N.Y. Attorney General Cuomo's Letter To AIG! - A**Holes International Group

Newly Hired AIG Employees Going Home After Their First Day On The Job !

Cuomo's Letter to A.I.G. - Upload a Document to Scribd

She Could Have Been "Sarah The Cool Feminist"!

......But instead chose life for her child over having her doctor use a vacuum cleaner-like device to squish the baby's head and suck him up into the Liberal death machine aka Feminism!

She "could have been a contender" -- but instead chose morality and real "old-fashioned" bible values than outright murder a baby that could not defend himself from Dr. Liberal Death!

She could have been loved by the Hollywood "elite" - but instead chose to be the butt of the SNL Liberal Jewish sickos, who advocate murder machines for babies that don't quite fit their view of the "perfect" baby!

She could have been "Sarah the murderer of her baby", but instead she chose to love her baby forever and ever, regardless of the difficulties involved in raising a child with special needs.

She could have been "Sarah the ruthless plumber", and have chosen to turn this precious life into human waste --- but instead will have the privilege of passing the humanity test - taking care of this child that will depend on her, knowing full well that this "burden" is the ultimate test that will distinguish her from the selfish, pathetic excuse of "free women" who choose "choice" so they may live another day without the burden of bringing comfort to a child in need, so they may attend another party.

She could have claimed " it's my choice to be a politician, and it's my body", but instead she said I can still be a politician and have a career - and my body is a gift from God --- and just like I'm not permitted to commit suicide - I'm not permitted to commit infanticide!

The country can't permit two of the most radical liberal demagogues in the senate - Obama number one - Biden number three --- to influence negatively the direction of the greatest country ever - with all its imperfections!



If you're able to stomach the actual killing of a baby - click on the other video options at the end of this clip. Both Obama and Biden claim that this murder is totally the choice of the "mother" and her doctor --- and just as Obama would meet with the "leader" of Iran without preconditions, the mother of a defenseless child needs no particular reason to destroy this precious life, other than because she wants to --- to suit her personal agenda!

(I'm not referring to specific medical conditions that are life threatening to the mother - or other halachic humane exceptions)

Howard Stern sends Sal to Harlem:

The Bailout (Forced Bank Buy-In) - The Slippery Slope Towards Socialism - Why Jews Should Be Very Concerned!

The Godfather: Paulson Makes Offer Banks Can't Refuse

Posted Oct 15, 2008 by Aaron Task

The day after the news about a watershed change in American capitalism, the story behind the story of how Hank Paulson forced the nations top 9 banks to take capital is coming to light.

After a discussion of the state of the banking system and U.S. economy, the bankers were then unceremoniously handed a one-page term sheet outlining Paulson's plan. The bank CEOs "weren't allowed to negotiate," The WSJ reports. "Paulson requested that each of them sign. It was for their own good and the good of the country, he said, according to a person in the room."

In sum, Hank Paulson made the bank CEOs an offer they couldn't refuse -- like a present-day (and real) Don Corleone.

Some of the other anecdotes that emerged, according to both the WSJ and NY Times:

Wells Fargo CEO Richard Kovacevich was the most vocal in opposing the deal, but he too ultimately relented. (This morning, Wells Fargo shares were rallying after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, although its revenue fell shy of expectations.)

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President Bush pledges to continue work to stabilize banking industry, US to buy bank shares

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Tuesday announced a $250 billion plan by the government to directly buy shares in the nation's leading banks, saying the drastic steps were "not intended to take over the free market but to preserve it."

Nine major banks will participate initially including all of the country's largest institutions.

Some of the big banks had to be pressured to participate in the program by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who wanted healthy institutions that did not necessarily need capital from the government to go first as a way of removing any stigma that might be associated with banks getting bailouts.

Bush, in brief remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House, said the government will initially buy stocks in nine major U.S. banks.

"These efforts are designed to directly benefit the American people by stabilizing the financial system and helping the economy recover," he said.

Paulson, at a news conference a short time later, said "today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence in our financial system."

"We regret having to take these actions," said Paulson. "Today's actions are not what we ever wanted to do -- but today's actions are what we must do to restore confidence to our financial system."

"The needs of our economy require that our financial institutions not take this new capital to hoard it, but to deploy it," Paulson said, meaning that they will use the money to bolster lending to each other and to their customers.

"Government owning a stake in any private U.S. company is objectionable to most Americans -- me included," Paulson added. "Yet the alternative of leaving businesses and consumers without access to financing is totally unacceptable."

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By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

Government moves into banking -- to the tune of $250 billion -- as the bailout becomes a buy-in

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Big banks started falling in line Tuesday behind a rejiggered bailout plan that will have the government forking over as much as $250 billion in exchange for partial ownership -- putting the world's bastion of capitalism and free markets squarely in the banking business.

*

I'm a die-hard Capitalist - for some familiar reasons, and for some that are not necessarily traditional.

What sets apart America from the rest of the world under the Constitution, is all the freedoms we have taken for granted. One of those freedoms is - Freedom. Government was designed to insure us unfettered freedom to do what we please under the law. No government intervention in our private lives, no state religion, the right to bear arms for self-preservation, and the right for the talented and ambitious to achieve what in most of the world is unfathomable.....

We can - if we choose - to work hard, and with fierce determination to succeed, achieve great wealth; and voluntarily use that wealth to enrich ourselves with expensive toys, or to be able help others that are less fortunate (or both). Or we can choose a life of nothingness - where all our existence is spent on frivolity and personal creature comforts.

Public assistance is actually a concept that the world inherited from the Torah - designed for the people that truly can not manage on their own. The laws of tithing, shmitta, pruzbul, yovel, ir hanidachat, m'lava es hamet (gemillat chesed)...are all Torah concepts.

What we do know is that the human animal needs independence to thrive; to think freely, to dream, to learn truths, to make mistakes, to fail, to learn from those mistakes and become all the better for it.

Look around the globe! Socialism and Communism are abject failures. Look at Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Canada, Russia (of course)...There are no incentives for the plain-folk to achieve. Medical care is Third World voodoo medicine-man-like. The wealthy come to the U.S., in most cases, for major health care issues.

If history has taught us anything, it is that empires last no more than two hundred years. Of course - that could be different here in the U.S. - if we take steps to learn from history. What causes collapse? How can humans be taught to see the big picture? How do we teach people that life is a chess game - if you can't see five moves ahead - you lose to the person who can.

Although I've been a life-long Republican and voted for Bush (actually Cheney)...he will go down as probably the most inept president ever --- he beats Carter badly - and I thought nobody could beat Carter.

Now he's turning over the executive branch of government - in all likelihood - to a group of people that will "be fair with your money and spread the wealth around" to people who, in most cases chose victimhood, rather than freedom. Yes, there are plenty of people that need public assistance - but most do not!

When government gets to choose what group of people they raise taxes on - or what health care company you will have - or what schools your kids should go to --- how far away is - telling you what house of worship you should frequent --- or none at all!

The reason the U.S.A. flourished in the past two hundred years - more than the entire 5500 years of civilization prior, according to the Jewish calendar - because people were free to pick and choose within the law what was good for them in every sphere of humanity. The one basic reason the USA led the way in just about every field of science and medicine - is because of freedom of religion or non-religion. No scientist, writer, or thinker, had to be concerned they would be incarcerated for views that opposed the church of Religion or the temple of Socialism.

Hank Paulson is a fraud! The entire bailout of the financial institutions, was designed to protect the thieves that concocted this Ponzi scheme, Paulson as former CEO of Goldman Sachs included.

There are already heads of state that are grumbling about the Jews on Wall Street. There is no doubt that the manipulation and machinations of the financial markets over the last decade, included firms with Jewish sounding names.

Should the Jews be concerned?

In 2003 I was invited to debate Daniel Lapin, - right after his book "America's Real War" was published. The thrust of his book - "that a Holocaust-type event can never happen in America", grated on me and was historically flat wrong. We need not look back too far to understand that in times of massive economic downturns, a scapegoat is needed and always selected, and it is always the Jews.

With names like, Greenspan, Bernanke, Robert Rubin, Bloomberg, Goldman, Sachs, Soros, Lehman, Greenberg (AIG) bandied around daily about the globe as villains (some are, and there are others yet to be exposed) --- we must not be complacent about our future!

At this writing, the possibility of an Obama presidency is almost a given. I care not about the color of his skin. I'm worried sick about his radical affiliations, socialist past and ideology, and the team of Lefties that will certainly accompany him to the White House.

What to do?

For the time-being, I am left without answers! But please Jewish-American citizens around the globe, kindly cast your vote in person or by mail-in ballot!

The America we know and love will undoubtedly change for the worse - if the Democrat party were to occupy the White House come January 20, 2009!

UOJ

AMY NEUSTEIN’S T’SHUVAH: ACTIVIST ASKS DOV HIKIND FOR FORGIVENESS AND A NEW START

Dear Assemblyman Hikind:

I address this open letter to you, with penitence and with hope, because I am moved by your commitment to fighting the evil of child sexual abuse in our community. From this perspective, I believe you will understand the mistake I made, many years ago – and also my need to rejoin you and the community in this noble campaign.

I sought your forgiveness three years ago. At the time you would not relent. But that was before you had begun to hear the stories of survivors – before you shared the pain of Jewish abuse victims who either bore their agony in silence, or suffered the double victimization of being disbelieved and ridiculed for speaking out.

Now I feel sure you will understand.

This is the season when all Jews do t’shuvah, and when all Jews should stand ready to accept those who sincerely return. During the yamim noraim I realized that my own time has come to return. Now I want to stand together with the community I once wronged, for the sake of the daughter whose fate darkened my life over 20 years ago.

A Child of the Community

You know who I am. My father, Rabbi Abraham Neustein, was a true Talmudic scholar and brilliant orator whose eulogy (September 6, 2002) was prominently featured in The Jewish Press. As for me, Irene Klass described my wedding in the same newspaper (“A Very Special Wedding,” June 22, 1979). Three years earlier, after doing volunteer work at Sha’arei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem (and fundraising for the hospital back in Brooklyn), I had been pictured atop the Sha’arei Tzedek float in the Israel Day Parade. My volunteer work included teaching ba’alei t’shuvah at Bais Chana in St. Paul, Minnesota. Like my parents, I was devoted to charity, to g’milus chasadim, and to the life of Torah.

The Earthquake

That life shattered in the fall of 1986. On the fourth day of Sukkos, my 6-year-old daughter was taken from me by family court officials who did not believe her report of having been sexually abused by my ex-husband. Our community turned against us both. Even confirmation from one of New York’s leading experts on child sexual abuse did not protect us. In those days – as you, Mr. Hikind, know all too well – reports of child sexual abuse were simply not tolerated among Orthodox Jews. My daughter was called a liar; for believing her, I was shunned.

Soon my daughter learned the harsh lesson of silence. But the reactions of her body were less easily controlled. Once in her father’s custody, she slipped into life-threatening anorexia. Several doctors later testified that she was virtually at death’s door when I took her for emergency-room treatment. But for that act of rescue – as you know – I was denied all contact with my daughter, then 8 years old.

My Desperation and My Offense

Desperate situations lead to desperate acts. In 1991, nearly three years since I had last seen my daughter – or even heard her voice – I learned that she was once again severely anorexic. When I sought the help of the city officials supposedly charged with my daughter’s welfare, even though my pleas were seconded by supporters like then-City Council President Andy Stein, the politicians refused to give her a medical examination. Instead, they referred her case to the Fatality Review Panel . . . as if she had already died! They would not even tell me that my beloved daughter was still living.

That was when I committed the act for which I now seek forgiveness. Misled by aides to Mayor David Dinkins, I came to believe that in exchange for public criticism of the Jewish community in the wake of the Crown Heights riot, Dinkins’ staff would see to it that the Child Welfare Administration would intervene to protect my daughter.

I did what I was told. I went on radio talk shows where cynical hosts were all too eager to present complaints against the Jewish community – from an Orthodox Jewish woman. Of course, I also reached out for help to anyone who seemed to care about my daughter’s life. Congressman Jerrold Nadler was so moved that he warned city officials at a press conference: “If this child dies, you will all be guilty of accessory to murder.” Yet in the end, Dinkins’ staff did nothing.

I had been manipulated by self-seeking bureaucrats. But in allowing myself to be used, I know that I offended you, and others like you, who have heard of my comments from those dark days and have held them against me ever since. Mr. Hikind, you heard my words – but you didn’t know my anguish. You didn’t know the desperation of watching your daughter’s very life threatened because, at 6 years old, she had spoken the unspeakable. You couldn’t know – because you had not yet listened to Orthodox abuse survivors telling you their stories of being silenced, ignored or threatened when they were children.

But now you know.

And that is why I believe you can finally accept my apology and my plea to rejoin you and the community, as we all work together to save the next generation of our children.

A Campaigner and a Mother

My daughter became an orphan of the family courts, and I became a “childless mother,” during Sukkos 22 years ago. Since then, I’ve organized press conferences dealing with the child abuse, put together legislative hearings in New York state and Congress on the issue, and helped draft legislation. I’m the co-author of From Madness to Mutiny: Why Mothers Are Running from the Family Courts – and What Can Be Done about It (Northeastern, 2005). In January 2006, I received the Woman of Valor: Lifetime Achievement Award at the Battered Mothers Custody Conference in Albany, New York. Early next year, Brandeis University Press will publish a book I edited on child sex abuse, containing important contributions by such prominent community figures as Rabbi Mark Dratch, Rabbi Martin Schloss, Dr. Erica Brown and Dr. Michelle Friedman, and Dr. Joy Silberg. What I couldn’t do for my own daughter, I’ve struggled for over twenty years to do for others.

But nothing can close the open wound where my daughter should be in my life. Nor have I been the only one injured. My mother, the rebbetzin, could never enter a sukkah without misty eyes and trembling hands, because she remembered all too well how her little granddaughter was taken from her, never to return, during that holiday. I do not think it was an accident that my mother’s own soul departed this life during Sukkos in 2001. You see, when rabbis refuse to hear a child say, “I was molested,” the damage spreads and spreads; many hearts are broken forever.

Mr. Hikind, you know all this. You have heard the wrenching stories of too many victims not to know it. And you know that this suffering must stop; that all caring Jews must unite to protect more victims from the torments of sexual abuse.

A new year has begun for all of us. I want to begin it right. Recently, you told the Forward, “If you’re a child molester, the best community to come to is Borough Park, Flatbush, Lakewood or Monroe . . . because people don’t press charges.” My daughter and I were casualties of that attitude. I need to help you change it – you and other brave Orthodox Jews who want to ensure that what happened to my daughter, and to so many others, will never happen again.

Please don’t bar the gates to my t’shuvah. Please forgive the errors of the past so that, together, we can prevent the tragedies of the future.

Sincerely,

Dr. Amy Neustein

The following people, having read this letter, wish to express their support:


Rabbi Aaron Reichel
Mo Therese Hannah, Ph.D.
Michael Lesher, Esq.
Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D.

*

UOJ RESPONDS TO CRITICS OF DR. AMY NEUSTEIN!

Seems you can't come forward with any story about child sex abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community without being pilloried as liar or a lunatic.

It's been years since the facts about the Neustein case (which began in 1986) were laid before the public. (Stories laying out the damning details have appeared in USA Today, the New York Post, The Village Voice and The Jewish Week, to name a few.) No one has published anything demonstrating a single factual inaccuracy in any of those articles. As a result, I think it can be confidently stated that, at the very least: 1) there was strong evidence of sexual abuse of Amy Neustein's 6-year-old daughter; 2) the case was egregiously mishandled by Brooklyn Family Court, Ohel, the Brooklyn Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and others; and 3) plenty of effort has been invested over the years into trying to suppress the story.

A few years ago, that effort culminated in a very belated and -- based on the information I have -- very inaccurate statement purportedly from the allegedly abused girl herself, then 24 years old. That statement has been copied onto this blog.

I've corresponded quite a bit with Amy Neustein and have come to know something of her record and character. I think it's a shame that her sincere and selfless efforts to support a critically important cause have earned her a run of public slander. Well, since it has come to that, let me take a few minutes to try setting the record straight.

I don't know who wrote the "Silent No Longer" piece supposedly authored by Sherry Orbach some three years ago. I have learned that its authenticity has been questioned (see below), and that it was written at a time when the judge who sent Sherry into her father's custody, against strong evidence of sex abuse by him, and his law clerk at the time -- Steve Mostofsky -- were under the impression that the Neustein/Lesher book From Madness to Mutiny, about the family courts, was primarily based on that case and were doing all they could to interfere with its publication. (Michael Lesher tells me that he got a call from David Pollock, a JCRC official motivated by Mostofsky, threatening legal action. Of course, nothing came of it.) When bluster didn't work, this column from "Sherry" suddenly appeared.

Michael Lesher -- who has done crucial work in cracking the Mondrowitz case -- was also one of the journalists who broke open the Neustein story, primarily in two articles published in 1996, one in The Village Voice and one in The Jewish Week. Those were strongly-worded articles that accused many people involved of having covered up substantial evidence of sex abuse. No one has ever pointed out any inaccuracies in those pieces.

Michael says the story was so horrific it inspired him to look into the issue of child sex abuse in Orthodox communities in general -- including the Mondrowitz case. He also ended up writing a book with Dr. Neustein about failures in the family court system. (The book has received many glowing reviews for its thoroughness and accuracy, among other things.)

Let me share with you some of the key problems Michael Lesher identifies in "Silent No Longer," which have convinced him that whoever wrote it simply did not know the facts of the case:

* The author says that Sherry lived with her grandmother "in upstate New York" and "rarely" saw her mother. That's false. The Neusteins did have a summer house in Ellenville. In fact, that is where her grandmother later testified she saw the girl being molested by her father. But the house was occupied infrequently, and Sherry never lived there over any extended period. Court records clearly show that she lived with her mother in Brooklyn.

* The author suggests that the sex abuse charge was Amy's invention. It wasn't. Court records make plain that Sherry herself reported having been sexually abused by her father to the BSPCC caseworkers and to Dr. Anne Meltzer, one of New York's leading experts on child sexual abuse. Dr. Meltzer stated in writing and on the record her "strong reason to believe" Sherry's father had indeed abused her. And Amy's mother gave eyewitness testimony to such an act. Not even Judge Deutsch, who awarded custody to the father, claimed that Amy had fabricated the abuse allegation.

* The author says specifically that the abuse allegation surfaced while she was in the "country house" (that is, in Ellenville), and when "my father had indicated he would be filing for custody." The actual chronology renders this impossible. According to all testimony, the incident witnessed by Amy's mother (not Amy, who was then out of town), occurred in Ellenville during a visit in the spring of 1986. Afterward, Amy's mother reported his conduct to the police. But Orbach (who had already been divorced for 3 years) did not seek custody until the late summer, AND SHERRY HAD BEEN IN BROOKLYN FOR MONTHS BY THAT TIME. In other words, she could not possibly remember discussions of her father's desire for custody while in "the country house." And since, when she WAS in Ellenville, there was no court action of any kind, nor even a threatened dispute over custody (Amy had had undisputed full custody for 3 years), how could Sherry remember being told what to say to to the judge in that setting? True, memories can be muddied over time, but this author says she remembers it "as if it were yesterday." Clearly, that's just not true.

* Court records belie the claim that Amy regularly "posed" Sherry for photographs, and in any event, pictures were not used in "the media" at least until Sherry was dangerously anorexic, and other people were publicly claiming she was not. Testimony indicates that Amy only tape recorded some of her conversations with Sherry after it was claimed that she was secretly maligning her ex-husband to Sherry. (That claim proved false.)

* The author claims that "research" shows that "false" allegations occur in as many as 60% of custody cases. That is simply untrue; there is no such research. Since Sherry Orbach is now a lawyer with a special interest in child welfare issues, it's hard to believe she would be ignorant of that fact.

* Michael says that no one he interviewed who knew the Neusteins had ever seen an antique silver hair brush in their house, and that they never used slipcovers. (He went to the house himself, interviewed guests, and reviewed court testimony of people who knew them well.) It's strange that the author should specifically stress sense memories that simply couldn't have been stimulated in the Neustein home.

* Plenty of journalists sought for years to get Sherry's comments, without success. Michael tried when she was 16, and despite being told by third parties (one of them a relative, one a friend of Dr. Orbach) about comments supposedly made by Sherry, he was rebuffed when he tried to talk to Sherry herself. The same thing happened to Susie Rosenbluth when she wrote about the story, when Sherry was nearly 25... certainly old enough to speak for herself. Yet Sherry kept silent, knowing full well what was being written about her case. The author of "Silent No Longer" rationalizes this silence by claiming, "My family [not all of it, obviously!] believed that my mother's publicity would fizzle out, and that it was best to avoid the media spotlight as much as possible." But that just isn't true.

Over the years, supporters of Dr. Orbach bombarded journalists who wrote about the story with violently worded comments -- all of which turned out to be false. The one thing they wouldn't do was to let any of the reporters talk to Sherry herself. This continued even when Sherry was clearly old enough to comment and when longer and more detailed stories about the case were appearing in the press. On the other hand, "Silent No Longer" appeared when Dr. Orbach's supporters believed that a forthcoming book would further expose what happened in the case, after remaining conspicuously silent as articles detailed the story in the press.

That's pretty much the story on "Silent No Longer." To quote Michael Lesher, it's a "sad hoax" that has been circulated to smear Amy Neustein, whose 20-year history of scholarship, advocacy and activism has earned her an impressive record of credibility. (The same can hardly be said of her detractors: one of them claimed in writing several years ago that Sherry had remained a member of the Orthodox community, only to be contradicted by an email purportedly from Sherry herself days later. Susie Rosenbluth pointed out this lie in print, and was never contradicted.)

And besides all this, there's actually plenty of evidence contained in public reports and records that Sherry, at the age of 6, was a victim of sexual abuse -- evidence that simply isn't mentioned in "Silent No Longer." As the articles and columns (except "Silent No Longer") show, in print and on the Internet, there's Sherry's own report to caseworkers of BSPCC. There's the written statement and testimony of Dr. Anne Meltzer and other psychologists who backed her up. There's the eyewitness testimony of Sherry's grandmother, who by all accounts had remained friendly with her ex-son in law until, as she testified, she saw him molesting the girl on the summer house floor.

There's Sherry's anorexia after being transferred to her father's custody (at such an early age, often a symptom of sexual abuse). And there's Sherry's ominous warning to her father after she was hospitalized for near starvation at Brookdale Hospital -- written down by a nurse there -- "You got me into this. If you don't get me out of here, I'm going to tell everything." Unless that nurse, too, was somehow controlled by Amy Neustein, it's hard to see how this can be seen as anything but independent and disturbing evidence.

And none of this has ever been explained away or refuted, though it's clear that Dr. Orbach's defenders have had plenty of opportunities. Even "Silent No Longer" ducks all the key points.

What gets my goat is that while these folks have never bothered trying to refute the detailed and careful work done by investigators into the case, and backed up by such people as Andy Stein, Jeremiah McKenna (former chief counsel to the New York State Senate's Committee on Crime), Congressman Major Owens and David Paterson -- yes, David Paterson has been quoted as calling the Neustein case “an intensely ferocious effort made by judges, social service and law guardian agencies, rabbis and elected officials to protect the father from an investigation . . . [so that] a heinous crime has been committed and is being covered up” (sound familiar?) -- these folks seem to have had plenty of time to circulate outrageously false claims about Amy Neustein.

What's even more suspicious, they intensified their efforts precisely when they thought they were in danger of exposure to a broad public. Just for instance, Steve Mostofsky (Judge Deutsch's former law clerk) took time out to threaten Susie Rosenbluth, Michael Lesher AND Amy with lawsuits about a story in which he himself was barely mentioned. And was it only coincidence that it was the lawyer for Young Israel (of which Mostofsky is president) who wrote threatening letters to Ms. Rosenbluth and to the publisher of Neustein and Lesher's book about the extent of family court dysfunction in abuse cases?

And while we're on the subject of child welfare, please note that David Pollock (an associate of Mostofsky and a subordinate of Judge Deutsch's wife Sylvia) told Michael Lesher that Sherry had been brought to meet with him in order to apply pressure on Michael in an attempt to interfere with the publication of the book. Why was this young woman being dragged into an effort to protect the reputations of Judge Deutsch and Steve Mostofsky? And why did "Silent No Longer" suddenly appear when it was clear that Neustein and Lesher would not buckle under threats?

What seems most likely to me is that Sherry was cynically manipulated by people whose interests are certainly not with her welfare. I mean, where were they when Sherry nearly starved to death in 1988-89 and again faced dangerous anorexia, three years after being deprived of all contact with her mother by Judge Deutsch's order (because she took her to a hospital for treatment), in 1991? At that time, it seems, they all supported silence. Now their modus operandi appears to be slander. Under the circumstances, both are reprehensible.

As for Sherry herself: I'm certainly not trying to be hard on anyone with her past. It is certainly possible that she no longer remembers the facts of her case. After all, she was banned from all contact with her mother when she was 8 years old, after being removed from her home two years earlier. Since then she's been surrounded by people who told her her mother was a liar, an anti-Semite and heaven knows what else. But what has any of that got to do with the demonstrable facts of the case? Hikind knows better. It's a shame that so many people who fight child sex abuse in our communities have to spend so much time defending themselves from slander. Hikind must know about that by now: look what happened to Benzion Twerski. So I don't see why he should be taken in by the slanderers this time around.

And we shouldn't be, either.

UOJ

*

Added Saturday evening - October 25, 2008 - by Susie Rosenbluth.

The situation regarding “Silent No Longer,” purportedly written by Sherry Orbach, is even worse than UOJ reports.

I was the first journalist to receive the piece, which came to me by email shortly after The Jewish Voice and Opinion published an article on Dr. Amy Neustein in March 2005.

When I received “Silent No Longer,” I told the author, who claimed to be Miss Orbach (Dr. Neustein’s estranged daughter), that, because she was a principal in the article I had written, I would gladly publish anything she had to say. However, I told her, because of the incendiary nature of her piece—and the, to be mild, wildly incomprehensible emails and phone calls I had received from people purporting to be her aunt and uncle (Martin and Frima Berger)—I wanted to make certain that “Silent No Longer,” was actually written by Sherry Orbach.

To do that, I told her, I would gladly meet her in any public place on the Columbia University campus (where she was a law student) so that she could hand me the piece in person. Possible venues I suggested were the cafeteria, library, dean’s office, or even the local police station, located just two blocks from the school’s main campus.

The person purporting to be Miss Orbach, then 24, flat out refused, even when I explained that, without my knowing from whom I was receiving the article, I could not possibly publish it.

When I related this story to Rabbi Moshe Faskowitz (whom I called because Mrs. Berger--Miss Orbach’s aunt--had told me he was her rabbinic adviser who had tried to help her reconcile with her estranged family), he told me that it was obvious the person who had sent me the article was not Sherry Orbach, with whom he was well acquainted.

A few weeks later, I spoke with Naomi Klass Mauer, associate publisher of the Brooklyn-based Jewish Press, who told me she, too, had received “Silent No Longer” by email. Mrs. Mauer informed me that she was inclined to publish it. I told her I did not blame her, because that is how I, too, felt when I first received it. However, I told Mrs. Mauer, once the author refused to give me the piece in person, I could not, in good conscience, print it.

Mrs. Mauer told me she agreed with me and that she, too, would insist on being given the piece in person by the person purporting to be the author before The Jewish Press would publish it.

One week later, “Silent No Longer” appeared in The Jewish Press. I called Mrs. Mauer to ask if she had met Miss Orbach. Mrs. Mauer told me she had not. Mrs. Mauer said she had spoken with someone on the phone who purported to be the author and who, in Mrs. Mauer’s words, “knew a great deal about Brooklyn.” Satisfied, Mrs. Mauer allowed the piece to be published.

When I expressed chagrin, Mrs. Mauer acknowledged that, in retrospect, she probably should have stuck to her guns and insisted on receiving the piece in person.

The point is, no one at The Jewish Press or anywhere else knows for certain who the author of “Silent No Longer” really is. Like Rabbi Faskowitz, attorney Michael Lesher, and UOJ, I have strong doubts that it was written by Miss Orbach, a young woman who, most assuredly, has been rendered a victim by everyone who is not encouraging her to reconcile with her mother.

Sherry, if you are reading this, it’s not too late. Your mother is waiting for your call, just as she has been ever since you were taken from her when you were eight years old. Please call her, sweetie. It’s a new year and you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Susie Rosenbluth
The Jewish Voice and Opinion
Englewood, NJ
201-569-2845

*

Dear Sherry,

I want to plead with you to let me assist you, in any way I can, in the reconcilitiation process with your mom. She loves you more than you can ever know, and there is no greater reward for yourself to have a relationship with this wonderful person - you can call mommy!

PLEASE e-mail me at:a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.com - we'll take it from there.

Very Sincerely,

UOJ

What Simchat Torah?

If the rabbis would rage against lies, rape, hatred, embezzlement, immorality, adultery, perjury, contempt, violence, swindling, false witness, depravity, pedophilia, undue risk of infanticide, drunkenness, perversion....

If the rabbis would do good, lead by example, excel in virtue, set an example, proving morality is on their side; if they would scrupulously respect the Commandments and obey the dictates of Halacha, and thus neither lie nor thieve, nor commit adultery with their congregants or with women of ill-repute, neither rob nor rape, neither bear false witness nor commit soul-murder, neither accept bribes nor "kosher" filthy money, nor commit incest or child rape, or cover up for pedophile rabbis.

The world would look at the Jews and the God of the Jews through their example of their shining conduct!

But instead...............

*

Chag Someach!

Our lives are not measured by the number of years we exist, but what we accomplish while we live, and by the good we may render to our fellow man.

Henry Wells -

Agudath Israel Calls For Ban On Selling Shorts Naked! Shafran Calls It Chillul Hashem - Blames The Modern Orthodox!

Short-selling ban leaves Jews at the SEC with little to show - says Avrohom Chaim Levin in the Chicago Tribune!


Naked short selling, or naked shorting, is the practice of selling a stock short, without first borrowing the shares or ensuring that the shares can be borrowed as is done in a conventional short sale. When the seller does not obtain the shares within the required time frame, the result is known as a "fail to deliver". However, the transaction generally remains open until the shares are acquired by the seller or the seller's broker, allowing a trade to occur when the order is filled.[1]

In the United States, naked short selling is covered by various SEC regulations which, as of September 2008, prohibit the practice.[2] In 2005, "Regulation SHO" was enacted to curb the practice, requiring that broker-dealers have grounds to believe that shares will be available for a given stock transaction, and requiring that delivery take place within a limited time period.[3][4] As part of its response to the crisis in the North American markets in 2008, the SEC issued a temporary order restricting fails to deliver in the shares of 19 financial firms deemed systemically important.[5] Effective September 18, 2008, amid claims that aggressive short selling had played a role in the failure of financial giant Lehman Brothers, the SEC made permanent and expanded the rules to remove exceptions and to cover all companies.[6][7]

Some commentators have contended that despite regulations, naked shorting is widespread and that the SEC regulations are poorly enforced, although the SEC has denied these claims. However, the SEC and others have also defended the practice in limited form as beneficial for market liquidity. Its critics have contended that the practice is susceptible to abuse, can be damaging to targeted companies struggling to raise capital, and has led to numerous bankruptcies.[6][2] Other commentators contend that naked shorting is more of a potential than a real problem, and have criticized the SEC for dealing with an issue that is tangential at best.

Mr. President! Suspend Trading On U.S. Stock Exchanges Until Further Notice!

Consider a moratorium, and or a cap on withdrawals from all American financial institutions!

Sincerely,

UOJ

The Case Of Rabbi Israel Weingarten

PKC:AG
F.#2007R01082
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
- against -
ISRAEL WEINGARTEN,
Defendant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -X
I N D I C T M E N T
(T. 18, U.S.C., §§
2423(a)(1997), 2423(b)
(1997) and 3551 et
seq.)
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
COUNT ONE
On or about and between July 30, 1997 and August 19,
1997, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the
Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant ISRAEL
WEINGARTEN knowingly and intentionally transported Jane Doe, an
individual whose identity is known to the Grand Jury and who had
not obtained the age of 18 years, in foreign commerce, to wit:
from Bet Shemesh, Israel to Brooklyn, New York, with the intent
that Jane Doe engage in sexual activity for which the defendant
could be charged with a criminal offense, to wit: Sexual Abuse in
the First Degree in violation of New York Penal Law Section
130.65(1) (1997); Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree in violation
of New York Penal Law Section 130.55 (1997); and Endangering the
-2-
Welfare of a Child in violation of New York Penal Law Section
260.10(1) (1997).
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2423(a) (1997)
and 3551 et seq.)
COUNT TWO
On or about and between August 19, 1997 and September
12, 1997, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the
Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant ISRAEL
WEINGARTEN knowingly and intentionally transported Jane Doe, an
individual whose identity is known to the Grand Jury and who had
not obtained the age of 18 years, in foreign commerce, to wit:
from Brooklyn, New York to Antwerp, Belgium, with the intent that
Jane Doe engage in sexual activity for which the defendant could
be charged with a criminal offense, to wit: Sodomy in the First
Degree in violation of New York Penal Law Section 130.50(1)
(1997); Sodomy in the Third Degree in violation of New York Penal
Law Section 130.40(2) (1997); Sexual Abuse in the First Degree in
violation of New York Penal Law Section 130.65(1) (1997); Sexual
Abuse in the Third Degree in violation of New York Penal Law
Section 130.55 (1997); Incest in violation of New York Penal Law
Section 255.25 (1997); Attempted Sexual Misconduct in violation
of New York Penal Law Sections 130.20(1)(1997) and 110.00 (1997);
Sexual Misconduct in violation of New York Penal Law Section
-3-
130.20(2)(1997); and Endangering the Welfare of a Child in
violation of New York Penal Law Section 260.10(1) (1997).
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2423(a) (1997)
and 3551 et seq.)
COUNT THREE
On or about and between April 14, 1997 and July 30,
1997, both dates being approximate and inclusive, the defendant
ISRAEL WEINGARTEN, being a United States citizen, knowingly and
intentionally traveled in foreign commerce, to wit: from Antwerp,
Belgium to Bet Shemesh, Israel, for the purpose of engaging in a
sexual act with Jane Doe, an individual whose identity is known
to the Grand Jury and who had not obtained the age of 18 years,
to wit: contact between the mouth of Jane Doe and the penis of
the defendant; penetration by the defendant of the anal and
genital openings of Jane Doe by hand and finger with an intent to
arouse and gratify the sexual desire of the defendant; the
intentional touching of the genitalia of Jane Doe with intent to
arouse and gratify the sexual desire of the defendant, which
sexual act would constitute a violation of Title 18, United
States Code, Sections 2241(a)(1) & (2) (1997), if the sexual act
occurred in the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of
the United States, to wit: Aggravated Sexual Abuse.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2423(b) (1997)
and 3551 et seq.)
-4-
COUNT FOUR
On or about and between July 30, 1997 and August 19,
1997, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the
Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant ISRAEL
WEINGARTEN, being a United States citizen, knowingly and
intentionally traveled in foreign commerce, to wit: from Bet
Shemesh, Israel to Brooklyn, New York, for the purpose of
engaging in a sexual act, for the purpose of engaging in a sexual
act with Jane Doe, an individual whose identity is known to the
Grand Jury and who had not obtained the age of 18 years, to wit:
contact between the mouth of Jane Doe and the penis of the
defendant; penetration by the defendant of the anal and genital
openings of Jane Doe by hand and finger with an intent to arouse
and gratify the sexual desire of the defendant; the intentional
touching of the genitalia of Jane Doe with intent to arouse and
gratify the sexual desire of the defendant, which sexual act
would constitute a violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 2241(a)(1) & (2) (1997), if the sexual act occurred in
the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, to wit: Aggravated Sexual Abuse.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2423(b) (1997)
and 3551 et seq.)
-5-
COUNT FIVE
On or about and between August 19, 1997 and September
12, 1997, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the
Eastern District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant ISRAEL
WEINGARTEN, being a United States citizen, knowingly and
intentionally traveled in foreign commerce, to wit: from
Brooklyn, New York to Antwerp, Belgium, for the purpose of
engaging in a sexual act, for the purpose of engaging in a sexual
act with Jane Doe, an individual whose identity is known to the
Grand Jury and who had not obtained the age of 18 years, to wit:
contact between the mouth of Jane Doe and the penis of the
defendant; penetration by the defendant of the anal and genital
openings of Jane Doe by hand and finger with an intent to arouse
and gratify the sexual desire of the defendant; the intentional
touching of the genitalia of Jane Doe with intent to arouse and
gratify the sexual desire of the defendant, which sexual act
would constitute a violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 2241(a)(1) & (2) (1997), if the sexual act occurred in
-6-
the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, to wit: Aggravated Sexual Abuse.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2423(b) (1997)
and 3551 et seq.)
A TRUE BILL
FOREPERSON
BENTON J. CAMPBELL
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

Dear Michael Bloomberg

Please consider abandoning your third term quest for mayor of New York, and volunteer your expertise in the financial markets to the U.S. government!

The world needs your presence and smarts to guide the U.S. government in these unprecedented troubled times!

Sincerely,

UOJ

Important news on the Ramat Bet Shemesh alleged molesting teacher case!

Dear UOJ,

Important news on the Ramat Bet Shemesh alleged molesting teacher case.

Rabbi Akiva Kagan, of Toras Eliyahu, was served with a restraining order by the Bet Shemesh Police on Thursday.

This reportedly restricts him from coming into contact with children
for 15 days, while the police continue their investigation into
multiple complaints of child abuse by the teacher.

Meanwhile, the Toras Eliyahu school is retaining Kagan as a teacher
of 30 young boys in the classroom. The school management claims that the restraining order only restricts Kagan from teaching in his old school, Ishrei Lev, which ceased to exist over the past summer, and therefore has no influence or impact upon Toras Eliyahu.

It is astounding that, despite all the outcry over the past three
months by parents, by the general public (led by UOJ and others),and by Rav Chaim Soloveichik, that the school is still insisting that the teacher is totally innocent beyond any shadow of doubt, and is therefore fully fit to teacher young children.

Furthermore, the school's previous claims, to justify their decision
to employ the alleged pedophile while under police investigation, that:

* there were no complaints
* there were complaints but the school has investigated and found
them groundless
* there was "only" one complaint, by a family of miscreants
* that the school has not received official notification of anything,
from anybody, are all exposed now as total fabrications - schemes and lies.

Nothing but a scam to protect the teacher and the "good name" of their school. They are scared stiff of investigations now progressing - to the previous seven years Kagan worked with children at Toras Eliyahu.

The complaints are for real; and the risks to the kids are real. And there are probably more damaged kids whose parents must now step forward.

The outcry is vindicated. Heads must roll at Toras Eliyahu.

Cadbury Chocolates & The Broad Implications On All Food From China!

HERSHEY CHOCOLATE COMPANY (OU kosher)

Cadbury Caramello Candy Bar (Dairy)
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Candy Bar (Dairy)
Cadbury Mini Eggs Sugar Coated Milk Chocolate Candy (Dairy)
Cadbury Roasted Almond Milk Chocolate Candy Bar (Dairy)
Heath Toffee Candy Bar (Dairy)

Cadbury pulls melamine-laced chocolate from China

By MIN LEE, Associated Press

HONG KONG - British candy maker Cadbury announced a recall Monday of chocolate made in its Beijing factory after it was found to contain melamine, the industrial chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children.

The 11 recalled items were sold in parts of Asia and the Pacific, the company said in a statement. Cadbury's chocolates sold in the United States were not affected, said a spokesman for Hershey's, Cadbury's sole U.S. distributor.

Meanwhile, Kraft Foods, the maker of Oreo cookies, and Mars, the maker of M&Ms and Snickers candy, questioned the findings of Indonesian tests that identified melamine in samples of their products made in China.

Both Kraft Foods and Mars said they would comply with an Indonesian recall but planned to conduct their own tests and look into the possibility the tainted products were counterfeits.

Melamine-laced baby formula and other dairy products in China have been blamed for sickening nearly 54,000 children and leading to four infant deaths. The industrial chemical, which is high in nitrogen, is believed to have been added to watered-down milk to mask the resulting protein deficiency and fool quality tests.

Preliminary tests showed melamine in Cadbury chocolates produced at the candy maker's Beijing factory, but it was too early to say how much of the chemical was in them, said a Cadbury spokesman who declined to be identified because of company policy.

Another official reached through the company's London office said there was no way the contaminated chocolate could find its way into other countries because the Chinese factory only supplies Australia, Taiwan, Nauru, Hong Kong and Christmas Island.

"That factory in Beijing only exports to those markets. It's only a small factory," said the official. He said Chinese production makes up only 0.5 percent of Cadbury's global sales, and the recalled items are "less than that because it's only chocolate."

The recalled products included Cadbury Dark Chocette, Cadbury Eclairs, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate and Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate.

In the United States, Hershey's spokesman Kirk Saville said the Cadbury distributor "has never purchased milk, including powdered milk, from China," and that he was "positive" no Hershey's suppliers receive milk products from the country.

Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said tests last week found melamine in a dozen products distributed nationwide, including M&Ms, Snickers bars and Oreo wafers.

Manufacturers Kraft and Mars questioned the findings.

"We don't use any milk ingredients from China in any Oreo products, no matter where they are made or sold," said Kraft spokeswoman Claire Regan.

Tod Gimbel, Kraft's director of corporate affairs for the Asia Pacific, said the company "was trying to understand what methodology was used" in Indonesia's testing.

Mars, in a statement on its Web site, called the Indonesian results "completely inconsistent" with test findings from other government and independent labs in Asia and Europe.

"The vastly different results give Mars significant reason to question the validity of the Indonesian laboratory results," the company said.

So far, only a local agency has checked the products for melamine, but the levels found were considered very high.

No level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

But the agency said it is conducting a health risk assessment to try to determine if there is a minimal amount that would be acceptable in cases where the chemical finds its way into a product through some other means. For example, melamine could be present in the meat or milk of an animal that was fed tainted feed or it could find its way into food processed in a factory.

Some experts in Asia say small amounts of melamine, which is used to make plastics, may be transferred during food processing.

Guidelines in Hong Kong and New Zealand say melamine in food products is considered safe at 2.5 parts per million or less, though Hong Kong has lowered the level for children under 3 and pregnant or lactating women to 1 part per million.

In China, the government continued its investigation into questionable milk sources.

Police raided dairy farms and milk purchasing stations in northern China, detaining 22 people accused of being involved in a network that manufactured, sold and added melamine to milk, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday. Police also seized more than 485 pounds of the chemical.

Chinese officials had previously arrested at least 18 people and detained more than two dozen suspects.

Asian countries continued to tighten controls on Chinese dairy products.

Myanmar's Commerce Ministry said all Chinese dairy imports had been barred since last week, according to the government affiliated weekly Myanmar Times — a significant move because China is the country's biggest trade partner. Chinese dairy products are widely sold in impoverished Myanmar, though there have been no reported cases of illnesses.

*

By Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press Writer

Tainted milk scandal broadens as China accuses a dozen new companies of being violators

BEIJING (AP) -- Fifteen more Chinese dairy companies were identified Wednesday as producing milk products contaminated with an industrial chemical, further broadening a scandal affecting products ranging from baby formula to chocolate, authorities said.

The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized and 27 people arrested in connection with the tainting.

An additional 31 batches of Chinese milk powder were found tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, according to data seen on the food safety administration's Web site Wednesday. Out of the 20 companies on the list, 15 have not been named in previous tests.

The new batches being tested were mostly milk powder products for adults. A previous round of tests found melamine in 69 infant milk powder batches.

The new figure brings to at least 100 the number of tested batches of milk powder found to contain melamine. Dozens of brands sold by more than a score of dairy firms, including some of China's biggest names, have been among those tested.

Tests have also found melamine in 24 batches of liquid milk produced by three of the country's best known dairy firms.

It was a national holiday in China and product safety officials could not be reached for comment.

The Web site quoted the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine as saying it had tested 265 batches produced by 154 different companies prior to Sept. 14. China has a total of 290 companies making powdered milk, the administration said.

In the most recent tests, nine of the batches containing melamine were produced by the company at the center of the scandal, Sanlu, a 43 percent stake of which is owned by New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra. No date for the testing was given.

Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical may be transferred from the environment during food processing. But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.

Melamine can cause kidney stones, leading to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

The scandal was worsened by an apparent cover-up by companies involved and the ignoring by safety officials of tips and warnings from parents and doctors. Top Sanlu executives and government officials in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based, have been forced to resign.

Also on Wednesday, Hong Kong's food safety agency said its tests have found melamine in a Japanese brand's Chinese-made cheesecake. The agency said a sample of Lotte Cream Cheese Cake manufactured by Japan's Lotte China Foods Co. Ltd in mainland China was found to contain melamine.

Hong Kong and Macau authorities earlier detected excessive melamine in Lotte's popular Koala's March chocolate and strawberry cream cookies.

In Thailand, where food inspectors said they are testing nearly 100 imports from China for possible contamination, the country's public health minister, Chalerm Yoobamrung, said Wednesday that they should monitor the situation closely but should not "hype up (the issue) too much."

"I did not mean that I am afraid of China, but we have to be concerned about our trade ties because Thailand does a lot of business with China," he said.

*

China milk scandal firm asked for cover-up help -

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese company at the center of the scare over tainted milk powder had asked for government help to cover up the extent of the problem, state media said on Wednesday in the newest development in the widening scandal.

In the Communist Party newspaper the People's Daily, Shijiazhuang city government spokesman Wang Jianguo said they had been asked by the Sanlu Group for help in "managing" the media response to the case when first told of the issue on August 2, six days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

China's latest food safety problem, involving the addition of the industrial chemical melamine to milk to cheat in quality tests, has caused public outrage and put the spotlight back on deficiencies in industry oversight and weak regulatory bodies.

China has already said the city government in Shijiazhuang, home to the Sanlu Group whose contaminated milk sparked a recall now spread worldwide, sat on a report from the company about the tainting for more than a month, while Beijing hosted the Olympic Games.

"Please can the government increase control and coordination of the media, to create a good environment for the recall of the company's problem products," the People's Daily cited the letter from Sanlu as saying.

"This is to avoid whipping up the issue and creating a negative influence in society," it added.

This week, Reporters Without Borders said Beijing had ordered news of the scandal hushed up ahead of the Olympics.

"Several Chinese journalists have said that it is becoming more and more obvious that the authorities in July prevented an investigation into the toxic milk coming out so as not to tarnish China's image before the Olympics," it said in a statement.

Thousands of children fell ill after drinking the milk, and four died. But the rush of people taking their children to hospital for check-ups appears to be slowing, Xinhua news agency said.

"The work involved with offering free check-ups has turned from an emergency situation to normal," it quoted Wen Honghai, Shijiazhuang's top health official, as saying.

BUNGLING

Countries around the world have banned Chinese dairy imports, or ordered them to be taken off shelves, as it became clear yoghurt and other products were also affected.

Scores of foreign companies have been forced to recall products made with Chinese dairy ingredients, or to reassure customers their goods are safe.

Dairy sales in China dropped too, though Commerce Minister Chen Deming told Xinhua in an interview that sales had begun to bounce back as consumer confidence returned.

"Generally speaking, the sales situation for dairy products around the country has taken a turn for the better," he said.

China has a poor record when it comes to ignoring or glossing over bad news. In 2003, it initially tried to cover up the spread of the respiratory disease SARS.

But Wang, who did not say whether the government complied with the media control request, defended the actions of his colleagues, who he said did send a team at once to probe Sanlu and to look for those suspected of adulterating the milk.

"Yet it was not until September 9 that it was reported to the Hebei provincial government," the newspaper said, referring to the province where Shijiazhuang is situated.

Beijing has already fired several Shijiazhuang officials, including the city's Communist Party chief, for the attempted cover-up.

Wang said the city government had not considered the consequences of their actions.

"We mistakenly thought that taking necessary measures and raising product quality could mitigate the effect and reduce losses," he said.

"The bungling of the best opportunity to report up the handling of the issue caused much harm to people's safety, and seriously affected the image of the Party and the government," Wang added.

He also expressed "deep guilt and pain" for the scandal.

*

Connecticut authorities find candy for sale containing chemical associated with tainted Chinese milk - October 1, 2008

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- An industrial chemical blamed for sickening thousands of infants in China was found in candy in four Connecticut stores this week, a state official said Wednesday.

Days after contaminated White Rabbit Creamy Candy was found in California, Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said tests found melamine in bags of the candy sold at two New Haven stores, a West Hartford market and an East Haven store.

"We're concerned, obviously, there may have been bags sold of these before we got to them," Farrell said.

Anyone who has the candy should destroy it, Farrell said.

The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized and 27 people arrested in connection with the tainting.

Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical may be transferred from the environment during food processing. But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.

Melamine can cause kidney stones, leading to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

Melamine has been associated with contaminated infant formula and other Chinese products containing milk protein.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government identified 15 more Chinese dairy companies as producing milk products contaminated with melamine, bringing the total to 20 companies. At least 100 batches of milk powder have been found to contain the chemical, according to data on the food safety administration's Web site.

Last week, California health officials announced it discovered traces of melamine in White Rabbit candy it tested. Queensway Foods Company Inc. of California distributed the candy and says it is recalling it.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with state and local governments to check for and test products that could possibly be contaminated with melamine. Last Friday, the FDA warned consumers not to consume White Rabbit Candy and Mr. Brown coffee products because of possible melamine contamination.

The vanilla-flavored candy has also been pulled from shelves in Hawaii, Asia and Britain, and tests in Singapore and New Zealand last week found White Rabbit sweets tainted with melamine. The Shanghai-based maker of the candy, Guan Sheng Yuan Co., said last week it was halting production of the sticky, taffy-like confection, an iconic brand beloved by generations of Chinese.

The candy is sold in more than 50 countries throughout Asia and the world, including most of the Chinatowns in the United States. Overseas sales have reached $160 million over the past five years.

*



The Hershey Company Has Never Purchased Milk from China
All Hershey Products are Safe to Consume

HERSHEY, PA., September 29, 2008 - Consumer safety and product quality are Hershey’s top priorities. The Hershey Company has never purchased any milk ingredients from China. All Hershey products use the highest-quality ingredients and are completely safe. This includes CADBURY products manufactured and distributed in the United States by The Hershey Company.

Consumers with any questions regarding this issue should call our Consumer Relations line at 1-800-468-1714.