Saturday, July 01, 2006 - The UOJ Archives
"UOJ - Please Listen. The abuse of power, molestation, and cover-up that you know about does not allow you to rest peacefully....."
A Sophisticated Reader Writes And UOJ Responds.
________
I'd like to comment on the many opinions being offered whether the good that UOJ has accomplished is being "offset" by the bad.
UOJ - please listen. I can tell from some of your recent comments that you really care. The abuse of power, molestation, and cover-up that you know about does not allow you to rest peacefully. You have been very successful in changing our culture to some degree over the last months. Suddenly, a topic that was never spoken about is on the tips of our tongues. Yeshivas are wary of you. The organizations are on the lookout. The climate is right for change.
As you successfully point out the hypocrisy and evil in our midst, you and many other commenters should make a strong effort to:
1. Use appropriate language instead of the lexicon now used.
2. Attack only those that truly deserve to be attacked - the abusers of power and the molesters. The potshots taken at rabbonim, rabbayim, or even laymen that we have seen on this blog is not appropriate and needs to be curtailed.
3. Stop ridiculing anyone (including this commenter) who calls for a more civil discourse. I believe that most of us are parents. We would be the first to instruct our children that two wrongs do not make a right. We can't justify the feeling of gossip, frivolity and laxity that this blog is identified with on the basis that we are taking up a higher cause - especially when we can accomplish the same thing without resorting to these tactics.
Let's fight the issue of molestation in a strong, take-no-prisoners type of way, but keep foul language, off color, and insulting remarks out of the dialogue. I believe that - as you call for a higher level of Judaism - a yearning for the holy religion that it once was - it is a critical error to allow and foster this type of dialogue which decreases individual holiness. As a group, the effect is contagious and more devastating.
UOJ, I respectfully ask you and your readers to think before you respond with knee jerk reactions. Please consider my words which are heartfelt.
I must specifically comment on Rav Elchonon Wasserman. Despite your strong feelings about the decision that Rav Elchonon made, going after him so harshly has left a bad taste in many people's mouths. Now, you have said that we should not read your blog if we don't like your opinions.
You are missing the point which is that we like what you are doing. You are important to us. We would like to visit your blog which is the only vehicle where we can have an open discussion about abuse. However, we respect certain boundaries that you have crossed. It is very simple for you to tell us to leave the blog, but you would lose many interested and loyal supporters. Please reconsider your adamant position on certain Gedolim that you have severely criticized.
Regarding R' Elchanan, perhaps your point could have been that people aren't perfect and that you believe that his advice was wrong and that even Rav Elchonon may have realized this. You could extend that further with the Art Scroll type biographies where Gedolim are superhuman and explain why you believe that is dangerous. But the manner that you attacked him, conveys a message that G-D forbid - R' Elchanan is in the same category as a Margulies. This is unequivocally wrong. As mentioned, the blog should criticize and publicize the real abusers - not Gedolim or laymen that make mistakes or are imperfect in one way or another.
To the readers:
It is time to get involved. Following the blog and making clever comments is not very difficult. Meanwhile, UOJ is fighting a one man battle. Are you ready to advocate for the independent board that UOJ has spoken about? Would you dare challenge your Yeshiva if an issue of abuse came up? It is easy to feel comfortable on this blog with UOJ as your super hero. It is convenient to wait for UOJ to "take down" the next molester, but where are the parents? You need to get involved in real life. I believe that UOJ has been saying that of late, but I haven't seen any responses. I'd like to see readers respond by name - no more hiding behind anonymous - and offer to support a parent advocacy group.
Let's continuously examine and reexamine our motives. It is easy to insult those who critique this blog, it is much more difficult to absorb good advice even if it is coming from those that you disagree with.
Let's clean up this blog so that it can be a place that we would be proud to take our children to visit. Let's support UOJ by becoming involved parents. Let's move forward by continuing with the positive aspects of this blog while filtering out the negative aspects that we know in our heart of hearts has no place in our very important dialogue.*****
UOJ RESPONDS:
The pain that all thinking people feel as well as the outrage, is expressed by myself and thousands of readers of this blog. Going through an overwhelming amount of comments and e-mails per week, I am able to put up only a fraction of the comments and read only some of the e-mails. The one time I took off comment moderation as a test, there were 1030 comments until I started moderating again. Unprecedented in Blog history; Jewish or otherwise.
You do make some excellent points and your sincerity has captured my attention.
I am guilty...guilty of letting it take years for me to transform my generally mild-mannered personality, (until I'm yanked around) into the "wild-man" UOJ. I'm watching this Jim Jones-like behavior for years while trying gently to make a difference by attending board meetings, writing essays under pseudonyms, donating large sums of money anonmyously; all with the proper intent to get a system in the yeshivas and Rabbanut that is guided by the beauty of our Torah. Not a system governed by individual needs, not beautiful edifices, not ostentatious dinners and conventions...simply a system run by yirei Hashem with no other interest than the needs of the klal first, foremost, and only!
Instead, we have a system that is corrupt from the mail-room person up to the decision-makers, and everyone in between. How did we get here? Where did this disease of abuse of power and utter corruption come from? Are we students of our holy Torah or are we just a bunch of people dressed in dark clothing, hats, wigs, and tzitzis? (some fools wear more than one pair at a time)
The answer my friends, is the pass we gave to our rabbis that are no more than mortal humans. They have the same temptations that all of us have, and many of them, not all, fall victim to their humanity. They steal, they cheat, they are corrupt. You know why? There is no system of checks and balances that all humanity requires. They are - the rabbis/gedolim...who is going to keep them in check?
We have erred. We have turned our rabbis into gods..they are not, not at all. They are influenced and corrupted by money and power just as we are. We are scrutinized by our peers, they get a pass.
Therefore the trembling anger I have displayed towards R' Elchonon Wasserman. He was a Torah giant; but he was not God, just a mere human, fallible just like any other human. Was he brilliant in Torah? Absolutely! Therefore what exactly? A student wants to escape Nazi Germany...and he writes him back to stay put? Pikuach nefesh replaces a personal theory or opinion that "Y.U.",- R' Yitzckok Elchonon in those days, is more dangerous to his talmidim than Hitler? Rabbi Gedalya Schorr and Mike Tress obtain hundreds of visas for his talmidim and he tells them, NO THANKS!?
I was sitting at the hospital bed several years ago of a true "tzaddik gamur"; he was nebach at the end of his life. He was at one of the meetings where his family hosted a reception to honor R' Elchonon in the late 1930's. I was holding his frail, trembling hand as he described to me what transpired after that meeting. The host and the hostess threw themselves at the feet of R' Elchonon in the living room, sobbing and begging uncontrollably...pleading with him NOT to go back to Europe, and to bring his talmidim to the United States.
R' Elchonon was trance-like...he wouldn't budge. "HE KNEW WHAT HASHEM WANTED!" He in fact played God...thousands died against the wishes of Hashem, who commanded us to violate Yom Kippur, Shabbos, Kashrut...do everything one must do to save a single life! For everyone's information, what ArtScroll will NOT tell you, is that Rav Yitzchok Scheiner, the present Rosh Hayeshiva of Kaminetz in Israel, was a talmid of Y.U. at that time. Not too shabby a black hatter I might comment. He was right up there on the infamous list of people banning Noson Slifkin's works.
So my passion is, in my opinion, well-founded, rooted in common sense and Torah inspired fact. No chassidic rebbe or any rabbi has godly powers, they are mere mortals. Remember we are Jews - not Christians; there are NO intermediaries in our religion. WE have a direct line to God, not one bit less than a person who is wearing eighty pairs of tzitzis, fur hats, round hats, square hats, velvet ones, silk jackets, white Kabbalah coats or any of the cult-like dress that we have succumbed to - like children lost in a store full of toys and costumes.
We have let the pied-pipers flute us into a generation of meaningless rituals and chumras that are nothing more than the works of dangerous and foolish power grabbers.
Some rabbis do this intentionally, and some are led to this madness - by a circle of their leidegayers; people who are human parasites...eating off the flesh of the naive and trusting. When I met with R' Shteinman, to find out that he knew nothing of a virus called herpes, only for him to categorize the New York Dept.of Health as goyim out to destroy Judaism, I knew this gedolim thing has to go!
When R' Shmuel Kaminetzky responded in the Kolko matter, that we MUST assume Kolko did t'shuva - if a recent victim, that was not victimized in the last few months, did NOT come forward, I knew that it was a mitzva to come out with the heavy artillery; lawsuits, secular media, private investigators, the D.A....and anything else I can think of to bring to light the cesspool of leaders that we have selected to guide us through difficult times. When Aaron Twerski disgraces the very essence of our intellect by calling Lipa Margulies an honorable man...there is no stopping me!
So I am upset to the point of being a " crazy person" and every other adjective my detractors can think of. But my accounting will be given to Hashem, not some earthly human; and whenever that day comes, I will go proudly and absolutely unafraid, knowing full well my intentions were pure; no money, plaques, chicken dinners, or any other human reward. I do not want to sully any reward I may or may not get from my Creator.
There will be more...much, much more; this Thursday I will go public with the next yeshiva cover-up and their in-house molester (Ner Israel). I will not stop until we have an abuse-free yeshiva system, that includes their enablers, and a corrupt-free rabbinic leadership.
I will let God judge me and my language; after all, I am human and certainly have shortcomings. I'm willing to take that chance.
Posted by "UOJ" - "The Un-Orthodox Jew" at Saturday, July 01, 2006
EVERY SIGNATURE MATTERS - THIS BILL MUST PASS!
CLICK - GOAL - 100,000 NEW SIGNATURES! 75,000 SIGNATURES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO!
EFF Urges Court to Block Dragnet Subpoenas Targeting Online Commenters
CLICK! For the full motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/hersh_v_cohen/UOJ-motiontoquashmemo.pdf
65 comments:
I love ya, UOJ... But have to agree with the request to be a lillte more judicious sometimes. I can curse like a drunken sailor, but what point is it if it it'll turn off those we need to reach?
http://web.israelinsider.com/views/12538.htm
David Landau is an honorable man.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/941535.html
"While there are small groups within the ultra-Orthodox population who refuse to vaccinate their children because some rebbe told them it's forbidden, lately we've been seeing a lot more people I can describe - even though it's a group that transcends different sectors - as readers of the newspaper you write for."
Even a novice physician could diagnose what was afflicting the 7-month-old baby who was brought to Laniado Hospital in Netanya last month. The infant's body temperature was soaring and he seemed unresponsive to his surroundings, but the clearest sign of the problem was the bulging fontanel (the soft spot in a baby's cranium), a common symptom when excess pressure builds up in an infant's soft skull. "The emergency room doctor immediately saw how much the fontanel was bulging," says Dr. Yaakov Shechter, director of the hospital's pediatric department. "I've been a doctor for 20 years and this was one of the worst cases of meningitis we had ever seen."
The staff, led by Shechter and the hospital's infectious disease expert, Dr. Uri Rubinstein, worked hard to save the baby's life. But it took three weeks - during which the infant was transferred to another hospital - before his condition stabilized and he was finally discharged. It is not yet known whether the severe infection caused any permanent damage to his brain or nervous system.
In any other case where a baby's life was saved, the doctors might just congratulate themselves and the medical team and move on. But the case of this baby, whose parents had not immunized him against the disease, left them with other feelings. Not only because they know it is just a matter of time before another baby with the same sort of infection will show up at the hospital, and not just because of the frustration of knowing that the vaccination the Health Ministry provides for free to every baby would have prevented this particular case of infection. The doctors' gloom stems from their awareness that a steadily growing number of parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated for ideological reasons.
"You probably think that the people who aren't willing to have their kids vaccinated are primitive folks, but it's not like that at all," says Shechter back in his colorfully decorated office in the pediatric ward.
Conversations with doctors, nurses, parents, homeopaths and anti-vaccination activists all indicate that the number of those refusing to vaccinate and of the unvaccinated has risen dramatically in recent years. And the data supporting this assessment is worrying. According to the Health Ministry, in recent years there have been outbreaks of diseases for which vaccinations exist. In addition to reports of a nationwide increase in cases of whooping cough, in 2003 and 2004 outbreaks of measles were reported among the ultra-Orthodox population in the Jerusalem district. In 2005 there were outbreaks of mumps in East Jerusalem, Hadera and Holon; and about two months ago an unvaccinated ultra-Orthodox community in the Jerusalem area suffered an outbreak of measles that affected more than 250 people. Apparently the source of the biggest outbreak of the disease in Israel in decades was a young, unvaccinated yeshiva student who came here on a visit from England.
The cost in human lives is also escalating. In 2002, a 6-week-old baby died from whooping cough; in 2004, a 7-year-old boy died from measles; in 2006, two 6-week-old babies died of whooping cough; and this year alone, the disease claimed the lives of five infants, ranging in age from 3 weeks to 7 months. Not one of them had been vaccinated.
Dr. Shechter's words take on a more urgent tone as he tries to illustrate just how serious he feels the situation is: "As a pediatrician living in this generation, I've been privileged to deal with children who were vaccinated. To us, infectious diseases are history. But it wasn't so long ago, just 50 or 60 years ago, that smallpox was still around," he says, pulling a thick medical encyclopedia off the shelf and quickly leafing through it to find that entry. "It no longer exists in the world because of vaccination. Children are no longer vaccinated against it because it was eradicated by means of vaccination," he adds with emphasis. "Just look at the pictures. A picture is worth more than a thousand words."
He points to a horrifying black-and-white photograph of a patient with a face covered with oozing sores. He calls parents who refuse to vaccinate their children "pseudo-intellectuals. These are the most dangerous people. You can't reason with them because they're convinced of their rightness and aren't cognizant of the whole historical process, and just say flat out: 'Our child is not going to be vaccinated.'
"I have no problem dealing with patients who read up on the Internet and are intelligent but are willing to listen," continues Dr. Shechter. "But when someone comes to me with a fixed prejudice and searches the Internet from the outset only for what serves his line of thinking, then there's nothing I can do with him. It's fanaticism! It's Khomeini-ism! You can try explaining to them until you're blue in the face and they won't hear what you're saying."
http://jewschool.com/2007/12/09/chad-gadya/
Dr. Rabbi Seth Mandell shows up at the Chazon conference, which is very anti-Rubashkin, to defend the OU.
http://mollymew.blogspot.com/2007/11/usa-tell-trader-joes-to-do-right-thing.html
TELL TRADER JOE'S TO DO THE RIGHT THING:
Trader Joe's portrays itself as a good employer and retailer that sells only the best in healthy, natural and organic food. Yet it continues to stock products produced in an atmosphere of fear, exploitation, problematic food safety standards and questionable environmental practices. These products are 'Aaron's Best' and 'David's Kosher', and they are made at Agriprocessors, one of the world's largest producers of kosher beef, lamb and poultry products.
Workers, consumers and the environment are at risk, and Agriprocessors is profiting from it by selling products to companies like Trader Joe's. Please take action and send this letter to Trader Joe's letting them know about Agriprocessors' terrible record on employee and food safety, and asking them to stop stocking Agriprocessors' products.
According to workplace injury logs provided to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Agriprocessors' workers have endured:
*amputations
*broken bones
*stab and puncture wounds
*laceration injuries
*eye injuries
*hearing loss
*throat and lung irritation
*emotional stress and insomnia
Reports from workers at Agriprocessors continue to paint a grim picture. Accidents, insufficient training, and an atmosphere of intimidation and fear continues to frighten workers. In addition the media has raised concerns about Agriprocessors' food safety and environmental record. For more information on these and other issues please visit http://www.eyeonagriprocessors.org/ . Join us and tell Trader Joe's to pull Aaron's Best and David's Kosher from the shelves- it's the right thing to do.
BY STEPHEN BERNARD,AP
Posted: 2008-01-05 04:25:37
NEW YORK (AP) - With credit markets continuing their downward spiral, investors could see their dividends disappearing in 2008.
Dividend cuts or suspensions will continue to pick up among financial services firms in 2008, said Howard Silverblatt, a senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's. In 2007, fewer companies increased dividends, according to Standard & Poor's, while more companies in 2007 than in 2006 actually cut or suspended dividends.
Many investors rely on dividend payments as a source of income, and financial institutions in particular have been rich sources of large payouts. Their need to raise capital in the face of rising loan defaults, though, has made their dividends one of the first places they look to save money.
http://oukosher.org/index.php/consumer/browse_result_co/A%7CK/P%7C
Keystone Foods is OU certified.
www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b6-3keystone-1.6211860jan04,0,4335700.story
Clean equipment better, FDA tells snackmaker
Letter cites complaint about child who suffered anaphylactic reaction.
By Joe Nixon
Of The Morning Call
January 4, 2008
The Food and Drug Administration has warned a Lower Nazareth Township snackmaker about cleaning its manufacturing equipment in the wake of an April inspection.
The FDA, in a Dec. 18 warning letter to Keystone Food Products Inc., 3767 Hecktown Road, said an inspector found in an April 25-26 inspection that manufacturing equipment in the company's ''baking room'' had not been properly cleaned. The letter said food particles were seen on the vibrator belt leading into the packaging area on one line, on the vibrating belt incline and several areas on another vibrating belt that led to other packaging lines.
The FDA letter said the equipment was used to make products with and without dairy ingredients. The letter also said an investigator observed blades used to mix and suspend ingredients had rough welded edges that ''could trap food residue and cross-contaminate product.''
''They found a couple minor things. Those have been corrected,'' said Keystone President Edward Gonzalez, adding the private company's compliance history has been good.
The FDA letter said it also told Keystone in April of a consumer complaint regarding a product Keystone manufactured for an own-label distributor. The name of the distributor was redacted in the warning letter on the FDA Web site. The letter said a complainant's child, who had a documented milk allergy, suffered an anaphylactic reaction after eating two bites of the product.
The product in question was made the day after another product that contained milk. While there was precautionary labeling that said the product was made in a facility that produces dairy products, the FDA said labeling ''must not be used in lieu of adherence to good manufacturing practices. Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring that their products are not adulterated as a result of undeclared allergens.''
Gonzalez said steps have been taken to prevent future problems. If the product to be produced follows one containing an allergen, it will be not be produced on the same line in the same day.
''There is a day in between, and there is a full wash-down on those [lines],'' he said.
The FDA did not return a call or e-mail request for comment Thursday.
joe.nixon@mcall.com
610-559-2145
Basmati rice is not the only superior-quality food targeted by fraudsters. Whisky, gin, vodka, fruit juice, butter, cheese, (Rubashkin?) meat, fish, and coffee have all been bulked out with inferior produce and found their way into shops.
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/uk/Watchdog39s-DNA-quest-for-bogus.3644528.jp
Watchdog's DNA quest for bogus ingredients puts food fraudsters in hot water
By Jeremy Watson
FOOD standards chiefs are launching a new crackdown on the fraudsters who cheat consumers out of millions of pounds every year.
Food fraud is a growing phenomenon in which unscrupulous dealers mislead customers about the quality and origin of the products they buy. Studies have shown that up to 10% of some products can be either adulterated with inferior ingredients or are not from the geographical areas promised by the labelling. In addition, products described as organic have been found to be grown with the aid of chemicals.
Now the government's Food Standards Agency is planning to deploy a new range of science-based investigative techniques to catch criminals in the act.
The FSA is holding a seminar next month to bring together experts on food fraud detection to teach enforcement officers how to use the new methods, which range from DNA testing to chemical examination.
Mark Woolfe, the agency's lead scientist in its food authenticity department, said surveys on individual foods had found the level of fraud to be often around 10%. "The UK food sector alone is worth around £70bn per year, so a small percentage of fraud can be worth a lot of money," Woolfe said.
"This is deliberate misdescription of food for financial gain. We know it is happening so we have to develop the techniques that will help us to detect it. Only when we have the correct methods will we know the true scale of it."
DNA testing is being developed to help food detectives trace the origins of foods such as aromatic Basmati rice, a particular species only supposed to come from the plains around the Ganges in northern India and east Pakistan.
But a survey by the Rice Association, a British trade body, found 16% of tested samples were diluted with high levels of non-Basmati rice.
Some samples had been diluted with inferior varieties by more than 60%. The FSA calculated that the fraud swindles consumers out of more than £1m per year.
Scientists can now test the rice for the distinctive genetic fingerprint that will pinpoint it as a species grown in a certain area.
Basmati rice is not the only superior-quality food targeted by fraudsters. Whisky, gin, vodka, fruit juice, butter, cheese, meat, fish, and coffee have all been bulked out with inferior produce and found their way into shops.
http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/grocery_worker_fired_for_stopp.html
BY DAVE GERSHMAN
The Ann Arbor News
John Schultz says he lost his job at Whole Foods Market in Ann Arbor after he tried to stop a shoplifter from making a getaway. But the company says he went too far and violated a policy that prohibits employees from physically touching a customer - even if that person is carrying a bag of stolen goods.
Schultz says he had just punched out for a break at 7 p.m. on Sunday when he heard a commotion at the front door of the store, 3135 Washtenaw Ave. He said he came to the aid of the manager who yelled for help in stopping a shoplifter. Schultz, the manager and another employee cornered the shoplifter between two cars in the parking lot.
Schultz said he told the shoplifter he was making a citizens arrest and to wait for the police to arrive, but the shoplifter broke away from the group and ran across Washtenaw Avenue and toward a gas station at the corner of Huron Parkway.
Before the man could cross Huron Parkway, Schultz caught up and grabbed the man's jacket and put his leg behind the man's legs. When the manager arrived at the intersection, Schultz said, the manager told him to release the shoplifter, and he complied, and the shoplifter got away.
Schultz said he was called to the store's office the next day, on Christmas Eve, and was fired because he violated a company policy prohibiting employees from having any physical contact with a customer.
Kate Klotz, a company spokesperson, said the policy is clear and listed in a booklet that all employees have to acknowledge that they received before they can start work.
"The fact that he touched him, period, is means for termination," said Klotz.
Schultz said he acted as a private citizen on property that isn't owned by Whole Foods, but Klotz said where the incident happened doesn't change the policy.
"He is still considered an employee of Whole Foods Market regardless of where he was and what was happening," she said.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/12/30/news/business/38-cattle.txt
Ranchers struggling with high hay costs and burned out ranges are being warned that feeding cattle cheap pet food could cause an outbreak of mad cow disease.
Some pet foods contain animal byproducts that if fed to beef or dairy cows pose the threat of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, said state veterinarian Earl Rogers.
Government inspectors regularly visit feed manufacturers to ensure that animal byproducts are not being mixed with feed destined for cattle. And any food source containing ruminant protein must be clearly labeled.
State officials, however, are worried that some farmers may be tempted to supplement cattle feed with the banned material because pet food scraps are commonly fed to swine and poultry.
Hay prices in the state have more than doubled from last year, sometimes selling for as much as $300 per ton.
2007 looks to be the beginning of a sharp, steady increase in the cost of food for the U.S. consumer. With each visit to the grocery store comes a not-so-vague awareness now that inflationary pressures are moving through the food chain. The increase is real. Just think about the last time you bought milk.
According to the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. consumers spend about 10 percent of their disposable income for food.
During 2007, grocery prices that are measured by the Consumer Price Index increased 5.4 percent, with dairy up 14 percent; meat, poultry, fish and eggs, 5.5 percent; cereal and baked products, 5.2 percent; and fruits and vegetables, 4.3 percent. Government economists predict another 3 to 4 percent increase in 2008.
That is probably a low-ball estimate.
Here is why: A rising standard of living in China and India and the overall cost of energy worldwide. Of the latter, there is the general run-up in fuel prices at all stages of production, processing, transportation and distribution of food products.
As consumers gain disposable income, the tendency is to get protein from meat rather than grains. The recent economic gains by the huge populations of India and China illustrate the trend. It takes 3 pounds of cereal grain to produce 1 pound of pork. It takes 8 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of beef.
As more people get their calories from meat rather than from grain directly, that puts new demand on grain supplies, which results in higher prices.
Among the food and feed grains, 2007 has seen repeated record highs for almost all of them. Countries that depend on imports to feed their people and animals have run up prices at astonishing rates this year, trying to guarantee supply. Governments know that hungry people tend to riot and revolt.
And then there is the volatile issue of ethanol from corn.
The price of corn and the billions of bushels of the grain diverted to ethanol production are also contributing factors - to what degree is arguable - to the sharp increase in the cost of food.
Markets work if left to their natural operation. However, they do not when subjected to monopoly, manipulation, fraud and governmental interference. When it comes to corn, governmental mandates are a big factor in the price. Congress has ordered the increased production and use of ethanol, thus putting a claim of about 27 percent on the 13.17 billion bushel 2007 U.S. crop, estimated to be the largest in world history. Corn to ethanol will be 30 percent of annual production in five years to meet added congressional mandates.
Also, there is a 54-cents-a-gallon tariff on imported ethanol and a 51-cents-a-gallon subsidy to U.S. refiners to blend ethanol with gas as a way to encourage its availability. Those subsidies give a financial underpinning to corn prices, which, if absent, would make the ethanol frenzy unsustainable. Accordingly, corn prices would drop a dollar or more from their current $4.24 a bushel.
Another 2.25 billion bushels of U.S. corn is exported for both food and feed.
Because of all these increased demands, the International Food Policy Research Institute predicts that cereal prices will increase by another 10 percent to 20 percent by 2015.
Consumers can then assume that the bill at the grocery checkout will continue to increase in real terms for the next decade.
There has been a major effort on my part to "clean up" the language. The readers have, as well, been more careful in their choice of words.
As I readily admit, I have my shortcomings, and am able to take criticism from well-intentioned people.
"There has been a major effort on my part to "clean up" the language. The readers have, as well, been more careful in their choice of words."
Speak for your effin' self.
No one commented on the very last line of Shafran's ridiculous "Blogistan" screed. He calls the blogs "virtual weapons of mass destruction."
Gee Avi, is UOJ a little too much on target?
I hope his American cousin, Leib, isn't supplying the food.
http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11s18&SecId=18&AId=57204&ATypeId=1
Rabbis back plan for cut-price weddings
04/01/2008
By Jennifer Lipman
Rabbis have praised plans for a new budget wedding service in Stamford Hill and expressed hope that it would extend across the community.
Stamford Hill’s Rabbi Avraham Pinter welcomed Easy Chassene’s plans to organise kosher weddings for £5,200 — 10 times less than they current do, as the JC reported in June.
“You shouldn’t have to go into debt when marrying off your children,” said Rabbi Pinter. “It should be a simcha, not a financial burden.”
Easy Chassene has been set up by Solomon Kliers, manager of Pardes Catering, and Moshe Weinstock. It was developed to “help make weddings more affordable”, said Mr Kliers.
Mr Kliers and Mr Weinstock have leased a local hall accommodating up to 350 guests. They will organise the catering, flowers, photographer and music themselves, making the low price tag possible.
Although based in Stamford Hill, Mr Kliers thought there was “potential for it to work in other places”, although at an extra cost for providing the hall. “We want to serve the whole community, anyone who wants it,” he said.
Rabbi Pinter said: “It is one of the greatest acts of kindness to help somebody make a wedding at a reasonable cost.”
He said lower-priced weddings “can still be beautiful and if there is extra money, it can be spent on building up the important things in life”.
Northwood Synagogue’s Rabbi Alan Plancey hoped that the plan “will snowball into other areas of the community”. Even if a family could afford it, “there is no need for simchas to be ostentatious”.
He welcomed the scheme as a way to “stop people saying we have to keep up with the Joneses. Across the community there are families with large numbers of children who find it hard to give the wedding that they would like to. People should be able to enjoy the wedding without worrying about the bill”.
DEAR UOJ
IT works
shlomo mandel was going to speak in florida at an aguda conference but was told that people would ask him about the abuse issues in his yehivas and coverups
shockingly he cancelled his trip
I agree with your response and we should try and clean uop the act but i do believe we need to stay focused on cleaning up the yeshivas and the fraud gedolim who exist
when ohel changes leadership , rabbis
when hasc has moshe kanh pay back the 1.5 million he took
when kolko and margolis are in jail
when rabbis speak up about abuse
when aguda releases shafran to become a writer for the enquirer(since he believes what he reads and hears from the rabbis covering up molesters and prints it
when ner yisroel closes
when belsky is indicted
tendler family is not allowed to counsel women
when rottenberg in mosey removes molesters from his shul
when mondorowitz is in a cell with bubba
then you will be able to say i get a vacation
till then ill clean up my language and try to help
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/NEWS/801060325
Satmar is opening a yeshiva right next to the Otisville jail.
Draft into law the Bob Grant Mandatory Sterilization Act of 1974.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3490595,00.html
New initiative: Heter mechira for pets
Young religious cat-lover found an innovative solution for the halachic ban on spaying pets: He sold his cat Ponti to a Muslim friend, who had the animal neutered, and then bought it back from her. Rabbi: Solution contradicts Halacha
Kobi Nahshoni
Shmuel Dovrat, a young religious animal lover, recently came up with a creative solution for the halachic ban on neutering pets. Dovrat sold his beloved cat Ponti to a Muslim friend who spayed the feline, and bought it back from her immediately after the procedure.
"Our cat, Pontius Pilatus, reached sexual maturity and started peeing all over the house," Dovrat recounted, explaining this is one of the side effects of sexual arousal in cats.
Dovrat and his wife realized that without spaying Ponti they would not be able to keep him, but every halachic ruling they consulted made it clear that neutering an animal was strictly forbidden.
Throwing Ponti out into the street would have been cruel, and leaving him in the current situation would have also caused the cat to suffer, said Dovrat. And so, he and his wife decided to explore halachic sources in a bid to seek a solution to the dilemma.
After thoroughly reading through the rulings of some of the greatest Halacha adjudicators, Dovrat came to the conclusion that the halachic ban on neutering refers to farm animals, and not to pets.
However, in order to be absolutely sure his actions did not violate Jewish law, he decided to sell Ponti to a Muslim friend and have her take the cat to the vet for the operation. Once the cat has recovered, Dovrat bought it back from the friend, paying the same price he got for selling it earlier, and also reimbursing her for the cost of the operation.
"I have no doubt that an adjudicator knows more about the Halacha than I do, but I feel uncomfortable with some of the rulings. I don't like to be fed halachic solutions with a spoon. It's always important for me to know the source and understand the process that led to the ruling," Dovrat explained.
Animals as 'entertainment'
However, Ramat Gan's Chief Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, who about a year ago ruled that surgical neutering was forbidden by the Halacha, said he did not agree with Dovrat's solution.
Ariel explained that while the great adjudicators indeed allowed Jews to let their Muslim neighbor spay their animal for them, if he wished to do so, they were never allowed to initiate such a moved themselves.
Ariel, who supports "hormonal neutering," also rejected the claim that refraining from spaying a pet constitutes cruelty to animals. "People buy dogs and cats in order to entertain their children, and not out of concern for the pets' welfare. If they are worried that the animals might have puppies and that no home could be found for them, they should find another form of entertainment to begin with," he stated.
Which Kahn stole the money from HASC? The one from Frankel's shul or the guy who lives on 51st St between 18th & 19th?
http://www.slate.com/id/2180420/
Did UOJ have anything to do with this?
UOJ: A quick word of advice... Some people have been posting entire whole articles from online magazines and news sites, which is a copyright infringement. Tell them to only post excerpts from now on along with the link to the original article. That way we all stay out of trouble. Shalom.
I am against Belsky indictments of any kind.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01042008/news/nypdblotter/nypdblotter.htm
Cops are seeking the public's assistance in finding a man who mugged a woman with a meat cleaver in a Borough Park subway station.
The suspect , described as being in his 30s, with a thin build, approached the 52-year-old victim on Dec. 22 just after 11 p.m. at the 18th Avenue station on the F line. As she was going down the stairs, he grabbed her, flashed the cleaver and demanded her money.
The victim struggled with his attacker before he cut her hand and took her purse. The woman was taken to Maimonides Hospital.
I'm in agreement with the writer, your job Mr. UOJ as investigator, and publicizer is superb. We need you so badly to wake up the slumbering crowds,,,,but,,,,there is a way and there is a way.
"virtual weapons of mass destruction"!
Referring to your Borsalino Hat, Avi?
I'm surprised Tom Frieden hasn't quarintined it.
Rubashkin recruited* and hired illegal aliens along with documented workers. When those workers voted to to unionize in September 2005, Rubashkin claimed the illegals were not "employees" protected by the National Labor Relations Act (because they are illegals) and therefore rejected the vote to unionize, claiming a majority of union voters were illegals and therefore not "employees." Rubashkin refused to bargain with the union or recognize the vote.
The National Labor Relations Board found against Rubashkin. Rubashkin appealed.
Friday, the US Court of Appeals rejected Rubashkin's appeal, noting Rubashkin had disregarded previous NLRB rulings and Supreme Court precedent that clearly were not in his favor:
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
Argued October 19, 2007 Decided January 4, 2008
No. 06-1329
AGRI PROCESSOR CO., INC.,
PETITIONER
v.
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD,
RESPONDENT
Consolidated with
06-1349
On Petition for Review and Cross-Application for
Enforcement of an Order of the National Labor Relations Board
Jeffery A. Meyer argued the cause for petitioner. On the brief was Carmelo Grimaldi.
Julie B. Broido, Supervisory Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, argued the cause for respondent. With her on the brief were Ronald E. Meisburg, General Counsel, John H. Ferguson, Associate General Counsel, and Kira Dellinger Vol, Attorney. Linda Dreeben, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, entered an appearance.
2
Before: HENDERSON, TATEL, and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge TATEL.
Concurring opinion filed by Circuit Judge HENDERSON.
Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge KAVANAUGH.
TATEL, Circuit Judge: A company whose workers recently voted to unionize refuses to bargain with them, claiming that most of those who voted are undocumented aliens. The company argues that undocumented aliens are prohibited from unionizing because they do not qualify as “employees” protected by the National Labor Relations Act. Because the company’s argument ignores both the Act’s plain language and binding Supreme Court precedent, we deny its petition for review.…
For the reasons stated above, we deny Agri Processor’s petition for review and grant the Board’s cross-petition for enforcement.…
* Stephen Bloom in his book Postville documents this recruitment.
but,,,,there is a way and there is a way.
------------
I'm a real quick learner. Teach me please!
Not Pretty:
Editorial: The New York Times:
Economic Policy for Tough Times
Published: January 6, 2008
As one economic pillar after another began to buckle in 2007 — lending, home sales and house prices, factory orders, holiday shopping — economists kept saying that recession was avoidable as long as employment held up. A job means a paycheck, a paycheck means spending, and spending means hope for the economy.
On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employment in December had buckled as well. Over all, a meager 18,000 jobs were created. Even worse, hiring in the private sector contracted by 13,000 jobs, a harbinger of recession. The figures are subject to change, but job growth has been slowing since June, making a big upward correction unlikely. The unemployment rate, which is not subject to revision, also jumped in December, rising to 5 percent. As recently as last March, unemployment was only 4.4 percent. Such a big swing in such a short time also suggests a recession.
If the unemployment rate continues to rise in the next month or two, Congress and the administration will have to step in to try to spur the economy. The best hope of doing that is with stimulus measures to increase spending and, in the process, lessen the impending economic harm to the most vulnerable families.......
For people that are interested in this topic:
Evolution Book Sees No Science-Religion Gap
By CORNELIA DEAN
Published: January 4, 2008
In 1984 and again in 1999, the National Academy of Sciences, the nation’s most eminent scientific organization, produced books on the evidence supporting the theory of evolution and arguing against the introduction of creationism or other religious alternatives in public school science classes.
On Thursday, it produced a third. But this volume is unusual, people who worked on it say, because it is intended specifically for the lay public and because it devotes much of its space to explaining the differences between science and religion, and asserting that acceptance of evolution does not require abandoning belief in God.
“We wanted to produce a report that would be valuable and accessible to school board members and teachers and clergy,” said Barbara A. Schaal, a vice president of the academy, an evolutionary biologist at Washington University and a member of the panel that produced the book.
The panel, convened by the academy and the Institute of Medicine, its medical arm, was headed by Francisco Ayala, a biologist at the University of California, Irvine, and a former Dominican priest.
The 70-page book, “Science, Evolution and Creationism,” says, among other things, that “attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist.” And it offers statements from several eminent biologists and members of the clergy to support the view.
In the book, which will be available on the Web site of the National Academies (www.nas.edu), the panel reports that evidence for the theory of evolution is overwhelming and growing. It cites findings from DNA research, fossil discoveries and the observations scientists have made about emerging diseases, like SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome.
The book also denounces the arguments for a form of creationism called intelligent design, calling them devoid of evidence, “disproven” or “simply false.”
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets dropped Monday after Wall Street reacted to concerns of a U.S. recession, with Australian, Singaporean and Taiwanese stocks suffering heavy losses, while Japanese stocks recovered some of their early losses on bargain buying in exporters such as Canon Inc. and Sony Corp.
how about between 18th and 19th
so what do you get when you defaud hasc
a job being the fundraiser for GER mosdos
what do you get when you molest children and steal money
( a front row seat at rabbi rottenberg shul in mosey )
what do you get when you hire an aguda PR flack named shafran
an organozation that protects molesters and enablers .
http://jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com/2008/01/warning-to-parents-in-baltimore.html
WARNING TO PARENTS IN BALTIMORE
Besides Rabbi Yaakov Menken and Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau, what other alleged sex offenders daven at Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer's shul?
Shearith Israel Congregation
5835 Park Heights Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21215
410-367-0205
410-466-3060 (Rabbi)
410-367-9183
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer
Also known as Glen Avenue Shul. Kosher rental hall available; mikvah for men and women.
Who's the molester-ganev in Rottenberg's shul in Monsey?
The real slimy ones seem to gravitate to:
1. workman's compensation for illegal immigrants (not the advocates but the ones that are pure profiteers)
2. immigration for legal aliens
The 2nd group has a hostage clientele so to speak and charges extorbitant rates for doing nothing. For instance, they charge a minimum of $2000 for mailing paperwork - only once - to Vermont after a temporary greencard is issued, (paperwork that was collected by the client). In other words, they did NOTHING to collect the personal papers. 95% of the time, there is no interview required at this point, but unless the client gives in to this de facto blackmail, the attorney will refuse to represent in the rare instance they are needed. How do they justify it? "That's the cost of doing business", they arrogantly retort.
As far as billable hours at the other firms, we know a frum woman who was fired for not stealing in the way of inflating the hours for the benefit of her firm.
It makes us wonder whether all these hot shot lawyers billing 2000+ hours are just grubbe ganovim who are fawned on by the Agudah and other organizations.
Abeles & Heymann deli is often made with Rubashkin raw product.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbkosher0107sbjan07,0,2572285.story
When the Florida Panthers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, some fans will have a new snacking goal.
For the first time, they'll be able to buy these foods — all kosher — from a push-cart vendor: Abeles & Heymann brand hot dogs, "sausage" made out of chicken and turkey, potato knishes, peanuts and sodas.
Rabbi Paul Plotkin, the leader of Temple Beth Am in Margate, thought this up.
"Selfishly I want to have something to eat, and it's an important community service," said Plotkin, a season ticket holder and passionate Panthers hockey fan.
Kosher Sports Inc. of Englewood, N.J., is providing the food that will be sold from a portable cart in Section 112. The company oversees kosher fare at nine other hockey, tennis, baseball and football stadiums on the east coast, including the Dolphin Stadium, which began offering kosher goodies in April.
The Dolphins, and now the Panthers, are joining the New York Mets (baseball), Philadelphia Eagles (football), Baltimore Orioles (baseball) and New Jersey Devils (hockey), among others.
"Our fans were looking for this option," said Matthew Sacco, a Panthers spokesman. "If you come out to enjoy the game, you want to be able to eat, as well."
For Plotkin, this means an end to his tradition of stuffing tuna wraps in plastic bags into his pocket so he could "smuggle" them to his seat.
dear bungalow yenta
there are a few
in the front row you have 2 people who have been in jail
in the 4th row you have 2 people who defrauded the govt
and there are 4 people who have been wife abusers (it seems to run in his shul)
as for the molester ask the gabbai
Margulies is worried that UOJ might find out he has a swastika tatooed on his tuchess.
http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5403310&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
Kosher Meals Denied To Inmate With SS Tatoo
Last Edited: Saturday, 05 Jan 2008, 6:40 PM CST
Which Kahn stole the money from HASC? The one from Frankel's shul or the guy who lives on 51st St between 18th & 19th?
What is this referring to?
Someone who posts seems to think Yudel Shain is the best. Yes, he has Rubashkin's number and perhaps a couple of other peoples BUT try to post something about the corrupt hashgochos he supports with first hand info it will not get published or will and then get deleted. His blog is nothing more than fluff for his gedolim!
Let us not worry about every chumroh and start keeping the halachos. The corruption out there lowers the level for all!
http://jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com/2008/01/from-awareness-centers-daily-newsletter.html
CALL TO ACTION: Demand that Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer Make Public A Safety Plan To Keep Cantor Stuart Friedman Away From Children
download PDF
Contact:
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer - Shearith Yisrael (Glen Ave. Shul)
Phone: 410-466-3060 Fax: 410-367-9183
Cantor Stuart Friedman regularly prays at the Glenn Avenue Shul. As of today Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer has not warned parents in the community that a convicted sex offender is a regular at his synagogue nor has a safety plan been made public.
The Awareness Center is asking everyone to contact Rabbi Hopfer and demand that he make the following information public. We are also asking that the following be apart of the safety plan.
Parents within the Eruv of Baltimore be notified that Cantor Stuart Friedman resides in the community. The notification must include his photograph as a way to keep unsuspecting children safe.
A special minyan be created in which no children under the age of 21 are present, so that Stuart Friedman can daven without being tempted.
Stuart Friedman be escorted when he is in shul or any other public location in which children can be present. Mr. Friedman especially needs to be escorted when using the bathroom or in hallways.
BACKGROUND HISTORY:
For more information on this case go to:
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Friedman_Stuart.html
August, 1994. Cantor Stuart Friedman was hired by Beth Israel Synagogue in Halifax, NS, Canada. His previous positions include synagogues in Cleveland, OH, and Detroit, MD. Mr. Friedman, holder of a music degree from an American university
July 18, 1996. Cantor Stuart Friedman chatted on line from his home computer in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with an undercover FBI agent who was located in Long Beach, CA.
September, 1996. Cantor Friedman was arrested after he sent 29 pornographic photos of children over the Internet to an unidentified source in the United States. The photographs included children performing sexual and sadomasochistic acts.
Authorities said Cantor Friedman, was originally arrested after a lengthy Canada-U.S. investigation into a child porn ring on the Internet. The Canadian police seized up to 300 still photos involving nudity and sex acts involving children as young as eight. They also confiscated dozens of computer disks and videotapes containing child porn, as well as magazines with titles such as First Hand and Boys.
January 6, 1997. Cantor Stuart David Friedman pled guilty to possessing child pornography in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was fined $2,000 and a $200 victim surcharge and was then allowed to leave the country immediately for the United States.
August 13, 1998 Cantor Stuart Friedman was arrested by the FBI in Baltimore, MD and flown to Los Angles, CA. He faced a maximum sentence of a $380,000 fine and 15 years in prison. His attorney, Marcia Brewer, succeeded in reducing the level of punishment to 15 months in prison and three years' probation. She also persuaded the judge to remove the requirement that Friedman must disclose his child-pornography conviction to parents of anyone younger than 18 with whom he has contact. Instead, Friedman is ordered to just notify his employer. Judge Moreno said he took into account the pictures were not of boys younger than 12 and did not depict sadism. Yet sources do not say if any of the boys over 12 depicted sadism.
May 9, 2000. Cantor Stuart Friedman was released from federal prison and relocated to the orthodox community of Baltimore, residing at 3809 Clarks Lane.
2004. Cantor Stuart Friedman was noncompliant with the Maryland Sex Offender Registry for over a year, yet is now compliant.
2008. Stuart Freidman currently prays Shearith Yisrael (Glen Ave. Shul), which is ran by Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer. He is listed as living in an apartment owned by one of the daughters of Rabbi Moshe Eisemann. His apartment also is next door to the childhood home of convicted sex offender, Shmuel Zev Juravel.
If the Bush Administration's NLRB, which isn't favorable to unions, ruled against Rubashkin, it gives us some idea how egregious their actions have been. What a rationalization! "we break the law and hire illegal workers, so they have no right to organize." What a Chillul HaShem!
Saving lives (the lives of innocent children) in essence is forbidden according to Avi Shafran because one is then guilty of Motzei Shem Rah and Loshan Harah. This is a very twisted manipulation and play on words - which shafran spins so frequently when he cares to comment on anything but sexual abuse in the Jewish community.
Shafran knows damn well that Rabbi Yehuda Kolko is a child predator. If he doesn't realize this by now, he is an even bigger ignoramus double talking turd than we know him to be.
According to Shafran the red line you do not cross is questioning the "Rabbonim" and "gedolim." By those standards the "Rabbi" can never do any wrong to anything or anybody at anytime because they are infallible. Is that argument rational? What's the rationale for the PR Of Agudah and their big loudmouth of deceit, Rabbi Avi Shafran, for shoving the child molestation issue aside like they would a piece of dandruff on their Borsalino hats and jackets? Their utter silence and continued silence on the plague that has spread well into the Jewish orthodox world - From Ultra-Orthodox, to Modern Orthodox, to Conservadox, Conservatives, to Reform, Traditional, and you name it - is something that should be addressed - Not ignored. Yet, like Agudas Israel has done or not done with the Johnothan Pollard travesty - speaks for itself on the political agenda of the Avi Shafran twisted lies and distortions; all the while using the Torah he distorts as his defense. Thats ludicrous!
How does Shafran explain the Sheinberg "penetration" ruling?
How does a gadol send an admitted sex offender to another city to continue offending there?
What happens if someone G-D forbids rapes your child - Rabbi Avi Shafran? Would you still spew your venom for the blogosphere who speak the truth you don't want spoken?
How does Shafran defend the "Rabbonim" and "Gedolim" who enable abuse? By telling the Jews to be ROBOTS. What he expects is for ALL Jews to blindly believe in the infallibility of their rabbinical leadership, especially in the matter of child abuse. We are expected to ignore the midas harachamim we all are supposed to display for other yidden and stay quiet and not report alleged abuse to the police. If the victims report abuse to the Rabbi's they are most likely to become double victims. Rabbi's have proven themselves to be involved in cover ups and abuse - so victims can't go there. Comes along the master of manipulation Avi Shafran, And he says we can't believe these stories and rumors because they are being circulated on the evil internet. Nevermind that Avi Shafran's articles are on the internet; the venue of darkness and spider webs. Why make his articles available online if in his own words in reference to the evil internet; he refers to it as the "pollution of the most pernicious sort"?
How does Avi Shafran allow his material to be distributed on the evil internet, will one not be tempted to engage in immoral and sinful net surfing according to his distorted logic? Where does it end. How about learning Torah on the internet?
The Bible states (Leviticus 19:14): "You shall not curse the deaf nor place a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God - I am your Lord." In Hebrew, the sin of placing a stumbling block before a blind person is referred to as lifnei iver lo sitten michshol (before the blind do not place a stumbling block), or succinctly as lifnei iver.
In shafran speak; any confrontation on critical pikuach nesfesh issues such as sexual abuse in the Jewish community is off limits (assuming it even gets reported to authorities after the Rabbi's are finished with their cover up and denials.)
More and more Jews are beginning to see Agudas Israel Of America for what they are and what they are not. Shafran can distort the truth and sugar coat it with his terminology, but more and more Jews of all faiths and level of observance know what he is. He's the epitome of fraud. He's full of baloney. "Rabbi Avi Shafran is guilty of "You shall not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds”.
There are so many misleading points in this article that Shafran conveniently makes or omits. Like failing to mention that bloggers have done much good and that without some bloggers who care more than Avi Shafran does, Physical, sexual, and emotional abuse may be much more rapant, especially in the Yeshivah world.
Sexual abuse, child molestation - does matter to society and to the safety of other human beings. People need to know how to prevent it from reoccurring. Avi Shafran prefers that another child get abused over reporting a Rabbi who enabled abuse. Avi Shafran makes the horrible choice that another child has to get abused because we have to believe in "Torah Values" - The very same values Avi Shafran exploits for his own benefit. What a Rishusdicka attitude. Chaval al Hazman!
The debris, sewage, and slop oozing out of the likes of not only Avi Shafran - but people of the same arrogant and cowardly views, is an unfortunate byproduct of tainted Jewish leadership and corrupt egos and powers.
Rabbi Avi Shafran has Jewish blood on his hands. How he sleeps at night I do not know!
PARIS (Reuters) - French customs officials have intercepted a shipment of 224,000 fake Viagra and Cialis anti-impotence pills worth 2.4 million euros ($3.5 million), the Budget Ministry said Monday.
The copies of the bestselling drugs were found on December 18 during a search at the French capital's main air hub at Roissy, in a freight cargo on its way to Brazil from India.
"Branded Powergra and Erectalis, each box contained, in fact, four tablets in the characteristic shape and color of Viagra or Cialis pills," Budget Minister Eric Woerth's office, which is also in charge of customs, said in a statement.
"The companies Pfizer and Eli Lilly, which respectively own the Viagra and Cialis brands, quickly confirmed the counterfeit nature of these products and the 224,000 pills were seized," Woerth's office added.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy, editing by Tim Pearce)
Which "corrupt" hashgochos do you claim Yudel Shain is protecting?
R' Shmuel Berenbaum was niftar.
Can people just drive to El Al cargo building #23 at JFK?
Rav shmuel was not from the aguda gedoilem, And therefore has no place on this blog, besides he was like those of the "frierdiga dor", and "heintiga" yidden should not have listened to him.
Anonymous said...
Which Kahn stole the money from HASC? The one from Frankel's shul or the guy who lives on 51st St between 18th & 19th?
What is this referring to?
8:17 AM, January 07, 2008
The Kahn employed by Ichud Molestas Gur. Meyer Vulvas, semi-retired rav of gur jerusalem, is actively looking for employment for Avreml Mondrowitz. Maybe he can work with Kahn there? He as a impressive resume as a forger. I would advise r' meyer to set him up an interview at a local child daycare place. Wonder if Meyer Vulvas will remember to keep the appointment. He dosn't remember to go to the bathroom sometimes. What senility can do to a great mind!
Mondrowitz got some unwelcome coverage on ABC's Religion on the Line show on Sunday AM.
Meyer Vulvas & Avreml Mondrowitz are the new Rabbonim in Gur assigned to creating takonos for how the women dress. Just wait to see what the dress code for young boys is gonna look like. Something along the lines of the emperors clothes as the maximum allowed. And as a right of passage boys must buy teffilin by AM Leizerowitz and provide all these three with gratuitus gratifications of the grotesque type. Jesus! have these morons not noticed the obvious implications of enabling and protecting molesters of the extreme sort.
The lavaya will be broadcast on Kol Haloshon - free dial in
shiurim.
The instructions are one of the following:
1. Dial 212-444-1100 and then push option 8
2. Dial 718-906-6400 and then push option *
or if you do not have free long distance
3. Dial 443-957-4610 and then push option *
IF the above is all true then UOJ has some unwelcome company with regard to the big bang theory. Ger is all for it!
What's the # to push Avi Shafran's button?
Shafran & I are a honorable couple.
What was the Mirrer Tzaddiks approach to the Colmer scandal?
THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE A COVERUP JOB FOR LUBINSKY & SHAFRAN LLC
Santa Fe, NM - Arrests Made In Santa Fe Home Invasion.
Santa Fe, NM - Police have arrested yesterday two perps in their homes for a home invasion at a social gathering in Santa Fe.
Authorities say 19-year-old Aaron Dundas and 14-year-old Shalom Katz are being held on charges including attempted murder, robbery and aggravated burglary.
Police say a group of at least four males wearing ski masks and carrying baseball bats kicked open a door of an office connected to a home late December 29th.
Officers say the group attacked and demanded money from 10 to 12 people
who were partying at the home.
Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief confirmed to VIN News, the attacks were serious, with a victim remaining hospitalized. Also, that Katz's father, the chief told us, came down to ask to officers to respect his son's observance of Shabbos and not ask him to desecrate the halachos.
I actualy ascribe to the little bang theory, so does my friend Leizerowitz. Maer Silberstein cant recall his preferences.........Me thinks it is older molesters...OUCH! Gotta run from this guy. Any idea whens the next bus to Cairo?
Didn't know there are chassidishe Port Authority cops.
The only spoiler was that Leib Pinter was there.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517308492&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jerusalem police on Sunday arrested an Arab hotel worker suspected of sexually molesting a 5-year-old girl in a city hotel, police said.
The suspect, who is in his 20s and works at the city's Renaissance Hotel, was nabbed by hotel security after the girl's mother recognized him leaving the women's restroom, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
The alleged sexual assault took place in the hotel restroom on Saturday night.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517308432&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Two high school teenagers were detained for questioning Sunday in the Jerusalem suburb of Givat Ze'ev after sending a fictitious e-mail to their principal that her husband had sexually molested them, police said.
The husband of the principal was apprehended by police, but denied any connection to the 15-year-old teens.
He was subsequently released after it emerged that the complaint was fictitious.
The two teenagers subsequently confessed to police they sent the e-mail "out of boredom," Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517288424&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A man tried to rape an eight-year-old girl in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon, police said Thursday.
The girl was assaulted by the man in a haredi neighborhood of the city as she went to throw out the garbage, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
The assailant fled the scene after a relative saw what was happening and summoned police.
A police manhunt was underway for the alleged attacker.
Brooklyn DA Announces Extradition of Accused Sex Offender from Israel
by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 01-07-2008
DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN – Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes Monday announced that Stefan Colmer, 31, would return to the United States to face charges he sodomized two 13-year-old boys in his Midwood home in 2006.
Colmer is the first person to be extradited from Israel to the United States under a newly negotiated extradition treaty between the two countries. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
After learning he was under investigation, in February 2007, Colmer fled to Israel. A new extradition treaty between the United States and Israel, which went into effect Jan. 10, 2007, allowed Colmer to be returned to Brooklyn. Prior to the newly amended treaty, the crimes for which Colmer is charged were not subject to extradition.
The indictment charges that between March and May 2006, Colmer sodomized two teenage boys on numerous occasions.
Colmer is charged with eight counts of Criminal Sexual Act in the Second Degree, eight counts of Sexual Misconduct, 19 Counts of Sexual Abuse in the Second Degree and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
The new treaty may also allow for the extradition of Avrohom Mondrowitz, who claimed to be a rabbi and posed as a school psychologist in Borough Park during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was indicted in 1984 for sodomizing young boys and fled to Israel after learning he was under investigation. Since then, Mondrowitz has remained in Israel, protected by the now-defunct treaty. He was recently arrested there after the treaty was amended, and extradition proceedings are pending.
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Doerfler is prosecuting Colmer
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1198517228325&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
An Arab resident of Jerusalem was under arrest Thursday for allegedly stealing merchandise from a city store disguised as a haredi, police said.
The suspect was apprehended by police overnight after he was spotted acting suspiciously while pushing a baby carriage filled with the stolen merchandise in the city's Mea She'arim neighborhood, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
The alleged thief has a criminal record, police said.
Dear UOJ,
Please write a separate post about YOB. It is very hard to follow your comments and notes on the side of your blog.
Also, how can one get in touch with you?
Thank you very much.
My e-mail:a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.com
It just sunk in that Lanner is about to be released.
I want to warn anyone who feels Lanner has changed his ways that I personally know someone who was contacted by Lanner and asked for money (this happened earlier this year - Lanner sent a letter from prison). I don't buy the reason Lanner gave and fear that Lanner will try to swindle this person and any other well meaning people he can persuade.
You may disagree with my opinion of Lanner and want to help him - that's your decicion to make, I'm just warning you to be vigilant, he's very smart and may have learned some new tricks in prison.
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