Attacking the City Deficit
Articles in the LA Times and Daily News... Some snippets from each:Times -- Warning that the city of Los Angeles faces a potential budget deficit of $245 million next year, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Monday on all department heads to find ways to slash waste and streamline operations.
In a letter to the 34 general managers of city agencies, Villaraigosa spelled out goals for his first budget, which will cover the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006. He asked for savings, but he also wants to find money to expand the police force.
For the first time, the mayor acknowledged that his budget may include some "new sources of revenue," a phrase that is often used at City Hall to describe tax and fee increases.
A Villaraigosa spokesman declined to explain what the mayor meant by the term and refused to say whether tax increases were being considered.
Daily News -- Confronting a $245 million shortfall as he prepares for his first budget, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa laid out guidelines Monday for department heads to meet his goals of a safer, more efficient city.
In a letter to all general managers, Villaraigosa said the first budget sessions would begin next week and would look for efficiencies and savings - but also asked the departments to look at areas where they could generate revenue from fees and services provided by the city.
"Together, we face a structural deficit of approximately $245 million and the challenge of providing the level and quality of service our citizens expect and deserve," Villaraigosa wrote.
"I am asking you, as general managers, to be leaders in the budget development process and to be passionate advocates for improvement and change."
Posted by Anonymous @ 9/13/2005 06:16:00 AM
79 Comments:
Unbelieveable that Antonio is asking for depts. to make cuts and yet has the audacity to send 1,000 PAID CITY WORKERS for 3 weeks to New Orleans. Can anyone guess how much that is costing us tax payers? The elephant study at the LA zoo is another lame brain idea of his to waste tax dollars. Antonio has done nothing in his first 80 days. We are in for a hell of a ride.
Attention....Attention LA reporters. One of you should do a story on how many cars city council staffers actually use. Field reps, city staffers etc. and how much in gas we are paying. You know damn well they're not all going to city events or meetings driving around.
"Can anyone guess how much that is costing us tax payers? The elephant study at the LA zoo is another lame brain idea of his to waste tax dollars. Antonio has done nothing in his first 80 days. We are in for a hell of a ride. "
$240 Million deficit, when the DWP wants a pay raise and yet won't hire one additional cop. I think this "deficit" is smoke and mirrors to create a crisis so that he looks good in the end. Remember the entire run-off, he pointed that there has been a sufficent surpluses.
Do you smell the Bullshit? I sure do.
At work, I'm in the field and use my own car. I do get reimbursed for gas, why don't city employees do it this way, can save mucho dinero.
That's right anon, when he did run, he mentioned the surplus one too many times...he now says deficit...
I do smell the B.S., but how do we call him on this?
It is incredible to think that when thousands of volunteers are going to New Orleans we are sending 1000 paid city workers. If Los Angeles survives while they are away, the logical step is to fire them on their return because we clearly didn't need them. How much would that save?
Lies, lies and more lies. And there is still more to come. Tony has no integrity, and these lies don't bother him a bit. But Hahn tried to warn us. And L.A. opted for the sharp suit and tongue. You reap what you sow, it's going to get worse.
The DWP pay hike goes before full council next week. Officers got a 4% pay raise last year. Some city council members are saying that they may approve the DWP raise even though other city depts. are much less in salary. Their logic is they will try and bring those city depts. up to scale. HELL NO!!!! This is bullshit. We don't trust councilmembers and they would be stupid to approve the DWP raise. They would be sending the message that they are afraid of the unions threats.
The mayor is jetting off again I hear...how many times is that? I thought he wasn't going to leave the city in his first 100 days.
Will Huizar show up to council on budget days, or will he avoid the tough decisions as he does at the LAUSD?
My, my, Villaraigosa's honeymoon period seems to be waining. I do recall AV statign that the CA had given LA more money than we had anticipated. Now, where this money was allocated, beats the fuc* out of me!
"Officers got a 4% pay raise last year. Some city council members are saying that they may approve the DWP raise even though other city depts. are much less in salary."
Hell, the officers deserve that raise after getting screwed for so many years. I mean if the City Council won't allow the mayor to support funding to train, hire and equip new officers than it's better to keep the current guys happy.
But I will say this much Jim Hahn did a great job for allowing some blue collar workers pay increases but not abuse and milk the tax-payers. So that way when the time comes to ask for let's say a 1/2 cent tax to hire more police/emergency services or for increased road maintenance. Taxs payers will vote yes for it.
AV is just going to rape this city. And we will all be screwed.
I don't think I'm alone in my assessment that the city is packed full of shovel leaners and chair warmers (I on a regular basis, I interact with several departments). Deficit or surplus, I don't care, the best thing Tony could do is hire some professional hatchetmen to gut city departments of useless personnel and give raises to the ones left standing. And that's for everyone, from department heads (cough! Margie Reese... cough!) on down.
I don't know how much of a dent that would put in the budget, but it would move us forward towards a less bloated city government, and a better one at that
man oh man - what a buch of fucking whiners - whine whine whine with Hahn - now whine whine whine with AV - why don't you all just move to Iowa - you need to hang out with the farmers and bitch ... you don't want to see the positive and there is plenty - so go whine to the pig poop.
The CAO is either incompetent, dishonest, or both. He predicted a large deficit in the 2000-2001 fiscal year...there was a surplus. He predicted a deficit in the 2001-2002 fiscal year...remember 9-11? There was a $63 million surplus. He predicted a deficit 2002-2003 fiscal year...there was somewhere between $100-$200 million surplus. He predicted a deficit over $300 million for the 2004-2005 fiscal year...there was over 200 million surplus. Don't fall for the BS! They have two sets of books and they don't like anyone looking at what they call "off budget revenues". You know, monies from DWP, LAWA, POLA, DBS, State and Federal mandated projects, grants, etc. Back in the early 90's there was a tremondous fiscal crisis. Many city employees agreed to no COLA to help the city and within six months the city gave police officers 9%. When Ferraro was asked where they'd find the money, his response was, "We can always find the money".
1:33 PM
Why do "We The People" not know about these off the book accounts. We should know! Can someone please tell us where we can get more information on these cooked books?
Margie Reese, General Manager,
City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
1:21pm anon must be a city employee. Get rid of those special event waivers that cost taxpayers $9 million a year.
Why is LA having a huge El Grito party if we're in debt? You can see all the party equipment being set up at city hall. Will someone find out how much this is costing us?
On July 31, a panel of the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department voted to endorse developer Tom Gilmore’s bid to privately operate the four-theater Los Angeles Theater Center on Spring Street, starting January 1, 2004. The decision must now be reviewed by the department’s head, Margie Reese, who will offer her own recommendation to city Councilwoman Jan Perry for a council vote and submission to the mayor. Yet for all the process yet to come, City Hall insiders predict that Gilmore and Associates will land the deal.
El Grito is a Mexican holiday (event) not American. How much is this going to cost us?
El Grito: Festival Los Angeles
http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/propage/CA/ca-33_h_roybal1.html
'EL GRITO'
September 15, 11:00 pm?
or
September 16, 11:00 am?
On the night of September 15, 1910, the special envoys stood on the illuminated balconies of the National Palace and watched the fiesta of all fiestas on the Mexcian civil calendar: the grito de independencia, the "cry of independence." One hundred years earlier (less a few hours) at dawn on Sunday, September 1810 -- while Napolean's troops were occupying Spain and King Ferdinand VII was still in captivity -- Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a fifty-seven-year-old priest from an old family of criollos (Mexican-born Spaniards) had suddenly begun to harangue his parishoners in the small town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato, "seducing them" (according to a chronicle of the time) to rise up in arms - even with stones, slings, sticks or spears - in order to defend their religion against the "French heretics" who had occupied Spain since 1808 and now threatened to come over to the Americas.
El Grito
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/history/grito.html
The History of Mexican Independence
Page Map » History | updated 9/6/05 Feedback
http://www.mexonline.com/grito.htm
Shortly before dawn on September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla made a monumentous decision that revolutionized the course of Mexican history.
Within hours, Hidalgo, a Catholic priest in the village of Dolores, ordered the arrest of Dolores’ native Spaniards. Then Hidalgo rang the church bell as he customarily did to call the indians to mass. The message that Hidalgo gave to the indians and mestizos called them to retaliate against the hated gachupines or native Spaniards who had exploited and oppressed Mexicans for ten generations.
We are in Los Angeles California, USA right??? Just checking, with all these Mexican festivities you would think otherwise.
16 de Septiembre:
El Grito de Independencia
Independence Day
El Grito every 16th of September is the Mexican Fiesta par excellence! On this day Mexicans all over the world celebrate Mexico’s independence.
Good website to explain El Grito found here:
http://www.inside-mexico.com/featureindep.htm
Talk about wasted tax dollars on today's city council agenda alone the special event waivers come out to $116,870. I can't believe Bitter Bernie has the nerve to list the USC football games throughout 2005 as a special event. Also, why is the city paying $16,000 for the LA Philharmonic Gala at Disney Hall? Special event waivers are suppose to be for non profit organizations who can't afford the fees. This shit has to stop!!!!
"Talk about wasted tax dollars on today's city council agenda alone the special event waivers come out to $116,870. I can't believe Bitter Bernie has the nerve to list the USC football games throughout 2005 as a special event. Also, why is the city paying $16,000 for the LA Philharmonic Gala at Disney Hall? Special event waivers are suppose to be for non profit organizations who can't afford the fees. This shit has to stop!!!! "
Yeah that gala at Disney Hall sounds like that dinner/fundraiser AV had for LA's best (ie secret campaign fund)
The city council passes all of these waivers without notifying the public ahead of time. Where can we get advance information on what is going to be voted on?
City, State Officials Question DWP About Outage
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is coming under criticism over the outage that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Angelinos, with Cal-ISO complaining it was not notified in timely fashion.It says DWP was not forthcoming about the problem and failed to notify the proper authorities in a timely manner. Meanwhile, DWP is getting a different grill from City Council, inside City Hall. The meeting opened Tuesday with Alex Padilla saying, "Well, the lights are at least on."A utility union added to the criticism Tuesday afternoon. An official said the blackout should not have happened during peak daytime hours when it could affect the most people. He blamed city officials for "cutting corners" to avoid paying higher night-time wages.
"City officials denied the union official's charges."
Council scrapping like cats over new legislative analyst
Rick Orlov, Columnist
In one of his more candid moments, former City Council President John Ferraro once compared the running of a council meeting to the difficulty of herding cats.
Well, these City Hall cats are starting to leave scratch marks - on each other.
The council members have been fussing for months over who will serve as their top aide, filling the chief legislative analyst job left vacant when Ron Deaton was appointed to head the Department of Water and Power.
Many say they do not want to see someone again attain the power wielded by Deaton, long seen as the most powerful figure inside City Hall.
The dispute has grown so heated that current council President Alex Padilla reportedly became so enraged during one closed session, he either couldn't speak or was close to tears...
http://www2.dailynews.com/news/ci_3020143
AV SENT THE 1K CITY WORKERS TO HAVE LEVERAGE IN ASKING FOR MORE HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDS. PINCHI WELFEROS!
************************
Villaraigosa To Request More Homeland Security Funds
http://www.nbc4.tv/politics/4969327/detail.html
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants all department chiefs to cut spending and streamline operations in an effort to avoid a possible $245 million budget deficit next year.
Villaraigosa said in a letter to the 34 city general managers that his goal for his first budget covering the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2006, will be cutting waste and finding money to expand the police force.
The budget may also include "new sources of revenue," a phrase that is often used at City Hall to describe tax and fee increases. Villaraigosa spokesman Joe Ramallo wouldn't explain or say if tax hikes were being considered.
City Council Expands Chick's Duties
By HOWARD FINE
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved $240,000 for the creation of a waste and fraud unit within the office of City Controller Laura Chick.
The unanimous council step will allow Chick’s office to hire two investigators who will look into whistleblower complaints about fraud and abuse within city government agencies. So far, the controller’s office has received about 60 such complaints.
“This waste and fraud unit will act as a very focused strike force to investigate credible whistleblower tips,” Chick said in a statement.
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=71571589.4264538.1196637.9693381.4758781.988&aID2=92040
WHY IS LA CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS SO OUTRAGED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF A NEW ANALYST?
"...The dispute has grown so heated that current council President Alex Padilla reportedly became so enraged during one closed session, he either couldn't speak or was close to tears.
The council has now decided to interview six finalists - including four who previously were left out of consideration - on Sept. 27.
Said to be among those are City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka, Parks Director John Mukri, and Chief Assistant Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso. Acting Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry Miller is leaving the job Friday after he was not considered for the permanent assignment.
If Padilla is having trouble with the council these days, he is having better luck in his bid for the state Senate.
Padilla is running against Assemblywoman Cindy Montaez, D-Mission Hills, for the seat being vacated because of term limits by Van Nuys Democrat Richard Alarcon..."
http://www2.dailynews.com/news/ci_3020143
REMEMBER THAT SANTA SONG? SANTA CLAUSE IS COMING TO TOWN...TO COLLECT TAXES, TAXES, TAXES FOR ALL HIS OVER THE BUDGET EXPENSES...LA, LA, LA, LA....
LA mayor named Hollywood Christmas Parade's grand marshal
LOS ANGELES - Look out Santa Claus, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is coming right down Santa Claus Lane
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/12628033.htm
OK MAYORS...SO TELL ME YOUR OPINION. THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES A TAXI RATE HIKE AND A FRAUD UNIT.
DIDN'T THEY HAVE AN INDEPENDENT GUY WAY BACK TO LOOK INTO SOME FRAUD AND LAURA CHICK FIRED HIM TO AVOID INCRIMINATING HERSELF AND OTHER CITY EMPLOYEES?
Council Approves Taxi Fare Hike, Creation Of Fraud Unit
LOS ANGELES -- On a 10-0 vote, the City Council on Tuesday approved hiking taxi fares by 10 percent -- the third rate increase for taxis operating in the city since 2000.
Councilman Jack Weiss was absent from the meeting, and Councilmen Greig Smith and Dennis Zine abstained
Fraud Unit
The Los Angeles City Council also approved the creation of a unit that would investigate complaints of fraud, waste and abuse of city funds.
The City Council voted 12-0 to approve a motion to create the Governmental Efficiency Unit. Councilman Jack Weiss was absent from the meeting.
City Controller Laura Chick, who would oversee the investigative unit, has pledged "zero tolerance for waste and fraud."
http://www.nbc4.tv/politics/4968876/detail.html
Next month, City Controller Laura Chick plans to begin an audit of law firms and officials who monitor them. With the city spending $29.6 million on outside legal help last year — double the costs of four years ago — Chick and several City Council members also want to set up a unit of investigators to help root out fraud and waste of taxpayer money.
Former investigator Dan Carvin was hired by Chick in 2002 to do just that. But he was fired after three months for being overzealous, and is suing the city for wrongful termination. So now City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo faces the odd predicament of spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting against "quibbling" Dan Carvin, in a case that is emblematic of a problem Chick now says she is ready to tackle.
Buried under tips from whistleblowers, Chick hired Carvin in March 2002 to take on fraud, waste and inefficiency by city employees and contractors, including lawyers. An investigator with 35 years of experience, previously with the MTA’s Office of Inspector General, Carvin knew of a lawsuit related to the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant, in which an attorney billed the city for a year to gain access to privileged documents, but did not review them. Carvin disclosed concerns about possible wastefulness and received authorization from his supervisors to meet with the assistant city attorneys overseeing the case, Dillingham—Ray Wilson v. City of Los Angeles, which has generated more than $6 million in legal fees for several law firms specializing in public-utility litigation.
After soliciting input on Carvin from the firms she hired, Assistant City Attorney Cynthia McCall, along with Assistant City Attorneys Robert Cramer and Michael Claessens, met with Carvin on May 8, 2002. McCall then communicated displeasure about the meeting to Deputy City Controller Patricia Canfield. Two weeks later, Chick fired Carvin, claiming he had been too aggressive and acted without her authorization
Rejecting calls for an inspector general to help as the city’s watchdog, City Controller Laura Chick said Los Angeles does not need more people to identify problems — just strong leadership. As fired investigator and would-be whistleblower Dan Carvin has found out, Chick means what she says.
Carvin was hired by the Controller’s Office in March 2002 as a special investigator to “examine irregularity, fraud and impropriety on the part of city employees and contract personnel.” His hiring appeared to mark a new direction by Chick, whose office is staffed primarily with auditors, who generally are not trained to develop cases for prosecution. With 35 years under his belt as a federal and local investigator, Carvin came highly recommended, and arrived with an eye toward examining alleged bill padding by private law firms hired by the city. But when he asked about the performance of the lawyers hired by the City Attorney’s Office to handle a major public-works lawsuit, he was fired within a matter of weeks.
Last Friday, Carvin was in Superior Court on the wrongful-discharge lawsuit he has filed against the city. His case raises questions about Chick’s willingness to go after attorney overbilling and whether she can be independent enough to question City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo about his office’s oversight of private law firms and campaign contributors. These are questions that voters might consider next year during Chick’s re-election bid as Los Angeles’ chief financial overseer. The city claims Carvin acted without Chick’s authorization by trying to initiate an investigation of the City Attorney’s Office. In his lawsuit, Carvin claims the City Attorney’s Office went backdoor to Chick and had him sacked.
“I just wanted to bring to Chick’s attention the possibility of outside counsel billing the city for work that was not needed,” Carvin said after the hearing on Friday. “But she is concerned with her political future in avoiding any inquiry into the City Attorney’s Office. An inspector general would uncover even more problems than a taxpayer could imagine. That would reflect on her role as an overseer.”
Did Carvin find out something incriminating towards Laura Chick and her cronies? He got fired?
Of course he did. If the press and voters saw what a vindictive cud Laura Chick is she would not have been re-elected.
Carvin’s attorney, Louis Cohen, has introduced evidence to show that in responding to McCall’s requests for input on Carvin, attorneys at Brown Winfield ran afoul of a citywide policy intended to prevent what is known as block billing, the listing of two tasks under a single time entry. Carvin is just one seasoned investigator who will be watching to see what conclusions Chick draws from the legal billings on the massive Hyperion litigation, if any. Meantime, taxpayers may wonder why the city has spent more than $300,000 fighting a lawsuit that drags on, as Carvin’s damages double by the day
Why won't Dan Carver give this evidence to the media if his case has been dragged on for this long?
Because the Media was on their knees blowing Antonio Villaraigosa's Big Political Dick.
All the media would do is twist the story so he looks like he has a vandetta, tying it to Hahn and say that he was incompetant.
Maybe David Zhaniser might be interested in a report on Dan Carver & Laura Chick mess.
Dan Carvin was an investigator in Chick's office until, he says, he asked the wrong questions. Then he was fired, and now he's suing. (LA Weekly)
“Liberal” Latino State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez of Los Angeles became the latest Democrat to call for California to declare a state of emergency about immigration last month--something that even Minuteman-praising Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger resisted. Far-right Republicans like Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo have gained national support, and Gilchrist now plans to run for Congress.
Nunez said there was “no question that things got done,” mentioning bills to protect buyers of used cars, ban sales of extremely violent video games to minors and keep certain dietary supplements out of the hands of teen athletes.
“We’re proud of the work we have done this legislative session.”
But he also said “some things got torpedoed,” and he said Schwarzenegger’s staff and his time away from the Capitol raising campaign funds were at least partly to blame.
“The governor is serious, but his staff isn’t,” Nunez said. “They’re keeping the governor away from getting deals done.”
That prompted an angry reply from Rob Stutzman, Schwarzenegger’s deputy chief of staff.
“There are accomplishments that were achieved during this legislative session through bipartisan cooperation,” he said in a statement. “But today we saw the speaker’s true colors - a petty, embittered partisan who will sacrifice the truth in order to score political tallies.”
But he also contended that Democratic lawmakers’ close ties to labor unions were to blame for the failure of the solar energy bill, which would have offered subsides to building owners who installed solar panels.
“The legislators went as far as they could, but they are beholden to other people and have to always ask permission from other forces,” he told reporters. “So they could not go there.”
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez may have thought it was a smart political strategy to quash a workers' compensation reform bill from state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), burying it in committee and barring a final vote. What he lost, though, was an opportunity to support good nonpartisan policy.
Who is Fabian Nunez
Go to this link
http://www.americanpatrol.com/04-FEATURES/040809-NUNEZ-BANDITO/040809_Feature.html
Click on "Watch this video."
There is your answer.
NUNEZ SMALL VIDEO
http://www.americanpatrol.com/04-FEATURES/040809-NUNEZ-BANDITO/Video-Gutierrez-Anthem.html
I am so sick and tired of Cedillo and his agenda. It is obvious he only represents illegal aliens and the Mexican government. He and Fabian Nunez and other morons like them should be impeached. They are nothing but traitors!
SEPHARDIC NAMES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH FROM SPANISH (S)
Villar (S) Small village
Parra (S) Grape vine, short and wide earthen jar
Arce (S) A municipality in the province of Navarra
Reyes (S) Kings or collectively the King and Queen
Nunes (P) Son of Nuno
Sephardic Genealogy????? WOW, I DID NOT KNOW THIS...
VILLAR NAME HAS THIS ROOT IN HISTORY...
-"Raizes Judaicas No Brasil" by Flavio Mendes Carvalho. This book contains names of Sephardim involved in the inquisition in Brazil. Many times date of birth, occupation, name of parents, age, and location of domicile are also included. Included in this list are the names of the relatives of the victims. Many of the victims were tortured to death or exiled so their lines might end here.(~)
Sephardic names from the book, "A Origem Judaica dos Brasileiros", by Jose Geraldo Rodrigues de Alckmin Filho, who personally provided the text. This publication contains a list of 517 Sephardic families punished by the inquisition in Portugal and Brazil. As familias punidas pela Inquidicao em Portugal e no Brasil.. (~)
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA OTHER SURNAME IS DELGADO FROM MATERNAL SIDE.
Delgado(*)(1)(2)(3)(5)(6c)(9)(13)(18)(23)(25)(29)(30)(37)
(1) From the civil records of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.(~)
2) From the records of Bevis Marks, The Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of London.(~)
3) From the burial register of Bethahaim Velho Cemetery, Published by the Jewish Historical Society of England.(~)
(5) Sephardic names extracted from the book, "Finding Our Fathers", by Dan Rottenberg
(6c) Reports the names of people who appeared before the inquisition in El Peru.(~)
(9) From the book, "Precious Stones of the Jews of Curacao Jewry 1657-1957.(~)
(13) From the book, "The Jews of New Spain", by Seymour B. Liebman.
(18) From the book, "The Sephardim of England", by Albert M. Hyamson.
(23) From the book, "Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of theCrypto-Jews", by David Gitlitz.
(25) From the book, "The Jews of Jamaica", by Richard D. Barnett and Philip Wright.
(29) "Sangre Judia" ("Jewish Blood") by Pere Bonnin. A list of 3,500 names used by Jews, or assigned to Jews by the Holy Office (la Santo Oficio) of Spain. The list is a result of a census of Jewish communities of Spain by the Catholic Church and as found in inquisition records.
30) "Raizes Judaicas No Brasil" by Flavio Mendes Carvalho.
(37) Sephardic names from the book, "A Origem Judaica dos Brasileiros", by Jose Geraldo Rodrigues de Alckmin Filho, who personally provided the text.
SEPHARDIC POPULATION FIGURES THROUGH HISTORY
(FROM RUFINA-RUFINA@NETACTIVE.CO.ZA )
12TH Century -- 90% of the world's Jewish populaton
1700 -- 50% of the world's Jewish population
1930 -- 10% of the world's Jewery
1990 -- 25% of the world's Jewery -- 60% of Israel's population
A LIST OF FIRSTS
Luis de Torres, interpreter for Columbus, was the first settler of Jewish origin in the New World. He settled in Cuba.
Hernando Alonso, a conquistador who accompanied Cortes to Mexico in 1521, was the first Converso to be burned at the stake in the New World for secretly practicing Judaism.
The first Portuguese landing in Brazil was Gaspar da Gama, in 1500. He was forced to convert in 1497.
Michael Cardoso was the first Jewish lawyer in the Western Hemisphere. He practiced in Reciffe, Brazil, in 1645. (Provided by Ben Nahman.)
The first Jew to be awarded England's Victoria Cross was Lieutenant Frank Alexander de Pass, 34th Poona Horse. The award was made posthumously on 25 November 1914.
Diego de Padilla was the first crypto Jew executed in Argentina by the inquisition. He was burned at the stake in 1579.
David Camden de Leon was the first Surgeon General of the Army of the Confederate States of America.
Gershem Mendez Sexias - The first native born U.S. rabbi.
Francis Salvador was the first Jew to die in the American Revolutionary War. He died in combat leading 300 troops against indians incited by the British on 1 August 1776.
Uriah P. Levy was the first Jew to obtain the rank of Commodore in the United States Navy.
The last known person to be executed by the Mexican inquisition was Father Jose Maria Hildago y Costill. He was accused of both Lutherism and Judaism and shot by the army in 1811. (Halevy)
The last known person to be tired and sentenced to burn at the stake in Mexico was a Franciscan monk in 1795. He was instead jailed and liberated in 1821 during the revolution. (Halevy)
Many of the Sephardic surnames are directly related to geographical locations and were acquired due to the forced wanderings caused by exile, persecution and denied opportunities. Often taking the name of a community or region. The place of origin could then be traced no matter where in the world the Sephardic would find her/himself. It possibly also created a sense of security, a knowledge that one had a "home base", roots somewhere, even though it was of a psychological nature. Many took the names of trees connecting them to the Tree of Life and as a reminder of the area where these trees are found.
Genealogy oriented
Crypto Jews & the Mexican Inquisition
Conversos tried by the Mexican Inquisition, 1528-1815
Crypto Jews & the Inquisition in New Spain by Frank Longoria
General Sites
Mexico: Jewish History
Jews in Mexico, A Stuggle for Survival By Shep Lenchek
Native Mexican Jews Museum of Jewish Diaspora
Kulano: Mexican Hanukah
Mexican Jewish film
http://www.orthohelp.com/geneal/mexico_sites.htm
Hey anon 8:08
Would you support or others support someone running against Cedillo? Someone who will put the concerns and needs of American citizens first?
This page provides some of the names of Conversos who were tried in New Spain (México) by the Spanish Inquisition for relapsing into Judaism. Some of these names are still common in México and the American Southwest.
VILLAR-DELGADO-NUNEZ
8:59 PM YES!
Conversos: Mexico's Lost Jews
When Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztecs in 1521, he was accompanied by several Conversos, Jews forcibly converted to Christianity during the Inquisition of 1492. Conversos, or Anusim, immigrated en masse to Nueva Espagna (present day Mexico) and some estimate that by the middle of the 16th century, there were more of these crypto-Jews in Mexico City than Spanish Catholics.
Today, Mexico is home to many Conversos, with sizable populations in Vera Cruz and Puebla.
Many prominent Mexicans claim they are of Jewish descent, referencing their Conversos roots. Besides Presidents Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero and Jose Lopez Portillo, renowned artist Diego Rivera publically announced his Jewish roots: "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life," Rivera wrote in 1935. "From this has come my sympathy with the downtrodden masses which motivates all my work."
Mexico Today
Virtually all of Mexico's Jews came to their current homeland between the late 1800's and 1939, fleeing persecution in Europe.
The second wave of Jewish immigration peaked between 1911 and 1913 as a result of the crumbling Ottoman Empire. The Empire's breakup ended an era of relative tolerance, and the Ladino speaking Sephardic Jews began fleeing from their homes in present-day Turkey at the turn of the century. The dark complexion of the Sephardic Jews, as well Ladino, their language with Spanish roots, eased their integration into Mexican society. Sephardic Jews were mainly street peddlers whose stands and carts, over several generations, often developed into shops and businesses.
The third, and final, wave of Jewish immigration came from Russia after the first World War. With an already established Jewish community, Mexico received Jews fleeing from Eastern Europe. But, in the first few years after the war, most of these Jews used Mexico as a stepping-stone to America. However, a more restrictive 1924 American immigration policy stopped the flow of European Jews, who were stuck, and had no choice but to begin a new life in Mexico.
The third wave of Jews, mainly Askenazi, led to the development of the first Ashkenazi organization, Niddehei Israel. Started in 1922 as a Chevra Kaddisha to help bury the dead, it developed into a Kehilla, or full-scale community. The Zionist Federation, which united various Zionist groups within Mexico's Jewish community, was also a product of the third wave.
The third wave also caused a rift between Mexico's Ashekenazi and Sephardi Jews. As the Ashkenazi population grew in the early 20th century, it used more Yiddish, alienating the Ladino speaking Sephardic Jews. In 1925, the Sephardi founded their own Zionist organization, B'nai Kedem, and founded their own cultural organiztions. The rift between Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews in Mexico is still an issue today.
When they first arrived, many Jews, embittered by the anti-Semitism in Europe, were distrustful of Mexico, a nation 97 percent Catholic. But Mexico, with a few exceptions, has treated its Jews exceptionally well, and is considered a haven for them.
Today, Mexico boasts a strong, active Jewish community of between 40,00-50,000. About 37,500 of those live in Mexico city. In Mexico City alone there are 23 synagogues, several Kosher restaurants and at least 12 Jewish schools, where 80 percent of the Jewish youth receive their education. Small Jewish communities can also be found in Guadalajara , Monterrey, Tijuana, Cancun and San Miguel. Throught all of Mexico, 95 percent of Jewish families belong to a synagogue and 91 percent of Mexican Jewish children attend Jewish schools. Only about 1 out of every 10 Mexican Jews intermarries. This is way below the fifty precent rate of the United States and one of the lowest rates in Latin America. The world's largest city also contains the Tuvia Maizel Museum, dedicated to the history of Mexican Jewry and to the Holocaust.
Even with the recent econamic troubles facing Mexico and the Jewish community, this country has attracted Jews from other countries in Latin America. In June 2003, President Vicente Fox passed a law that forbids discrimination, including anti-Semitism, putting into the law what has been practiced for years.
With the birth of the Spanish Inquisition some three years later, the "Conversos" were now accused of secretly practicing Judaism. In 1492, all practicing Jews were expelled from Spain.
By 1530 the Royal Viceroy of Nueva Espagna, Antonio de Mendoza, had established law and order in the New World (some historians feel Mendoza himself came from a "Crypto-Jewish family. Mendoza was a very common name among Spanish Jews).
The "Conversos" were under increasing pressure from the Inquisition. Looking for a place in which they could retain their Spanish identity, they focused on Mexico. In 1531 large numbers of them left Spain and Portugal for the New World.
THE SECRET JEWS A MUST
https://www.cs.drexel.edu/~gbrandal/Illum_html/Secret.html
For the one posting about Sephardic stuff. Is this why many Mexican families feel oppressed, is it a an inherited perception?
Are these mexican families rejected by mainstream Jews and what happens to them?
Do they feel out of place?
Who the hell is watching over this site anymore? And what the hell are you talking about? I don't know what's going on with these wacko posters nowadays, but please do something about it.
Fucking anti-semites. Give you assholes enough rope, you hang yourselves. Not enough posters to hate, now you have to invent reasons to hate. Get back to your tin(horn) roof shacks, dry clean your sheets with hoods in the closet and polish off your swastikas. You should just start your own website: "People Who Hate and Why We Don't Take Our Meds". I hope on your death bed you look back on your miserable lives and realize that you haven't accomplished a single positive thing in your sick, lonely existence. Just a waste of carbon. Maybe you'll be recycled as a piece of coal, which will ironically mirror your soul,and will be a better contribution to the human condition than this mindless race baiting and general hating you partake in now.
12:14 I read all of the Jewish posts on this site, I don't think this person hates, I think they are stating how many Latin people have jewish roots.
How did you get the perception of hate, because I got the opposite perception of yours after reading these posts. I perceived this as educational, many people, including myself had no clue of sephardic roots in Latin America. Now I know.
Can the anon who posted all of the Sephardic information tell us why they posted these things?
An anon thinks it's anti-semites, and I think it's the opposite, just educational. Which is it anon?
I didn't see any anti-Jewish coming from that shepardic thing either. Obviously, the anonymous angry poster has other issues. That was quite a ranting post.
Years ago the $$$$$$$$$$$ went to Art Snyder's Drunk Driving Expenses were paid for by taxpayers...
Richard Alatorre's cocaine addiction was paid for by taxpayers.
Mike Hernandez's fettish for dirty women's underwear and deals in Mac Arthur Park were paid for by taxpayers. (Gee Mike you could have sent a "runner" to get your powder). You are such a slob! Shame on you Jan Perry and Bernard Parks for hiring Mike "Scum Bag" for a consultant in your districts!
The list goes on... and on... and on... with the LA City Hall parties of corruption, filth, and evilness.
Let's Really Attack the City Deficit! Nothing has changed after all these years Ethel!
Hey, when is the fraud unit taking on Acevedo on the land deal. How about Chick investigating herself for what she took advantage of when she was on the Council and what she did to her mentor Picus. Don't turn your back on Chick
What the hell is going on here? all this jewish talk you would think we were in Israel? Next thing you know we will all be speaking Hebrew..dont they know how to assimilate? the nerve..
ROTFL
and give me a break on the spanish jewish names...its a known fact when the spanish invaded Mexico, they gave the indians -- *cristened* them with those dang spanish names and stripped the natives of their indian names. doesnt make them jewish. Next thing we know youre gonna say chocolate is jewish..
--PicoGrl
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