From my good friend Steve -
Time for Agudath Israel to Live Up To Its Commitment to the Pollard Case
An Open Letter from Esther Pollard
To Rabbi Avi Shafran, Director of Public Affairs, Agudath Israel
- December 13, 2002
Dear Rabbi Shafran,
A concerned Jew recently wrote to ask you what exactly Agudath Israel has done in the last 18 years to secure the release of Jonathan Pollard. Your response has been forwarded to me. (Copy attached.)
It is surprising that as Director of Public Affairs for Agudath Israel, you are unaware that more than a decade ago the Agudah officially adopted the position that the plight of Jonathan Pollard is the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim (redemption of a captive), which is obligatory for all Jews. As a result of this position taken by the Nesius (Rabbinic Presidium) of Gedolei Agudath Israel following a personal presentation by Jonathan's parents, the organization lent its name to an amicus brief on the case filed in 1991.
Writing to the concerned Jew, on the one hand you question whether there is any reason for the Agudah to exert any effort on behalf of Jonathan Pollard; and on the other hand you insist that the Agudah has been working behind the scenes on Jonathan's behalf for the last 18 years.
It should be stated at the outset that in the nearly 2 decades that Jonathan has been in prison, the Agudah has never once put him on the agenda of its annual national convention;(they have more pressing issues, like stopping UOJ) never put him on the agenda of any official meeting in Washington; and has done very little both publicly and privately to demonstrate its commitment to the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim in this case. (that mitzvah only applies to real criminals, like Mondrowitz, Kolko, Mutterperl, Brenner, Brauner, etc.)
The previous President of Agudath Israel, the late Rabbi Moshe Sherer z"l, was devoted to the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim for Jonathan Pollard. Personally he did what he could, writing several eloquent letters on Jonathan's behalf to the White House. But he was frustrated that the Agudah as an organization was not willing to invest more of its resources in this mitzvah. He pressed the Agudah to be more active. His efforts resulted in a couple of admittedly excellent articles by Dovid Zwiebel, the Agudah's General Counsel, one of which was an invaluable critique of the government's "Victim Impact Statement." But when Rabbi Sherer died in 1998, all interest/involvement in the Pollard case was promptly buried.
In 1993, Rabbi Ya'acov Perlow, the current Rosh (Head) of Agudath Israel, added his signature to a letter together with 20 of the most choshuveh (prominent) Roshei Yeshiva in America, calling on the nation to participate in the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim for Jonathan Pollard. The letter was originally published on October 15, 1993 as a full page ad in Yated Ne'eman. It has been faxed to your offices a number of times asking for the Agudah's help. The text is as follows:
October 15, 1993 Yated Ne'eman - [Full Page Display Ad]
To all our Jewish brethren, wherever they may be:
The difficult plight of Jonathan Pollard is well known and publicized. He is enduring an usually harsh and severe sentence.
It is a mitzvah incumbent upon every Jew to make efforts to free him from his imprisonment; those who can should write letters to the government, and whoever can intercede on his behalf should do so.
In the merit of this great Mitzvah of "Pidyan Shvuyim" (Redemption of a Captive), may all who take part be abundantly blessed by the One Who Frees the Imprisoned.
Signed: Rabbi Yaacov Perlow and 20 prominent Roshei Yeshiva
* (List of signees follows in footnote number 1 below)
Rabbi Shafran, we are troubled that in spite of your organization's official position; in spite of your current and past president's acknowledgment that the case of Jonathan Pollard is the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim, you persist in characterizing Jonathan Pollard as merely one Jewish prisoner among many, "[t]here are many Jews sitting in jails, unfortunately, for crimes large and small. Agudath Israel takes its direction from its Gedolim, and they have not asked us to call a yom tefilla on behalf of either Mr. Pollard or others imprisoned." In light of the foregoing, Rabbi Shafran, surely the question to be asked is, "In the name of Heaven, why not?!"
Your response also implies that Jonathan's continued incarceration is somehow his own fault, that if he had not brought his case to public attention, it is your opinion that "Mr. Pollard might be free today." And you further state that the Agudah is involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to free Jonathan. We beg to differ. Insider sources confirm that there is absolutely no evidence that such behind-the-scenes activity ever took place for Jonathan; and we repeat: in 18 years there has certainly been no public activity. No yom tefillah (day of prayer); no yom iyun (day of learning); no mention of Jonathan at the Agudah annual convention; no public meetings or rallies; no public pronouncements. Nothing.
Not long after the death of Rabbi Moshe Sherer z"l, Jonathan's rav, His Eminence HaRav Mordecai Eliyahu, met personally with Rabbi Perlow, the new Rosh (Head) of Agudath Israel. The meeting took place in Jerusalem in 1999. When it was over, HaRav Eliyahu summoned me and provided a full report for Jonathan. I was also briefed by Rabbis Yehoshua Marcus, Shmuel Zafrani and Pesach Lerner who had accompanied the Rav to the meeting. According to all of them, HaRav Eliyahu painstakingly explained the case to Rabbi Perlow. HaRav Eliyahu pleaded for the Agudah's active involvement in redeeming Jonathan Pollard. By the time the meeting ended, Rabbi Perlow understood from HaRav Eliyahu that the case of Jonathan Pollard is not merely the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim; it is the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim for one who was "moser nefesh for Am Yisrael" (one who has sacrificed himself for the Nation of Israel.) Rabbi Perlow appeared deeply moved. He promised to bring the Agudah actively into the struggle, and said that as soon as he got back to New York, he and the organization would do whatever was needed, and just to call him next week. Rabbi Lerner was designated by both Rabbi Perlow and HaRav Eliyahu as the official shaliach on Jonathan's behalf. Acting through Rabbi Lerner, we called Rabbi Perlow the next week, and the week after that and again after that. Several years have passed and we continue to call. But our calls go unanswered. We have also made requests to meet with the Nesius again. This too has gone unanswered.
In light of the foregoing, it is apparent that the assertion that Agudath Israel is secretly working behind the scenes for Jonathan Pollard's release is not credible. We are left with the bitter impression that to say so is simply to camouflage the Agudah's inaction/indifference to Jonathan's plight, in spite of its own articulated position of support.
As for your questioning whether Jonathan's case is the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim, we present an excerpt from a letter [translated from Hebrew] written by HaRav Eliayhu, Israel's former Chief Rabbi, to Jonathan Pollard's attorney, Larry Dub, a copy of which has been sent to Agudah offices more than once - and most recently this year Erev Tisha B'Av, on the instruction of HaRav Eliyahu.
B"H
Mordecai Eliyahu
Former Chief Rabbi of Israel and Rishon Letzion
October 28, 1997
...In response to the question that others have asked you, namely whether the mitzvah of Pidyan Shvuyim (the redemption of a captive) is relevant in the case of the above-named, Jonathan Pollard. Those who ask, should themselves be asked how it is that they could have any doubt!
It should be clear that this is a great mitzvah and it is the obligation of all the nation of Israel no matter where they may be, to do everything that they can to assist and to aid with all of their strength and all of their means to work to extricate and free the Honorable Gentleman Jonathan Pollard, may G-d watch over him and protect him, who sacrificed himself, for the good of, and in order to save, all of the nation of Israel. The mitzvah of Pidyan Shvuyim devolves upon him and it is obligatory for all of the nation of Israel, both in the land of Israel and in the Diaspora, to exploit every way to influence those who have the power to release him from prison and set him free...
(signed)
Mordecai Eliyahu
It is at times like this, Rabbi Shafran, that I worry most about the Jewish People and the damage its leaders have done for 18 years by turning away from the most basic imperatives of the Jewish religion: the pursuit of Justice and the mitzvah of redeeming a captive.
The saddest part of all is that the callousness and indifference that Jonathan has experienced from you and from your organization mirrors that of virtually all the Jewish organizations in America. And that is a terrible keetroog (accusation) in Heaven against the Jewish people. Even more so in the case of the Agudath Israel which, as representative of Torah Jewry, is presumed to know better.
Rabbi Shafran, Jonathan is still in prison. It is not too late for the Agudah to re-examine its actions, to roll up its sleeves and start to honor its commitment to the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim.
We have seen what this organization is able to accomplish behind the scenes for others when it sincerely wishes to. We invite the Agudah to use its behind the scenes contacts and clout on behalf of Jonathan. As the front-line representatives of Torah Jewry, it is incumbent upon the Agudah to be the model for the rest of the Jewish community. .
The Agudah's annual convention is due to take place at the end of this month. Isn't it time that the plight of Jonathan Pollard finally be placed on the agenda? A public statement at the convention reaffirming the Agudah's commitment to act on the mitzvah of pidyan shvuyim for Jonathan would be very important. For his sake. For the sake of the Agudah. But most of all, for the sake of Heaven.
Yours truly,
Esther Pollard (Mrs. Jonathan Pollard)
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
50 comments:
Steve, as sad as it may be, they dont give a rats ass, as long as they get their fat salaries and kovod, im sorry to say but mr pollard is staying in prison, now if the people supporting them would demand they act or no more fresser checks, you will see how shafran- zweibel-perlow & co. will get off their fat tuchess to act.
(Edited Version)
TAKEN FROM ONE OF UOJS FIRST POSTS:
UOJ'S GRANDFATHER AS DESCRIBED HERE.
MARGO, KLEINMAN, TUVYA, MR. ROSH YESHIVA, ET AL. YOU HAVE THE WRONG GUY AGAIN!!!! FIRST, IT WAS B.H. THEN P.M. AND YOU GUYS ARE WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!
Here is the post (written way before anyone was on UOJ's tail and before UOJ was on the radar screen)
Beth Din and the Judges
My grandfather had invested money with his rebbe.This rebbe acted as a broker for a conglomerate of nursing home owners who guaranteed a certain amount of return per bed.
In other words he was convinced by his rebbe that if he invested his life savings with him,he would receive a monthly income which was secured by a lien on the real estate .
In his hometown in Europe the rebbe was as close to G-D as Moshe Rabbeinu.
Zeidy was a laborer, a simple man with emuna pshuta.
So if the rebbe said something,it had meaning...so much meaning that he took all his hard earned money even the emergency money from the refrigerator(wrapped in aluminum foil)and gave it to his rebbe.
Not long after, the monthly stipend stopped."HIS beds were losing money".
My father arranged for a din torah.After a year of stalling and promises,the beth din convened.
I went with my father and grandfather.
I would never forget,ever,what came next.....
By Walter Brandimarte
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros forecast on Monday that the U.S. economy is "on the verge of a very serious economic correction" after decades of overspending.
"We have borrowed an awful lot of money and now the bill is coming to us," he said during a lecture at the New York University, also adding that the war on terror "has thrown America out of the rails."
Asked whether a recession was inevitable, Soros said: "I think we are definitely in for a slowdown that I think will be a bigger slowdown than (Fed Chairman Ben) Bernanke is seeing."
Famous for his speculative attack on the Bank of England that made him more than $1 billion, Soros declined to nominate which currencies are more vulnerable currently. He also declined to comment specifically on the dollar.
"I know exactly where the currencies are going to but I'm not going to tell that to you," he told the audience.
Last week, investment guru Jim Rogers, who co-founded the Quantum Fund with Soros in the 1970s, recommended selling the dollar as well as U.S. investment banks and U.S. housing stocks.
Soros said that, for now, China is the "absolute winner" in economic terms, and will continue to see its economy soaring during the next few years.
"Now it is going through this fantastic transformation but in 10 years time I think you may well have a financial crisis in China," he said.
WASHINGTON —
Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich is planning to make a procedural move on the House floor Tuesday that would call up a vote on the Democratic presidential candidate's resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/920926.html
Some 1,500 Orthodox qrresidents of Beit Shemesh gathered late Monday to protest the recent wave of ultra-Orthodox violence in the city, calling on police and municipality officials to take stronger action against Haredi "zealots."
Setting the record straight
Re: ABC 20/20 broadcast concerning our 'To Catch a Predator' series
History:
In the three years since the first "To Catch a Predator" aired, more than 250 suspected online predators have been exposed, leading to the convictions of more than 120 individuals -- something viewers wouldn’t have known by watching the ABC story. One of the "To Catch a Predator" reports was nominated for an Emmy for Best Investigative Journalism and another won the prestigious Gracie award. The broadcasts have received accolades from government officials, and Correspondent Chris Hansen was even asked to speak before a congressional committee in Washington.
Wall Street firms see recession nearing By John Poirier
Tue Nov 6
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The economy might be edging toward a recession in the wake of mortgage-related credit woes plaguing the financial markets, bankers and analysts said on Monday.
"I think that the risk of a recession is greater than people realize," James Dunne, chief executive of Sandler O'Neil & Partners, said at the Reuters Finance Summit in New York.
With home prices dropping, more people about to lose their homes due to unaffordable mortgages and sharply higher oil prices, the economy could be on the brink of slowing down, they said.
"I think there is a serious risk to the economy," Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, told the summit.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/919001.html
Never before spoken of.
Ashland Cold Storage solicits kosher food clients.
A very disturbing detail here is how fruits transported together with treif meats get splashed by liquid while the meats thaw.
http://cbs2chicago.com/investigations/filthy.food.violations.2.489781.html
Before you eat another turkey sandwich, chew another piece of steak or bite into another pork chop, consider how that meat is being shipped to your plate.
A four-month CBS 2 investigation uncovered serious food safety handling violations in the way meat is transported. Among the findings: spoiled or thawing meat, cross-contamination and a lack of food inspectors to monitor the way it is handled during the shipping or delivery process.
The investigation found health hazards involving tens of thousands of pounds of beef, poultry and pork headed to local grocery stores, restaurants and warehouses.
"People are so confident that somebody in their government is watching out for their family, and the honest answer is they are not," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.
Durbin reviewed surveillance video of tainted transports that included pork thawing and dripping on to fresh produce.
"Even one truckload of meat that is not carefully watched can become a lot problems for a lot families," Durbin said. "The bottom line is, no one is accepting responsibility."
Unsafe temperatures
The food handling investigation started this summer as massive meat recalls for E. coli and salmonella poisoning swept the nation. When meat enters what food inspectors call the danger zone – when temperatures rise above 40 degrees – bacteria can grow and cause food-borne illness. The CBS2 investigation uncovered repeated temperature violations while meat was in transport. CBS2 surveillance cameras caught restaurant and grocery store owners shipping meat out of state in trunks of cars, in minivans and non-refrigerated trucks while temperatures outside reached as high as 95 degrees.
Also uncovered in the probe, a lack of food inspectors to investigate after trucks hauling meat are involved in crashes and refrigeration units are destroyed.
In one case, 30,000 pounds of turkey – destined to be turned into deli meat – sat in warm September temperatures for six and a half hours. CBS2 cameras documented boxes of turkey that were crushed and meat that was exposed, thawing and dripping from the heat.
The load became tainted when the truck struck a viaduct near Chicago's stockyard district. No food inspector was called, as Illinois law mandates. Instead it was transferred to a new refrigerated trailer, cooled down overnight, then shipped the next day to a Chicago warehouse operated by Ashland Cold Storage.
The warehouse was supposed to receive the load for Buddig Foods, a national deli meat company sold in grocery stores. Officials for Buddig and Ashland Cold Storage say they were never told about the crash, or the food exposure and probably wouldn't have known about the incident had they not been warned by CBS2 investigators.
Lack of inspectors
Paul Michalak, executive vice-president for Ashland Cold Storage, says when the load was inspected he found "unacceptable temperatures, adulterated product and damage." The load was rejected, sealed with a lock and sent back to a North Carolina company listed on the boxes as Prestage Foods. Phone calls to Prestage were not returned and questions about what happened to the turkey have not been answered.
In August, a similar situation occurred when another truck hauling more than 40,000 pounds of beef brisket crashed. The truck struck a viaduct, tearing off the trailer's roof and cutting off its refrigeration. The temperature that day reached into the 90s while the load sat for four hours before it was transferred to a new trailer. It was parked overnight and cooled down before delivery the next day.
Once again, no health inspectors were called to the scene. CBS2 contacted city, county, state and federal food and health departments to report the damaged load. The only agency to send an inspector was the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. But that inspector didn't check the load for four days and then only examined a small portion of the meat.
A USDA report of the incident revealed "black specks" were trimmed off some of the beef but 32,000 pounds of the load were never inspected by a government inspector before being sold to the public.
Bureaucratic overlap
"The obvious questions is who is supposed to stop it?" Durbin asked. "The state of Illinois isn't sure, the federal government couldn't answer the question when I asked them. Once it's out the door it's anybody's guess."
Durbin wants more inspections and fewer layers of government in charge of food safety.
"The system we have today is a piece-meal system. Twelve different federal agencies are involved in food safety inspection, 35 different laws, scores of committees on Capital Hill and none of it makes sense."
Other problems uncovered by the CBS2 investigation involved how meat and vegetables are shipped together illegally by grocery store owners who try to skirt the law to save on shipping costs. One grocery story owner was caught shipping a pig in the flatbed of his pickup truck. He destroyed the pork when confronted by the CBS 2 investigators.
Joe Ortiz, owner of Joe's Fruit Market in Blue Island, said he didn't know he needed a refrigerated truck to haul fresh meat and said he would never do it again. "I am sorry and I apologize ... I have lots of fresh meat for sale that is very good."
Mixed foods
Another example of a major food violation occurred at the popular Fulton Street Meat Market in front of a CBS2 hidden camera. Jesse Magallon, owner of Jesse's Wholesale Meats was caught on camera loading a non-refrigerated truck with hundreds of pounds of fresh pork on an 85-degree day. The truck was also carrying fresh produce including peppers, mangos, and onions and headed for Delavan, Wisc.
"It was a big mistake," Magallon said. "I usually deliver to him but that day he said I need it (pork) right away."
Magallon admits it was wrong to sell the meat and then load it onto the non-refrigerated truck.
Inspectors say the truck acted like an oven, thawing the pork and causing its juices to spill all over the produce.
Four hours after leaving Chicago, the truck arrived at its destination – a grocery store. CBS2 notified health inspectors and warned the driver an inspector was on his way. That's when the truck driver took off and tried to hide. But the inspector called police, who stopped him several miles away.
The Wisconsin food inspector climbed into the truck, took various temperature readings and found the meat had reached 65 degrees. Jake Pfiefer, an inspector for the Wisconsin Department of Public Health said that was 25 degrees above safe limits. The inspector found numerous violations including thawing meat juices that were cross contaminating fresh produce and cases of yogurt at temperatures near 80 degrees. The yogurt, meat and contaminated produce were immediately thrown into a garbage bin and destroyed with bleach.
"This instance is probably one in a hundred that occurs probably once or twice a day," Pfiefer said. He added that more inspectors are needed to search for illegal food transports throughout the country. "We never would have known about this had (CBS2) not been doing your surveillance."
I'm the alter bochur who's always trying to farkoyf Herbalife to everyone. They especially don't like it when I give a klapp at the bimah in Landau's shul.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/21640846
Herbalife (HLF) dropped 11%. The maker of nutritional supplements fell after a fraud watchdog group accused the company's distributors of using a banned business model to sell more of its products.
WASHINGTON -- An advisory commission created in response to concerns about recalls of dangerous toothpaste, dog food and toys will recommend to President Bush that the Food and Drug Administration be empowered to order mandatory recalls of products deemed a risk to consumers, an administration official said Monday.
Beit Shemesh rally reflects haredi-modern Orthodox tensions
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST Nov. 6, 2007
With tension between haredi and modern Orthodox Jews at an all-time high in the fast-growing town of Beit Shemesh, a group of about 1,000 to 1,500 predominately Anglo, Modern Orthodox Ramat Beit Shemesh residents gathered Monday night to stage an anti-violence protest.
"If the police don't stop them, we will stop them," warned deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh Shlomo Lerner, referring to young haredim who have resorted to stone-throwing and spitting to protest their disapproval of other residents' lifestyles. Lerner's promise was greeted by the cheers of protesters who lined Rehov Herzog, which lies between the city's Modern Orthodox and haredi neighborhoods.
"We are working people," added Lerner, who is planning to run for mayor next year, "but we found the time to meet here to send out a clear message: The violence must stop."
Over the past year or so clashes in Beit Shemesh have become both more frequent and more violent. Young haredi men, many of whom are emigrants from the crowded, expensive and devoutly religious Mea Shearim and Beit Yisrael neighborhoods of Jerusalem, have attacked the surrounding Beit Shemesh population - a mix of Modern Orthodox and secular - out of a feeling that their way of life was being threatened. These young haredi men - members of hassidic sects such as Satmar and Toldot Aharon - view Zionism as inherently evil and see any encroachment of modernity on their way of life as a direct spiritual threat.
Rabbi Oren Duvdevani, who leads the Netzach Menashe Congregation in the Modern Orthodox Sheinfeld neighborhood, warned that if the violence did not stop his predominantly affluent congregants might stop providing charity to their mostly poor haredi neighbors.
The greatest spiritual threat in the eyes of these young, violent haredim is what they consider to be the lascivious, wanton behavior and dress of Modern Orthodox and secular women.
Some have taken the law into their own hands. Modern Orthodox neighbors complain that their daughters have been spit on, shouted at or pelted with tomatoes for dressing inappropriately. One resident told The Jerusalem Post that rocks had been thrown at her for trying to tear down a sign that called on passersby to dress modestly.
Beit Shemesh resident Steve Kamilar recounted how a year ago, when he tried to stop a group of haredim from throwing stones at a car, he was hit in the head with a rock.
"True, there was just a handful who actually threw the rocks," said Kamilar. "But there were dozens more who stood by and did nothing to stop them."
Last week a woman who boarded the 497 Egged bus from Ramat Beit Shemesh to the haredi town of Bnei Brak was attacked - haredim say verbally, she says physically - because she refused to sit at the back of bus.
The 497 is a "mehadrin" or "scrupulously adherent" bus line, which means that out of deference to the moral sensibilities of the haredim in Ramat Beit Shemesh, male and female passengers are segregated. Women enter the bus from the back door and sit in the back of the bus. Men sit up front.
But the woman, who is Modern Orthodox, boarded the bus from the front and sat down behind the driver. The woman, who sat next to a supportive soldier, refused repeated requests by the haredi male passengers to abide by the seating customs. In response, hundreds of haredim, who were notified of what was happening via cellphone by the haredi passengers on the bus, blocked the road and stopped the bus.
However, the latest point of contention is over a national religious school complex being built on the border between the haredi and Modern Orthodox neighborhoods. The plot of land, which will house both a boys and a girls school, is seen by the haredim as encroachment on their turf.
Recently, the fence surrounding the building site was riddled with graffiti that read "thieves" and "stop causing destruction" and "entrance permissible only in modest dress."
"I came to Ramat Beit Shemesh because I wanted to live in a modest, God-fearing neighborhood," said Moshe Friedman, one of the young haredi activists in Beit Shemesh. "I even paid twice as much for an apartment here in Ramat Beit Shemesh because that was the environment I wanted and I was willing to pay for it.
"I want to make it clear that I don't care what those people do in their own neighborhoods. But I don't want them bringing their lasciviousness into my neighborhood. That school, with boys and girls together, is an atrocity for us. It does not belong in this neighborhood."
Moshe Montag, a haredi member of the Beit Shemesh Municipal Council, said that the demonstration organized by the Modern Orthodox on Monday was counterproductive.
"They are making a big mistake staging a demonstration," said Montag, who participates in municipal elections, unlike many of the even more haredi Beit Shemesh residents who refrain due to their anti-Zionist ideology.
"The best way to deal with the zealot activists is through peaceful means, through dialogue and mutual understanding. Demonstrations and use of force will only escalate the situation."
MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - The successful use of a worldwide photo appeal in a hunt for a suspected pedophile has set a precedent for how the world's police forces track down suspects, Interpol officials said on Tuesday.
Detectives in various countries had been hunting Canadian Christopher Paul Neil since German police discovered photographs on the Internet three years ago of a man sexually abusing 12 boys in Vietnam and Cambodia.
He was arrested in Thailand days after a photo of the man was issued to the public in an unprecedented worldwide appeal. Neil denies charges of molesting underage children in Thailand.
"We will use this approach again to identify child sex abusers," Kristin Kvigne, assistant director for human trafficking at Interpol, said on the sidelines of the world police body's general assembly in Morocco.
Interpol delegates voted overwhelmingly on Monday to use more worldwide photo appeals to identify suspected perpetrators of sex abuse.
Investigators will use such appeals if the danger to children outweighs the risk of suspects being attacked by citizens wanting to mete out private justice.
PHOTOGRAPH SCRAMBLED
Neil's face had been scrambled with a digital swirling pattern, but German police computer experts managed to unravel the disguise.
His arrest was a high-profile success for Interpol, which operates on an annual budget of 45 million euros and whose general secretariat employs around 500 people.
Set up in 1923 as the International Criminal Police, the organization has grown in importance in recent decades as the growth of illegal migration, Internet child pornography, online fraud and international terrorist networks forces national police forces to cooperate more.
An Interpol unit for fighting Internet child sex abuse set up a database in 2001 that now has over 500,000 images of abuse and has helped rescue nearly 600 victims.
"This operation has sent a very strong message to anyone wanting immunity from prosecution for child sex offences -- we will continue doing this and will continue to find these people," said Kvigne.
Interpol officials said the techniques pioneered by Interpol may also be applied in the hunt for terrorists planning devastating attacks.
"This affair opened another dimension to investigations in coming years, new prospects and new options that should be considered," said Interpol's executive director of police services Jean-Michel Louboutin.
(Writing by Tom Pfeiffer, editing by Peter Millership)
Seidler lives near Sorscher's shul in SHeepshead Bay. He's also been in trouble before over taxes.
http://www.nbc30.com/news/14497374/detail.html
An alleged drunken driver will get a new trial after court officials said he was represented by a fake lawyer.
Howard Seidler, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was arrested Thursday when he returned to Stamford Superior Court for his client's sentencing.
Court officials charged the 62-year-old Seidler with unauthorized practice of law and criminal impersonation. He may also face charges of first-degree larceny and forgery.
By Deutsche Presse Argentur
The abuse of women prisoners as prostitutes in German concentration camps during the Nazi period has received too little attention in previous studies, German sociologist Christa Paul believes.
The German SS, who ran the camps, set up brothels in 10 camps, according to the 47-year-old researcher at Hamburg University.
The aim was to reward prisoners who had shown high productivity in the forced labor camps, which were a major part of Adolf Hitler's armaments industry during World War II.
Paul's work is being highlighted in a special exhibition at the memorial to the Neuengamme concentration camp that opened Wednesday and runs to January 18 next year.
Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Paul said the women were largely recruited from the women's concentration camp Ravensbrueck to the north of Berlin.
"There was a so-called whores' block there," she said.
Current research suggests that around 220 women were forced into prostitution.
"The brothel was the biggest reward that the prisoners could receive to promote their work motivation," Paul said.
Big companies making use of concentration camp slave labor, such as the notorious IG Farben, had come out in favor of this incentive in 1942.
SS leader Heinrich Himmler was also in favour of the scheme, contradicting the widespread notion that the Nazis had banned prostitution.
Paul acknowledged difficulties in researching her theme as many of the victims were reluctant to speak of their experiences as sex slaves.
She added that while concentration camp brothels were now receiving more attention, "the establishment and operation of Wehrmacht (German army) brothels in occupied Eastern Europe remains a large blind spot."
Elliot Pasik should push for legislation that fake rabbis like Margo should also be charged with criminal impersonation.
Hey twerski! your an honorable PUNK!
Anyone know if Steve Madden is Jewish? He grew up in Lawrence & used to date NBC producer Amy Rosenblum.
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/780894/
Shoe designer and retailer Steven Madden Ltd. said yesterday that third-quarter sales and earnings were down, as the company expected, because of a "soft consumer spending environment and a lack of big fashion footwear trends."
Steven Madden, the company founder, was jailed in September 2002 after being convicted of securities fraud and money laundering. He served 30 months of a 41-month sentence and had to relinquish the titles of chairman and chief executive of the company. He now has the title of chief design and creative director.
CBS2 should to an investigation on the heimishe dairy trucks. For some reason the gevalike haimishe chooloov yisrooel zachen spoil much faster than the "stam" stuff
UOJ, releasing Pollard would be exactly like releasing Kolko and Colmer. Wrong path to take here sir.
Pollard brought this on himself by cursing out the judge in the courtroom, after being told he violated his plea agreement. He also had NOTHING to do with yiddishkeit before all this started, and was married to a shikse before that. Id he would of kept is big mouth shut he would not be in prison today.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5738328,00.html
Rocky Mountain News
November 2, 2007
Former BestBank owner Edward Mattar, facing 14 years in prison, the wrath of UOJ and the forfeiture of millions of dollars at his fraud sentencing Friday, chose instead to leap from a 27th-story window.
The Denver coroner's office identified Mattar's body through fingerprints and ruled the death a suicide late Friday.
At 3:40 a.m, Mattar, 68, smashed a window with a hammer at his home at the Apartments at Denver Place, 1880 Arapahoe St. He then jumped, landing in the courtyard in front of the building.
Janus McSwain, 28, of San Bernardino, Calif., was at the Greyhound Bus Terminal, waiting for a bus, when he heard a crash and went outside. McSwain said he saw a man lying face- down in the dirt.
"He broke a tree," McSwain said
http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/nov/02/niwot-man-accused-assaulting-8-year-old-drinking-h/
An 8-year-old girl who consistently spent the night with a 47-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting her and drinking her urine told her mother what was happening, but the mom didn’t think it was a problem, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
Even the usual defenders of the Jewish people like John Loftus say there is more to the Pollard story than meets the eye. That Pollard, from what he knows from deep inside US Intelligence, was a drug addict & profiteer. That he did not merely give Israel info on the Arabs but gave over the entire blueprint of how US Intel operates. Much of this information was leaked to the Russians by traitors or spies in Israel, forcing the US to rebuild the entire infrastructure.
What information does the Rav Haroshi have that we don't?
NEW YORK (Reuters) - IndyMac Bancorp Inc (IMB.N), one of the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, on Tuesday posted a quarterly loss more than five times larger than it had projected, hurt by mounting delinquencies and a collapse in investor demand to buy its home loans.
The third-quarter net loss totaled $202.7 million, or $2.77 per share. It was IndyMac's first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 1998. Profit a year earlier was $86.2 million, or $1.19 per share.
What's the next step with the Mondrowitz extradition? And what's the latest on Colmer?
RFID Chips in School Uniforms Track Students
How would feel about this: Tracking chips in kids' school clothing so that school officials can know their whereabouts during the school day?
Oh, it's happening. Ten students in a secondary school in the United Kingdom are being tracked through RFID implants in their school uniforms in a pilot program. Information Week reports that the kids attend Hungerhill School for ages 11-16 in Edenthorpe, England.
Add the RFID chips to increased video surveillance and fingerprinting of kids, and this is a heavily tracked generation—for safety's sake.
That extra peace of mind for adults comes with a heavy loss of privacy for kids. Do you agree with David Clouter, a parent and founder of the children's advocacy group Leave Them Kids Alone, who says taking all these precautions has the effect of treating kids like criminals? Or do you agree with the parents who have OKed the pilot program who do not find it egregiously intrusive?
One possible side effect: Uniform sales may pick up as kids try to procure extra non-RFID-tagged clothing. As security expert Bruce Schneier writes on his blog: "So now it's easy to cut class; just ask someone to carry your shirt around the building while you're elsewhere."
The 911 tapes show that people were terrified by his behavior.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/asseenon5/14514371/detail.html
Needham police released 911 tapes Monday to explain a massive police response to an incident at a pizza parlor Friday afternoon.
The SWAT team-like response came at the same time the police had a manhunt under way for the killer of a town resident.
Listen to 911 Tape (MP3 format)
Hillel Neuer was arrested in the town center after calls to police that he'd been acting suspiciously and had a gun. Police had simultaneously been looking for a suspect in a beating death earlier that day.
"The man's behavior had aroused so much concern that employees and patrons had fled the premises," police said in a statement.
Neuer, who is the head of a Geneva-based human rights group, left the building following the instructions from police and a disorderly conduct charge against him was dismissed Monday.
"Investigators determined that reports of the presence of a gun had been made based upon an incorrect assumption that had been made by those observing Mr. Neuer and his behavior," police said.
A clerk magistrate in Dedham District Court dismissed the charge against Neuer after finding there was no probable cause.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/11/06/fearful_911_calls_in_needham_released/
The chief confirmed Neuer had called twice - once his call was dropped because of call volume - and that on the second try, Neuer got through. A dispatcher spoke with him.
"They were able to communicate with him and understood he wanted to exit the building, so they helped him do that," the chief said. Neuer emerged with his hands up.
Leary defended his department's approach to Neuer. Police also released recordings of three 911 calls they received about Neuer and his behavior inside the restaurant on Great Plain Avenue.
R' Howard Seidler is a NOTED ASKAN. I'm surprised he was never tapped to give a legal / ethical workshop at the Agudah Fresser Convention.
Don't forget that both Yudi Kolko & Mutterperl will be in court tomorrow.
UOJ is posting this Bubba maysah mit Hillel Neuer in the vain hope that I will emerge with my hands up too.
Dear R' Pinny:
You have a warped definition of noted askanim and rabbis. You have had pictures in the middle section of your paper of Goldwasser right after the Shevach scandal which he financed came out. You run pictures each and every single week of the slimebag Belsky. Pictures of R' Frankel & Eichenstein from Chicago all involved in coverups and slimy behavior. You printed an article by Kolko's son right after his daddy was arrested.
Shame on you, and your askanus. What would R' Shach think about how you run your affairs at the Yated? What does your wife's uncle R' Elya think about it? What do your uncle's R' Levin and R' Keller think about the mockery you are making with your paper?
You are turning people off of the Yiddishe Varmkeit you pupport to represnt. I know you will continue to do as you see fit. However, understand where a large part of your readership is coming from too.
Your sensitivity in the future will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Your Readers
It appears our African-American friends have found yet something else to be upset about. A black congresswoman reportedly complained that the names of hurricanes are all Caucasian sounding names. She would prefer some names that reflect African-American culture such as Chamiqua, Tanisha, Woeisha, Shaqueal, and Jamal. She would also like the weather reports to be broadcast in Language that street people can understand because one of the problems in New Orleans is that regular folks couldn't understand the seriousness of the situation due to the racially biased language of the weather report.
I can hear it now: A weatherman says...
'Wazzup, mutha-effas! Hehr-i-cane Chamiqua be headin' fo' yo ass! Bitch be a category fo'! So grab yo' chirren, yo' Ho, be leavin yo crib, and head fo' da nearest guv'ment office fo yo FREE shit!'
Did someone at 42 Broadway order Lipschitz to run a puff piece on Kolko Jr. or did Pinny come up with the dumb idea all by himself?
Shea,
Seriously funny stuff!
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who has been devoting a lot of time lately to a credit crisis that has roiled global financial markets, found a smaller subject to focus on Tuesday. He sang the praises of organizations that provide tiny loans to people struggling to start their own businesses.
Let's hear from the olam on the Pollard issue!
How can Hatzolah & Dovid Cohen get away with letting convicted sex offender Zakheim remain an active responder?
It's obviously because he's a multi-millionaire and can buy them off.
Call Hatzolah at 718-230-1000 and ask your rov how this corruption can stand.
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0222,barrett,35200,5.html
Zakheim may have been booted from the ambulance industry for groping women but he's still very active in the nursing home business.
He helps all the Hungarian shmucks listed here build the sweetheart fund to pay off politicians.
One putz was thrown out of Hatzolah because he responded to a call of a guy who had a heart attack during inyanei ishus and yentted about it to his friends.
But it's ok if Zakheim is pushing every Jewish woman AND shiksa for sex himself.
Zakheim is not the only one in trouble for breaking FEC related laws. Almost everyone on this list is a haymishe.
http://www.fec.gov/press/press2004/20041014mur.html
(a) (Noach) Dear 2000, Inc. [4935 and 5057]
(b) Dear for Congress Inc. [4935 and 5057]
(c) Friends of Noach Dear '93 [4935 and 5057]
(d) Abraham Roth [4935 and 5057]
(e) Shael Bellows [4935 and 5057]
(f) Joseph P. Billig [4935 and 5057]
(g) Trina Cayre [4935 and 5057]
(h) Abraham Chehebar [4935 and 5057]
(i) Jerome Cooper [4935 and 5057]
(j) Samuel Cygler [4935 and 5057]
(k) Yosef Davis [4935 and 5057]
(l) Michael Fuchs [4935 and 5057]
(m) Eugene Gluck [4935 and 5057]
(n) Edith Gross [4935 and 5057]
(o) Harry Gross [4935 and 5057]
(q) Jomarr Realty Company [4935 and 5057]
(r) Andrew Lowinger [4935 and 5057]
(s) Joseph Mermelstein [4935 and 5057]
(t) Boris Motovich [4935 and 5057]
(u) J. L. Rajchenbach [4935 and 5057]
(v) Carl Rosen [4935 and 5057]
(w) Manny Weiss [4935 and 5057]
(x) Steve Zakheim [4935 and 5057]
(y) Steven Adelsberg [4935 and 5057]
(aa) Banjamin Landa [4935 and 5057]
(bb) Shimon Lefkowitz [4935 and 5057]
(cc) Abraham Lesser [4935 and 5057]
(ee) Zev Anfang [4935 and 5057]
(ff) Ari H. Friedman Associates, Ltd. [4935 and 5057]
(gg) Sharon Avital [4935 and 5057]
(hh) Yakov Baum [4935 and 5057]
(ii) Baruch Beilush [4935 and 5057]
(jj) Jose Bernstein [4935 and 5057]
(kk) Hershel Biggelson [4935 and 5057]
(ll) Blue Spot Co. [4935 and 5057]
(mm) Leah Brecher [4935 and 5057]
(qq) Yitchak Ciper [4935 and 5057]
(rr) Morris Cohen [4935 and 5057]
(tt) Bashe Dear [4935 and 5057]
(uu) David Donenberg [4935 and 5057]
(ww) Yaakov Einhorn [4935 and 5057]
(xx) Chaskel Elias [4935 and 5057]
(yy) Elite Insurance Agency, Inc. [4935 and 5057]
(zz) Avrum Farber [4935 and 5057]
(ab) Anchil Feder [4935 and 5057]
(ac) Barney Freeman [4935 and 5057]
(ad) Moishe Geller [4935 and 5057]
(ae) Pearl Greenbaum [4935 and 5057]
(af) Jon Hamil [4935 and 5057]
(aj) Sam Hollander [4935 and 5057]
(ao) Aron Igel [4935 and 5057]
(aq) Jacobwitz c/o Jay Import Company [4935 and 5057]
(as) Irwin Kahan [4935 and 5057]
(at) Temi Kahan [4935 and 5057]
(au) Chaim Kahan [4935 and 5057]
(av) Reuven Kaufman [4935 and 5057]
(aw) Hershel Klein [4935 and 5057]
(ax) Yedah Klein [4935 and 5057]
(ay) Knit Nat Mills, Ltd., Inc. [4935 and 5057]
(az) Kramer and Shapiro [4935 and 5057]
(ba) Sterling Krieger [4935 and 5057]
(bc) Menachen Langer [4935 and 5057]
(bd) Pesach Lemberger [4935 and 5057]
(be) Markus Mandelkorn [4935 and 5057]
(bf) Mark Milberg Marketing, Inc. [4935 and 5057]
(bh) Midway Nursing Home Associates [4935 and 5057]
(bi) Serge Muller [4935 and 5057]
(bl) Berel Oberlander [4935 and 5057]
(bm) Luzer Obstfeld [4935 and 5057]
(bo) Hershel Perslstein [4935 and 5057]
(bp) Dovid Piller [4935 and 5057]
(bs) Ayre Ringel [4935 and 5057]
(bt) Pesach Ringel [4935 and 5057]
(bw) Joshua Schwartz [5057]
(bx) Sarah Scherman [4935 and 5057]
(by) Chaim Sieger [4935 and 5057]
(bz) Mendel Sternhill [4935 and 5057]
(ca) Bernard Strulovich [4935 and 5057]
(cb) Surfside Manor Home for Adults [4935 and 5057]
(cd) Ralph Tabbush [4935 and 5057]
(cf) Alexander Vais [4935 and 5057]
(cg) Joshua Weinstein [4935 and 5057]
(ch) Chaim Welt [4935 and 5057]
(ci) Martin Wesel [4935 and 5057]
(cj) Leo Yakubouich [4935 and 5057]
(ck) Zitta Yakubouich [4935 and 5057]
People don't realize the mesirus nefesh of Jonathan Pollard and how his actions protected both Israel and the US. Casper Weinberger, ys"v who was the Defense Secretary at the time, was withholding vital information from the Israeli government regarding Saddam Hussein's nucleur ambitions. Pollard felt that it was his duty and obligation to inform Israel. Little did anyone know at the time that the US would be at war with Iraq some five years later in the Persian Gulf War. If this man is not a candidate for pidyon shvuyim, I don't know who is. Certainly not Mutterperl (they collected over $1M in minutes for his bail) who claims "when I see little girls I must go after them), or Mondrowitz, who was kept out of jail for 23 years by the benevolent askanim. Nor these four idiot felons that were pardoned by Bill and Hillary:
U.S. Attorney Probes Pardon-Hillary Connection
NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, Feb. 24, 2001
NEW YORK (UPI) – The U.S. attorney's probe of the pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich has expanded to the four presidential pardons of four Jewish men convicted of stealing $40 million from taxpayers for a fake school.
Mary Jo White, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is investigating a possible link between the last-minute pardon by former President Bill Clinton of four New Yorkers and votes for Hillary Clinton's Senate election last November.
Kalmen Stern, David Goldstein, Benjamin Berger and Jacob Elbaum were serving prison sentences of up to 6.5 years for bilking $40 million worth of student Pell grants and loans from government sources for a phony school in the Hasidic community of New Square, N.Y.
Sen. Clinton said that although she attended a White House meeting in which the pardon issue was raised, "I never made any view known."
Last month, she refused to talk about the controversial pardons of the four New York Hasidic Jews by her husband. New Square voted 1359-10 for the first lady – although other nearby Hasidic enclaves voted 3480-152 for Clinton's GOP opponent, former Rep. Rick Lazio.
Outspoken Hillary Suddenly Has No Opinions
"I have no opinion. I had no opinion before. I had no opinion at the time," Clinton said at a New York City news conference on Jan. 29. "I have no opinion now."
Think about this and other scandals involving Hillary before you vote for her.
UOJ,
I'm still LMAO from your Belsky/Rubashkin hot dog picture. Too funny!
“If you lose everything but you still have Jesus, you have what you need,” Huckabee said. “If you’re with Jesus Christ, we know how it turns out in the final moment. I’ve read the last chapter in the book, and we do end up winning.”
Shea Fishman: A classic forecast. LMAO!
Steve, Why was former head of cia george tenet so against him getting pardoned? I personally think there is more than meets the eye, for him to get such a harsh sentence, I think there is more we need to know.
Now im not saying we shouldnt put our greatest efforts in helping this guy, agudah has an obligation to do its best, not for these sex addicts with underage kids, but for people like pollard that made it their mission to help the jewish nation.
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (GM.N) said on Tuesday it would book a $39 billion non-cash charge in the third quarter, reflecting the risk of a slower turnaround that could keep it from claiming expected future tax credits in key markets.
Shea Fishman said...
It appears our African-American friends have found yet something else to be upset about. A black congresswoman reportedly complained that the names of hurricanes are all Caucasian sounding names. She would prefer some names that reflect African-American culture such as Chamiqua, Tanisha, Woeisha, Shaqueal, and Jamal. She would also like the weather reports to be broadcast in Language that street people can understand because one of the problems in New Orleans is that regular folks couldn't understand the seriousness of the situation due to the racially biased language of the weather report.
I can hear it now: A weatherman says...
'Wazzup, mutha-effas! Hehr-i-cane Chamiqua be headin' fo' yo ass! Bitch be a category fo'! So grab yo' chirren, yo' Ho, be leavin yo crib, and head fo' da nearest guv'ment office fo yo FREE shit!'
4:08 PM, November 06, 2007
Warn her about the health hazards with Rubashkin.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?storySection=Style&sid=44832
Last week I mentioned that Cook's Illustrated did a taste test on turkeys, and Rubashkin's Aaron's Best frozen kosher turkey came out the best. Of course, everyone wants to know where to get them. I heard that Trader Joe's would be carrying them, but a call to both local stores turned up nothing. The stores have carried them in the past, but you'll have to wait until their orders come in this Friday to see if they're in stock.
If your store carries these turkeys, or if you know of a store that does, please send an e-mail to the address below.
Contact Donna Maurillo at sentinelfood@maurillo.com
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/08/09/news/breaking_news/doc46bb630cd5415262021305.txt
POSTVILLE -- A report released Thursday by the United Food and Commercial Workers is questioning the safety of food produced at the (Rubashkin) Agriprocessors plant.
The report's authors used the Freedom of Information Act to compiled more than 250 incidents where the Agriprocessors' Postville plant was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service between January 2006 and Jan. 24.
Agriprocessors also had to issue two recalls in that year for food products that were either undercooked or mislabeled, according to the report.
James Blau, assistant director of the union's strategic research department, called the results "alarming" during a telephone press conference Thursday.
Among the violations are five separate incidents where the Food service inspectors found the company was violating procedures to monitor and screen for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, according to federal inspection records accompanying the report.
Inspectors also cited the plant 17 times for rodent problems; fecal and bile contamination of beef and chicken products; and foreign objects like metal found during sausage and chicken production.
http://www.forward.com/articles/11401/
The entire beef, poultry and egg industry had 34 recalls in 2006, while AgriProcessors had two during the past eight months alone — both Class I, the highest risk level.
In both March and September of 2006, the USDA sent the AgriProcessors plant manager a “Letter of Warning” reviewing a series of problems. At the end of the three-page September letter, the inspector wrote that the slaughterhouse’s efforts to correct the problems had been “ineffective.” The letter concluded that “these findings lead us to question your ability to maintain sanitary conditions, and to produce a safe and wholesome product.”
AgriProcessors is the largest producer of kosher beef, and markets its product under the Aaron’s Best and Supreme Kosher labels, among others.
A spokesman for AgriProcessors did not return calls seeking comment.
Felicia Nestor, a Food & Water Watch expert on the meat and poultry industry, who reviewed the USDA documents at the request of the Forward said that the issues at the AgriProcessors plant are “systemic problems.”
“It seems like there are just problems throughout this,” said Nestor, who is a senior policy analyst at Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group. “We’re talking about problems in beef, chicken, lamb and turkey.”
There were at least 18 records in which AgriProcessors was cited for fecal matter appearing on the animals being prepared. During December — after the plant had received its letter of warning — AgriProcessors received six warnings for fecal matter within 10 days. On December 26, the inspector wrote that during multiple checks of 10 chickens, “fecal contamination varied between 70 and 80%.” Other problems, including bile contamination, were noted at the time. After a number of warnings, the inspector wrote that “further planned actions have either not been implemented or have not been effective.”
There were also at least five instances in which AgriProcessors was cited for not taking the required measures to fend off mad cow disease.
This is not the first time that AgriProcessors has landed in trouble because of documents released by the USDA in response to a request from the FOIA. In 2006, PETA secured the release of documents in which USDA officials censured AgriProcessors for the inhumane treatment of its animals.
Shmarya would have a cow if he saw Shea Fishman's weather report. Pointing out the obvious with the homeboys is the cardinal sin & biggest abomination in his eyes.
http://www.americastestkitchen.com/corp/contactus.asp
This is the contact page for "Cooks Illustrated" that ran the big recommendation for Rubashkin's filthy & salmonella infested turkeys.
For "Type of Issue", click on "Magazine Content"
For "Topic" click on "Comment on Article or Product"
Let them know the truth about Rubashkin by entering this comment:
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/08/09/news/breaking_news/doc46bb630cd5415262021305.txt
POSTVILLE -- A report released Thursday by the United Food and Commercial Workers is questioning the safety of food produced at the (Rubashkin) Agriprocessors plant.
The report's authors used the Freedom of Information Act to compiled more than 250 incidents where the Agriprocessors' Postville plant was cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service between January 2006 and Jan. 24.
Agriprocessors also had to issue two recalls in that year for food products that were either undercooked or mislabeled, according to the report.
James Blau, assistant director of the union's strategic research department, called the results "alarming" during a telephone press conference Thursday.
Among the violations are five separate incidents where the Food service inspectors found the company was violating procedures to monitor and screen for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as Mad Cow Disease, according to federal inspection records accompanying the report.
Inspectors also cited the plant 17 times for rodent problems; fecal and bile contamination of beef and chicken products; and foreign objects like metal found during sausage and chicken production.
http://www.forward.com/articles/11401/
The entire beef, poultry and egg industry had 34 recalls in 2006, while AgriProcessors had two during the past eight months alone — both Class I, the highest risk level.
In both March and September of 2006, the USDA sent the AgriProcessors plant manager a “Letter of Warning” reviewing a series of problems. At the end of the three-page September letter, the inspector wrote that the slaughterhouse’s efforts to correct the problems had been “ineffective.” The letter concluded that “these findings lead us to question your ability to maintain sanitary conditions, and to produce a safe and wholesome product.”
AgriProcessors is the largest producer of kosher beef, and markets its product under the Aaron’s Best and Supreme Kosher labels, among others.
A spokesman for AgriProcessors did not return calls seeking comment.
Felicia Nestor, a Food & Water Watch expert on the meat and poultry industry, who reviewed the USDA documents at the request of the Forward said that the issues at the AgriProcessors plant are “systemic problems.”
“It seems like there are just problems throughout this,” said Nestor, who is a senior policy analyst at Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group. “We’re talking about problems in beef, chicken, lamb and turkey.”
There were at least 18 records in which AgriProcessors was cited for fecal matter appearing on the animals being prepared. During December — after the plant had received its letter of warning — AgriProcessors received six warnings for fecal matter within 10 days. On December 26, the inspector wrote that during multiple checks of 10 chickens, “fecal contamination varied between 70 and 80%.” Other problems, including bile contamination, were noted at the time. After a number of warnings, the inspector wrote that “further planned actions have either not been implemented or have not been effective.”
There were also at least five instances in which AgriProcessors was cited for not taking the required measures to fend off mad cow disease.
This is not the first time that AgriProcessors has landed in trouble because of documents released by the USDA in response to a request from the FOIA. In 2006, PETA secured the release of documents in which USDA officials censured AgriProcessors for the inhumane treatment of its animals.
I hope all the awareness UOJ & Yudel are raising doesn't mean that Rubashkin's goose is cooked.
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