Thursday, October 30, 2008

Psychological effects of sexual abuse on children



A reader writes,


This research paper will explore the psychological effects that sexual abuse has on children. We will look at the immediate effects as well as the long-term effects. There will also be a separate focus on the prevalence of sexual abuse in the orthodox Jewish community. Understanding who the perpetrators are and how they are viewed and dealt with by the community as a whole is important to understanding the negative effects of abuse on children. When adults speak up and stand up for the abused, the children know that there are those who care and this will affect their pain and healing directly.

Children are likely targets for sexual predators. Their vulnerability, dependence and trust in the adults around them, makes them easy targets. While predators are not, generally speaking, evil people, they do not realize the long-term consequences of their actions.
Unfortunately, I’ve experienced first-hand the hurt and the pain that can result from sexual abuse. As a result, I have a keen interest in the topic. For reasons that will be discussed, children tend to repress the trauma. Some of the immediate effects of sexual abuse include depression, withdrawal and sadly in some cases, the victim becomes a predator and the cycle is repeated.
Children don’t understand what is happening to them and they keep their feelings locked up inside. The abuse teaches them incorrectly about sex and sexual development. They mature with twisted ideas of sexuality. This unhealthy sexual maturity can cause them to have intimacy problems later on in life.
When a child is sexually abused, he is being violated in the most horrific way possible. This violation teaches the child that he cannot trust the adults in his life. Not only does the child learn not to trust the abuser, but also all the adults who failed to stop it from happening. Children need to be able to trust and feel loved in order to develop normally and healthily. Without adults to trust, the child has no one to turn to for comfort and love. The child may also have difficulty later in life trusting others. This can make for a difficult marriage as well as friendships.
What is child sexual abuse? Unlike other forms of abuse that may fall into the gray areas of somewhere in between abuse and discipline, child sexual abuse is clearly defined and people identify it universally in the same way. As Jon A Shaw writes (The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 217), “Sexual abuse behaviors refer to any sexual behavior which occurs: 1) without consent 2) without equality 3) as a result of coercion. Children legally and by definition of their limited cognitive development and experiences…are not able to give consent.”

Child sexual abuse can occur in many ways, by many different kinds of perpetrators and in many places. Children can be touched inappropriately by a parent, older sibling, teacher, babysitter, neighbor, Pastor or Rabbi. There are also different levels of abuse ranging from simply inappropriate touching and caressing to vaginal and anal rape.
Perpetrators are sometimes strangers but more often than not, they are people the child trusts and knows as evidenced by the data presented by Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet (July 31-Aug 6, 2004), pg 466 that in over 43% percent of child abuse cases the perpetrators were a parent!

A particular point that I wanted to touch on in my research is child sexual abuse in the orthodox Jewish community. Sexual abuse is often a taboo subject in the orthodox world. Some orthodox Jews believe that all Rabbis are holy people who can do no wrong. It certainly cannot be said that there are no holy Rabbis, but there are definitely some Rabbis who ought to have the title taken away from them. There are some Rabbis in orthodox yeshivas that are a disgrace to G-d. They steal the innocence of a child, violating them in the most horrific way possible and ultimately drawing them completely away from Judaism.
One particular case that I am familiar with involved a Rabbi in an Orthodox elementary school who fondled a student in his class. The student became emotionally and psychologically scarred and suffers to this day. The victim also went on to sexually abuse at least one other person.
Unfortunately in the orthodox world, an issue like sexual abuse in yeshivas often gets pushed under the rug. Often, the child is too afraid or embarrassed to tell their parents. The perpetrator may threaten or bribe them. Many times, even when the child finally does work up the courage to tell his parents, they don’t believe him. They can’t begin to imagine how “such a holy man” could do something so unholy. However, all too often, even when a parent does believe their child, once they contact the school to complain to the principal, he denies any such allegations and will do anything to cover up for the Rabbis. Parents are too afraid to go to the police. They’re afraid of making a bad name for themselves in their community.

Although everything I have written in these last few paragraphs is based on firsthand knowledge as well as newspaper accounts, there are little to no sources of information such as journals, surveys or studies available to support this. Some relevant information can be drawn from the study conducted by Rachel Yehuda, Michelle Friedman, Talli Y Rosenbaum, Ellen Labinsky, and James Schmeidler. ("History of Past Sexual Abuse in Married Observant Jewish Women. " The American Journal of Psychiatry 164.11 (2007): 1700-6. ProQuest Medical Library). The study looked at Orthodox Jewish Woman. Of the 380 respondents, 16% reported having been sexually abused before the age of thirteen. These numbers correspond, though not exactly, to those of the general population, 25% reported sexual abuse over lifetime. (“These estimates are consistent with data from several national surveys, in which 25%-27% of women…reported sexual abuse (1012).” "History of Past Sexual Abuse in Married Observant Jewish Women. " The American Journal of Psychiatry 164.11 (2007))

Interestingly enough, in the aforementioned study, more women from Ultra-Orthodox backgrounds reported sexual abuse than those from Modern-Orthodox backgrounds. The point that is most interesting is that in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, the laws regarding sex and inappropriate contact are very complex and strict. In spite of these supposed restrictions, there was still a high percentage of child sexual abuse reported by these Orthodox woman. I make this point because this is a subject that many in the Orthodox community feel uncomfortable addressing but it is important and necessary for the health and safety of the children.

Rachel Lev, in her book, Shine the Light, (Shine the Light: Sexual Abuse and Healing in the Jewish Community, Rachel Lev, Barbara Ash, British Journal of Social Work; Jan 2004; 34, 1; Research Library) discusses how in the Orthodox Jewish community the occurrence of sexual abuse is severely underestimated due to lack of reporting, as well as family and community denial.

Ms. Lev also suggests that a contributing factor to the underestimation of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community is the phenomenon that as Jews have been persecuted and singled out as a minority over the years, they have learned not to draw attention to themselves. This is a problem because if a child is abused and those close to the child hush it up, the child feels betrayed by those who were supposed to love him. This feeling of abandonment will affect the child deeply as he will feel that he has nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. The sexual abuse alone is enough to shake a child to his core; the abandonment by loved ones can only intensify this effect causing the child severe emotional damage.

Children are easy targets of sexual predators for a number of reasons. One reason that is sad to consider is that in a large percentage of reported cases of sexual abuse, the perpetrator is a close relative of the victim. According to National USA Statistics, as quoted by Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet (July 31-Aug 6, 2004), 45.3% of perpetrators were parents. A parent has the easiest access to his\her own children. A parent is also less likely to experience resistance from their own child who trusts them and loves them.
Children are relatively defenseless against adults and they are often lured by promises of games, toys and other decoys to go with the predator (Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet (July 31-Aug 6, 2004) “Playing games with them, and offering them gifts ranging from money and toys to cigarettes and beer ”). Children are often under the impression that adults, in general, know what is right and know what they are doing so if an adult, especially an adult the child is familiar with is doing something, it must be right. Such was the case with Penelope Hollander (Jon A Shaw, The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 217) who was abused by her “loving Father” whom she loved.

Children can also be induced to keep secrets thus allowing a perverse relationship to continue. While a child may feel like something is wrong, they may be too shy or embarrassed to confront the perpetrator or to mention the abuse to another adult.
Children who are sexually abused do not always display overt symptoms right away. However, in many cases the symptoms are there, the cause just may not be apparent. Some immediate symptoms of sexual abuse can include suffering academic performance, behavioral and psychological problems, emotional problems, sexualized behavior, and even suicide (Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet (July 31-Aug 6, 2004), pg 463, Table).

A child who is being sexually abused may hold the thoughts inside due too shame or just because it hurts too much to think about it. As much as he may try to control his thoughts, the abuse will always be there in the back of his mind and he may have difficulty concentrating in school. The child may be screaming inside, wishing he were able to let out his thoughts, the pain, wishing there was somebody he could talk to. Since it is difficult for anyone, especially a child who may be confused by what is happening to him and unsure of what to do, to speak about abuse, he may act out in other ways like rebelling against society, or behaving anti-socially.
When a teacher or parent notices a child acting out, one consideration must be that the child may be abused. If nothing is done, the abuse may continue and the problem will only worsen as the child may feel that nobody cares about him, as he feels more and more emotionally vulnerable and begins to act out even more, withdrawing into himself while his actions are really a cry for help.
In a case where the child is abused by a loved one like a parent, the problems that can arise become much more complicated because the child is torn, torn between love of the parent and hatred of the way the parent is using him/her. “If one is abused by a loving father, one is left with a host of father images which cannot be brought together in a cohesive manner” (Jon A Shaw The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 220). Because the child cannot reconcile the abuse of his father with the love of his father, his development will suffer and he too will end up with a split-off personality (same as above). As a result, he will suffer later in life, especially in relationships of a sexual nature (ie: marriage).
Another terrible result of sexual abuse is that victims often become abusers themselves known as “reactive abuse”( Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet (July 31-Aug 6, 2004) pg 463). Some perpetrators may rationalize that no one is hurt by their actions but this is far from the truth. The amount of hurt and pain that a child can suffer from the abuse cannot be quantified and if the victim becomes an abuser as a result of the abuse they experienced, there will only be more pain.
Another rationalization that may be used by a predator is that it is only a momentary discomfort for the child and no long-term harm will come of it. However, as noted by Jon Shaw: “There is ample evidence that childhood sexual victimization is frequently associated with psychological distress which endures and not infrequently into adulthood” (Jon A Shaw The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 218). Children may suppress memories of abuse for years causing all sorts of emotional, psychological and even social problems.

Prevention is the key to stopping the unending chain of abuse. Parents must not only tell their children to be aware of strangers. They must also educate their children about the dangers of anyone touching them in places that are inappropriate. Some parents think that a child’s ignorance of sexual matters will protect them. Unfortunately, the data indicating percentages of abused children (especially the numbers of abused in the Orthodox Jewish community where children are mostly ignorant of sexual matters) tell a different story.
Concerned parents and educators must know how to spot symptoms and not be afraid to speak up and make sure the child gets the help they need and the perpetrator is stopped. Children should be encouraged to report any touching of “private places”. The main thing is not to push the subject under the rug, but to speak about it, make sure your children and the adults around you are educated on the subject. Only through education can we prevent further victim hood.



Bibliography
1. Jon A Shaw (The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 217)

2. Rachel Yehuda, Michelle Friedman, Talli Y Rosenbaum, Ellen Labinsky, and James Schmeidler. ("History of Past Sexual Abuse in Married Observant Jewish Women. " The American Journal of Psychiatry 164.11 (2007): 1700-6. ProQuest Medical Library).

3. Rachel Lev (Shine the Light: Sexual Abuse and Healing in the Jewish Community, Rachel Lev, Barbara Ash, British Journal of Social Work; Jan 2004; 34, 1; Research Library)

4. National USA Statistics (Charles Felzon Johnson in The Lancet-July 31-Aug 6, 2004)

5. Jon A Shaw (The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 220).

6. Jon A Shaw (The Legacy of Child Sexual Abuse, Fall 2004; 67, 3; ProQuest Psychology Journals pg. 218).

88 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sex isn’t supposed to be taboo, or guilt-inducing. We feel that it should be fun, fulfilling, and liberated.
This is a good thing to check educational sex video

Anonymous said...

Having been battered by my husband it is refreshing to see a study like this which shows there are other people who also have been though the same. I used to feel like it was just me. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Anonymous said...

Pope may freeze Pius XII sainthood process - rabbi

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Thursday told Jewish leaders he was "seriously considering" freezing the sainthood process of his Nazi-era predecessor Pius XII until historical archives can be opened, one Jewish leader said.

Some Jews have accused Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The Vatican says he worked behind the scenes and helped save many Jews from certain death during World War Two.

Rabbi David Rosen, a leader of a Jewish delegation that met the pope on Thursday, said the subject came up in conversations after formal speeches were delivered.

"One member of our delegation told the pope 'please do not move ahead with beatification of Pius XII before the Vatican archives can be made accessible for objective historical analysis' and the pope said 'I am looking into it, I am considering it seriously'," Rosen told reporters.

Beatification is the last step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Some Jews have asked the pope to hold off on beatifying Pius until more information on his papacy can be studied.

Pius did not come up in the formal speeches between the pope and Rosen, but the Jewish leader did repeat a request for the Vatican archives to be open for study.

"We reiterate our respectful call for full and transparent access of scholars to all archival material from the period, so that assessments regarding actions and policies during this tragic period may have the credibility they deserve both within our respective communities and beyond," Rosen told the pope.

FINAL SAY

A Vatican statement said another six or seven years of preparatory work would be needed before the archives on Pius's period could be opened to scholars and the pope would have the final decision.

At issue is whether Benedict should let Pius proceed on the road to sainthood -- which Catholic supporters want -- by signing a decree recognising his "heroic virtues". This would clear the way for beatification.

Benedict has so far not signed the decree -- approved last year by the Vatican's saint-making department, opting instead for what the Vatican has called a period of reflection.

"It is not the business of the Jewish people to tell the Church who its saints are. However, if the Church says, as it does, that it wishes to live in mutual respectful relations with the Jewish people, it is appropriate to expect that there will be consideration for our sensitivities," Rosen said.

The Vatican says while Pius did not speak out against the Holocaust, he worked behind the scenes to help Jews because direct intervention would have worsened the situation by prompting retaliations by Hitler.

Benedict has repeatedly defended Pius, saying he worked "secretly and silently" during World War Two to "avoid the worst and save the greatest number of Jews possible".

The Vatican says he saved several hundred thousand Jewish lives by ordering churches and convents throughout Italy to hide Jews and instructing Vatican diplomats in Europe to give many Jews false passports.

This month, Amos Luzzatto, president emeritus of Italy's Jewish communities, said making Pius XII a saint could open a "wound difficult to heal" between Jews and Catholics.

"I ask myself why Pius didn't do the same thing to call European Catholics to action. These are questions that haunt us Jews," he said.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's Bedside: 'Miracles and Salvations'
Cheshvan 1, 5769, 30 October 08 03:33
by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Family members and doctors caring for former Israel Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu are receiving special gifts in return for their devotion, the son of the elderly Torah Sage, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu said Thursday morning while describing the events of the past few days.



Rabbi Shmuel, who is the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat, noted that this week in particular has been extremely difficult for the Rishon LeTzion, as his father is called. The former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel had undergone open-heart surgery to save his life following complications that resulted during an angioplasty (heart catheterization procedure).



Rabbi Eliyahu has spent the past six months in Jerusalem's Shaare Tzedek hospital following a heart attack. Although he initially appeared to be recovering, his condition took a turn for the worse, requiring an extended stay.



"The Rabbi was saved from death a third time," his son said simply, explaining that during the procedure, something went badly wrong. He noted that doctors refused to drink water during the 18 hours that followed, during which the surgery took place, "other than to wet their lips. Truly mesirut nefesh (extraordinary self-sacrifice)."



Rabbi Shmuel added, "From moment to moment, and hour to hour, we see miracles and salvations. If all of the people of Israel unite it does something. It's a real prayer," he said in an interview with Arutz-7's Hebrew-language radio program Mitkonenim L'Geula (Preparing for the Redemption).



"Six or seven times the doctor tried to get his heart back to working and it didn't," he continued. "Tens of thousands around the world started to pray for the Rabbi to recover and the heart suddenly started pumping. The doctors find themselves speechless."



He added that his father is still being kept asleep and that he is receiving help with his breathing as well.



The public is encouraged to continue praying for the Rabbi's speedy recovery and well-being. His Hebrew name for this purpose is Rav Mordechai Tzemach ben [son of] Mazal.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128155

Anonymous said...

It is always nice to go to the ritual bath and look at all the fresh young boys. When no one is looking it is the best time to get close and make nice.

Anonymous said...

JERUSALEM — Raised without religion in Maryland, Shannon sought to make a new life for herself as a Jew in Israel.

In a rigorous conversion process, she studied religious law for a year, took a Hebrew name and changed her wardrobe to long skirts and sleeves as dictated by Orthodox Jewish custom. Finally, a panel of rabbis pronounced her Jewish.

But five years later, she and some 40,000 like her have suddenly had their conversions annulled by Israel's Rabbinical High Court. The court says the rabbi who heads a government authority set up to oversee conversions is too liberal in approving them.

The issue, now headed to Israel's Supreme Court, has exposed an intensifying power struggle inside Israel's religious establishment over the age-old question of "who is a Jew." It also threatens to deepen the wedge between Israel and American Jews, who largely follow more liberal schools of Judaism...

Full Article:

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g6Qaum7egs4GtDSgPoobsq_gxEDQ

Anonymous said...

Repent? Please give it up already. I will be elected President by next week. You need to stop attacking my Federal Sex Policies.
-

500 Clerics Pray Obama Repents on 'Federal Sex Policies'
Over 325,000 U.S. Congregations Urged to Join

Anonymous said...

Decades Later, Sex Abuse Survivor Still Recovering

Story Published: Oct 29, 2008 at 6:31 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 29, 2008 at 6:31 PM EDT
YouNews™
By Haley Hinds
Watch the story
13 years ago, Dan Leonard revealed his secret for the first time, a secret that for many years ruined his life. He was abused by a serial pedophile, his football coach, from the age of 11 to 13. Leonard told his story at the Domestic and Sexual Volence Coalition's 19th Annual Report to the Community. For the first time in 19 years, a line up of all male survivors spoke out. "There were many bystanders to the abuse that happened to me, many of them had suspicions but nobody ever spoke up, nobody ever stepped in to help that little boy," said Leonard.

Leonard hopes a full recovery will come one day for him...but he still has to work at it. He admits his teen years were dangerous involving alcoholism and other reckless behavior. "Recovery is difficult but the alternative is keeping your secret and thats much worse," said Leonard.

"Sometimes the numbers flash before your eyes and they don't really have meaning, when you listen to the stories of inidividuals who have survived trauma and the attack on their spirit and soul that both domestic and sexual violence are, you remember what the numbers really mean," said Randi Bregman, Executive Director of Vera House. At least one in ten males will become the victim of sexual assault at some point in their lives, and the Vera House offers counseling and support groups for victims of any type of abuse. You can contact them at 315-468-3260, 24 hours a day, seven days a week for support.



Find this article at:
http://www.wtvh.com/news/local/33539374.html

Anonymous said...

http://lohud.com/article/20081030/NEWS02/810300550/-1/newsfront

Harrison doughnut shop owner indicted on child sex-abuse charges

Rebecca Baker
The Journal News

WHITE PLAINS - A grand jury has indicted the owner of Harrison Donuts on charges that he molested a 14-year-old girl in the doughnut shop's bathroom, according to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.

Kamal Ahmed, a 40-year-old New Rochelle resident, was arraigned in Westchester County Court on three felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and unlawful imprisonment.

Ahmed is accused of following the girl into the bathroom shortly before 8 p.m. on July 30, pinning her to the wall and sexually assaulting her.

The victim fought him off, fled the Halstead Avenue store and reported the incident to authorities, prosecutors say.

Ahmed was arrested a short time later. He is free on $5,000 bail and is facing two-and-a-half to seven years in state prison.

Harrison police said the 14-year-old girl was not raped but would not say if the victim knew the owner or was a regular customer. The unisex bathroom is shared by several stores in the immediate area and is accessible only with a key, police said.

Anonymous said...

Former CEO of Iowa Kosher Meatpacking Plant Is Arrested

By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 31, 2008; A08

The former chief executive of the Iowa kosher meatpacking plant that was the site of a large immigration raid in May was arrested yesterday on federal conspiracy charges involving harboring illegal immigrants for financial gain and aiding and abetting document fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Federal officials allege that Sholom Rubashkin, son of Agriprocessors founder Abraham Aaron Rubashkin, intentionally helped illegal workers obtain false documentation. The new charges come one day after the Iowa labor commissioner fined the company $10 million for wage violations.

The Rubashkins and other company officials were charged Sept. 9 with more than 9,000 misdemeanor violations of state child labor laws over an eight-month period ending with the May 12 raid. The charges involved 32 minors, some younger than 16, who allegedly were exposed to dangerous chemicals and were operating meat grinders, circular saws and other heavy machinery.

During the raid at the Postville plant, among the country's largest suppliers of kosher meat, agents detained 389 undocumented workers. About 300 have pleaded guilty to federal charges of identity theft. Most of those received five months in prison and were ordered deported.

The raid and ensuing group trials became a rallying point for immigrants' rights groups, who decried that no charges had been filed against company owners or top managers. This week, a human resources employee pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and conspiracy charges, and two meatpacking supervisors and another human resources employee are facing criminal charges. Agriprocessors did not return calls.

"For years, Agriprocessors used a broken immigration system to exploit workers and to drive down working conditions, and it appears it's finally caught up," said Scott Frotman, spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which had been organizing at the plant since 2005. "It really does appear the Rubashkins developed their business plan directly from Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle.' I think this shows this behavior was systemic throughout the company's operation."

Since the raid, elected officials, rabbis and labor leaders have visited Postville to gather testimony about unpaid overtime, dangerous working conditions and floor supervisors' taking bribes for jobs.

"Today, we are seeing concrete accountability in Postville, though it should not have taken the destruction of a town and cost more than 5 million taxpayer dollars to get here," said U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.).

Robert Teig, assistant U.S. attorney for the northern district of Iowa, said the investigation, which started more than a year ago, is ongoing.

According to a federal affidavit, Rubashkin, 49, lent a supervisor $4,500 to pay for fake documents for about 40 employees. A worker told federal officials that on May 11, the day before the raid, Rubashkin was present while a large number of new job applications were processed. The source thought that the applications were for workers who were supposed to have been fired for lacking legal documentation.
----------------------------------

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/30/AR2008103004617_pf.html

Anonymous said...

I need to make a few phone calls and everything with the Rubashkin family will be straightened out.

Anonymous said...

I hold the reformeisters and blogmeisters responsible for the downfall of the reputable Rubashkin meat plant.

Anonymous said...

10 million dollars? voht kind of sheker are these meshugoyim saying? I tink dey got the number 10 million from de lawyer who is suing my yeshiveh for de time yidel kolko put his hent in de yingels hoisen.

Anonymous said...

If you or a loved one is battling cancer check this out now.

Singapore Medicine - Breakthrough Development of Cell Therapy Treatment for Cancer

Singapore has embarked on a cell-based clinical trial that may have far-reaching implications for future cancer research and treatments.

Singapore (PRWEB) October 29, 2008 -- Singapore has embarked on a cell-based clinical trial that may have far-reaching implications for future cancer research and treatments.

The trial, currently ongoing, involves up to 35 patients of advanced nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) and will likely be completed in late-2009, says Dr Toh Han Chong, Senior Consultant, Department of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Center (http://www.singaporemedicine.com/hcp/hcp1.asp) (NCC), Singapore.

Explaining the ground-breaking nature of this trial, Dr Toh says, "What we're doing is to extract T-cells from the patient's own blood, then 'educate' these cells to recognize certain viral proteins. These T-cells will be expanded into large numbers in the lab and returned back to the patients to fight the cancer."

T-cells belong to a group of white blood cells (WBCs) called lymphocytes. There are a number of different types of T-cells that act in many ways to identify, directly attack and destroy infectious agents and potentially even cancer cells. Along with other WBCs, they play a major role in the immune system, which guards the body against infection.

Likening the entire operation to growing an army, Dr Toh elaborates, "If we see the T-cells as fresh recruits, what we're trying to do is train them up to recognize a specific enemy. Once this is done, we then build up this fighting force from platoon to battalion to division strength. When they reach the battle field, they would know how to 'seek and destroy' the enemy while sparing the innocents in their midst."

The T-cell therapy (http://www.singaporemedicine.com/leadingmedhub/leadingmedhub1.asp) process itself is logistically simple for the patient. All that is needed is about 350 ml of blood, about the volume of a coca-cola can. The culturing of T-cells will take a few months and the programmed new cells will be returned over a series of intravenous infusions. It is hoped that this process, coupled with a course of chemotherapy, will significantly extend survival rates.

According to Dr Toh, nasopharyngeal cancer was selected for two reasons: It is the sixth commonest cancer in Singapore, and is endemic in southern China and South East Asia. It also has a detectable weakness - Epstein-Barr related viral proteins are expressed on the surface of NPC cancer cells, which are useful as therapeutic targets.

Epstein-Barr virus or EBV is a member of the herpes virus family. Most people become infected with it at some point in their lives. Of those affected, the majority suffer nothing more than mild afflictions, such as fever, sore throat or swollen lymph glands. However, some carriers of the virus eventually develop nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or cancer.

To date, only two studies have been done on using T-cells to fight NPC (http://www.singaporemedicine.com/leadingmedhub/leadingmedhub1.asp). The first was done by the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, while the second was done in Pavia, Italy.

"Singapore is extremely well-placed to perform this trial because NPC is so common in Asia. We can truly become a hub of excellence in this area," says Dr Toh, whose clinical and research team is in frequent contact with the Centre for Cell and Gene Therapy in Houston.

"We are very grateful to be partnering the Centre for Cell and Gene Therapy. They are actively involved with us in ramping up capabilities, technologies, clinical trials development using adoptive T-cells to fight NPC. Conventional chemotherapy alone for patients with advanced NPC does not provide a cure. This is an alternative new treatment strategy," said Dr Toh.

Dr Toh's team, comprising scientists, clinicians, clinician-scientists, researchers and trained nurses, will build up a bench-to-bedside T-cell therapy facility, which is arguably the only one of its kind in Asia.

"T-cell therapy will provide Singapore with a unique opportunity to distinguish ourselves in the region, if not the world. We have the manpower, regulatory framework, infrastructure, the training and the resources, and we are ready to proceed," says Dr Toh.

About National Cancer Centre

National Cancer Centre (NCC) offers comprehensive cancer treatment (http://www.singaporemedicine.com/healthcaredest/healthcaredest1.asp) with a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team comprising medical specialists, nurses, counselors and other paramedical professionals to meet the special needs of cancer patients. The Centre uses the latest technologies in cancer treatment to help patients access proven innovative therapies for the best clinical outcomes. PCC's commitment is to provide a comprehensive holistic treatment of cancers in a safe and comfortable environment, where patients are attended to by caring and experienced staff. (www.parkwaycancercentre.com)

About the SingaporeMedicine Initiative

Launched in 2003, SingaporeMedicine is a multi-agency government-industry partnership committed to strengthening Singapore's position as Asia's leading medical hub and international health care destination (http://www.singaporemedicine.com).

Led by the Ministry of Health of Singapore, SingaporeMedicine is supported by three government agencies: the Economic Development Board, which develops industry capabilities, the International Enterprise Singapore, which fosters regionalism by Singapore-based health care players, and the Singapore Tourism Board, which markets Singapore as a healthcare destination to inbound international patients and develops associated people-oriented services. (www.singaporemedicine.com)

Anonymous said...

We need to issue some Hazmana's here. What a chilul hashem that the feds bust Sholom Rubashkin, put him in handcuffs, and make a mockery of good people who never even hurt a cat.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2008/10/ex-manager-of-i.html

(Sholom Rubashkin, former manager of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, is escorted into federal court in Cedar Rapids. Photo by Jonathan D. Woods of the Iowa City Gazette via AP.)

Anonymous said...

Wow! 221 over 25 years is a pretty big accomplishment. In my 40+ years of molesting little boys you can just imagine how many scores I have achieved over that time span.
---------------------------------
KUSA - A convicted sex offender who claims to have molested 221 children over a 25-year period says the easiest targets were children whose parents were not active in their lives.

"The kinds of boys who were really easy to target and to get into those situations were boys who were fairly passive and who didn't have a lot of self confidence to start with and who didn't spend a lot of time doing things with their families," said Mark.

9NEWS agreed to call the man Mark, at his request. Mark told 9Wants to Know that while he has been open about his life to most family and his boss, he worries victims could be re-traumatized if his identity is revealed.

Mark, a former music teacher, says he used music to get to victims.

"I twisted it around as away to get access to boys and to control them," Mark told 9Wants to Know. "I was grooming those children to do what I wanted."

He would have extra music rehearsals with boys to be alone with them one-on-one.

"I could (use the lessons for) physical touching, often disguised as 'open your mouth wider' or 'use your stomach more.' I would touch them in places that might have otherwise been questionable to them," said Mark. "The more I did that the easier it was to do more."

"In many cases it took only a few weeks or months at most before I would actually have them at least partially nude on my bed," Mark said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Mark says he sought out boys because they were easier victims. He says he also molested a small number of girls early on, but found them more difficult to seduce. He says his oldest victim was 19 years old and his youngest was 8 to 10 years old.

He would ask the boys to help him clean out his garage or invite them to a local swimming pool.

"It was very easy to bring up the subject of sex. They were always interested. Nobody ever said, 'I don't like sex,'" Mark said.

"Anytime I brought that up and I had something to stimulate them, it was a great opening. I could say, 'Have you ever tried this?' All of that was not so much to tell them what to do, but to desensitize them to the point where, 'I'm with my teacher, I can do these things. I can talk about these things. I shouldn't be shocked,'" Mark said.

Mark wanted to tell his story because he believes parents can learn from his crimes. He says he'd target children who did not get attention from their parents.

"I paid total 100 percent attention to whatever the boy was saying. You could just see the energy build up behind his eyes when he knew you were really listening. You weren't just waiting until he stopped talking to tell him what to do," Mark said.

Mark says one way parents can do to stop people like him is to question adults' motives.

"The thing that still amazes me, I never ever recall a single occasion where a parent of a boy I was targeting this way ever came to my house, ever came to see where it was that I was taking him," Mark told 9NEWS. "If they had, it would have terrified me to death."

"Even if they would have just brought him over and said, 'Hey, can I see your house?' It would have been very disturbing and frightening to me that they were suspicious and I probably would have stopped," he said.

Child predator expert Mike Harris with Jefferson County District Attorney's office says parents should listen to Mark's words.

"He said something very empowering to parents. He said if they came by and checked, it would have scared them," said Harris.

Harris says parents can do three things to help keep their children safe.

"Make some un-routine stops if your kid is taking voice lessons. Go up and say, 'I want to see how lessons are going.' That puts them off guard," Harris said.

Harris also says parents should look through their children's computers, cell phones, and bedrooms. Don't consider it snooping; consider it caring, Harris says. He believes parents should start when children are young so they expect it.

He also says parents can set boundaries for children such as not allowing them to ride in a car alone with a coach or group leader.

Mike says most of his 221 victims were from the East Coast, but some of them lived in Colorado.

He spent 18-and-a-half years in prison after one of his victims told police about him in 1987. He was never charged with abusing many of the children he claims to have victimized. He was released from prison in 2006 and is currently in a court-ordered re-entry program.

Mark says he has not molested a child since he went to prison. He says he is remorseful about his crimes.

If you would like suggestions on how to talk to your kids about abuse, you can read more at the Front Range Center for Assault Prevention Web site (http://www.frontrangecap.org/about.html) or read up on small steps you can do at http://www.ehow.com/how_8552_talk-kids-about.html.

9NEWS has also streamed Mark's entire interview with investigative reporter Jace Larson in four sections. They are linked on the right side of this story.

If you would like to comment on this story, send an e-mail to investigative reporter Jace Larson at jace.larson@9news.com.

Anonymous said...

It is not my fault boys and girls make me molest them.
---------------------------

Midvale cops: Accused molester blames 8-year-old girl
By Steve Gehrke
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Launched: 10/31/2008 08:16:55 AM MDT

Posted: 7:16 AM- Midvale police arrested a 27-year-old man Thursday night, a month after he allegedly sexually abused his girlfriend's 8-year-old daughter -- and then blamed the incident on the child.
The man volunteered to put his girlfriend's daughter to bed. As he was doing so, he got into the bed with the girl and began to touch her in sexual ways, according to an affidavit filed with the Salt Lake County jail.
When interviewed about the crime, the man blamed the 8-year-old girl and said she had moved his hands onto her body.
The man was booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child - both first-degree felonies. He is being held without bail.

Anonymous said...

Bank says Agriprocessors defaulted on loan

Associated Press
1:30 PM CDT, October 31, 2008

IOWA CITY, Iowa - A St. Louis-based bank is seeking all of Agriprocessors' collateral, claiming the slaughterhouse defaulted on a $35 million loan.

First Bank says in a lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids that Agriprocessors overstated how much money it has available and that the company hasn't met its loan payments.

The suit names Agriprocessors owner Aaron Rubashkin, his son and former CEO Sholom Rubashkin and slaughterhouses in Postville, Iowa, and Gordon, Neb. In addition to livestock and plant equipment, the suit includes the Rubashkins' personal property as collateral.

If the bank prevails, the suit says it will hold foreclosure sales of the company's assets.

Agriprocessors's Postville plant was the site of a May Immigration raid that resulted in 389 arrests.

Anonymous said...

Better that some talmidim in my yeshivah get sexually and physically abused then to admit such a thing and cause a big chillul hashem. My hashkafa is this is good chinuch.

Anonymous said...

Most of the folks that I come across don't seem too concerned about the Rabashkin scandal. This is surprising. One would think ethical and moral standards should be at the forefront of every orthodox Jew. But to have the a major kosher slaughterhouse practice thievery, deceit, manipulation, and trickery; it is kind of is a reality check. The ones who shrug off these inexcusable acts at Agriprocessors are just as culpable as the culprits themselves.

Anonymous said...

John McCain has served our nation with extraordinary distinction for more than 40 years. But his best service should be yet to come. He understands where America has been, where it is today, and where it must go to fulfill its potential. His proven courage, experience, knowledge, judgment and capacity for working across party lines make him the best choice for the presidency on Tuesday.

Mr. McCain's habit of delivering blunt "straight talk" represents a refreshing departure from modern political spin. For a quarter century in the U.S. House (1983-87) and Senate (1987-now), the Arizona Republican has applied sound principles of fiscal responsibility and strong national defense on a case-by-case basis.

The self-proclaimed "maverick" has dared to be his own man by taking unpopular positions on tough topics that sent most politicians retreating toward pandering generalizations. He repeatedly, and accurately, points out that he will win no "Miss Congeniality" awards from fellow federal lawmakers — due in large part to his relentless opposition to wasteful "pork" spending.

He has drawn the ire of presidents from his own party and ideological purists on the right by deviating from Republican orthodoxy. Yet his voting record affirms his credentials as a common-sense conservative. And any fair assessment of his record will affirm his prescience over a wide array of difficult issues.

Campaign propaganda to the contrary, Sen. McCain has often opposed President Bush on both the domestic and foreign fronts. He has consistently urged the president to veto spending bills filled with "earmarks" that lacked sufficient legislative scrutiny. He has rightly opposed the folly of wasteful agricultural and ethanol subsidies. He correctly warned, two years ago, that insufficient regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac risked a colossal mortgage-industry meltdown.

He was an early critic of the failure to send enough troops to Iraq to consolidate our initial victory in the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein from power. Along with trusted Senate colleague and close friend Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sen. McCain was an early and ardent advocate for a "surge" of U.S. troop levels in Iraq, an overdue move President Bush finally ordered in the spring of 2007.

At that time, prominent Democrats in Congress — including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, now his party's presidential nominee — predicted that such an increase in American forces would fail. A few months later, with the surge's outcome still in doubt, most pundits decreed that Sen. McCain's bid for the GOP presidential nomination already had failed. The Democrats were wrong about the surge. The pundits were wrong about the nomination.

Even Sen. McCain's detractors must acknowledge that he has shown remarkable backbone by bucking his party's base on many controversial issues, including:

Illegal immigration: He recognizes it as a problem that demands comprehensive reform, not just a border fence.

Judicial appointments: Along with Sen. Graham, he helped forge a compromise that broke a senatorial stalemate blocking President Bush's court nominees.

Man-made climate change: He recognizes it as a real threat that must be addressed.

Torture of terror suspects: He vigorously criticized the administration for condoning interrogation abuses that undermine our nation's moral standing.

Such bold stands have given Sen. McCain considerable credibility as a powerful force for cross-party cooperation.

We are impressed by Sen. Obama's positive ability to inspire a broad range of Americans, and by his historic role as our nation's first black major-party presidential nominee. But he falls far short of Sen. McCain on the decisive question of experience — an especially critical consideration in regard to foreign policy.

And though Sen. Obama promises to foster bipartisan accords, unlike Sen. McCain he has not taken on his party's base. Sen. Obama chides Sen. McCain for frequently supporting President Bush. However, Sen. Obama has voted with his party's leadership at an even higher rate. His 2007 voting record was deemed the most liberal in the Senate by the National Journal, which is not a right-wing publication.

Most of Sen. Obama's positions fall well to the left of the national mainstream, including his push to provide "tax cuts" for many Americans who pay no income tax now. Sen. McCain's prescription for the ailing economy includes tax relief, but it's based on practical, free-market fundamentals rather than counterproductive attempts to "spread the wealth."

Sen. McCain proposes reforming health care via private-sector incentives. Sen. Obama proposes public-sector mandates.

Sen. McCain favors free trade. Sen. Obama increasingly backs protectionism.

Sen. McCain strongly supports school choice. Sen. Obama, despite some lip service, does not.

Sen. McCain has long pushed for entitlement reform. Sen. Obama has not.

Sen. McCain would appoint constitutional constructionists to the federal bench. Sen. Obama would appoint liberal activists.

With strengthened Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate certain, a victory for Sen. Obama would assure a lopsided edge for liberal government.

A victory for Sen. McCain would assure needed balance between a conservative president and a liberal Congress. More importantly, it would assure a steady, capable and brave hand to guide us through the looming crises sure to come.

As for concerns about Sen. McCain's age (he turned 72 in August), he has kept a demanding campaign schedule and has routinely kept his lively 96-year-old mother nearby to remind voters that he comes from a family known for healthy longevity. Similar worries were expressed about Winston Churchill, nearly 77 when he began his final stint as British prime minister in 1951, and Ronald Reagan, 17 days shy of his 70th birthday when he became U.S. president in 1981. That's awfully good septuagenarian company.

And despite misinformed assertions that Sen. McCain would too quickly choose military options, the former Navy fighter pilot knows far better than most that the horror of war should always be a last resort.

His reputation for courage long preceded his first run for office. He gallantly endured more than five years as a prisoner of war, including torture, after being shot down over Hanoi. He refused to accept early release after his communist captors discovered his father was the U.S. Pacific commander.

John McCain has demonstrated a strong commitment to principle in the political arena, too. His exemplary qualifications for the White House are clear.

Anonymous said...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3616247,00.html
----------------------------------

Rabbi Yosef: Woman can be prime minister

In response to query regarding women in public rule, Shas' spiritual leader gives clear detailed answer saying that in principle, 'if she conducts herself with dignity and strengthens religion more than other male candidate, we must elect the woman'

Anonymous said...

Religious leaders indicted over false ordinations

Ten defendants, including Rabbinate bureau chiefs, charged with operating 'colleges' that falsely ordained 1,500 officers of security forces, who received pay raise from State due to rabbinical certification
Aviad Glickman

Ten leaders of the religious community were indicted Sunday in the ongoing case against hundreds of fraudulently ordained rabbis of the IDF and other security forces. The defendants include the bureau chiefs of both Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and former Chief Rabbi Meir Lau.


IDF Demands Money Back
Fictitious IDF rabbis to refund military expenses / Hanan Greenberg
Army officers accused of fraudulently presenting themselves as rabbis in order to solicit pay raise ordered to refund army's expenses on their salaries. Some face disciplinary action, others may face criminal charges
Full Story
The 10 have been indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and blackmail for fraudulently ordaining various officers and military men as rabbis.


The Jerusalem District Prosecutor's Office is claiming that some of the defendants established various "colleges" throughout Israel between the years 1999-2003, in which officers of security forces studied for a few hours a week, for up to two years.


Then, by collaborating with the director of ordinations at the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the defendants obtained documents for the officers certifying five years of studies.


The fraudulent paperwork was then submitted to the different organizations employing the officers – including the police, the IDF, and the Prison Service – which then granted the officers a pay raise. Around 1,500 officers received a pay raise of up to NIS 4,000 (approximately $1,200) a month.


The prosecution further claims that most of the certificates were transferred to the students at the colleges by a number of mediators, among them Meir Rosenthal, Metzger's bureau chief, who is
suspected of swiping millions in the process. The certificates were issued by the Chief Rabbinate's director of ordinations, Yitzhak Ohana.


In August, the IDF announced that it would demand the fictitious rabbis refund the money they received on top of their regular paycheck. In addition, the State is expected to indict hundreds of the falsely ordained officers on criminal charges for receiving illegal pay benefits.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3616443,00.html

Anonymous said...

I know they are keeping tabs on me. Shlomo Mandel informed me some lawyer is poking around and asking a lot of questions.


Clergy sex-abuse victims keep tabs on fallen priests
By Lane Lambert And Elizabeth Crowley
The Patriot Ledger
Posted Nov 01, 2008 @ 03:45 AM
QUINCY —

Jeffrey Scolamiero of Pembroke knows where defrocked priest Ernest E. Tourigney lives, even what kind of car he drives.

Alexa MacPherson of Holbrook keeps similar tabs on the Rev. Peter S. Kanchong, who was first suspended from public ministry in 1983 after he was sentenced to probation on charges he molested a 9-year-old girl. MacPherson, now 33, was that girl.

She and Scolamiero – who said Tourigney molested him when he was a boy at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Weymouth – keep an eye on priests who sexually molested children because, they say, the Archdiocese of Boston doesn’t.

“They don’t do anything, really,” MacPherson said.

Archdiocese officials strongly disagree. A church representative stays in contact with priests who are restricted from ministry for confirmed reports of abuse, said Ann Carter, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese.

“The archdiocese is committed to fulfilling its responsibility to protect children at all times,” a statement from the archdiocese to The Patriot Ledger said. “We remain dedicated to providing support to survivors and all people who have suffered as a result of clergy sexual abuse.”

Under pressure from former Attorney General Tom Reilly, the archdiocese agreed in 2002 to oversee priests who have been taken out of parishes for molesting youngsters. But despite attempts by The Patriot Ledger for several weeks to get more information about the nature of the supervision – for example, who is doing the monitoring and whether it involves regular phone calls or visits to the priests’ homes – church officials declined to be more specific.

They also declined a request to interview church officials about the supervision program. And the archdiocese did not respond to requests for the number of priests currently listed as restricted or on administrative leave.

To read The Patriot Ledger’s report on suspended and defrocked priests living on the South Shore, go to patriotledger.com. To see what policies and procedures the Boston Archdiocese has in place to protect children, go to ww.rcab.org/ChildAdvocacy/HomePage.

Because the statute of limitations ran out on most allegations of sexual abuse by priests, state and local law enforcement have no supervisory authority over suspended priests.

“How well they (church officials) are doing (in monitoring priests) is beyond our information,” Attorney General Martha Coakley said. She said there’s no requirement for the archdiocese to share reports about suspended priests with her office.

No one is responsible for keeping watch over defrocked priests like Tourigney.

“They don’t have to register (as sex offenders),” Scolamiero said. “The church just let them go out and be free. It’s absolutely wrong.”

Six years after the clergy sex abuse scandal came to light – and after paying $85 million to settle hundreds of civil lawsuits – the archdiocese screens all priests, employees and volunteers who work with children in Catholic schools and parishes, church officials said. But some victims and their supporters say the archdiocese is still shielding accused or admitted pedophile priests, by keeping their whereabouts confidential.

James Sullivan, 68, of Duxbury, is a practicing Catholic who has tried to get the archdiocese to open up about where suspended priests are now. He’s gotten nowhere, he said.

“The church hides behind a lot of legalese but they are being complicit again, by not making public information about these priests, they are enabling abusers to abuse again,” he said.

In a prepared statement, the archdiocese said it promptly reports allegations of abuse by clergy to local police and district attorneys’ offices. When priests who are suspended for investigation or are convicted of sex abuse, their names are made public. Priests are also publicly identified when they’re defrocked.

Church officials say they continue to consider whether to go public with more information about accused and restricted priests. One major concern, they say, is giving the accused due process while still protecting children and supporting victims.

Coakley said she sympathizes with clergy victims, but state law can’t require that their abusers’ names and addresses be made public unless they’re registered sex offenders.

“Unless the archdiocese does it, there’s no way to do it,” Coakley said.

Lane Lambert may be reached at llambert@ledger.com.

Anonymous said...

Camp counselor arrested on sex abuse charges

Police fear there could be more victims
By Jeff Kirsch

Thirty five year old Aaron Munter is jailed on one count of encouraging child sex abuse. The investigation started when a child reported Munter had shown him porn on a computer at the Salem camp where Munter was a counselor. A search warrant turned up child porn evidence at his home in Aloha. The camp were Munter taught is a computer camp. " Because of his position as a counselor, wer're concerned he could have had contact with other children." says Washington County Sheriffs Sergeant David Thompson.

Anonymous said...

www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-foi-slaughterhous,0,1197158.story
chicagotribune.com
E-mails show governor's office responding to raid

By HENRY C. JACKSON

Associated Press Writer

9:08 AM CST, November 2, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa

Word of the raid in Postville came just minutes before the first call from the media.

It was just after 10 a.m. on May 12, and the staff of the governor's office had precious little time to digest the news.

Staffers scrambled to respond.

"I am sure we are going to need a statement on this. Can someone work with me on details/statement/TPs (talking points)? This is the first I am hearing of this," the governor's communications director, Brad Anderson wrote at 10:17 a.m. on May 12, under the subject line "Immigration raid in Postville."

E-mails and internal communications obtained by The Associated Press using Iowa's public records law portray the governor's staff as quick to grasp the scope and importance of the raid at the Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville. It led to the arrest of 389 workers on Immigration violations and was the first of several actions taken by federal and state officials that have left the company's future in doubt.

The communications also show the limits of state government's power to respond to a federal operation.

Soon after the raid, according to the documents, Gov. Chet Culver had made Lieutenant Gov. Patty Judge his point person. Within hours, she had convened a working group of top aides from across state government to game out a response.

"We knew the scope pretty quickly," said Ralph Rosenberg, the executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the person Judge tapped to head the working group. "But the thing that was important in our response was that we pulled people together very quickly ... we had Iowa Workforce Development, DHS, the Department of Human Rights, all the directors of these departments together in just a couple of hours."

The biggest question in the hours after the raid was not whether the state should respond, but how.

According to meeting notes of the working group, several approaches were considered, including sending either the lieutenant governor or governor to Postville. That plan was ultimately shelved out of fears it would look like a public relations stunt.

To most involved it was quickly clear that the state's role would be limited, said Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services.

"We had practice with this because of the Swift raid in Marshalltown," Munns said, referring to a July 2007 action at Swift & Co. plants in four states, including Iowa. "When that raid happened we expected a number of calls and they never really came. ... We've learned in these situations we need to be ready but we're not always called upon."

Because most of those directly affected by the raid were illegal immigrants, Munns said, the state could do little to help the workers. And the aid the state could provide, such as taking custody of children whose parents had been arrested, largely wasn't needed.

The governor's staff seemed aware of the perils of appearing to do nothing, however.

In an e-mail sent at noon on the day of the raid, Patrick Dillon, the governor's chief of staff, told another staffer to find out what information could be disseminated to lawmakers -- and to tamp down expectations of extensive state involvement in the raid.

"Clearly their members will be engaged on this -- and I think it would help at the front end to at least make clear to them as soon as possible the limited state role," Dillon wrote in an e-mail to Matt Unger, a top aide to Judge.

By the next day, Dillon looked prescient. Anderson fretted to other aides in an e-mail May 13 about a phone call he had with state Sen. Mark Zieman, whose district includes Postville.

Zieman, "(j)ust called me wondering if the state was doing anything with regards to Postville. I said the LG convened the core group yesterday to develop a gameplan, and he said, 'Yeah, but are they doing anything.' I said I did not know what specific action was being taken, but to call Matt Unger and he could discuss.

"Anyway, before he goes to the press that we aren't doing anything, if Matt, our resident 'young 20-something,' could call him that would be helpful. I don't have his contact info."

The governor's office was also fielding calls for help from local officials.

Molly Clause, a receptionist in the governor's office wrote to two other aides conveying a call from Postville Mayor Robert Penrod: "Mayor is asking for help from the Governor. ... The town is in chaos," she wrote on May 14.

In their response, aides made clear there was little they could do.

"I told (Clause) we would call to get (Clause) calmed down but how do you want to handle this?," Cindy Jones, the governor's constituent services coordinator wrote to Unger.

"I'm not sure," Unger wrote back.

They ultimately decided they could offer Penrod little more than a token response.

"We should respond as a courtesy but maybe direct him to ICE since he is concerned mostly about the legalities???" Jones wrote. "We can also assure him that we are working in an advisory capacity only to make sure humanitarian efforts are done."

"I think that's right," Unger wrote back.

A message left with Penrod asking for comment was not immediately returned.

E-mails show a staffer later asked Judge if she wanted to talk to a reporter. Judge declined because she didn't want to take a critical stand so soon after the raid. That would change in the coming months as Culver spoke out against Agriprocessors and the state took an aggressive approach to the company.

Agriprocessors officials now face charges of child labor law violations and of illegally hiring immigrants. The company also is reeling from a loss of much of its workforce and a lawsuit from a creditor seeking to seize its assets.

Anonymous said...

This pornography never ends. How do we really know children are not making these stories of abuse up? I take this with a grain of salt.
----------------------------------

CBC radio and television reports have earned five nominations for electronic media awards from Beyond Borders, a Winnipeg-based group that combats child exploitation.

The awards, given annually, are for the best stories that raise awareness of child sexual exploitation.

Four CBC reports earned nominations in the category for English-language electronic media:

* Erica Johnson for "Baby Rescue," on The Current, CBC Radio.
* Julian Sher/Joe Media Group for "Hunting the Predators," on Doc Zone, aired on CBC-TV's Newsworld.
* Hana Gartner for "Teacher's Pet," on The Fifth Estate, on CBC-TV.
* Melanie Wood for "School of Secrets," on The Lens, aired on CBC Newsworld.

In the French-language electronic category, a Radio-Canada/CBC report titled "Le déshonneur des Casques Bleus," by Raymonde Provencher, earned a nomination.

It will compete with documentaries from TVA 5 and the National Film Board.

Amid print media, the nominees were:

* Robert Matas's series on polygamy, Globe and Mail.
* Daphne Bramham's "Time to do something about Bountiful," Vancouver Sun.
* Mindelle Jacobs's "A cure for the lure of sex," Edmonton Sun.
* Michael Friscolanti's "A national embarrassment," Maclean's.
* Tu Thanh Hà's "School knew of abuse 20 years before acting, documents allege" and "I don't want to live with the memory of this all my life," Globe and Mail.
* Barbara Kay's "Forgetting the male victims of child abuse," National Post.
* Lianne George, Monique Polak, Kate Lunau, Charlie Gillis and Colin Campbell for "Looks who's watching porn" and "Shouldn't we be fighting back?" Maclean's.
* Simona Siad and Surya Bhattacharya for "Beyond the Shame," Toronto Star.

Anonymous said...

--They can’t begin to imagine how --“such a holy man” could do --something so unholy.

This exactly why we didn't think reb yudel nussbaum can possibly be a child molester. He is a very holy man. We didn't know. We refused to believe.

Anonymous said...

http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2008/11/jews-are-stupidest-people.html

Forward to all your contacts ASAP said...

To Barack Obama,
The New York Times carried a story on Saturday, October 4, 2008, that proved
you had a significantly closer relationship with Bill Ayers than what you
previously admitted. While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the
greater concern is that you lied to America about it.

The Chicago Sun reported on May 8, 2008, that FBI records showed that you
had a significantly closer relationship with Tony Rezko than what you
previously admitted. In the interview, you said that you only saw Mr. Rezko
a couple of times a year. The FBI files showed that you saw him weekly.
While the issue of your relationship is of concern, the greater concern is
that you lied to America about it.

Your speech in Philadelphia on March 18, 2008, about "race" contradicted
your statement to Anderson Cooper on March 14 when you said that you never
heard Reverend Wright make his negative statements about white America.
While your attendance at TrinityChurch for 20 years is of concern, the
greater concern is that you lie d to America on March 14.

In your 1st debate with John McCain, you said that you never said that you
would meet with the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and North Korea
without "preparations" at lower levels ... Joe Biden repeated your words in
his debate with Sarah Palin ... while the video tape from your debate last
February clearly shows that you answered "I would" to the question of
meeting with those leaders within 12 months without "any" preconditions.
While your judgment about meeting with enemies of the USA without
pre-conditions is of concern, the greater concern is that you lied to
America in the debate with McCain.

On July 14, 2008, you said that you always knew that the surge would work
while the video tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you stated
that the surge would not work. While your judgment about military strategy
as a potential commander-in-chief is of concern, the greater concern is that
you lied to America on July 14.

You now claim that your reason for voting against funding for the troops was
because the bill did not include a time line for withdrawal, while the video
tapes of you from more than a year ago show that you voted against
additional funding because you wanted our troops to be removed immediately
... not in 16 months after the 2008 election as you now claim. While your
judgment about removing our troops unilaterally in 2007 is of concern, the
greater concern is that you lied to America about your previous position.

You claim to have a record of working with Republicans while the record
shows that the only bill that you sponsored with a Republican was with Chuck
Lugar ... and it failed. The record shows that you vote 97% in concert with
the Democrat party and that you have the most liberal voting record in the
Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of the time in your votes and those
13% were only after agreement from the Democrat party. While it is of
concern that you fail to include conservatives in your actions and that you
are such a liberal, the greater concern is that you distorted the truth.

In the primary debates of last February, 2008, you claimed to have talked
with a "Captain" of a platoon in Afghanistan "the other day" when in fact
you had a discussion in 2003 with a Lieutenant who had just been deployed to
Afghanistan. You lied in that debate.

In your debates last spring, you claimed to have been a "professor of
Constitutional law" when in fact you have never been a professor of
Constitutional law. In this last debate, you were careful to say that you
"taught a law class" and never mentioned being a "professor of
Constitutional law." You lied last spring.

You and Joe Biden both claimed that John McCain voted against additional
funding for our troops when the actual records show the opposite. You
distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted against funding for alternate
energy sources 20 times when the record shows that John McCain specifically
voted against funding for bio fuels, especially corn ... and he was right
.... corn is too expensive at producing ethanol, and using corn to make
ethanol increased the price of corn from $2 a bushel to $6 a bushel for
food. You distorted the truth.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted like both of you for a tax
increase on those making as little as $42,000 per year while the voting
record clearly shows that John McCain did not vote as you and Joe Biden. You
lied to America.

You and Joe Biden claim that John McCain voted with George W. Bush 90% of
the time when you know that Democrats also vote 90% of the time with the
President (including Joe Biden) because the vast majority of the votes are
procedural. You are one of the few who has not voted 90% of the time with
the president because you have been missing from the Senate since the day
you got elected. While your absence from your job in the Senate is of
concern, the greater concern is that you spin the facts.

You did not take an active role in the rescue plan. You claimed that the
Senate did not need you while the real reason that you abstained was because
of your close relationships with the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,
Countrywide, and Acorn ... who all helped cause the financial problems of
today ... and they all made major contributions to your campaign. While your
relationship with these executives and your protection of them for your
brief 3 years in the Senate (along with Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Maxine
Waters, and Chris Dodd) is of concern, the greater concern is that you are
being deceitful.

You forgot to mention that you personally represented Tony Rezko and Acorn.
Tony Rezko, an Arab and close friend to you, was convicted of fraud in
Chicago real estate transactions that bilked millions of tax dollars from
the Illinois government for renovation projects that you sponsored as a
state senator ... and Acorn has been convicted of voter fraud, real estate
sub prime loan intimidation, and illegal campaign contributions. Tony Rezko
has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to your political
campaigns. You personally used your political positions to steer money to
both Tony Rezko and Acorn and you used Acorn to register thousands of phony
voters for Democrats and you. While your relationships with Rezko and Acorn
are of concern, the greater concern is that you omitted important facts
about your relationships with them to America.

During your campaign, you said: "typical white person." "They cling to their
guns and religion." "They will say that I am black." You played the race
card. You tried to label any criticism about you as racist. You divide
America.

You claim that you will reduce taxes for 95% of America, but you forgot to
tell America that those reductions are after you remove the Bush tax
reductions. You have requested close to $1 billion in earmarks and several
million for Acorn. Your social programs will cost America $1 trillion per
year and you claim that a reduction in military spending ($100 billion for
Iraq) can pay for it. While your economic plan of adding 30% to the size of
our federal government is of concern, the greater concern is that you are
deceiving America.

The drain to America's economy by foreign supplied oil is $700 billion per
year (5% of GDP) while the war in Iraq is $100 billion (less than 1% of
GDP). You voted against any increases to oil exploration for the last 3
years and any expansion of nuclear facilities. Yet today, you say that you
have always been for more oil and more nuclear. You are lying to America.

Mr. Obama, you claimed that you "changed" your mind about public financing
for your campaign because of the money spent by Republican PACs in 2004. The
truth is that the Democrat PACs in 2004, 2006, and 2008 spent twice as much
as the Republican PACs (especially George Soros and MoveOn.org). You are
lying to America.

Mr. Obama, you have done nothing to stop the actions of the teachers union
and college professors in the USA. They eliminated religion from our
history. They teach pro gay agendas and discuss sex with students as young
as first grade. They bring their personal politics into the classrooms. They
disparage conservatives. They brainwash our children. They are in it for
themselves ..... not America. Are you reluctant to condemn their actions
because teachers/professors and the NEA contribute 25% of all money donated
to Democrats and none to Republicans? You are deceiving America.

Oh, Mr. Obama, Teddy Roosevelt said about a hundred years ago that we
Americans should first look at the character of our leaders before anything
else.

Your character looks horrible. While you make good speeches, motivating
speeches, your character does not match your rhetoric. You talk the talk,
but do not walk the walk.

1. You lied to America. You lied many times. You distorted facts. You parsed
your answers like a lawyer.
2. You distorted the record o f John McCain in your words and in your
advertisements.
3. You had associations with some very bad people for your personal
political gains and then lied about those associations.

4. You divide America about race and about class.
Now let me compare your record of lies, distortions, race baiting, and
associations to John McCain: War hero. Annapolis graduate with "Country
first." Operational leadership experience like all 43 previously elected
presidents of the USA as a Navy officer for 22 years. 26 years in the
Senate. Straight talk. Maverick. 54% of the time participated on bills with
Democrats. Never asked for an earmark. The only blemish on his record is his
part in the Keating 5 debacle about 25 years ago.

Mr. Obama, at Harvard Law School, you learned that the end does not justify
the means. You learned that perjury, false witness, dishonesty, distortion
of truth are never tolerated. Yet, your dishonesty is overwhelming. Your
dishonesty is tremendously greater than the dishonesty that caused the
impeachment and disbarment of Bill Clinton. Your dishonesty is tremendously
greater than the dishonesty of Scooter Libby. You should be ashamed.

Mr. Obama, it is time for us Americans to put aside our differences on
political issues and vote against you because of your dishonest character.
It is time for all of us Americans to put aside our political issues and
vote for America first. It is time for America to vote for honesty.

Any people who vote for you after understanding that you are dishonest
should be ashamed of themselves for making their personal political issues
more important than character. Would these same people vote for the
anti-Christ if the anti-Christ promised them riches? Would they make a
golden calf while Moses was up the mountain? Would they hire someone for a
job if that someone lied in an interview? Of course not. So why do some of
these people justify their votes for you even though they know you are
dishonest? Why do they excuse your dishonesty? Because some of these people
are frightened about the future, the economy, and their financial security
.... and you are preying on their fears with empty promises ... and because
some (especially our young people) are consumed by your wonderful style and
promises for "change" like the Germans who voted for Adolf Hitler in 1932.
The greed/envy by Germans in 1932 kept them from recognizing Hitler for who
he was. They loved his style. Greed and envy are keeping many Americans from
recognizing you ... your style has camouflaged your dishonesty .... but many
of us see you for who you really are ... and we will not stop exposing who
you are every day, forever if it is necessary.

Mr. Obama, you are dishonest. Anyone who votes for you is enabling
dishonesty.
Mr. Obama, America cannot trust that you will put America first in your
decisions about the future.
Mr. Obama, you are not the "change" that America deserves. We cannot trust
you.
Mr. Obama, You are not ready and not fit to be commander-in-chief.
Mr. Obama, John McCain does not have as much money as your campaign to
refute all of your false statements. And for whatever reasons, the
mainstream media will not give adequate coverage or research about your
lies, distortions, word parsing, bad associations, race baiting, lack of
operational leadership experience, and generally dishonest character. The
media is diverting our attention from your relationships and ignoring the
fact that you lied about those relationships. The fact that you lied is much
more important than the relationships themselves .... just like with Bill
Clinton and Richard Nixon ... Monica Lewinski and Watergate were not nearly
as bad as the fact that those men lied about the events ... false witness
... perjury ... your relationships and bad judgments are bad on their own
.... but your lies are even worse.

Therefore, by copy of this memo, all who read this memo are asked to send it
to everyone else in America before it is too late. We need to do the job
that the media will not do. We need to expose your dishonesty so that every
person in America understands who you really are before election day.

Mr. Obama, in a democracy, we get what we deserve. And God help America if
we deserve you.
Michael Master
McLean, Virginia

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Aviner prohibits double dating

Asked whether activity is allowed in order to observe other person in social environment, rabbi answers, 'It's out of the question, spending time with girls is prohibited.' Instead he suggests 'asking teachers, friends about person'

Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 11.03.08, 07:55 / Israel Jewish Scene

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, whose controversial rulings on relationships and dating have sparked a series of public debates, spoke out against double dating Sunday in a Q&A section of a synagogue pamphlet.



Aviner ruled that a couple on a date should not meet with another couple, be they married or single, even if the reason for such an outing were to observe the other's behavior in a standard social environment.



"It's
Rules Change in Old Age
Rabbi: It's okay to multi-date if you're old / Ynet
Rabbi Aviner: Dating two men simultaneously immoral, unless woman 'running out of time'
Full Story
out of the question," he said, suggesting instead that the interested subject ask friends and teachers about the person they are dating.


In the question and answer section of a pamphlet published by a number of synagogues, the rabbi said meetings between couples was "not allowed", and added that "spending time with a girl is prohibited even if the intention is not just to have fun."


He explained that the Maimonides wrote that no man should marry a woman without seeing her first, in order to make sure the man likes her, but "nothing further with the purpose of enjoyment.


"It is true that you need to talk in order to get to know each other better and make plans, and sometimes long conversations are in order, but that's it!" Rabbi Aviner wrote. "Matchmaking does not endorse prohibited recreation with the Torah's support."


He also claimed that the desire to observe the other person in a social environment was preposterous. "The main thing is how she functions with you. Is she destined for a public relations post?" he asked.


Rabbi Aviner added that many women may be found lacking, but there is no such thing as "an angel without flaws". She could also make progress in many areas after the marriage, he wrote, and "one may hope that with your blessed influence she will get better."


In addition, the Rabbi dismissed the double date as a reliable test. "You cannot judge a person according to one random event, you need to observe his behavior at times of crisis… would you initiate a crisis there?" he asked.


"There is another, better, solution: Find out about her characteristics through people who know her without and within, like teachers or friends, and this will constitute a much more reliable judgment than what you may witness at a double date."

Anonymous said...

and vat about fressing asach chulent mit potato kigel right before shaabes? ven I eat it on freitig it makes my boich feel good fir kedushas shaabes; but it cause me to pass gas in middle of davenin.
---------------------------

"One should refrain from having wisdom teeth pulled before the weekend as well, for that would surely cause him pain and prevent him from eating for at least two days," wrote the rabbi, adding the same was true for any dental work which may result in prolonged pain.

Anonymous said...

I bet Obama will be US president tomorrow

Publication date: Sunday, 2nd November, 2008

Opiyo Oloya

TOMORROW, Tuesday, November 4, the American presidential campaign comes to a conclusion. It took over two years of hard work, bitter politics and cut-throat maneuvering, and now the voters will decide whether John McCain or Barack Obama will be in the Oval Office in January 2009.

Whatever the decision, history will be made with either the first African American being elected to the Whitehouse or the first elected female vice-president.

I have followed the campaign through it ups and downs and I am ready to make a prediction today. And it is simply this: Tomorrow, America will make history by electing the first black president. Obama will win a majority to become the 44th president of the US.

In coming to the conclusion, I looked not only at the candidates, their message, but also their politics. To be sure, Republican Senator McCain was a credible candidate until he picked Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate, an ignoramus with provincial world view.

Moreover, when the US economy collapsed in September, McCain failed to offer coherent responses to the crisis. It was only in the last two weeks that McCain suddenly found his voice in the campaign, attacking Obama’s tax policies.

Unfortunately, and despite the avalanche of negative ads aimed at his opponent, McCain could not persuade enough Americans to abandon Barack Obama.

But, it was not just McCain’s fumbling with the campaign that paved Obama’s road to victory. If anything, Obama’s success came from a well executed presidential campaign that would have made Napoleon Bonaparte proud. In many ways, Obama turned every obstacle into an opportunity.

Being black, for example, meant he was suspect to many white Americans as specifically championing black issues over white issues.

Obama had to be comfortable in a black skin, without sounding bitter about who he is. He, in other words, had to make whites feel comfortable with his message by not raising the shoddy treatment of blacks in a dominant white society.

To overcome this problem, Obama launched his campaign squarely at the white middle class, speaking their language and tapping into their aspirations and hopes. At the Democratic Convention in 2004, Obama spoke for the white middle class, the demographic that he needed to woo to make a credible run for president.

However, remarkably, Obama also gambled that once he was accepted by white folks as it happened in Iowa, skeptical blacks would take a fresh look at him, and over time would fall in line to support him.

He figured that the enthusiasm among whites would help wipe out doubts among blacks tired of supporting the also-ran.
Indeed, as Obama picked up steam in the primaries, his support among African Americans grew to the current level of over 90%. Secondly, Obama needed a lot of money to run an expensive campaign.

Though he seemed to waver toward taking public financing of a little less than 90 million dollars, Obama opted to fundraise from donors. Here again, Obama was way ahead of all other candidates.

Using the Internet, he quickly amassed a gold-field of over a million and half supporters that he turned to often to provide funding.
Through the primary fight against the powerful machine of Hillary Clinton until today, Obama never lacked cash to do anything he wanted to do to sell himself. Obama will have raised more than half a billion dollars to seek the presidency of America. This is more than the GDP in many African countries.

With unlimited cash flow, Obama worked hard to mobilise volunteers to work for free in his campaign. Indeed, throughout the primaries and post-primary contests volunteering in the Obama campaign became a badge of honour for young and old alike.
Throughout the campaign, Obama instilled pure discipline among top advisors and rank and file.

There obviously were some few mistakes such as the free-trade comment from his advisor which allowed Hillary Clinton to accuse Obama of speaking “from two sides of his mouth,” and the “bitter comment” in which Obama was caught suggesting that people in rural America often cling to religion and guns in bad times.

Both comments were played up effectively by Hillary Clinton who went on to win the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. But Clinton eventually lost to Obama who had clearly built a lead in smaller states that Clinton ignored.

From that very tough contest against Clinton in the primaries, Obama learned the value of being one step ahead of the opposition. Quite simply, Obama learned from the failure of Democrats Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 that a serious contender must be nimble, fleet-footed to dodge fiery missiles from the opponent and be willing to trade blow for blow.

Though he generally appeared to play clean politics, Obama was capable and did mix it up with his opponent John McCain, dishing as much punishment as he got. For every negative smear hurled at him by the McCain campaign, Obama was quick to respond within a few hours.

However, when historians dissect Obama’s successful run for the White House, they will focus on one specific event — March 18, when Obama addressed Americans on the status of race. With his back pushed against the wall by the revelation of church minister Rev Jeremiah Wright, Obama chose to speak about race.

His speech placed him at a different level where he could both be trusted by white folks without being accused by blacks as a sell-out. Simply put, on that day, Obama transcended race — he was no longer the black candidate but an American running for president. His colour became a non-issue.

Opiyo.oloya@sympatico.ca

Anonymous said...

How is Rabbi Balkany related to Rubashkin? Does Balkany still have a seminary?

Anonymous said...

Priest faces sex abuse charges
A Catholic priest is alleged to have sexually abused 24 boys in Switzerland and France over a 40-year period, justice authorities in Fribourg have announced.

The man, a 68-year-old Capuchin priest, will have to appear in court in either France or in Switzerland, the investigating judge Yvonne Gendre said on Monday.

An inquiry in the western Swiss city has been looking into the cases of several priests suspected of paedophilia.

All the cases in Switzerland said to involve the priest can no longer be taken to court because they have exceeded the statute of limitations.

Gendre said she had therefore forwarded the dossier to justice authorities in the French city of Grenoble.

The judge began her inquiries in January and opened preliminary investigations against five priests. Two have since died.

The inquiry has since focused on the Capuchin priest and two other priests from Fribourg. One was exonerated and a second case was forwarded to the Neuchâtel authorities concerning incidents that allegedly occurred in the canton in 2000-2001.

Anonymous said...

Secular Israelis and American Jews often complain about the power of haredim in Israel: "They barely pay taxes yet they collect oodles of money for their schools and families, and their sons don't have to serve in the army." The implication is that haredim have somehow gamed the system, and that a fair democracy would not allow such outsized power to a minority (10 percent-20%, depending how you count) of the population...

Anonymous said...

Forget about my bacterial hands.

VOTE FOR

McCain/Palin -

Study: Women lead men in bacteria, hands down
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer

WASHINGTON – Wash your hands, folks, especially you ladies. A new study found that women have a greater variety of bacteria on their hands than men do. And everybody has more types of bacteria than the researchers expected to find.

"One thing that really is astonishing is the variability between individuals, and also between hands on the same individual," said University of Colorado biochemistry assistant professor Rob Knight, a co-author of the paper.

"The sheer number of bacteria species detected on the hands of the study participants was a big surprise, and so was the greater diversity of bacteria we found on the hands of women," added lead researcher Noah Fierer, an assistant professor in Colorado's department of ecology and evolutionary biology.

The researchers aren't sure why women harbored a greater variety of bacteria than men, but Fierer suggested it may have to so with the acidity of the skin. Knight said men generally have more acidic skin than women.

Other possibilities are differences in sweat and oil gland production between men and women, the frequency of moisturizer or cosmetics applications, skin thickness or hormone production, he said.

Women also may have more bacteria living under the surface of the skin where they are not accessible to washing, Knight added.

Asked if guys should worry about holding hands with girls, Knight said: "I guess it depends on which girl."

He stressed that "the vast majority of the bacteria we have on our body are either harmless or beneficial ... the pathogens are a small minority."

The researchers took samples from the palms of 51 college students — that's 102 hands — and tested the samples using a new, highly detailed system for detecting bacteria DNA.

They identified 4,742 species of bacteria overall, only 5 of which were on every hand, they report on Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The average hand harbored 150 species of bacteria.

Not only did individuals have few types of bacteria in common, the left and right hands of the same individual shared only about 17 percent of the same bacteria types, the researchers found.

The differences between dominant and non-dominant hands were probably due to environmental conditions like oil production, salinity, moisture or variable environmental surfaces touched by either hand of an individual, Fierer said.

Knight said the researchers hope to repeat the experiment in other countries where different hands are assigned specific tasks.

While the researchers stressed the importance of regular hand washing, they also noted that washing did not eliminate bacteria.

"Either the bacterial colonies rapidly re-establish after hand washing, or washing (as practiced by the students included in this study) does not remove the majority of bacteria taxa found on the skin surface," the researchers said in their report.

While the tests could determine how many different types of bacteria were present, they could not count the total amount of bacteria on each hand.

The research was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Anonymous said...

"How is Rabbi Balkany related to Rubashkin? Does Balkany still have a seminary?"

He is married to Sarah Rubashkin, an occasional lecturer on Chabad Hasidim, with whom he has 13 children. His father in law is Rabbi Aaron Rubashkin the founder of Agriprocessors. His brother-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin is a member of the board of the Community Council in Crown Heights. Another brother-in-law Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin is the current CEO of AgriProcessors.

(There are a few errors that need correcting. Someone please update.)

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Balkany

Anonymous said...

Hey EM. Keep fighting for my sake and our future generations. You are doing a terrific job for klal yisroel. The piles of drek like shlomo mandel and lipa margulis who enabled child molestation must be done away with.

Anonymous said...

something tells me a black man will become the president elect today.

Anonymous said...

November 5, 2008
Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.

The election of Mr. Obama amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country.

But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history, a breakthrough that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago.

Mr. Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois, defeated Senator John McCain of Arizona, 72, a former prisoner of war who was making his second bid for the presidency.

To the very end, Mr. McCain’s campaign was eclipsed by an opponent who was nothing short of a phenomenon, drawing huge crowds epitomized by the tens of thousands of people who turned out to hear Mr. Obama’s victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago.

Mr. McCain also fought the headwinds of a relentlessly hostile political environment, weighted down with the baggage left to him by President Bush and an economic collapse that took place in the middle of the general election campaign.

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer,” said Mr. Obama, standing before a huge wooden lectern with a row of American flags at his back, casting his eyes to a crowd that stretched far into the Chicago night.

“It’s been a long time coming,” the president-elect added, “but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

Mr. McCain delivered his concession speech under clear skies on the lush lawn of the Arizona Biltmore, in Phoenix, where he and his wife had held their wedding reception. The crowd reacted with scattered boos as he offered his congratulations to Mr. Obama and saluted the historical significance of the moment.

“This is a historic election, and I recognize the significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight,” Mr. McCain said, adding, “We both realize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nation’s reputation.”

Not only did Mr. Obama capture the presidency, but he led his party to sharp gains in Congress. This puts Democrats in control of the House, the Senate and the White House for the first time since 1995, when Bill Clinton was in office.

The day shimmered with history as voters began lining up before dawn, hours before polls opened, to take part in the culmination of a campaign that over the course of two years commanded an extraordinary amount of attention from the American public.

As the returns became known, and Mr. Obama passed milestone after milestone —Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Iowa and New Mexico — people rolled spontaneously into the streets to celebrate what many described, with perhaps overstated if understandable exhilaration, a new era in a country where just 143 years ago, Mr. Obama, as a black man, could have been owned as a slave.

For Republicans, especially the conservatives who have dominated the party for nearly three decades, the night represented a bitter setback and left them contemplating where they now stand in American politics.

Mr. Obama and his expanded Democratic majority on Capitol Hill now face the task of governing the country through a difficult period: the likelihood of a deep and prolonged recession, and two wars. He took note of those circumstances in a speech that was notable for its sobriety and its absence of the triumphalism that he might understandably have displayed on a night when he won an Electoral College landslide.

“The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep,” said Mr. Obama, his audience hushed and attentive, with some, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, wiping tears from their eyes. “We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.” The roster of defeated Republicans included some notable party moderates, like Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire and Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, and signaled that the Republican conference convening early next year in Washington will be not only smaller but more conservative.

Mr. Obama will come into office after an election in which he laid out a number of clear promises: to cut taxes for most Americans, to get the United States out of Iraq in a fast and orderly fashion, and to expand health care.

In a recognition of the difficult transition he faces, given the economic crisis, Mr. Obama is expected to begin filling White House jobs as early as this week.

Mr. Obama defeated Mr. McCain in Ohio, a central battleground in American politics, despite a huge effort that brought Mr. McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, back there repeatedly. Mr. Obama had lost the state decisively to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York in the Democratic primary.

Mr. McCain failed to take from Mr. Obama the two Democratic states that were at the top of his target list: New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Mr. Obama also held on to Minnesota, the state that played host to the convention that nominated Mr. McCain; Wisconsin; and Michigan, a state Mr. McCain once had in his sights.

The apparent breadth of Mr. Obama’s sweep left Republicans sobered, and his showing in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania stood out because officials in both parties had said that his struggles there in the primary campaign reflected the resistance of blue-collar voters to supporting a black candidate.

“I always thought there was a potential prejudice factor in the state,” Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat of Pennsylvania who was an early Obama supporter, told reporters in Chicago. “I hope this means we washed that away.”

Mr. McCain called Mr. Obama at 10 p.m., Central time, to offer his congratulations. In the call, Mr. Obama said he was eager to sit down and talk; in his concession speech, Mr. McCain said he was ready to help Mr. Obama work through difficult times.

“I need your help,” Mr. Obama told his rival, according to an Obama adviser, Robert Gibbs. “You’re a leader on so many important issues.”

Mr. Bush called Mr. Obama shortly after 10 p.m. to congratulate him on his victory.

“I promise to make this a smooth transition,” the president said to Mr. Obama, according to a transcript provided by the White House .“You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations, and go enjoy yourself.”

For most Americans, the news of Mr. Obama’s election came at 11 p.m., Eastern time, when the networks, waiting for the close of polls in California, declared him the victor. A roar sounded from the 125,000 people gathered in Hutchison Field in Grant Park at the moment that they learned Mr. Obama had been projected the winner.

The scene in Phoenix was decidedly more sour. At several points, Mr. McCain, unsmiling, had to motion his crowd to quiet down — he held out both hands, palms down — when they responded to his words of tribute to Mr. Obama with boos.

Mr. Obama, who watched Mr. McCain’s speech from his hotel room in Chicago, offered a hand to voters who had not supported him in this election, when he took the stage 15 minutes later. “To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn,” he said, “I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too.”

Initial signs were that Mr. Obama benefited from a huge turnout of voters, but particularly among blacks. That group made up 13 percent of the electorate, according to surveys of people leaving the polls, compared with 11 percent in 2006.

In North Carolina, Republicans said that the huge surge of African-Americans was one of the big factors that led to Senator Elizabeth Dole, a Republican, losing her re-election bid.

Mr. Obama also did strikingly well among Hispanic voters; Mr. McCain did worse among those voters than Mr. Bush did in 2004. That suggests the damage the Republican Party has suffered among those voters over four years in which Republicans have been at the forefront on the effort to crack down on illegal immigrants.

The election ended what by any definition was one of the most remarkable contests in American political history, drawing what was by every appearance unparalleled public interest.

Throughout the day, people lined up at the polls for hours — some showing up before dawn — to cast their votes. Aides to both campaigns said that anecdotal evidence suggested record-high voter turnout.

Reflecting the intensity of the two candidates, Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama took a page from what Mr. Bush did in 2004 and continued to campaign after the polls opened.

Mr. McCain left his home in Arizona after voting early Tuesday to fly to Colorado and New Mexico, two states where Mr. Bush won four years ago but where Mr. Obama waged a spirited battle.

These were symbolically appropriate final campaign stops for Mr. McCain, reflecting the imperative he felt of trying to defend Republican states against a challenge from Mr. Obama.

“Get out there and vote,” Mr. McCain said in Grand Junction, Colo. “I need your help. Volunteer, knock on doors, get your neighbors to the polls, drag them there if you need to.”

By contrast, Mr. Obama flew from his home in Chicago to Indiana, a state that in many ways came to epitomize the audacity of his effort this year. Indiana has not voted for a Democrat since President Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide victory in 1964, and Mr. Obama made an intense bid for support there. He later returned home to Chicago play basketball, his election-day ritual.

Elisabeth Bumiller contributed reporting from Phoenix, Marjorie Connelly from New York and Jeff Zeleny from Chicago.

Anonymous said...

Give me a chance, Jew! You will see I am not the hater you make me out to be.

Anonymous said...

Preaches Unity

Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain speaks during his election Reuters – Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain speaks during his election night rally in Phoenix, …

Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- On Sept. 15, John McCain shared with a Miami audience his sense of foreboding at the unraveling of the U.S. financial system, warning that the nation was facing ``a strong headwind.''

What the Republican nominee didn't realize was that a headwind was also gathering for his presidential ambitions that would ensure his defeat by Democrat Barack Obama, 47.

McCain's campaign was derailed by the most hostile environment his party has faced in decades, with voters blaming Republicans for the meltdown of the markets, a looming recession and the burden of two wars. His troubles were compounded by his struggle to show leadership during the financial crisis, as well as the compromises he made to secure the nomination, which sullied his ``maverick'' image.

``It may have turned out that no Republican could have won,'' said media consultant Mark McKinnon, an unpaid adviser to the campaign.

McCain, speaking to a crowd of supporters in Phoenix after his defeat, said: ``It is natural to feel some disappointment tonight. Though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.''

Anonymous said...

Heights’ Rabbi Raskin, Financial Expert Zweifel Write Advice Book
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 11-03-2008


‘The Rabbi and the CEO’ Grew Out Of Chance Meeting on the Promenade

By Julia K. Weis
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — For this young writer, the first thing that comes to mind when a person mentions a book on leadership is airplane reading. You know the kind — a glossy-covered, overpriced “How to” that you scramble to pick up on the way to catch a flight to who-knows-where.

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=24238

Anonymous said...

It is an honor to be chosen to speak at this years Agudah Convention I love the kovod and can't stop shedding crocodile tears. I just hope no one brings up any questions about why I allow Yudel Nussbaum to still be employed in my Yeshiveh. Many of you will say he's a pedophile who stands accused of molesting his talmidim. You will ask why I refuse to dismiss him. You will ask why do I allow him to still teach in the resource room 1 on 1. And you may gradeh have a point. But do you think for a minute I will allow my reputation to be ruined because of this? I think I will bring my lawyer along for some moral support, just in case some vilde chayeh decides to ask me some narishkiet about this molesting business.

Don't forget. November 27-30. I will be speaking that Sunday.

Oh do I feel chushuv as I sit on the toilet and turn this week's Yated to page 17. There it is!

Sunday
PLENARY SESSIONS
---------------------------
Selective Service

Has the Pursuit of Excellence Led Us Down the Path of Elitism?

Speakers:

Rabbi Yaakov Bender Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva Darchei Torah

Rabbi Shloime Mandel Rosh HaYeshiva, Yeshiva of Brooklyn

Anonymous said...

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/texas-faith-so-what-if-obama-i.html

Former Secretary of Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who endorsed Barack Obama for president, said he was troubled by some members of his own party suggesting Obama is a Muslim. "What if he is?" Powell asked. "Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim kid believing that he or she can be president?" Once, they said that about Catholics. And this year, an African-American is one step from winning the White House.

So here's question: When do we reach a point in the U.S. where it doesn't matter politically if a presidential candidate is Muslim? How long will that take? And how might it finally come about?

Anonymous said...

Check out my new sefer. It's called SHULCHAN HALEVI
Halachic Responsa
From the Desk of Harav Yisroel Belsky

A FIRST IN TORAH LITERATURE: SH'AILOS U'TESHUVOS FROM ONE OF THE LEADING POSKEI HADOR, IN ENGLISH.

I am also working on a new sefer called
SHULCHAN HAZMANAS
Halachic Responsa
From the Desk of Harav Yisroel Belsky

* Why a frum sexual molester must be protected at all costs
* How to issue a speedy Hazmana to one who is moser on a child predator
* After how many hazmana's is one permitted to kidnap and use physical force

Anonymous said...

Matty Salomon here. Only one slipped through our fingers. At this year's Agudah Convention we will announce that only a half slipped through our fingers. The other half got stuck in my ass.

Anonymous said...

A Palm Beach County jury returned a $27,104,850.00 verdict in a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old girl who claimed that she was sexually abused by a Delray Beach man in 2004.

BOCA RATON, FL (November 4, 2008) - On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, a Palm Beach County jury returned a $27,104,850.00 verdict in a lawsuit brought by a 16-year-old girl who claimed that she was sexually abused by a Delray Beach man in 2004. Russell S. Adler, Shareholder and Vice President of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, Attorneys at Law (RRA), one of the fastest growing law firms in South Florida with 60 attorneys and 22 practice groups, represented the victim and her family in the lawsuit.

"This is a therapeutic verdict and a victory for all survivors of sexual abuse," said Adler. "As usual, the perpetrator refused to take any responsibility for what he did to this young girl, and that made her problems even worse. But, the jury acknowledged that it really did happen, and they compensated my client and punished the Perpetrator. Let this serve as a loud and clear message to others who would try to take advantage of innocent young children."

Adler said that his client was relieved that the case is over and glad that the jury believed her claim. The girl, whose name is not being printed because she is a minor, claimed that Pratak Siriwat, who was a family friend, fondled her at his home while teaching her how to play a guitar he had bought her for Christmas in 2003. The girl claimed that she has suffered from anxiety, depression and other effects of the sexual abuse ever since. The verdict included $7 million for mental anguish and $20 million in punitive damages. Criminal charges had been filed against Siriwat but were later dropped by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office.

Anonymous said...

Agudath Israel Letter Sent to President Elect Barack Obama
November 6, 2008

President Elect Barack Obama
P.O. Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680

Dear Mr. President Elect:

On behalf of Agudath Israel of America, it is my pleasure to convey to you our heartfelt congratulations on your historic victory in yesterday’s election.

Agudath Israel is an 86-year old national Orthodox Jewish organization, with eight advocacy offices across America, as well as a full-time D.C. office and active chapters in virtually in all of the states. We have had the pleasure of working with you and your staff during your tenures both in the Illinois state legislature and in the U.S. Senate, and we very much look forward to building upon that relationship as you assume the highest office in the land.

The very first sentences of your victory speech last night, pointing out how the results of the election have shattered once and for all the myth that certain opportunities are foreclosed from certain types of people in this country, most meaningfully resonates in a community like ours. All Americans can share in the inspiration of this truly significant moment.

We look forward to working with you in the months and years to come. For now, you have our every best wish and heartfelt prayers for great success.

Sincerely,

David Zwiebel.

Anonymous said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/06immig.html?em
-----------------------------------

November 6, 2008
Large Iowa Meatpacker in Illegal Immigrant Raid Files for Bankruptcy
By JULIA PRESTON

The kosher meatpacking company in Iowa that has been struggling with criminal charges and huge fines for labor violations, a dwindling work force and declining demand among Jewish consumers since an immigration raid at its main plant, has filed for bankruptcy.

The filing late Tuesday by Agriprocessors Inc. signaled the demise of a company that has been operated by a single family: the owner, Aaron Rubashkin, and his son Sholom, who built the company into the country’s dominant supplier of kosher meat.

The company began to founder after 389 illegal immigrants, about half its work force, were arrested on May 12 in a raid at its plant in Postville, Iowa. The immigrants reported under-age employees and what they said were abusive work conditions to the authorities.

Although demand for Agriprocessors’ products declined after the raid, supermarkets and butcher shops nationwide supplying Jews who observe strict dietary laws reported shortages of kosher meat this week, after the plant stopped slaughtering cattle a week ago. Agriprocessors sells meat under the Rubashkin’s, Aaron’s Best and Shor Harbor labels, among others.

“It’s chaos out there; the shortage is all over the country,” said Menachem Lubinsky, the editor of koshertoday.com, which monitors kosher food markets. “Everybody has begun to scramble.”

In documents filed in bankruptcy court in the Eastern District of New York, Agriprocessors, whose headquarters is in Brooklyn, reported annual earnings of $300 million before the raid, the first revenue figures made public for the privately owned company. It reported debt of $50 million to $100 million.

Blaming “difficult circumstances involving a raid” for its financial woes, Agriprocessors, which filed under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, said it was seeking new financing to restructure its business. It opted to declare bankruptcy after its major creditor, First Bank Business Capital of Missouri, foreclosed last week on a $35 million loan. The foreclosure is suspended while the bankruptcy proceeds.

“We are filing this to reinvigorate the company,” said Agriprocessors’s lawyer in the bankruptcy, Kevin J. Nash.

In Postville, a town of 2,200 in northeastern Iowa, residents said there was an unfamiliar calm on Wednesday as activity at the big plant at the edge of town fell to a low. Long before the raid, the Rubashkins had clashed with residents in Postville, where low pay, unpaid overtime and safety violations at the plant were a frequent subject of local gossip. But residents were deeply worried at the prospect that their largest employer by far would close.

“I think that people would prefer a different owner,” said the Rev. Paul Ouderkirk, the priest at St. Bridget’s Catholic Church in Postville, which has been supporting the families of dozens of immigrants arrested in the raid. “But it would be very, very tragic if the plant shut down.”

While Agriprocessors blamed the raid for its bankruptcy filing, Iowa labor experts said the company created many of its own troubles by hiring large numbers of illegal immigrants and paying them wages far below the industry standard, and by maintaining contentious relations with state labor authorities and fiercely resisting unions.

“They left themselves exposed by their utter refusal to play by the rules,” said Mark Grey, a sociology professor at the University of Northern Iowa who studies recent immigration to Iowa.

Union officials said the Postville plant stood out from other Iowa packinghouses for the frequency of its labor violations.

“If there was a hall of shame for employers in this industry, Agriprocessors would have its own wing,” said Mark Lauritsen, international vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, a union that has long tried to gain a foothold at the plant.

Demand for Agriprocessors’s brands began to decline after the company’s labor practices were criticized by a movement of Conservative and Reform Jews, who are seeking to add a new seal, known as Hekhsher Tzedek, to kosher-certified food. It would signify it was produced according to Jewish ethics.

Religious authorities at the Orthodox Union, the country’s major certifier of kosher food, said they were working with the top manager at Agriprocessors, Bernard S. Feldman, to find new owners or managers for the company. Mr. Feldman took charge of the company in late September.

If the Postville plant closes, it would leave “a significant void in the market that cannot easily be reproduced,” said Rabbi Menachem Genack, the chief executive of the kosher-certifying arm of the Orthodox Union.

Sholom Rubashkin, the former chief executive of Agriprocessors, was arrested last week by federal authorities on charges of conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants. Sholom and Aaron Rubashkin were also facing state criminal charges in Iowa for employing more than 30 under-age workers at the plant, and Iowa labor authorities have levied $10 million in fines for wage violations.

In Postville, residents were dismayed by a report posted on a Jewish Web site, FailedMessiah.com, saying that Sholom Rubashkin held a celebration in Postville last week after he was released from detention on $1 million bail.

About 300 illegal immigrant workers, most of them from Guatemala, were convicted on federal charges after the raid. Most served five months in prison and were deported.

Anonymous said...

Video footage of the celebration showed Rubashkin and other members of the synagogue dancing and singing. At the local radio station, the confluence of the celebration and the bad news being delivered to the workers was the cause for on-air editorials by Abbas, who runs the radio station, KPVL, and who initially discovered the videos.

“They were just flaunting their arrogance and lack of concern for anyone else in this town,” said Abbas. “I just do not understand these people.”

Full Article:

http://www.forward.com/articles/14522/

Anonymous said...

"Whatever it is, there's going to be a tremendous void in the market," Rabbi Menachem Genack, the head of kosher supervision for the Orthodox Union, told the Forward.

Better there should be a void than to eat meat that was slaughtered inhumanely. Shmuck!

Anonymous said...

A Houston attorney has been accused of having sexual contact with two teenage girls.

Anastacio Mindiola, 30, has been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a child and one count of sexual assault, said Donna Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

He is free on a total of $120,000 bond, Hawkins said. He was ordered to have no contact with the girls.

If convicted, Mindiola faces sentences of between two and 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine on each count.

Mindiola referred questions about the allegations to his attorney, Chip Lewis. Lewis could not be reached for comment.

Hawkins said that Mindiola met a 16-year old girl at a nightclub and allegedly had sexual contact with her on July 13 and July 18 at his apartment in the 4800 block of Pin Oak.

He also allegedly sexually assaulted a 17 year-old girl at his apartment July 18, Hawkins said.

Anonymous said...

Greek paper: Obama win ends ‘Jewish domination’

November 6, 2008

A Greek newspaper wrote that Barack Obama’s victory signaled the end of "Jewish domination."

The headline Tuesday in Avriani, an Athens daily, prompted swift condemnation from American Jewish groups.

The Anti-Defamation League said the newspaper "had taken a backward leap" and that the headline should serve as a wake-up call. The American Jewish Committee called the headline "vile and scurrilous."

"It is imperative that elected officials and civil society leaders in Greece speak out forcefully against anti-Semitism," the ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman, said in a statement. "They must make clear that these dangerous canards have no place in society and that there can be no tolerance for hatred in Greece."

Anonymous said...

This was a combination of PETA (an animal rights group that is fighting the kosher methord of slaughter, for animal rights) Uinons (that Agri did not allow to operate at the plant) and a shortage of meat workers at a decent price, which forced Agri to find illegal and under-age workers to work at the Plant.
but the Bankruptcy will have significance for our state being one of the largest employers. Also, more than 70% of the workers moved into the Town, and this will decimate the Town.
Comment by Liz in Iowa - November 6, 2008 at 9:51 am

The company provided jobs for the whole area and will be a terrible loss, unless another company comes in. But are Orthordox Jews still eating this type of kosher meat? Does it need a kosher company to buy the plant and operate it, to be certified kosher? I would think as long as the slaughter is done in a kosher manner, it can be certified kosher.
Lets hope some other kosher slaughterhouse will buy the plant and save the thousands (if not tens of thousands) of jobs that are dependent on this kosher plant, and provide good kosher poultry to the kosher public.
Comment by Lee - November 6, 2008 at 9:55 am

PETA - the animal rights organisation - swore to bring down this organisation and won.
The Ownership did not forsee the Federal raid on the immigrants working there, even though immigrants work in tens of factories and particularly meat-packing and meat slaughterhouses in the US, but the Feds picked on this Plant for some reason.
Probaly what will happen is the meat slaughtering will be imported from S. America, as is much of our food espescially poultry. This will cause a terrible loss of jobs (slaughtering, packing, trucking etc for Iowa) and the general economy of our area of Iowa.
The Plant I hear costed more than $50m to build with all the kosher certification requirements, and to replace starting from scratch is almost impossible.
Shortages in the kosher meat industry - until the industry can revamp - will be rampant, and prices will skyrocket for all meat etc i Iowa.
Comment by David - November 6, 2008 at 10:02 am

Anonymous said...

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Cancer-Care-Western-New-York/story.aspx?guid={02F32AD4-64CF-46CF-8D61-198D57D47522}

PRESS RELEASE
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Fast form of precise radiotherapy targets tumors quickly and accurately while minimizing exposure of surrounding healthy tissue

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meryl Ginsberg, Varian Medical Systems
650-424-6444 or meryl.ginsberg@varian.com

Jennifer Zivis, Cancer Care of Western NY
716-844-5519 or jzivis@cancercarewny.com



SOURCE Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

Anonymous said...

Ah gitten erev shabbos EM. On the whole molestation issue, I think it is a disgrace of the highest magnitude. The frum velt in particular are still dodging reform. Proof is in the pudding!

"Rabb" Shloime Mandel, still is the rosha hayeshiva of YOB and is mechubed with speaking at the fraudulent Agudah convention. This guy is KNOWN to be stubborn in admitting abuse that occurred, and still occurs, under his watch.

"Rabbi" Lipa Margulies still is the rosha hayeshiva of YTT. This, after Yudi kolko plead guilty to child endangerment. Outrageous!

"Rabbi" Avi Shafran of Agudas Israel denied, defended, and avoided discussing child predators lurking in yeshivahs. And he still has a job.

"Rabbi" Yisroel Belsky is considered a Posek Hador.This lowlife misused his authority and position, sending baloney hazmanas in the hopes of derailing the investigation of the YTT/Kolko cover-up.

The list goes on and on. How disgusting that this is still happening! I hope every Jew is as outraged as I am, because if you aren't, you are part of the problem, not the solution!

Anonymous said...

“The Orthodox Jewish community should be ashamed of itself for trying to take away the civil rights of its fellow citizens,” said Denise Eger, rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood’s gay and lesbian Reform synagogue. “If they don’t want to do the marriage in their shul, they don’t have to.”

http://www.forward.com/articles/14521/

Anonymous said...

What Brian is telling us isn't the end of the world. He was a problem child. Had his parents come to me for advice I would have sent him to Tranquility Bay in Jamaica. I also would have made sure to have Steve Mostofsky keep him there for his own good.
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

I was born on the 23rd January 1968.

In 1977 at the age of nine years old I was taken into the care of the local authority by the then, Sunderland Borough Council's, Social Services Department.

As a child I was considered to be a 'problem child' and I lived with my mother who was a single parent. During my early years my behavior was such that my mother enlisted the support of Sunderland Social Services, and together, they decided that the care home system was the only way to control me. I understand that the reason I was taken into care was due to the fact that I had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

On or about 25 January 1977 I was placed in a local authority assessment center and I remained there for one a half years. Between 18 July 1977and 26 August 1977 I was placed in a children's' home in Northumberland. I was returned to the assessment home between 26 August 1977 and 16 February 1978 before being transferred to another home in Sunderland, until September 1978, when again I was moved back to the assessment home. On 8 January 1979 I was moved to a very notorious home and I left care completely shortly before my 16th birthday.

Stannington Grove Hospital

Before I was subjected to a care order, at the age of six I was admitted to Stannington Grove Hospital. I recall on a daily basis having been subjected to abuse. I was frequently being punched and hit by other children. The staff chose to do nothing about it.

Emsworth House Assessment Centre

When I first entered Emsworth House I was eight years old. I recall clearly, being taken to a side room with my mother. I ran away from the home shortly after admission and the only reason was simply to be with my mam. My punishment for running away was to regarded as a runaway risk and I was therefore treated like a prisoner.

The secure unit was like a cell. I remember that there were no light switches or door handles on the inside of the room and there was one plastic light fitting in the centre of the ceiling. In the door to the room there was a single square window which looked out onto the hall outside. The glass of course was reinforced. The bed was a rudimentary block with a mattress sat on it. The mattress and the pillows all had plastic covers on and there was no real bedding to speak of. Anyway I had to be content with my surroundings as I was required to spend seventeen hours in the secure unit each day. I have horrible memories of long nights spent in that room and it would true to say that suicide crossed my mind on many occasions. I stole a knife from the class room, during the day, to cut my wrists. I hid it under the mattress. I never did go through with it

I was allowed out of the secure unit during the day to attend a class room. I have distinct memories of an old lady who clearly liked her job., who used to teach in the class. She regularly placed drawing pins on my chair and forced me to sit on them. She was also very fond of the ruler as a means of corporal punishment and she would often strike my knuckles with it.

Another feature of class was the dunce hat, it was a conical hat, like you see in the cartoons. We would be made to wear this hat at times when we were considered to have done something wrong or stupid. My education was not furthered because of any of my time spent in that class room.

In the secure unit I would be forced to go without clothes and had to go for periods of time, naked. Not only was this very cold but it was also degrading for an eight year old boy.

Night times were especially bad at Emsworth. I recall one male worker who would visit my room on a night and stand outside of my room looking through the glass at me. He would then switch the light on quickly for five to twenty minutes. This used to be make me very scared. I can see no other reason why he would do this at all, other than to make me frightened.

The same member of staff also abused me sexually. He had previously been a priest. He used to fondle my genitals and he would pull my pajama bottoms down. At the time my hair was like Michael Jackson's and my pajama top had a picture of Michael Jackson on it. This man made me masturbate him. He also raped me which caused me intense pain. To this day it is extremely traumatic to talk about the sexual abuse I was subjected to.

Witherwack House the Most Notorious

On 8 January 1979 I was transferred to Witherwack House, it was a couple of weeks before my eleventh birthday. As far as I know I was the very first resident in the home after it opened and I remained there until 1984. This was to be the worst five years of my live.

Almost immediately after moving to Witherwack House I was subjected to constant physical and psychological abuse by members of staff and 'care' workers.

I was constantly picked on by members of staff who dragged me around by my neck; punched me, gave me black eyes and a broken nose. I was also forced into a bath of hot water and then cold water.

When I was alone the staff beat me, punching me repeatedly with both fists in the stomach and my head, causing great pain. During one such instance I screamed and cried for them to stop but they just kept on beating me. I begged them and still it went on.

I was also sexually assaulted by a male member of staff who later became involved with child protection. He informed me that he would single me out for punishment

The forms of punishment employed by the staff at Witherwack House included restraint techniques. On one occasion my arm was held up my back so badly my shoulder blade needed medical treatment. My thumb would be bent backwards. until it touched my forearm. This was done at least daily and was extremely painful. I suffer from epilepsy and I believe this was caused by my head being hit of objects. This was not reasonable punishment and force being used - this was evil. I often heard screams of other residents being abused. Indeed I witnessed a rape of a girl who was eight or nine at the time - I tried to intervene but I was beaten senseless for my trouble - it was the best kicking of my life.

I was assaulted at least five or six times a day. On one occasion I was raped. Children were encouraged to have sex with each other and if we didn't we would be kicked and beaten all over again.

I was also bullied by other children at the home, by the order of the staff - I carry the scars on my head to prove it. Even now I have flashbacks and nightmares about the abuse.

My life has been spoiled as a result of the abuse I have suffered, I do not trust people and sit and study people to try and understand them because I still feel people want to hurt me.

I believe that the Director of Social Services was fully aware of the abuse that went on as was the Assistant Director of Social Services.

Today and Tomorrow...........

As a result of my experiences I have avidly campaigned against child abuse and spoken with local and national media on many occasions to spread the message and raise the awareness of child abuse amongst the public. In a similar way to when I was in care when I felt it was my duty to absorb the abuse suffered by others, I continue to feel it is my responsibility as a survivor, to try and prevent it happening to others. I have canvassed my local MP and the Government for 15 years; I was awarded damages, but not Justice.

by brian on 21 Oct 2005

Anonymous said...

This November Jewish communities throughout the world will again gather to recall Kristallnacht -- and will unwittingly allow themselves, in some measure, to verbally embrace the very heresy that abetted the Holocaust.

Kristallnacht is German for "the night of crystal." And 70 years after the horrible events of 1938 should have given us by now sufficient perspective to expose the lie of a horrible

WMD
-- Word of Mass Deception -- that epitomizes the key to the most powerful methodology for murder perfected by the Nazis.

How, after all, were the Nazis able to commit their crimes under the veneer of civilized respectability? Upon analysis, the answer is obvious. They glorified the principle of murder by euphemism.

Anonymous said...

Reformeisters violate halacha and are as relevant to society as much as the dust particles found on my borsalino hat.

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/11/reform-judaism-leaders-send-le.html

Reform Judaism leaders send letter to Obama
1:14 PM Sun, Nov 09, 2008

Anonymous said...

CBS 2 Investigation Uncovers Car Donation Scam
List Of Charities Involved In Investigation
by Dave Savini

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A five-month undercover investigation by CBS 2 and the Naperville Sun revealed one felon selling donated cars without a business license and another felon, with offices in Naperville and Wheeling, at the center of the largest alleged car donation scam in Illinois history.

When Tracy Kaczynski found she and her husband Joe's 1992 Plymouth Acclaim never made it to its intended charity, she was crushed. Her eyes swelled with tears when she learned what really happened to the car she donated in 2003.

"I didn't think I was giving the car to a criminal," said the daughter of an Alzheimer's victim. She and her husband had hoped the car would raise at least $1,000 for Alzheimer's research and the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Illinois.

But a CBS 2/Naperville Sun investigation discovered neither their car nor the proceeds from its sale ever made it to charity. In fact, their car is one of at least 4,238 donated cars and a few boats that allegedly ended up padding the pockets of convicted felons in Illinois.

Officials from the charities involved say they had no idea they were stiffed on payment until they learned of our investigation.

"It was stupid as the time but I thought maybe donating this car could find a cure," said Tracy Kaczynski, who lost her mother in October to complications from Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Association of Illinois has now launched an investigation based on the Kaczynski's case and others. The Kaczynski's Plymouth is one of 189 cars whose sale proceeds the charity might have been cheated from receiving.

An ongoing CBS 2/Naperville Sun probe of the donated car industry has prompted criminal investigations and proposals of new laws. It has exposed how easy it is for individuals with a history of theft, deception, and fraud to obtain contracts handling the towing and sale of these charitable goods.

There are no regulations in Illinois requiring background checks or any monitoring of who gets hired by charities to deal with donated cars.

Our investigation revealed one convicted felon selling donated cars without a license and another felon with offices in Naperville and Wheeling at the center of the one of largest alleged car donation scams in the Nation's history.

Using court documents, vehicle identification numbers, and through talking to charities the CBS2/Naperville Sun investigation created a list of 4,238 mishandled donated vehicles and a several boats.

Car industry sources say the potential resale value of the thousands of cars in question is nearly $2 million.
"You ain't going to ask me nothing," said Dwayne Ronczkowski of Royal Auto and Towing located in Naperville and Wheeling.

Ronczkowski is being sued in the Circuit Court of Cook County for ultimately not sending payment to charities after apparently being authorized to pick up 3,834 donated cars.

"I got no idea, no comment," said Ronczkowski when questioned at the time of the 2003 breech of contract lawsuit.

Ronczkowski has repeated convictions involving car titles, theft, deceptive practices and fraud. His company was hired by Car Program LLC., a California-based company acting as a middleman for 1,500 charities nationwide.

Car Program alleges Ronczkowski wrote a check in 2003 to cover some of the cars in question, but it bounced.

"It would be the same as if I gave a cash donation to a charity but somebody pocketed the cash and walked off," said Naperville resident Douglass Cerulli when he learned the first new car he ever purchased, a 1993 Chevy Cavalier, was on the list of donated cars in question.

"I miss that car. I miss it even more now that I know a dime never made it to charity," Cerulli said.

He donated his car in 2003 to the American Diabetes Association. Officials for the ADA are now investigating how this could have happened.

Cerulli's car is one of 447 the CBS 2/Naperville Sun investigation found the ADA apparently never received proceeds from the sale of the car.

Ronczkowski and Royal Auto and Towing have since been terminated from Car Program LLC's donation program, but at least one charity is still using their services.

Cars donated recently to the charity Kars4kids have been found on Ronczkowski's car lot. The New Jersey-based charity refused to return phone calls for comment about Ronczkowski's involvement.

Kars4kids is also using Melrose Park-based O'Hare Kars, another company run by a convicted felon exposed last month by CBS 2/Naperville Sun.

William Zuccaro of O'Hare Kars allegedly owes charities payment for more than 400 cars, including Easter Seals of Metro Chicago, which has now fired Zuccaro and completely halted its entire car donation program.

Easter Seals of Metro Chicago, Dupage County and Wisconsin chapters have not received their share of the proceeds of at least 701 cars -- the combined total owed them between Zuccaro and Ronczkowski's companies.

William Zuccaro and his son, Joseph, have now been shut down by the Illinois Secretary of State's Office special police force, and they have surrendered their certificates of authority to operate their car lots.

Joseph Zuccaro was charged last week for operating as an unlicensed auto recycler and Car Program LLC is taking legal action against the Zuccaros for non-payment on hundreds of donated cars since the beginning of the year.

Fred Serpe, an attorney for the Zuccaros, says his clients intend to make good on any monies outstanding to charities, but he could not say when the Zuccaros would make payment.

Scott Allemeier, who donated his 1989 Jeep Cherokee to Easter Seals of Dupage County, was surprised to see his donation never made it to the charity.

"You think you are doing something nice for an organization, like Easter Seals and you end up getting taken for quite a bit of money," Allemeier said.

Allemeier, of Chicago, said he would have sold the Jeep and given the cash to charity if he knew how loosely car donation programs were run. He hopes some kind of regulation is created to stop this from happening again.

Joe Kaczynski agrees. "You hate to think the worst of people and doing something like this as far as I'm concerned this is really low," he said

Anonymous said...

By Bruce McDougall

November 10, 2008 12:00am

SCHOOL teachers are being accused of sexually assaulting students or entering inappropriate sexual relationships with them at a rate of almost one a week.

Sexual allegations have been made against teachers 86 times over the last 2½ years - about a quarter of them in government primary schools, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

Poll: Have you experienced inappropriate behaviour by a teacher?

But the data obtained under Freedom of Information also suggests some teachers are being unfairly targeted by unfounded accusations and facing career damage as a result.

Just three teachers in the period were convicted of criminal charges and one has been jailed.

Seduced student: Lesbian teacher found guilty

In another 10 cases teachers either resigned or retired, were put through "remedial action" or had their casual teaching authority withdrawn because some truth was found in the claims against them. In dozens of other cases no evidence of misconduct could be found.

There are allegations against 11 teachers in public schools this year involving sexual misconduct, inappropriate touching of students and sexual relationships referred to investigators without an outcome yet.

Gallery: Women teachers who should know better

Despite not all claims being proven, Ombudsman Bruce Barbour has warned about potential paedophiles operating in schools and the widespread "grooming" of young people for intimate relationships.

One teacher was accused of intimidating, stalking and indecently assaulting female students, accessing pornography on a work computer and making sexually inappropriate comments about females.

A high school teacher had a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old student over three years and was preparing other young students for sexual abuse. The teacher was placed on "alternative duties" but Mr Barbour said there was evidence he may have been grooming other children over the internet.

Judy Shackle, whose 15-year-old daughter Nicki entered a relationship with former English department head Jeff Sinclair in 2001, said yesterday greater protection was needed for children

Anonymous said...

I wonder how much time the judge will send me to prison for once I'm extradited to the USA. ------------------------

Kimberly Chancellor, age 43, of Salina, Oklahoma, was found guilty in an earlier jury trial in July on all three counts with which he was charged: Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and two counts of Attempted Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country. Count One accused him of the forcible rape of an Indian female child under the age of twelve in the summer of 2003. Count Two accused him of attempting to rape an Indian child on January 1, 2007, and Count 3 accused Chancellor of attempting to rape by force an Indian female child under the age of 16 on May 20, 2007. These offenses occurred in Chancellor's home in the Kenwood Addition of Salina in Delaware County.

Anonymous said...

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Business/Default.aspx?id=314156

Susan Tully, national field director with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says besides hiring illegal aliens, the plant was cited for numerous other violations, working conditions among them.

"...[T]hey had a meth lab running where they were killing and cutting up meat and supposedly didn't know it," she relates. "They had a temporary labor agency after the raid that took a bunch of their people and bused them up there to backfill those jobs until they could get some new employees in there -- and the job agency, on the second day, pulled them all out of there because of the filth and the conditions and the safety [issues].

"These are people who have been doing bad business for a long time," Tully concludes, "and they deserve everything they get."

Agriprocessor's biggest lender, the Bank of St. Louis, is seeking to foreclose on the plant and appoint a third party to oversee the company's assets.

Anonymous said...

Cops: Jewish group deliveryman fatally shot

The Associated Press

A man who was delivering free meals to the elderly for a charity group has been shot and killed in the lobby of a Brooklyn apartment building.

Police say Imonil Aminov, a part-time worker for the Jewish Association for Services of the Aged, was shot in the chest at about 10 a.m. Monday by a man in a black, hooded sweatshirt who fled on foot.

There were no arrests.

Police said it was unclear if the victim also had been robbed.

Charity spokeswoman Aileen Gitelson says Aminov, who was 55, was hired in August to deliver lunches.

Anonymous said...

I am moving around my assets so none of the victims I abused can collect.
---

Ex-Wash. priest agrees to pay abuse victims $5M

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS –

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A former priest accused in many of the child sex-abuse claims that bankrupted the eastern Washington Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $5 million to victims, who'll likely never be paid.

Even though Patrick O'Donnell doesn't have the money he agreed to pay, a lawyer for some two dozen victims says getting the former priest to own up to his actions will help them put the abuse behind them.

"I think we achieved our goal, which was to get a judgment, and hopefully we can deprive him of as many assets as we can," the victims' lawyer, Timothy Kosnoff, said Monday.

O'Donnell avoids a civil trial that was scheduled this week. A court hearing to record the settlement is set for Wednesday.

O'Donnell's lawyer, John Bergman of Seattle, declined to release details of the settlement, saying documents were still being prepared. "We want to put an end to this case," Bergman said.

O'Donnell's telephone number is unlisted and for years he has declined to talk with reporters.

In numerous depositions, O'Donnell admitted to molesting dozens of teenage boys over three decades. He refused to testify in the civil trial, however, and Kosnoff said the settlement was the best that could be achieved.

O'Donnell was named in 66 of the 176 claims alleging sexual abuse by priests in the Spokane diocese, more than any other local priest.

Lawsuits filed by O'Donnell's victims were a major factor in the bankruptcy the Spokane Diocese entered in 2005. He did not contribute to the sweeping $48 million settlement with victims the diocese reached last year.

This settlement means none of his Spokane victims will have to face O'Donnell in court, though other lawsuits are pending.

He was a priest in the Spokane Diocese in the 1970s and early 1980s. When parents complained about the sex abuse, he was sent quietly away for treatment and transferred to Seattle.

But police were never told and the statute of limitations has expired, so O'Donnell was never charged with crimes.

O'Donnell, 66, lives in a nice house in La Conner, but state law prevents him from losing his home or his retirement funds.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs will work to identify all of O'Donnell's assets, including any he might have transferred to other people, Kosnoff said.

"We have reason to believe that has occurred," he said.

The lawsuits were originally filed in 2002 but were delayed until the complex bankruptcy of the Spokane Diocese was resolved.

O'Donnell began therapy for his sexual conduct in the early 1970s while serving as a priest in Spokane. Yet even while in treatment, O'Donnell continued to have sexual contact with teen boys that he didn't disclose to the therapist.

O'Donnell said in a court deposition that he stopped having sexual contact with boys in 1980, and removed himself from the priesthood in 1986.

After that, O'Donnell practiced psychology in the Bellevue area, treating patients age 12 and older.

The Washington state Board of Psychology began investigating O'Donnell in 2002 after complaints from some of those he victimized while he was a priest. O'Donnell surrendered his license to practice psychology in January 2004.

Anonymous said...

Obama Told Not to Fear Jewish Lobby

By IOL Staff

CAIRO — Akiva Eldar, the chief political columnist and editorial writer for Israel's Ha'aretz daily, has a clear message for US President-elect Barak Obama before he assumes office as America's 44th president.

"Obama has nothing to fear from the right-wing Jewish lobby," the prominent Israeli journalist and author wrote on Monday, November 10.

The Israeli lobby, led by the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), is usually seen as a major factor in sharing America's Middle East foreign policy, especially regarding the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.

Obama had promised to be actively engaged as an Israeli-Arab conciliator early on in his term.

He once dismissed Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as "not helpful."

"My interest is in solving this problem not only for Israel but for the United States."

But fears of excessive pro-Israel bias were stoked by Barak appointment of Rahm Emanuel, an American Jew who had volunteered at an Israeli army base during the Gulf war, as his chief of staff.

Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, Rahm's father, said he was convinced that his son's appointment would be good for Israel.

"Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel," he was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.

"Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."

Emanuel personally escorted Obama last June when he gave a strongly pro-Israel speech to AIPAC and held a private meeting with AIPAC's Executive Board.

Better Chance
"Let him remember that human and civil rights also apply to the Palestinians, not only to black Americans," said Levy. (Google Photo)

But Eldar, who served as Ha'aretz US Bureau Chief in the 1990's, believes Obama has all what it takes to break free from the strains of the Jewish lobby in the US.

"Obama won the Jewish electorate's sweeping support (78 percent)."

He stressed that Republican John McCain's pledge to move the American Embassy to occupied Jerusalem did not sway the Jewish voters.

"Last week's election proved again that domestic issues are of greater interest to American Jews than relations with Israel. The group that believes that territories are more important than peace is negligible."

The Israeli journalist notes that Obama will be serving in a far favorable atmosphere, giving him bigger room to draft his Mideast foreign policy.

"In contrast to the first president Bush, most of Washington's power centers will stand beside the first black president: The two houses of Congress have Democratic majorities, the press is in love."

He said a new generation of politicians who advocate an active American involvement in the Middle East peace process is being aided by J Street, a new Jewish lobby challenging AIPAC.

Eldar added that at least 31 Congressional candidates adopted by the organized Jewish peace camp defeated their opponents.

This, believes the Israeli journalist and author wrote, gives a new meaning for the "friend of Israel" concept which had become a synonym for supporters of the Israeli occupation.

The same argument was made earlier this week by Gideon Levy, another journalist for Haaretz and former spokesman for Shimon Peres.

"When we say that someone is a 'friend of Israel' we mean a friend of the occupation, a believer in Israel's self-armament, a fan of its language of strength and a supporter of all its regional delusions," he wrote.

"When we say someone is a 'friend of Israel' we mean someone who will give Israel a carte blanche for any violent adventure it desires, for rejecting peace and for building in the territories," added Levy.

"Let us now hope that Obama will not be like them.

"That he will put his whole weight behind a deep American involvement in the Middle East…That he will help end the siege on Gaza and the boycott of Hamas, that he will push Israel and Syria to make peace, that he will spur Israel and the Palestinians to reach a settlement," added the Israeli journalist.

"Let him use his clout to end the occupation and dismantle the settlement project. Let him remember that human and civil rights also apply to the Palestinians, not only to black Americans."

Anonymous said...

"We must give up Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem and return to the core of the territory that is the State of Israel prior to 1967, with minor corrections dictated by the reality created since then," he said.

"Many Israelis viciously beat up Palestinians seeking to harvest olives as they have for centuries, and there is no end [to it]. Young Israelis, smitten by messianic dreams, hit our soldiers, breaking their bones and threatening their lives, and no one stops them," Olmert said. "I will not permit this to continue," he promised.

In Full:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1036118.html

Anonymous said...

Will they serve any Rubashkin steak at the Agudah convention this year?

Anonymous said...

Yehudah Nussbaum is an honorable child molester. Shloime Mandel was involved in an honorable cover-up.

Anonymous said...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a.fOgnHQmR4c&refer=home

The flight of Matthews and thousands like her underscores the brain drain and divisions facing the next mayor of one of the most fought-over cities on the planet. Elections today pit an ultra-Orthodox rabbi, Meir Porush, 53, against a former venture capitalist, Nir Barkat, 49, in a contest between backers of a more religious capital and proponents of greater economic development.

Anonymous said...

So nice to meet Jews who think so highly of me.

---------------------------------

Saudi King to meet U.S. Jewish leaders at interfaith summit
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah is set to meet with United States Jewish leaders at an interfaith meeting on Wednesday, as part of his ongoing efforts to promote dialogue.

The meeting, in which leaders from other religions will also participate, will be held at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

United Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder has been invited to the gathering, as has Mark Schneier, a highly-regarded Orthodox rabbi from New York and founding director of the Jewish-Muslim Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.

President Shimon Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will also participate. They arrived in New York on Tuesday morning ahead of the conference, which will last for two days.

On Saturday, Israel Radio reported that the editor in chief of the pan-Arab London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper called on Abdullah to refrain from shaking handswith Peres during the meeting.

Anonymous said...

Jewish organization loses charitable status
By PAUL LUNGEN, Staff Reporter

TORONTO — The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has stripped a Jewish organization of its charitable status after finding its primary purpose was to serve as part of a tax-avoidance scheme.

In a letter to the Choson Kallah Fund of Toronto, Terry de March, director general of the CRA’s charities directorate, stated that the organization’s charitable status will be revoked, preventing it from issuing official donation receipts. Choson Kallah is no longer exempt from paying tax, unless it qualifies as a non-profit organization, and it may be taxed on its remaining assets, CRA stated.

“It remains our view that the charity has willingly lent its name and tax-receipting privileges to the tax shelter in exchange for monetary compensation. In our view, the charity has participated in a program designed to abuse the charitable gifts incentive provisions of the Income Tax Act,” stated a CRA document outlining the reasons behind the revocation.

“Between 2004 and 2005, the charity issued receipts in excess of $177 million, or 90 per cent of the charity’s total income, for donations of pharmaceuticals earmarked for international programs… In 2006 alone… the charity issued receipts totalling over $131 million,” far above the charity’s previous average of between $4 million to $6 million per year, the CRA said.

In receiving the pharmaceuticals and issuing tax receipts “the charity was merely operating as the receipting agent in this arrangement – issuing receipts for property it did not see, need or want and passing this property to a third-party organization,”the CRA said.

In exchange, Choson Kallah received a little more than one per cent of the value receipted, from which it paid a fee to an administrator, the letter stated. The charity did not attempt to independently verify the values of the donations for which it issued receipts, the agency said.

The CRA noted the charity netted only .05 per cent of the value of the donation receipts after expenses, and it failed to maintain the documentation necessary to prove recipients of allocated funds met the definition of charity required by law. Some recipients were not suffering poverty, but received money for wedding assistance, fertility treatments and to pay private debts.

Rabbi Eli Gross, president of Choson Kallah Fund, said the decision will be appealed.

“Right now, I don’t think I will be able to continue our good works,” Rabbi Gross is quoted as telling the Toronto Star. “I don’t know the mechanics of the tax fund, the legality of it or how it works.”

He told the Star that Choson Kallah has been operating for more than 20 years. It started as a small operation that helped people get married, but grew to provide $4 million in poverty relief, mostly to Israel.

Choson Kallah did not return calls from The CJN.

The CRA stated it is “reviewing all tax shelter-related donation arrangements (for example, schemes that typically promise donors tax receipts worth more than the actual amount of the donation)” and it “plans to audit every participating charity, promoter and investor.”

In the past few months, the International Charity Association Network and the Banyan Tree Foundation were stripped of their charitable status. Last week, the CRA stated in a news release it had “revoked the status of the Canadian Amateur Football Association as a registered Canadian amateur athletic association,” with the power to issue tax receipts for gifts or donations.

Anonymous said...

I think it would be good idea to protest against the people who think the wonderful Rubashkins are cruel people.

I suggest we serve frankfurters and burgers that were processed at Agri at this years Agudah convention.
----------------------------------

http://www.southsidepride.com/2008/11/articles/Jewish_council.html

Jewish Council on Urban Affairs

Responding to yesterday’s report about the arrest of the former chief executive of Agriprocessors Inc., and the report that Iowa Workforce Development is assessing AgriProcessors, Inc. (Postville, Ia.) fines totaling $10 million for “repeated violations of Iowa’s wage laws,” Jewish Community Action (JCA, St. Paul, Minn.), Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA, Chicago, Ill.) and St. Bridget Catholic Church (Postville, Ia.) call on AgriProcessors to take immediate action to improve working conditions at its meatpacking plant.

The events of the last several months—the raid, the allegations of worker abuse, and the recent arrest—underscore the need for fair, humane, federal immigration reform and improved working conditions for those who produce the food that feeds our nation.

Failure to improve working conditions would indicate AgriProcessors’ disregard for Jewish ethical standards, including just treatment of workers. Failure to improve plant conditions would also indicate disregard for widespread concerns voiced by consumers of kosher meat.

Both organizations also call on the federal government and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt raids on immigrants, and to adopt comprehensive immigration reform: “Raids devastate communities,” said Jane Ramsey, executive director of JCUA. “Members of Congress cannot wait until after the election to end raids; a moratorium is needed now,” said Vic Rosenthal, executive director of JCA.

In July 2008, JCA, JCUA and St. Bridget’s led a delegation of 1,000 people to Postville in order to show support for AgriProcessors workers and their families affected by immigration raids and by the challenging working conditions at the plant. JCA and JCUA continue to lead the upper Midwest Jewish community’s response to the crisis in Postville, by supporting affected families with more than $30,000 in monetary donations, calling on AgriProcessors to improve conditions, and calling on the federal government to halt immigration raids. St. Bridget’s continues to serve as the hub for all humanitarian and financial relief for those affected directly by the raid.

About Jewish Community Action
Jewish Community Action (JCA), a 501c3 based in St. Paul, Minn., brings Jews together with the broader community to work for positive social change. Since 1996, JCA has engaged in local grassroots initiatives to change the conditions that lead to poverty, racism and bias against immigrants. FFI: www.jewishcommunityaction.org.

About Jewish Council on Urban Affairs
Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA), a 501c3 based in Chicago, Ill., combats poverty, racism and anti-Semitism alongside partners from Chicago's diverse communities. For more than 40 years, JCUA has brought a Jewish voice and Jewish community involvement to coalition building, advocacy and issues that affect Chicago's most at-risk communities. FFI: www.jcua.org.

Anonymous said...

New York Post

LEAH'S LIFE OF ABUSE

By MEREDITH JEAN MORTON in Brandon, Fla., TAYLOR K. VECSEY in NY

November 2, 2008 --

It would have been a picturesque, peaceful moment if not for the looming return of her abusive boyfriend.

Leah Hirschel sat on a bench feeding ducks on Lake Lucerne, a tranquil waterside spot near her Brandon, Fla., apartment complex, when a neighbor started up a conversation.

"She kept looking back over her shoulder, as if she was afraid he was coming," the neighbor told The Post. "When she heard him drive up, she got up quickly and said, 'I've got to go. I have to get back in the house before he gets there.' "

The skittish reaction was a glimpse of the nightmare Hirschel endured with her hard-drinking future husband, William Walsh, in the years before her brutal demise - allegedly at his hands.

"They fought a lot and he drank a lot," the neighbor said. "She used to run away from him and try to hide, but he'd always catch her."

Cops say Walsh confessed to killing the loving Long Island schoolteacher last Sunday after she accused him of cheating on her. They say he botched an attempt to cover his tracks.

The grisly murder capped a tumultuous relationship in which she was slapped around and publicly humiliated as he bedded other women, said cops and sources close to the couple.

Hirschel and Walsh, both 29, began dating eight years ago while working together at a Long Island sales company. Walsh was instantly smitten with the trim, 5-foot-4 brunette.

"Billy even said to me early on, 'She's the one,' " Tom Walsh told The Post yesterday after a visit with his brother.

A warm, caring college graduate, Hirschel had grown up in a Jewish family in upscale Rockville Centre.

Walsh was raised in a working-class Catholic family in Huntington, and never finished college.

Despite their differences, Walsh and Hirschel stayed together when they relocated to Florida with their company in 2003.

She mostly stayed home as Walsh came and went at all hours, according to the neighbor, who heard many angry outbursts.

"One night, I was in bed and I heard them running down the stairs," a neighbor said. "He said, 'Where are you going?' He jerked her by the arm back up the stairs and said, 'The only place you're going is back upstairs.' "

The problems escalated the few months before they left, the neighbors said, leading to two police visits - but no arrests.

After two years, they headed back to Long Island, got married and returned to school.

In July 2005, the two wedded in a nondenominational ceremony at the Jericho Terrace, an elegant catering hall in Mineola.

The newlyweds moved to an apartment in Bethpage and enrolled in school. Leah pursued her master's degree at Molloy College in Rockville Centre while William took a few business classes at Farmingdale State.

Money was tight, so the couple put off having kids.

Walsh struggled to keep jobs, bouncing from one management position to another at Charlie Brown's Steakhouses in Lynbrook, Garden City and Holtsville. One move was because he was suspected of stealing money, according to a source at the steakhouse.

At work, his domestic life was a mystery. Some co-workers didn't even know he had been married. Others said he had affairs with at least two subordinates.

In May, he took a job selling gym memberships at an LA Fitness in Farmingdale - the same place where he worked out last Sunday as his wife's body lay in their bedroom.

At the time he worked there, he told co-workers he had been separated from his wife for a year, but they were trying to mend the rift.

Meanwhile, Leah's career soared. She graduated from Molloy in May and was hired in September as a teacher at the School for Language and Communication Development in Glen Cove.

On Wednesday, police found her body near a Long Island golf course. Walsh was busted later that day.

He was later transferred from an East Meadow jail to a hospital psych ward for reasons not made clear.

When asked if he had attempted suicide, Walsh's sister, Virginia, would only say his jailers "want to make sure he's emotionally OK."

"Now that he knows his family loves him and is behind him, that will give him strength," Tom Walsh added.

Walsh's relatives will not attend Leah's funeral today, on the advice of his lawyer.

Additional reporting by James Fanelli and Brad Hamilton

Link -

http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/11022008/news/regionalnews/leahs_life_of_abuse_136480.htm

Anonymous said...

Does anyone even care that I ran away to Israel after sexually abusing some girls when I was principal?

Anonymous said...

Even I have standards. A 6-year-old and older is fine, but a 3-year-old is just way too young.

WASILLA -- An Anchorage man has been charged with sexually abusing a 3-year-old child, Alaska State Troopers said. Michael Knipe, 21, was charged Monday with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

eters said Knipe was arrested and charged after troopers received a call that a 3-year-old had been assaulted at a home in Wasilla. The child was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center where an examination showed injuries "consistent with a possible sexual assault," Peters said.

Knipe is currently being held at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility in Palmer on $20,000 cash-only bail plus a court-approved, third-party custodian.

Anonymous said...

"Maryland is a pedophile-friendly state," said Frank Dingle, of Catonsville, a member of the survivors group. "The bishops' and Pope's words have an impact, but if the bishops took action it would have even more of an impact. More needs to be done."

I disagree with the statement above.. Baltimore has some of the best mechanchim and mechancos in the world.

Anonymous said...

Analysis: Haredi voting signals weakening of sector's political establishment
Nov. 12, 2008
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST

No matter what the final results, the 2008 municipal elections will go down in history as a watershed event for haredi politics that will likely have far-reaching implications on the national level.

For the first time in Israeli political history, the normally obedient haredi voters showed signs of rebellion.

In two haredi centers - Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh - there is a significant haredi contingent that has come out openly against the haredi political establishment.

The most embattled by far is the Ger Hassidic sect. Until now Ger, the single largest Hassidic sect in Israel, effectively controlled Agudath Yisrael. But in this election there are signs that Ger has lost the support of a large segment of the haredi vote and may lose its political hegemony.

A growing number of haredim feel alienated from Ger's stringent interpretations of Jewish practice. For instance, Ger's Council for the Purity of the Camp has been spearheading a campaign for complete gender separation on buses and in public places such as post offices located in haredi neighborhoods.

But more importantly, large segments within haredi society feel disenfranchised. Chabad Hassidim, Sephardim who are not represented by Shas, Lithuanian haredim who work for a living and those who are new to haredi Orthodoxy (hozrim b'tshuva) have consistently suffered discrimination.

Their boys aren't accepted to the good Talmudei Torah [religious elementary schools] and yeshivot. Their daughters aren't admitted to the quality high schools. They watch as young men and women with the "right" family connections get jobs in prestigious Torah institutions while their own children are left behind, lacking in addition the required secular education needed to integrate in the modern Israeli labor market.

Many have begun to question their obligations to a rabbinic leadership that rejects them and offers them no future. Many also are being to question rabbinic opinion on mundane matters such municipal elections.

As one haredi put it, "What do rabbis know about politics? Do I ask a rabbi what kind of floor cleaner I should use? We need a separation between religion and politics. I don't want rabbis to tell me what kind of cellular phone to use or where to sit on the bus.

"I live in Bnei Brak. I am very active in my community and I help a lot of people. But I can't run in local elections because I don't have the right connections with the people who control internal rabbinic politics. In the end, the best man isn't chosen for the job."

Meir Porush is trying to capitalize on this large swathe of the disenchanted haredi public.

Historically, Porush's Shlomei Emunim faction within Agudath Yisrael has represented small hassidic sects. But in this election additional groups of haredim have seen in Porush an alternative to the haredi rabbinic establishment.

Although he was careful not to do so openly, Porush utilized the Internet in his campaign. Although use of the Internet is officially prohibited except when needed to make a living, Porush gave an interview to the popular Behaderei Haredim (In Haredi Rooms) chat room. Behaderei Haredim is a forum readily used by disgruntled haredim to vent their frustrations. It is one of the examples of an increasingly independent haredi populace.

Meanwhile, the rebbe of Ger, Ya'acov Aryeh Alter, aware of the threat that Porush presents, has called on his hassidim not to vote for him, even though he's the city's only haredi candidate. Ger enjoys the support of the Boyan Hassidic sect, which is still angry at Porush for bucking its authority in the Betar municipal elections.

The Viznitz and Sanz hassidic sects are also backing Ger for political reasons. But an absurd situation has been created in which a coalition of hassidic sects is opposing Jerusalem's only haredi mayoral candidate.

In Friday's Hamodia, a weekly controlled by the hassidic sect, Alter placed a front page notice calling to vote for Agudath Yisrael. Conspicuously absent was the rebbe's electoral command regarding the mayoral race. Porush's name simply was not mentioned.

The rebbe's omission was particularly striking since it was accompanied by an ad publicizing the opinions of a list of leading haredi rabbis who specifically called to vote not only for Agudath Yisrael and for Porush.

Even Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the most revered halachic authority among Lithuanian haredi Jewry, who is known to oppose Porush, nevertheless at the last minute and halfheartedly called on his followers to support him in the elections since he was the only haredi candidate.

In Beit Shemesh there was an even more radical development. The same coalition of Chabad, non-Shas Sephardim, Lithuanians who work and hozrim b'tshuva have banded together to form their own political party, called TOV. The party has also received strong support from American haredim, who aren't used to rabbis who tell them how to vote in political elections.

The haredi establishment is afraid that TOV, which ran a list in haredi Betar and won a seat on the local council, will transform itself into a national party that will weaken United Torah Judaism's electoral strength.

There are signs that a party like TOV would succeed in the haredi Elad and perhaps in Modi'in Illit as it did in Betar.

And if Porush loses in his race against Barkat, there is always the chance that he will establish and independent party ahead of the upcoming national elections.

On the other hand, if he wins, the anti-establishment movement within haredi society will be strengthened. Either way this municipal election will undoubtedly be remembered as a turning point in haredi politics.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404704516&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

exposemolesters said...

"As one haredi put it, "What do rabbis know about politics? Do I ask a rabbi what kind of floor cleaner I should use? We need a separation between religion and politics. I don't want rabbis to tell me what kind of cellular phone to use or where to sit on the bus."
================================

Maybe we should ask the Rabbis what brand of toilet paper to use. Seems they have all the answers - NOT!

Anonymous said...

I am the putz who alerted the mandels, back in the 90's, that yehuda nussbaum was being accused of child sex-abuse and that they better start sweeping under the rug fast.

Anonymous said...

Peachy happens to be my chaver. It is understandable he would defend me. We both attended the same simcheh in boro-park for the squverer bar mitzveh boy this week.

Anonymous said...

http://www.mincava.umn.edu/documents/bibs/jewish/jewish.html

Organizations working in the field which may be able to provide useful information:

* The Center for Prevention Sexual/Domestic Violence (www.cpsdv.org) has changed its name to The FaithTrust Institute. Rabbi Cindy Enger is the director of the Jewish program
* Jewish Women International
* Israeli mental health
* L.O. Combat Violence Against Women
* The Awareness Center/The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault

Anonymous said...

Kosher Slaughterhouse Workers Released Before Testifying Against Company

The Jewish Daily Forward, news report, Posted: Nov 12, 2008 Review it on NewsTrust

POSTVILLE, Iowa – Eighteen workers gained their release from federal prison on condition they testify against their supervisors at Agriprocessors, but they have no ability to survive on their own, writes the Jewish Daily Forward.

The 18 must live in Postville but are not allowed to work. St. Bridget's Catholic Church has stepped up to feed and house the workers. The prosecutors have not provided any support for the workers, and now are sending another 13 workers with the expectation that the church will care for them.

The prisoners agreed to testify in lieu of serving a two-year sentence for using false Social Security numbers. The prisoners say the company sold them the numbers for $125, so they don't see how they can be accused of stealing them.

Anonymous said...

http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a14004/News/New_York.html#
---------------------------------
Hikind Subpoenaed On Sex-Abuse Information

by Hella Winston
Special To The Jewish Week

State Assembly member Dov Hikind was subpoenaed Monday to provide testimony and files he has compiled about rabbis and yeshiva employees who have allegedly sexually abused children under their charge, and rabbinic leaders who may have protected the abusers.


The Brooklyn Democrat says he has assembled detailed dossiers on “hundreds” of such cases. But he said he would “go to jail for 10 years” rather than reveal the names of the alleged victims, whom he has guaranteed anonymity.

Michael Dowd, the attorney who served the subpoena on behalf of several clients allegedly molested by their yeshiva teacher as children, said he was willing to keep the names of the alleged victims from becoming public. He is representing his clients in a civil suit against Yeshiva
Torah Temimah in Flatbush and its longtime teacher, Yehuda Kolko, who was convicted of child endangerment last April.

“I’m willing to try to work with him in a way that protects the sources yet exposes the villains,” said Dowd of Hikind. “I am not at all seeking to do harm or impair his progress, but I have a responsibility to my clients.”

Hikind also faced new pressure this week over his effort — publicized on a recent edition of his radio show — to work with a chasidic man who has come to him acknowledging he has repeatedly molested children, and confesses to one incident as recently as two months ago. Hikind says he has gotten the man into therapy with a “top person in the field” and has declined to disclose his name or tell law enforcement authorities about what he knows.

On Tuesday, Marci Hamilton, a Yeshiva University law professor and national expert on child sexual abuse, said Hikind’s holding back of this information “is outrageous. At this point he’s engaged in obstruction of justice. Is there any indication that [the abuser] has taken anyone over state lines? It seems to me if local prosecutors won’t do it, the FBI should be called.”

A New York police department source with long experience in sex crimes said that even in cases where therapy might help repeat sex offenders, it is essential that the process be overseen through the legal system. Otherwise, she said, there is no way to ensure the offender’s continuing participation and no way to identify him so as to protect the public in case of relapse.

Bill Josephson, a senior partner at Fried Frank and Harris who served as a top lawyer to former Attorney General Eliot Spitzer also asked, “Why aren’t they convening a grand jury?” Given Hikind’s public acknowledgement that he has gathered a virtual mountain of first-hand testimony of sexual wrongdoing,

“Why can’t you empanel a grand jury and then subpoena Dov? Josephson asked. “He can’t hide from [a criminal] subpoena. That’s a very powerful instrument.”

Asked if Hikind’s collection of evidence might move him to empanel a grand jury to investigate what is happening within the Orthodox community on this issue, a spokesperson for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said only, “If Dov Hikind has evidence of wrongdoing or criminality, we are open to hear it. I can’t say we will empanel a grand jury.”


Access by prosecutors to the most recent victim of Hikind’s self-confessed chasidic abuser might enable state authorities to prosecute him. If the victim is a minor, as the abuser’s past prey have been, he would fall within the state’s narrow statute of limitations for such criminal prosecution.

But Hikind said, “He has many victims. None of those will come forward. That’s part of the story.

“The therapists say that if you don’t stop one of these people they will have a hundred victims,” Hikind said. “Believe it. Just this guy started listing to us a lengthy list of his own victims from the past 10 years.”

The developments marked a new twist in Hikind’s campaign to get the Orthodox community to address a problem he has come to view as much more widespread than he ever imagined, one in which he says he is trying to do the right thing.

Last April, after the conviction of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko of Yeshiva Torah Temimah for child endangerment, Hikind began addressing the issue bluntly on his weekly call-in radio program. He invited members of the Orthodox community who had been molested as children to come to him with details about their experience and about rabbis, teachers or others in the community who were responsible.

Stunned by the massive response, the state lawmaker now says he has assembled testimony and information detailing at least 1,000 cases of childhood sexual abuse.
In the Rabbi Kolko case and others, victims who were ultimately willing to come forward publicly say that they told school administrators about what their teachers were doing to them but that the administrators did nothing, or even tried to keep them silent. Some report receiving threats and pressure when they do speak out or seek to go to the authorities.

In the ultra-traditional Orthodox community overall, there is a widely acknowledged taboo about going to secular authorities to prosecute such crimes. And in Brooklyn, some victims who have come forward complain that the D.A.’s office does not prosecute such cases vigorously. They cite Rabbi Kolko’s ultimate sentence.

Hynes negotiated a controversial plea bargain that reduced the felony sexual molestation charge to misdemeanor that did not require Rabbi Kolko to serve prison time or register as a sex offender.

At the same time, Hikind and other observers say the community’s own rabbinic leaders have failed to deal with the problem internally.

Many of his informants are now adults over the age of 23 — the state’s deadline for allowing criminal prosecution of a child sexual abuser and for most civil suits, as well. But even those who are not, says Hikind, are not willing to go to secular law enforcement authorities.


Some have criticized Hikind for making this determination on his own. In the Rabbi Kolko case, a determined detective produced victims willing to come forward by obtaining class lists of hundreds of students taught by Kolko over the years and going from door to door seeking victims who would work with her. Some who initially refused were, in the end, eager to testify.

Hikind says he believes strongly that victims should go to law enforcement authorities and that he encourages them to do so. But given the reality of community reluctance, he says he will use the information he has amassed to go to rabbinic leaders and get them to deal with the situation internally.

He hopes to secure their cooperation in establishing a communal registry that would list the names of teachers removed from schools due to abusive behavior.

But apparently recognizing that many schools are often reluctant to dismiss such teachers in the first place, Hikind has at times appeared to envision forming some sort of rabbinic panel with a more ambitious, quasi-judicial function.

“It’s sort of hard to investigate yourself,” Hikind admitted in an interview last September. “There’s got to be a system where trusted people, respected leaders, who are not directly a part of that particular organization examine everything. We have to make judgments. We do that all the time.”

Last August, Hikind threatened to reveal the names of abusers publicly if communal rabbinic leaders failed to act. This week, Hikind said it would take “another two months” to finish his “current phase.” He said that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) had recently allocated money for him to hire a staff person for the project.

Survivors for Justice, a new group of self-described childhood victims of sexual abuse in the New York Orthodox community and their advocates, dismissed the willingness and ability of rabbinic leaders to play the role Hikind envisions.

“We applaud Dov Hikind’s efforts, but we believe it is crucial that any information [he] has be brought directly to the police,” the group said in a statement. “It’s crucial in an effort to prevent sexual abuse from continuing that all perpetrators be brought to justice. We are dealing with sex offenders, and they need to be arrested, prosecuted and registered in order to protect our children.”

Dowd, who is representing alleged victims of Rabbi Kolko in their suit against him, the school and its administrator, said, “With all due respect to his intellect, skill and ability, [Hikind] can’t be the arbiter of what is useful to my case. The lawyers representing those who are abused are in the best position to do that. Therefore, I have to depose him, question him under oath.”

Dowd stressed, “I mean no harm. We are both pointed in the same direction.” He said he was willing to agree to “reasonable constraints” on his use of Hikind’s material. But he added: “I fully intend to use any information that proves the case.”

Hikind said he had turned Dowd’s subpoena over to “a lawyer for the Assembly” who will determine to what extent he is required to cooperate as a state legislator. But regardless of the lawyer’s determination, expected Wednesday, “Hell would have to freeze over for me to disclose any of the private things to anybody,” he said.

Some legal experts said that Hikind might find a successful argument against having to comply with Dowd’s subpoena by citing the state constitution’s speech and debate clause — a provision that grants privileges and immunities to lawmakers in connection with information they gather for the purpose of legislating. A few said he might also be able to resist the subpoena under the state’s shield law for journalists since he used his radio program to gather some of the information.

Hamilton, the Yeshiva University legal expert, was unfamiliar with the state constitutional provision. But under the federal constitution’s speech and debate clause, “The activity must be related to his role as a member of the state legislature,” she said. “Here, it is hard to argue he was engaged in a legislative issue, because he was restricting his interest to his own religious sect. In any event, speech and debate only goes to words, not to illegal acts.”

Anonymous said...

A black man should be called the 'n' word without fear of consequence. How else could we put it to the yeshiva students here.

If your shirt is tucked out and you do not adhere to the dress code; you are the same as the Porto-Ric ans and n's of the world.
................................

Another Modern Orthodox educator disturbed enough by the behavior of students to speak out publicly this week was Rabbi Yosef Adler, principal of the Torah Academy of Bergen County, a boys’ high school in Teaneck. Rabbi Adler, who is also the spiritual leader of Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, told his congregants in a sermon on Shabbat that while change in American policies takes time, some behaviors must change immediately — namely the kind of racist attitudes he observed in school last week.

Judaism’s description of all men and women being created in the image of God “is not a left-wing term,” he said, noting that Jews should take pride in the fact that an African-American was elected president.

Anonymous said...

Secular candidate for mayor wins easily

Jason Koutsoukis in Jerusalem
November 13, 2008

THE secular millionaire businessman Nir Barkat will become the next mayor of Jerusalem after he trounced the ultra-Orthodox rabbi Meir Porush in municipal elections on Tuesday.

Mr Barkat, 49, who owns an IT company that specialises in anti-virus software, won with 52 per cent of the vote compared to 43 per cent for Mr Porush.

The Russian entrepreneur Arkadi Gaydamak won just 3.6 per cent of the vote, despite spending millions to appeal to the city's 250,000 Palestinian population to vote. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have consistently boycotted city elections in the belief that participating would be tantamount to recognising Israeli sovereignty.

"Our achievement belongs to all those who love and cherish our special and amazing city, the eternal capital of the Jewish people," Mr Barkat declared in a jubilant victory speech early yesterday. "The victory belongs to right and left, religious and secular, Jews and Arabs," he said.

"I will be the mayor of all the Jerusalemites. I will serve as an attentive ear and a helping hand for those who voted for me and those who didn't."

Mr Barkat, a centre-right politician, attracted support from secular voters on the left and right of the Israeli political spectrum determined to block Jerusalem's growing ultra-Orthodox population from tightening its grip on the city.

Mr Barkat's victory was being hailed by many as an historic victory with hopes that he will return Jerusalem to the glory days it enjoyed under the legendary former mayor Teddy Kollek, who ruled the city from 1965 to 1993.

Secular Israelis are also hoping that Mr Barkat's election will help reverse the tide of people leaving the city. Since 1996, about 163,000 people have left Jerusalem, while the city has managed to attract only 97,000 new residents in the same period.

Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem since it won the 1967 Six Day War is not recognised by the Australian Government and most of the international community.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/11/12/1226318741852.html

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It is unfortunate that it has come to this. It is a big darn shame it has come to this. It is very hurtful that it has come to this. But yet, IT HAS COME TO THIS. It has come at the price of a GREAT CHILUL HASHEM. It has come to Hashem having to allow his holy name to be DESECRATED so that his CHILDREN remain SAFE. Shame on all those responsible for enabling and permitting Hashem's name to be desecrated! When you save children you save the future. You save the future you save generations. You save generations you save lives. You save lives you have saved the world!!!!!!!