Landmark Program Uncovers False-Positive In Neonatal Herpes Case (Why does New York City refuse to do DNA testing?)

Yated Why would a mistaken diagnosis in a case of reported neonatal herpes make headlines anywhere - especially if no adverse health consequences resulted from the error? Yet a false positive diagnosis of this nature, recently reported by the Rockland County Department of Health, has stirred profound interest in the Orthodox community.

 

That’s because the erroneous diagnosis involved a Jewish baby boy who had undergone bris milah with metzitzah b’peh and was brought to a NYC hospital with a respiratory infection. He was immediately tested for neonatal herpes, although no symptoms of the virus were present. To the parents’ surprise, the test was positive.

Weeks later, to the family’s relief, those findings were discredited in a most unusual way - through a landmark DNA testing program in existence for only two years. The baby’s long hospitalization and treatment for herpes turned out to be totally unnecessary. 

This strange turn of events has raised questions about other City-reported cases of herpes. In view of the DOH’s relentless efforts to cast mbp as deadly to babies, the discovery that the “positive” was a false-positive has fueled suspicions that other reported cases of HSV-1 infections following bris milah might have also been false-positive.

Perhaps even more newsworthy, the findings of a misdiagnosis also revealed the existence of the trailblazing DNA testing program quietly launched in Rockland County in 2013 to track the source of herpes infection in infants. 

This extraordinary program was formed by the Rockland County Department of Health working in close cooperation with the Orthodox Jewish community.

The DNA program - the very first of its kind anywhere - can track the source of HSV-1 by comparing samples of the virus in the afflicted infant with samples of DNA from the mohel, the baby’s parents and the main caregivers. The testing is done in the State’s Wadsworth Laboratory in Albany, the one facility in New York - and perhaps in the country - that performs DNA testing of this nature. [...]

Muslim Employee of Kosher Market in Paris Praised for Hiding Customers From Gunman

NY Times  As the authorities in France worked on Saturday to piece together the sequence of events at a kosher supermarket in Paris where a gunman and four hostages were killed on Friday, there was an outpouring of praise online for a young employee credited with saving the lives of some customers by hiding them in a cold-storage room.

The employee, Lassana Bathily, 24, was identified in the French news as a Muslim from Mali who worked at the supermarket, Hyper Cacher, near the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris.

In an interview with the French channel BFMTV, Mr. Bathily said he ushered about 15 people into the basement room after the gunman burst into the shop. He then turned off the power and the lights.

Личная война Бесс Александер - Schlesinger Twins

Relevant Info  (posted with permission of the author - Google Translate does a good job)

В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению. 

Жила-была в Манчестере девушка по имени Бесс Александер, религиозная еврейка, окончившая Кэмбриджский университет.  И однажды она познакомилась в Париже с доктором из Австрии, Михаэлем Шлезингером, тоже ортодоксальным евреем, принадлежащим к одной из наиболее влиятельных и богатых семей в Австрии. Бесс поспешила выйти за него замуж. Вскоре она поняла, что совыршила ужасную ошибку. Муж издевался над ней, угрожал и бил, даже после рождения детей – близнецов Самуэля и Бенжамина. В 2010 году Шлезингер попытался добиться госпитализации жены в психиатрической лечебнице закрытого типа, но вместо этого полиция удалила из дома его, посчитав, что его поведение представляет угрозу для жены и детей. Доктор бил не только жену, но также и своего тестя, и даже собственного отца.

Шлезингер позвонил судье Верховного суда Австрии, своему близкому другу Констанзе Тау, и поросил ее поговорить с судьей, которая вела его дело о насилии в семье и разводе, Сюзанне Готтлихер. После встречи друх судей, Готтлихер изменила своё мнение и постановила, что отныне Бесс не будет иметь полной опёки над детьми, как было решено раньше. Половину времени они будут проводить с отцом. Бесс был перекрыт выезд за границу. Слушания в суде не было – судья приняла это решение за кулисами. В 2011 году Шлезингер потребовал психиатрической экспертизы для своей бывшей жены. Экспертизы была проведена на немецком языке, которым Бесс почти не владеет. Психиатр ( состоящий в штате судьи Констанзы Тау) пришел к выводу о её неадекватности, основываясь на том, что она отвечала медленно и неуверенно… Вам это ничего не напоминает, уважаемые читатели?

Неоднократно проведенные независимые экспертизы показали, что Бесс вполне адекватна и способна заботиться о детях. Несмотря на это, судья Готтлихер вынесла постановление о передаче детей под полную опеку Шлезингера. Дети были букально вырваны из её рук полицией. Несчастная женщина подавала одну апелляцию за другой, включая Верховный Суд Австрии , но ни одна из них не была рассмотрена, без объяснения причин.

Дети находятся под надзором няньки-филипиннки, не говорящей ни на одном из европейских языков. Отец детей отменяет все посещения матери – за последние несколько лет он отменил 50 визитов (!)- за которые она должна платить центру посещений – 40 евро за визит, вне зависимости от того, состоялась ли встреча в детьми.

В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению.

Доктор Шлезингер отказался комментировать состояние, в которм находятся его дети. (История его семьи может пролить свет на его поведение. При разводе его родителей его мать получила все права на детей и не давала отцу видеться с ними. До сегодняшнего дня он не поддерживает отношений с отцом и ненавидит его – в сущности, совершенно незнакомого человека).

Как известно, Британские официальные лица, и уж тем более правительство, крайне неохотно вмешиваются в то, что происходит с их гражданами за границей. Но в этом случае злоключения гражданки Великобритании заслужили внимание членов Парламента и обсуждение в Палате Общин. Грахам Стрингер, депутат Парламента назвал случай Бесс Шлезингер «Кафкианским» и «недоступным пониманию». В докладе в Палате Общин Стрингер рассказал депутатам о сотоянии детей, о том, что у одного из мальчиков отсутствуют 4 передних зуба, а у второго – два, без всяких на то медицинских оснований. Судья Готтлихер отклонила раппорт из ясель малышей, в котором говорилось о том, что они плачут и прячутся при виде отца. Дети серьёзно отстают в развитии – чего не наблюдалось, когда они жили с матерью – и черезвычайно травмированы.

Бесс рассказала в интервью HuffPost UK, что её семья готовит иск в Европейский Суд по правам человека, при помощи Британского правительства. (Что само по себе очень необычно и доказывает неординарность этого случая).

Бесс борется за право быть матерью своим детям уже 3 года.

В статье, написанной самой Бесс, она расказывает о невыносимой боли разлуки с детми, о их дне рождения, праздниках и семейных торжествах, проходящих без них. О том, как она вернулась на Рош Га-Шана в Манчестер, чтобы не быть одной на праздники, и как рыдала в объятиях своей матери в синагоге, когда трубили в Шофар. О двойной боли ее матери – за дочь и за внуков.

Шлезингер утверждает, что Бесс отошла от религии (что не соответствует действительности,) и община Вены отвернуласть от неё, оклеветанной чужестранки, по указанию раввинов.

При чём тут мы и Израиль, скажут читатели.

Все евреи ответственны друг за друга, и когда где-то совершается зло, мы не имеем права просто стоять и смотреть. Евреи диаспоры и Израиля всегда связаны. И не только в таких случаях, как дело Полларда, когда человек пожертвовал всем ради Израиля, но и в таких, когда вроде бы Израилю нет до этого никакого дела.

Очень часто зло совершается совсем рядом с нами. Бесс – далеко не единственный человек, пострадавший от произвола чиновников, коррупции, лжи и поклёпа. Наверняка каждый из нас знает о случаях, когда это происходило в Израиле. Особенно страдают иностранцы и олим, не говорящие на иврите. Об одной из них я расскажу в следующей статье.

Бесс и её семья просят, чтобы о её истории узнали как можно больше людей. Никому не известно, где найдётся человек, который сможет ей помочь. Все материалы для этой статьи находятся в открытом доступе в Интернете, на сайте семьи Александер и в Британской прессе.

Setting a Personal Example - reasons why it doesn't always work by Allan Katz

 Guest post by Allan Katz 

Setting a personal example is said to be crucial in the parenting or educating children. However, there are many kids and students who are being raised and educated in an environment where parents and teachers are setting great personal examples and yet it has no impact on these kids or on students.  So what is the problem?

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Setting a personal example is said to be crucial in the parenting or educating children.  Albert Einstein   said  - “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”

 For sure the ' Do as I say and not Do as I do '   attitude and approach of care givers just undermines the credibility and authenticity of a parent and teacher. However, there are many kids and students who are being raised and educated in an environment where parents and teachers are setting great personal examples and yet it has no impact on these kids or on students.  So what is the problem?

The problem is the behaviorist nature of ' setting a personal example'. Education is not about a passive student or child absorbing information but a child and student actively noticing what is happening around them and then making meaning of this. In order to learn from the personal example of a parent, teacher or Rabbi, the child needs to notice and to be sensitive to the nuances and the motives behind the behavior or personal example set by his parent, teacher etc. One can only benefit from ' Shimush Talmeidi Chachamim ', being an apprentice to great sages or being exposed to them if one keenly observes and is sensitive to the example they set.  Education is not only noticing the inconsistencies and incongruent passages or words in a text, but to notice them in situations and on peoples' faces. Kids and students don't learn from 'personal example ' because they are simply not sensitive enough to be aware of what is happening and certainly they are not in a position to reflect and learn from personal example.

The portion-parasha of Shemot has examples where actively noticing something peculiar in the environment actually changed history. Pharaoh's daughter noticed a basket hidden among the reeds. This led her to being a mother to Moses – the future savior and redeemer of the Israelites in Egypt. Moses himself while looking after Yitro- Jethro's flocks in the desert noticed a fire, a burning bush. This excited his curiosity. He went to investigate and he saw that the bush was burning but not being consumed .If he would not have noticed the bush, he would not have experienced God's revelation and accepting the leadership role to take the Israelites out of Egypt.  As they journey towards Mount Moriah, the place where the 'Akeidat Yitzchak' – the binding of Isaac would take place, Abraham and Isaac notice a cloud hovering over the mountain. Abraham says – do you notice what I see and Isaac says yes. Abraham asks the same question to his 2 attendants and they did not see anything unique. This ability to notice reflected on Isaac's spiritual insight which made him fit to be an offering, while the attendants who did not notice could not continue the journey.

Kids and people have a problem about being grateful and expressing gratitude. As a sign of gratitude, Moses does not execute the plague of blood that turned the Nile and other water resources into blood, and the plague of lice that infected the dust and ground, because he was saved by the Nile and he hid the dead Egyptian in the sand. In order to be grateful and express gratitude - ha'carat ha'tov  in  Hebrew, one has to be aware and recognize the good that was done. People simply are not aware and don't see the good done to them. This is reinforced by the fact that people don't like to feel indebted to others so we tend to subconsciously minimize or ignore the good done to us.

We are told in the Ethics of our Fathers that a wise person learns from every person. The difficulty people have in learning from the example of others is that they t end to be very judgmental and only notice things that already fit in with their  world view and justify their  opinions about  people and events. This is very true if kids don't have a good relationship with parents and teachers and don't see them as their teachers and guides. Kids must have a good relationship with parents and teachers and seek relationship in order to   benefit from the example set by care givers and teachers.

Setting an example is not enough. We have to bring kids ' behind the scenes ' and share our thinking, our motives and values behind our decisions and actions. We can share our dilemmas, our concerns and perspectives and get a kid's input as well. Kids can also pick up our attitude, enthusiasm and why we feel joy and privilege in what we do. The best way to set an example is to get them involved with us, cooperating and collaborating when appropriate and solving problems in a collaborative way. In this way, we teach them the skills needed for their lives, adult life and marriage.

Is vaccination required/permitted? Rav Eliashiv's view

 update see Wikipedia - vaccine controversies
 Regarding the discussion about medical procedures such as genetic testing or vaccinations, I was sent this recording of Rabbi Tatz discussing the issue of vaccinations in a situation where is is accepted in the general population to vaccinate children. He asked Rav Eliashiv who paskened that if everyone does it then it is permitted without evaluating the risks.

The discussion of vaccinations starts at about 27 minutes

New Genetic Tests for Women Who Are Expecting

Wall Street Journal   Women expecting a baby or planning a pregnancy are being pitched a fast-growing array of tests to check if they are carriers for hundreds of mostly rare genetic diseases.<

Such genetic testing, called carrier screening, has long been targeted mainly at people of certain ethnic groups such as Ashkenazi Jews, who are at higher risk for some conditions such as Tay-Sachs disease. Now, companies that offer carrier screening are promoting the idea that testing everyone for many diseases is a more effective way to reduce the number of babies born with serious disorders, including cystic fibrosis, a life-limiting lung condition, and Canavan disease, a fatal neurological disorder.

“We have the technology and it’s affordable enough that we don’t need to put people into ethnic categories,” says Shivani Nazareth, director of women’s health for Counsyl Inc., in South San Francisco, Calif., one of the largest carrier-screening companies. “If we can offer the same panel to everyone, it’s so much more efficient.”

Scientists keep identifying new gene mutations, or variations, associated with specific diseases. Advances in DNA technology allow companies to quickly screen large numbers of people, using saliva or blood samples, to determine if parents could pass the genetic variations to their children.

Counsyl offers tests that aim to detect heightened genetic risk for at least 98 different diseases, for between $599 and $999. Another company, Gene by Gene Ltd., of Houston, plans in the next few months to introduce First Look, a test billed as the most comprehensive on the market that can screen for more than 300 diseases. The company expects the price could be close to $1,500.[...]

Ashkenazi Jews, those hailing from Eastern Europe, have long been tested for about 20 genetic disorders including Tay-Sachs disease, Canavan disease and familial dysautonomia, a neurological condition. New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center recently expanded its screening for this group to include 38 possible diseases, after the hospital’s genetic testing laboratory found these patients are at increased risk of being a carrier for a wider range of genetic conditions than previously thought.

Mount Sinai also offers for as much as $1,000 broader carrier screening to all women, Jewish or not, for a total of 111 disorders. “If you want to know your carrier status for a larger number of diseases, do the all-inclusive testing,” says Lisa Edelmann, director of Mount Sinai’s genetic testing lab. “So many people don’t really know their full ancestry. I know on one side that I am a quarter Italian and at least a quarter Polish, but the other half is not as clear.” [...]

Prince Andrew sex claim: Alan Dershowitz threatens action : Destroying reputations with unsubtantiated allegations

BBC  A US lawyer says he is planning legal action against a woman who claims she was forced to have sex with him and Prince Andrew when she was a minor.

Alan Dershowitz told the BBC he wanted her claims to be made under oath.

He and the Duke of York were named in documents filed in a Florida court over how prosecutors handled a case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Buckingham Palace has denied the woman's claims that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew.

On Saturday, the palace issued a further statement, in which it "emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship" with the woman.

The Mail on Sunday has identified the claimant as Virginia Roberts, but the BBC has not been able to verify her identity. 

The woman behind the allegations says she was forced to sleep with the prince when she was under age, and on three occasions - in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein - between 1999 and 2002.

Mr Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law professor, said he intended to legally challenge the woman's allegations. 

"My goal is to bring charges against the client and require her to speak in court. If she believes she has been hurt by me and Prince Andrew, she should be suing us for damages.[...]

Dor Yeshorim's work to save children from genetic diseases

Update: see Rav Moshe Feinstein - Medical tests and bitachon

Tablet Magazine     An office sits on a humble corner on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, a Brooklyn stronghold for hipsters and Hasidim alike. Above a locked and graffitied metal security gate is a weathered sign, its gold letters scratched and peeling. “Dor Yeshorim: Committee for Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases,” it reads. It’s unclear if anyone works there and whether or not the office is now just an idle space below closed-curtained apartment windows. The organization operates quietly, some would even say secretively: Phone numbers linked to Dor Yeshorim are automated, its website outdated and often unclickable, and its services little-known to those outside the Orthodox world.

The Brooklyn-based organization, which now offers Jewish genetic testing across the United States, Canada, Israel, and Europe, works to eliminate any chance that two carriers of the same genetic disease will even date, avoiding the heartache of having to abandon a progressing relationship, or worse, having a child with a fatal or debilitating genetic disorder. After conducting genetic screening, Dor Yeshorim assigns identification numbers that correspond to its clients’ genetic data. Before or soon after meeting, potential partners exchange ID numbers and dial an automated hotline to check genetic compatibility—a phone call that almost always determines if a relationship will move forward or end.

Described as both a matchmaking service and a preventative health organization, Dor Yeshorim provides an anonymous medium for clients to check compatibility. “You have reached Dor Yeshorim, the internationally recognized program for the prevention of Jewish genetic diseases,” answers the hotline’s automated male voice. “To submit a request for compatibility, press 1. To check compatibility, you will need to submit both the male and female’s nine-digit Dor Yeshorim identification number and both their dates and months of birth, not the year of birth,” the robotic voice instructs.

Since Dor Yeshorim’s founding in 1983, numerous Jewish genetic testing services have emerged worldwide. Secular Jews might choose to get screened through their physician’s office or at a hospital-based program. New York City’s Mount Sinai, NYU, Columbia, and Beth Israel hospitals all have medical genetics departments that offer testing. There are also community and nonprofit screening programs, as well as commercial labs. As genetic science advances, screening and access to genetic data have become easier and more affordable for the general population. But Dor Yeshorim differs, in one important way: Those tested never find out their results.

The only information provided is whether a pair is compatible—meaning that the two individuals are not carriers of a mutation for the same disease. If a boy and girl are incompatible, Dor Yeshorim indicates that continuing the relationship is “not advisable” and offers genetic counseling. Meanwhile, everyone’s test results remain locked in a confidential database. [...]

Bat Melech shelter for religious battered women in Israel to double its capacity

Times of Israel   An organization that runs two shelters for religious battered women will double its capacity and wipe out its current waiting list. 

Bat Melech currently serves over 1,000 women and children each year who require a kosher and Shabbat-observant atmosphere. [...]

“Many of Bat Melech’s residents are English-speakers from the United States, Canada, England and South Africa, so I see ourselves as the ‘international Jewish women’s shelter’ as we provide service to everyone, “ said Bat Melech’s overseas director Amy Oppenheimer.

An Oasis of Care for People With Intellectual Disabilities

NY Times   LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A mother needs to get her son out the door. Thick white socks cover his contorted feet, a coat drapes his twisted shoulders, a water bottle with a straw nestles in the concave of his chest, and black straps on his wheelchair secure his wrists. He is 33 years old, and she has to get him to an appointment.

“I always forget something,” the mother, Mimi Kramer, says, looking about her small, immaculate house. “Oh. A change of pants, just in case.”

Her son, Trey, has intellectual disability, autism and cerebral palsy. He was a joy as a child, she says, but with puberty came violent acts of frustration: biting himself until he bleeds, raging against sounds as faint as a fork scrape on a plate, lashing out with his muscular right arm. He nearly bit her finger off one Kentucky Derby Day when she tried to swipe away foam that he had gnawed from his wheelchair’s armrest.

“But he’ll also definitely make you smile when he’s happy,” says Ms. Kramer, 52, a slight, divorced woman who has raised her son mostly alone. “His smile will light up the room.”

For years, parents like Ms. Kramer have struggled to find compassionate health care for their adult children with profound disability, among the most medically underserved populations in the country. They are told their children are not welcome: too disruptive in the waiting room, too long in the examining room — beyond the abilities of doctors who have no experience with intellectual disability.

“It’s been really hard to find anyone to even take him,” Ms. Kramer says. “Much less the experience when you go into a waiting room with someone as challenging as Trey.”

Now, though, Ms. Kramer has a place to go. A motorized lift raises her son into her customized Ford Econoline van, where a home care aide named David Stodghill keeps some fudge cookies nearby as positive reinforcement for Mr. Kramer. [...]

Off they go into the wintry Kentucky rain, bound for refuge on the other side of Louisville: the Lee Specialty Clinic, one of the very few free-standing facilities designed exclusively to provide medical and dental treatment — and a sense of welcome — to people with intellectual disability.

The 17,000-square-foot clinic, which opened in June, offers certain amenities. A reception area with natural light and easy-to-clean cushions. Extra-wide halls. Scales designed to weigh people in wheelchairs. An overhead tram to lift patients into dental chairs.

Just as important, say the clinic’s co-directors, Dr. Henry Hood and Dr. Matthew Holder, is its staff, trained to understand what their patients and families have been through. For example, Dr. Hood says, parents will often recall being told at the last medical clinic “to get your son or daughter out of here, and don’t ever bring them back.”

Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God

Wall Street Journal    In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself. 

Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 21 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.

With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researches have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing. 

What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.

Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”

As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here. [...]

One in five women in college sexually assaulted: an update on this statistic

Washington Post     “We know the numbers: one in five of every one of those young women who is dropped off for that first day of school, before they finish school, will be assaulted, will be assaulted in her college years.”

–Vice President Biden, remarks on the release of a White House report on sexual assault, April 29, 2014

“It is estimated that 1 in 5 women on college campuses has been sexually assaulted during their time there — 1 in 5.” 

–President Obama, remarks at White House, Jan. 22, 2014

This is an update of an article that originally appeared on May 1, 2014. It now has a Pinocchio rating.

Reports of sexual assault on college campuses spurred the White House early in 2014 to launch a task force to examine the issue. The group’s report was issued on April 29, and the first sentence of the report echoes what both the president and vice president have asserted in public: “One in five women is sexually assaulted in college.”

Where does this oft-repeated statistic come from? We dug into the data so you don’t have to.

The Facts

This statistic is derived from a 2007 study, The Campus Sexual Assault Study, which was conducted for the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice. The researchers, led by Christopher Krebs of RTI International, also surveyed men, but the statistic cited by the administration focuses on women so we will look carefully at that part of the study.

In the winter of 2006, researchers used a Web-based survey to interview undergraduates at two large public universities, one in the Midwest and one in the South. A total of 5,446 undergraduate women, between the ages of 18-25, participated as part of a random sample. The survey was anonymous and took about 15 minutes to complete. (Participants received a $10 Amazon.com certificate for participating.)

So, first of all, it’s important to remember that this is a single survey, based on the experiences of students at two universities. As the researchers acknowledged, these results clearly can be generalized to those two large four-year universities, but not necessarily elsewhere. Moreover, the response rate was relatively low:

“Another limitation of the CSA study, inherent with Web-based survey, is that the response rates were relatively low. Although the response rates were not lower than what most Web-based surveys achieve, they are lower than what we typically achieve using a different mode of data collection (e.g. face-to-face interviewing).”

The survey found that 1,073 women, or 19 percent, said that they experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college. The actual breakdown was that 12.6 percent experienced attempted sexual assault and 13.7 percent experienced actual sexual assault. (There was some overlap.) [...]

Why I’m now a former Conservative Jew - because Interdating is now permitted

Times of Israel    My name is Jesse Arm. I am a grandson of a former Conservative rabbi, a former student of a Conservative Jewish day school, a former president of the Detroit chapter of USY, and a former Conservative Jew.

The last of those characteristics is the newest one attached to my identity. In fact, I made the decision to no longer classify myself in this fashion less than 24 hours ago, upon reading of the recent change in standards decided upon at USY’s international convention. Formerly, to take on a leadership position in the USY youth movement, it was considered a requirement that board members commit themselves to refrain from, “relationships which can be construed as interdating.” The language was changed to, “The Officers will strive to model healthy Jewish dating choices. These include recognizing the importance of dating within the Jewish community and treating each person with the recognition that they were created Betzelem Elohim (in the image of God).” The change was made in an attempt to become a more inclusive youth group within a more inclusive movement

Perhaps the crux of why this change so fundamentally irks me is in its lack of forthcoming language. If my former youth group, and in essence my former movement, is willing to compromise its commitment to the preservation of Jewish nationhood in the name of inclusivity, then why doesn’t it just say so? It is clear that this movement is on a path of setting its commitment to its original, cardinal principles aside in an effort to salvage some of its continually dwindling membership and “changing with the times.” The addition of Hebrew words in the language which adopts the permissibility of interdating is truly laughable. Saying that recognition of all humans being created betzelem elohim serves as a justification for interdating and eventually intermarriage, makes about as much sense as me arguing I should be eating delicious bacon in my Sukkah because the Torah says v’samachta b’chageicha, v’hayita ach sameach (we should rejoice in our holiday and we should feel nothing but total happiness). [...]

Wife who used child porn to frame husband gets jail time

Fox News   A Pennsylvania woman convicted of downloading child pornography to frame her estranged husband must spend six months to two years in county jail.

The Indiana Gazette reports 43-year-old Meri Jane Woods was sentenced Monday by an Indiana County judge who rejected her attorney's request for leniency and flexibility to start serving the sentence after the holidays.

A jury previously found Woods downloaded 40 images to the family computer, took it to police in August 2013 and blamed Matthew Woods for the material.[...]