Friday, October 31, 2008
Help Yalda magazine win $100,000
Sent in by a Chaptzem reader
There is a 17 year old frum girl from Sharon , Mass. who is one of 5 runner ups for a Wells Fargo contest.
She created and is the editor of Yalda, a magazine for frum girls.
Whoever wins the contest will get $100,000 to spend on their project.
The finalist with the most votes wins!! THE CONTEST IS OVER NOV. 10th!!!!
She is in a very tight race with one other finalist.
We should all try to help her win this money
1) Click on the link. This girl is named Leah, though it is under her Mother's name, Evelyn. (possibly because Leah is 17?)
2) You have to create your own made up Username that is not yet used by someone else. (Don't be surprised to see that the typical Jewish names are taken, Yaakov, Sora...etc..just make up a name)
3) You also have to create your own password.
4) Your e-mail address HAS to be a real one, though we did not see any problem with that, as they do not ask you to buy anything, or join anything, or try free offers etc.
5) You are allowed one vote per e-mail address.
6) After you have signed in, you then click the name Evelyn from Mass. to view her story, and vote for her.
7) They also want you to vote for a "cause", and they explain them as well, if one is interested....
8) MOST IMPORTANT LET'S GET THOSE VOTES IN FOR HER!!!!!
Below is the link!
http://blog.wellsfargo.com/somedaystories
Let's hope she wins!! Thanks everyone!!!
5 comments
There is a 17 year old frum girl from Sharon , Mass. who is one of 5 runner ups for a Wells Fargo contest.
She created and is the editor of Yalda, a magazine for frum girls.
Whoever wins the contest will get $100,000 to spend on their project.
The finalist with the most votes wins!! THE CONTEST IS OVER NOV. 10th!!!!
She is in a very tight race with one other finalist.
We should all try to help her win this money
1) Click on the link. This girl is named Leah, though it is under her Mother's name, Evelyn. (possibly because Leah is 17?)
2) You have to create your own made up Username that is not yet used by someone else. (Don't be surprised to see that the typical Jewish names are taken, Yaakov, Sora...etc..just make up a name)
3) You also have to create your own password.
4) Your e-mail address HAS to be a real one, though we did not see any problem with that, as they do not ask you to buy anything, or join anything, or try free offers etc.
5) You are allowed one vote per e-mail address.
6) After you have signed in, you then click the name Evelyn from Mass. to view her story, and vote for her.
7) They also want you to vote for a "cause", and they explain them as well, if one is interested....
8) MOST IMPORTANT LET'S GET THOSE VOTES IN FOR HER!!!!!
Below is the link!
http://blog.wellsfargo.com/somedaystories
Let's hope she wins!! Thanks everyone!!!
5 comments
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Bottle collector pushing cart in the streets
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Rockland's residency law for sex offenders challenged again in court
A sex offender is taking a second stab at challenging the constitutionality of a Rockland law that limits where he and others can live in the county.
Yoel Oberlander, 28, of Monsey argued in court papers that the county law pre-empted state law and therefore should be voided.
The Rockland County Attorney's Office defends the 2007 law as valid, as no New York state court has ruled on the issues being raised by Oberlander.
The county law prohibits high-risk sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, libraries, public pools, day-care facilities or other facilities that cater to children. The law empowers police to investigate people found in those areas who are considered suspicious.
Violating the law brings a misdemeanor charge.
Oberlander's court papers, filed Monday in state Supreme Court, cited a New Jersey court ruling that voided local living zones for sex offenders as conflicting with that state's law.
Oberlander also argued that the Rockland law was not consistent because it allowed sex offenders to live within the zones if they were there before the law was enacted.
The Rockland law, he argues, defies the state law's desire to integrate sex offenders within the community, rather than creating enclaves within the county.
It also usurps the expertise of Probation Department officers, who once approved residences for offenders. Included within the 1,000-foot buffers are passive parks that are not often used, further eliminating living areas.
"In Rockland County, unfortunate[ly] for the County Legislature, there is not a 'devil's island,'" Oberlander argued in his papers.
The County Attorney's Office countered that no New York state court had ruled on the pre-emption issue so therefore the law was valid.
"Nothing has changed, and it's a local law that is presumed valid," County Attorney Patricia Zugibe said.
The county Legislature adopted the law and County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef signed it in 2007, though some legislators said they had misgivings about its potential efficacy.
http://lohud.com/article/20081029/NEWS03/810290385/-1/newsfront
2 comments
Yoel Oberlander, 28, of Monsey argued in court papers that the county law pre-empted state law and therefore should be voided.
The Rockland County Attorney's Office defends the 2007 law as valid, as no New York state court has ruled on the issues being raised by Oberlander.
The county law prohibits high-risk sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, libraries, public pools, day-care facilities or other facilities that cater to children. The law empowers police to investigate people found in those areas who are considered suspicious.
Violating the law brings a misdemeanor charge.
Oberlander's court papers, filed Monday in state Supreme Court, cited a New Jersey court ruling that voided local living zones for sex offenders as conflicting with that state's law.
Oberlander also argued that the Rockland law was not consistent because it allowed sex offenders to live within the zones if they were there before the law was enacted.
The Rockland law, he argues, defies the state law's desire to integrate sex offenders within the community, rather than creating enclaves within the county.
It also usurps the expertise of Probation Department officers, who once approved residences for offenders. Included within the 1,000-foot buffers are passive parks that are not often used, further eliminating living areas.
"In Rockland County, unfortunate[ly] for the County Legislature, there is not a 'devil's island,'" Oberlander argued in his papers.
The County Attorney's Office countered that no New York state court had ruled on the pre-emption issue so therefore the law was valid.
"Nothing has changed, and it's a local law that is presumed valid," County Attorney Patricia Zugibe said.
The county Legislature adopted the law and County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef signed it in 2007, though some legislators said they had misgivings about its potential efficacy.
http://lohud.com/article/20081029/NEWS03/810290385/-1/newsfront
2 comments
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
HIKIND CALLS UPON OBAMA CAMP: “ASK THE L.A. TIMES TO RELEASE KHALIDI VIDEO.”
“The American people must be able to make an informed decision about their presidential candidates. Democracy demands no less.”
“Unless The L.A. Times has something to hide,
this veil of secrecy must be lifted.”
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) today called upon Senator Barack Obama to request the release of a potentially controversial video in which he is featured praising Rashid Khalidi, former spokesman for the PLO and terrorist mastermind, Yasser Arafat. Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and the Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, is a virulent anti-Semite known for his extremist views on Israel. He has called Israel an "apartheid system in creation" and a "racist state" that "brainwashed" Americans do not understand.
In 1995, Khalidi, together with his wife, co-founded the The Arab-American Action Network (AAAN), an anti-Israel organization that strongly supports the Palestinian terrorist movement. AAAN considers the creation of the state of Israel a "naqba," or Arabic for "catastrophe."
Yet, at a 2003 party in his home state of Chicago, Obama spoke effusively about Khalidi, and expressed the hope of continuing their relationship for “many years to come.” The L.A. Times later obtained a videotape of Obama’s remarks, but to date, has refused to share the video with other news outlets.
“As a leading media source, The L.A. Times owes a duty to its readers to provide unbiased and informative news coverage. Instead, the paper is failing to exhibit journalistic integrity,” Hikind said. “The American people are entitled to know all the facts regarding Obama, not just the ones his campaign, or those colluding with them, has filtered out.
Why is this video being kept from the voters?” Hikind demanded. “What, if anything, is the L.A. Times trying to hide? For the sake of the American people, Obama should immediately make this video public.”
3 comments
“Unless The L.A. Times has something to hide,
this veil of secrecy must be lifted.”
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) today called upon Senator Barack Obama to request the release of a potentially controversial video in which he is featured praising Rashid Khalidi, former spokesman for the PLO and terrorist mastermind, Yasser Arafat. Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies and the Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, is a virulent anti-Semite known for his extremist views on Israel. He has called Israel an "apartheid system in creation" and a "racist state" that "brainwashed" Americans do not understand.
In 1995, Khalidi, together with his wife, co-founded the The Arab-American Action Network (AAAN), an anti-Israel organization that strongly supports the Palestinian terrorist movement. AAAN considers the creation of the state of Israel a "naqba," or Arabic for "catastrophe."
Yet, at a 2003 party in his home state of Chicago, Obama spoke effusively about Khalidi, and expressed the hope of continuing their relationship for “many years to come.” The L.A. Times later obtained a videotape of Obama’s remarks, but to date, has refused to share the video with other news outlets.
“As a leading media source, The L.A. Times owes a duty to its readers to provide unbiased and informative news coverage. Instead, the paper is failing to exhibit journalistic integrity,” Hikind said. “The American people are entitled to know all the facts regarding Obama, not just the ones his campaign, or those colluding with them, has filtered out.
Why is this video being kept from the voters?” Hikind demanded. “What, if anything, is the L.A. Times trying to hide? For the sake of the American people, Obama should immediately make this video public.”
3 comments
School bus and car involved in accident in Boro-Park
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Chaptzem Q & A - What is a Yoily-Coke-Head?
There's a new term going around lately, Yoily-Coke-Head. So the question is what is a Yoily-Coke-Head? The answer is, a Yoily-Coke-Head is an ex-Chasidishe 'Yoily' that just doesn't know when he has had enough coke. Unlike the regular 'moderne chevrah' that have grown up on the street all their life exposed to drugs, and at least, for all it's worth, know when they're about to blow their mind out, the Yoily-Coke-Heads just can't get enough and usually end up going completely bonkers from their drugs.
Of course drugs are bad for you and extremely destructive, but what makes it even worse is when someone has no idea what he is even doing. These Yoily-Coke-Heads have no idea what coke is and how how it effects them. Because of their ignorance and apathy they end up either killing, or badly injuring, themselves or others. If only they would at least try to learn a little bit about their habit and its potential devastation, they may avoid some really major irreversible problems in life.
12 comments
Sunday, October 26, 2008
People of Postville see a complicated picture
Imagine this is your hometown, population 2,320, in the middle of hilly Iowa farm country.
Walk down the street and it might appear exciting at first.
African natives wear colorful robes, and Hasidic Jews white ones. African-Americans from southern U.S. cities hang out open second-story windows on Main Street. Pacific Islanders chew and spit a concoction - beetle nut and tobacco wrapped in leaves - popular in their tiny island country of Palau. Among them are Guatemalan women who wear ankle bracelets because they were arrested in The Raid.
All mingle near a massage parlor where a real estate agent's office once stood.
Perhaps no small town in Iowa, or even in America, has faced a social upheaval as drastic as that of Postville.
For the last 20 years, one business has created an ever-shifting population and changed the dynamics of a largely white, northeast Iowa farm town.
After federal agents rounded up 389 illegal immigrants at Agriprocessors in May, a controversial summer led to a fall of new, louder dissatisfaction. One researcher says the town has become "a slaughterhouse slum."
Yet when you talk to longtime residents, you find some who voice opposing views based on the hard reality of economics.
"This town would be in a world of hurt if that plant closed," said Jeff Mott, owner of the local hardware store.
Others have simply had enough.
"I was for Agriprocessors when they came here," said Fred Comeau, owner of the Brick Pizza & Eatery. "Today, I would help them pack. They have destroyed Postville."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20081026/NEWS/810260334/-1/NEWS04
0 comments
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Delayed paychecks raise ire of Raleigh Hotel staff
Employees at the former Raleigh Hotel say the owners left them in the lurch for weeks, refusing to pay them wages, even while the hotel continued to take guests.
Some 13 employees gathered by the security gate of the hotel on Thursday evening and planned to stage a sit-in on Friday in the lobby.
Maids, security guards and three salaried employees hadn't been paid since Oct. 2.
Employees also said they consistently were treated poorly and have had their paychecks delayed several times over the past year.
"Mister, this is the only income I've got," said maid Priscilla Reynolds, who has an 8-month-old and a 4-year-old at home.
'"I do all what they say, and I can't get any money. Right now, I'm starving. I am running out of food."
Other employees said they needed money for rent, and one employee said she had no money for prescription drugs. Most of the employees are owed $800 to $1,000.
Many of the employees have been with the hotel for two years, but are afraid to leave. "They know they have us by the (expletive) because there is no work out there," security guard Bill McQueeny said.
The hotel is now owned by Ralhal LLC of Brooklyn, largely catering to an ultra- Orthodox Jewish clientele. Last week, the hotel hosted 200 guests during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
The 320-room hotel, which has been open through the fall most weekends, also recently took guests of a punk rock festival, which was held at Kutsher's.
General Manager Ari Friedman said the Brooklyn office was closed during the two weeks of the Sukkot and Simchat Torah holidays. A payroll company sent paychecks to that office, but nobody was there to mail them to the employees.
He said the same thing happened last year, but other than these two times, the workers were paid on time. Employees were to get checks on Friday.
"My workers are basically happy there," Friedman said.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081025/NEWS/810250347
7 comments
Dancing in Uman
Friday, October 24, 2008
OVERHEARD in front of prominent Heimishe girls' school
The following remark made by an eighteen-year-old teacher to her colleague was overheard in front of a prominent Heimishe girls' school.
What do you think? Are the teenage teachers in girls' schools just not educated, experienced or smart enough? Or is it ok if your daughter grows up thinking Japan is in Europe?
28 comments
"I told the girls in my class yesterday that Japan is in Europe. What should I do?"
What do you think? Are the teenage teachers in girls' schools just not educated, experienced or smart enough? Or is it ok if your daughter grows up thinking Japan is in Europe?
28 comments
Thursday, October 23, 2008
$695 Sarah Palin wig big seller in Brooklyn
Follow-up to a previous Chaptzem story
Don't be surprised if you see a few Sarah Palin look-alikes in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods like Brooklyn's Borough Park.
A wig wholesaler there says its Palin wig has become one of the company's most popular items.
Georgie Wigs Vice President Shlomo Klein said Thursday that the company has sold about 50 Palin wigs since the Alaska governor joined John McCain on the GOP ticket.
"It's a very conservative yet fashion-forward look," Klein said. "It can be worn down, it can be worn up. There are a lot of styling options. The bun higher, the bun lower."
Klein's company caters to Orthodox Jewish women who must cover their hair after marriage as well as women who need wigs for medical reasons.
He said he doesn't think it's odd that Jewish women would model themselves on Palin, a devout Christian from a frontier state with very few Jews.
"She's pro-Israel," he noted.
Klein said Georgie Wigs has carried Hillary Clinton and Jennifer Anniston wigs in the past. Its catalog currently includes a Posh Spice wig.
The all-human hair Palin wig sells for $695.
"We always try to stay up on the trends," Klein said, "and right now she is the trend."
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-bc-ny--palinwig1023oct23,0,6638888.story
6 comments
Don't be surprised if you see a few Sarah Palin look-alikes in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods like Brooklyn's Borough Park.
A wig wholesaler there says its Palin wig has become one of the company's most popular items.
Georgie Wigs Vice President Shlomo Klein said Thursday that the company has sold about 50 Palin wigs since the Alaska governor joined John McCain on the GOP ticket.
"It's a very conservative yet fashion-forward look," Klein said. "It can be worn down, it can be worn up. There are a lot of styling options. The bun higher, the bun lower."
Klein's company caters to Orthodox Jewish women who must cover their hair after marriage as well as women who need wigs for medical reasons.
He said he doesn't think it's odd that Jewish women would model themselves on Palin, a devout Christian from a frontier state with very few Jews.
"She's pro-Israel," he noted.
Klein said Georgie Wigs has carried Hillary Clinton and Jennifer Anniston wigs in the past. Its catalog currently includes a Posh Spice wig.
The all-human hair Palin wig sells for $695.
"We always try to stay up on the trends," Klein said, "and right now she is the trend."
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-bc-ny--palinwig1023oct23,0,6638888.story
6 comments
FREE Bluetooth headset for cell phone driving violators
Headsets.com is offering the Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset free to anyone that has received a ticket for driving while using a cellphone handset.
Click here to get yours
Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset
3 comments
Click here to get yours
Plantronics Discovery 925 Bluetooth headset
3 comments
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Stolen willows, purloined palm fronds
According to Halacha (Jewish law), nothing stolen can be used at all for ritual uses, but that didn't stop some people seen over the Succot holidays sawing down aravot (willow) trees at the Aminadav Forest just outside Jerusalem and near Ein Kerem.
Willows are supposed to be beaten on the floor on Hoshana Rabba, the day before Simhat Torah.
Witnesses report seeing a bearded man wearing a large kippa sawing the willows. Next to him were two saws and big bags. He was heard saying into his cellphone that he was "cutting 400 more." There were reportedly aravot all over the ground next to him.
Others in the forest, seeing that the man cutting the willows was not being stopped, started cutting willows for their own use.
Contacted by The Jerusalem Post, representatives of Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (KKL) said cutting and removing the willows was indeed illegal and that they would send an inspector immediately. They implied that this was not the first time people had stolen willows and other trees from its forests.
KKL admitted on Wednesday it was hard to prevent people from stealing willow branches in the run-up to Succot. While inspectors are sent out in response to the public's complaints and go out on patrol, it is often hard to catch violators, since the branches are everywhere and perpetrators escape before inspectors arrive, KKL Law Enforcement Unit head Amikam Riklin told the Post.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017599710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
0 comments
Willows are supposed to be beaten on the floor on Hoshana Rabba, the day before Simhat Torah.
Witnesses report seeing a bearded man wearing a large kippa sawing the willows. Next to him were two saws and big bags. He was heard saying into his cellphone that he was "cutting 400 more." There were reportedly aravot all over the ground next to him.
Others in the forest, seeing that the man cutting the willows was not being stopped, started cutting willows for their own use.
Contacted by The Jerusalem Post, representatives of Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (KKL) said cutting and removing the willows was indeed illegal and that they would send an inspector immediately. They implied that this was not the first time people had stolen willows and other trees from its forests.
KKL admitted on Wednesday it was hard to prevent people from stealing willow branches in the run-up to Succot. While inspectors are sent out in response to the public's complaints and go out on patrol, it is often hard to catch violators, since the branches are everywhere and perpetrators escape before inspectors arrive, KKL Law Enforcement Unit head Amikam Riklin told the Post.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017599710&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
0 comments
Monday, October 20, 2008
Cops play ball on closed off street in Flatbush
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hasidic leader’s costly favor
Hasidic leader Rabbi Simcha Ashlag will return this weekend to the partial detention he and his personal assistant received in February, in which the two are forbidden to leave Paris. The reason: 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of drugs found in their suitcases.
The rabbi is the grandson of the famous Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag, otherwise known as Baal Ha-Sulam (Author of the Ladder) and the only interpreter of the Zohar (the mystical commentary on the Torah).
In February, before leaving Israel, an ultra-Orthodox man who presented himself as a clothing manufacturer from Turkey approached Ashlag.
The man claimed that he heard that prior to his trip to the United States the rabbi was expected to fly to Turkey and therefore requested that he take four suitcases packed with clothing with him to his needy family in the United States.
The Hassidic leader agreed but when the local customs official at the Paris airport asked him and his assistant to open their luggage, it turned out that aside from clothing, there were 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of drugs hidden and folded at the bottom.
Their attorneys, Yitzhak Osbicher and Moti Zivin, who is know for assisting Israelis arrested abroad, filed a request through their representatives in Paris to allow the rabbi and his assistant to visit Israel over the holidays.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3610518,00.html
2 comments
The rabbi is the grandson of the famous Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag, otherwise known as Baal Ha-Sulam (Author of the Ladder) and the only interpreter of the Zohar (the mystical commentary on the Torah).
In February, before leaving Israel, an ultra-Orthodox man who presented himself as a clothing manufacturer from Turkey approached Ashlag.
The man claimed that he heard that prior to his trip to the United States the rabbi was expected to fly to Turkey and therefore requested that he take four suitcases packed with clothing with him to his needy family in the United States.
The Hassidic leader agreed but when the local customs official at the Paris airport asked him and his assistant to open their luggage, it turned out that aside from clothing, there were 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of drugs hidden and folded at the bottom.
Their attorneys, Yitzhak Osbicher and Moti Zivin, who is know for assisting Israelis arrested abroad, filed a request through their representatives in Paris to allow the rabbi and his assistant to visit Israel over the holidays.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3610518,00.html
2 comments
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Help keep convicted child molester Yechiel Brauner from molesting children this Simchas Torah
Yechiel (Jerry) Brauner
We are currently working with various community leaders to make sure that convicted child molester Yechiel Brauner does not spend this Simchas Torah dancing with children as he does every year. This vile being portrays himself to be an ehrliche person who is being mesameach with the Torah, while in reality he is using the dancing that takes place as a way of getting close to children and groping them. We are hoping to put a stop to his tricks this year and to make sure that he is not anywhere near vulnerable innocent Yiddishe knider. We are the adults, it is our job to protect every single child so that they can dance this Yom Tov unscathed from this predator.
In order to help move things along with this specific situation and help form a clearer picture of this dire situation that we can present to the Shuls that he makes his rounds to, we are asking anyone who has been molested by Yechiel Brauner to please anonymously post a comment stating where the molestation took place and approximately when. You do not have to give any identifying details, only an approximate date, place and brief description of what transpired.
We cannot understand the horrific suffering that you are going through and wish we could help assuage your pain. If you can help save one innocent soul from experiencing the same, then your suffering will have not been in vain. Please help us help others.
If you do not want your comment published please let us know.
16 comments
Friday, October 17, 2008
Car fire on Staten Island
Thursday, October 16, 2008
THAT'S THE TICKET, ER, TIP
Cops are plastering parked vehicles in Williamsburg with fliers that look a lot like parking tickets as part of a new campaign to thwart would-be car burglars.
The inside of the fliers read: "A warning from the 90th Precinct. We are advising that personal property such as handbags, wallets, iPods, not be left in open areas (where they can be seen) inside your vehicle."
Said one cop, "People are actually relieved when they open it and see it's not a ticket."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10132008/news/regionalnews/thats_the_ticket__er__tip_133391.htm
0 comments
The inside of the fliers read: "A warning from the 90th Precinct. We are advising that personal property such as handbags, wallets, iPods, not be left in open areas (where they can be seen) inside your vehicle."
Said one cop, "People are actually relieved when they open it and see it's not a ticket."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10132008/news/regionalnews/thats_the_ticket__er__tip_133391.htm
0 comments
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Is Kosher food the new ethical dilemma?
We recently asked, is keeping kosher good for the environment? We tried to answer the question by running the carbon footprint numbers based on what you substituted for forbidden foods like pork and shellfish.
Now, the New York Times Magazine offers its own spin on the question. An emerging movement among kosher-keeping Jews infuses modern-day ethics into the practice, taking care that workers at processing plants and the animals themselves are well cared for. In a widely reported story, immigration authorities in May raided the country's largest independent kosher manufacturer, Agriprocessors, arresting nearly 400 workers, and last month, Iowa's attorney general slapped the company with more than 9,000 criminal misdemeanor charges, including child-labor violations. At that time, company spokesman Chaim Abrahams said the workers "lied about their age" to Agriprocessors. "We look forward to our day in court,” he said in a statement then.
The "ethical kashrut" trend incorporates organic farming practices, mainly grass-feeding animals bred for slaughter. While it's been touted by Jewish social justice groups like the hunger-awareness organization Hazon, ethical kashrut has its critics, especially among Orthodox Jews and others who hew more closely to literal reads on tradition. Linking the ancient, mysterious practice of kosher to contemporary standards, such as the growing green movement, risks undoing the tradition should those trends change, they say.
The kosher story is part of a food-themed issue of the magazine. A letter to the president-elect by Michael Pollan frets over policy problems including food shortages and the accompanying rise in prices, and argues that the United States must transition from a fossil fuel-based system of agriculture that uses "chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation" to one based on solar energy to sustain the industry and improve the health of Americans.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=is-food-the-new-ethical-dilemma-2008-10-15
0 comments
Now, the New York Times Magazine offers its own spin on the question. An emerging movement among kosher-keeping Jews infuses modern-day ethics into the practice, taking care that workers at processing plants and the animals themselves are well cared for. In a widely reported story, immigration authorities in May raided the country's largest independent kosher manufacturer, Agriprocessors, arresting nearly 400 workers, and last month, Iowa's attorney general slapped the company with more than 9,000 criminal misdemeanor charges, including child-labor violations. At that time, company spokesman Chaim Abrahams said the workers "lied about their age" to Agriprocessors. "We look forward to our day in court,” he said in a statement then.
The "ethical kashrut" trend incorporates organic farming practices, mainly grass-feeding animals bred for slaughter. While it's been touted by Jewish social justice groups like the hunger-awareness organization Hazon, ethical kashrut has its critics, especially among Orthodox Jews and others who hew more closely to literal reads on tradition. Linking the ancient, mysterious practice of kosher to contemporary standards, such as the growing green movement, risks undoing the tradition should those trends change, they say.
The kosher story is part of a food-themed issue of the magazine. A letter to the president-elect by Michael Pollan frets over policy problems including food shortages and the accompanying rise in prices, and argues that the United States must transition from a fossil fuel-based system of agriculture that uses "chemical fertilizers (made from natural gas), pesticides (made from petroleum), farm machinery, modern food processing and packaging and transportation" to one based on solar energy to sustain the industry and improve the health of Americans.
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=is-food-the-new-ethical-dilemma-2008-10-15
0 comments
Monday, October 13, 2008
Chag Sameach
This is a high resolution image (300 dpi). Click to enlarge. Print and hang in your Succah.
0 comments
WANTED: Hasidic Actor
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Crown Heights Shmira hangs banner over Shomrim Command Post
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Monsey group faces $10,000 in fines for chicken ritual
Organizers of a religious ceremony involving chickens face up to $10,000 in fines for failing to properly clean up after the ritual, the Rockland County Health Department said yesterday.
The group running the kapparot ceremony was cited for two violations of the Rockland sanitary code each of the five days that thousands of chickens were kept on the grounds of the former Monsey Jewish Center, said Thomas Micelli, the department's director of environmental health.
Inspectors found there was a large amount of offensive material - including chicken feces, feathers and blood - on the site each of the five days, resulting in five violations, Micelli said. Five additional violations were issued for creating a public health nuisance.
The county got a court order Wednesday - the last day the ritual was performed - ordering organizer Moshe Lefkowitz and property owner Congregation Birchos Yosef to stop the ceremony.
Chickens were still on the property Thursday, but had been removed by yesterday afternoon.
Most of the trash had been cleaned up, but a strong odor remained. A pile of crates and sacks containing chicken feed also were on the property.
Lefkowitz has promised officials that the crates and any remaining signs of the ritual would be removed by early next week.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810110348
0 comments
The group running the kapparot ceremony was cited for two violations of the Rockland sanitary code each of the five days that thousands of chickens were kept on the grounds of the former Monsey Jewish Center, said Thomas Micelli, the department's director of environmental health.
Inspectors found there was a large amount of offensive material - including chicken feces, feathers and blood - on the site each of the five days, resulting in five violations, Micelli said. Five additional violations were issued for creating a public health nuisance.
The county got a court order Wednesday - the last day the ritual was performed - ordering organizer Moshe Lefkowitz and property owner Congregation Birchos Yosef to stop the ceremony.
Chickens were still on the property Thursday, but had been removed by yesterday afternoon.
Most of the trash had been cleaned up, but a strong odor remained. A pile of crates and sacks containing chicken feed also were on the property.
Lefkowitz has promised officials that the crates and any remaining signs of the ritual would be removed by early next week.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810110348
0 comments
Friday, October 10, 2008
Jewish photo blog places ad in print magazine
From the Mishpacha Magazine
J-bloggers are resorting to more aggressive marketing techniques.
A nice Jewish photo site - JoeFlix.blogspot.com
1 comments
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Heimishe child molester refuses jail leave for Yom Kuppur
The Heimishe child molester who was recently jailed was allowed by a judge to leave jail for Yom Kippur. The molester however shrugged his shoulders at the offer and decided to rather spend the Yom Tov in Jail where he is currently alone in a single occupancy cell. Maybe it was better for everyone this way.
2 comments
2 comments
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
G'mar Chasima Toivah
Get your wife a new Sarah P for Yom Tov
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Clarification on Heimishe molester jailing
Due to the many inquiries and comments that we have received regarding the posting of the Heimishe child molester we have decided to post a follow-up clarification.
There should be no confusion as to what this man did to the little girl in his bathroom when he came out of the shower. The man did not just merely expose himself as some people have commented (which would have been bad enough), he encouraged the little girl to touch him in his personal areas and to (please forgive the explicitness here, there are some idiots that don't get the severity unless it is spelled out) rub cream on him.
For those that keep saying that the man is a little crazy and that he was framed; crazy, maybe; framed, definitely not. According to many confirmed and cross-confirmed sources, this child molester has told them explicitly what he did and has also been telling many people openly what he has done and that he has no remorse because he felt that he did the right thing. He has also told these people that he would do it again if the situation warranted because he felt it was the right thing to do.
People, we have all heard of being 'Dan Lekaf Z'chus', there however comes a time and a situation when there is no more 'Kaf Z'chus' and if you don't act you become a foolish dangerous accomplice. Let's all hope that this man is kept away from innocent Yiddishe kinder for the rest of his life.
7 comments
There should be no confusion as to what this man did to the little girl in his bathroom when he came out of the shower. The man did not just merely expose himself as some people have commented (which would have been bad enough), he encouraged the little girl to touch him in his personal areas and to (please forgive the explicitness here, there are some idiots that don't get the severity unless it is spelled out) rub cream on him.
For those that keep saying that the man is a little crazy and that he was framed; crazy, maybe; framed, definitely not. According to many confirmed and cross-confirmed sources, this child molester has told them explicitly what he did and has also been telling many people openly what he has done and that he has no remorse because he felt that he did the right thing. He has also told these people that he would do it again if the situation warranted because he felt it was the right thing to do.
People, we have all heard of being 'Dan Lekaf Z'chus', there however comes a time and a situation when there is no more 'Kaf Z'chus' and if you don't act you become a foolish dangerous accomplice. Let's all hope that this man is kept away from innocent Yiddishe kinder for the rest of his life.
7 comments
Monday, October 06, 2008
N.Y. Rabbi Accused Of Sex With Minor
A New York rabbi was arrested early Monday on federal charges involving sexual abuse of a minor.
Rabbi Israel Weingarten was arrested by FBI agents at his Rockland County home in Monsey, N.Y. and is expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn later today, law enforcement sources said.
Weingarten is named in a five-count federal indictment obtained by the US Attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York following an investigation by the FBI, sources said.
Weingarten could face life in prison if he is convicted of the charges contained in the indictment, sources said.
More details about the indictment and investigation are expected to be released later today by the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/17632615/detail.html
7 comments
Weingarten is named in a five-count federal indictment obtained by the US Attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York following an investigation by the FBI, sources said.
Weingarten could face life in prison if he is convicted of the charges contained in the indictment, sources said.
More details about the indictment and investigation are expected to be released later today by the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn.
http://www.wnbc.com/news/17632615/detail.html
7 comments
Right Now! - Police red light trap on 17th Avenue and 53rd Street
A Police car with a lone Officer is parked on the corner of 17th Avenue and 53rd Street in Boro-Park and is waiting to catch cars that pass the red light. The Police car is parked on the avenue facing the lower number streets and is pulling over cars that pass the light on street. Drive safely and courteously! Do not pass red lights and you won't get a ticket.
13 comments
13 comments
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Felder claims undecided on Bloomberg third term and on Council term limits
Saturday, October 04, 2008
CHAPTZEM EXCLUSIVE - Heimishe child molester thrown into jail after court hearing
A convicted Heimishe child molester was thrown into jail on Riker's Island following a court hearing. The man, who was previously sentenced to seven years in prison, was supposed to have a hearing regarding his sentence in front of a new judge, with whom he hoped to have a better chance. The man was shocked when he ended up appearing in front of the same judge as in his previous court proceedings. The child molester was even more shocked when the judge asked him what he was still doing out of jail and then ordered him to be held there until his next hearing in November. The molester was then handcuffed and taken out by court officers and sent straight to Riker's Island.
8 comments
8 comments
Friday, October 03, 2008
Shomer Shabbos Shammes Hillel Moses making seat appeal
If this isn't familiar to you, you need to start davening with a minyan.
Sent in by a Chaptzem reader
13 comments
Sent in by a Chaptzem reader
13 comments
Thursday, October 02, 2008
B & H website on Shabbos
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Uman, Uman hey!
Ultra Orthodox Jews prayed at a lake in Uman, Ukraine, Tuesday. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims arrive every year on Rosh Hashana.
http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/2008/10/01/pictures-of-the-day-27/?mod=googlenews_wsj
1 comments
