Mishka Zena

“Former students at a school for the deaf in Saskatchewan were expected to file a class action lawsuit on Tuesday morning, alleging they were victims of physical and sexual abuse.

Regina lawyer Tony Merchant told CBC News on Monday that he represents 52 people who attended the government-run R.J.D. Williams Provincial School for the Deaf in Saskatoon.”

“The school opened in 1955 and operated until 1996, Merchant said. It was also a residence for students.

That made students vulnerable, Merchant said, and his clients say they were victims of sexual and physical assaults by employees of the school and other students.”

“Merchant predicted hundreds of other former students may yet join the class action claim” Lawsuit alleges abuse at former Saskatchewan school for the deaf

P.S. Two more articles surfaced this afternoon, with more disturbing news.  According to the reports, students as young as five years old were sexually molested by older students in their late teens and early 20’s. When the victims tried to inform the staff of the abuses, they were allegedly punished for using sign language as back then the school was using oral method. 

Deaf Students Allege Abuse | News Talk 650

The Canadian Press: Former students at Saskatchewan school for the deaf allege abuse, file lawsuit

Commentary: If the students were subjected to abuses, this legal action is long overdue. These students and other faced with the same treatment need validation and justice for what they may have endured growing up in the hands of certain people not fit to work with the children. The abused victims of the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf successfully won a lawsuit against the state responsible for the operations of this state school. The settlement included monies for the traumatized Deaf victims to seek counseling to heal from the abuses they experienced.  Some alumni of the Boston School for the Deaf attempted a similar lawsuit, but it failed. 

The era back then didn’t have the built-in safeguards and regulations to oversee the safety and welfare of the residential students.  The current atmosphere is considerably different now with more training provided for the dorm workers,  more vigilance by both the dorm staff and school staff, including administrators, mandatory screening of applications before employment.

An addendum: Finding out that these students were reportedly punished for using sign language to communicate to the staff their abuses left a sour taste in my mouth.

Recently, in a newspaper article last week, Jamie Clark of Maryland, the founder of Clark.net,  was quoted in his e mail to Marvin Cooper, discussing about Marvin’s proposed moving to Panama.  ”The e-mail said that moving to Panama would allow Cooper to “resume the OPM (Other People’s Money) business without nasty headaches from those bastards from Wall Street and their cronies.” “   Panama plan in Ponzi case detailed | HonoluluAdvertiser.com | The Honolulu Advertiser

His comment made  some  commenters  in my blog question his role in this alleged Deaf scam.  Jamie Clark wanted to present his side.  Enclosed below is his post. The first part  has been moved below his second part as the second part explains his role with Marvin Cooper and BCI.  If people want to get more explanation in depth on the investment schemes and Wall Street, they can read the first part underneath the Marvin part.

Second part of his post:

Now about Marvin.

I first learned about Marvin via guys I just met at disc golf course last
summer (I think it was around last July).  Those two guys told me that they
invest the money with Marvin doing Forex short term/day trading and both said
they are earning nice income like 10% to 20% a month.

I said to myself, “Too good to be true.”  But I remind myself there are some
hot shot short term/day traders who could do more and of course they are rare
breed and may not last long (as markets always adapt to a trading system to the
point it is no longer worthwhile, remember the Turtles Trading System, see
Google for more info).

Then those same guys told me about Marvin’s Forex seminar last October in
Maryland so I showed up.  Those guys are “new agents” for Marvin. Marvin told
us his life story and how he got into forex.  He said that he bought $300,000
trading software from Russia.  Had to learn some basic Russia so he can
understand about trading via forums in Russia.  He said that trading software
from Russa won the top competitions in short term trading contest.  He told us
that he was doing very successful trading forex using his own money, his
relatives money and friends money.  So he wanted to expand his opeations into
real OPM so the public at large can invest in his fund via agents (7 agents in
USA that are “front” for Marvin).  He showed us the picture of 8 monitors/desk
in his house which he monitor constantly for trading.  He said he is like a
farmer who gets seeds in form of investments and gives back the investors the
fruits/veggies.

I did ask Marvin one question if his forex trading require margins or not and
he said it does not require margins.  (Remember this).

Trading with margins is VERY RISKY if one is not careful.  Trading with margins
can kill the account in no time.  So he is trading in cash market (i.e. no
margins) as he told me.

I talked with the guys (the same guys I met at disc golf course) who became
agent for Marvin.  They told me that they continue to get monthly income.  They
did check with lawyer to make sure they comply with laws/regulations for “hedge
fund” trading.  They learned that they don’t have to register with SEC et al as
long it is limited to 99 or less investors and cannot announce/advertise
publicly.

I talk with those guys quite lot and I feel that they know what they are doing
the best they can and I feel that they are trying to be integrity as much as
possible.  Since I only saw Marvin once in seminar and I just asked him one
question.  Those guys talk with Marvin a lot so I assumed that Marvin is like
those guys I start to know pretty well.

So at that time it sounded like Marvin has “(Good OPM biz) + (Good/consistent
trading results) = Success”

I thought investing in Marvin is a great way to earn steady stream of income
(but still always diversify our investments).

So I decide to wait until next year (2009) to follow up with Marvin.

Then in Jan 2009, the agent (the guys I met at disc golf course last summer)
said that SEC is investigating Marvin so he had to stop trading for while and
they said that Marvin told them he did nothing wrong at all and will be
resolved soon.  I say hmm…  I thought about Nick’s situation back in 1980’s
which Nick said (in his words) that he ran a honest OPM operations with great
trading success which Big Boys of Wall Street got so pissed off so like going
in bed with SEC/CFTC and have SEC/CFTC doing favors for Wall Street big boys by
giving Nick hell time to the point they finally shut down his operations and
even set him up for mail fraud that put him in jail for a year or two.  So I
thought not again.  SEC may be Bad Cop or yeah they can be Good Cop.

Then I finally contacted Marvin via VP sometime last month (Feb) so we chatted
for the first time. He told me that SEC is investigating him and he said he
done nothing wrong and he has no idea why would SEC investigate him.  I told
him that SEC can be Bad Copy by telling him the Nick’s example.  He told me he
is planning to move his OPM operations to Panama and already got a penthouse in
Ocean One condo tower in Panama City.  He told me he plan to get 5 traders
working for him that will cover different hours of trading (Forex trading is 24
hours and I think 5 or 6 days a week).  He asked me if I could come and help
set up and run his OPM operations.  I would love to run OPM operation one day
myself (doing based on long term fundamental analysis trading). So I thought it
would be good opportunity for me to learn the ropes of OPM operations.  Since
Marvin told me he did nothing wrong so I figure SEC is out to get him like SEC
did with Nick so I can understand why he is moving to Panama.  He said Panama
is one of 7 place in the world that supports fully banking privacy. If one
wants to invest money into his fund, one need to wire transfer the money (or
show up in person) to a bank in Panama then transfer the fund to his trading
account.

He said he plan to give back all of the original money to investors and then
close his USA’s operations then open new OPM operations in Panama. I told him
if he wants me to help/work with him, I want to see ALL of the money back to
investors and make sure he is fully resolved with SEC investigation, and get
best/top securities lawyer in Panama to help him set up OPM operations the
right way all the way.  I told him I want 100% honest business.  At that time I
assumed he has great trading success in short term Forex trading.

Then I sent an email to Marvin which SEC put in newspaper/news.  I am glad SEC
put words “Wall Street and their cronies” (That was Nick’s favorite phrase)
which they are actually are.  Look at Madoff and so many examples of “stealing
the entire wealth of three generations” no freaking kidding.

See the mess we are in now, thanks to Wall Street and their cronies and the
politicians in their pockets!  It is quite obvious.

In other VP conversation, he said that his trading software is set up very well
that a monkey could use it and still make tons of money.

So far no red flag except for “SEC’s investigation” which is, of course, a
concern.  That is why I want to make sure Marvin gets all of the money back,
resolve with SEC before he can start new OPM operations in Panama.

Only I can see “Good OPM biz” + “Positive Trading Success” first for some
length of time then I can give both thumbs UP.

Then SEC publicly announced Marvin’s case.  That is when I first posted about
Marvin in GallyNet-L and the possibility of SEC being Bad Cop and give the
benefit of doubt to Marvin.

Then I had some series of VP chats with Marvin which I start to get more and
more Red Flags (like Harry Markopolos with Madoff).

Marvin said that SEC agents entered his house without warning and took
everything (the papers, computers etc…) and frozen his accounts/trading
accounts/bank accounts etc.

Then he said he did borrow investor’s money and I told him that is no no. I
told him he cannot borrow investor’s money via trading account, that is no no.
He said he tried to find more info about OPM rules/regulations with SEC but
they are no help, but I told him that he should have gotten good securities
lawyer to help him set up OPM biz correctly.

I asked him about trading losses (the first time I hear that he lost money via
newspaper) and he said that it was due to exchange screw up beyond his control,
he blames on his forex trading company for mishap that resulted in losses..  He
said he was struggling with forex trading (he said he gets at least 85% success
rate in trading in his seminar last October).  So much for “a monkey could use
trading software to make money”.

He said he use investor’s money for company use which is big no no. At that
point I can see clearly that he ran a very shoddy OPM opeations that has a look
and feel of Ponzi scheme.

He said he was struggling with forex trading at times due to margins. Then I
remember he said his forex trading does not have margins back in October
seminar.  Couple of Red Flags waving.

He said he was losing interest in Forex trading as he said it takes too much
time (require to trade 24 hours) and he said he found another guy who wrote his
software that can trade far much better than his own softawre and only trade in
Dow and SP500 futures and he did try that software and gives him 99% success
rate in past 1-2 months (true? I don’t know as I got no proof).  He said of
different story about that same guy like he said that guy can trade Forex
worldwide and then later one he said that he can only trade Dow and SP 500
futures, hmm…  more Red Flags.

I also just find out more info like I heard a story where one investors did
asked Marvin to get his money back for couple of months and nothing has
happened.  I also find out that Marvin been asking some people to borrow money
for which I guess for lawyer or something.

So my due diligence with Marvin is over and the bottom line is that he ran a
very shoddy OPM operations which is strongly the look and feel of the Ponzi
scheme and he does not have good short term trading success.  To have a
successful trading fund, one must have both good solid OPM biz and positive
trading success; he has neither.  It is like a double whammy. Flat out two big
thumbs down!

My hope is that Marvin will be able to get all of the money back to his
investors in full.  That may require selling his personal assets such as
houses, airplanes etc.  So be it.  Remind to all others that running OPM biz is
no freaking monkey business.  Running OPM biz is a very serious business, no
funny business.

Here are some ideas: If you happen to find a hot shot trader who says he/she
can trade short term/day trade very well, produce some nice mostly steady
stream of income and you did get enough proof that this trader can do that
consistently.  Then you can set up your own account (i.e. forex account,
futures account or brokerage account) then you can wire some money you can
afford to lose all (it is speculation) into that account and it will be only
you can wire in/wire out the funds in that account.

Then you can make an agreement with that trader to have him take cut of the
profits from trading after the positions are closed.  Like maybe 30% of
profits.  Like if you put in $10,000 in an account then he makes $10,000 in
profit for total of $20k in a month then you can wire out $3,000 to that trader
for his share of profits.  You will have a contract that authorize that trader
to trade that account.

But then it is hard to find very good short term/day trader as he/she would be
in only 10% or so of all traders who can profit consistently.

So time to move on and seek out greener pasturs and land of happiness, respect
and integrity!

Quite a big picture after all.

    Jamie

First part of his post:

Here is the Big Picture.

Yeah, that is why we do due diligence (doing real homework) for any kind of
investments.  If we are satisified with due diligence and like the risk to
reward ratio and have a plan, then we make investments and “roll the dice” and
see what happens.  Of course, we need to diversify among our conservative
investments and diversify among our speculative investments.

When we invest our money into trading fund (i.e. hedge fund) and that trading
fund is an OPM if it involves many investors.

OPM = Other People’s Money

Here are the equations:

(Good OPM biz) + (Good/consistent trading results) = Success

(Bad OPM biz)  + (Good/consistent trading results) = Failure

(Bad OPM biz)  + (Negative trading results) = Failure

(Good OPM biz) + (Negative trading results) = Failure

Pretty simple.

What I mean by “Bad OPM biz” is running the shoddy OPM operations that does not
follow the letter of the law/regulations such as misuse the investor’s money
for other company/personal use, outright stealing investor’s money, pure ponzi
operations and things like that.

“Good OPM biz” is running OPM operations that follows all of the local/national
laws/regulations, use investor’s money strictly for trading purpose ONLY per
investor/fund manager-trader contract agreement. There are various forms of
inventives for fund manager/trader per the contract agreement.

We all want to have some of our savings to grow via investments.  I never met
anyone who does not like making money.

Money helps you to have the food, shelter and transportation plus extras.

So if we want to invest some of our money into fund, we want to make sure it is
a “Good OPM biz” and “Good/consistent trading results” and that is the ONLY
combination that results in long term success.

And as for trading, there are two main kinds of trading:

The first one is short term trading based on momentum of buying/selling, human
(trader) emotions and the like.  It is same as day trading.

The second one is long term trading based on fundamental analysis. Good example
right now is gold price at $930/oz which I think it is way too high because I
believe we are in long term depression and price of everything goes down as we
go through money contraction so therefore gold should go down to around $300 or
so by end of year or sometime next year.

Buying a stock that you think company will grow/expand their operations and
thus increase the profits in 5 years is good example of fundamental analysis
trading.  Buying a stock that you think it will go up in a week because you
think everybody will start buying it is good example of short term trading
based possible buying momentum.

Yes I tried some short term trading and what I find is that it does not work
too well for me.  Too much hit and miss kind of thing (far more misses).  Too
much guessing.  Have to sit in front of screen and try to trade based on
movements.  It is crazy and insane to do that.

So I stay away from short term/day trading completely and just focus on long
term fundamental analysis trading which is a LOT easier for me. It is like I
see gold being overvalued since we are going into long term depression so I buy
DZZ (an inverse gold ETN times 2, symbol DZZ) and then sit back and do other
things and wait for market to revert to the fundamentals of supply and demand
and the overall price level based on money supply.

Yes there are traders that can do short term/day trading successfully but that
is a rare breed.  What I understand, 80% of traders usually lose money and only
20% of traders make money.  To me, I think it is more like 90% of traders lose
money and only 10% of traders make money if talking about day/short term
trading.

Nice about consistent and successful short term/day trading is steady stream of
income.

With long term fundamental analysis, you have to put the money in to hold the
positions and wait for markets to finally revert to the real fundamentals which
can take quite some time like few months to some years. If you want steady
stream of income, that is not the way to do. (i.e. go find a job for steady
stream of income).

Nick (the guy I subscribe for financial/economy/market/political commentary)
only trade based on long term fundamental analysis trading and one of his
favorite quote is “Never trade against the fundamentals.”  I see the same thing
too so I just stick to this to make my life lot easier and avoid short term/day
trading myself.

But then if I can find a fund that does short term trading:

(Good OPM biz) + (Good/consistent trading results) = Success

then I would love to invest part of my speculative holdings into that fund for
nice steady stream of income.  Like if one can invest $50k into this kind of
fund, then it would bring $5,000 a month based on 10%/month ROI (Return on
Investment).  That is very nice because you could quit your day job with that
kind of income stream.

It is no surprise there are few very successful short term traders that use
some highly customized trading software to help them to trade with high success
rate.

So that is where I am.

end of post

Commentary:  Personally I am not familiar with the investment scheme, BCI, nor am I with Marvin Cooper.  I thought it’s prudent to give someone else a chance to present his side.

“Being deaf and without the credentials required by the SEC and state regulators, Mr. Cooper focused on gaining access to deaf investors through feeder referrals, which were provided by other Deaf individuals with no investment background in exchange for a referral fee,” explains Joshua R. Beal, Managing Partner at investment advisor firm Schwarz Financial Services LLC.  “He followed up with personal visits and calls over the video-phone where he promised returns of 15-25% a month based on automated computer trading programs.”

“Cooper approached Beal with a call over the videophone in 2007 when he was looking for advice regarding his investment firm.  Beal suggested that he should register with the Securities and Exchange Commission; a piece of advice Cooper chose to ignore.”

“In 2007 and 2008, several deaf clients of mine along with some community members started telling me that they were having success with Marvin,” Beal recalls.  “I contacted the State of Hawaii and the SEC because he did not require a social security number, nor did he employ a custodian or provide a fee statement for his clients.”  HedgeCo Breaking News » Blog Archive » Red Flags, New Evidence May Help Convict Deaf Ponzi Schemer

In my opinion, Beam did his fiduciary duty in alerting the SEC and possibly saved more Deaf people from becoming victims of this Ponzi Scam.   Cooper was informed of the legal responsibilities by a registered investment broker, yet he willfully ignored them.   The actions described below are not the actions of what one would expect from a honest broker, either.

“Fisher also found an $80,000 check signed by Cooper which was to be used as a down payment for an $800,000 home in Panama, along with emails discussing his pending move.”

“According to papers filed by federal lawyers, Marvin Cooper, who ran Hawaii-based Billion Coupons Inc., may have been planning to hightail it to Panama after attempting to borrow $534,187 by putting his Kaimuki home up as collateral for a mortgage loan.  Authorities believe the property was purchased with client funds”

Based on an earlier article: SEC reported that  Cooper received 4.4 million dollars from 125 investors since Sept of 2007, by conducting investment seminars at community centers for prospective Deaf  investors.   Allegedly he only invested 800,000 dollars of the money from the Deaf clients, yet he managed to lose 750,000 dollars out of that investment.   The remaining 3.6 million dollars were reportedly not invested at all.  1.4 million dollars was allegedly appropriated for his personal use.

Actually, though he is innocent until he is proved  guilty by his peers in a judicial court, this doesn’t look good for him.

For those who may not know who Marvin Cooper is,  he comes from a Deaf family and attended Deaf schools. His parents are alumni of a well known Deaf university.  Few concerned parties felt that he apparently took advantage of the Deaf Community.  Even several defending him few days ago are no longer feeling the same sentiments, once they found out more details. I hope they will recoup their money.  4.4 million dollars are a lot of money.  :/

For the readers, the rule of the thumb:  If  a deal sounds too good to be true,  chances are excellent that it is.

Correction: I typed FCC by mistake when it should be SEC.  For some reason, I didn’t notice it for a while until a friend alerted me.  I guess I got off the wrong side of bed yesterday am. MZ

PRESIDENT

GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY

The new president will be charged with implementing the University’s mission and vision, approved by theBoard of Trustee in 2007

-Leading the Gallaudet community in discussions and taking actions to implement inclusive bilingualism on camp

-Organizing a program of enrollment management that includes outreach, recruitment, and retention of students.

-Building relationship that will sustain and expand goodwill and revenue from both public and private sources

-Branding Gallaudet so that its leadership and mission are understood by the deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing communities.

-Exploring current partnerships and developing additional ones with industry and other universities. 

-Solidify and implement the upcoming long-term strategic plan for the University and the Clerc Center.

-Ensuring a culture of respect on-campus that fosters a welcoming atmosphere for people from /diverse backgrounds.

-Reviewing the academic component of the University.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL QUALITIES

• Demonstrated ability to develop and articulate a detailed and compelling vision;

• Broad managerial skills and experience; a proven record of sound fiscal, organizational, and management practice;

• The ability to be successful in fundraising; the capacity to represent Gallaudet compellingly to donors and to lead a substantial increment in the endowment;

• A proven and impressive track record as a leader of a complex organization with the ability to build a team, motivate them, help them develop, and hold them accountable for the achievement of agreed upon organizational objectives;

• A capacity to make decisions in the best interest of the University and its students even if these decisions are not always popular;

• A complete understanding of and support for academic strength and high standards and the skills to be an established intellectual leader;

• The charisma and talent for effectively communicating her/his vision to all of the University’s constituents;

• A confirmed capacity of commanding the respect of the deaf community worldwide;

• A fair, collaborative, and transparent leadership style that will succeed in an environment of shared governance, working closely and effectively with the Board of Trustees and supporting input from faculty, students, administration, and staff;

• Fluency in ASL with the ability to communicate clearly with deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing audiences and a deep understanding of deaf culture; 

• The ability to develop long-lasting and strong relationships with members of Congress, businesses, corporate foundations, alumni, community, and friends as well as other external stakeholders of Gallaudet University; 

• A demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusiveness through individual action and institutional leadership to advance diversity;

• Support for, and respect of, the various communication choices of the campus community;

• Resilience and stamina for the task at hand, the capacity to work effectively under pressure, personal grace and integrity in dealing with a broad spectrum of personalities, and good humor in leading the day-to-day work of the University; and

• An exhibited excellence far above the norm in a field of endeavor that demonstrates an ability to think outside the box. 

EDUCATION

A terminal degree is required. 

Compensation

Compensation will be competitive and commensurate with background and experience. 

TO APPLY

To learn more about Gallaudet University, please visit: www.gallaudet.edu.  Electronic submission

of inquiries, nominations/referrals, and resumes with cover letters is preferred and should be sent

in confidence to:

Gallaudet University

Presidential Search Advisory Committee

P.O. Box 91420

Washington, DC 20002

     Tel. 202 448 7737 (voice or relay)

E-mail: PSAC@Gallaudet.edu

Electronic submission of credentials is preferred.
http://aaweb.gallaudet.edu/documents/PSAC/Presidential_Position_Profile_25Feb2009.pdf

.

Presidential Search Advisory Committee Timeline:

Late spring/summer 2009

Publicly announce the names of the finalists

Early fall 2009

The final candidates will be available for extensive campus interviews with all interested constituency groups, and for a public presentation.

October 2009

The Board of Trustees will interview all candidates, review all information provided by the PSAC, and select the next president of Gallaudet University.

January 1, 2010

The new president of Gallaudet University will assume office.

http://psac.gallaudet.edu/PSAC/Timeline_and_Events.html

.

Presidential search Town Hall Meeting This Afternoon

The Presidential Search Advisory Committee (PSAC) invites the campus community to a meeting on Friday, February 27, 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Foster Auditorium.

The PSAC will update the community on the presidential search, as well as answer questions from the audience.

Commentary:  The preliminary tasks to early Spring 2009 have already been completed by the PSAC. So far, they are meeting the timelines for each task. I wish PSAC the best of luck in conducting this extraordinary difficult job of finding a qualified and appropriate president. As we all know, the last two presidential appointments by Board of  Trustees  ended with massive protest both time.  The pressures  of their responsibilities  are likey to be very heavy on the shoulders of the PSAC and BoT members, especially with MSCHE’s statement that the third protest will mean an automatic revocation of the university’s accreditation.  MZ

Clarification:  a third protest that will have dire consequences on the university’s accreditation status, according to MSCHE… meaning a massive protest shutting down the whole campus, preventing students from attending classes.  I hope that clears up the confusion. I wasn’t referring to an ordinary protest. MZ

I. King Jordan retired from Gallaudet last December.  After stepping down as its president in Dec of 2006, he took a break for one year before he resumed teaching at Gallaudet.

How many people noticed this tidbit about his retirement?

Jordan is the only known university president who began his  presidential career as a result of a massive protest, one heard all over the world, and whose term ended with another protest that was again heard all over the world. At the beginning, he was revered. At the end of his presidential term, he was vilified by the majority for his perceived role in the selection of JKF as his successor and leaving the university accreditation in tatters due to poor academic rigors.  To this day, the wounds from the  last protest haven’t been completely healed.

A search for a new president will be resumed sometimes this year. 

http://pr.gallaudet.edu/otg/Article.asp?ArticleID=14961

Another Deaf scam scheme reportedly bit the dust!   This scammer allegedly bilked Deaf investors  out of almost three million dollars. According to SEC, the master of this Deaf scam helped himself to almost 1.4 million dollars. National media, including NBC, New York Times , and ABC are reporting this.

From CNBC: “The Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a court order halting an alleged Ponzi scheme by Hawaii-based Billions Coupons and its CEO Marvin R. Cooper that was targeting members of the Deaf community in the U.S. and Japan.

The SEC alleges Billions Coupons and Cooper raised more than $4.4 million from 125 investors since at least September 2007 by holding investment seminars at community centers for investors who were deaf. ” SEC Halts Ponzi Scheme Targeting Deaf Investors – Law and Regulation * US * News * Story – CNBC.com

New York Times: “Acting in the shadow of Bernard L. Madoff’s reputed $50 billion Ponzi scheme, federal regulators say they have found yet another scheme. This time, they say, it targeted deaf investors. 

“A Ponzi scheme targeting members of the deaf community is particularly reprehensible,” Rosalind R. Tyson, regional director of the S.E.C.’s Los Angeles office, said in a statement. ” Ponzi du Jour: Regulators Say the Deaf Were Victims – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com

Reuters:   UPDATE 1-U.S. halts fraud targeting deaf investors | Markets | Markets News | Reuters

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission: CFTC Charges Hawaii-based Marvin Cooper and Billion Coupons, Inc. with Operating a $4 Million Foreign Currency Ponzi Scheme A…  Hat tip to T.M.

ABC:  ABC News: Another Ponzi Scheme Stopped — and This One Targeted the Deaf

Business Week: Ponzi scheme targets Hawaii deaf – BusinessWeek

Update: This saga has taken an interesting turn. It turns out that Marvin Cooper is Deaf and comes from a Deaf family. At least one feels he is a victim of SEC’s overzealous attempts for making some innocent mistakes.  Since I don’t know this person at all, so I cannot say.  MZ

2/21/09:  Formal Complaint Against Marvin Cooper by SEC:  http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2009/comp20906.pdf

I did more reading and find it hard to believe he is innocent.   Out of 4.4 million dollars he used only $800,000 to invest.  Out of 800,000 dollars invested, he managed to lose 750,000 dollars.   More disturbing is that the allegations that he used 1.4 million dollars for his personal use.  According to SEC, he reportedly purchased himself a house with the investors’ money.   Obviously these weren’t  ‘innocent’ mistakes and multiple laws were violated in the process.  MZ

A while ago, the mother of a cute and adorable Deaf girl, Miss Kat,  was told by an anonymous commenter that Miss Kat is not a member of Deaf Community because she wears a cochlear implant. Never mind that the child is Deaf and uses ASL.  Naturally the mother felt hurt by the hostile rejection of her Deaf child.  Many people, mostly hearing parents, oral deaf and Deaf, rushed to comfort the mother while condemning the actions of this anonymous commenter, reassuring her that this anonymous is a part of a small group which doesn’t represent the majority of the Deaf Community. Since I am a fan of the Miss Kat blog, reading the posts regularly, the pain of Miss Kat’s mother touches my heart and I left a comment in support of Miss Kat’s mom.  Miss Kat’s mom not only exposes her daughter to ASL, but also the Deaf Community, which helps the girl considerably.  She hasn’t exhibited any prejudice against culturally Deaf people and ASL, which is terrific.

However I am seeing some contradictions here.

Some hearing c.i. proponents and oral deaf hardliners condemned the Deaf parents for choosing to use ASL for their children, telling them their children will not be a part of the hearing world.  Their refusal to go the oral route, using cochlear implants and AVT, got them bashed.  Several even implied that these Deaf parents are engaging in child abuse.

We don’t see the hearing parents of c.i. kids, oral deaf people, and some moderate Deaf people rushing in to defend these Deaf parents, condemning the harsh words of these hearing and oral hardliners.  In fact, the poor attitudes toward these Deaf parents don’t receive much attention.

What gives?

Are double standards being practiced here? 

Both behaviors should be condemned equally.

 What are your thoughts?

Please no bashing. Thanks.

My eyebrows rose as I saw this headline 1 In 2 Hearing-Impaired Women Abused – News- msnbc.com.

“From what I understand, it could be as much as one in two women.”   “Half of the deaf and hard of hearing are prime targets for abuse” 

From my experience in the domestic violence advocacy, I feel this statement  somewhat inaccurate. Personally I don’t know of any statistics myself, but this one  just doesn’t feel right. I contacted Deaf directors of Deaf domestic violence centers for any information regarding any studies on the prevalence of domestic violence in the Deaf and HoH Community.

Fortunately Marilyn Smith of Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS) knows the answer.   “ADWAS participated in a research project for about a ten year period and what we found confirmed what we felt was true all along – that the % of Deaf women experiencing DV is not any different from hearing women.  We use the figure 1 in 4.  For sexual assault it is 1 in 3.”  

Thank you, Marilyn.

Here is the truth:  Deaf and HoH Community is not being subjected to a higher incidence of domestic violence than Hearing Community.

By the way, I hope this domestic violence center will have a successful alliance with the League for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in providing assistance to the Deaf and HoH survivors of domestic violence.

For more information on Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services:   http://www.adwas.org/

Wonderful news!  Scranton State School for the Deaf may get at least one year reprieve!

State senator Robert Mellow heard the growing dissent of the SSSD Community and proposed a bill amendment to postpone the closing of the school for at least one  year while the legislators can review the data from a study of the school!

A petition online, reached via the “save our school” Web site at www.sssdsos.org, has more than 5,700 signatures

5,700 signatures?  Terrific!

Did you sign the petition yet?  If not, please show your support for SSSD  by signing the petition!

To read the article,  Breaking news: Mellow fights to delay closure of school for deaf | News | thetimes-tribune.com – The Times-Tribune

Momentum picking up in support of restoring funding for Scranton State School for the Deaf  More want deaf school kept open | Wilkes-Barre News | The Times Leader

An update:

More legislators are now supporting SSSD!

“Baker, R-Lehman Township, said the Department of Education has not offered a convincing argument about deficiencies in the school’s program.

“Gov. Rendell’s decision is a wrong one, and the way the Department of Education wants to carry it out is seriously flawed,” Baker said. “They announced this closure with no plan in place. It is very unsettling that parents are being forced to make decisions now, with no real assurances that their children’s unique needs will be met. It is not the fault of the students or the school that Pennsylvania has a budget problem.”  Area’s lawmakers lobby for deaf school | Wilkes-Barre News | The Times Leader

2/16 Update: Lawmakers ready to sue to save Scranton State School for the Deaf | News | thetimes-tribune.com – The Times-Tribune

For ongoing updates on the battle to block SSSD closing: http://www.sssdsos.org