New Zman! Elul Issue

Posted on August 11, 2010 Updated on September 12, 2010

Cover Story

BP’s Blood Money

While British Petroleum (BP) reels on the front from the catastrophic oil spill in the Mexican Gulf, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are investigating another BP scandal: the company’s involvement in the release of a convicted terrorist. Zman visited Washington to hear firsthand from senators about the deal in which the man responsible for 270 deaths was freed in an effort to secure BP a multi-billion dollar oil deal with Libya. The senators personally shared the details of the story with Zman and expressed their outrage over the behavior of the British executives and government officials.

Other stories inside this month’s issue:

Counterfeiters for the Nazis

One of the most daring Nazi plans to destroy the Allies was a massive operation to print counterfeit money, flood the economies of England and her allies with phony bills and thereby destroying them economically. The project was carried out by enslaved Jewish printers and artists who were given the choice of cooperation or death. As hashgachah would have it, they survived the war. Four of them are still alive and bear witness to this most dramatic saga.

10 Strange Recession Stories

Zman has compiled 10 of the strangest stories that have been reported since the recession began. Who says that a recession can’t make people smile?

Home Sweet Airport

“Waiting time will be approximately… 18 years!” This is the tragi-comic story of Merhan Nasseri, who literally spent every day of his life between 1988 and 2006 entangled in a bureaucratic mess in an airport waiting for a flight which never arrived.

Maldives’ Searches for a New Home

Maldives, a maritime republic formed of a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean, barely lifts its head above sea level. If the ocean were to rise by just a few feet, the entire nation would be plunged underwater. Frightened by scientists’ reports of imminent global warming that will melt glacial ice and cause sea level to rise, the president of the Maldives has begun searching for an alternate home for his people when the “unavoidable catastrophe” occurs. But is the unavoidable catastrophe indeed unavoidable?

“The President Wishes to Speak to You”

The President of the United States is the only person in the world who can reach any person by telephone at any time of day or night. Read about the switchboard room in the White House and the 14 operators who remain ready to assist the president at any moment.