When kosher isn't - aron Rubashkin and the Great Kosher Lie

I was writing this blog and accidentally deleted it . Hopefully this is close to as eloquent . Either way , you will get the point....

Millions of people purchase kosher-certified meat "products" for a multitude of reasons , the most common having to do with perceptions of animal welfare , cleanliness , or approval from a "higher authority" . Animals are supposed to be treated with compassion and respect and killed quickly and relatively painlessly in accordance with over 5000 years of traditions .
I grew up in a rural area (or rather various areas) with content , cared for , free-roaming cows and chickens that met their ends quickly and without suffering . Roosters and bulls strutted with pride and mother animals tended to their young. All was well in my Rockwellian version of the agricultural world. So , obviously , when I moved to Toronto at 17 , I had no idea of the existence of the factory farms that most animal flesh comes from . I'm not sure whether it was becoming more religiously observant or more aware of animal sufferings , or possibly just simply an allergy to pork , but I began to purchase more kosher meats . After all , in the big city , they were widely available , and in my mind , they were better for the animals and for me , and of course , I felt better for it. So when I moved to a small town for work and found Aaron's kosher products in the meat case , I was a pretty happy camper and bought them whenever the "need" arose . (it was several years until I decided to forgo meat altogether) I was impressed by the company's ideas of bringing cleanliness , animal welfare standards , and of course , kashrut , to everyday homes in crappy little hick towns all over North America . After all , a nice old Chassidic butcher like Mr. Rubashkin would never LIE to us........
......... or would he?

Rumblings about Mr Rubashkin's business dealings and shoddy enviornmental record started surfacing around 5 years ago. After hearing complaits about the dumping of untreated effluent waste into the water system of a small town in Iowa , an investigation occurred where the firm owned by Aaron Rubashkin , now named Agriprocessors admitted polluting waterways and paid a substantial fine . There were rumblings about animal abuse and intimidation of employees and rivals . So , PETA and Animal Liberation Israel decided to see if they could catch Agri in the act , so to speak . What they found were animals faving their esophagii and trachii ripped out while still alive and animals walking around several minutes after they should have died. In addition , animals had their throats cut in a saw-like fashion , causing the cattle pain and thus rendering the animal as not kosher . The OU (Orthodox Union) decided to stand by their men and declare the meat processed at the Postville plant to be kosher despite all evidence to the contrary , including the fact that KAJ removed it's certification . It also should be noted that Star-K certification proclaimed Agri's products non-kosher according to current conditions . In fact , the methods of slaughter including the ripping out of the throat and the pens Agri uses are actually ILLEGAL in Israel . To label such meat kosher is a FRAUD perpetrated on your own people and he should be ashamed!!!! And I'm not the only one who thinks so , in fact , you can find more than a few Rabbis' names on this petition ,including David Mivasair of Ahavat Olam in Vancouver .
Unfortunately , the abuses don't stop with the animals . The long-standing abuses of employees and others are too many to ignore. In fact , the Federal government finally decided to arrest Aaron and Sholom Rubashkin , among others , for thousands of crimes ranging from the bizarre to the abhorrent.The initial search warrant mentioned the operation of - get this- a methamphetamine lab in the Postville facility , something alluded to by Natalie Portman at the Oscars when she told Ben Stiller that he looked like he worked in a "Chassidic meth lab". I could get into detail about every charge and allegation , but you can read ... here they are...

- 9311 criminal counts of violations of the child labour act
- hundreds of thousands of violations of the Humane Slaughter act
- recruiting hundreds of illegal immigrants
- underpaying , and sometimes not paying employees (in fact , 70 Rabbis walked out of the plant to protest this)
- requiring employees to pay for safety equipment out of paycheques
- failing to report injuries
- firing employees at a Brooklyn facility for complaining about conditions
- attempting to quash a union mandate by force
- bribing USDA inspectors
- failing to pay overtime
- anti-competitive practices including physical intimidation and sabotaging competitors
- manipulation of the kosher certification system
- physical and sexual assault of employees by supervisors
- identity theft to facilitate hiring illegals
- green card fraud
- bank fraud
- permitting operation of a methamphetamine lab
- turning a blind eye to drug and weapons trafficking inside the Iowa plant
......and the list goes on...........

So why am I bringing this up now? Well , because the Rubashkins are out of jail and Agriprocessors has embarked on a shiny new PR campaign in the hopes of convincing you , the consumer , that their products meet the standards of the "higher authority" . And , of course , they need some new employees , now that their illegals have been deported , their honchos arrested or fired , and their decent folks have quit. Don't buy the lie! Don't buy their cruel products , don't work for them , don't stock Rubashkin's products on your shelves and be sure to tell your customers why - because even good people can become greedy and sometimes OU-certified really isn't kosher . It obviously meant nothing to Aaron Rubashkin.

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If you "must" get your meat fix , or you need that steak or whatever for your visiting uncle Yitzhak , you can try these producers or a Whole foods location
Golden West Glatt Cattle Company (Denver , CO) - OU
Wise Organic (Winfield , PA) - OU , QAI , Beth Din Tzedek/CH
Marvid (Montreal , PQ) - CRC , Montral Vaad Hair , OU, Nirbitor Rav
Empire Kosher meats have KAJ certification as of late , so that's your call

The Kids are Alright

Playoof time in hockeyland is serious business. Stars are born in an instant and old guys take their last stand . The Canucks were the last Canadian team eliminated from the playoffs - a team of multimillionaire greybeards got taken out by a team so young that only 3 of the guys are married . Their Captain still has peach fuzz despite being nicknamed "Mr. Serious" , and like their other stars , isn't even old enough to buy beer in the U.S. But they took on the grown-ups and won soundly , little kids running a $7 million dollar goalie into the locker room , humbled by it all . So here's to you kids . And for those who don't know these boys yet , here's a few guys under 25 making their mark in the Windy City...

Pos Age Vitals Name Stats Salary

D 23 6'3",214 Cam Barker 68-6-34-40-65 $984,200

C 22 5'11",181 David Bolland 81-19-28-47-52 $887,500

RW 23 6'1",213 Troy Brouwer 69-10-16-26-50 $700,000

RW 23 6'3",260 Dustin Byfuglien 77-15-16-31-81 $3,000,000

LW 25 6'2",220 Ben Eager 75-11-4-15-161 $650,000

C 24 6'1",190 Colin Fraser 81-6-11-17-55 $500,000

D 21 6'3",194 Niklas Hjalmarsson 21-1-2-3-0 $644,000

RW 20 5'9",170 Patrick Kane 80-25-45-70-42 $875,000

D 25 5'11",194 Duncan Keith 77-8-36-44-60 $1,600,000

LW 23 6'2",200 Andrew Ladd 82-15-34-49-28 $1,450,000
D 24 6'3",220 Brent Seabrook 82-8-18-26-62 $3,500,000
C 20 6'1",195 Jonathan Toews 82-34-35-69-51 $850,000
LW 22 5'9",185 Kris Versteeg 78-22-31-53-55 $490,000

These kids are proof that with heart , you can go from nothing to something in a couple of short years . All 7 goals in the game were scored by players under 25 . None of the marksmen make a million a year . Kane had a hat trick and a helper , Toews had 2 goals and a helper and scored the game-winning goal. 6 different kids got assists . It's gonna be fun watching these kids for a long time .

While everyone was watching the Crosby-Ovechkin show , Chicago came up with a whole hockey team.

Elaine - the reason I'm alive

Ah , it is Mother's Day - shouldn't it be every day that we honour the influential ladies in our lives? But since we don't , we have the obligatory blogs and flowers . So here's a few things you should know about the goddess that is my mum . My mother grew up in a very abusive and just plain weird family dominated by my loser of a grandfather and bitter-until-he-died grandmother and was the youngest of my grandfather's biokids . My mother got pregnant with my sister on her 16th birthday but still managed to finish high school before she was born . My mum met my dad when she was an apprentice mechanic at Harding Carpets and they got married when she was 18 . My dad has never been Mr. Responsibility but he adopted my sister , and shortly after , my older brother Sean was born who died 8 months before I came into the world . My mother persevered often working 70 hours a week up until a couple of weeks before I was born . My father was one of those so-called "functioning" alcoholics who spent most of his time working or at the bar , in fact , my mum once brought him his Thanksgiving dinner , gravy and all , to his barstool in a paper bag. My mother has never had decent taste in men .


My mum still managed to work her butt off to raise her brood often singly , but sometimes with the assortment of asshole stepdads I've had over the years . She's had nervous breakdowns and divorces and wasn't always the perfect mother and could even be brutal at times , but the difference between her and those dudes is that she got the courage to apologize .

But , after 36 years of it , she still generally doesn't complain , but she never ceases to amaze . I have seen this wonderful woman rewire houses , do brickwork , build intricate furniture , and so much more . At 50 , she could still pack a bundle of shingles up a 60-foot ladder all the while looking like a very attractive 35 . She is iconic in my eyes and I would truly be lost without her .

Thank you Mum .
Love ,
Michelle

1996

I know there are various negative opinions about Mathew Shepherd and most are based on speculation and the associated conjecture. Even if all of the gossips are to be believed and he was all of the dirty things I refuse to repeat , the kid was killed for one reason - because he was different in a place where different can still get you killed.

The people who oppose the Matthew Shepard Act which would add sexual orientation and gender identity use quips like " isn't every crime a hate crime " and other sarcastic remarks to convince everyday folks that the addition is a joke . Then there are the hypocritical Bible-beaters like Fred Phelps who celebrate hate crimes . But the largest group of people are people who think that it won't affect anyone they know. Now that's where they are wrong.

This guy was a friend of mine many years ago . His name is Shawn Keegan , but everybody called him Junior . He was a friendly little guy about 5'6" , and pretty innocent-looking . He was homeless for a time and used to crash on my couch , but he was no freeloader , just a previously lost kid who was getting his life in order . That is , until May 21st , 1996 , the day prior to my 20th birthday. It was just after midnight when he was picked up by Marcello Palma , but instead of a sexy time , Junior got a bullet to the head . The same asshole stalked and shot dead 2 other folks that night. The guy was under mental health treatment but somehow was still allowed to own the .357 magnum used in the murders as well as a huge cache of rifles and handguns . And then Palma ran like the coward he is. When he was caught , he had the privlidge of hiring superstar lawyer Eddie Greenspan to claim him to be mentally incompetent (He was directed to kill "scum" by G-d) and fight for his life . Brenda , Shawn's mother , loudly fought for justice for three young people who Palma thought he had silenced. Because of the hate crime enhancement , all three charges were upped to First-Degree murder (25 years to life , parole not probable) instead of second (10 years to life , parole probable) , and on April 20 , 2001 , Marcello Palma was convicted of all counts and will never see an barbed-wire-free existence . Unfortunately , the scumbag has become something of a "celebrity" with a following of right-wing religious nuts . And that is abhorrent to me . If any "good" can come from this , it will be people seeing that this can happen to anyone's friend or family member , continue giving a voice to an exhuberant man who was taken just as his life was beginning. At least his killer got the time .

About 6 months after this , my friend Rahim (I don't have even a grainy photo but I drew a lot of "Flying Furrball" cartoons of him over the years I knew him) was tortured and killed by his closet-case so-called boyfriend and the mother of the boyfriend . He was injected over a period of 3 days with opiates and G-d knows what else and had actually escaped once before they threw him from the balcony of his 21st-store apartment. Rahim was 18 but had lived on his own for at least a couple of years and was doing quite well , until he met the family from hell . Rahim's family had him quickly buried under the guise of religion but in reality just wanted to bury the "shame" and nobody was ever convicted .

Both of these awesome dudes left the earth before I could introduce you to them . These were people who were killed by people so filled with self-hatred that they unleashed it on people who had done nothing wrong except be themselves .

My American friends , if there is ANYTHING that can be done to incarcerate unrepentant bashers and murderers for longer , you should be all for it . And you should sign the HRC petition to the U.S. Senate . http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/711774951

If you love animals , this will make you cry

I was on shanepowers.com last night and he was justifiably horrified at the idea that idiot "fishermen" used live dogs as shark bait . I commented about the fact people use live ducks and cats commonly , even in countries like Canada . Not only that , it is common practice .
I didn't have to look far to find a video of so-called humans engaging in their unrepentant "sport" .

Oh my fuck!

Some people really are alive only because it is illegal to shoot them ... case du jour ....

In Tampa , a 21-year-old dickweed named Richard McTear has been charged with murder 1 (maximum penalty - riding the lightning) for killing a baby . This fucker tracked down his 17-year-old ex girlfriend at her apartment and started beating on her and the kid , and after beating the girl into submission , stole her defenseless baby (not his own kid BTW) and killed it by throwing it out the window of his car . 

How this waste of skin wasn't incarcerated at the moment is beyond me . He has a lengthy felony record including aggravated assault , among others . Now, why was he on probation instead of in prison? Because his felonious attacks were against women . Men who beat on women get shorter or non-existent sentences . FACT . Look it up kids .

I hope this little baby-killing fucktard gets the biggest blackest gang of boyfriends in the Pen . And if I ever here of any of you people beating on an innocent , I will personally hunt you down and torture you to the point you are just prior to death and let you starve to death . 

****UPDATE***** This idiot when arrested was unrepentant , his retort : "It's a dirty game." 

Stalkers

Stalkers ... I know of them well . It's the reason why I don't post my full name on any social networking websites . I know from experience what these mentally and socially deficient people are capable of . For those of you who see it fit to bash those who defend others from this media-driven menace , here's a few words from someone who has experienced the terror of being followed . 

The first serious stalker I had began his weirdness in 1997 . I was 21 and he was around 50 . He lived a few floors below me in a building in downtown Toronto . I was not aware that he was following me everywhere , in fact , he seemed like a fairly normal , albeit somewhat lonely middle-aged man . We had conversed a few times in the elevator and whatnot and even felt comfortable enough to have a pint with the fellow on an occasion . The second time I had a beer with the dude , he attacked me . I defended myself well enough to bust open his face and get the fuck to a safe place , not before he had done some pretty serious and embarrassing damage to me . But that was just the beginning - even from jail the guy was trying to call me and had me followed , and even though I moved twice , managed to track me down . It was absolutely terrifying . The guy got 18 months in jail and  the judge was pissed that the prosecution didn't charge him with a heavier offense . Despite the guy being in jail , under our system he was still able to phone all of my relatives and phone his buddies to track me down . And I know , to this day , if he had a chance to kill me or worse (having been victimized before I know there are worse fates than death) , he would take it in a heartbeat . 

   These people can be the camerajock who wants to make a name as well - these people are driven by something slightly different - money and the perception of fame by osmosis . But even these people , but virtue of being close to the people they follow , can develop unseemly obsessions with their targets , thus victimizing them . It is all too common for people trying to break into the news game by following kids of the famous and infamous , following friends , parents , even killing their pets . And it's not just the Hollywood types getting the stalker treatment - it can be anyone they perceive as newsworthy ... save a cat from a burning building and you could be next . 

    The thing is , nowadays , stalkers can garner near instant fame for terrorizing people - automatic name recognition is seldom bad in today's get-famous-quick society . You see the names and faces of the offenders on CNN as much and sometimes more than their victims'. They get their 15 minutes for causing sometimes years of pain to their victims . 

Yet another reason why life's not fair .

Peace 

P.S. If stalker dude from Friday comes near me again I'm gonna break his face . Dude , seriously , FUCK OFF . Please.