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
27 comments:
Joe Engelman is on the Forward 50 list!
I love listening to Yossele.
Yerachmel Lopin
Tropper pats himself on the back again. I
Sorry to intrude on the birthday wishes, and Mazle Tov to your Mom, but Tropper is not waiting to get compliments from anyone, he just hires publicists to take photos and puts out PR pieces that he is now a velt's gaon.
Comments inserted with "[ ]":
"Etrog News
"Conversion Regulations are Preserving the Flask of Pure Oil of the Jewish Nation"
[Who appointed and accepts these guys to do this job? What is their job? To police batei din and terrify potential converts?]
Scores of rabbinical judges and community rabbis attended a series of fascinating meetings and discussions during the Yamei Iyun of Eternal Jewish Family
[And how many ladies were at the women's tutoring sessions with the dayanim nearby? Did the dayanim, ahem, chit-chat with the ladies while there? Give them some tips?]
Akiva Gottlieb 13/11/2009 09:00
Three fascinating days of discussion at the Annual Dayanim Conference of Eternal Jewish Family for scores of community rabbis and dayanim came to a close Tuesday afternoon in a special event held at the Hotel Sheraton Meadowlands in New Jersey. The intensive hearings held throughout the Conference awakened a strong reaction in Jewish communities throughout the U.S.
[What "reaction"?]
Scores of community rabbis and rabbinic judges from more than fifteen important well-known rabbinic courts throughout the United States were invited to the Conference, which adopted the regulations and halachic concerns of the Heads and rabbis of Eternal Jewish Family. During the conference they discussed many halachic issues relating to conversion and intermarriage, Heaven forbid.
[Do they need EJF and Tropper to tell them what standards to assume? What did they learn when they went for yadin-yadin semicha in any case?]
The Conference was lead by the Chairman of the Rabbinic Committee of Eternal Jewish Family, Hagaon Rabbi Leib Tropper shlit’a, who was the one who saw the need for strengthening the fortifications of proper halachic conversion at this time. "We are happy with every rabbinic court that implements the regulations of Eternal Jewish Family, as they are the filters that preserve the flask of pure oil within Israel," he explained.
[Now he is "Hagaon" who made him into that? Did they all know that he is facing multiple dinei Torah and court cases from Guma Aguiar and that in the past Guma Aguiar with his unconverted wife had been footing their bills at hotels like at this conference?]
As a part in building those 'filters', explained Hagaon Rabbi Tropper, we must be concerned about the effectiveness of dayan and the Beit Din. "The dayanim must see the true intentions of the potential convert, and if his acceptance of the yoke of mitzvot is sincere," said Hagaon Rabbi Tropper. "The uniqueness of the dayan is to know when to bring someone close and when to distance the candidates for conversion.”
["Filters"? What is he selling cigarretes? Why doesn't he also reveal his other EJF agenda of recruiting and turning gentiles into Jews the same way he pays for and sponsors the dayanim?]
The Nasi of the Vaad HaHalachah of Eternal Jewish Family, Hagaon Rabbi Reuven Feinstein shlit’a, expounded on the form of a halachic conversion and in which cases one must be stringent or lenient. Hagaon Rabbi Reuven Feinstein shlit’a cited the rulings of his father, Maran Hagaon Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ztz’l, about how to conduct oneself regarding conversions, and especially regarding potential converts that the dayanim see that their acceptance of mitzvot is not genuine.
["Nasi" and "Hagaon" makes two, this is sickening paid-for self-flattery.]
Tropper pats himself on the back again. II
From Etrog News "Conversion Regulations are Preserving the Flask of Pure Oil of the Jewish Nation" continued. Comments in: "[ ]":
Hagaon Rabbi Chanoch Ehrentreu shlit’a, Rav and Av Beit Din of the Badatz of Europe and London, delivered a fascinating Torah lecture on the subject of “ger katan.” In his conclusion he expanded about the dangers of conversion and the plague of assimilation throughout Europe, and highly praised the activities of Eternal Jewish Family in properly implementing regulations in the American Batei Din, and expressed hope that the regulations will take root in all the Batei Din in the world. "Would it only be that Eternal Jewish Family will expand its activities among European Batei Din, to raise the Keren of Israel and to strengthen our religion. This matter would be a great rectification for conversion across Europe."
[Everyone with half a brain in their head knows about the dangers of assimilation and intermarriage. How much was this rabbi paid to come and speak all the way from Europe?]
Other speakers were the Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia and a member of the U.S. Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, Hagaon Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky shlit’a, Hagaon Rabbi Eliyahu Levine, Rosh Kollel Choshen Mishpat, Lakewood, NJ, Head of the Vaad HaHalachah in Israel; and Hagaon Rabbi Shmuel Eliezer Stern shlit’a, a member of the Beit Din Zichron Meir and Rosh Yeshivat “Chug Chatam Sofer,” who was unable to attend the conference, and sent a letter of greeting to the participants at the conference.
[All must have enjoyed the free rides, free lunches and dinners and stays no doubt too.]
On the night of the second day of the conference there was a special meeting of the gedolei roshei hayeshivot and rabbanim in America to discuss the serious issues that are at stake in maintaining American Jewry, and Hagaon Rabbi Tropper and Hagaon Rabbi Yitzchok Sheiner shlit’a expanded on problems and different ways to solve them.
[Obviously they want to make it sound like every last Moetzes person was meeting there. Not.]
The dayan Harav Hagaon Rabbi Binyamin Attias, a member of the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv, presented a serious problem facing the rabbis in the Diaspora. In Israel, he explained, on any certificate of conversion to Judaism there is also a picture identification of the person, so that his identity is certain. In the U.S. and Europe, however, the conversion certificate is a document with no photo and no other means of identification and can be easily faked, so there is no certainty for the rabbis to know that this is indeed the person who was halachically converted to Judaism. This serious problem was presented to the Rishon L’Tzion, Hagaon Rabbi Amar shlit’a, and it is currently being examined as to ways to prevent counterfeiting.
[Attias caused lots of trouble in Israel. Why was he invited to throw bombs in America? This must be the work of R Nochum Eisenstein from Israel putting him up to it and finding ways to attack the American rabbis who now are told that photo ID is the way to go with a shtar geirus. Maybe they should put photo ID on every semicha, kesuba, get, and heter meah rabbonim. Oh don't forget on every single high school diploma and bais yaakov graduation sheet. Paranoia will not save Yiddishkeit.]
Tropper pats himself on the back again. III
From Etrog News "Conversion Regulations are Preserving the Flask of Pure Oil of the Jewish Nation" continued. Comments in: "[ ]":
During the panels and the meetings, the following spoke and lead the proceedings: Harav Hagaon Rabbi Binyamin Attias shlit’a, a member of the rabbinical court in Tel Aviv, Hagaon Rabbi Tuvia Wettenstein, Belzer Dayan, Monsey, NY, Hagaon Harav Nochum Eisenstein, Head of the Vaad L’Inyanei Geyrus, Jerusalem, founded by Hagaon Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth ztz’l; Harav Yitzchok Sheiner shlit’a, Rosh Yeshiva, Kaminetz, Israel, Hagaon Rabbi Aharon Felder of Philadelphia; Harav Hagaon Rabbi Binyomin Weiss, Rosh Beis Din, Montreal; Hagaon Rabbi Yosef Weiner, Rav Shaarei Shamayim, Wesley Hills, NY; and Harav Dovid Olewski, Rosh Mesivta of Ger – Brooklyn, who expounded on the great obligation that we are commanded concerning the convert.
[Seems like a pretty small crowd, less than what you get at a regular bar mitzva even, and if you look at the related photos it looks like they had to set the tables up in a wide square to make it seems like more people were there.]
A specially published pamphlet was released for the Conference: Netzach Yisrael Part V, which contains a treasure trove of piskei halachot, dinim, Torah essays, and articles about conversion and assimilation, and, like the rest of Torah periodicals, it was received with joy and admiration among the participants in the Conference.
[Pamphlet shmamphlet, what is this, kindergarten song sheets for the klotzen?]
At the end of the Conference that dealt entirely with halachic matters and practical Torah, the scores of dayanim and rabbanim thanked the Heads of Eternal Jewish Family and said, "This was a real Beis Midrash.” In between panels, you could see the dayanim exuberantly discussing halachot, when many issues that came up during the procedures of various conversions came to a halachic solution, and the participants left with a sense of strengthening and clarity in the halachah, as the verse says, “For the land shall be full of knowledge of Hashem as water covers the sea bed.”
[Ok, so what has been accomplished that they didn't know and couldn't do before? Nothing. Just a nice photo op and ego trip for Tropper, and a huge wastage of Tom Kaplan's millions as per usual.]
See photos."
http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2009/11/ejf-dayanus-conference-press-release.html
"Notice how Belz is the only chassidus participating. Does this have anything to do with rivalries they have with different factions of the Edah Charedis who are opposed to EJF?"
No, very indirectly. The bottom line is that Rabbi Tropper has always been very close with the Belzer Rebbe, whom he has sought out for advice over the years.
Belz is ALWAYS hungry for money and they don't care where they get it from. If Rabbi Tropper can get Tom Kaplan to pump in even a mere $36,000- to Belz institutions, they will gladly send along a dayan to make a guest appearance at any event.
In any case, the Belzer dayanim and batei din carry no power whatever, every single dayan is a highly controlled puppet of the Belzer Rebbe and takes very clear instructions.
There was even once a case where the son of an Israeli Belzer went OTD and met an Italian girl in NY, and the Belzer dayan there was very quick to give her a quicky geirus himself. They look at such things as "jokes" as long as their "anash" (anshei shlomeinu) are taken care of.
The Belzer Rebbe also over-ruled his rabbonim in NY when one of the heads of Belz was having a hot and heavy affair with his secretary and the Belzer Rebbe told each to go back to their original spouses, with the one who was having the affair demanding a hefty pay-ff to boot and got it. They did as the Rebbe commanded and not as one would think should be done according to Shulchan Oruch.
When it comes to their own interests, Belz will take money from anyone who will give it to them and will do anything to kasher the faults of any member of its key people if need be. They look at Rabbi Tropper as another puppet to manipulate in their favor, while he gets the kavod of having a Belzer dayan show up every now and again.
In any case, Belz has zero to do with the outside world so it's an excercise in futility for them to be at geirus conferences for goyim that they despise and will never do the proselytizing things EJF wants done. Oh, and they certainly don't need EJF to lay down and teach it standards, they create their own "standards" and make up their own rules for their own chasidim and kehilas as they go along with the Rebbe calling all the shots.
A 7 year old girl has been hospitalized with a severe case of the H1N1 Flu.
PLEASE DAVEN FOR THE REFUA SHELAYMA OF SARAH MIRIAM BAS TAMAR.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574527781844595304.html
A 69% Capital Gains Tax Hike . . .
Pelosi's 5.4% income surtax would hit capital gains and dividends.
They should have staged a break in on Shabbos to cover it up:
Two Are Charged With Helping Madoff Falsify Records
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
9 minutes ago
The F.B.I. arrested two computer programmers who worked for Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm, prosecutors said on Friday.
R'uoj, after listening last night for almost 2 1/2 hours to the asifa that took place in passaic nj, the motzei shabbos before yom hadin, did it really sink in what an earthquake u have caused in orthodox jewry around the world, its all in your zchus!
please tell your mom in my name, that having you as a son is the greatest birthday gift she could have asked for.
may you share many more healthy years with her till "bias moshiach bimharu"
TEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) Evangelist Tony Alamo sentenced to 175 years in prison for child sex convictions.
Thanks for your very kind words R' LVF, good to hear from you - I hope all is well.
Shabbat Shalom
Sources reveal that Yossi Neiman of Perfect Locksmith is using eBay and Amazon to liquidate the last pile of merchandise he stole from suppliers.
And it's one heck of a pile, said to be worth half a million dollars.
The Obama administration will insist on measures to give legal status to an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in legislation to overhaul the immigration system that it will begin to push early next year, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on Friday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125789494126242343.html
NOVEMBER 12, 2009
More Job Seekers Scramble To Erase Their Criminal Past
By DOUGLAS BELKIN
U.S. job seekers are crashing into the worst employment market in years and background checks that reach deeper than ever into their pasts.
Civil-rights organizations have long complained that young black men are disproportionately hindered when prospective employers ask about applicants' arrests or convictions.
Vos iz shlecht?
Reuters - Jeremy Pelofsky, James Vicini - Nov 13, 2009
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Democratic US Representative William Jefferson, who hid $90000 in cash in his freezer, was sentenced on Friday to 13 years in prison for bribery, racketeering and money laundering.
http://www.thegrio.com/2009/11/baltimore-mayor-accused-of-stealing-gift-cards-for-the-needy.php
Baltimore mayor accused of stealing gift cards for the needy
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/11/hechsher-tzedeks-statement-on-the-rubashkin-verdicts-678.html
After you read all this bloviating from Shmarya, ask yourself the question if his mother hires an illegal immigrant off the books without paying her social security benefits, to clean up the mess he makes while living as a FREELOADER in her basement.
WASHINGTON -The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer dollars at a rate nearly three times the previous year.
Excerpts of a new federal report, obtained by The Associated Press, show a dramatic increase in improper payments in the $440 billion Medicare program that has been cited by government auditors as a high risk for fraud and waste for 20 years.
I echo what LVF said...it has been nothing short of an earthquake. To use another metaphor: Your war on Kolko, Margo, and YTT...it put a crack in a dam spanning a huge river. Over the last 3 or so years, the crack has been growing wider and deeper. Other, secondary cracks have developed and water is seeping through. The dam is getting weaker and weaker and water is now gushing and it is only a matter of time until the dam bursts and all the crap in its way gets swept away. Are our leaders listening? Are our "representative organizations" listening? Better wake up before it is too late.
Chazak UOJ, keep on doing what you do!
Hey, LVF. What took u so long to listen to that audio clip? WINK WINK! BTW, how about emailing rabbi Eisenman SHLIT"A of Passaic to tell him we appreciate his cutting across the grain and that the silent majority appreciates his efforts.
Look up to Eisenman in Passaic at your own risk. I was someone burned terribly by him and as a result have lost most of my emunas chachomim.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/business/economy/15gret.html
November 15, 2009
Home Builders (You Heard That Right) Get a Gift
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON
This is getting to be a habit: companies that participated on the upside and are now reaping rewards from the taxpayers on the downside. The banks that underwrote so many dubious loans, for example, received government aid to get them lending again. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the result.
One can make an argument that throwing money at the banking system is necessary if we are to jump-start the economy. And banks need a bigger capital cushion to protect against future losses.
But dropping helicopter money on the home builders — the folks who massively overbuilt in community after community — seems decidedly less urgent (unless you are one of these companies, of course). Given that the supply of housing far outstrips demand, it is unlikely that these companies will use these tax breaks to hire workers (unless they go into a completely new line of business).
When Mr. Obama signed the law, his administration said the tax break would help “struggling businesses.” But as Ms. Zelman pointed out, many large home builders are sitting atop mountains of cash. Pulte Homes, which will receive refunds exceeding $450 million under the new law, has $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, according to its most recent financial statement.
Some of the home builders poised to receive tax refunds have even more cash today than they did last year. D. R. Horton, for example, has $1.966 billion in cash, up 45 percent from September 2008 levels. And some are healthy enough to have retired significant amounts of debt from their balance sheets this year. Pulte has bought back $1.93 billion in debt in 2009.
Meanwhile, the bag that we taxpayers are left holding gets bigger and bigger.
THE problem here is that this public policy decision was made with little to no input from the public. Sure, tax rebates like these give a lifeline to companies that were about to sink beneath the waves, but would it be so terrible if some builders that lost their heads during the housing mania ceased to exist? It is not as if a housing shortage will result or that more jobs will be lost if these companies don’t receive these tax breaks.
Pretending to promote job creation, the government is dispensing cash to companies that either do not need it or need it precisely because they didn’t run their businesses prudently. Isn’t there something wrong with that picture?
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/14/frances-obesity-crisis-all-those-croissants-really-do-add-up/
France's obesity crisis: All those croissants really do add up, after all
Eric Wahlgren
Nov 14th 2009
When the bestselling book French Women Don't Get Fat came out in 2004, it was yet another occasion to begrudge Gallic females, who could always say oui to pâté, brie, and crème brûlée without ever having to get their Hermès skirts altered. It didn't help that the book's author, Mireille Guiliano, was then CEO of Clicquot (as in the champagne Veuve Clicquot) and was herself fabulously thin -- and wealthy.
But was the book a hoax? A new report shows that the French are really getting fatter, just like the rest of us. Some 26% of French women are now considered overweight, and 15.1% are clinically obese, reports the survey, conducted by WPP's (WPPGY) market-research arm TNS Sofres Healthcare and Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche (RHHBY). Of French men, a whopping 38.5% are overweight, and 13.9% are obese. "We are going to continue to see obesity increase," study researcher Marie-Aline Charles told Le Monde. "It's like a steamship that's been launched and can't quickly be stopped."
Quelle Horreur!
In a country that has prided itself on good health and good eating -- and mocked the boorish American lifestyle of eating on the run -- the news has been hard to digest. "The French Won't Stop Getting Fatter," screamed Le Monde's headline; rival Le Figaro warned of the "The Worrying Growth of Obesity in France."
It was a busy motzei Shabbos for Shmarya.
First he gets all worked up that an IDF rabbi tells soldiers to not show compassion to the Arab enemy in the battlefield.
Then he loses his cool that a NY Times report on Chabad houses does not spout off with anti-Semitic tirades and mention every single misdeed that Chabad has done in the last decade.
Then he has a new angle on how to smear Rav Elyashev. After LYING about Rav ELyashev's involvement with the bogus elevator ban (that in truth Rav Elyashev did not sign himself), SHmarya says that Rav Elyashev has a huge chip on his shoulder.
Isn't that a hoot! SHmarya, who is carrying around a "chip" on his own shoulder the size of Mount Everest, has the audacity to project his own chesronos on others.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/suicide_groom_twist_pa15C1Z5nGPyHIYj18xCNI
Archie Bunker (aptly named)-
methinks thou doth protest too much.
Yes Ahavah Gayle, I am aptly named. I specifically chose this name because it gets under the skin of Shmarya and his supporters such as yourself.
We know what your agenda is, ie validating improper gerim, which is something that your hero SHmarya champions for you. If only he had any credibility instead of the lunatic that he is shouting from his lonely perch.
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