A Quick Biography of Jacob Bogatin

Jacob Bogatin, born as Yakov Gershevich Bogatin on August, 13th in 1947. He attended Saratov’s elementary and middle schools. Then he continued his education in Saratov’s Mathematical School. Being in the 9th grade Jacob started a pilot and sky jumping program in Gagarin Aviation School. In 1965 after graduation from high school the young man applied to Cinematography College in Moscow but it was unsuccessful. Later he was accepted in Saratov State University and graduated with physics degree in 1970.

Immediately afterwards Jacob took a junior research post at Saratov State University and got a PhD in Physics. Since then he had established the largest magnetic laboratory in Volga region and equipped it with modern scientific machinery such as: Jeol and Comeca Micro analyzer, Magnetic Spectra analyzer and 500 thousand magnification Electronic microscopes. In 1971 he got married. From 1973 till 1985 the professor published over 100 articles about permanent magnets. In 1978 young fellow invented the powerful ND-Fe-B permanent magnets which are used in electronics, cars and jets nowadays. In 1977 Jacob received a full professorship in physics. Under his leadership many undergraduate students got their PhD’s and became scientists. His relationship with Russian government started worsening right after his mother and sister immigrated to Israel. In 1985 young professor applied for an immigration visa which was denied twice. In 1987 the man finally granted a permission to leave Russia and immigrate to the United States. His family was given 10 days to leave Russia.

In 1987 Bogatin emigrated to the USA and joined the Airspace Company in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. From 1987 to 1988 he had been a manager of magnetic department and built a research center with magnetic laboratory. In 1989 he invented the first Uranium Rare-Earth Metal Magnet along with the Aquanides Magnet.

During 1988-1993 the scientist lectured at UPEN for an undergraduate program.

His children graduated in 1992 and 1998 from UPEN and Haneman University, they got married later on. His daughter has two children, his son has one child.

In 1993 the scholar organized a Magnetic Company to manufacture magnets.

In 1998 Jacob started a green field operation for his daughter and his son-in-law. Moreover, in 2000 he built a 3500 feet medical center with a doctor’s office, radiology and physical therapy departments.

In 2002 he made a decision to issue the first glossy monthly publication for the Russian community in the USA and Canada called The Health Magazine. Five years later the magazine became the only successful periodical with a circulation of over 50,000 copies per month.

In 2002 the scientist was hired by a group of private investors to build a 22000 square feet diagnostic center. In 2003 Radiology department with 25 employees opened its doors to give community an access for the newest technology: Siemens 1.5 tesla short board MRI, 64 slices CT Scan, Dual head Nuclear medicine and many more.

In 2003 the professor opened a Sleep Disorder Center for patients with sleep disorders.

In 2004 Jacob completed a radiation oncology department with a revolutionary IMRT treatment.

In 2005 he opened a cardiovascular department offering revolutionary CTA of heart scan.

In August 2007 the professor celebrated his 60 birthday. His friends prepared him many fascinating presents, but the real star called “Jacob Bogatin” touched his heart most of all.

In October 2007 Jacob Bogatin decided to become a private pilot. At the moment he is attending Hartman Aviation School and has 120 hours of flight time. With an unbelievable energy the scientist wants to prepare himself for a space mission.

Where does this man gain his energy from? He has always been surrounded by young energetic people who always follow him in his ventures. Furthermore, he has a “Jewish lucky umbrella” with him from his Rabbi Grandfather who was annihilated during the Stalin’s régime in September 1937. The professor enjoys life and wants to spend every moment of it improving himself. He never stops combating his bad habits. His favorite expression is: “Goal is achievable with or without luck!!”

Review – Snowden: A Biography

Snowden, Ted Rall, Seven Stories Press, 2015

In graphic novel form, this book looks at the life and motivation of Edward Snowden, one of the most famous, or infamous, people in the world.

Snowden grew up in Maryland, just a few miles from the headquarters of the National Security Agency, or NSA. It was the sort of community where one learns not to ask their neighbor, or their spouse, just what they do for a living; it’s probably secret. An attempt to join the Army after 9/11 was not successful. As a CIA employee, he was stationed for a time in Switzerland. He was exposed to other systems of values, and began to wonder if America was really the “good guys.”

He left the CIA, and joined the NSA, eventually becoming a systems administrator, or sysadmin. He spent some time in Japan, which further removed any notion that America was on the side of the angels. As a sysadmin, he had access to all sorts of classified files that detailed America’s surveillance plans. Whenever he had a chance, he downloaded file after file onto flash drives.

Here are a couple of examples. An NSA program called “Captivated Audience” lets them track you through your smartphone and listen to conversations in your home, even if the phone is Off. “Gumfish” allows the NSA to take a picture of you, at any time, using the camera in your laptop. Smart TVs, those that allow streaming of web content, have a camera that the government can activate at any time to watch anybody (like the telescreens in Orwell’s “1984”).

Now working in Honolulu for an NSA contractor, one day Snowden hopped a taxi to the airport with his flash drives. His next stop was Hong Kong where he leaked his information to a couple of journalists. After the worldwide bombshell, he was planning to fly to Latin America to ask for asylum. While in the air, his passport was revoked. He also knew that if he flew through the airspace of a US ally, the ally would force the plane to land. Snowden would be arrested, handed over to American authorities and “disappeared” (like Bradley/Chelsea Manning). Snowden got as far as Moscow, where he remains today.

Say what you will about Edward Snowden (he is a hero or he is a traitor), this is an excellent, and very easy to read, look at why he did what he did. It’s very highly recommended.

Howard Hughes: America’s Notorious Bisexual Billionaire

Howard Hughes: Hell’s Angel

America’s Notorious Bisexual Billionaire

By Darwin Porter

Blood Moon Productions, April 2005, hardbound, $26.95

814 pages, ISBN# 0-9748118-1-5, with 175 vintage photos

When Howard Hughes (now known to movie fans as “The Aviator”) was 18, his father, the mega-wealthy owner of the Hughes Tool Company, found out that his son had homosexual tendencies. Repulsed by the discovery and irritated at behavior he considered disloyal, Howard Senior replaced his existing will with one that would have left his son wealthy but without the autocratic power that he had himself enjoyed. But just a few moments before he could execute the new document, Howard Senior suffered a fatal heart attack in his Houston office.

If he had signed it before his death the history of American aviation, and the history of Hollywood filmmaking, might have been very different.

Before his dad was in the ground, Howard (he never used “Junior” again) tore the new will into shreds and single-mindedly went after the other beneficiaries of his father’s estate, his grandparents and his uncle. “I don’t want to own 75 percent of Toolco,” he told his father’s attorney. “I want to own one-hundred percent so I’ll not have to report to anyone.”

With persuasion, bullying, and something approaching blackmail, he was eventually able to acquire the balance of the outstanding shares thereby gaining complete control. The rest is history. Beholden to no one, with virtually unlimited funds at his disposal, Howard Hughes and his infinite ego set out to create an empire. Three empires actually: Toolco grew without much input from Hughes into a billion dollar company; Hughes Aviation propelled Howard at the forefront of 20th century flight; and Caddo Productions, which later evolved into RKO Pictures, established him as a major filmmaker.

Hollywood biographer Darwin Porter has outdone himself with Hell’s Angel. His previous two intimate portraits, of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, set a new standard for detailed, tell-all biographies. Now, with 814 pages on “America’s Notorious Bisexual Billionaire,” Porter raises the literary bar again. Beginning with his own eavesdropping as a child on the set of Slattery’s Hurricane, where his mother worked as an assistant to both Linda Darnell and Veronica Lake, Porter continued through decades of interviews with literally hundreds of Hughes’ associates, intimate and casual. His own research was bolstered by the extensive unpublished memoirs of his long-time writing partner, the late Stanley Mills Haggart, a former roommate of both Cary Grant and Randolph Scott. (The 15-page index is a veritable encyclopedia of the film industry: from Aherne, Brian to Zanuck, Darryl.)

Because of the very personal nature of this oral history, most of this detail has never seen print before. The press in the 1940s and ’50s, even the nosy Hollywood gossip columnists, could not print the revelations Porter spreads out on these pages. Be warned, he doesn’t expurgate these tales. Sometimes it gets very intimate; I really didn’t need to know about Clark Gable’s smegma problem, for example.

The dictionary has two definitions for the word “profligate.” Howard Hughes personified them both: “completely given up to licentiousness” and “wildly extravagant.” Extravagant, as when he dumped a load of diamonds, rubies and gemstones in the lap of the young Elizabeth Taylor while she lounged by a hotel swimming pool. (She was not impressed.)

And, as with so many rich and powerful men, sex was a constant. Porter documents Hughes’ relationships, all the famous ones, including Ava Gardner, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Gloria Vanderbilt on the distaff side and Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, Robert Taylor and Errol Flynn on the other.

Many of Hughes’s conquests remain nameless. As a heavyweight Hollywood producer he put dozens of would-be actresses, usually teenage lovelies come to California hoping to break into the movies, under contract. Then he’d audition them on his casting couch.

If you’ve seen the movie, now discover the rest of the Howard Hughes story.