Rethinking Criminal Sentences

NYTimes

A federal conviction for white-collar fraud is no guarantee of a heavy prison sentence. When five defendants in the fraud case involving the American International Group were sentenced, they could have faced life in prison; instead, a judge handed down sentences of one to four years for causing more than $500 million in losses. A Ponzi-scheme criminal who caused more than $40 million in losses got 25 years. A man convicted of securities fraud that caused more than $50 million in losses got a three-and-a-half-year sentence. [...]

Conversion:Supreme Court vs. Rabbinate

Jewish Star hat tip to RaP

Although some American Jewish leaders said this week that they will be entering upcoming negotiations over the proposed Israeli conversion bill free of preconceptions, a leader of Reform Jewry said there remains a “red line” for his movement.

“The critical point will be giving ultimate authority to the Chief Rabbinate, which is a fundamental violation of the status quo,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. “In my opinion, that is the red line.

“If you write in the law [as currently proposed] that the Chief Rabbinate has the ultimate authority over conversions, 30 years of legal decisions [by Israel’s High Court of Justice] are thrown out,” Rabbi Yoffie continued. “For us, that is the most significant issue; everything else should be negotiated.”[...]

Student threatened with expulsion because of religious beliefs about homosexuality

ABC News

A Georgia student studying counseling says her university went too far in requiring her to change her Christian beliefs on homosexuality before she's allowed to graduate.

Backed by the Alliance Defense Fund, Jennifer Keeton has filed suit against Augusta State University after, she said, school officials threatened to dismiss her from its counseling program when she refused to participate in a "remediation" plan to increase her tolerance of gays and lesbians after she made it known that she believed homosexuality was a personal choice.

According to the lawsuit, filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, school officials told Keeton that she was failing to conform to professional standards because of her views on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.[...]

Experts answer questions about internet privacy

NYTimes

Last week, we asked readers to submit questions to Michael Fertik, founder of ReputationDefender, and Paul Ohm, a law professor at the University of Colorado, in response to The New York Times Magazine article “The Web Means the End of Forgetting.”  Below are their responses. In some cases, we shortened the questions and fixed typos.

What is the best way to maintain an online alias for any material that you do not wish to be publicly connected to you, while still allowing friends and some acquaintances to stay in contact? [...]

Science & Free Will

NYTimes

In an influential article in the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Joshua Gold of the University of Pennsylvania and Michael Shadlen of the University of Washington sum up experiments aimed at discovering the neural basis of decision-making. In one set of experiments, researchers attached sensors to the parts of monkeys’ brains responsible for visual pattern recognition. The monkeys were then taught to respond to a cue by choosing to look at one of two patterns. Computers reading the sensors were able to register the decision a fraction of a second before the monkeys’ eyes turned to the pattern. As the monkeys were not deliberating, but rather reacting to visual stimuli, researchers were able to plausibly claim that the computer could successfully predict the monkeys’ reaction. In other words, the computer was reading the monkeys’ minds and knew before they did what their decision would be. [...]

Fleur de Lis - A Jewish symbol?!

5 Towns wrote:

What does the oylam think?

I once heard from a talmid chochom in Eretz Yisroel, albeit a krumme one vos halt zich a talmid fun Shloime Goren, that the Fleur de Lis symbol was mistomme adopted by the Notzrim in France because they brought it back from the Crusades.

I was surprised to see in a seforim store today, kiddush bechers being sold with the symbol on them. When I inquired, it was brushed off as being a "Jewish" symbol on klei koydesh that has been on things for a "long time". I didn't buy it, especially because I have never seen it before on anything Yiddish.

From what I can find on the internet, it was takke adopted by French kings in the 1100s. The royal propaganda had it that it shtams from the coronation of King Clovis in 493, the first king of Gaul (old France) to be megayer to Catholicism. Historians don't seem to believe it and make choyzek that the Catholics made up a bubbe mayseh so they could convince the hamon am to be maaminim that it was given over to Clovis by Yoshke alein al yedei the Pope.

Historian Anne Lombard-Jourdan associates the emblem with the Cathedral Basilica of Saint-Denis, which is one of biggest mekomos "hakedoshim" in Catholic France.

Historian Fox-Davies says it is associated with the "besulah", imo Miriam, and King Louis VI started using it as a symbol for "Saints".

England also uses Fleur de Lis on the Crown Jewels which are religious in nature. The set that we know today has been around since the 1200s, the time of the Crusades.

Pastorneau says they were embedded in icons of Yoshke in the 1200s. F.R. Webber said the Notzrim considered the Fleur to represent the Trinity.

The only "Jewish" usage I could find anywhere was adopted by the Tzionim on badges for חיל המודיעין which is a branch of Israeli Intelligence under Tzahal.

Rav Aharon Schechter addresses NCSY

OU Radio

This contains a link to listen to Rav Aharon Schechter address an NCSY gather

Rav Moshe Sternbuch - Jurisprudence

The following was written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis based on a drasha given by Rav Moshe Sternbuch, Rosh Av Beis Din of the Eidah Hachareidis of Yerushalayim.
• • • • •

PRIORITIZING
"Do not show favor in judgment, listen carefully to small and large cases, do not be afraid of anyone, for mishpot is in the jurisdiction of Elokim..."
Sefer Devorim starts off by describing the type of judicial system that we should establish. After listing a number of requirements, the Torah substantiates its requirements by writing that mishpot is in the jurisdiction of Elokim. What is the deeper meaning of this idea?

Moshe Rabbeinu is instructed to set up these courts, and to find judges who can decide cases between one Jew and another. On the surface, it might appear as though this mitzvah pales in comparison to Shabbos, kashrus, and other such Torah commandments that govern man's direct relationship with his Creator. These are the areas that would seem to deserve much more focus and attention.

For this reason, the Torah states the direct association between mishpot and Elokim. In connecting judicial law to His Divine name, the Torah is saying that someone who downplays the mitzvos involving interpersonal relationships should recognize that his actions are an affront to Elokim. This is why the neviim repeatedly warned the Jewish people to make sure that they were not lax regarding this category of mitzvos.

UNPAID DEBTS
There is also a more hidden aspect to this association: On occasion, a person might come to bais din thinking that he has an open and shut case, one hundred percent sure that he will be victorious. Yet, when the p'sak is issued, it is actually his opponent who is rendered the victor. How can he come to terms with what seems to be a clear perversion of justice?

The Zohar explains that this is the deeper connection between mishpot and Elokim. At times, there are debts that need to be repaid from other gilgulim, i.e., previous occasions that we lived in this world. Through some minor financial losses in this world, Elokim makes sure that a person can go into the next world free of previous debts.

Every Jew who experiences seemingly undeserved suffering in this world should keep the above concept in mind. Nothing in this world is for naught. Any travails that a person experiences during his lifetimes lessen the necessity for punishment in the next world.

Rav Sternbuch remembers seeing Rav Mordechai Pogramansky during the last days of his life. Although Rav Pogramansky was stricken with stomach cancer, was already blind, and suffered from unbearable pain, he did not complain at all. On the contrary, he pleaded with Hashem that He should allow him to pay off all of his debts in this world and come to the next world clean.

Rav Pogramansky's actions are certainly an extremely high level and far beyond the reach of most Jews in this generation. Yet, there is an important message in his words, even for us today. All of Hashem's actions are just, and if we can swallow what He sends us, we will definitely be remunerated with acceptance in the next world.

IN THE SHADOWS OF CHURBAN HABAYIS
Perhaps the greatest punishment that the Jewish people have received as a nation was the destruction of both the first and second Botei Mikdosh. On Tisha B'Av, we spend the entire day recognizing this tragedy. Yet, our mourning goes far beyond that: Tisha B'Av is also the day to remember all of the many tragedies that Klal Yisroel has experienced throughout history.
The Medrash describes Tisha B'Av as a day of mourning and as a mo'ed, a festival. We can understand why Tisha B'Av is viewed as a sad day, given all of the travails we suffered on that day, but what about Tisha B'Av classifies it as a festival?
When the Bais Hamikdosh stood, Divine judgment was much stronger. Since we were able to witness constant miracles there, any doubt in emunah was considered a major breach in our relationship with Hashem. Transgressions during this time quite seriously aroused His anger, and the attribute of din was very prominent.
After the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh, the full extent of the Shechinah's Presence is no longer felt. Because of this, Divine retribution is much less harsh. While His face is hidden, Hashem expects much less of us.
For this very reason, Tisha B'Av is also considered to be a festival. In today's world, where the Shechinah is almost completely veiled, any mitzvah we perform is considered a major accomplishment. Even the smallest act is looked upon as something extraordinary.

On the other hand, because there is so much impurity in the world, our transgressions are viewed as less serious. What once required many fasts and other forms of abstention to gain atonement can now be achieved with relative ease. The same destruction that is a reason to mourn can simultaneously be viewed in a different and more positive light.

As we approach the coming of Moshiach, we can strengthen ourselves by keeping the dual nature of this time in mind. We should never let the craziness of the world around us pull us into the abyss of modern day society. Our lowly state should not be a cause for depression. Rather, we should use it to lift ourselves up and empower ourselves to strive forward during this final chapter of Jewish history.
• • • • •
Rabbi Travis is a rosh kollel of Kollel Toras Chaim in Yerushalayim, and is the author of Shaylos U'Teshuvos Toras Chaim and "Praying With Joy - A Daily Tefilla Companion," a practical daily guide to improving one's prayers, available from Feldheim Publishers. Rav Shternbuch's weekly shiurim on the parsha, compiled and edited by Rabbi Travis, are now available as a sefer titled "A Voice in the Darkness." For more information about his work, contact dytravis@actcom.com.

TEASER

The same destruction that is a reason to mourn can simultaneously be viewed in a different and more positive light.

Rumors, Cyberbullying & Anonymity

NYTimes

So I thought this week, I'd share with you a piece of another interview for that segment. This time, the subject is John Palfrey, Harvard Law School professor, co-director of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and author of "Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives."

David Pogue: What experience do you bring to the Internet rumors issue?

John Palfrey: I study, in particular, how young people use technology, how they relate to one another. And one of the big things is they've moved their social lives, by and large, online. Places like Facebook and on services like Twitter, they're spreading a lot of information, including rumors about one another.[...]

Gay rights outweigh religious rights

FoxNews

A proposed ordinance in Memphis, Tenn., that would ban discrimination against gays is causing outrage among some local critics who say the ordinance itself would be discriminatory -- against people who oppose homosexuality because of their religious beliefs.

A proposed ordinance in Memphis, Tenn., that would ban discrimination against gays is causing outrage among some local critics who say the ordinance itself would be discriminatory -- against people who oppose homosexuality because of their religious beliefs.

"It's going to discriminate against people of faith who are Christians in their worldview, and I believe with all my heart that they have rights too," says Bellevue Baptist Church Pastor Steven Gaines. [...]

Korean War & concern for civilian causalities

NYTimes

North Korea, like Cuba, is a country suspended in time, one that exists off modernity’s grid. It’s a place where the cold war never ended, where the heirloom paranoia is taken down and polished daily.

Korea’s cold war chill is heating up. Four months ago a South Korean warship was sunk, and a South Korean-led international investigative team concluded that North Korea was responsible. Next week the United States and South Korea will begin large-scale naval exercises off the coasts of the Korean Peninsula and Japan in a show of force.

The world will be watching, and here’s a book that American policymakers may hope it won’t be reading: Bruce Cumings’s “Korean War,” a powerful revisionist history of America’s intervention in Korea. Beneath its bland title, Mr. Cumings’s book is a squirm-inducing assault on America’s moral behavior during the Korean War, a conflict that he says is misremembered when it is remembered at all. It’s a book that puts the reflexive anti-Americanism of North Korea’s leaders into sympathetic historical context. [...]

Does Teen Drug Rehab Cure Addiction or Create It?

Time Magazine

"Matt Thomas" (a pseudonym) had only recently begun experimenting with marijuana when he got caught selling a few joints in the bathroom at his junior high school. It was no big deal, Thomas thought, especially considering that his parents — an investment banker and a homemaker — smoked pot too.

But Thomas' grades had already begun to slip, perhaps because of his increasing alcohol and marijuana use; that, coupled with his drug-dealing offense, was enough for the school to recommend that his parents place him in an inpatient drug-treatment program. Thomas, then 13, was sent to Parkview West, a residential rehab center located a few miles from his suburban Minneapolis home. (See pictures of teens in America.)

But rather than encouraging sobriety, Thomas says, his seven-week stint at Parkview West helped trigger a decades-long descent into severe addiction — from regular marijuana user to daily drinker to cocaine and methamphetamine addict. "It was [in rehab] that they told me that I was a drug addict and an alcoholic," says Thomas. "There was no turning back. The whole event solidified and created this notion in my own mind and in my social status. Who I was, was an alcoholic and drug addict." [...]

Internet: The end of forgetting

NYTimes

Four years ago, Stacy Snyder, then a 25-year-old teacher in training at Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster, Pa., posted a photo on her MySpace page that showed her at a party wearing a pirate hat and drinking from a plastic cup, with the caption “Drunken Pirate.” After discovering the page, her supervisor at the high school told her the photo was “unprofessional,” and the dean of Millersville University School of Education, where Snyder was enrolled, said she was promoting drinking in virtual view of her under-age students. As a result, days before Snyder’s scheduled graduation, the university denied her a teaching degree. Snyder sued, arguing that the university had violated her First Amendment rights by penalizing her for her (perfectly legal) after-hours behavior. But in 2008, a federal district judge rejected the claim, saying that because Snyder was a public employee whose photo didn’t relate to matters of public concern, her “Drunken Pirate” post was not protected speech.[...]

Rape by deception

Haaretz

Lawyers for the Arab man convicted of rape by deception and sentenced to 18 months in prison, say they are considering an appeal to the High Court of Justice.

Sabbar Kashur, 30, had consensual sex with a woman after he posed as a Jewish bachelor interested in a long-term relationship.

When the woman found Kashur was not a Jew but an Arab, she filed a police complaint that led to charges of rape and indecent assault.