Benjamin (right) embracing his brother, Joseph

Benjamin (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין, Modern Binyamin Tiberian Binyāmîn) was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on the 11th of Marcheshvan (which was also his birthday) 1443 BC at the age of 111.^{[citation needed]}. In the Qur'an, Benjamin is referred to as righteous young child, who remained with Jacob when the older brothers plotted against Joseph.

Name[link]

According to the Torah, Benjamin's or in some countries Biniam's name arose when Jacob deliberately corrupted the name Benoni, the original name of Benjamin, since Benoni was an allusion to Rachel's dying just after she had given birth, as it means son of my pain.^[1] Textual scholars regard these two names as fragments of naming narratives coming from different sources - one being the Jahwist and the other being the Elohist.^[2]

Portuguese sketch.

The etymology of the name Benjamin is a matter of dispute, though most agree that it is composed of two parts - ben and jamin - the former meaning son of. The literal translation of Benjamin is son of right (as opposed to left), generally interpreted as meaning son of my right hand, though sometimes interpreted as son of the right side. Being associated with the right hand side was traditionally a reference to strength and virtue (cf sinister, which derives from the latin for left). This is, however, not the only literal translation, as the root for right is identical to that for south, hence Benjamin also literally translates as son of the south. This meaning is advocated by several classical rabbinical sources, which argue that it refers to the birth of Benjamin in Canaan, as compared with the birth of all the other sons of Jacob in Aram.^[3] Modern scholars have instead proposed that, with the eponymous Benjamin being just a metaphor, son of the south/son of the right are references to the tribe's being subordinate to the more dominant tribe of Ephraim.^[3]

In the Samaritan Pentateuch, the name is consistently written as בן ימים, with a terminal mem, making it Benjamim, and would literally translate as son of days. Some classical rabbinical literature argues that this was the original form of the name and was a reference to the advanced age of Jacob when Benjamin was born.^[3]

According to classical rabbinical sources, Benjamin was only born after Rachel had fasted for a long time, as a religious devotion with the hope of a new child as a reward. By then Jacob had become over 100 years old.^[3] Benjamin is treated as a young child in most of the Biblical narrative,^[3] but at one point is abruptly described as the father of ten sons.^[4] Textual scholars believe that this is the result of the genealogical passage, in which his children are named, being from a much later source than the Jahwist and Elohist narratives, which make up most of the Joseph narrative, and which consistently describe Benjamin as a child.^[3]

Israelites in Egypt[link]

Illustration from the Morgan Bible of Benjamin being returned to Egypt (Genesis 44).

The Torah's Joseph narrative, at a stage when Joseph is unrecognised by his brothers, describes Joseph as testing whether his brothers have reformed, by secretly planting a silver cup in Benjamin's bag, then publicly searching the bags for it, and after finding it in Benjamin's possession, demanding that Benjamin become his slave as a punishment.^[5] The narrative goes on to state that when Judah (on behalf of the other brothers) begged Joseph not to enslave Benjamin and instead enslave him, since enslavement of Benjamin would break Jacob's heart. This caused Joseph to recant and reveal his identity.^[5] The midrashic book of Jasher argues that prior to revealing his identity, Joseph asked Benjamin to find his missing brother (i.e. Joseph) via astrology, using an astrolabe-like tool;^[3] it continues by stating that Benjamin divined that the man on the throne was Joseph, so Joseph identified himself to Benjamin (but not the other brothers), and revealed his scheme (as in the Torah) to test how fraternal the other brothers were.^[3] However, some classical rabbinical sources argue that Joseph identified himself for other reasons.^[3] In these sources, Benjamin swore an oath, on the memory of Joseph, that he was innocent of theft, and, when challenged about how believable the oath would be, explained that remembering Joseph was so important to him that he had named his sons in Joseph's honour;^[3] these sources go on to state that Benjamin's oath touched Joseph so deeply that Joseph was no longer able to pretend to be a stranger.^[3]

In the narrative, just prior to this test, when Joseph had first met all of his brothers (but not identified himself to them), he had held a feast for them;^[6] the narrative heavily implies that Benjamin was Joseph's favorite brother, since he is overcome with tears when he first meets Benjamin in particular,^[7] and he gives Benjamin five times as much food as he apportions to the others.^[8] According to textual scholars, this is really the Jahwist's account of the reunion after Joseph identifies himself, and the account of the threat to enslave Benjamin is just the Elohist's version of the same event, with the Elohist being more terse about Joseph's emotions towards Benjamin, merely mentioning that Benjamin was given five times as many gifts as the others.^[3]

Benjamin in Islam[link]

The Qur'an, in the narrative of Joseph, refers to Benjamin as the righteous youngest son of Jacob.^[9] Muslim tradition, however, fleshes out the details regarding Benjamin and refers to him as being born from Jacob's wife Rachel, and further links a connection, as does Jewish tradition, between the names of Benjamin's children and Joseph.^[10]

Origin[link]

Exterior view of a Mamluk Caravanserai complex, including the mausoleum of Nabi Yamin, traditionally believed to be the tomb of Benjamin, at present located outside Kfar Sava, Israel.

Biblical scholars regard it as obvious, from their geographic overlap and their treatment in older passages, that originally Ephraim and Manasseh were considered one tribe, that of Joseph.^[11] According to several biblical scholars, Benjamin was also originally part of this single tribe, but the biblical account of Joseph as his father became lost.^[11][12] The description of Benjamin being born after the arrival in Canaan is thought by some scholars to refer to the tribe of Benjamin coming into existence by branching from the Joseph group after the tribe had settled in Canaan.^[12] A number of biblical scholars suspect that the distinction of the Joseph tribes (including Benjamin) is that they were the only Israelites which went to Egypt and returned, while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout.^[12][13] According to this view, the story of Jacob's visit to Laban to obtain a wife originated as a metaphor for this migration, with the property and family which were gained from Laban representing the gains of the Joseph tribes by the time they returned from Egypt;^[12] according to textual scholars, the Jahwist version of the Laban narrative only mentions the Joseph tribes, and Rachel, and does not mention the other tribal matriarchs whatsoever.^[12][14]

Benjamin's sons[link]

According to Genesis 46:21, Benjamin had ten sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. The name of his wife/wives are not given. Classical rabbinical tradition adds that each son's name honors Joseph:^[3]

• Belah (meaning swallow), in reference to Joseph disappearing (being swallowed up)
• Becher (meaning first born), in reference to Joseph being the first child of Rachel
• Ashbel (meaning capture), in reference to Joseph having suffered captivity
• Gera (meaning grain), in reference to Joseph living in a foreign land (Egypt)
• Naaman (meaning grace), in reference to Joseph having graceful speech
• Ehi (meaning my brother), in reference to Joseph being Benjamin's only full-brother (as opposed to half-brothers)
• Rosh (meaning elder), in reference to Joseph being older than Benjamin
• Muppim (meaning double mouth), in reference to Joseph passing on what he had been taught by Jacob
• Huppim (meaning marriage canopies), in reference to Joseph being married in Egypt, while Benjamin was not there
• Ard (meaning wanderer/fugitive), in reference to Joseph being like a rose

See also[link]

• Benjamin (disambiguation)
  • For a list of persons with the given name Benjamin see All pages beginning with "Benjamin"
• Kever Benjamin
• Tribe of Benjamin

Citations[link]

References[link]

• This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

External links[link]

• The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908: Benjamin. Material on the tribe, its territory, Rabbinical tradition and Islam.

Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity at King of Prussia Mall (2004)
Born	(1961-12-30) December 30, 1961 (age 50) New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Occupation	Radio host/television host, political commentator, author
Employer	Citadel Broadcasting, Fox News Channel
Known for	Political commentary
Religion	Roman Catholic
Spouse	Jill Rhodes Hannity
Parents	Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity
Website
Hannity.com

Sean Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is a television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity, on Fox News Channel. Hannity has written three New York Times–bestselling books:^[1][2] Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism, Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, and Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda.

Personal background[link]

Hannity is the son of Hugh J. and Lillian F. Hannity. His paternal and maternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland. He has two sisters. He grew up in Franklin Square, New York ^[3] and attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Hempstead, New York during his middle school years and St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary high school in Uniondale, New York.^[4] Hannity dropped out of New York University and Adelphi University.^[5][6]

Professional life[link]

Hannity in a radio and television interview with Vice President of the U.S. Dick Cheney

Hannity hosted his first talk radio show in 1989 at the volunteer college station at UC Santa Barbara, KCSB-FM, while working as a general contractor. The show aired for 40 hours of air time;^[7] Regarding his first show, Hannity has said, "I wasn't good at it. I was terrible."^[8] Hannity's weekly show on KCSB was canceled after less than a year by station managers. This was after two shows featuring the book The AIDS Coverup: The Real and Alarming Facts about AIDS by Gene Antonio; among other remarks made during the broadcast, Hannity told a lesbian caller "I feel sorry for your child".^[9] The station later reversed its decision to dismiss Hannity due in part to a campaign conducted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Hannity decided against returning to KCSB.^[10]

After leaving KCSB, Hannity placed an ad in radio publications presenting himself as "the most talked about college radio host in America." Radio station WVNN in Athens, Alabama (part of the Huntsville market) then hired him to be the afternoon talk show host.^[7] From Huntsville, he moved to WGST in Atlanta in 1992, filling the slot vacated by Neal Boortz, who had moved to competing station WSB. In September 1996 Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes hired the then relatively unknown Hannity to host a television program under the working title Hannity and LTBD ("liberal to be determined").^[11] Alan Colmes was then hired to co-host and the show debuted as Hannity & Colmes.

Later that year Hannity left WGST for New York, where WABC had him substitute for their afternoon drive time host during Christmas week. In January 1997, WABC put Hannity on the air full-time, giving him the late night time slot. WABC then moved Hannity to the same drive time slot he had filled temporarily a little more than a year earlier. Hannity has been on WABC's afternoon time slot since January 1998.^[12]

Conservative Cal Thomas and liberal Bob Beckel, in their book Common Ground, describe Hannity as a leader of the pack among broadcasting political polarizers, which following James Q. Wilson they define as those who have "an intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another, rival group."^[13]

Television[link]

Hannity was a co-host of Hannity & Colmes, an American political "point-counterpoint"-style television program on the Fox News Channel featuring Hannity and Alan Colmes as co-hosts. Hannity presented the conservative point of view with Colmes providing the liberal viewpoint. Critics argued that the show highlighted Hannity's views and those of conservative guests over Colmes' and those of liberal guests.^[14]

Hannity had on air clashes with show guests such as Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer of Human Life International, who challenged Hannity on his public dissent from the Catholic Church on the issue of contraception.^[15][16] Hannity stated that if the Catholic Church were to excommunicate him over the issue, he would join Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church.^[17]

In January 2007, Hannity began a new Sunday night television show on Fox News, Hannity's America.

In November 2008, Colmes announced his departure from Hannity & Colmes. After the show's final broadcast on January 9, 2009, Hannity took over the time slot with his own new show, Hannity, which has a format similar to Hannity's America

Radio[link]

Hannity's radio program is a conservative political talk show that features Hannity's opinions and ideology related to current issues and politicians. The Sean Hannity Show began national syndication on September 10, 2001 on over 500 stations nationwide.^[18] As of spring 2008, the program is heard by over 13.25 million listeners a week.^[19] In 2004, Hannity signed a $25 million five-year contract extension with ABC Radio (now Citadel Media) to continue the show through 2009.^[20] The program was made available via Armed Forces Radio Network in 2006.^[21] In June 2007, ABC Radio was sold to Citadel Communications^[22] and in the summer of 2008, Hannity was signed for a $100 million five-year contract.^[23]

In January 2007, Clear Channel Communications signed a groupwide three-year extension with Hannity on over 80 stations.^[24] The largest stations in the group deal included KTRH Houston, KFYI Phoenix, WPGB Pittsburgh, WKRC Cincinnati, WOOD Grand Rapids, WFLA Tampa, WOAI San Antonio, WLAC Nashville, and WREC Memphis.

The opening theme music for the Sean Hannity Show is "Independence Day" by Martina McBride followed by "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.

Books[link]

Hannity is the author of three books. The first two, Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism and Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, were published through ReganBooks. Both of these books reached the nonfiction New York Times bestseller list, the second of which stayed there for five weeks.^[25][26] Hannity has stated that he is too busy to write many books,^[25] and dictated a lot of his own two books into a tape recorder while driving in to do his radio show.^[27]

Hannity wrote his third book, Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda, which was released by HarperCollins on March 30, 2010.^[28] The book became Hannity's third New York Times Bestseller.^[29]

Freedom Concerts[link]

Since 2003, Hannity has hosted country music–themed "Freedom Concerts" to raise money for charity.^[30] According to WHIO, more than $9 million has been raised by the concerts and by WHIO listeners as of 2009.^[31]

Artists such as Charlie Daniels,^[32][33] Billy Ray Cyrus,^[32] Hank Williams, Jr., Ted Nugent, Montgomery Gentry,^[33][34] Martina McBride, Buddy Jewell, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Greenwood,^[32][33] Michael W. Smith,^[32] and Avalon^[33] have headlined at these concerts. Between musical sets, the concerts include short intermissions with politically conservative speakers such as Oliver North, G. Gordon Liddy, Mark Levin, Newt Gingrich, Jon Voight, and Rudy Giuliani. Headlining names for the 2010 concert series were Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, and Michael W. Smith.^[31][35]

Awards and honors[link]

• Hannity received a Marconi Award in 2003 and 2007 as the Network Syndicated Personality of the Year from the National Association of Broadcasters.^[36]
• In 2009, Talkers Magazine listed Hannity as #2 on their list of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America.^[37] The same magazine gave Hannity their Freedom of Speech Award in 2003.^[38]
• In 2005, Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University, awarded Hannity an honorary degree.^[39]
• Radio and Records magazine has honored Hannity with the National Talk Show Host of the Year Award for three consecutive years.^[40]

Bibliography[link]

• Hannity, Sean (2002). Let Freedom Ring: Winning the War of Liberty over Liberalism, ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-051455-8.
• Hannity, Sean (2004). Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism, ReganBooks, ISBN 0-06-058251-0.
• Hannity, Sean (2010). Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda, Harper Paperbacks, ISBN 0-06-200305-4.

References[link]

External links[link]

Conservatism portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sean Hannity

• Sean Hannity's official website
• Sean Hannity's biography (Fox News)
• Hannity Official Fox News site
• List of radio stations streaming the Sean Hannity Show
• Sean Hannity's bio and title list from HarperCollins

Benjamin Graham

150px
Born	(1894-05-08)May 8, 1894
Died	September 21, 1976(1976-09-21) (aged 82)
Nationality	United States
Institution	Columbia Business School, Graham-Newman Partnership
Field	Finance Investment
Alma mater	Columbia University
Influenced	Jean-Marie Eveillard Warren Buffett William J. Ruane Irving Kahn Walter J. Schloss
Contributions	Security Analysis (1934) The Intelligent Investor (1949)

Benjamin Graham (May 8, 1894 – September 21, 1976) was a British-born American economist and professional investor. Graham is considered the first proponent of value investing, an investment approach he began teaching at Columbia Business School in 1928 and subsequently refined with David Dodd through various editions of their famous book Security Analysis. Graham's followers include Warren Buffett, William J. Ruane, Irving Kahn, Walter J. Schloss, Chris Johnston and others. Buffett, who credits Graham as grounding him with a sound intellectual investment framework, described him as the second most influential person in his life after his own father. In fact, Graham had such an overwhelming influence on his students that two of them, Buffett and Kahn, named their sons, Howard Graham Buffett and Thomas Graham Kahn, after him.

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

Benjamin Graham was born Benjamin Grossbaum in London, England^[1] to Jewish parents.^[2] He moved to New York City with his family when he was one year old. After the death of his father and experiencing poverty, he became a good student, graduating from Columbia University, as salutatorian of his class, at the age of 20. He received an invitation for employment as an instructor in English, Mathematics, and Philosophy, but took a job on Wall Street eventually starting the Graham-Newman Partnership.

Career[link]

His book, Security Analysis, with David Dodd, was published in 1934 and has been considered a bible for serious investors since it was written.^{[citation needed]} It and The Intelligent Investor published in 1949 (4th revision, with Jason Zweig, 2003), are his two most widely acclaimed books. Warren Buffett describes The Intelligent Investor as "the best book about investing ever written."^[3] Graham exhorted the stock market participant to first draw a fundamental distinction between investment and speculation. In Security Analysis, he proposed a clear definition of investment that was distinguished from what he deemed speculation. It read, "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative."^[4]

Graham wrote that the owner of equity stocks should regard them first and foremost as conferring part ownership of a business. With that perspective in mind, the stock owner should not be too concerned with erratic fluctuations in stock prices, since in the short term, the stock market behaves like a voting machine, but in the long term it acts like a weighing machine (i.e. its true value will in the long run be reflected in its stock price). Graham distinguished between the passive and the active investor. The passive investor, often referred to as a defensive investor, invests cautiously, looks for value stocks, and buys for the long term. The active investor, on the other hand, is one who has more time, interest, and possibly more specialized knowledge to seek out exceptional buys in the market.^[5] Graham recommended that investors spend time and effort to analyze the financial state of companies. When a company is available on the market at a price which is at a discount to its intrinsic value, a "margin of safety" exists, which makes it suitable for investment.

Graham wrote that investment is most intelligent when it is most businesslike, a statement which Warren Buffett regarded as the most important words about investment ever written.^{[citation needed]} Graham said that the stock investor is neither right nor wrong because others agreed or disagreed with him; he is right because his facts and analysis are right.^{[citation needed]} The Intelligent Investor p. 524 (Revised Ed 2006) Graham's favorite allegory is that of Mr. Market, a fellow who turns up every day at the stock holder's door offering to buy or sell his shares at a different price. Rarely, the price quoted by Mr. Market seems plausible, but most of the time it is ridiculous. The investor is free to either agree with his quoted price and trade with him, or to ignore him completely. Mr. Market doesn't mind this, and will be back the following day to quote another price. The point is that the investor should not regard the whims of Mr. Market as determining the value of the shares that the investor owns. He should profit from market folly rather than participate in it. The investor is best off concentrating on the real life performance of his companies and receiving dividends, rather than being too concerned with Mr. Market's often irrational behavior.^[6]

Graham was critical of the corporations of his day for obfuscated and irregular financial reporting that made it difficult for investors to discern the true state of the business's finances. He was an advocate of dividend payments to shareholders rather than businesses keeping all of their profits as retained earnings. He also criticized those who advised that some types of stocks were a good buy at any price, because of the prospect of sustained stock price growth, without a good analysis of the business's actual financial condition. These observations remain extremely relevant today.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy[link]

In recent years, Graham's "Mr. Market" approach has been challenged by Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT), which is based on the hypothesis of efficiency of financial markets. A popular proponent of MPT is, for example, William J. Bernstein, whose book The Intelligent Asset Allocator extends Graham's The Intelligent Investor via an appreciation of long-term trends and the near impossibility of understanding the market at large. Modern Portfolio Theory, which is widely taught in American and British business schools, posits that it is generally impossible for any individual to consistently outwit the market, thus denying the possibility of any distinction between "market price" and "value" of a security. Nevertheless, Graham's approach retains a widespread and dedicated following and has demonstrated historical success in terms of investment returns. Indeed, numerous academic studies, including "Contrarian Investment, Extrapolation, and Risk",^[7] "Good news for value stocks: Further evidence on market efficiency",^[8] "The Cross Section of Expected Stock Returns",^[9] and many others, have demonstrated that value stocks have outperformed growth stocks and the market in general over virtually all multi-year periods.

According to Warren Buffett, Graham said that he wished every day to do something foolish, something creative, and something generous.^[10] Buffett said that Graham excelled most at the last.^[11]

Personal life[link]

According to The Snowball (a biography of Warren Buffett), Graham had an affair with his deceased son's girlfriend (Marie Louise Amingues) and used to travel to France frequently to visit her.^[12] He later separated from his wife Estey in New York, after she refused his offer of living in New York for six months and France for six months. Marie Louise was content to live with Ben without marriage.^[13]

Bibliography[link]

Books[link]

• Security Analysis, editions 1934,^[14] 1940,^[15] 1951^[16] and 1962^[17] and 1988^[18] and 2008^[19] ISBN 978-0-07-159253-6
• The Intelligent Investor, editions 1949,^[20] reprinted in 2005; 1959,^[21] 1965,^[22] 1973 ^[23] with many reprints since
• Storage and Stability: A Modern Ever-normal Granary, New York: McGraw Hill. 1937 ISBN 0-07-024774-9^[24]
• The Interpretation of Financial Statements
• World Commodities and World Currency, New York & London, McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1944 ISBN 0-07-024806-0
• Benjamin Graham, the memoirs of the dean of Wall Street^[25]

Papers[link]

• ——— (1917). "Some Calculus Suggestions by a Student". The American Mathematical Monthly (The American Mathematical Monthly, Vol. 24, No. 6) 24 (6): 265–271. DOI:10.2307/2973181. JSTOR 2973181. 
• ———, Benjamin (1943). "The Critique of Commodity-Reserve Currency: A Point-by-Point Reply". The Journal of Political Economy 51 (1): 66–69. DOI:10.1086/255988. JSTOR 1826594. 
• ——— (1946). "The Undistributed Profits Tax and The Investor". The Yale Law Journal (The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 46, No. 1) 46 (1): 1–18. DOI:10.2307/791630. JSTOR 791630. 
• ——— (1947). "Money as Pure Commodity". American Economic Review 37 (2): 304–307. JSTOR 1821137. 
• ——— (1947). "National Productivity: Its Relationship to Unemployment-in-Prosperity". American Economic Review 37 (2): 384–396. JSTOR 1821149. 
• ——— (1962). "Some Investment Aspects of Accumulation Through Equities". The Journal of Finance (The Journal of Finance, Vol. 17, No. 2) 17 (2): 203–214. DOI:10.2307/2977419. JSTOR 2977419. 
• ——— (1962). "The Commodity-Reserve Currency Proposal Reconsidered". In Yeager, Leland B. (ed.). In Search of Monetary Constitution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. pp. 184–214. 

See also[link]

• Warren Buffett
• Philip Fisher
• John Burr Williams
• John Neff
• Valuation using discounted cash flows
• Gordon model
• Benjamin Graham formula
• William J. Bernstein
• Janet Lowe

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Benjamin Graham

• Columbia University biography
• Heilbrunn Center at the Columbia Business School
• Storage and Stability, plus list of other major works by Graham
• Stock screener based on Graham "Defensive Investor" strategy
• ModernGraham.com - Site dedicated to the study of Benjamin Graham
• The Graham Investor
• The Rediscovered Benjamin Graham - selected writings of the wall street legend, by Janet Lowe.

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (March 2011)

Benjamin Fulford (古歩道ベンジャミン 1961–) is a Canadian journalist living in Japan.

He is the great-grandson of George Taylor Fulford.^[1]

In the early 1980s he went to Japan to study at Sophia University. After receiving a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, he returned to Japan in the mid-1980s to pursue a career in journalism.

On July 14, 2009 the Tokyo District Court awarded American broadcast journalist Steven L. Herman more than Yen 1,700,000 (17K euro) in the civil libel case brought against Fulford and his publisher (Herman vs. Fulford, Fusosha & M. Katagiri).^[2]

After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Fulford claimed on Japanese television that "[t]he American government in cooperation with [the] Federal Reserve, the Rockefellers, and other powerful groups, they are planning the eruption of Mt. Fuji Volcano. The earthquake and the tsunami was March 11th, 2011, 03.11.11. The Mt. Fuji Eruption they are planning is for April 11th, 2011." Fulford attributed the earthquake, tsunami and his predicted eruption of Mt. Fuji to HAARP, a scientific facility used by physicists to research the upper atmosphere. There has been no such eruption of Mt. Fuji since 1708.^[3][4][5]

Publications[link]

• 9.11テロ捏造 -日本と世界を騙し続ける独裁国家アメリカ (9.11 fake terrorism -Dictatorial America cheating Japan and the world) ISBN 4-19-862195-0
• 暴かれた9.11疑惑の真相 (Exposed truth of 9.11 suspicion) ISBN 978-4-594-05228-7
• ヤクザ・リセッション: さらに失われる10年 (Yakuza recession: Another lost decade) ISBN 4-334-93323-8
• 泥棒国家の完成 (Completion of Kleptocracy) ISBN 4-334-93332-7
• 日本マスコミ「臆病」の構造 (Japan's chicken journalism) ISBN 4-7966-4375-3
• 石井紘基議員刺殺事件について (About the assassination of Koki Ishii)
• ドル消滅の仕組み (The mechanism of dollar collapse)

etc.

References[link]

External links[link]

• benjaminfulford.net
• benjaminfulford.com (Japanese)
• benjaminfulford.com (English)
• Benjamin Fulford's Blog (Japanese/English)

Big Sean
Background information
Birth name	Sean Michael Anderson
Born	(1988-03-25) March 25, 1988 (age 24) Santa Monica, California
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, Singer, Songwriter
Years active	2005 – present
Labels	GOOD, Def Jam
Associated acts	Kanye West, Mike Posner, Wiz Khalifa, Currensy, Meek Mill, SayItAintTone uknowbigsean.com

Sean Michael Anderson (born March 25, 1988),^[1] better known by his stage name Big Sean, is an American rapper. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music in 2007, and then in 2008 signed with Def Jam Recordings.

Biography[link]

1988-2006: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Sean Michael Anderson was born in Santa Monica, California, and he moved at two months old to west Detroit (6 Mile and Wyoming) where he was raised by his mother and grandmother.^[2][3] He attended Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 GPA.^[4] Big Sean is often heard saying " west side " in his songs; he is referring to the west side of his hometown Detroit, Michigan. In his later years in high school, Sean gained a valuable relationship with Detroit hip hop station WHTD; he would show his rhyming skills on a weekly basis as part of a rap battle contest held by the station.^[5]

In 2005, Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM. Hearing about this, Sean headed over to the station to meet West and perform some free-style. Initially Kanye was reluctant to hear the emcee, however he gave Sean 16 bars to rap for him, eventually according to Big Sean "As we get to the entrance of the radio station ... we stopped in the middle of the doorway. He starts looking at me and bobbing his head,".^[6] He left a demo-tape as well. Two years later, West finally signed Big Sean to GOOD Music.

2007–2010: Mixtapes and internet following[link]

On September 30, 2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous: The Mixtape. His hit single, "Get'cha Some", produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times. He also recorded a music video for "Get'cha Some", which was directed by Hype Williams. Sean released a second mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16, 2009, called UKNOWBIGSEAN. It featured the songs "Million Dollars", "Get'cha Some" and "Supa Dupa". This mixtape includes 30 tracks.^[7] Sean released a third mixtape hosted by Don Cannon on August 31, 2010 called Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG. Features include Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Curren$y, SAYITAINTTONE, Tyga, Drake, Mike Posner, Suai, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, Dom Kennedy, Boldy James, and Chiddy Bang. The mixtape includes 20 tracks.^[8]

An unauthorized leak of his collaboration with Drake, called "Made" made its way onto the internet on April 30, 2010. In an interview with TheHipHopUpdate.com on May 1, Big Sean expressed his disappointment over the leak, calling it an unfinished version both musically and verse wise. Big Sean's official Facebook page confirmed that his debut album Finally Famous & Consequence's Cons TV would be released on September 14, 2010. On August 31, Big Sean tweeted that the album was not coming out on that day, but it would be coming out sometime in 2011.^[9]

[edit] 2011–present: Finally Famous and mainstream success

In a recent interview on Conspiracy Worldwide Radio, he discussed the role Kanye West and No I.D. have had in the development of the album's sonic direction as well as the challenges of being inside the studio with West. The album's lead single, My Last, features vocals from Chris Brown and was produced by No I.D.^[10] According to Amazon.com, Big Sean's Finally Famous was delayed by a week, with a tentative release date set for June 28. Additionally, the GOOD Music rapper revealed that the album touts a song featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang, as well as guest appearances from Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pharrell Williams and possibly Nas as well. Big Sean has revealed the cover art for his G.O.O.D. Music debut and explains that the one-week pushback can be blamed on sample and feature clearance issues.^[11] The official tracklist was revealed on June 7.^[12]

Finally Famous, Sean's debut studio album, was released June 28, 2011, and spawned three hit singles; "My Last", "Marvin & Chardonnay" and "Dance (A$$)". The album features guest appearances from Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, , Pharrell, Kanye West, Roscoe Dash, Wiz Khalifa, Chiddy Bang, Rick Ross, Pusha T and includes production from No I.D., The Legendary Traxster, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Xaphoon Jones and The Neptunes.^{[13][14][15][16]}

When the songs, "O.T.T.R." and "Flowers" were leaked in July 2011, speculation began of a new mixtape. Sean confirmed in an interview June 28, 2011 that a collaborative mixtape between him and "two other guys in hip-hop that are just killing it right now" will be released "in a couple of weeks". Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y, are the supposed featured rappers on the mixtape.^[17] According to, Wiz Khalifa, there will be no mixtape. The rapper explains that the songs they created were, "just for fun". Big Sean was arrested on August 4, 2011 for sexual assault at a concert in Lewiston, New York.^[18] On October 26, 2011, Big Sean plead guilty to second degree unlawful imprisonment, and was fined $750.00. The charges of third-degree sexual abuse were dropped. Big Sean's attorney, Scott Leemon, stated that Big Sean "...did not engage in any type of sexual misconduct.” ^[19]

In September 2011, Big Sean confirmed in an interview with the Daily Tribune that he'll be working on his sophomore album during the I Am Finally Famous Tour and plans to release the album by Summer 2012.^[20] On October 19, 2011, Kanye West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release.^[21] On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released.^[22] The song, produced by newly-signed in-house producer Lifted, features Big Sean along with Kanye West, Pusha T and southern rapper 2 Chainz.^[23]

Style and clothing[link]

In late October 2008, Big Sean was featured in The Source and headlined the "Style" section of the magazine.^[24] In the article Sean talks about his own personal style and states that his favorite clothing brands are 10 Deep, Billionaire Boys Club, and Bape. Big Sean also posed in the Winter 2008 Billionaire Boys Club lookbook.^[25] Big Sean is also a consistent representative of Ti$A^[26] clothing and hats, along with Chris Brown and Tyga. Ti$A is a vintage company run by fellow G.O.O.D Music recording artist Taz Arnold. Big Sean is also a follower of the Rosewood clothing style.^[27]

Discography[link]