Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:10:22 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Joseph Goldstein :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Joseph+Goldstein istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bailout-failure-puts-mccain-on-the-spot/86864/ Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The surprise defeat of the $700 billion bailout plan before the House of Representatives will soon show what downside, if any, Senator McCain faces for his bold gambit last week declaring his campaign suspended as he briefly jumped into the thick of negotiations over the proposal. Lawmakers said yesterday it was uncertain whether the House would try for a second vote on the proposal in the coming days or return to the drawing board and come up with something new. The bailout plan was voted... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/bailout-plan-would-shift-capital-power/86791/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Congress will vote today on whether to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented power to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions. Advocates say the aim of the legislation is to precipitate an upturn in the nation's economy and end Wall Street's woes. The bill would authorize the Treasury secretary to spend $700 billion to buy illiquid assets — mortgage-related and otherwise — off the books of banks and other financial firms. The treasury department has told lawmakers... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bernanke-paulson-face-tough-audience/86508/ Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Key lawmakers are ignoring a warning by the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, that "absent a plan," the financial markets will worsen. Most members of the Senate's Banking Committee yesterday told Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson, who had come to Congress seeking $700 billion in bailout money, either that they disapproved of a bailout in general, or that they were against the one the Bush administration was pitching. Some senators balked at the idea of making taxpayers... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/president-asserts-that-our-entire-economy-is/86594/ Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Warning that a "long and painful recession" could loom unless the Treasury Department intervenes on Wall Street, President Bush is pressing to convince the nation that there is no alternative to his $700 billion bailout plan. During a nationally televised address in which he stated that "democratic capitalism is the best system ever devised" and that his "natural instinct is to avoid government intervention," Mr. Bush nonetheless spoke in the firmest terms against leaving the... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/paulson-may-get-leeway-to-set-executive/86682/ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Under the $700 billion economic bailout plan being discussed in the nation's capital, Secretary Paulson would have significant leeway in setting standards over the pay levels of financial executives that receive assistance. Key details emerged yesterday on how Congress would go about setting limits on executive compensation, should lawmakers accept the Bush administration's call for a bailout fund to buy up toxic mortgage-related assets from financial institutions. It's uncertain... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/business/bailout-meets-resistance-from-congress/86405/ Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST President Bush's request for $700 billion to buy up mortgage-related assets from financial institutions is meeting resistance from both Republicans and Democrats. A key Republican on the Senate's banking committee, expressing worries that the Treasury Department would waste taxpayer money, counseled against swift passage of the plan. And Democrats tried to couple the bailout of Wall Street with more relief for those facing home foreclosures. The Democratic congressional leadership is warming to... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/pro-deregulation-schumer-scores-bush-for-lack/86321/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST As Senator Schumer attempts to blame Wall Street's recent economic upheavals on a lack of regulation by the Bush administration, he may have some inconvenient facts to confront. Until the current credit crisis, Mr. Schumer had been a leading voice for deregulation: He has championed the repeal of a Great Depression-era law that prohibited commercial banks from underwriting securities; he has written an opinion piece calling for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to be "re-examined," and he has opposed a... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/psychology-group-changes-policy-on-interrogations/86109/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST In a dramatic turnaround that could strain the long-standing ties between the psychology profession and the military, the American Psychological Association has reversed its policy of encouraging members to assist in the interrogation of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other overseas prison sites. The professional association's new policy, which was reached by a referendum, goes beyond telling members, even those who are military personnel, that it is off-limits to participate... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/dangers-of-recycling-computers-will-be-examined/85998/ Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — It turns out recycling a used computer could be worse for the planet than just throwing it away. That's the premise of a congressional hearing today, when congressmen are expected to hear that computers collected through recycling drives are often shipped overseas, where they are stripped for metal, exposing laborers and nearby residents to toxins. Coinciding with the hearing, the Government Accountability Office will release a report today that is expected to criticize the... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/obama-mccain-lay-blame-amid-wall-street-crisis/85899/ Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Seeking to exploit the latest news of Wall Street woes, Senator Obama is placing blame on the Bush administration's economic policies while Senator McCain is decrying "greed" on Wall Street. In statements responding to the downfall of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch & Co., both presidential candidates appeared to call for additional regulation of the market. Neither offered much in the way of details about what particular regulation they would seek. The failure of the two investment banks to... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/gis-look-to-9-for-justice-on-war-wounds/85828/ Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Sixty-four years ago on the battlefields of France, a round of ammunition exploded in Woodrow Sanders's face while he was loading his bazooka to attack the Nazis. Later this year, Mr. Sanders's case will be heard before the Supreme Court, which will decide whether the American government owes the World War II veteran disability benefits for the blindness he has suffered in his right eye. Mr. Sanders, who, his lawyer says, is on dialysis and cannot speak, first applied to the... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/candidates-immigration-policy-criticized-at-dc/85653/ Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — Scores of anti-immigration activists have come to the capital to voice their dissatisfaction with the presidential candidates, the 14th Amendment, and federal efforts to secure the country's southern border. Yesterday more than two dozen conservative radio hosts and CNN's Lou Dobbs broadcast from the Phoenix Park Hotel, within sight of the Capitol. The annual Hold Their Feet to the Fire event, hosted by the anti-immigration organization Federation for American Immigration Reform... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/new-push-is-on-for-50-billion-economic-stimulus/85555/ Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST The final pre-Election Day push by Democrats in Congress will be to try to pass a $50 billion economic stimulus program. The proposal, details of which are in the works, would cost about one-third as much as February's $168 billion stimulus package. Unlike the earlier stimulus package, the new proposal is not expected to have tax rebates as its centerpiece. Concern over the growing budget deficit could galvanize Republican opposition to a second stimulus package, which the White House isn't... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/endowment-spending-idea-is-attacked-by-academics/85432/ Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Academics, including the presidents of Princeton University and Amherst College, are seeking to discourage Congress from forcing universities to spend more from their endowments. The prospect of legislation that would require institutions of higher learning to spend at least 5% of their endowment annually drew warnings from several academics yesterday at a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill. The president of Princeton, Shirley Tilghman, said the idea would require universities to spend in a... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/universities-could-be-forced-to-up-endowment/85353/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — The debate over whether Congress should force universities to spend at least 5% of their endowments each year is about to heat up. Today Senator Grassley, a Republican of Iowa, and Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrat of Vermont, are scheduled to host several university officials for a panel discussion on how universities should be spending their endowments. Both have argued that universities should be spending more of their endowment money, which is not taxed, to reduce tuition costs... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/us-to-support-dubai-royal-in-suit-on-behalf/85359/ Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST WASHINGTON — A member of the Dubai royal family is getting the support of the United States Justice Department in his efforts to fight a lawsuit alleging that he encouraged the enslavement of boys for use as jockeys in camel races. On Friday the Justice Department filed a legal brief in U.S. District Court in Lexington, Ky., where the suit is being heard, asking that the suit be dismissed. The suit is being prosecuted by the class action law firm Motley Rice LLC on behalf of thousands of former... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/doj-gonzales-classified-documents/85024/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST Beginning on the day he was sworn in, Attorney General Gonzales routinely ignored regulations concerning the storage of highly classified documents, including several that dealt with the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, a report by the Justice Department's inspector general concluded yesterday. The Justice Department's national security division will not be making a criminal case against the former attorney general out of the matter, the report by the inspector... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/al-arian-is-freed-but-more-charges-await/85081/ Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EST For the first time in more than five years, a prominent Palestinian Arab activist, Sami Al-Arian, is free from jail. His respite from jail may not last long: The former college professor faces a second round of criminal charges in his lengthy legal battle with federal prosecutors. Al-Arian had been in government custody since he was charged with being the leader in America of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad more than five years ago. He was not convicted at trial, although he subsequently pleaded... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/doj-introduces-new-guidelines-curbing-prosecutors/84845/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:35:21 EST New Justice Department guidelines will prevent federal prosecutors from outright pressuring companies to fire employees who are accused of wrongdoing. The guidelines, which the deputy attorney general, Mark Filip, announced today at the New York Stock Exchange, contain several other restrictions as well, such as a prohibition against prosecutors requesting that companies under investigation turn over certain attorney-client communications. The new guidelines are intended to quell criticism that... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/real-estate/arrest-furthers-a-real-estate-stars-fall/84826/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A onetime real estate baron, Adam Hochfelder, whose holdings included the Helmsley Building, is facing charges that he forged a business partner's signature and lied in applying for loans during the height of his success. In less than eight years, Mr. Hochfelder, who is now 37, amassed a real estate portfolio that is reported to have held as much as 7 million to 8 million square feet. His ascent in the world of Manhattan real estate began in earnest more than a decade ago, when he teamed up... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/justice-department-guidelines-on-corporate/84805/ Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Business executives will be paying close attention to today's announcement of new Justice Department guidelines for deciding when to indict corporations and company employees. The new guidelines will provide assurances that prosecutors will not pressure corporations to turn over certain attorney-client communications, according to a letter to senators Leahy of Vermont and Specter of Pennsylvania from the deputy attorney general, Mark Filip, that outlines the expected revisions. Mr. Filip will... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/fbi-accused-of-violating-1st-amendment/84719/ Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The American Civil Liberties Union today will ask an appeals court in Manhattan to rule that the Federal Bureau of Investigation's use of so-called national security letters violates the First Amendment. The FBI uses national security letters during terrorism and spy investigations, often to gather records about an individual's Internet use or financial transactions from the companies that provide those services. A difference between these letters and a grand jury subpoena is that it can be a... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/tension-arises-as-city-deals-with-out-of-state/84534/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Note: Correction appended. Mayor Bloomberg's insistence that New York City routinely inspect out-of-state gun stores recently led to a tense moment in a small Pennsylvania town. The owner of a gun shop in Mount Penn, Pa., barred the city's emissary from entering the store last month despite consenting to the visit in an earlier court settlement. At one point, the store owner, Jay Fisher of Gallery Distributing, shouted: "This is my store, and I tell you what is going to happen," according to a... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/court-challenge-to-sarbanes-oxley-fails/84513/ Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST An effort to overturn the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has failed, with a federal appeals court upholding a nonprofit board that polices accounting firms. The creation of the board, known as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, is central to the 2002 law, which was passed after the accounting scandals involving Enron and WorldCom. Critics say the intensive auditing requirements imposed on public companies are expensive to comply with and are undermining American competitiveness against foreign... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-yorkers-plead-guilty-in-tainted-toothpaste/84437/ Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Two New Yorkers have pleaded guilty to importing from China tens of thousands of tubes of tainted toothpaste, some of which contained microorganisms and a poison used in antifreeze. It is the first prosecution in this country based on the discovery of tainted Chinese toothpaste in stores in several states last year. The charges were unsealed yesterday in court at the time of the guilty pleas. A federal prosecutor, Matthew Bassiur, told Judge Brian Cogan of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn that... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/preservationist-faces-questions-over-stringer/84335/ Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A preservationist who once read a letter from the president of Manhattan aloud at a Landmarks Commission meeting will have to answer questions from city investigators about whether she read the letter word for word, or altered it. A mid-level state appellate court gave the city a green light this week to pursue the matter, one of the more unusual cases occupying the city's Department of Investigation. At issue is what exactly was said at a public meeting in October 2006 about the possible... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/fair-housing-probe-may-push-developers/84253/ Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The developers and owners of an estimated 100,000 city apartment units may set their sights on Washington to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars for violations of the federal Fair Housing Act. The New York Times reported yesterday that the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Michael Garcia, is opening an investigation into whether thousands of apartment units that satisfied city regulators failed to meet federal requirements for wheelchair accessibility. At issue are provisions of the Fair Housing... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/us-fighter-pilot-helmet-at-center-of-sting/84158/ Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A Taiwanese engineering company employee has been extradited to America on charges he sought to purchase a specialized helmet that allows fighter pilots to aim missiles by moving their heads. So far it's unclear whether the allegations speak of attempted espionage or merely the efforts of a Taiwaenese man with a penchant for eBay bidding to expand a personal collection of military gadgetry. Prosecutors have noted in court papers that the man, Yen Ching Peng, works for a firm that reverse... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/peta-is-sued-by-author-over-slavery-comparison/84083/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A New York author of an influential book on animal rights is suing the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, saying the group has brought disrepute upon her book. At issue in the unusual lawsuit is a campaign by PETA to draw comparisons between the suffering of animals and the suffering of slaves. The campaign drew criticism from civil rights groups. The suit claims that the controversy PETA stirred up will have an ill effect on the reputation of a 1988 book written by the animal rights... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/justice-department-considers-siding-with-dubai/84061/ Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A member of the royal family of Dubai may get an unlikely ally in his legal battle against a lawsuit accusing him of encouraging the enslavement of boys for use as jockeys in camel races — the U.S. Justice Department. In a letter filed in U.S. District court in Lexington, Ky., where the suit is filed, a lawyer from the Justice Department, John Coleman, wrote that the "United States is actively considering whether to participate in this litigation." The development comes four months after the... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/psychologists-are-split-over-gitmo/83974/ Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Note: Correction appended. A military psychologist's unprecedented refusal to testify in a Guantanamo courtroom yesterday will add to a debate that is expected to rage at this weekend's annual convention of the American Psychological Association. The professional organization is riven over whether to prohibit members who are in the military or who work with intelligence agencies from participating in the interrogation of suspected terrorists. That issue has prompted the first referendum in the... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-blacklist-limits-giving-by-12000/83868/ Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A little-known blacklist, still being compiled under the terms of the city's new campaign finance law, is threatening to block thousands of New York's wealthiest and most distinguished citizens from participating fully in the political life of the city. The list already carries about 12,000 names, including civic leaders with positions at museums, universities, hospitals, law firms, nonprofits, churches, yeshivas, and banks. Those on it are forbidden from contributing to the city's political... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/black-law-partners-work-hard-for-obama/83777/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Senator Obama was winning more than 90% percent of the black vote in some primaries against Senator Clinton, but his backing among a tiny subset of that minority — black partners at major law firms — may be even higher. Come fall, many of New York's and Washington, D.C.'s most prominent African-American attorneys are more likely to be spotted at Obama campaign headquarters in the battleground states than at the U.S. courthouses on Pearl Street and Constitution Avenue. At Covington & Burling's... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/mukasey-will-encourage-rejected-job-seekers/83748/ Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Justice Department job seekers who were rejected because they were seen as being too politically liberal will be sought out and encouraged to reapply, Attorney General Mukasey said in a speech in Midtown Manhattan yesterday. The attorney general's remarks, delivered to an American Bar Association conference, come two weeks after a Justice Department report found that aides to the previous attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, violated civil service law by favoring job applicants who held... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/senator-to-seek-dismissal-of-indictment/83583/ Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST Two years after federal prosecutors indicted a senior state senator, Efrain Gonzalez Jr., on charges that he stole state funds from a charity, the prosecution will face its first test. At oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan tomorrow, Mr. Gonzalez, a Democrat of the Bronx, and three co-defendants will seek to have the indictment dismissed by arguing that there are limits to the federal government's jurisdiction to prosecute alleged misappropriation of state funds. That argument... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/fulton-market-figure-charged-with-stealing-from/83489/ Fri, 8 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The contractor that the Giuliani administration selected 13 years ago to help rid the Fulton Fish Market of corruption is now facing criminal charges, with prosecutors alleging it stole from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In the mid-1990s, Laro Maintenance Corp. and its owner, Robert Bertuglia, stepped into the spotlight after winning a contract to unload fish at the lower Manhattan market, where refrigerated tractor-trailers bearing catches from across the Eastern seaboard... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/judge-could-soon-order-clearing-of-big/83289/ Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST A federal judge in Manhattan will decide, as early as tomorrow, whether to force the federal government to process a backlog of tens of thousands of citizenship applications in time for Election Day. The backlog is partly attributable to a spike in applications last year prompted by an announcement of fee increases. It is also due to a bottleneck in the naturalization process related to FBI reviews of its investigative files for adverse information about applicants. Such reviews — which were... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/probe-targets-tax-evasion-by-wealthy-new-yorkers/83212/ Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST The Manhattan district attorney is opening an investigation into possible tax evasion by wealthy New Yorkers through banks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, a top prosecutor in the district attorney's office told The New York Sun. District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's inquiry will draw on work begun by the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which last month issued a report detailing how two banks, UBS and LGT, eased the way for Americans to hide assets and avoid paying... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/accused-arms-dealer-to-request-release/83096/ Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST An accused Spanish arms dealer, Monzer al-Kassar, will ask a federal judge tomorrow to release him from American custody, arguing that federal agents violated international law by setting up the sting operation on Spanish soil that led to his capture last year. Mr. Kassar, whom prosecutors have described as one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, now faces trial in America on charges that he planned to send more than 7,000 rifles and missiles to the coca-funded terrorists in Colombia who... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/gun-rights-of-new-yorkers-may-rest-on-case-of-hot/83043/ Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EST If New York's strict antigun laws are overturned in the near future, it may be the work of a hot dog vendor. The vendor, Daniel Vargas, is due next month in court to fight misdemeanor charges that he kept an unlicensed revolver loaded on a basement shelf in his apartment. The case, which has generated 23 hearings and been heard by no fewer than 10 different judges as it winds through Brooklyn's lowest criminal court, would be of little general interest, except for the fact that the U.S. Supreme... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/judge-throws-out-subpoenas-for-park-avenue-co-ops/82865/ Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The boards of several co-ops along Park Avenue in the lower 60s will avoid having to hand over documents about the social lives of their residents as part of a lawsuit. A federal judge, Deborah Batts of U.S. District Court, threw out subpoenas that a neighboring Christian Scientist church had issued to co-op boards at 570, 575, and 580 Park Ave. The subpoenas primarily sought information about any efforts that residents had made to contact local public officials in a bid to stop the church from... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/crane-operators-union-agrees-to-court-supervision/82795/ Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The New York City local of the union of operators of heavy equipment, including cranes, is consenting to supervision by a federal court in an effort to rid itself of corruption. An agreement reached yesterday between federal prosecutors and Local 14 of the International Union of Operating Engineers will force the union to amend its bylaws to require engineers to possess a higher standard of competency with heavy equipment, according to a press release issued by the U.S. attorney's office in... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/national/al-arian-judge-seeks-record-review/82778/ Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A federal judge in Virginia has indicated that she wants to review the grand jury record that led to criminal contempt charges of a Palestinian Arab activist and former college professor, Sami Al-Arian. The order by Judge Leonie Brinkema of U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., may be nothing more than a signal that she is reading up on the facts of the case before Al-Arian's trial, which is set to begin in two weeks. Or it could be a sign that she is giving considerable weight to Al-Arian's... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/saudi-kings-religion-conference-ends-on-sour-note/82200/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:40:21 EST MADRID — A conference convened by Abdullah of Saudi Arabia for the purpose of gathering together leaders of the world's religions ended here yesterday with little sign as to whether the Saudi monarch's efforts to counter religious extremism would continue. The conference concluded on a sour note this afternoon as Christian and Jewish participants complained that the organizers, the Muslim World League, had too much control over the conference's closing communiqué. The three-day gathering in... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/uae-official-attacks-zionism-at-saudi-conference/82164/ Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST MADRID — The Saudi king's talk of tolerance and moderation notwithstanding, the Jewish state is proving to be a divisive issue at the religious conference that the Saudi monarch has convened here. The conference, the theme of which is interfaith dialogue, is an effort by the Saudi monarch to foster more cordial relations between imams in his country and Christian and Jewish religious leaders in the West. The conference is also drawing notice because Abdullah, whose kingdom includes the sites of... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/foreign/saudi-king-denounces-extremism-touts-islams/82088/ Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST MADRID, Spain — In a bid to counter Iran's influence and establish himself in the eyes of the West as the dominant figure in the Muslim world, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is here to preach that "Islam is a religion of moderation and tolerance" to a group of bishops, rabbis, swamis, and other religious leaders whom he convened here yesterday. During an opening speech at the conference he is sponsoring, the Saudi monarch appeared to want reconciliation between the clerics of the Muslim world and... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lawsuit-aims-to-force-artist-to-create-art/81792/ Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The artist James Turrell's falling out with his former dealer in London has led to a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan that includes an unusual request: that a federal judge order Mr. Turrell to get to work on an uncompleted series of installations. The series at issue, titled "Tall Glass," involves projections of "a light field" within a room, according to legal papers. Although Mr. Turrell's London dealer, Albion Gallery, sold nine of the works in the series to prominent art collectors... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lebanese-banks-accused-of-aiding-hezbollah/81399/ Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST A group of Israeli citizens is suing five Lebanese banks for allegedly handling wire transfers on behalf of Hezbollah. The suit, filed recently in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accuses the banks of providing Hezbollah's fund-raising wing, the Islamic Resistance Support Organization, with money that allowed the group to commit terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. The suit says the Lebanese banks kept accounts with New York banks that it used to get access to American currency to... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/judge-rules-for-city-on-search-for-september-11/81405/ Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST The city is not required to re-sift through debris from ground zero in search of bits of human remains, a federal judge, Alvin Hellerstein of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, decided yesterday. It was up to Judge Hellerstein to decide what would become of the dust and debris created by the felling of the World Trade Center. A small group of relatives of those who died went to court asking for the city to re-sift hundreds of thousands of tons of World Trade Center wreckage and remove it to a... JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN http://www.nysun.com/new-york/paterson-will-pick-a-new-chief-judge-of-new-york/81331/ Mon, 7 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EST With Chief Judge Judith Kaye set to retire, Governor Paterson will get his chance to start remaking the state's top court and put his mark on issues including the death penalty and gay marriage. Mr. Paterson's selection of the next chief judge of the Court of Appeals will be one of the most significant appointments he makes as governor. The court, rather than the Legislature, has increasingly been at the fore of setting policy in Albany on divisive social issues, and the chief judge will serve...