New York Times about the lawsuit

[philo]

1 small package of smoked salmon or 1/2 pound cooked barbecued salmon tips (ham can be substituted for the salmon)

i am shocked - HAM for a bujew??????

[tomsakic]

I think Leonard looks excellent on these Maclean's August 2005 photos. (Dem is right, this photo was retaken from the original Maclean's article - Jarkko pasted all photos in A Devastated Leonard Cohen thread).

[jarkko]

Here is more. This link is from Marie!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,1 ... ?gusrc=rss

Cohen stays calm as $5m pension disappears

· Manager accused of spending all his money
· Singer starts working again to make ends meet

Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Saturday October 8, 2005
The Guardian


He has been called the "poet laureate of pessimism". His songs, delivered in a slow, haunting monotone, tell of death, betrayal and depression. Now, earthly matters have caught up with Leonard Cohen: his manager, he alleges, has spent all his money.
A lawsuit filed by the 71-year-old singer and poet in a Los Angeles court describes a tangled web of deceit, allegation and legal chicanery. Cohen claims Kelley Lynch, his manager for 16 years, stole more than $5m (£2.8m) from a fund set up for his retirement. There is only $150,000 left in the fund and Cohen has mortgaged his house to pay his legal costs and is selling his assets. He cannot touch the money in the fund because of the legal dispute.

"I was devastated," Cohen told the Canadian magazine Macleans. "You know, God gave me a strong inner core, so I wasn't shattered. But I was deeply concerned."

The theft allegedly started when Cohen, a Zen Buddhist, was on a five-year retreat in southern California. "Through greed, self-dealing, concealment, knowing misrepresentation and reckless disregard for professional fiduciary duties," Cohen's suit states, his manager and his financial advisers failed to inform him of the state of his finances. Lynch, a Tibetan Buddhist and one-time lover of Cohen's, denies the allegations.

One adviser, Neal Greenberg, has sued Cohen, alleging the singer was made aware of his financial plight and that in an attempt to recoup the monies, Cohen and his lawyers resorted to conspiracy, extortion and defamation. Cohen is also suing Greenberg, whose suit paints an unlikely picture of the renowned ascetic, describing how Cohen engaged in "consistent and prolific spending" to support "his extravagant 'celebrity' lifestyle".

Greenberg quotes Cohen's manager as saying the singer insisted she discuss business matters while he soaked in a bubble bath; his suit also alleges that Cohen was involved in calling a SWAT team to the manager's home, resulting in her being handcuffed and taken to a psychiatric ward in her bathing suit.

Cohen told Macleans: "What can I do? I had to go to work. I have no money left. I'm not saying it's bad; I have enough of an understanding of the way the world works to understand that these things happen."

Cohen, a Canadian, is best-known for late-70s songs such as Suzanne and Bird on a Wire. His songs have been covered by hundreds of artists and have appeared on film soundtracks. Following the release of his 1992 album, The Future, he retreated to a Zen Buddhist centre and was ordained as a Buddhist monk.

The alleged theft came to light a year ago, when a friend of the family alerted Cohen's daughter to his perilous financial situation. The alleged theft centres on two transactions engineered by Lynch and approved by Cohen. The first, in 1997, was the $5m sale of Cohen's publishing company, Stranger Music, to Sony. The second, in 2001, concerned the sale of Cohen's future royalties for $8m, also to Sony. Lynch set up a company to minimise taxes on the transaction, giving herself 99.5% ownership of the company, and Cohen the remaining 0.5%. Cohen says he was unaware of the agreement. "Since my own work requires a fair degree of solitary attention, I was grateful to Ms Lynch for looking after the business details," he told the New York Times. "In this spirit she acquired considerable command over my finances."

That command apparently extended to a link being set up allowing Lynch's American Express credit card to be paid directly from Cohen's bank account. When Cohen learned of the allegations and visited his bank, he was surprised to find that he had paid a $75,000 credit card bill for his manager. The same day, he says, Lynch tried to withdraw $40,000 in cash from another of his accounts. Cohen alleges that in total $8.4m has disappeared from his holdings. Cohen fired Lynch in October last year. She refuses to talk about the case.

The lawsuits and the absence of funds have prompted Cohen to start working again. He plans to tour for the first time in 12 years, he has a new book of poetry due next year, he hopes to record an album this autumn, and a new album recorded with his wife is due for release. While admitting that the financial loss could "put a dent in your mood", Cohen says he is happy again. "This has propelled us into incessant work," he told Macleans.

[tomsakic]

This "wife" puzzles me... She would be his first.

[lizzytysh]

While admitting that the financial loss could "put a dent in your mood", Cohen says he is happy again.

There's Leonard's subtle wit, again .

In light of the wife reference [though I find it incredibly difficult to believe that MacLeans would know ~ and Jarkko not ], "says he is happy again" could surely be understood, via that new development .

However, I'm inclined to believe that "partner" was taken a bit too literally .

[Fljotsdale]

People should check out the picture that goes with this piece as well. He looks thin and bitter, alas, but who wouldn't be?

----I inserted now the pic as well/Jarkko

He still looks beautiful to me...

[lightning]

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and "love is blind."

[catherine]

Oh my friends, oh Leonard, what a mess.
I really hope it all turns out well.
I. for one, promise to help him the best I can, simply by following him all
over Europe, should he come on tour.

[Tri-me]

Do you think he needs a doctor?
I would examine every inch of him,
Leonard, I'm your woman

[lizzytysh]

What Leonard's going through is not for laughter ; but you sure are, Tri-me .

[Tri-me]

I am sensitive to the fact that what he is going through is a hardship. As a Buddhist he has hopefully gone beyond conception that samsara is endless and that he has occasion for laughter, he has studied dharma extensively, hopefully it is giving him strength and he sees this as an opportunity for growth.
Working in film I know the appearance that lighting can give, yes he looks like the clothes he is wearing are too big and he does look solemn. It would not be a very effective picture if he was standing there with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. There must have been hundreds of photos taken on that occasion, the pics that made him look most remorseful made it to print. In the McLeans article Anaji was smiling and looked very beautiful. I find it hard to believe that he is walking around like a wounded soldier, hosting pity me parties on Saturday nights.

[lizzytysh]

Oh, yes, Tri-me, I knew you were/are sensitive to his dilemma and plight. I guess I should have made that clearer . That was just the technique that I used to comment on your very funny 'take-off' .

Yeah, afraid the twinkle in his eye wouldn't be quite appropriate for the subject matter ~ as though this was all a lark, and he wasn't taking it seriously. Anjani's smile can, of course, be viewed as his lover's belief in him, and unflagging faith in the outcome.

As a Buddhist he has hopefully gone beyond conception that samsara is endless and that he has occasion for laughter, he has studied dharma extensively, hopefully it is giving him strength and he sees this as an opportunity for growth.

I find it hard to believe that he is walking around like a wounded soldier, hosting pity me parties on Saturday nights.

I agree on both .

~ Lizzy

[lightning]

Samsara is endless? I thought that meant the the created universe , the finite, as opposed to nirvana which is infinite. Please check your buddhist dictionary. I used to eat at a macrobiotic restauant called Samsara in the 60's. It isn't there any more

[Tri-me]

Samsara is the endless cycle of life which encompasses all aspects of a full human life. The folks that named their place Samsara must understand this and have made their peace with it.

Definitions of Samsara on the Web:

("confluence"): the finite world of change, as opposed to the ultimate Reality (brahman or nirvana)
http://www.yogajournal.com/newtoyoga/159.cfm

“flowing together” – the cycle of transmigration; suffering existence, phenomenal reality.
http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Glossary.htm

Transmigration; the "wandering-on"; the round of death and rebirth.
pratyeka.org/a2i/canon/sutta/khuddaka/dhp/glossary.html

Round of rebirth, lit, "perpetual wandering," is a name by which is designated the sea of life ever restlessly heaving up and down.
http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/khe ... ossary.php

Life of impermanence. The continual round of birth, illness, old age and death, which can be transcended by following the Noble Eightfold Path and Buddhist teaching.
http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/resou ... ssary.html

In Buddhism, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, one of continued suffering, which one attempts to break out of by purifying his or her body, speech and mind.
http://www.whitneystewart.com/HHDL/Glossary.htm

(Skt.): Literally, "wheel" or "cycle." Hence, the endless cycle of existence throughout the six realms that is marked by birth, old age, sickness and death. The confused state of suffering caused by the karmic force of one's actions.
http://www.bodhipath-west.org/glossary.htm

(Sanskrit) {BCW 3:89, 13:75; FSO 537}
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/sam-saq.htm

(‘khor ba). ‘Cyclic existence,’ ‘vicious circle’ or ‘round’ of birth and death and rebirth within the six realms of existence, characterized by suffering, impermanence, and ignorance. The state of ordinary sentient beings fettered by ignorance and dualistic perception, karma and disturbing emotions. Ordinary reality, an endless cycle of frustration and suffering generated as the result of karma.
http://www.rangjung.com/books/lotus-born_glossary.htm

This means the endless cycle of existence in the impermanent world. It is the goal of Buddhism to escape Samsara.
http://www.siamese-dream.com/reference/ ... ssary.html

Conditioned existence; ordinary life suffering which occurs because one still possesses passion, aggression, and ignorance. It is contrasted to nirvana.
http://www.kagyubuddhist.org/glossary.htm

The "cycle of existences," a succession of rebirths that a being goes through within the various modes of existence until liberation is attained. Imprisonment in samsara is conditioned by the three "unwholesome roots": hatred, craving, and delusion. The type of rebirth within samsara is determined by the karma of the being. In the Mahayana, samsara refers to the phenomenal world and is considered to be essentially identical with nirvana. ...
http://www.getsul.co.uk/glossary_s_z.html

external world.
http://www.geocities.com/dnivnd/glossary.html

In Hinduism, the term given to the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
regentsprep.org/Regents/global/vocab/topic.cfm

cycle of rebirth
www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln275/Buddhist-terms.htm

Sanskrit; the cyclic existence of birth, death and rebirth from which nirvana provides liberation.
http://www.geocities.com/mokuraibozu/bu ... ssary.html

The cyclical transmigration or rebirth of souls passing on from one existence to another until release can be achieved. The transmigration of the soul from one level to another. See also Reincarnation.
website.lineone.net/~yogs/dictionary.htm

Cycle of births and deaths. Round of births, In this samsara, there are four forms or states of` embodied existence, human, sub-human, (this includes one sense to four sense living beings and five-sensed animals, beasts and birds), heavenly and hellish. The essence of Samsara is birth, growth, suffering and death.
http://www.geocities.com/bhavna_shah/sh ... ossary.htm

The everyday world of change and suffering, leading to rebirth.
highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0767420438/student_view0/chapter3/glossary.html

The opposite of Nirvana. It is the world we live in now - the world of illusion, .passion; attachment to people and things; multiplicity and differentiation.
http://www.aznewage.com/dictionary%20s.htm

The cycle of conditioned existence based on ignorance and characterized by suffering.
http://www.friendsoftheheart.com/medita ... sary.shtml

The world which is viewed as an ocean of constant life and death.
http://www.northtexashindumandir.org/nt ... uterms.htm

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the endless cycle of birth and suffering and death and rebirth
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, samsara or saṃsāra refers to the concept of reincarnation or rebirth in Indian philosophical traditions.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara

Samsara is a 2001 independent Italy/France/Indian/German film which tells the story of a Buddhist monk's quest to find Enlightenment. The film stars Shawn Ku as the monk Tashi, and Christy Chung as Pema. It was directed by Nalin Pan and written by Pan and Tim Baker.Samsara was awarded "Audience Award for The Most Popular Film" by the 51st Melbourne International Film Festival, among other awards from other festivals.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2001)

[lightning]

I saw Jimi Hendrix eating at Samsara. He isn't here any more with. Thanks for all the research. Now help us find Nirvana ( not Kurt Cobain's) as he isn't here any more either.