Battle over gay marriage in NY

NYTimes

Pose the question “Would you vote to make same-sex marriage legal?” within the gilded State Senate chamber, and you’ll hear a lot of hedging.

Senator Vincent L. Leibell, a Republican who represents parts of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties, prefers civil unions to marriage. Still, he acknowledged that “society changes over time,” and said that he might not make up his mind until the last minute.

Senator James S. Alesi, a Republican from Rochester who is considered to be another potential swing vote, has issued only vague statements hinting that he is open to voting yes. But he also said, “My public opinion has not been stated yet, and it probably won’t be for a while.”

With six weeks left before the Legislature adjourns for the year, uncertainty surrounds the fate of Gov. David A. Paterson’s bill to legalize same-sex marriage, and lobbying is intensifying.

The measure is expected to easily pass the State Assembly, which approved a similar bill in 2007 and has scheduled its vote for Tuesday.

That means the fate of the legislation will most likely be decided in the closely divided 62-member State Senate.

There, proponents believe they have about two dozen of the 32 votes needed for approval, including those of 19 Democrats who have signed on as sponsors of the measure. [...]

Law & free speech on Internet -

mekubal wrote:

I am fairly clueless about Israeli law so I must ask, can cease and desist letters be sent via email in Israel?

From a similar case I personally had with a forum I posted on, there are a few things I do know about Israeli law.

1) You are not responsible for content that others post upon your blog.

2) Just because the blog has your name on it, does not mean that they can literally sue you or file a police complaint.

3) In order to bring action in Israel they must first directly link you through your IP address to the blog.

4) Israeli privacy laws forbid you internet-provider from disclosing your I/P account information(the vital and missing link) for any reason other than vital and immediate nation security.

5) If your internet provider does disclose your account information thus making you liable to said lawsuit and police complaint, they can be held liable for any damages that you accrue. In other words you can turn around and sue them.

All that being said. I think that you have in general just been scammed. Though since this is the internet I believe the proper terminology is Trolled.
============================
Daas Torah responded:

The above is nice in theory. But it obviously is not of relevance when the Blog is not anonymous, that a law suit hasn't been filed and that the main concern is intimidation. It is obvious that no legal process would support a law suit simply because a public figure's name is mentioned. Yet that is what the lawyer's email stated.

It is an indication of insecurity when a person can not tolerate any criticism and needs to present a carefully orchestrated view of himself to the world.

An alternative, though not necessarily incompatible explanation. is that he fears that an insignificant blogger can actually ruin his reputation. If Rabbi Tropper believes that I have the amazing power of making the Bedatz bend to my will and believes that I have succeeded in forcing them to become defenders of Rabbi Slikfin - then a naive young man might believe that I have the power to derail his run for glory - or at least be the source of bad luck. This absurd claim had been posted on Rabbi Tropper's blog - but it seems he must have realized how stupid it sounds and it is has been removed. But you the original from Rabbi Tropper's blog is posted below here

Abuse & Punishment

I heard another disturbing story about abuse yesterday. The person told me of a well known personality who has definitely abused children. So why wasn't anything done about it? It seems that he has been declared to no longer be a pedophile because he hasn't abused any one recently. It seems two rabbis have certified him to have stopped.

My question is 1) why wasn't it publicized when it was clear that he was a molester 2) why are there no consequences for his actions. 3) on what basis has he been certified not to be a molester. 4) it seems someone just filed a complaint with the police so he obviously hasn't stopped.

This individuals is known as a generous soul who regularly gives rides to kids and his house is frequented by neighborhood children.

When it comes to molesters the only issue of concern is stopping them. But this is a flawed process in which there is no transparency here as to the process that certifies that he has stopped. Community families are not informed that there is pedophile in their midst so that if they don't want to take the risk with their kids they are at least forewarned.

In addition there is absolutely no issue of punishment or even payment for the damage that they have done. One person told me he has been paying $400/ month for six years for a teenager who was destroyed by a molester. There was no suggestion that the molester needed to pay. In the many decrees of the Gaon and Rishonim there is clearly a process of not only punishment but also of placating the victim - what happened to these factors? I am in the process of finding out the answers.

Blog - Comments & Internet Explorer errors

Due to the threatened legal action I have removed certain postings. At the present the comments are disabled - but that will be changed in the near future. I would appreciate it if any one notices any mention of "he who is not to be mentioned" left on the blog to notify me.

Comments relating to this issue will not be posted on this blog - though obviously I will read them.

There also seems to be a new problem with the use of Internet Explorer. It apparently is the result of my use of scribd text windows. So either use Firefox, Chrome or click on the links in the post to read the document.

Guma Aguiar lawyer's warning letter

Yahoo! Mail
Guma Aguiar - Warning letter
Friday, May 8, 2009 10:54 AM
From:
"Eitan Gabay, Adv."
To:
yadmoshe@yahoo.com

לכבוד, מבלי לפגוע בזכויות

הרב דניאל אידנסון,

שאולזון 34,

הר-נוף

ירושלים



א.נ.,



הנדון: כתבותיך בבלוג DAAS TORAH על משפחת אגיאר



בשם מרשי, ג'יימי וגומה אגיאר, הריני מתכבד לפנות אליך כדלקמן:



1. מזה תקופת מה שהנך כותב מאמרים בבלוג שלך שבנדון אודות מרשי ומשפחתם.



2. עיון בתוכן הכתוב בבלוג מעיד על עבירה חמורה על איסור אמירת לשון הרע והטרדה.



3. התכנים בבלוג פוגעניים ועוסקים בחיים אישיים של מרשי ובני משפחותיהם. מרשיי מוצגים כמי שגיורם מוטל בספק מבלי שקיימות הוכחות חותכות לכך ומבלי שיצאה בת קול חדה וברורה המעידה כי הגיורים נעשו שלא כהלכה.



4. האמירות באתר הינן גובלות בהשמצות מרשי כאשר אין בינם לבינך כל יריבות ו/או קשר כזה או אחר.



5. בנוסף, פרסום דעותיך בציבור לגבי אופן מתן תרומות ע"י מרשי ועל החלטותיהם למי לתת הינה גובלת בחדירה לצנעת הפרט והפרת הזכות שלהם לפרטיות.



6. בימים אלה מרשי שוקלים להגיש תלונה במשטרה כנגד תכנים בבלוג ואף להגיש תביעה משפטית מתאימה נגדך בעניין. יחד עם זאת, מרשי יאותו שלא לנקוט בפעולות נוספות נגדך באם בתוך 48 שעות יוסרו מהבלוג שלך כל התכנים הקשורים במרשי ובני משפחתם.



7. אזכיר כי סירובך לבצע הסרה של התכנים כאמור לעיל ייאלץ את מרשי להורות לי לפעול כאמור לעיל, ודע לך כי הדבר יגרום לך לעגמת נפש רבה ולהוצאות רבות ומיותרות אשר תחולנה עליך.



8. התראה נוספת לא תשלח.



בברכה,



איתן גבאי, עו"ד



EITAN GABAY - LAW OFFICES

13 Ben Maimon Blvd.

Jerusalem 92262

Tel: 972-2-5610095

Fax: 972-2-5610096

Email: eitan@aglaw.co.il

Abuse- My new sefer's Introduction

Introduction May 8 2009

HaRav Sternbuch, shlita - Swine Flu

Dr. Oren - Historical perspectives/ America & Israel

A fascinating discussion of the intimate relation between America from Colonial times until the present by the recently appointed Israeli ambassador to America

Death throes of Conservative & Reform?

Jerusaelm Post

It is a precipitous moment for Jewish religious leadership in the US.While the problems are primarily financial, their impact appears to threaten the future of American Judaism.

Reform and Conservative seminaries - the institutions charged with providing the overwhelming majority of affiliated American Jews with their religious and educational leadership - face budget cuts so severe that their missions may be imperiled. The congregational arms of their movements also are in grave financial straits, and American rabbis generally face a shortage of jobs.

No doubt there are very smart people thinking about what this portends.

Those people, however, do not seem to be riding the Jewish information superhighway. Many of the stories about the rabbinate that interest American Jewish newspapers are not about the future of American Judaism. Instead, they concern whether "transgender" and intermarried Jews can be admitted to rabbinical schools, and see it as a sign of acceptance, or perhaps maturity, among the streams that a lesbian this month becomes president of the Southern California Board of Rabbis.

The idea seems to be that there are various groups pounding on the seminaries' gates: First the question was ordaining women, then gays and lesbians. Now that those groups can enter the non-Orthodox ordination programs, other groups have formed at the gate: the intermarried and transgender (women living as men, men as women, with or without surgical gender changes).

However interesting or irksome these issues are to most American Jews, these "who can be a rabbi" stories are irrelevant to the future of Jewish life.[...]

Hand of 21 week old fetus

Fox News

Israeli self-defense is illegal

JPost editorial

What a busy time it's been for those who exploit international law to gang up on Israel. Let us count the ways.

Starting with yesterday's UN report compiled by Ian Martin on that incident during Operation Cast Lead at the UNRWA compound in Jabaliya, the one that generated mendacious headlines like "Israeli shelling kills dozens at UN school in Gaza."

In fact, no one sheltering at the school was killed - but about a dozen Palestinians nearby (including gunmen) were when Israel retaliated to Hamas's shelling. While Martin pointedly refused to incorporate the IDF's side in drafting his report, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promised his cover note to the Security Council will provide some of the missing details and extenuating circumstances.

Don't go confusing Martin with Richard Goldstone's commission, which will be also be investigating the Gaza war. And don't confuse Goldstone with Richard A. Falk's "investigation" for the UN's Human Rights Council.

All this is in addition to the routine "docketing" of Israel at the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva, partly instigated by Israel-based advocacy groups, some of which receive funding from the New Israel Fund and foreign powers. The committee's chair is Claudio Grossman, a Chilean national whose connection to the NIF figures is no secret.

If that wasn't enough, there is the Spanish legal system's persecution of top Israeli officials for the 2002 operation that liquidated Salah Shehadeh. Tragically, 14 civilians also lost their lives. But unintended civilian deaths in warfare are not unheard of. Shehadeh supervised dozens of terrorist attacks, killing or wounding hundreds of Israelis. The "universal jurisdiction" claimed by Spain and other countries - even where neither the "perpetrator" nor the "victim" has anything to do with them - verily turns the law into an ass.

Let's not forget the Durban II farce starring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or that it was ostensibly organized as a UN-sponsored "anti-racism" conference.

Finally, there's the unrelenting abuse of international law at every single UN body - except the essentially defunct Trusteeship Council.

WHY this obscenely inordinate investment of time, money and personnel in bashing us?[...]

Abuse - provide evidence without testifying

Star Ledger

Children who previously talked about a sexual abuse incident but are too frightened to testify in court can still provide evidence in a trial, the [New Jersey] state's highest court unanimously ruled today.

The justices' decision upholds a jail sentence for a Long Branch man convicted of sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl.

Matt Rainey who wrote today's decision which ruled that children who previously talked about a sexual abuse incident but are too frightened to testify in court can still provide evidence in a trial.

Immediately after Terry Coder had abused her in his basement in 2001, the girl -- whose name is protected by the court -- told her mother.

"Mommy, he touched me," she said, according to court documents.

Even though the girl could not remember that Coder had abused her when she took the stand a year later, the court counted what she had told her mother as evidence against Coder.

Johanna Barba Jones, a deputy attorney general, said she was "very happy" with the decision.

"This is a way of expressing wrongs done to children who cannot express themselves ... luckily this little girl was able to use gestures and through very limited language could communicate that to her mom," said Jones. "It's clear to moms that they can share that with police and they will not go unaddressed."[...]

Self-Righteousness & Behavior - Abuse

NYTimes

Most people are adamant: They would never do it. Ever. Never deliberately inflict pain on another person, just to obtain information. Ever artificially inflate the value of some financial product, just to take advantage of others’ ignorance. Certainly never, ever become a deadbeat and accept a government bailout.

They speak only for themselves, of course. As for others, well, turn on the news: shady bankers, savage interrogators and deadbeats are everywhere.

“I remember thinking that I was just better than other people, that I would never compromise my principles,” said Jordan LaBouff, 25, a graduate student in Texas, recalling a public standoff that he and other students had with university administrators several years ago.

“Well, they gave me this award — the administration did — and I’d sworn I would never take anything from them. But of course there I was, up on stage accepting it.

In recent years, social psychologists have begun to study what they call the holier-than-thou effect. They have long known that people tend to be overly optimistic about their own abilities and fortunes — to overestimate their standing in class, their discipline, their sincerity.

But this self-inflating bias may be even stronger when it comes to moral judgment, and it can greatly influence how people judge others’ actions, and ultimately their own. Culture, religious belief and experience all help shape a person’s sense of moral standing in relation to others, psychologists say, and new research is helping to clarify when such feelings of superiority are helpful and when they are self-defeating.

“The message in this work is not that you should rid yourself of moral indignation; sometimes that’s appropriate,” said David Dunning, a social psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. “But the point is that many types of behavior are driven far more by the situation than by the force of personality. What someone else did in that situation is a very strong warning about what you yourself would do.” [...]

Abuse - Ohel's view of Markey bill

Ohel

A PROPOSED STRATEGY TO REFORMS IN SEXUAL ABUSE LEGISLATION
By David Mandel, CEO of OHEL

KEY POINTS

● OHEL see’s importance in both Lopez and Markey Bills and suggests a possible compromise.

● OHEL is not in agreement with some of the positions taken by certain organizations who oppose “the window” provision.

● While OHEL suggests a one year amnesty, we believe a one year window should be instituted thereafter.

● OHEL suggests a one year amnesty from civil claims with required risk assessment, treatment and some form of probation and monitoring. Certainly no amnesty from any criminal proceedings.