NO GOATS - NO GLORY
87th National Agudah Convention to Grapple With "Formidable Challenges"!
For decades, the forum for talking during eating - under the direction of Gedolim - has been the Agudah convention.
And this year's gathering, observes Agudath Israel of America executive director Rabbi Labish Becker, is taking place against a background of truly formidable, even unprecedented challenges - Bloggers and the electronic media!
We ask you to go to your refrigerator and start eating now until you keel over, and continue until we get together on Thanksgiving, where the Hilton's refrigerators take over. Don't forget the 24 hour tea room this year will be hosted by Ivanka Trump Kushner!
And now let us all say Amen!
50 comments:
About 1 year ago Rabbi Yehuda Levin told a good friend of mine in the sefardishe shul in boro park that he represented r'avigdor miller at the novominsker's apartment in boro park over 20 years ago re: the kolko case.
After speaking the Novominsker got up and shouted at Rabbi Levin and said "Do you want to stop the growth of torah in america" ???
These are your leaders o'israel...
First hand account !!
NEWS
87th National Agudah Convention about Areivus
by Dei'ah Vedibur Staff
For decades, the premier forum for taking action on some of the toughest issues of the day — in a meaningful way and under the direction of Gedolim — has been the Agudah convention.
Speaking about the upcoming convention, Agudath Israel of America executive director Rabbi Labish Becker said, "In light of the portrayal of Jews on the front pages of national newspapers and in the electronic media, this past year has not been a good one — particularly for Orthodox Jews. The chilul Hashem resulting from allegations, substantiated or otherwise, of Orthodox wrongdoing in the financial arena and beyond has been a source of anguish to every thinking member of our community."
The economic situation continues to take a devastating toll on countless households and Torah institutions. Domestic strife and substance abuse (as well as other kinds of addictions) have made significant inroads into our community. The dilemma of older singles shows no signs of seriously abating. And while many communal efforts have been directed in recent years at addressing "kids-at-risk," far too many of our young boys and girls are still roaming the streets.
Nothing about child molestation by Melamdim or by chassidishe yingermen in the Mikvahs. I wonder why..
Where is the Taharas Hakoidesh that you espouse ??
If a boy talks to a girl in the street he is a Sheigetz and gets thrown out of yeshiva. Lipa Schmeltzer is a Sheigetz but a rebbi can put his hands down a boy's pants and the R"Y covers it up and threatens the kids and their parents. No Problem !
Hypocrites !! Du Bist Alla Der Gresta Schkotzim !!
Shame on your convention and on all of you !!
Well, it had to happen, no sooner had the telephone number of R Nochum Rosenberg's report about the tragic circumstances of Motty Borger been posted for 712 432 8788 1121 0# when now it's been pulled and that connection is disconnected.
Obviously some folks got wind of it and had it shut down. But the word got out because in the age of cell phones and texting every other half-literate girl and boy in the frum communities in New York with access to a cell phone got the texted message to call the number AND THEY DID and at least the English part of R Nochum Rosenberg's sad message and report about what really happened with Motty Borger the the days before he jumped out of a window in Boro Park two days after getting married and the effects of the pedophilia he suffered from, that led him to do it.
In the meantime, R Nochum Rosenberg has an excellent detailed introdcution to how to recognize and deal with pedophilia victims on his main line at 212 461 2778 but it's all in Hungarian Yiddish directed at the Chassidihe velt that he is trying to clean up (good luck with that!)
He gives an important introduction 10 points of how to recognize if a child is suffering from pedophilia to help worried parents who approach him with questions, that he has learned from professional books and sources:
1) Unexplained injuries like bruises, burns, scrapes. Violence and pedophilia often go together.
2) Changes in behavior. Scaring easily, increased anxiety, depression and becoming withdrawn, or alternately increased aggression and wildness.
3) Returning and regressing to earlier childhood behavior like thumb-sucking, bed-wetting, fear of darkness, memory loss absent-mindedness.
4) Going home instead of staying in school. Fear of the outside world.
5) Changes in eating habits are signs of stress over worrying. Fear creates eating disorders, changes in quantity and quality of food such as overeating leading to weight gain.
6) Changes in sleeping patterns with nightmares, fear of falling asleep.
7) Lower school attendance and lower grades.
8) Lack of personal hygene, sloppy dressing, smelliness.
9) Risk-taking behavior, taking drugs, alcohol abuse, carrying knives as a sign of fear and need to defend self and get even.
10) Inappropraite sexual behavior by touching private parts, sexual words and acts.
R Nochum Rosnberg on his latest lengthy lecture on his free dial in line at 212 461 2778 continues:
Shikul hada'as/good sense is important. There can be obvious signs of pedophilia and sexual abuse and sometimes there are lighter more subtle signs. Do not be afraid to act. Don't wait for "proof" if you have arrived at the conclusion that it's happening.
Then here are "5 to dos":
1) Stay calm.
2) Believe the child.
3) Show interest and concern.
4) Reassure and support the child.
5) TAKE ACTION.
The "5 don't dos":
1) No panic.
2) Do not pressure the child.
3) Do not confront the offender, if you do, you will be called "crazy" or a "liar" or worse.
4) Do not blame the child and do not minimize the child's feelings.
5) Do not overwhelm the child with questions and interrogations.
He warns to be on the lookout for young kids coming home with unexplained "gifts" of candy or anything from friends, teachers, neighbors or anyone else as being possible warning signs that pedophilia is being done or being planned.
Above all, CALL 911 ASAP, it is not "mesirah" you are fulfilling ubi'arta hara mikirbecha and also CALL YOUR LOCAL REPORTING CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE.
R Nochum Rosenberg then continues to catalog many cases of pedophilia in Chasidishe yeshivas like Krulla, Krasne, Belz and Skver. He points out that currently in Skver Town there are now at least 3 or 4 major cases of high ranking members being accused of child abuse and the Skver Rebbe trying to cover it up involving the known pedophiles Hershel Breyer, Yakov Yosef Sofer (also responsible for the suicide of a pedophilia victim), Tzvi Avhalter, Moshe Menachem Taubnefeld (also pushed achild victim of pedophilia to near suicide.)
There is a lot more, and it's all well said and tough, but the time has come to shine the spotlight on this pedophilia plague and prevent the many other Motty Borgers from jumping to their deaths as a result of being pedophilia victims and not seeking and getting the RIGHT professional help.
I have a serious question about the molesting cover ups based on a few assumptions.
I am guessing that the few instances where there is police reporting that is approved, the matter is:
- already too far out in public to be stopped (e.g., if it is in the NY Times, or Lesher has filed two lawsuits), or
- the guy is loser and the complainant can't be stopped, like the incest rapist weinberger)
Who are the complainants that Hynes is now processing. Are they folks whose rabbonim gave them a heter. Is the community now afflicted with rabbonim who defy their collegial obligations to coverup. If so, is that why Agudah is promoting a shared beis din, to rein in the free lancers.
Alternatively, are we dealing with families that chas v'chalilah were smart enough to not ask their rabbonim and just went in and complained. If so, why haven't we had any stories about those people being harassed out of Brooklyn.
Personally, I think the Agudah event is a perfect opportunity to picket again and give them more PR nightmares. Then Zweibel will speak again and I will have more material for my blog.
I can not keep up our hard working rabbonim. So many follies and so little time to write them up. Just lately I have had to deal with the stocking ban, and the shidduch crisis letter, and the Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok in Lawrence. Which reminds me. Is there a connection between Shineberg, Wineberg and the hosting of the TAY visit?
I have also responded to Elliot Pasik's challenge of writing up a community policy as good as the Catholics.
Yet another question. Assuming RF has his marbles, what is the hold that T has on him? Yeah, maybe he hasn't written an approbation, but he knows enough to back out completely. Blackmail for problems similar to the T brothers? Expensive tastes and debt? Money problems of MTJ? This does make one feel said for RMF looking down from above.
Yerachmiel Lopin frumfollies.wordpress.com
UOJ,
Stop telling loshon horah about the goats. The goats are not to blame. They were misled from reading the internet without a filter. But you, UOJ with your old fashioned smichah earned the hard way, what is your excuse. Sure, back then they did not teach all the chochmos hadolarim but haven't you ever heard of continuing education.
Izzy Tzidkus
While my interest in our community organizations is not that strong, and they may well be justified targets of accusations and blame, some of the issues raised in earlier comments may not be valid points of blame here.
It is safe to say that the Agudah, as well as many other organizations plus countless individuals have been sleeping at the switch with regards to child abuse. There are several reasons for this, and some are delusional, not necessarily evil or selfish. Most did not believe that these events occur. The fund of information about molesters and victimization has been unquestionably poor. We can attribute much of the failure to ignorance of facts, not corruption. Often there was pathological blindness in which there was disbelief that someone who is granted responsibility to transmit kedusha could be so disgustingly cruel and abusive. There is also a major lack of knowledge about the secular court system which renders the capability of paskening on the issues of mesira close to null and void. In addition, the issue of mesira has long moved outside of the realm of halacha – it has become a cultural attitude. In other words, people fault those who make reports regardless of whether there is halachic permissibility or even obligation to do so.
The kids-at-risk issue has ballooned over the past several years despite the programs that were developed to help cope. This is not the fault of Agudah or any other organization, nor does it render all the efforts failures. It simply means that the problem has grown greatly, surpassing the efforts to contain it. Many kids got help and are okay today. The trouble is that we are bailing the water out of a sinking ship, and the leaks have not been plugged. We have yeshivos and schools getting a free pass at denying admissions and throwing out students (sometimes by asking them to leave, other times by making their staying there so miserable that they opt out). Yeshivos are still clamoring to compete for their exclusivity and “standards of excellence”, and this violates everything stated in all the many seforim on chinuch. The recession that nearly wiped out most of the programs that were created to help cope with the problem did not help much. The public ignorance of how to prevent or intervene with these children and their families is massive. Magazine articles do not help much. Speeches on the topic have gotten boring and are passé. This responsibility is not borne by Agudah or any other individual or organization.
Our lifestyle has deteriorated far beyond imagination where gashmiyus and momentary pleasures have become the main goal and function of mainstream frum society. It is not right to place this blame solely at the feet of Agudah. I am not defending them, but these are not the accurate accusations to throw at them.
It seems to me that the children of the big shots never get molested. Which goes to prove that the molesting problem will be greatly reduced when molesters know that if you touch any child you are going to wish you were never born.
If rabbonim don't know, it is because they choose not to know. Anyone can make a mistake once. I respect R. Blau for saying chatassi about how I handled Lanner. But he has not repeated the mistake. Apparently only goyim at YU have to say chatassi after the first mistake. But Agudah gets brownie points for making the mistakes over and over. But because they ban things and dress less American, they are gadolim. Obviously, the greater the gadol, the greater their yetzer horah for very wealthy daughter-in-laws.
Yerachmiel Lopin
Blogger Yossi Izrael has accused the Skverrer Rebbe of knowing his chassidim operate a porno shop on Route 59 but not doing anything about it.
Plenty of frum men and boys are going into that place.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/opinion/08kristof.html
November 8, 2009
Chemicals in Our Food, and Bodies
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/rosin-prosperity-gospel
America’s mainstream religious denominations used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a different strain of Christian faith has proliferated — one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now. Known as the prosperity gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble.
------------------------
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200912/rosin-prosperity-gospel
America’s mainstream Charedi rabbonim used to teach the faithful that they would be rewarded in the afterlife. But over the past generation, a strain of Hungarian faith in gashmiyus has proliferated — one that promises to make believers rich in the here and now like Esav-style Oylam Hazehniks. Known as Margo's YTT gospel, and claiming tens of millions of adherents, it fosters risk-taking when stuffing tremendous amounts of food in their faces at the Agudah Convention and intense material optimism. It pumped air into the housing bubble in Brooklyn and Monsey.
We applaud ALL those who take a stand to turn the tide against molestation and abuse. The few and the proud who are willing to walk the walk, despite the Agmas Nefesh it causes them. They are truly the leaders of the future.
We applaud Rabbi Lipschutz for writing the following, in his Editor's View Column:
Don’t we too refuse to recognize the truth when analyzing problems in our community? We recognize corruption, yet we ignore it. We see hypocrisy, yet we turn the other way. We are afraid to say the truth and permit ourselves to be terrorized into following what we know to be a deceitful party line. WE PERMIT THE MOLESTERS TO MOLEST and the ABUSERS TO ABUSE AS WE WRING OUR HANDS IN feigned horror.
Of course it is easier to point fingers at others, and mock Obama and Pelosi for their arrogance, shortsightedness and insistence on a course of action that endangers their own careers no less than the health of a nation. IT IS A LOT MORE PAINFUL TO TURN THE SPOTLIGHTS ON OURSELVES AND OUR WORLD. BUT DIFFICULT AS IT IS, WE OWE IT TO OURSELVES AND CHILDREN TO DO SO.
A mature society is one which is not afraid to engage in self-scrutiny in order to root out injustice and evil. WE NEED TO SUMMON THE INNER STRENGTH TO UPHOLD OUR IDEALS, EVEN AT THE COST OF ALIENATING THE POWERS THAT BE WHO MAY NOT BE HAPPY WITH US FOR ROCKING THE BOAT. Don’t we want the best for our children? The society they inherit from us is the one we create. The values we choose to live by are the ones that become our legacy to future generations. Our lives can be vibrant, growth-oriented and infused with yiras shomayim. Or they can be marked by cynicism, self-deception and banality.
Let us summon the moral and spiritual courage to choose wisely so that we can look forward with hope, and look back without regret.
Blogger Yossi Izrael has accused the Skverrer Rebbe of knowing his chassidim operate a porno shop on Route 59 but not doing anything about it.
Plenty of frum men and boys are going into that place.
That's really bad. They are going to see lots of pictures of women with their hair uncovered and unshaven.
Today is ARMISTICE DAY, "Memorial Day" in the USA, 91 years since World War ONE ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month of 1918.
What started on Tisha Be'Av 1914 stopped. Jews were in ALL the armies in ALL ranks and in all services and in all the governments helping to run the war effort (for example, the German "Minister of Munitions" was Walter Rathenau), Russian, German, Austrian-Hungarian, British, French, American, and stopped killing each other!!!
The war that began on 9 Av in 1914 in which Jews by the millions were members in all the armies, from Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Britain, America, Russia killing each other finally stopped 91 years ago, at 11 AM Paris time, on the 11th day of the 11th month, November, 1918, World War One came to an official end:
From Wikipedia:
Armistice Day
also known as Remembrance Day
and Veterans Day
for the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne):
Wikipedia:
"The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918, and marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front...The Armistice was agreed at 5 AM on 11 November, to come into effect at 11 AM Paris time (that is 10 AM GMT), for which reason the occasion is sometimes referred to as "the eleventh (hour) of the eleventh (day) of the eleventh (month)". It was the result of a hurried and desperate process...The peace between the Allies and Germany would subsequently be settled in 1919, by the Paris Peace Conference, and the Treaty of Versailles that same year..." See the full front page from the NY Times announcing the armistice.
But sadly, World War One would lead to World War Two and the Holocaust, 1939-1945.
"Malach HaMovies said...Blogger Yossi Izrael has accused the Skverrer Rebbe of knowing his chassidim operate a porno shop on Route 59 but not doing anything about it."
In fact R Nuchum Rosenberg goes further, and he says flat out that the Vilna Gaon did nothing to stop Chasidism compared to the destruction of the ideas of Chasidism that the Skver Rebbe of Skver destroyed by allowing himself to be bought off by, and sell out to, and sit down and be pictured with Hillary Clinton and with disgraced Bill Clinton, with Bill himself being a molestor of women and impeached for his sexual trysts with the just-out-of-highschool Monica Lewinsky.
The Skver Rebbe of Skvertown NY destroys Chasidism as he protects known pedophiliac "rabbis" like HERSHEL BREYER; YAAKOV YOSEF SOFER; TZVI AVHALTER; MOSHE MENACHEM TAUBENFELD, listen to it on R Nuchem Rosenberg's line on 212 461 2778, that are all proven pedophiles that all the Skver Chasidim in Skver know about them but are too afraid to confront them since some of these perps are the ones with connections to Hillary Clinton and get the millions from programs that keeps the Skverer Rebbe enriched.
What a sad state of affairs Yiddishkeit has plunged too under these destructive clowns.
In the latest edition of the “Dvar Hashem Zu Halacha” publication, there are a number of shailos that were presented to Maran Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. The publication is produced by Rav Moshe Fried, who frequents the home of the posek hador and presents various questions to him. The answers are then printed in the gilyon.
In the most recent issue, the following question was posed:
“In our times, it has become common that one who needs a yeshuah goes to the Kosel to daven for forty consecutive days. Is there any inyan in doing this?”
Rav Elyashiv responded that there is no basis for this. Every time one goes to the Kosel to daven, said Rav Elyashiv, his tefillos are accepted.
The answer is interesting in light of the fact that various tzedakos commit to have people daven for their donors for forty consecutive days either at the Kosel and other mekomos hakedoshim, suggesting that there is some special significance to davening at the same place for forty straight days. Rav Elyashiv says that there is not.
Just for UOJ's information, the latest celebrity shidduch is Foreman with Leyla Leidecker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/sports/11boxer.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
November 11, 2009
Studying to Be a Rabbi, Fighting to Be a Champion
Here we go again. World War 1 did NOT start on Tisha Baav. World War 2 was NOT inevitable after World War 1
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/10/sports/20091110SPTSBOXER_3.html
Tropper is having a fit that he can't take credit for either Ivankala or Leyla.
Any idea how to stop this guy?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/nyregion/10marriage.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
November 10, 2009
Foe of Gay Marriage in New York Says It’s Nothing Personal
I'm looking to verify information on a certain Orthodox chazan (cantor) and a voice teacher with numerous complaints lodged against him at Hikind's office. The allegations against him include criminal acts against his own children; allegedly Hikind has not reported it to the police.
Verifiable information only please.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10angier.html
November 10, 2009
Pigs Prove to Be Smart, if Not Vain
By NATALIE ANGIER
In the current issue of Animal Behaviour, researchers present evidence that domestic pigs can quickly learn how mirrors work and will use their understanding of reflected images to scope out their surroundings and find their food. The researchers cannot yet say whether the animals realize that the eyes in the mirror are their own, or whether pigs might rank with apes, dolphins and other species that have passed the famed “mirror self-recognition test” thought to be a marker of self-awareness and advanced intelligence.
To which I say, big squeal. Why should the pigs waste precious mirror time inspecting their teeth or straightening the hairs on their chinny-chin-chins, when they could be using the mirror as a tool to find a far prettier sight, the pig heaven that comes in a bowl?
The finding is just one in a series of recent discoveries from the nascent study of pig cognition. Other researchers have found that pigs are brilliant at remembering where food stores are cached and how big each stash is relative to the rest. They’ve shown that Pig A can almost instantly learn to follow Pig B when the second pig shows signs of knowing where good food is stored, and that Pig B will try to deceive the pursuing pig and throw it off the trail so that Pig B can hog its food in peace.
They’ve found that pigs are among the quickest of animals to learn a new routine, and pigs can do a circus’s worth of tricks: jump hoops, bow and stand, spin and make wordlike sounds on command, roll out rugs, herd sheep, close and open cages, play videogames with joysticks, and more.
Next, the researchers put the mirror in the enclosure, along with a bowl of food that could not be directly seen but whose image was reflected in the mirror. They then compared the responses of the mirror-experienced pigs with a group of mirror-naïve pigs. On spotting the virtual food in the mirror, the experienced pigs turned away and within an average of 23 seconds had found the food. But the naïve pigs took the reflection for reality and sought in vain to find the bowl by rooting around behind the mirror.
UOJ, please check your email.
http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/movies/11seasons.html
Who's this Neuhoff guy who came around asking if anyone heard of UOJ?
7:35 Comment,
I looked into that one, nobody agreed to come forward with their names. I'm talking about a different person where the initial of his first name is "N".
UOJ, I can understand why no one will use their name on the first molester chazan.
This guy and his sons are gangsters that make Margo & Belsky look like pussycats.
I was once going to do something to expose them, not even on the molestation - on their genayvas - but rabbonim and others warned me that when it comes to these lowlives, I would certainly be beaten up if not worse. And they are not just all bark. They do have a history of over the top physical violence.
I will give my name to you, but that's as far as it goes.
What's the aitzah when a molester is an alam govar?
LEXINGTON, Mo. – Authorities on Wednesday searched a rural property in western Missouri for bodies and buried glass jars containing notes written more than 15 years ago by children who may have documented sexual abuse by five members of their own family.
Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh pleaded for the public's help, saying investigators "believe that there are other victims out there, and we believe people in the public can give us more information."
Alumbaugh said authorities believe there may be bodies buried on the property once owned by two of the five family members arrested Tuesday. He refused to say to whom any of the bodies would have belonged. The property and a nearby home is currently owned by a man unrelated to the case who is cooperating with authorities.
Three of the five men arrested are lay ministers in the Community of Christ church whose licenses have been suspended, church spokeswoman Linda L. Booth said.
The five are charged with several felonies, including forcible sodomy, rape with a child younger than 12 and use of a child in a sexual performance. The allegations, which include bestiality, forcing children into fake marriages with relatives and making an 11-year-old have an abortion, date from 1988 to 1995.
Cpl. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said a 26-year-old woman came forward to investigators in mid-August with the allegations. A probable cause statement released by the Lafayette County prosecutor's office says five other siblings of the woman have accused all five men of abuse, but it's unclear whether all the siblings were claiming to be victims.
Lowe said the woman told investigators that she and her siblings had buried glass jars around the property that were filled with messages "about what was happening to them" when they were younger. The woman said she had "suppressed many of the memories of abuse perpetrated on her" and her siblings, according to the probable cause statement.
Sgt. Collin Stosberg of the highway patrol said the adults told the children to write down their bad memories.
"That was what they were told. Write these memories down, put them in a jar and bury it and the memories would go away," Stosberg said. "It was a way for them to cope."
The probable cause statement identifies the relationship between the siblings and the suspects. The Associated Press, however, is not revealing that relationship to avoid identifying the alleged victims of sexual assault.
The woman who came forward also claimed some of the men forced her to have sex with a dog and to watch as her brother was abused.
"She became pregnant and was made to have an abortion at age 11 1/2. She doesn't remember any sexual abuse after that date," the probable cause statement said.
The Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, the Rural Missouri Major Case Squad and the Highway Patrol were investigating, with the help of the Western Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force.
A small excavator could be seen Wednesday moving across the property outside Bates City, which is about 30 miles east of Kansas City. Two ambulances were parked nearby, and crews were searching a creek with metal detectors.
"There has been an indication that there are body or bodies in numerous locations," Alumbaugh said.
The search was halted at sunset and was to resume in the morning.
The suspects were identified as Burrell Edward Mohler Sr., 77, of Independence, and his sons, Burrell Edward Mohler Jr., 53, also of Independence; Jared Leroy Mohler, 48, of Columbia; Roland Neil Mohler, 47, of Bates City; and David A. Mohler, 52, of Lamoni, Iowa.
All five were being held in the Lafayette County jail on cash bonds ranging from $30,000 to $75,000. It was not immediately clear if they had attorneys.
Police in Columbia seized a computer and discs from Jared Mohler's home on Tuesday, police spokeswoman Jessie Haden said. Jared Mohler is a database administrator at Carfax, a company that provides vehicle history reports to prospective buyers, a co-worker said. He was arrested at work.
David Mohler, who has worked for Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, for 27 years, was arrested on its Independence campus.
Details on the arrests of the other three suspects were not immediately available.
University President John Sellars said David Mohler periodically traveled to Independence to work on Graceland's phone systems there. He described David Mohler as "a very nice person who got along well with his colleagues."
Sellars said David Mohler and his wife have grown children, but he did not know their ages or where they lived.
Deborah Burris, who has lived across the street from Burrell Mohler Sr. for several years, described the suspect as a friendly, helpful neighbor.
Burris said she occasionally saw Burrell Mohler Sr. walking around the neighborhood but he had appeared frail lately. She said Mohler's house has an apartment, and there had been "quite a bit of activity there at different times."
"I had thought maybe someone was moving in or out of there," Burris said.
Booth, the church spokeswoman, said none of the Mohlers served in leadership roles in the congregations they attended "nor did they serve as volunteer youth workers, teach children or youth church school, or work with children or youth."
"The church takes seriously the allegations that have been made and suspended the priesthood licenses of three lay ministers: Burrell Mohler Sr., David Mohler and Jared Mohler," the church said in a statement.
Booth said one of the men, whom she refused to identify, had been registered to work with children but that license has been terminated.
The Community of Christ, headquartered in Independence, split from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1860 and was known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints until 2001. It has about 250,000 members worldwide.
What's the aitzah when a molester is an alam govar?
*
When possible, always get the police involved.
IT'S NOW ONLY TWO WEEKS FROM THE MIX AND MINGLE FRESSER CONVENTION.
ALL GOD-FEARING JEWS PLEASE STORM THE HEAVENS IN PRAYER:
*******************************************
Yehi Ratzon Melifnei Avinu Shebashamayim,
Shekol Mi Shemishtatef Beseudas Achzorius Kemo Agudas Yisroel Convention
Yistalek Memonam Meihem U'Memishpachtam
Ais Tzarah He LeYaakov, V'Heim Rotzim Lenaker Ainaihem Shel Nirdafei Klal Yisroel B'Shabbos Shel Hoilelus V'Taaruvos Im Zolelus V'Soveyus.
Karov Hashem Lechol Kor'av Lechol Asher Yikrauhu B'Emes. Yiheyu Leratzon Imrai Fi V'hegyon Libi Lifanecha Hashem Tzuri VEGOALI.
Amen Amen Amen Selah Selah Selah
I'm blushing.
No von ever called me a pussycat before!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/11/DI2009111121746.html
Why does Obama pretend that his relatives don't exist? Is he ashamed of us?
http://www.nytimes.com/
Housing Agency Says Cash Reserves Are Down Sharply
BY DAVID STREITFELD
1 minute ago
The government stopped short of saying the F.H.A. might need a direct bailout, but critics were less sure that help wasn’t needed.
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/juice/2009/11/scott_rothstein_downtown_chabad.php
South Florida's Jewish community just can't catch a break. First Bernie Madoff, now an alleged Ponzi scheme by Fort Lauderdale attorney Scott Rothstein -- what gives?
Madoff lured Jewish friends at the Palm Beach Country Club to be investors in his Ponzi scheme, and when his fraud collapsed, Jewish charites lost hundreds of millions of dollars. It's not yet clear how Rothstein's scandal will impact Jewish investors -- although Yeshiva World News is buzzing with rumors that the Orthodox community in Brooklyn imay have lost millions.
One thing is obvious: Rothstein's imprint on the Fort Lauderdale Jewish community is indelible, and very visible. The chabad center on Broward Boulevard bears his name -- The Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad.
Rothstein, who has referred to himself as the "Jewish Avenger," was clearly a generous contributor to the Orthodox chabad. He's even featured in photos of the chabad's grand opening party.
But he's not the kind of donor people are eager to embrace at the moment. When the Juice called the chabad's Rabbi Schneur Kaplan to inquire if Rothstein's name would be removed from the building, the answer was short and polite: "It would be inappropriate for me to make any comments at this time," Kaplan said.
The Fed today announced that, starting next July, banks can no longer charge overdraft fees on a debit card or when a customer is using an ATM. That new law is moot if a customer has agreed to pay charges for overdrawing their account. Bloomberg has more:
Financial companies will have to explain their overdraft programs and fees, as well as choices available to consumers, the Fed said in a statement today announcing a rule that takes effect next year.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd have separately introduced legislation that would restrict banks’ ability to charge overdraft fees. Both bills would permit one overdraft fee a month or six in a year.
The final Fed rules will force banks to provide the same terms, including prices, for consumers who decline overdraft protection. The rules take effect July 1.
Fed consumer research shows “most consumers prefer not to be enrolled in overdraft services for ATM and one-time debit- card transactions unless they affirmatively consent,” the board said in its statement. Consumers do value overdraft services to ensure payment for important bills, such as rent and utilities, the Fed said.
This sounds like a consumer victory.
FINALLY, PINNY GETS IT RIGHT:(I WONDER WHICH "POWERS THAT BE" HE IS REFERRING TO??? HMM....
http://matzav.com/opinion-what-are-they-thinking
In our world, we are no different. Don’t we too refuse to recognize the truth when analyzing problems in our community? We recognize corruption, yet we ignore it. We see hypocrisy, yet we turn the other way. We are afraid to say the truth and permit ourselves to be terrorized into following what we know to be a deceitful party line. We permit the molesters to molest and the abusers to abuse as we wring our hands in feigned horror.
Of course it is easier to point fingers at others, and mock Obama and Pelosi for their arrogance, shortsightedness and insistence on a course of action that endangers their own careers no less than the health of a nation. It is a lot more painful to turn the spotlight on ourselves and our world. But difficult as it is, we owe it to ourselves and our children to do so.
A mature society is one which is not afraid to engage in self-scrutiny in order to root out injustice and evil. We need to summon the inner strength to uphold our ideals, even at the cost of alienating the powers that be who may not be happy with us for rocking the boat.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/fashion/12CODES.html?8dpc=&pagewanted=all
UOJ is always making fun of me for wearing an old dusty hat. He really has no clue just how stylish it is. That's why I wear the hat passed down by an elterre zeide from 5 doros ago.
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/sullenbergers-passengers-say-hes-a-hero-despite-new-book/?hp
In a new book, “Fly by Wire,” William Langewiesche takes a run at knocking down the hero rank of Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the US Airways pilot who in January glided a powerless Airbus A320 to an emergency landing in the Hudson River, according to a review published in The New York Times on Wednesday.
Mr. Langewiesche argues that Captain Sullenberger’s landing did not display “unusual skill.” Instead, he posits that perhaps the real hero was Bernard Ziegler, a former Airbus executive credited with helping the airline develop what is known as a fly-by-wire control system, which eased the difficulties of handling an aircraft.
“Like it or not, Ziegler reached out across the years and cradled them all the way to the water,” writes Mr. Langewiesche, who is himself a former professional pilot.
Mr. Langewiesche suggests in the book that most trained commercial airline pilots could have handled the landing and that Captain Sullenberger came to be viewed as a hero largely because the country badly needed a hero. “His performance was a work of extraordinary concentration, which the public misread as coolness under fire,” Mr. Langewiesche writes.
Filed at 6:18 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.
In what could prove to be one of the biggest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, prosecutors filed a civil complaint in federal court against the Alavi Foundation, seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets.
The assets include bank accounts; Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston; more than 100 acres in Virginia; and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.
Confiscating the properties would be a sharp blow against Iran, which has been accused by the U.S. government of bankrolling terrorism and trying to build a nuclear bomb.
The skyscraper, known as the Piaget building, was erected in the 1970s under the shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979. The tenants include law and investment firms and other businesses.
The sleek, modern building, last valued at $570 million to $650 million in 2007, has served as an important source of income for the foundation over the past 36 years. The most recent tax records show the foundation earned $4.5 million from rents in 2007.
Rents collected from the building help fund the centers and other ventures, such as sending educational literature to imprisoned Muslims in the U.S. The foundation has also invested in dozens of mosques around the country and supported Iranian academics at prominent universities.
If federal prosecutors seize the skyscraper, the Alavi Foundation would have almost no way to continue supporting the Islamic centers, which house schools and mosques.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/opinion/12thu2.html
Cousin Obama is coming under fire from the armchair generals at the NY Times because his free money bailouts don't go far enough.
The NY Times is DEMANDING that cousin Obama revise the mortgage bailout to wipe out the actual principal that people owe on homes they couldn't afford to begin with. No more of this beating around the bush to reduce interest.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. Jury says former Iowa kosher slaughterhouse manager guilty on 86 of 91 financial fraud charges.
If Eckstein is to be believed, some Flatbush gevirim lost millions with Rothstein.
Sources: Lawyer Scott Rothstein cooperating with feds
BY JAY WEAVER AND AMY SHERMAN • Miami Herald
Scott Rothstein, the flashy Fort Lauderdale lawyer who investors say fleeced them out of hundreds of millions of dollars and whose partners say wiped out his law firm's finances, is cooperating with federal investigators and identifying others who may be involved in his alleged scam, sources familiar with the probe said Wednesday.
Rothstein had secreted away millions of dollars into foreign bank accounts in recent months as he prepared for the possibility of fleeing, the sources said.
Rothstein sent his law partners a text message that indicated he was contemplating suicide, sunsentinel.com reported Tuesday night.
Rothstein mused that he had three options -- kill himself, live life ``on the lam as a fugitive'' or go to prison and risk being killed there because he had made enemies, said the law firm's co-founder, Stuart Rosenfeldt, according to the website. Rosenfeldt talked to Rothstein, urging him to ``choose life.''
In court papers, the firm has accused Rothstein of secretly running a fraudulent investment scheme that sold falsified structured settlements from employment discrimination and whistle-blower cases to investors who were promised lucrative returns for fronting the payouts.
Rothstein's investors had $500 million deposited in a Canadian bank on Oct. 23 and that money was gone seven days later, said William Scherer, an attorney representing 12 investors he says lost about $80 million.
Shmarya offers up a whopper that Jews are not allowed to vote Republican al pi halacha. What's his retarded "reasoning"? That they don't support Obama Hell-Care. Shmarya, as usual, latches on to one select fact to make his "case" which is really a roundabout way of lying. Republicans would allow slightly higher insurance rates which is much better than Obama death panels sentencing them to death with no treatment at all when expensive procedures are required.
Shmarya has also been busy lately attacking R' Hershel Schechter and demanding that YU kick him out. Shmarya's fantasy is to destroy Judaism completely, so he goes through these charades of attacking the leaders, hoping it is only a first step to pulling down the whole infrastructure.
And I saved the best part for last. Shmarya has been offering up all kinds of egghead data lately about how Charedim are the poorest people on Earth. This from a guy who hasn't had gainful employment in many years because he blogs 24/7 in his underwear. And this from a guy who demands the public give him charity so he can pass along stale dated news about Rubashkin.
(Because I expect AndyBee to go nuts when he reads this, I stripped down to my underwear for 5 seconds in his honor)
Very sad indeed. What a waste of a human being. His arrogance did him in. He thought because he wore his beard and hat and gave away some of his ill gotten gains to charity, that he was above any law. Had he listened years ago when people were begging him to either make changes or sell out, things might have been different. Had he taken the plea bargain the government offered, he wouldn't be facing what he's facing now. His stubbornness, arrogance and self righteousness destroyed him. The kashrus organizations (the OU, Weissmandl and until January 2008, the KAJ as well)are all guilty as well for allowing the farce to continue in Postville. Had they pulled the plug on Rubashkin years ago, or at least forced him to make changes in the way the business was run, this chillul hashem and destruction of a family would never have happened. They were all too blinded by their greed and arrogance, all of them: Rubashkin, Weissmandl, the OU and the KAJ. Let this be a lesson once and for all to those that think they are above the law.
The Young Israel's Rabbi Yoel Schoenfeld is a big macher at both the OU and the Queens Vaad:
A singles Mixer for
Modern Orthodox Machmir
Ages 27-40
Chinese Auction Viewing Night to Benefit NCSY (OU)
Motzei Shabbat, November 21st, 7:30 PM
Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills
7011 150th St. Flushing, NY
Couvert $36 Includes one auction ticket
Hot Meat Buffet, Salads, Desserts, Live Music
Book signing by Ruki Renov, author of "The Art of The Date"
(Ruki is married to Kalman Renov, an indicted felon from Lawrence of the D.H. Blair investment fund fraud, a tremendous chilul Hashem that was reported on for years by the Wall Street Journal. Ruki & Kalman have a lot of joint filings noted by the SEC. Hakessef yaaneh es hakol which is why the DRS Yeshiva in the 5 Towns stands for Davis, Renov, Stahler, the 3 shysters involved in the scam who are family with each other).
Failed Shmarya and his groupies spin the study from Kiryat Ono College.
Israeli chiloni hatred of Charedim is so great that 58% of secular employers would never hire someone with all the right academic qualifications if he happens to be Charedi. From the remaining 42% that would hire them, 86% of chiloni employers would not give a promotion to a Charedi Jew and would be much more likely to promote a Falasha or Arab.
Failed Shmarya and his groupies are so full of hatred, yet they completely refuse to recognize that their like-minded thinkers in Israel also have hate in their hearts. Failed Shmarya & co. blabber on about how blah blah blah, Charedim really don't know anything but somehow managed to fake graduating university and blah blah blah, Charedim all have a poor work ethic and are all incompetant, blah blah blah.
These sickos are like a living cartoon from the Nazi Der Sturmer newspaper.
The entire Rubashkin situation is sad and is nothing for people to gloat about. When all the dust settles, most religious Jews will agree that his intent was not to harm his fellow Jew. Which is why his story evoked pity allowing a legal defense fund to make a lackluster atempt. If Rubashkin was a delusional and devious person who felt that he is a "SPECIAL ASSET" and can do as he pleases, NO ONE WOULD HAVE PITIED HIM.
People like Anon 2:27 am pity Rubashkin's criminality and subsequent tremendous gayvah because they are mindless followers of Lubavitch, Agudah, OU, or whatever corrupt institution that is using them like chess pawns.
Malach HaMovies said...
Blogger Yossi Izrael has accused the Skverrer Rebbe of knowing his chassidim operate a porno shop on Route 59 but not doing anything about it.
Plenty of frum men and boys are going into that place.
That's really bad. They are going to see lots of pictures of women with their hair uncovered and unshaven.
Actually, plenty of porn starlets wear wigs on the job and in fact most shave (well, maybe not their heads). The natural look is now relegated to the fetish market.
Just for UOJ's information, the latest celebrity shidduch is Foreman with Leyla Leidecker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/sports/11boxer.html?hpw=&pagewanted=print
November 11, 2009
Studying to Be a Rabbi, Fighting to Be a Champion
On the undercard of last night's Cotto vs. Pacquiao fight, Yuri Foreman took the WBA Light Middleweight world title from Daniel Santos. Foreman is now 28-0 with 8 KOs. So there's now a Jewish boxing champion - which used to be a fairly common thing.
We may soon have two religiously observant Jewish boxing champions.
Dmitriy (Lekhtman) Salita, who is undefeated at 29-0-2, 16KOs, is shomer shabbas and on Dec. 5th will fight WBA Light Welterweight champion Amir Kahn in the UK. Though some say he's been hyped because of his religious faith, Salita's been moving up through the ranks and earned the mandatory title bout. Salita's no idiot. He knows it's a very dangerous sport and his goal is to win a world championship, fight for a large purse or two, and then retire.
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