Friday, June 4, 2010

Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World

hat tip to RaP. Warning there are a few moments of kol isha so just be prepared. All the words are given as subtitles so you can just turn off the sound

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Lithuania 'rewriting Holocaust history'

Abuse - Fingerprint option unused by yeshivot

Jewish Star

Of nearly 400 Jewish schools in New York State, only one, North Shore Hebrew Academy High School, uses a state law that allows private schools to check fingerprints to weed out potentially abusive faculty and staff. Elliot Pasik, an attorney and president of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, who championed the law through Albany, filed a freedom of information request and is very upset about what he discovered. [...]

Ambassador to US: An Assault on Israel Cloaked in Peace

NYTimes

PEACE activists are people who demonstrate nonviolently for peaceful co-existence and human rights. The mob that assaulted Israeli special forces on the deck of the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara on Monday was not motivated by peace. On the contrary, the religious extremists embedded among those on board were paid and equipped to attack Israelis - both by their own hands as well as by aiding Hamas - and to destroy any hope of peace.

Millions have already seen the Al Jazeera broadcast showing these "activists" chanting "Khaibar! Khaibar!"- a reference to a Muslim massacre of Jews in the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century. YouTube viewers saw Israeli troops, armed with crowd-dispersing paintball guns and side arms for emergency protection, being beaten and hurled over the railings of the ship by attackers wielding iron bars.

What the videos don't show, however, are several curious aspects Israeli authorities are now investigating. First, about 100 of those detained from the boats were carrying immense sums in their pockets - nearly a million euros in total. Second, Israel discovered spent bullet cartridges on the Mavi Marmara that are of a caliber not used by the Israeli commandos, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds. Also found on the boat were propaganda clips showing passengers "injured" by Israeli forces; these videos, however, were filmed during daylight, hours before the nighttime operation occurred.[...]

Rav Sternbuch Change No You Can't

Rav Sternbuch's view on the fish worm issue

I received the following unofficial letter purporting to represent the view of Rav Sternbuch to the current fish worm question

First grade teacher suspected of abusing students

Mako

הותר לפרסום: גבר בן 33 מאלעד, מורה בבית ספר פרטי בעיר, נעצר בחשד לביצוע מעשים מגונים בקטינים, תלמידי כיתה א' אותם לימד. החשוד נעצר בשבוע שעבר והבוקר הוא יובא להארכת מעצרו בבית משפט השלום בפתח תקווה.

מעצרו של החשוד התאפשר בעקבות מספר תלונות של שישה הורים לתלמידים שהוגשו במשטרה. על פי החשד, נהג החשוד לגעת בתלמידיו באופן שיעורר בו גירוי מיני ולאחר מכן היה הולך למקום אחר כדי להגיע לסיפוקו, ושלא בנוכחות הקטינים.

במהלך השבוע האחרון תושאלו הקטינים על ידי חוקרים של משרד הרווחה והתבקשו למסור פרטים על המעשים. החשוד עצמו, ללא עבר פלילי קודם, הודה בחקירתו במיוחס לו ושיתף פעולה באופן מלא במהלך החקירה.


Police not trained to handle abuse cases

Responding to concerns that sexual assault complaints have been mishandled by the police in New York, a task force appointed by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly has recommended new training protocols for officers dealing with sex crime victims.

The task force has called for a video to be shown to officers that emphasizes the Police Department’s policies mandating that crime reports be taken, and the procedures and sensitivity required in dealing with victims of sex crimes, said Paul J. Browne, the department’s chief spokesman.

The task force, which began its review in April, is also looking at specific cases to check if complaints were handled appropriately by the police. The task force is expected to meet with Mr. Kelly on Thursday to present its initial list of recommendations.[...]



Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Supreme Court:Miranda right to silence must be requested

NYTIMES

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke Miranda protections during criminal interrogations, a decision one dissenting justice said turns defendants' rights ''upside down.''

A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are the first of the Miranda rights warnings, which police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations. But the justices said in a 5-4 decision that suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.

The ruling comes in a case where a suspect, Van Chester Thompkins, remained mostly silent for a three-hour police interrogation before implicating himself in a Jan. 10, 2000, murder in Southfield, Mich. He appealed his conviction, saying that he invoked his Miranda right to remain silent by remaining silent.[...]



Teacher falsely accused of molesting girl



Washington Post

A Fairfax County jury needed only 47 minutes Thursday to find a popular schoolteacher not guilty of molesting a 12-year-old girl in their school gym this year.

Sean Lanigan, 43, smiled and tears flowed among his dozens of supporters in the courtroom as the verdicts were read clearing Lanigan of charges of aggravated sexual battery and abduction. The case against him hinged on the testimony of two sixth-grade girls at Centre Ridge Elementary School in Centreville, who said Lanigan had scooped up one of the girls in the middle of the school gym, carried her into an equipment room, laid her down on a mat and massaged her shoulders, groping her in the process. [...]
================================
Rav Eliashiv(Kovetz Teshuvos 3:231): … Question: If someone is sexually abusing a boy a girl in circumstances which we don’t have the means to stop him from continuing his evil deeds – is it permissible to notify the government authorities? Answer: [Yes] … However, it is permitted to notify the government authorities only in the case which it is certain that the accused has been sexually abusing children. Informing the authorities in such a case is clearly something for the well being of the society (tikun olam). However in a case where there is no proof that this activity is happening but it is merely a conjecture or suspicion, if we permit the calling of the authorities - not only would it not be an improvement (tikun olam) - but it would destroy society. That is because it is possible that allegations are being made solely because of some bitterness the student has against his teacher or because of some unfounded fantasy. As a result of these false allegations the accused will be placed in a situation for which death is better than life – even though he is innocent. Therefore I do not see any justification for calling the authorities in such circumstances.

Egypt opens Gaza border after IDF raid on aid flotilla



Haaretz

Egypt opened its border with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, letting Palestinians cross until further notice amid a storm of international criticism of Israel's blockade of the enclave, officials in Egypt and Gaza said.

The move, urged by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against whom the embargo has been directed, prompted dozens of people to race to the crossing point in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, though the gates appeared still to be closed.

It is the only point on Gaza's borders that is not fully controlled by Israel. Cairo, coordinating with Israel, has opened it only sparingly since Hamas Islamists, who are allied to Egypt's opposition, seized control of Gaza three years ago. [...]


Monday, May 31, 2010

Brutal ambush at sea by Gaza "peace activists"


Our Navy commandos fell right into the hands of the Gaza mission members. A few minutes before the takeover attempt aboard the Marmara got underway, the operation commander was told that 20 people were waiting on the deck where a helicopter was to deploy the first team of the elite Flotilla 13 unit. The original plan was to disembark on the top deck, and from there rush to the vessel’s bridge and order the Marmara’s captain to stop.

Officials estimated that passengers will show slight resistance, and possibly minor violence; for that reason, the operation’s commander decided to bring the helicopter directly above the top deck. The first rope that soldiers used in order to descend down to the ship was wrested away by activists, most of them Turks, and tied to an antenna with the hopes of bringing the chopper down. However, Flotilla 13 fighters decided to carry on.
Navy commandoes slid down to the vessel one by one, yet then the unexpected occurred: The passengers that awaited them on the deck pulled out bats, clubs, and slingshots with glass marbles, assaulting each soldier as he disembarked. The fighters were nabbed one by one and were beaten up badly, yet they attempted to fight back. [...] 

Guest Post by Bartley Kulp

Howard Beel said...
"True. I'm trying to understand how it is that attacking commandos end up the victims here. Ships at sea, international waters, helicopters dropping attackers/commandos/pirates on to the deck, and when those on deck take up arms to defend themselves, we call it an ambush or an attack and we're to sympathize with these poor IDF soldiers' who were attacked out of nowhere!
Sheer chutzpah and idiocy to paint the IDF as victims in this case."
-----------------------------------

The ignorance in this group is astounding. The sum total of every bodies knowledge here regarding international law seems to come from listening to Noam Chomsky (may his name be obliterated) lectures.

The San Remo Manual of 1994 regarding the usage of force on the seas clearly delineates the right of a sovereign nation to enforce a naval blockade on its enemy in order to prevent materials that would assist the enemy from getting through. It also specifically stipulates such actions on the high seas which means international waters.

Yes there are stipulations to ensure the right of delivery for humanitarian aid and equipment. Israel has always allowed the passage of such equipment to be transferred into Gaza after inspecting it. They also offered to assist in the delivery of the contents that the flotilla was carrying after inspecting it in Ashdod. That was not good enough for the activists who wanted have their pri madona photo opportunity.

That is just tough crap for them! There is no provision in international law to give them the legal right to break a blockade in order to make a pretentious moral point.

A far as the protecting themselves from pirates remark, They were warned before hand in accordance with international law about the blockade and that they could be boarded if they continued. The activists even acknowledged a few days beforehand that they were aware of the possibility of being boarded.

The next time that they pull that stunt, I think that the navy should cripple their boats rather than board them. Then they should call the Turkish navy and tell them to tow them away.

For information from the ICRC regarding armed conflicts at sea use this link
 http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/385ec082b509e76c41256739003e636d/7694fe2016f347e1c125641f002d49ce

Gaza aid activists attack IDF soldiers


Jerusalem Post

The IDF released footage of the Monday raid on the "Free Gaza" flotilla, which depicted the activists upon the ship attacking soldiers with various weapons, including a large metal pole and other metal objects.

In the IDF takeover, at least 15 activists were killed and dozens were injured.

In a brief interview with the soldiers who were aboard the ships, one soldier said that the attack "looked like the Ramallah lynch."[...]