Overheard in cyberspace:
...."Our job is to inform and to motivate people to do the right thing. We are civilized human beings that have to work together to find a way to escort these uncivilized animals to their proper cages where they can do no more harm to anyone. WE are not the judge and jury so we can only be the advocates and the facilitators up to that point. We can support people who write new legislation or change old legislation that will support the safety and security of our children. WE follow the Torah and the Torah’s laws and values and keep that as our guiding light in the forefront of everything we do. WE don’t deviate from the emes of the Torah.
Going after the gannovim and the sheker that other frum Jews dirty themselves with, that is not the reason the JBAC was formed. There are many reasons frum and honest Jews have to be ashamed and embarrassed about. But we have to choose the battles we are willing to take on and what OUR priorities are. At the JBAC we chose our priorities to be saving yiddishe neshomas and the first issue we are tackling is the issue of child abuse and molestation --- because by far that is the worst crime against K’lal Yisroel. Too many respectable and responsible Jewish adults have hidden and guarded themselves from this issue but are willing to touch upon all the other issues such as tznius, loshon horah, tzedakah, gezeila, richilus, shalom bayis, etc. but when it comes to the issue of child sex-abuse, NO ONE’S HOME!"
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
37 comments:
Don't forget proper methods of tying and untying one's shoes. Just heard from the pulpit about that all-important sugya this morning. As our children continue to be molested. Yasher koiach, yidden.
Chairman: Mr. Donald Duck
Chairman of Vice: Mr. Bug S Bunny
Board Members: Mr, Daff E Duck, Mr. Pop I Sailorman, Miss Olive Oil
Educational Advsory Committee: Dr. Abraham Mondrowitz, Rabbi Baruch Lanner, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, Rabbi Lipa Margolis
Medical Advisory: Dr. Suess
Rabbinic Advisor: Rebbe Belhcky,
HARTFORD, Conn. — The arrest of Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez last week on bribery charges is being viewed as another setback for Connecticut's capital city that dubs itself "New England's rising star."
Perez had been the most recent face of that effort, pushing through school reforms and taking a lead role in plans to lure housing and businesses back to the city, a former insurance capital that has struggled in recent years from industry cutbacks and consolidations.
Two weeks before his arrest, Perez was meeting with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, looking for the return of the National Hockey League to the city.
Perez, 51, has vowed to stay in office and said he believes he can still be an effective advocate for the city struggling to emerge from the shadows of New York and Boston.
Tom Daschle, the former South Dakota senator picked by President Obama to preside over the nation's healthcare system, received $220,000 in speaking fees from health care groups with an interest in the work he would do once confirmed as health chief, Politico.com reported Saturday.
Daschle, who has come under fire in recent days for his failure to pay taxes, reportedly received thousands from health care groups -- such as the Health Industry Distributors Association -- that stand to gain or lose depending on the outcome of Obama's universal health care initiative.
You guys thought I was stupid to get on talkshows. At least I know how to lie like a mentsh. These Ruskies don't have a clue how to defend themselves. This is from VIN when people were backing Yegutkin.
***********************************
To all Choshuve Yidden:
Emanuel cannot respond to all of your comments since it would interfere with the investigation. However there are some points that I would like to shed on his behalf.
Please note: None of the comments below were approved by Mr. Yegutkin and they cannot be considered as his personal statements. All comments below are deemed invalid in the court of law.
• Emanuel feels that all accusations of child abuse should be brought to the police. However, each situation should be investigated first by the Rabbonan to see if the allegations have any bases at all.
• Mr. Hikind offered his prayers for the alleged victims but did not seem it necessary to offer prayers for Emanuel.
• Emanuel was never fired from his school as he was not asked to resign from Hatzoloh or Oorah. Mr. Yegutkin took a leave of absence on his own from all of the three organizations so he can fully attend to this matter and his family in this difficult time.
• The bail that was placed by a judge was much more that the DA has requested. The DA did not feel that such bail was necessary.
There is no need to publish details for they are not meant for the general public. While the Yegutkin family appreciates your support and pain, the family you are talking about should not be mentioned at all. There are small children in that family that have no part of this and their lives cannot be destroyed either. This also applies to the parents of the two boys; they should not be mentioned at all.
All comments on this blog are pure Loshon Hora no matter who’s side they support. By posting comments you are not helping Emanuel or the alleged victims, you are only further destroying their lives. More so you are destroying the lives of the parents and the siblings of the boys as well as the lives of the wife and two little children of Emanuel. Anyone who met this righteous woman would not dare say anything to hurt her. The Schina rests in her presence. No matter what the outcome of this all will be, everything that is sent to us, comes from Hakodosh Boruch Hu. As Yidden we can fall low and waist our time reading and writing blogs or we can rise to greatness by learning Torah Hakedosha and let the Master of the Universe run the world.
The Yegutkin family is very indebted to all of the Hatzoloh volunteers, their friends, students, and campers of the past 14 years for the strong support. Let us not be over Bitul Torah, let us all Daven that both parties will come out of this with ease. Let us all Daven that this Golus should end that we all welcome Moshiach Tzidkeinu Beyameinu Bekorov.
Yours Truly,
Emmanuel's Half Brother
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807&ft=1&f=1001
NPR's Story tonight on Abuse in the Hasidic community.
I'd like to add my thanks to Joel and Joe for having the courage to come forward with this information. You two are doing a great service to all victims of sexual abuse. It is hard for people to believe that an individual they hold in high esteem could be molesting their children and many do not want to believe that this is true. It is far easier to brand the child a liar or to tell the child to stay away from the person, forget it happened and to tell no one, then to hold the molester accountable. It takes a lot of chutzpah to call out this person who is often a well liked and respected member of a community as a molester of children. The molestor knows this and they feel safe. Children don't make up stories of molestation. When an adult touches a child's genitals, makes a child touch their genitals that is sexual molestation of a child, regardless of whether or not oral, anal or vaginal penetration occurs. The United States is just beginning to be willing to acknowledge the sexual abuse of children. Finally the adults whom those children told are doing what they should have been doing all along, standing up for the children.
Monday, February 02, 2009 6:03:02 PM
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Chandra Harvith (standfortruth) wrote:
Thank you Barbara Hagerty for this brave report. It is a day to celebrate when truth is revealed. Thank you to the brave individuals who have not let fear and intimidation strangle their voices. Thank you again and again.
Monday, February 02, 2009 5:28:56 PM
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Sandra Walch (irishmama) wrote:
Please have the Hasidic Comminity contact the Buffalo Catholic Diocese. They are using a program called Protecting God's Children. This may be helpful.god help us all.
Monday, February 02, 2009 5:25:45 PM
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Jeff Johnson (Collegeville) wrote:
Of course, this is a seriously sad story.
As a Catholic, well aware of the purification that my Church has suffered, I can still say that it was hard to hear Catholic perpetrators alluded to twice in the story, almost as if they are the archtype, as if it is ironic to imagine any other kind of clergy abuse.
For many years, protestant clergy abuse cases have outstripped Catholic allegations, but the Catholic Church is always an easy target, isn't it?
Monday, February 02, 2009 5:19:19 PM
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Nathan Greatly (TakeItBack) wrote:
At the risk of sounding "anti religion" I propose that until we teach our children (and our adult population for that matter) to question and not blindly follow ANY ONE, we are going to continue to see these types of abuses. Any time society relegates individuals (religious leaders, teacher, police) to god like status whose very questioning results in discipline or shame, it results in abuse of power. Religious leaders seem to be especially handy at this given their ability to apply guilt and shame to the equation. Teach your children to question everything and worship no one.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:56:27 PM
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David Hostetter (SpiritMatter) wrote:
An NPR moderator has removed this comment because it does not adhere to the discussion guidelines
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:55:55 PM
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David O'Reilly (reporter) wrote:
I was astonished to read the claim in this article that private religious schools in New York don't have to report child sexual abuse to civil authorities. If true, it's an outrage. If New York has not done so I would urge all residents concerned about child sex abuse to lean hard on the legislature to make reporting mandatory for any institutions - public or private - in caretaker roles with minor children. Bishops and supervising rabbis and Little League managers are NOT equipped to investigate allegations of abuse; police and district attorney offices ARE. In 2006 Pennsylvania greatly strengthened its reporting requirements and extended criminal liability to the leaders of institutions who conceal abuse by employees and underlings. New York would be wise to study what Pennsylvania has put in place.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:55:45 PM
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Andrea Lopez (Fabi) wrote:
I can't believe the nerve of that religious leader asking "how bad the molestation was!" I would have slapped him if I were her.
And why did Diangelo's parents turn away from him? I can't understand attitudes like that...
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:51:51 PM
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Lonnie Soury (Soury) wrote:
Joel Engelman, featured in the story, is a co founder of Survivors for Justice, an organization formed by vicitms of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. The confidential hotline is 877-735-1420, www.Survivorsforjustice.org
Engelman and the organization know of others who were victims of Reichman. SFJ has received numerous confidential calls concerning sexual abuse at the hands of Rabbi Reichman while employed at United Talmudical Academy. It is believed that scores, maybe hundreds of boys may have been sexually abused by Rabbi Reichman, dating back as far as 15 years, yet he continues to be protected by the school officials.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:28:28 PM
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Avery M (Avery) wrote:
Fundamentalist patriarchies.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:16:17 PM
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E W (elenachristine) wrote:
I agree, Kate. David, your seems along the same lines as the community member asking: "Well, how bad was the abuse really? I mean, who's the real bad guy here. Aren't we all sinners?" Only slightly more sophisticated and sprinkled with some philosophical jargon.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:05:39 PM
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Barnes Noble (Clio) wrote:
I'd like to add my thanks to Joel and Joe for having the courage to come forward with this information. You two are doing a great service not just to your community, but to all victims of sexual abuse. Regardless of whether or not you win this battle, you are both aiding in the war against both these heinous abusers and those who protect them. Thank you both.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:04:12 PM
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Diana Shellenberger (dshelle) wrote:
Yes, SpiritMatter, we humans are capable of offense, or sin, if you wish. We are also capable of greatness. We have laws to keep victimizers in some sort of check, not just because we love judging each other. I hope you're not suggesting that because you believe that even children are a "mixture of victim and offender" that somehows lets pedophiles off the hook?
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:03:08 PM
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kate burdess (kate_is_great) wrote:
Yeah, I don't see how a child can be an offender when someone is raping him, that was quite a weird argument David if you can explain your comment.
Monday, February 02, 2009 3:00:12 PM
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E W (elenachristine) wrote:
@David: A young boy being raped by someone he can't even see is pretty cut and dry. There really doesn't seem to be much gray area there. A discussion on child sexual abuse seems like a bizarre place to wax philosophical on the nature of good and evil. It comes across as really strange.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:58:18 PM
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Susan Kpko (Poppyc) wrote:
Holy crap! "Twenty-one years ago, when he was 7, Diangelo recalls going to the mikvah with his father to find the place packed with naked men and boys." Sect, yeah I'd say secret fraking sect of predators. I don't care how old your religion is, it's creepy as hell! What kind of parent would expose their naked child to other naked men. That blows my mind.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:49:20 PM
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David Hostetter (SpiritMatter) wrote:
How do humans arrive at judgments? Judgments about any issue are highly dependent on the result a human would like to achieve. Human nature is a primary influence. Humans tend to be selfish and self righteous. They are selfish when they make judgments that benefit primarily themselves or their family, church, nation, etc. They are self righteous when they make judgments that set themselves or their family, church, nation, etc. as the good guys and the other guys as evil doers. This can and has many times become a vicious yin yang cycle with both sides chasing each other in a never ending circle, each doing evil while claiming they are the real victims. All humans, if they have a choice, want to be seen as the victim rather than the offender. What we often fail to take into account is that both victims and offenders are being influenced by their human nature. Supposed "victims" are not angels and supposed "offenders" are not all devils. Your judgment about this issue will depend on whether your goal is to heal and restore relationships or to lift some humans up as "the good guys" and permanently brand and punish others as the "evil doers"
Romans 3:23 for ALL have sinned...
We all are a mixture of victim and offender.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:46:53 PM
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Lois Leader (INTJ) wrote:
Similar ugly scenarios repeat themselves within many insular communities built on hierarchy and dominance. Mere human beings placed in a position of unquestioned authority, ostensibly by a higher power, can come to feel such an incredible sense of entitlement that they believe they can do as they please to those "below" them. The deeper tragedy is that children raised in such an environment come to accept it as the way the world is supposed to work.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:40:39 PM
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Steve S (stephens) wrote:
I went to a church, as a boy, where abuse took place. There were parishioners who refused to believe any accusations and defended the priest with an unquestionable devotion. The parish divided and over half the members left. It was a very surrealistic experience to see so many intelligent people blinded by their faith. They took every accusation as a personal attack and refused to even discuss the issue; even after the priest was removed for "undisclosed" reasons.
It is not surprising that so many "old" religions have lost members due to their elevating mere men and women to the status of untouchable and unquestionable deity and "voice of god."
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:37:20 PM
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Geralyn Goerss (AltaB) wrote:
Whether Gentile or Jew abuse exist. More people like Joe and Joel need to come forward and tell their story. Self deception and total denial is far too prevalent and innocent children need our protection. One child hurt is too many!
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:20:31 PM
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Dan Kovalcik (Dan_K) wrote:
I'm not sure what is the worse crime.. the molestation and rape itself or the covering up and protection of these offenders by the organizational structures of the churches and synagogues.
This is so similar to the Catholic Church coverups over the last decade... I feel sick thinking of these two men having to deal with these horrible events almost entirely alone. I truely wish these men peace and some sense of closure after bringing to light their terrible stories.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:11:09 PM
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Chester Morrison (Chet) wrote:
These rebbe are the same as the Temple Priests of Jerusalem in the first century who sought the death of someone speaking out against their xenophobic society, the same as the frocked proctors of the Inquisition. Today's civilization is only one event removed from religious barbarism.
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:06:05 PM
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Vicki Polin (VickiPolin) wrote:
I personally believe that Assemblyman Dov Hikind is enabling those who have been accused of child molestation to continue on to harm more children. I've been told that according to Jewish law (halacha) we are all required to do what we can to prevent one more child from being harmed -- making all Jews mandated reporters. Meaning we need to report the crimes to child abuse hot-lines to investigation and not our rabbis
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:02:34 PM
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Vicki Polin (VickiPolin) wrote:
I want to personally thank Joel Engelman and Joe Diangelo for having the courage to tell their stories and speak out against sex crimes in their communities. They both should be seen as heros. I believe that when ever they walk into a room everyone should stand up and applaud them as one would do with any other hero.
It's important to remember that according to statistics one out of ever 4 adults have been sexually abused by the time they reached 18. This includes in the orthodox world. We have a huge problem on our hands and the only way things will change is by having more survivors speak out as Joel and Joe have done.
The Awareness Center, Inc. is the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault. www.theawarenesscenter.org
443-857-5560
Monday, February 02, 2009 2:00:05 PM
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Lee Saltz (sixgolds) wrote:
So, while I absolutely don't dispute that these horrors are taking place with both boy and girls what I would like to be clarified for those who are not aware is that there are different sects of Hasidic Jews, that Williamsburg is the home to a particular sect. There is a different sect (totally unaffliated with those in Williamsburg) in Boro Park and another in Crown Heights (both Brooklyn neighborhoods.
I agree,that somehow that an end has to come to this horror. It's time to peel back some of the layers of insulation and remember that this is the United States of America and the neigborhood is NOT a town in the old country. I fully understand that most of the Ultra Orthodox people living in this community are good, decent people, the rotten ones, need to be dealt with according to the law of the land in which they have chosen to live.
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:54:32 PM
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Colin Keller (newman_clk) wrote:
Diana, you took the words right out of my mouth. It appears to be the same issue that Roman Catholic Bishops had a few decades ago and all the while, children continue to be abused.
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:51:53 PM
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Andrew B (awb) wrote:
This situation would seem to call for the most impartial and expert investigation. Consider that in the aura of secrecy in this society coupled with the different order of importance with respect to family and social taboos, both accuser and accused have the same advantages and disadvantages with respect to what is alleged.
Put simply, it would seem to be just as difficult to prove an accusation as it would be to disprove one.
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:43:38 PM
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Joe Zen (joezen777) wrote:
Good point Diana. I think if I asked my own five year old to describe what rape is he wouldn't have the faintest clue. It's horrible. When these cases can be corroborated by scientific evidence the death penalty should be considered. But I can't ever understand why people sacrifice the safety of their children for their leader's facade of integrity.
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:23:30 PM
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Marcia Spiegel (haniveah) wrote:
For at least 25 years I have heard stories from women and girls of abuse at the hands of their rebbe or teacher. Well known charismatic leaders have abused girls and gotten away with it because no one wants to believe the stories or they accuse the victim of misinterpreting the affectionate gesture. They are confused about what happened to them and denied support or protection. The family's reputation seems to take precedence over the girl's safety. As years pass the charismatic leader becomes even more adored, and the truth of her experience even more denied. If/when he dies if she speaks out she is further accused of speaking ill of the dead, or making accusations against someone who can no longer defend himself. A no win situation. Marcia Spiegel (haniveah)
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:23:13 PM
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Diana Shellenberger (dshelle) wrote:
This is the central comment of the story, and why these crimes continue to go on. "To me it does not make sense," says community leader Rabbi David Niederman. "that for so many years so many people have been violated, and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion, big time." As a community leader, Rabbi Niederman is protecting the wrong people in this instance. He clearly does not understand that small children do not understand what has happened to them and they do not have the vocabulary to describe it. Perhaps their family situations do not allow them the space and the comfort to talk openly about sexual abuse. And then when they are old enough and experienced enough to talk about it, they get this kind of reaction from a community leader.
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:09:11 PM
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keith platt (progprof) wrote:
I salute the bravery of these two men. Their speaking out brings light to the darkness of secrecy. It is through actions like these and the reporting of NPR that evils like child sexual abuse will be stopped. The men and women who harm children are criminals and should be prosecuted as such. The private school still exists in the public sphere. If a student is murdered in the halls of a yeshiva, would they keep it from the police? Is the murder of innocence ok to us as a people? Again I salute these brave men for daring to speak truth to power!
Monday, February 02, 2009 1:08:44 PM
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Is this really a g-dly religion? Or a delusion?
To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion — big time."
But a few weeks later, a religious leader from the school approached Engelman's mother, Pearl. He posed an astonishing question: On a scale of one to 10, how bad was the molestation?
She was speechless. Then she says, the man continued, "'We found out there was no skin-to-skin contact, that it was through clothing.' So he's telling me, 'On a scale of one to 10, this was maybe a two or a three, so what's the big fuss?'"
They have been quiet because they have been muzzled time and again by reshaim like you, Mr. Niederman! By enablers and deniers like yourself and Lipa Margulies, Avi Shafran, David Mandel, Marvin Schick and David Zwiebel, just to name a few. You say that a child having his genitals fondled through his clothing is not so bad? Would you say that if it happened to your children or grandchildren? Jewish children taken captive by the Romans threw themselves off their boats rather than submit to this type of abuse. Now we have our own children being forced to submit to these molesters because people like Niederman say "it's not so bad"? And this is the man that Hikind is so proud to say that he knows for over 25 years? This is the man that muzzled Hikind after he boldly stated on the airwaves that Reichman will not be back in September? On a scale of one to ten, this idiot is a total zero
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A California appellate court Monday rejected Roman Polanski's motion to disqualify all Los Angeles Superior Court judges in the Oscar-winning director's efforts to have a 32-year-old sex offense case dropped, according to a court spokeswoman.
Polanski's lawyer claimed the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench was biased against Polanski, who has lived in exile in France since fleeing the United States in 1978.
But a panel of judges from the California Court of Appeals rejected the motion, said Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman Sandy Gibbons. It was not immediately clear when the next hearing in the case will be held.
Three decades ago, Polanski pleaded guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl but fled the country after he was sentenced to prison -- a development his attorneys contend violated his plea agreement with prosecutors. An arrest warrant against Polanski remains in effect.
Polanski's lawyers filed in December for dismissal of the case against him, citing what they called "extraordinary new evidence" of "repeated, unlawful and unethical misconduct" by the district attorney's office and the judge in the case.
The victim in the case, who is now 45, recently filed court papers calling for charges against Polanski to be dismissed, saying the publicity that surrounds the case is hurting her and her family.
Polanski, a native of Poland, won the Academy Award in 2003 for his Holocaust drama, "The Pianist." Among his other films from earlier in his career are "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown."
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) – A hapless bearded thief drilled his way into a French bank at the weekend, but missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, a French newspaper reported on Sunday.
uoj, I'm curious. what stops anyone from falsley accusing someone on a story that supposedly happened 21 years ago? (even better when u don't pick someone to accuse)
Obama plans media blitz on stimulus plan
USA Today - 36 minutes ago
By Ron Edmonds, AP WASHINGTON (AP) - President Obama planned Tuesday to blanket US television with the message that Congress must approve hundreds of billions of dollars ...
It's bad enough that they are squandering taxpayer money on welfare & social projects. Now we have to pay for TV commercials too.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Eric Holder has won confirmation as the first African-American attorney general, but he'll have little time to consider his role in history as he decides which Bush administration counterterrorism policies to reverse.
Holder was confirmed 75-21 Monday, with all the opposition coming from Republicans. He will be sworn in Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden.
For starters, the new attorney general will learn the secrets of the Office of Legal Counsel, whose lawyers justified the use of controversial interrogation tactics and even declined to provide Bush administration documents to internal Justice Department investigators.
Holder will inherit a Justice Department wracked by Bush administration scandals over politically inspired hirings and firings. He has pledged to restore its reputation.
Holder also will play a major role in the future of terrorism detainees.
President Barack Obama, in a major policy shift, signed an executive order to close the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year. He also created a special task force to review detainee policy; Holder and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will serve as co-chairs.
That panel will look at options for apprehension, detention, trial, transfer or release of detainees and report to the president within 180 days.
Holder promised senators he would review why career prosecutors in Washington decided not to prosecute the former head of the department's Civil Rights Division. An inspector general's report last month found that Bradley Schlozman, the former head of the division, misled lawmakers about whether he politicized hiring decisions.
Another key question facing Holder is whether to reverse former President George W. Bush's order that three of his former top aides — Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten — should not testify before Congress about firings of U.S. attorneys. Rove and Miers were former aides when Bush gave his order.
If Obama reverses Bush's policy, it would create a new legal issue: whether a former president's order against testifying would still be valid.
The Bush administration's warrantless surveillance program is certain to come under Holder's scrutiny.
After a lengthy and heated debate that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks, Congress last year eased the rules under which the government could wiretap American phone and computer lines to listen for terrorists and spies.
Holder promised one senator that he would re-examine a ruling by former Attorney General Michael Mukasey that immigrants facing deportation do not have a right to government-provided lawyers. Holder said he understands the desire to expedite immigration court proceedings, but added that the Constitution also requires that proceedings be fair.
There also could be changes in conducting warrantless surveillance.
Holder's chief supporter, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the confirmation was a fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream that everyone would be judged by the content of their character.
2/2/2009 - ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- With the threat of an eruption at Mount Redoubt, located 106 miles southwest of Anchorage, people throughout Elmendorf AFB are preparing for the possibility of volcanic ash fall.
Non-essential personnel and dependents are urged to stay at home should an ash cloud affect the area.
Individuals should limit outdoors activities and remain in their homes until the ash cloud has settled.
Residents should keep external doors and windows closed and close vents to provide additional safety margins.
Residents who believe their home is uninhabitable should call 552-0101 to ensure the staging area has been opened, then proceed to the Center for further guidance as soon as possible to avoid being outdoors while the ash cloud is affecting the area.
General information about volcanic ash is also available at the U.S. Geological Survey web site at www.volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/.
The Baltimore Jewish Times are dogs if they repeat this loshon horah!
Filed at 10:01 a.m. ET
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore's Mayor Sheila Dixon is scheduled for arraignment on theft and perjury charges for allegedly accepting illegal gifts.
The hearing Tuesday morning in Baltimore comes after Dixon was indicted last month on 12 charges, including using gift cards intended to be given to the needy and lying on ethics disclosure forms.
Dixon has said she is innocent. She is not required to appear at the arraignment.
The State Prosecutor's Office said Dixon received holiday gift cards for four years from several people. Prosecutors said the gift cards were to be distributed to needy families, but were instead used by Dixon to buy electronics, clothes and other merchandise and also handed out to members of her staff.
Do any high-ranking Liberals pays taxes?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nancy Killefer, who failed for a year and a half to pay employment taxes on household help, has withdrawn her candidacy to be the first chief performance officer for the federal government, the White House said Tuesday.
"Nancy Killefer has decided to withdraw her nomination, and we accepted her withdrawal," Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, said Tuesday. The 55-year-old executive with consulting giant McKinsey & Co., was expected to explain her reasons for pulling out later in the day.
When her selection was announced by Obama on Jan. 7, The Associated Press disclosed that in 2005 the District of Columbia government had filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home for failure to pay unemployment compensation tax on household help.
Since then, administration officials refused to answer questions about the tax error, which she resolved five months after the lien was filed. Obama's first choice for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, took his name out of consideration when his confirmation appeared headed toward complications because of a grand jury investigation over how state contracts were issued to political donors.
More recently, Timothy Geithner was confirmed as Treasury secretary despite belatedly paying $34,000 in income taxes, and Tom Daschle is still waiting to see if his late payment of more than $128,000 in income taxes will harm his nomination to be health and human services secretary.
Killefer oversees McKinsey's management consulting for government clients. During 1997-2000 in the Clinton administration, Killefer was assistant Treasury secretary for management. As such she was the chief financial officer and chief operating officer for the Treasury and its 160,000 employees and led a modernization of its largest component, the Internal Revenue Service.
But for nearly a month, the administration had refused to answer how its choice to make government workers more efficient and more responsive had bungled her household payroll taxes.
The AP reported that on March 7, 2005, the D.C. Department of Employment Services slapped a tax lien on her home in the tony Wesley Heights neighborhood. The local government alleged that just three years after she left the high-powered Treasury post she began to fail to pay unemployment compensation tax for a household employee. And she failed to make the required quarterly payments for a year and half, whereupon a lien for $946.69 was placed on her home.
That sum included $298 in unpaid taxes, $48.69 in interest and $600 in penalties. The lien was filed March 7, 2005, but Killefer didn't get the lien extinguished for almost five months, not until July 29.
Michael Phelps may have smoked the competition in Beijing, but he may not be so lucky at eluding the law in South Carolina.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he will charge Phelps with a crime if he is able to determine the 14-time Olympic gold medalist smoked marijuana in his jurisdiction.
Editorial New York Times
The Travails of Tom Daschle
Published: February 2, 2009
When President Obama nominated former Senator Tom Daschle to be his secretary of health and human services, it seemed to be a good choice. Mr. Daschle, as the co-author of a book on health care reform, knew a lot about one of the president’s signature issues. As a former Senate majority leader, he also knew a lot about guiding controversial bills through Congress, where he remains liked and respected by former colleagues.
Unfortunately, new facts have come to light — involving his failure to pay substantial taxes that were owed and his sizable income from health-related companies while he worked in the private sector — that call into question his suitability for the job. We believe that Mr. Daschle ought to step aside and let the president choose a less-blemished successor.
Mr. Daschle’s tax shortfall is particularly troubling because it comes on the heels of another nominee’s failure to pay taxes due. We were not pleased when the president’s Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, admitted that he had failed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal self-employment taxes while working for the International Monetary Fund despite having signed paperwork acknowledging the obligation.
Now we are confronted with an even larger lapse by Mr. Daschle, who failed to pay $128,000 in taxes, primarily for personal use of a car and driver provided to him by a private equity firm for which he consulted. Although the firm — headed by a major Democratic donor — had not issued a form 1099 for the value of the car service, Mr. Daschle said he became concerned last June that he might owe taxes on it and instructed his accountant to investigate. Neither was concerned enough to actually pay the taxes.
Only after the Obama transition team flagged unrelated tax issues that would require filing amended returns did Mr. Daschle and his accountant address the need to report the personal use value of the car service — more than $255,000 over three years — as income. Only after he had been chosen to be the health secretary did Mr. Daschle tell the transition team about the unpaid taxes. He paid some $140,000 in back taxes and interest on Jan. 2 to settle several tax problems — and he acknowledges owing more.
In both the Geithner and Daschle cases, the failure to pay taxes is attributed to unintentional oversights. But Mr. Daschle is one oversight case too many. The American tax system depends heavily on voluntary compliance. It would send a terrible message to the public if we ignore the failure of yet another high-level nominee to comply with the tax laws.
Mr. Daschle’s financial ties to major players in the health care industry may prove to be even more troublesome as health reform efforts proceed. Like many former power players in Washington, Mr. Daschle cashed in on his political savvy and influence to earn $5 million in recent years, including more than $2 million from Alston & Bird, a law and lobbying firm; more than $2 million from the private equity firm, InterMedia Advisors, which provided the car and driver; and hundreds of thousands of dollars for speeches to interest groups, including those representing health insurance plans, medical equipment distributors and pharmacy boards.
Although Mr. Daschle was not a registered lobbyist, he offered policy advice to the UnitedHealth Group, a huge insurance conglomerate. He was also a trustee of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, on whose behalf he voiced opposition to a federal loan for a freight rail line near the clinic’s headquarters in Rochester, Minn. The loan was subsequently denied by the Federal Railroad Administration.
Mr. Daschle is another in a long line of politicians who move cozily between government and industry. We don’t know that his industry ties would influence his judgments on health issues, but they could potentially throw a cloud over health care reform. Mr. Daschle could clear the atmosphere by withdrawing his name.
Republican Sen. Jim DeMint on Tuesday called for President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Tom Daschle for health and human services secretary, becoming the first senator to say that the former majority leader's tax problems are disqualifying.
DeMint told FOX News that Daschle's failure to pay $134,000 in federal taxes reflects a "problem with integrity" that the government cannot afford to tolerate. DeMint spoke out against Daschle as a number of prominent newspapers, including The New York Times, called for the South Dakota Democrat to drop his bid.
"It's very unfortunate with Tom Daschle that this has occurred, but the president needs to lead. He needs to step in here and he needs to withdraw this nomination," the South Carolina Republican said.
DeMint said he came to that conclusion after it became "obvious" that Daschle knew about the tax problems long before his nomination and did nothing to make it right.
"The average American would likely face criminal charges with tax evasion of this size, yet he did not address the issue until he was nominated," he said.
A man has died after his cell phone exploded, severing a major artery in his neck, according to reports.
The man, thought to be a shop assistant in his twenties at a computer shop in Guangzhou, southern China, died after he put a new battery in his phone. It was believed that he may have just finished charging the battery and had put the phone in his breast pocket when it exploded.
According to the local Chinese daily Shin Min Daily News, the accident happened on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. local time.
An employee at the shop told Chinese media that she heard a loud bang and saw her colleague lying on the floor of the shop in a pool of blood. The employee said the victim had recently changed the battery in his mobile phone.
Chinese authorities have yet to determine the make and model of the phone and its battery.
Police were investigating whether the phone and battery were counterfeit.
Citing Tax Troubles, an Obama Appointee Withdraws
By Jeff Zeleny
Nancy Killefer had been selected by President Obama to fill the newly created position of chief performance officer at the White House. (Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg News)Updated President Obama’s choice for the position of chief White House performance officer has withdrawn from consideration for the post, an administration official said Tuesday, after coming forward with concerns about her tax returns.
Nancy Killefer, appointed by the president last month to a new position to scrutinize government spending, told the administration on Monday that she intended to step down from the position at the Office of Management and Budget. An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the announcement was not finalized, confirmed that Ms. Killefer’s withdrawal came because of questions with her taxes. Update: In her resignation letter to Mr. Obama, she described the problem as a tax-related issue stemming from Washington, D.C. unemployment.
The withdrawal, first reported by NBC News, came as the White House was already grappling with controversy over the tax returns of Tom Daschle, the president’s choice to lead the Health and Human Services Department. Ms. Killefer’s post, as a deputy at O.M.B., required Senate confirmation.
The administration official said the reasons for Ms. Killefer’s withdrawal would be released later on Tuesday. In a letter to Mr. Obama, she wrote:
I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration.
I am deeply honored to have been selected by you and you have my deep appreciation for your confidence in me. You have my heartfelt support and best wishes for success in all your endeavors.
Ms. Killefer, head of consulting firm McKinsey & Co.’s Washington office, was named to the new position on Jan. 7.
In the announcement, Mr. Obama said she would help “restore the American people’s cofidence in their government.”
“Meeting the challenges of rebuilding our economy and bringing a new sense of responsibility to Washington isn’t just about rearranging numbers on a balance sheet – it’s about renewing people’s trust in their leadership,” Mr. Obama told reporters at his transition headquarters, with Ms. Killefer at his side. “Because in order to restore confidence in our economy, we must restore the American people’s confidence in their government – that it’s on their side, spending their money wisely, to meet their families’ needs. I am confident that with Nancy’s leadership, and the efforts of leaders on both sides of the aisle, we will do just that.”
(CNNMoney.com) -- Sales at Ford Motor fell even more sharply than expected in January, a month that could turn out to be the worst for the U.S. auto industry since 1982.
Ford reported its January sales fell 39% for its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands from year ago levels. Sales tracker Edmunds.com had forecast about a 30% drop in sales at Ford.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/nyregion/04bus.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
February 4, 2009
New York to Review Bus Companies in Fraud Case
By PAUL VON ZIELBAUER
The city’s Education Department plans to review whether nine school bus companies that transport a fifth of the New York City’s public school students are fit to do business with the city after allegations that they paid bribes to department inspectors, in some cases to allow overbilling of the department.
Federal prosecutors said in court papers that the companies, which collected $185 million from the city in the last fiscal year, paid the bribes for preferential treatment like advanced notice of inspections.
The companies were named in court papers filed last fall in connection with the indictment last spring of four current and former city bus inspectors on bribery and extortion charges. But the companies have not been criminally charged, and the investigation by the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan is continuing.
If it doesn't work out with those school buses, there are plenty of idle Rubashkin trucks that can be pressed into service on a moment's notice.
The New York Times
Tuesday, February 3, 2009 -- 12:54 PM ET
-----
Daschle Withdraws as Nominee for Health Post
Former Senator Tom Daschle, President Obama's nominee for
health and human services secretary, has withdrawn from
consideration for the post over his belated payment of
$128,000 in federal taxes.
Front Page NY Times
Breaking News 12:54 PM ET:
Tom Daschle Withdraws as Nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary
Vos?
I think there's an echo in here.
Tom Daschle was an honorable nominee.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/google-executives-face-jail-time-for-italian-video
February 2, 2009, 5:17 pm
Google Executives Face Jail Time for Italian Video
By Saul Hansell
Four executives of Google begin trial Tuesday in Milan on criminal charges of defamation and privacy violation in regard to a video posted on Google’s Italian site.
The case involves a three-minute cellphone video, posted in 2006 to Google Video, in which four youths in Turin tease a boy with Down syndrome. After an Italian advocacy group complained that the video was objectionable, Google quickly removed it from the site. Prosecutors argue that the video should not have been published at all.
The four executives charged were not involved directly in handling video from Italy. They include David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president and chief legal officer; George Reyes, its former chief financial officer; and Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel, according to a Google spokesman. The fourth executive worked at Google Video in London, the spokesman said, declining to identify him.
It is rare for Internet company executives to face personal criminal charges and possibly jail time for the actions of their companies.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time an individual has been criminally charged for violation of data protection laws that occurred by the company he or she works for,” said Trevor Hughes, the executive director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, which wrote about the case in its newsletter Monday. “This suggests that privacy is going to be more of a battleground.”
The case also raises again the question of whether Internet companies that allow users to submit content should screen items before they are published. This issue has mainly come up in the United States with regard to copyrighted music and video, and U.S. copyright law is meant to protect online services from liability if they respond to complaints quickly.
There are similar provisions in Europe, including Italian law. But there are questions about whether there are exceptions for young people and certain private information.
If the court holds that Google should have prevented the publication of the video simply because the subject didn’t authorize it, it could have very broad implications. In Europe, the subject of a photograph or video typically has the right to say how the image is used. But so far, charges haven’t been brought against user-generated content sites for hosting pictures posted without permission of the subjects.
WASHINGTON (AP) White House says Obama is confident in process of reviewing potential nominees.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/02/03/2009-02-03_peanut_corporation_whistleblower_rats_co-2.html
Peanut Corporation whistleblower: Rats, cockaroaches roasted with Peanut Butter
BY CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Updated Tuesday, February 3rd 2009, 11:39 AM
One rat, dry roasted, was found at the Georgia peanut plant blamed for a sweeping salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people across the country and sickened hundreds more.
Jonathan Prather, who was laid off last month when the Peanut Corp. of America plant was shuttered, told CBS News on Tuesday that roaches also ran rampant.
"Roaches get up there in the dry roast," Prather told the Early Show. "Some of them blend in with the peanuts. You'd never know they're there."
Prather, 29, called the plant a pig-sty and that there were "plenty of holes in the roof."
"When it rained, water just came through the whole plant," he said.
The worst, though, was the rat Prather said he saw "dry roasting in the peanuts" three or four months ago.
Peanut butter, cookies, candy and hundreds of other peanut-based products have been yanked off store shelves since the feds traced the salmonella to the filthy facility in Blakely, Ga.
The Food and Drug Administration has asked the justice department to launch a criminal investigation into the peanut company.
The feds say the Georgia plant had a salmonella problem dating back at least to June 2007 - but never told the FDA.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that another Peanut Corp. plant in Plainview, Tex., has been operating for four years without a license - and has never been inspected.
"I was not aware this plant was in operation and did not know (what) type of products (were) processed," chief Texas health inspector Patrick Moore wrote in a report snagged by AP.
Boruch Atta Belsky, Mattir Issurim.
What's the problem with shrotzim? Rov of them get ground up so there's no berya.
Let me guess. Eckstein only reported the salmonella problem last week at Peanut Corp of America because he didn't know they are OU certified.
He probably got an earful afterwards from Genack & Lubinsky.
Its sad that when you try to have a serious discussion on such a horrendous issue as child molestation, the topic is sidestepped by jokes and other "newsworthy" reports.
That is exactly why nothing ever gets done. It is no different here than in the rest of the religious community when it comes to this issue.
I congratulate Joel and Joe for coming forward and giving us a real accounting of the facts and for organizations who are actually taking this subject seriously enough to do something about it like the JBAC.
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