so many people?

In my remarks, I approached the subject with a two-tiered system of Jewish values. First, there are the values the Jewish people gave the world that have since been co-opted by other faiths and for which we have lost a copyright. Since these values have been adopted by other nations who do not credit the Jews with their origin, this makes many believe that the only Jewish legacy is one of suffering and death.

In thinking of golden civilizations and high points in history, the average secular Jew will conjure up images of pontificating Greek philosophers, Roman legions shimmering in the bright sun, and the artistic wonders of the Renaissance masters. Tell him that in terms of world history the Jews have outshone all these civilizations and he will break into a fit of giggles.

The Jews, he thinks to himself, are the ones who were defeated by the Romans, slaughtered by the crusaders, expelled by the Spaniards, disemboweled by the Cossacks, and cremated by the Nazis. Every Jewish child studies in school about how each nation lived and how the Jews died.

This is, sadly, due to the fact that the many gifts of the Jews now go by other names. The Jews gave the world the idea of one God. Today that concept is known to billions of people as Allah or Jesus. The Hebrew Bible’s idea that all men are created equal today goes by the term "democracy." The idea of a brotherhood of nationalities, rooted in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah, today is known by the name "United Nations."

Consider also that the teaching of Leviticus 19:18 – that one must love one’s fellow man as oneself – is today called the Golden Rule and almost universally attributed to Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.

British historian Paul Johnson, in his A History of the Jews, puts it this way: "To [the Jews] we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human; of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person; of the individual conscience and so of personal redemption: of the collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice, and many other items which constitute the basic furniture of the human mind. Without the Jews it might have been a much emptier place."

But there is a second tier of values – values that remain wholly Jewish, that have not been embraced by the world and that could bring great healing if only they were to be disseminated.

In America, the age of Judaism has arrived. Why? Because Christianity and Islam mostly focus on the big questions of how one gets into heaven and where one goes after death. Judaism instead focuses on the small questions of everyday existence at which most people today fail: How do I stay married? How do I inspire my children? How do I live a life of spiritual purpose that is not dominated by corrosive materialism?

There are six central values that are uniquely Jewish and that the world desperately needs in order to heal. Their exclusive perpetuation among Jews will be to the earth’s detriment. It therefore should be our objective to mainstream these values everywhere. They are, in acrostic form, DREAMS.

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Jconnect LA: The Tie That Binds Our L.A. Jewish Community

Posted on November 2, 2007 by Luke Ford

Rebecca Mandel writes in The Jewish Press:

“You don’t have to be a rabbi, president of a large corporation, or work for some big company or the federation to make a difference in this world. You just have to have a passion to make a change,” says Cheston Mizel.

A true hidden gem, Cheston Mizel, the founder of Jconnect LA, impacts upon and affects each individual with whom he comes in contact. He accomplishes this through his love and caring for his fellow Jews.

Mizel began this non-profit organization from his home. Utilizing his own funds, he began hosting events and parties in his home. Mizel began with a dozen people for Shabbat, and holiday social gatherings for more than 150 people. He had a spiritual quest to share the beauty he found in Judaism while soul-searching during his adulthood. Mizel continued his journey until he found meaning. Even now he continues on his journey, sharing with others and changing the way people think.

His goal was to bring together Jews of different backgrounds by offering authentic Jewish experiences. He wanted the events to be spiritual, cool and hip – offering something different for everybody, without judgment.

Indeed Mizel has succeeded. The thousands of attendees of Jconnect LA come from all backgrounds. Although all Jconnect LA events are kosher and crafted with sensitivity to halachic principles, the overall spirit is one where even the most secular Jew is made to feel comfortable and accepted.

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A Modern Marketplace for Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Steven Erlanger writes:

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel — When Larry Pinczower switches on his cellphone, the seal of a rabbinate council appears. Unable to send text messages, take photographs or connect to the Internet, his phone is a religiously approved adaptation to modernity by the ultra-Orthodox sector of Israeli life.

More than 10,000 numbers for phone sex, dating services and the like are blocked, and rabbinical overseers ensure that the lists are up to date. Calls to other kosher phones are less than 2 cents a minute, compared with 9.5 cents for normal phones. But on the Sabbath any call costs $2.44 a minute, a steep religious penalty.

“You pay less and you’re playing by the rules,” Mr. Pinczower, 39, said. “You’re using technology but in a way that maintains religious integrity.”

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Is Hillary’s Aide Huma Abedin An Agent Of Saudi Intelligence?

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Paul Sperry’s book, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington sounds like it is worth a read.

From the April 1, 2007 New York Observer:

Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell, a 33-year-old who was born in Cairo, also speaks fluent Arabic and is also uncannily stylish—she says she has been told on many occasions that she is Ms. Abedin’s Republican doppelgänger—had some insights into what her colleague is really passionate about.

“[Huma] certainly feels a deep responsibility to encourage more mutual understanding between her beliefs and culture and American culture,” said Ms. Powell. “I think you will see Huma coming out of that role in the background.”

“I think she’s going to emerge as a woman to watch,” she added.

It may have happened in the background, but Ms. Abedin has indeed become a trusted advisor to Mrs. Clinton, especially on issues pertaining to the Middle East, according to a number of Clinton associates. At meetings on the region, they say, Ms. Abedin’s perspective is always sought out.

Huma’s mother’s name is Saleha Mahmood Abedin. (Picture) She’s a sociologist based in Saudi Arabia.

According to this online bio: "Dr. Saleha Mahmood Abedin is a professor of sociology from Pakistan and a specialist in the affairs of minority Muslim groups in non-Muslim countries. Her knowledge of Islam and its role in different cultural contexts around the world has made her a sought-after scholar in inter-religious forums for world peace. Dr. Saleha is currently a peace councilor for the International Committee for Peace, an institute wherein religious leaders are working together to relieve suffering in different parts of the world. Peace councilors provide a positive, alternative example to the popular images of religious division perpetrated by so many. Dr. Saleha is also director of scholarly institutes in London and Saudi Arabia, and is chairperson of the Islamic Committee for Women and Children in Jordan."

Laurence Jarvik blogs:

Google informs us that Abedin’s mother is Saleha Mahmood Abedin, Vice-Dean of Institutional Advancement, Dar Al-Hekma College, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Here’s the official description from the Dar Al-Hekma website:

Dar Al-Hekma College is a unique, four-year college, built upon a strong and stable foundation of Islamic faith, Islamic wisdom, academic excellence and intellectual curiosity. It was founded when prominent members of the Jeddah community recognized an urgent need for sophisticated higher education for young Saudi women, with high quality academic programs enriched by Islamic values and morals. The Founders engaged the Texas International Education Consortium to work with local and international experts to plan the college and design its curricula. In September, 1999, Dar Al-Hekma College opened its doors to its first freshmen class.

From FreeRepublic:

How does the child of two university professors [one of them deceased], who is single, never married, and living on a clerical salary, in one of the most expensive cities in America, afford to "never… wear the same outfit twice"?

Much less purchase from the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Catherine Malandrino, Charles Nolan, Prada, and Marc Jacobs? Not to mention Yves Saint Laurent?

How does the child of two university professors [one of them deceased], who is single, never married, and living on a clerical salary, in one of the most expensive cities in America, afford to buy her own "apartment in the vicinity of 12th and U streets"?

What would such an apartment cost? $500,000? $750,000? $1,000,000?

Where is she getting that kind of money? Who is the co-signor on her loan?

And as bad as the financials of the Observer piece are, the psychological profile it paints is even worse:

"It was like 110 degrees outside," recalled the source, a political aide who asked to remain anonymous. "We were all just pouring down with sweat. But I have this distinct memory of Huma traipsing in in this blue pantsuit—it was like this wool pantsuit—not a bead of sweat on her brow, not a hair out of place, with everything perfectly organized in her Yves Saint Laurent handbag."

That sort of fantastical, supernaturally tinged tale is not unusual. Indeed, in the insular world of New York and D.C. politics, Huma Abedin has become a sort of mythical figure…

"I think she has special powers," said public-radio broadcaster Katia Dunn, who recently crossed paths with Ms. Abedin and Mrs. Clinton at a café on Capitol Hill…

Representative Anthony Weiner, a swingingly single Brooklyn Democrat who has known Ms. Abedin since before Hillary Clinton was elected to office, talked about her ability to perform under pressure "preternaturally"…

"Have you seen Huma?" asked James Carville, the former advisor to President Clinton. "Her appearance is just like, ‘Hoh my God!’ She takes your breath away. She’s an unbelievably, stunningly gorgeous woman. Nobody in that position can be that good-looking; it just doesn’t happen." He added that she is also "damn smart."

"She is a person of enormous intellect with in-depth knowledge on a number of issues—especially issues pertaining to the Middle East," said Senator John McCain, in a statement relayed by one of his aides.

"Huma is an example of why more people, particularly in Washington, need to understand the rest of the world, need to recognize what an asset it is to have cross-cultural experiences," wrote Queen Noor of Jordan in an e-mail…

"I’d call Huma one in a million," said Mrs. Clinton’s press secretary, Philippe Reines, "but that would mean there are 5,999 others in the world just like her, and there simply aren’t. She is truly one of a kind, one in a billion. We are all in awe of her poise, grace, judgment, intellect and her seemingly endless reserve of kindness, patience and energy."

People get nervous & flighty & anxious in life when they CARE.

People are unflappable when they DON’T CARE.

Just from a purely psychological point of view, the fact that she seems to be unflappable within the confines of the biggest pressure cooker in American politics suggests to me that she doesn’t care about American politics – that, instead, she cares about something else – something other than American politics.

And certainly the easiest way to not care about a set of circumstances in life is when you aren’t actually participating in those circumstances, but rather are merely ACTING THE PART of someone who is participating in those circumstances.

The very fact that she spent 15 or 16 years in Saudi Arabia [from roughly the age of 2, until roughly the age of 18], and then showed up in the Clinton Whitehouse, as an intern, in 1996, at roughly the age of 21, is, in and of itself, a massive security breach.

That she then spent another five years in the Clinton Whitehouse, and, for most of the last seven years, has been wedded at the hip to Mrs. Clinton, night and day [whether or not they are engaging in acts of sodomy], is an unthinkable compromise of national security.

And even if it wasn’t an "unthinkable compromise of national security" on Monday, September 10, 2001, it damned sure became an unthinkable compromise of national security on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

As a thought experiment, reverse the roles, and suppose that Huma Abedin was a Jewish girl, with supermodel looks, and that her parents had left America when she was 2, and had emigrated to Israel [even though NEITHER of her parents had been born in Israel], and that her mother was an Israeli professor, and that her father had founded his own institute devoted to Israeli-American and interfaith understanding and reconciliation and published a journal focusing on Jewish minorities living in the diaspora.

And suppose that she had worked her way into the Clinton Whitehouse, in 1996, at the age of 21 [after spending 15 or 16 of her formative years in Israel], and that she had become wedded at the hip to Mrs. Clinton, night and day, for the next 11 years.

[We’ll leave out the part about the 19 Jews – 15 of them from Israel – who hijacked a bunch of jetliners and flew them into the World Trade Center & the Pentagon, back in 2001.]

And suppose that she was spending money way beyond her apparent station in life.

And suppose that she was unflappable in pressure-cooker situtations.

Now suppose all of those things, and then come to the logical conclusion.

People would be screaming "Mossad" at the top of their lungs.

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How To Fill The Hole In Your Soul – An Interview With Therapist Donna Burstyn

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Video: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

Her practice is in Beverly Hills. 310-859-9007, [email protected].

Luke: "Donna, why did you become a therapist?"

Donna: "I was born to be a therapist. I was always a therapist. Even as a child, I was the one in the house who made peace. In school, I was the one kids went to to talk about their feelings. In high school, I was the one people went to if they thought they were pregnant or they were taking drugs… I was the sober ride. For some wonderful reason, I created a trusting environment for some people. I took that to mean that this is a calling."

Luke: "What do you love and what do you hate about your work?"

Donna: "I love making a difference. What’s really difficult is that it is not up to me. So sometimes I see people and I just have such a feeling about what they need to be doing to help themselves on their journey, but it doesn’t work as I would like it too. I am not in control of the therapeutic relationship. So sometimes when somebody goes down a journey that you know will be very painful for them, and they need to do it anyway. What’s real hard is the surrender on my part."

Luke: "When did you begin practice?"

Donna: "In 1991, after graduating from Antioch University.

"In 1978, I was part of the creation of a rape crisis help line. I did training for it and trained people for several years. I spent time in Israel working with under-privileged children in orphanages."

"The population I’m seeing hasn’t changed. In the 1970s, there wasn’t the internet. Today I see quite a few patients who are addicted to internet sex and how it has destroyed their marriages and destroyed their lives."

"Beverly Hills is a prime target for kids at risk who have a lot of money and feel this body dismorphic disorder that they’re not looking like the billboards. It’s happening as much with boys as girls."

Luke: "There are boys out there throwing up to look skinnier on a regular basis?"

Donna: "There are boys out there throwing up to look skinnier on a regular basis. About 70% are girls and about 30% are boys. And that number of boys is rising [proportionately]. At UCLA, their eating disorders clinic is filled to capacity. There’s a three month waiting list."

Luke: "What’s dismorphic mean?"

Donna: "It means they see their body as other than it is. Let’s say you ask somebody, ‘How big are your hips?’ They’ll stand in front of the mirror and close their eyes and hold out their hands. Then they’ll open their eyes and see their hips are way in there. But in their mind’s eye, their huge. They act in the world like they are this huge being.

"I see people who’ve had gastric bypass surgery. Let’s say they were 300 pounds. After seven months, they drop 70 pounds. After another seven months, they drop 50 more pounds. So they’re 150 pounds but they’re still carrying 300 pounds of pain.

"They haven’t gotten rid of what caused them to eat 300 pounds worth of food. They still walk around feeling huge. It takes about six years to feel yourself in a new body."

"If you flip through women’s magazines, every third article is a diet or a diet pill or it’s a diet enhancer. It’s hard to compete. Women start competing with each other instead of supporting each other."

Luke: "I bet that everyone who has a body image problem has a TV in their house while people who don’t have a TV, don’t have this problem."

Donna: "I’d think you’re right, but it’s not only television. There’s a woman I see who’s 5’11, blonde and beautiful, and she has a severe case of body dismorphia. She was pregnant last year. She watched her body expand. It was one of the most painful experiences. Now she’s starting to get back into her old body but her old body wasn’t good enough."

"Most cases of eating disorders start in the teens."

"I hope to be able to speak more at schools so I can tell people the signs and help them understand what they might miss if they didn’t know."

Luke: "How are your Orthodox patients different?"

Donna: "I see a lot of Orthodox patients who are newly married, a few months married, and they’re very disappointed because they didn’t know what to expect from each other. They don’t know how to do conflict resolution. They don’t know how to communicate with each other."

Luke: "How common are eating disorders in the Orthodox community?"

Donna: "Quite common. We like to keep it under wraps but it is no different. I’m going to be speaking at Shalhevet at the end of the month to the administration. There are several cases there where the other students told the administration that so-and-so’s eating disorder has kicked in again. They broke the code of silence to save a life. It happens to be two girls right now."

"Twelve step rooms are filled with Jews and Orthodox Jews."

Luke: "One of the things I love about Orthodox Judaism is that it is harder to be lonely in it than any other way of life of which I’m aware. The sense of community is so strong. What are the issues that come from this?"

Donna: "I like to use Orthodox Judaism as an example to my non-affiliated Jewish patients and non-Jewish patients of the importance of community. If you don’t show up, people wonder where you are and how you are. People care.

"It’s really easy in a big city to disappear.

"The drawback to community is that if you fall short, you fall short in front of everyone. And we do fall short. It’s a big challenge not to run. You know how difficult it is to stay put when an army of people seem to be against you. But that same army of people can endorse you."

"I lived on a kibbutz for many years. Everyone knows everything. Sometimes that’s a real pain."

Luke: "How important is it to lead an integrated life? Some people who find community smothering go off and leave it for a while to do their thing and then come back. Is that healthy?"

Donna: "I haven’t thought about that. It’s something I do. Sometimes we need to take space. I tend to find it in Montecito. If I’m lucky, Italy or a summer in Prague… There’s something about ‘Here nobody knows me’ that’s kinda cool. You can try on a new shaitel."

"I was voted most popular in high school. I didn’t belong to any one group. Everyone knew, she’s cool!

"I have a hard time when I’m judged for not being something enough. People say, ‘You’re Modern Orthodox? You don’t cover your hair? You wear pants? You eat vegetarian out? What is that? Yet you keep Shabbos and keep a kosher home?’"

Luke: "How has Orthodox Judaism affected your practice of psycho-therapy?"

Donna: "I’m never in the room alone."

Luke: "Your husband’s always there?"

Donna: "I don’t do any of this work without G-d’s help. There’s nothing I do or say that is not led by the Almighty. Before I go into a session, I always say a prayer, ‘Please G-d, let this person take away what they can. It’s in Your hands.’ I see myself as a vessel. We talk a lot about spirituality in my rooms. I’ve had non-Jewish patients say to me, ‘Donna, please pray to G-d for my health and recovery.’"

Luke: "I’m sure you have more non-Jewish patients who ask you to pray to G-d for their health and recovery than Jewish patients."

Donna: "You are right."

"I encourage people to develop a spiritual life."

Luke: "How has your practice of psycho-therapy affected your Orthodox Judaism?"

Donna: "I feel so frustrated sometimes as an Orthodox Jew when I hear other Orthodox Jews talk about certain behaviors they are engaging in that are so destructive to them and to the people in their lives. That breaks my heart."

"When they have been sentenced by a Beit Din to receive psycho-therapy. It hurts to listen to the pain people are in while they’re wearing a different uniform on the outside. I’m not as great a believer in the uniform people wear. There was a time when I really wanted to believe a rabbi was a person in good standing. I’ve seen many a rabbi in my office who suffer like the rest of us. Rebbitzen Weinberg from Baltimore told me a long time ago, ‘Wake up Donna! There is no difference in this community than any other. There are pedophiles in this community, sex addicts, drunks.’"

Luke: "Are Orthodox Jews more or less likely to get psycho-therapy?"

Donna: "The darker the yeshiva garb, the less likely. The more modern, the more likely.

"Last year Rabbi Kanefsky opened his shul to talking about pedophilia in yeshivot. There were rabbis from all different shuls who were invited to participate. It was very painful to hear from boys who’d been harassed and hurt by older boys and by teachers. Predators are often passed on to another yeshiva without getting them the help they need. The victim is left feeling alone. When they approach a rabbi, they’re often told it could not have happened."

"I think this conference was valuable. There hasn’t been one since then or I haven’t been invited to be a part of it."

"I believe in helping the victim and I believe in helping the predator."

Luke: "How has having kids affected you as a psycho-therapist?"

Donna: "I remember in graduate school there was a teacher who taught child development who had no children."

"Having an eternal responsibility is a valuable lesson in life. I’ve learned a lot about teamwork by having children. It’s the greatest opportunity to watch growth and have an impact on a life. Having four daughters is the gift I’ve always wanted."

We talk about online sex.

Donna: "I’ve had Orthodox men say they only read the written material and don’t look at the visual material because that would be forbidden. We all make our halacha where it fits us."

"Online sex drives many men to not be with their wives. They’ve already taken care of their own needs. Wives feel that they can not compare to the fantasies of these stories or the pictures. The men are spending a lot of money on these online sites, robbing family bank accounts. The alienation that gets created is really prohibitive and painful. Women start to doubt their ability to capture their man’s heart. It’s a wedge in a family."

Luke: "Have you ever had a female patient who was hurting the family bank account because she was buying pornography on the internet?"

Donna: "Not yet."

Our conversation wanders.

Donna: "And the massage parlors and how people choose to have Clintonesque sex just to not call it sex and to still come home.

"The people who are in my room are getting well. It’s the people who aren’t getting therapy that concern me."

"Many of those who come to see me for help were caught by their congregation and their computer confiscated. Or teachers at schools shared certain information or their hard drive was checked out and teachers have been asked to leave schools and get help. Those people end up working on the problem. Usually if someone has a big sexual investment online, they often have other addictions as well. It becomes a package deal. We might be dealing with over-eating, drinking, gambling."

Luke: "I heard one psychiatrist say that when a couple uses that material [porn] to strength the relationship, it’s harmless, but when it damages the relationship, it’s harmful. What do you think?"

Donna: "I only see the harmful, but that might only be the Orthodox in me speaking. I don’t like the idea of anybody else entering the bedroom. That completely takes away the holiness. I would not look at another man and I would want my husband to not look at another woman. It’s pretty final in my mind that that does not work, but I do have couples come to me. They both watch pornography and they both enjoy it and it enhances their sex life. If someone asks my opinion, I think it ruins the relationship."

Luke: "I can only imagine the horror of an Orthodox wife from a sheltered background walking into a room and finding her husband pleasuring himself to something online. Do you work with these wives?"

Donna: "I do. I usually do it as part of couples’ therapy… I’ll meet with the man alone and with the woman alone for a session or two. Some women, unfortunately, are not shocked. They feel like at least he’s getting it somewhere. No wonder it hasn’t been me. Oh, this makes sense now.

"There’s a couple I’m working with now who had a pretty similar example to what you said. What she said to him when she found him, ‘Oh, my poor husband. His neshama. He must be hurting so bad.’ It was such a different reaction from, ‘Betrayal! How dare you?’"

We talk about couples who no longer have sex.

Donna: "We talk about how to enliven your sex life and keep it fresh. After people have had children and they’re tired and they work, there’s not enough play time. We talk about taking a weekend, a night in a hotel, we talk about doing things so that you remember you are adults, it’s not just parent time, it’s adult time, which can be sexual time or sensual time. A lot of couples stop touching each other. Instead of rolling into each other, they roll away."

"I’ve had a lot of success in people re-uniting. It starts very gently. I start people off with sensory exercises, not sensual exercises. It takes the pressure away."

Luke: "What can you do with the narcissist?"

Donna: "Compliment them!"

We laugh.

Donna: "I feel so grateful to have you come to my office."

"Narcissism is apparent pretty quick. I think about the narcissistic wound that created that. And that’s where I pour all the love — into the original wound. It took someone vulnerable and hurt to rise up and put on their armor and charge forward in the world with the entitlement they never had. I go to the creation of the loss but very slowly, always keeping in mind that there was an injury that created this. That there’s a huge wound that created someone who feels better than anyone else and can do anything to anyone else and be above the rules, above the law, above mankind.

"They never come into therapy for them. They come into therapy because they want to talk about somebody who did them wrong. Their wife is an SOB and can I fix her? It’s always about the other. If I work gently enough, they’ll start to warm up to me. First they’ll ask for my credentials and how long have I been working here. They like that I work in Beverly Hills."

Luke: "What kind of person wants to be a on a reality show? A narcissist?"

Donna: "Not necessarily. There are personality types called histrionic. People who like to be seen. The narcissist might not be on television because if the narcissist fouled up, it would be too public and too painful.

"Some people are just happy go lucky. They don’t care that much."

"People who like to display themselves tend to be the ones to get the most public attention. They do things to get attention."

Luke: "Are there any typical problems that a famous person?"

Donna: "I have worked with many a famous person. The biggest consequence of fame is not knowing how to work in reality, especially when the fame dies down. People haven’t shopped for themselves, haven’t cooked for themselves, haven’t cleaned up themselves. I’ve had accountants send me checks. The client never asked how much the session cost.

"Sometimes they didn’t get signed for another season or they didn’t get that record deal and reality hits and they don’t know what to do.

"They don’t know who their friends are. Am I likable? I’ve been treating people horribly. They’re often dropped so fast. They’re only as good as their last performance. Their whole sense of self is contained in what they do."

"I worked with a supermodel for a year. In one of our first sessions, she said, ‘I’m just a hanger for beautiful clothes.’ There was nothing inside. She was an ugly duckling as a child. She grew into a swan. Members of her family were highly competitive with one another. For the last ten years, she’s been hitting runways all over the world. She has no relationship with anyone. She trusts no one."

Luke: "Why would you expect that women would support each other?"

Donna: "Because of our nature. Our natural state is to be supportive. I have a support group that runs every Wednesday night. It’s an eight-week commitment. Almost all the women there I’ve never had supportive women in their life. They never had a good relationship with their mom or sisters. Everyone was a rival. Their female bosses feel they need to be stronger, bigger, ballsier than men. The femininity is gone. Many women in our society are not working together. They’re working in opposition."

"We have nine regular attendants. In the group dynamic, people are turning into the sisters of, the mothers of, the friend who betrayed them… People take on different personalities. As people get closer, they get more afraid. They’re also trying on new things they never thought they’d dare for.

"It’s the most fun. Definitely my calling. I have this dream I will be running many women’s seminars. Doing healing workshops for women. Finding our inner voice, our strengths and overcoming addiction."

"For many years, I’ve worked with people with chronic illness. I have suffered with fibromyalgia since I was 20. I see people who have it worse than I do. I’m looking to create a support group for women with chronic disabilities."

Luke: "Can sexual predators be helped?"

Donna: "Some say no. If you’re talking about a classic child abuser, studies say no. It might be behavior modification or it might be that we need to inform everyone they know that they are a predator.

"But there are other types of predators. Juveniles who are acting out and seeking attention and can be helped. As we were talking about in the yeshiva section, feeling very sexual and sublimating their feelings and acting them out on somebody they feel won’t tell."

Luke: "If you met someone who was 40 years old and never married, and they seemed normal and they have a job, what things would come to mind?"

Donna: "Last week, I was at a Shabbat lunch. A gentleman said he was walking in my direction. I asked him to walk with me. Instead of saying, ‘I’d be delighted to,’ he said, ‘If you really want me to, I wouldn’t mind.’

"He was a forty-something never married. It was obvious. When people come into my room, the first thing I assess is how do they respond to me. Can they look me in the eye? How do they feel about themselves? Are they awkward? Do they over-magnify things? Where do they choose to sit in the room? What does the body language tell me? Somebody might say they want to be close, but their body language tells me otherwise. People can learn to change their body language. They can learn to change their words."

Luke: Can fear of intimacy, fear of rejection, fear of commitment, etc be overcome?

Donna: "Many can. When we become more intimate in the room, more vulnerable, they recognize they can be vulnerable. The majority of my practice is adult singles who’ve never been married between 35 and 45 yo. People who’ve been married before tend to marry again, much more quickly than those who’ve never married."

"I also believe in bibliotherapy so I’ll refer people to certain books and to journal what you’re feeling."

From the March 7, 2003 issue of the Jewish Journal:

While it is hard to cull out how many cyberaddicts are Jews, mental health professionals agree that there is no reason to believe the proportion is any different among the Jewish population than the general population.

“The Web site has become the opiate of the 21st century. It’s a wonderful way to stay in your secret world, your fantasy world,” said Donna Burstyn, a psychotherapist who has many Orthodox clients.

Donna says:

My main goal with clients is to foster a safe and nurturing environment so they may explore the fullest range of joy and healing. Many of us were raised by parents that were emotionally unavailable.I know that we internalize this information and create our own dysfunctional relationships with spouses, business partners and children & continue these unhealthy patterns. The information one learns about personal patterns and relationship is a valuable tool. From there we can make new choices. I work very compatably with 12-Step Programs and have been doing so for FIFTEEN YEARS.

In the beginning it is all about creating a comfortable place for people to be themselves. People that walk into a therapy office are very courageous to begin with and I tend to let things unfold rather than have my own agenda for them to step into.

Many clients of mine suffer from depression and anxiety. As an attempt to touch more people, I MAKE HOUSE SESSIONS when necessary (a rare find these days but much needed when working with clients in pain).

Here’s some information on Donna from the Psychology Today website:

GENERAL

  • Gender: Female
  • Years in Practice: 10 Years
  • Avg Cost (per session): $80-$89
  • Sliding Scale: Yes
  • Accepts Credit Cards: No
  • Accepted Insurance Plans:
    • Aetna
    • BlueCross and/or BlueShield
    • Oxford
    • United
  • Please ask about your health
    insurance coverage when you
    arrange your first visit.
CLIENT FOCUS
  •  
  • Ethnicity: Any
  • Gender: All
  • Religious Orientation: Any
  • Gay/Lesbian Expertise: Yes
  • Alternative Languages: Hebrew
  • Age: Adolescents, Adults, Children, Elders
QUALIFICATIONS
  • Graduate School: Antioch University
  • Year Graduated: 1991
  • License No. and State: MFC 32445 California

SPECIALTIES:

  • Chronic Pain or Illness
  • Relationship Issues
  • Life Coaching
  • Depression
  • Anxiety or Fears
  • Addictions or Substance Abuse
  • Child or Adolescent Issues
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Abuse or Violence
  • Eating Disorders
  • Gay Lesbian Issues
  • Loss or Grief
  • Parenting
  • Sex Therapy
  • Spirituality
  • Impulse Control Disorders
  • Thinking Disorders
  • CHRONIC PAIN AND CONDITIONS
TREATMENT PREFERENCES
EASY ACCESS

Donna Burstyn also hosts the following groups:

Looking for Him: Finding You : A Woman’s Grp
9615 Brighton Way, Ste. 412, Beverly Hills, California
Every Wednesday at 8:15pm – 9:30pm
$30-$39 per session

This woman’s group focuses on self-esteem, body image, relationship patterns and personal growth in a safe and confidential small group atmosphere. women in transition are particularly supported by such a group.

Chronic pain & Illness: I WILL SURVIVE
9615 Brighton Way, Suite 412, Beverly Hills, California
Every Sunday, Monday at 9:15am – 10:30am
$30-$39 per session

For adults suffering with chronic conditions such as M.S., fibro-myalgia., chrones disease., chronic migraines, pain due to surgeries, etc. We work on relaxation techniques, sharing strength, experience, referrals and empathy in a loving, safe environment.

Posted in Donna Burstyn | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How To Fill The Hole In Your Soul – An Interview With Therapist Donna Burstyn

RiShawn Biddle Fired From The Indianapolis Star

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

I knew RiShawn when he lived in Los Angeles and interviewed him Feb. 25, 2003.

I once wrote that he was the only darkie in a room of pale faces (at a panel at AFI). He reproved me for the word "darkie." He said it was racist. I removed the word.

Biddle worked at Forbes. He was fired when his notes couldn’t substantiate one of his stories (quotes). He went to the Los Angeles Business Journal and then to the Indianapolis Star as an editorial writer.

Richard Prince writes:

An African American editorial writer for the Indianapolis Star was ousted late Wednesday, five days after he wrote a racially charged blog posting blasting the city and county council president, who is also African American.

The newspaper’s editor, Dennis Ryerson, removed the posting by RiShawn Biddle Wednesday and apologized to readers.

Then, at 5:30 p.m., Tim Swarens, editor of Opinion and Community Conversations, sent this one-sentence note to the staff of the Gannett newspaper:

"Effective immediately, editorial writer RiShawn Biddle is no longer employed by The Indianapolis Star."

Riddle’s blog entry was titled, "The Indianapolis Black Democrat minstrel show."

It was originally called "Coons for Power," judging from the Web address for the blog entry, which uses those words, and according to the Indianapolis blogosphere.

One blogger wrote that the piece originally compared the council president to "Zip Coon, a derogatory, racial slur on black men dating to the days of slavery."

In the version that remains elsewhere on the site, one that Biddle writes "was revised by yours truly to better reflect the overall point," he says:

"Then there’s the embarrassing spectacle that is Monroe Gray, whose tenure as city-county council president is being marked by a lack of decorum during council sessions, the videos of himself on YouTube and responses to allegations of corruption that wouldn’t be acceptable to a child who claimed his dog ate the homework. His act epitomizes the lack of seriousness some Black politicians show in their work; it’s just inexcusable.

"If I hadn’t seen this with my own eyes over the past three years, I would have thought they came straight out of ‘Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat.’ I don’t know any powerful Black people like that. Do I? Sadly, we do. Before our eyes stand men and women charged with serving the citizens of this city behaving badly, awfully, arrogantly, as if they didn’t receive any home-training."

…Blogger Ruth Holladay, a former Star columnist, wrote Wednesday night:

"A larger issue is the Star’s horrendous history with hiring and retaining black journalists under Gannett: Michael Dabney, an editor, resigned or was fired over a problem with his license not being renewed — Dabney landed at NUVO," the alternative weekly, "and is the president of the Indianapolis Association of Black Journalists; Michael Rochon, extremely talented, a young cop reporter and a personal favorite, was fired rather than helped for a substance abuse problem — he later died at home in Philadelphia; Kim Hooper and Courteney Edelhart left to take better jobs; James Patterson, an editorial writer whom Biddle replaced, was fired — he and Lisa Coffey have a lawsuit against Gannett."

From an Indiana blog:

Abdul thinks there’s a bit of a double standard going, because democrats weren’t equally up in arms when city-county council attorney aaron haith referred to abdul as "the grandson of willie lynch". there may be some validity to this, but then again, the two acts are hardly in the same league. as i said in the comments at tdw, haith made a spontaneous, one-sentence, offensive remark. rishawn, in contrast, wrote a nine-paragraph screed that was loaded with offensive language, which he went back and edited four times and yet is still offensive. haith’s mistake was arguably a crime of passion done in the heat of the moment; biddle’s was clearly premeditated, and directed toward the public. hell, rishawn was so proud of his race-baiting garbage that he sent out an email bragging about it. i have to wonder whether any of this would’ve even happened if he hadn’t sent out that email.

Posted in Journalism, RiShawn Biddle | Comments Off on RiShawn Biddle Fired From The Indianapolis Star

Camera Of Death Vs. Author Neil Strauss

Posted on November 1, 2007 by Luke Ford

Click here for photos and report.

Posted in Camera of Death, Neil Strauss, Party | Comments Off on Camera Of Death Vs. Author Neil Strauss

Dead Body At Robertson/Airdrome 90035

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Luke Ford

I walk past at 5:15 p.m. There’s an ambulance and fire truck. Airdrome is closed off at Robertson.

Yellow crime-scene tape stretches across the road.

The body is covered in a white sheet. I pull out my cell phone and take pictures and video.

None of them are worth publishing.

A fireman comes over and asks me to stop taking pictures. "The situation is an emergency," he says.

I drop off my books at the library. I walk home.

A police car rolls up. Then another.

I grab my video camera. I walk back.

Three black trash cans are now rolled up to the body to hide it.

There was a homeless man who lived in a car here. I assume he’s the one who died.

A policeman walks over to me as I videotape.

"You find this entertaining?"

"I’m just doing my job."

"Let me see some ID."

I leave my camera running as I rifle through my wallet.

I show him my LA Press Club card.

He notes it is out of date. He wants something up to date.

"That’s all I have," I say.

"You don’t have a current press pass," he says.

I get the video I want and walk home.

Video (My confrontation with police)

Holly emails:

I just read your story about the dead body by your house… what a weird coincidence. This past Friday, someone was killed right in front of where I was sleeping — the body was right next to the driveway, and there were two cars abandoned at the scene there. Someone was obviously chased by the other– but why didn’t the killer get back in their car and leave the scene? At first the body was covered with a white sheet, but then as I watched the cops lifted the sheet off and I got to see the body– a Mexican guy in his early 30s I think. I slept through the whole incident (amazing for someone who used to have insomnia but now doesn’t even take over-the-counter sleeping pills), but the cops knocking on my door at 5 AM to ask if I’d heard anything woke me up. It was really disturbing. I took a picture of the crime scene as soon as it was light, but the body was already gone. The cops came again to my house last night due to the faulty house alarm going off, and when I asked about the murder, they told me it was a stabbing due to a domestic dispute– the woman had killed her boyfriend/husband. I still don’t know much else about it. The strange thing was there was no blood. I didn’t see any on the body and I checked the area the next morning after the cops left– nothing. All I could do was stare at the body and think how maybe two hours ago he was at a party, laughing, talking to someone, telling someone he’d see them later. And now he’s lying on the sidewalk by my friend’s car: lifeless, the heat already leaving his body. I hate death.

ERSNews.com reports Nov. 2, 2007:

Luke Ford is a well known blogger and writer in Los Angeles. Luke tells ERS he was on his way to the library On Halloween to drop off some books he had checked out. He stumbled across what could be a crime scene, a dead guy with a white sheet over him and the LA Fire Department on scene. Some yellow tape was up, but the cops had yet to arrive. Luke had his cell phone with him and took some snapshots and cell phone video. A member of the LA Fire Department asked Luke not to take pictures. Luke moved on and headed home. At home, he got his video camera and returned to the scene. The LAPD was there and the area was sealed off with crime tape. Luke had a video camera and what transpired next can be seen here.

Why this LAPD cop saw fit to harass Luke Ford, we don’t know. What the video shows is an LAPD cop who seemly needs a little "media training." When confronted by the cop Luke follows his demands, although the officer had no right to be trying to get stop Luke from documenting the scene from a public street in a public place. Luke as you can hear on the tape was nothing less than friendly to the officer when he demanded to see some kind of ID from Ford. He wanted to see a "press pass," the one issued by the LAPD. Although Luke supplied an LA Press Club identification, which the officer noted was expired, Luke offered to provide him his business card but the officer wasn’t interested. The officer was extremely hostile and confrontational. In the end, Luke thought the better of it and left the scene.

ERS views this incident as a great example of how the LAPD operates on the streets of LA in recent years. We’ve had our own run-ins with them on occasion, both in the "official" mainstream media way and in what We’ll call the "new" media way. The LAPD seems to believe it can determine who ‘legitimate" media is and who isn’t. Note to LAPD, you can’t and you shouldn’t. An attitude of we’ll decide who the MEDIA is and who it Isn’t. That’s not the way it works in a country with a free press.

Last year ERS co-founder Eric Longabardi exposed the LAPD’s ineptness and indifference when it came to the ever burgeoning business of paparazzi on the streets of Los Angeles. People. who like Luke have nothing more than a camera and the ability to take a picture from a public place. ERS thinks the LAPD might be behooved to give its officers a little "media training" before sending them out in the City of Angels.

Posted in Pico/Robertson | Comments Off on Dead Body At Robertson/Airdrome 90035

Beverlywood Had Three Robberies Friday Night

Posted on October 31, 2007 by Luke Ford

A field deputy for Jack Weiss emails (Rabbi Muskin was held up at gunpoint Friday night):

The West Los Angeles area experienced three robberies in the Beverlywood area on Friday night, 10/26/07. 
 
Attached is a Community Alert flyer from LAPD on the recent Beverlywood area robberies. 
 
Please distribute widely.

Posted in Pico/Robertson | Comments Off on Beverlywood Had Three Robberies Friday Night

Hillary & Huma – A Dark Unseen Scandal Star?

Posted on October 30, 2007 by Luke Ford

Mickey Kaus writes:

Do you sense there is some large mass of dark matter, an unseen Scandal Star, the gravitational pull of which is warping the coverage of what seems, on the surface, a pretty dull presidential race? I do. So does Ron Rosenbaum. I thought the Dark Star was the Edwards affair allegation. But Rosenbaum says "everyone in the elite Mainstream media" knows about another juicy scandal that the LAT is supposedly sitting on. I guess this is proof that I’m not in the elite, because I don’t know what he’s talking about. … My vestigial Limbaugh gland tells me it must involve a Democrat, or else the Times would have found a reason to print it. … P.S.: If it’s just Richardson, that will be very disappointing.

I’m placing my money on the lesbian-Hillary angle.

If you examine the candidates connected by the gossip columnists to current sex scandals, Hillary leads the way with her Huma connection (and Bill with his connections).

Within a couple of hours of reading Mickey Kaus’s report above, I blitzed more than 30 sources (most of them journalists) for what they know about this matter. None of them could identify the purported LA Times story.

My dialogue with my sources left me with no doubt Tuesday night (Oct. 30) that Hillary’s made passes at women and that Muslim Huma Abedin is Hillary’s most likely source of romantic and sexual love.

Here’s a picture of Hillary’s personal assistant Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin. Huma Abedin.

Michelle Cottle writes in the Aug. 13, 2007 New York magazine: "Huma Abedin, Hillary’s beautiful, enigmatic “body person,” spends nearly every waking minute with Hillary and so has the best sense of her daily rhythms and routines."

Even if the Ron Rosenbaum report is complete nonsense (as LAT’s editorial assistant editor Matt Welch asserts below), the mainstream media will come under increasing pressure (as Hillary waltzes to the Democratic nomination and assumes front runner status in the general election) to probe Hillary’s love life (or lack of it) and to examine the numerous assertions (by such persons as Dick Morris, Edward Klein, etc) that she bats for the other team.

Like the rest of us, Hillary needs love. Unlike the rest of us, Hillary is powerful enough to get what she wants.

Like any woman, Hillary needs hugs and comfort and solace. She’s not had that regularly from Bill for many years. Where’s it coming from? Huma is the source that makes the most sense.

Sull emails: "You say everyone needs love, hugs etc. Definitely true, and I started wondering about Condi. Where is she getting her love and hugs?"

From Wikipedia: "Abedin was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan to an Indian father and Pakistani mother, both Muslims. When she was 2 years old, the family relocated to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Abedin returned to the United States to attend George Washington University.[1]"

From BigHeadDC:

We’re still a bit incredulous on this one, but a top level U.S. Department of Justice official is telling Big Head DC that Michael Musto’s rumor about Hillary Clinton fooling around with one of her top female aides Huma Abedin is based in reality!

“I am close enough to Hillary and Huma to tell you that this ‘rumor’ is true,” the official says. “It is well known inside her campaign that Hillary and Huma are an item.

“If you call Hillary’s residence in DC first thing in the morning, Huma answers the phone,” the official continues. “Same thing late at night and on the road. It’s a closely guarded secret that Hillary’s inner circle guards at all costs.”

From a post on Datalounge: "On the Chris Matthews show he does on the weekends with a roundtable, 2 of the journalists kept dropping hints that a story or stories about Bill Clinton might surface. It was in reference to how well Hillary has put the Monica incident behind her and how the country is now respecting her decision; but 2 of them stated that if another story was to come out in the next few months about Bill and an another affair, Hillary’s sunk. Again, it was very, very veiled, but it was alluded to several times and I remember thinking, "what do they know"?"

Another post: "Mike Rogers is on it at Blogactive (go back to July), and Andrew Sullivan was about an inch away from saying it around the same time, stating plainly that the roof was about to be ripped off Thompson’s sex life, but quickly backed off, writing soon after that he hadn’t meant to imply, you know, the gay."

From the April 1, 2007 New York Observer on Huma Abedin:

According to a friend, her favorite designers are Mr. de la Renta, Catherine Malandrino, Charles Nolan and Prada. “And she has a weakness for Marc Jacobs bags,” said the friend. “She is known for her bags.”

Robert Barnett, the Clintons’ longtime attorney, said that in 11 years of knowing her, he has never seen her wear the same outfit twice. He also said he holds Ms. Abedin’s intellect in the highest regard. “She has extremely good instincts and extremely good judgment,” he said. “She is also gorgeous and the most terrifically dressed young woman you will ever encounter.”

Joe emails: "How come no coverage on Gerald Ford’s accusation that Bill Clinton is a sex addict. The accusation makes no difference to me because in my mind a sex addict is only a problem if he is an offender, otherwise you just have a person who likes sex too much, I would vote for Clinton in a second because he was the smartest person in the world, despite his ridiculous liberal proclivities and sexual taste (monica??) – he is not boffing little girls or peeping for little boys and the women that he abuses pretty much were pathetic. I just love how Gerald Ford projects his wife’s addiction on to others. The women was a complete friging basket case – she was popping pills before rush limbaugh had a job. they had to do an intervention on her just to get her sober. There should be a rule that if you are a drug/alcohol addict or related to one, you should have to state that up front before you call others addicts."

Chaim Amalek writes:

As I see it, this can only help her with the very demographic she is most in need of help with: white men.

White men love lesbian stories. And because we believe that butch dykes are meaner and tougher than any five sissyfied liberal democratic men put together, we imagine that a bull like Hillary who has managed to turn a hot young Muslima (Luke – PICTURES, please!) into her body slave is just the sort of woman who can drive the Muslim world insane to the point of impotence. So the bottom line is that true or not, this rumor helps her, because it helps her with regular joes like us who wear pants and grumble about Mexicans.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: next to her, Hillary’s political rivals look like a bunch of women.

Otherwise, the various rumors of rumors (is there a word for a rumor about a rumor?) speculated about any of the Republicans would doom them, unless they are simple cases of heterosexual men in positions of power acting like heterosexual men in positions of power.

From NoHillaryClinton.com:

I believe the story is about Hillary Clinton having a lesbian affair with her "Right Hand Woman" Huma Abedin.  Who is Huma you ask? Follow this link to read all about her.

Here is a list of reasons I think the story below is about Hillary and Huma.

  • I have been receiving emails about Huma – one came for a Department of Justice computer (ISP) stating this: "I am close enough to both Hillary and Huma to know that it is an open secret on the campaign that those two are romantically involved.  It is something you will never get them to verify though…"
  • If you’ve noticed recently the Mainstream Media has been churning out stories about how "romantic Bill Clinton is when he returns" to visit Hillary. How feminists have great relationships. Some gay organization flat out asked Hillary IF she was gay.  She denied it, but wouldn’t you follow that question up with "Hillary, if you are not gay, are you Bi-sexual?"  Etc, Etc Etc. Why all of the fuss about Bill and Hillary’s marriage? At first I was guessing that the Polling Data was showing that voters were indicating they were having problems with Bill and Hillary’s strange marriage, that voters might have thought she was Gay or anti-marriage. But after connecting the dots here – I am thinking that all of this media attention to the Clinton marriage is about crises control about this story that the LA Times is surpressing.
  • According to my limited research the Clinton camp has tried to keep Huma’s existence real quiet. I at first suspected it to be because of her nationality and Hillary’s creepy relationships with India and Pakistan.
    To read up on these strange connections view these links: Gupta and Jinnah
  • Huma according to information sent to me is possibly living with Hillary at her house in DC
  • It is common knowledge that Hillary is bi-sexual.  According to Bill’s long-time ex-girlfriend Gennifer Flowers, Hillary enjoyed performing oral sex on other women.  On p.41 of Flowers’ autobiography "Gennifer Flowers: Passion and Betrayal",  Gennifer asked Bill if there was any truth to the rumor that Hillary was having an affair with another woman.  Bill laughed and said (referring to Hillary):  "Honey – she’s probably eaten more p—y than I have."

Ace of Spades reports:

This is already out there, of course.

Billionaire Belinda Stronach insists there is nothing true about the rumors she and former President Clinton are having an affair, adding that it’s all a Republican plot.

The ultra-wealthy member of Canada’s parliament, who switched from the Conservative to the Liberal party, told the Montreal Gazette that the rumors upset her and she doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry about the global hullabaloo over her alleged role as Cinton’s latest squeeze.

Echoing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s famous allegation of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," Stronach told the Gazette she suspects the rumors have been spread by Republicans.

But it wasn’t Republicans who reported last year that she was spotted all over New York with Clinton last year – it was the media.

New York Daily News columnist Ben Widdicombe told ExtraTV.com: "She’s blonde, she’s ambitious and she’s in politics, but she’s not Bill Clinton’s wife. It’s Belinda Stronach, his friend from Canada who’s been visiting Bill in New York this week.

…Wrote ExtraTV.com: "And Belinda is no stranger to the limelight either. She’s divorced from Olympic champion speed skater Johan Olaf Lass and currently has romantic ties to another politician. Still, there have been rumors of a romance between Belinda and Bill since they met five years ago at a charity event."

So there’s that. What could be the not "in this form" twist? Well, I hate to speculate (ahem) but it could be They’re in love and Bill and Hillary plan on divorcing as soon as the elections are over.

It should also be noted Clinton has been linked to socialite Lisa Belzberg. Against this rumor: It seems to have been over for a while. In favor of this rumor: She’s reportedly "busty."

This is juicier.

From the Michael Musto gossip column linked in the above article:

As I recently said on MONICA CROWLEY’s radio show, whisper campaigns are claiming that HILLARY CLINTON is GAYLE KING–ing her aide de camp, the glamorous HUMA ABEDIN, an Indian/Pakistani goddess from Kalamazoo, Michigan. In other words, Hillary may be putting Huma out there in the press and purposely making her more visible as a pre-emptive strike that amounts to her hiding in plain sight. This way, no Republican can later say, "Who is this gorgeous babe who spends so much intimate time with Hillary that the Observer called her Hill’s ‘body person’? Was GENNIFER FLOWERS’s book right about Hillary’s sexual taste?" And does either of this couple have the balls to bottom?

Of course that whole scenario can’t possibly be true, since Bill and Hill have been so lovey-dovey lately for the cameras, and besides, whenever he’s been serviced by an intern—or by anyone—he’s clearly been thinking of his wife. (They’re that close.) But suddenly, Huma—a sort of Muslim SALMA HAYEK—has that spread in Vogue and the accompanying write-up notes that she "oversees every minute of Senator Clinton’s day." Every single minute? Even Gayle King takes a break now and then! (PS: If I called for comment, Hillary’s camp would surely say, "Just because two powerful women are closer than sardines doesn’t make them dykes." And that’s so true. Look at MATT and BEN. But now that Crowley has dubbed me the head of Huma Resources, I’m going to pursue this story with every cojone I’ve got.)

Matt Welch of the LA Times tells Patterico:

I can tell you the following — I have never, ever, ever, never, ever, ever, ever heard anything about this. And I spent last week in Washington DC, worked in the LAT bureau, went to parties with LAT muckety-mucks, and gossiped with dozens of people who cover presidential politics; none of whom ever so much as mentioned anything about it. Rosenbaum’s single, anonymous source is most certainly wrong, at least about the “everyone knows” part. He also most certainly is wrong that the same “everyone” apparently “doesn’t know what to do with it” — seasoned political journalists are not helpless bystanders in the face of juicy rumors, they are specifically trained to go out and investigate them, and report when relevant.

As for Rosenbaum’s agonizing over “reporting” such a thing, I don’t have much respect for it. Either report or don’t; save us the handwringing about stooping to “Web 2.0″ whateverthehell.

TBogg summarizes my blog post: "If I was Hillary Clinton and I was a lesbian (but I repeat myself) this is totally who I would be making out with. Here’s another picture of her. And another. And another. And anoth- Unnngh!…..Cigarette?"

 

From FreeRepublic:

How does the child of two university professors [one of them deceased], who is single, never married, and living on a clerical salary, in one of the most expensive cities in America, afford to "never… wear the same outfit twice"?

Much less purchase from the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Catherine Malandrino, Charles Nolan, Prada, and Marc Jacobs? Not to mention Yves Saint Laurent?

How does the child of two university professors [one of them deceased], who is single, never married, and living on a clerical salary, in one of the most expensive cities in America, afford to buy her own "apartment in the vicinity of 12th and U streets"?

What would such an apartment cost? $500,000? $750,000? $1,000,000?

Where is she getting that kind of money? Who is the co-signor on her loan?

And as bad as the financials of the Observer piece are, the psychological profile it paints is even worse:

"It was like 110 degrees outside," recalled the source, a political aide who asked to remain anonymous. "We were all just pouring down with sweat. But I have this distinct memory of Huma traipsing in in this blue pantsuit—it was like this wool pantsuit—not a bead of sweat on her brow, not a hair out of place, with everything perfectly organized in her Yves Saint Laurent handbag."

That sort of fantastical, supernaturally tinged tale is not unusual. Indeed, in the insular world of New York and D.C. politics, Huma Abedin has become a sort of mythical figure…

"I think she has special powers," said public-radio broadcaster Katia Dunn, who recently crossed paths with Ms. Abedin and Mrs. Clinton at a café on Capitol Hill…

Representative Anthony Weiner, a swingingly single Brooklyn Democrat who has known Ms. Abedin since before Hillary Clinton was elected to office, talked about her ability to perform under pressure "preternaturally"…

"Have you seen Huma?" asked James Carville, the former advisor to President Clinton. "Her appearance is just like, ‘Hoh my God!’ She takes your breath away. She’s an unbelievably, stunningly gorgeous woman. Nobody in that position can be that good-looking; it just doesn’t happen." He added that she is also "damn smart."

"She is a person of enormous intellect with in-depth knowledge on a number of issues—especially issues pertaining to the Middle East," said Senator John McCain, in a statement relayed by one of his aides.

"Huma is an example of why more people, particularly in Washington, need to understand the rest of the world, need to recognize what an asset it is to have cross-cultural experiences," wrote Queen Noor of Jordan in an e-mail…

"I’d call Huma one in a million," said Mrs. Clinton’s press secretary, Philippe Reines, "but that would mean there are 5,999 others in the world just like her, and there simply aren’t. She is truly one of a kind, one in a billion. We are all in awe of her poise, grace, judgment, intellect and her seemingly endless reserve of kindness, patience and energy."

People get nervous & flighty & anxious in life when they CARE.

People are unflappable when they DON’T CARE.

Just from a purely psychological point of view, the fact that she seems to be unflappable within the confines of the biggest pressure cooker in American politics suggests to me that she doesn’t care about American politics – that, instead, she cares about something else – something other than American politics.

And certainly the easiest way to not care about a set of circumstances in life is when you aren’t actually participating in those circumstances, but rather are merely ACTING THE PART of someone who is participating in those circumstances.

The very fact that she spent 15 or 16 years in Saudi Arabia [from roughly the age of 2, until roughly the age of 18], and then showed up in the Clinton Whitehouse, as an intern, in 1996, at roughly the age of 21, is, in and of itself, a massive security breach.

That she then spent another five years in the Clinton Whitehouse, and, for most of the last seven years, has been wedded at the hip to Mrs. Clinton, night and day [whether or not they are engaging in acts of sodomy], is an unthinkable compromise of national security.

And even if it wasn’t an "unthinkable compromise of national security" on Monday, September 10, 2001, it damned sure became an unthinkable compromise of national security on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

As a thought experiment, reverse the roles, and suppose that Huma Abedin was a Jewish girl, with supermodel looks, and that her parents had left America when she was 2, and had emigrated to Israel [even though NEITHER of her parents had been born in Israel], and that her mother was an Israeli professor, and that her father had founded his own institute devoted to Israeli-American and interfaith understanding and reconciliation and published a journal focusing on Jewish minorities living in the diaspora.

And suppose that she had worked her way into the Clinton Whitehouse, in 1996, at the age of 21 [after spending 15 or 16 of her formative years in Israel], and that she had become wedded at the hip to Mrs. Clinton, night and day, for the next 11 years.

[We’ll leave out the part about the 19 Jews – 15 of them from Israel – who hijacked a bunch of jetliners and flew them into the World Trade Center & the Pentagon, back in 2001.]

And suppose that she was spending money way beyond her apparent station in life.

And suppose that she was unflappable in pressure-cooker situtations.

Now suppose all of those things, and then come to the logical conclusion.

People would be screaming "Mossad" at the top of their lungs.

Posted in Gossip, Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, Politics | Comments Off on Hillary & Huma – A Dark Unseen Scandal Star?