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Today is the last day you can donate to get a tax deduction for 2008. Click Here to make a donation to Hatzolah EMS, A Volunteer Ambulance Service. Get a tax-deduction & help save lives!

Kollel Man Died R”L Near Baltimore.

Baltimore, MD – Baltimore’s Ner Yisroel community joined their brothers worldwide in shock and grief upon learning of the sudden death of one of their own, Zvi Dovid (Fifi) Zahler, who tragically died this morning.

Mr. Zahler had departed Baltimore early this morning, and disappeared. Baltimore’s volunteer community patrol was shortly mobilized and spent the next several hour searching for Mr. Zahler until the Maryland State Police were contacted to ask whether any current incidents involved a vehicle matching the description of Mr. Zahler’s automobile. Police replied affirmatively.

According to police and other sources, Mr. Zahler’s vehicle was found on the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge along I-95. The six-lane bridge spans the Susquehanna River about 25 miles northeast of Baltimore. Zahler’s body was R”L recovered from the water underneath the bridge.

Mr. Zahler is originally from Toronto and only married last year, was a member of the Ner Yisroel yeshivah’s kolel and had only married last year. He was 25.

Story Edited To Be More Factual.

Suspect in Route 21 slaying being held in New York

PASSAIC — A police officer making a routine traffic stop Friday morning saw pools of blood in the backseat of the driver’s green Jeep, authorities said.

What happened next was a lucky twist of fate for Officer Ian Dubac. As it turns out, the motorist ended up leading police to a suspect accused of stabbing a Passaic man to death and allegedly dumping his body near an exit off Route 21.

The victim was a 32-year-old Hispanic man who received multiple stab wounds to the chest, neck and upper stomach, Passaic police Capt. Tony Zampino said Friday.

It is the fourth homicide reported in the city in 2008, Zampino said.

Zampino said he could not release further details about the case or the identity of the victim, because the man’s relatives had yet to be notified of his death.

Jaime Castro, 35, of President Street in Passaic, is facing murder and weapons charges. The driver of the vehicle, Jorge Sanchez Alfaro, 41, of Passaic, whom Dubac had stopped earlier in the day for reasons police didn’t specify, told investigators that he, Castro and the victim went to a bar Thursday evening on Main Avenue in Clifton. Zampino would not identify the bar.

Sanchez Alfaro told investigators that afterward, while he was driving home, a fight ensued between Castro and the victim in the backseat, Zampino said. Sanchez Alfaro told detectives that Castro stabbed the victim multiple times with a kitchen knife.

Castro then got out of the vehicle and dumped the body near Exit 11 in the southbound lanes of the highway, Zampino said.

Police have charged Sanchez Alfaro with two counts of hindering apprehension, one count of tampering with evidence, one count of obstructing justice and one count of endangering an injured victim.

Both suspects are Mexican nationals.

Port Authority Police, along with U.S. Customs officers, arrested Castro Friday afternoon at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. He was attempting to get on a flight back to Mexico, Zampino said.

Castro is being held in New York City, pending extradition to New Jersey, Zampino said.

Passaic Municipal Court Judge Xavier Rodriguez set bail for Castro and Sanchez Alfaro at $1 million each.

Castro worked at Los Arcos restaurant in Passaic, Zampino said.

On Friday, workers at the restaurant said they had not heard the news about Castro’s arrest.

Cristoba Nolasco, a security guard at the restaurant, said Castro had left his job about four months ago. Nolasco said Castro washed dishes at the restaurant.

As for Dubac, the arrests of Sanchez Alfaro and Castro taught him a memorable lesson about police work.

“The simplest of things can lead to the biggest break. … Who’d ever thought a $54 ticket (for a motor vehicle violation) could lead to a homicide arrest?” Dubac said.

Police are still interviewing witnesses. Anyone with information concerning the homicide investigation should contact Detective Marvin Eugene at 973-3653971. Northjersey.com

Fire On High Street In Passaic

A fire broke out tonight on High Street near Boulevard in a home belonging to a Frum family, completely gutting it. Hatzolah of North Jersey and local EMS was on the scene, but thankfully the home was empty and their services were not needed. No injuries were reported to the firefighting crews who responded in from Clifton, Paterson, Wallington, Carlstadt, and as far out as wayne,  to assist the Passaic Fire Department in this 3 alarm fire. The house destroyed was in fact the Merilis Family.

Man Missing From Newark Found Miles Away

Newark N.J.- Tuesday evening at about 6 pm the calls arrived. An emotionally disturbed Chassidishe man in his early 60s had many hours earlier wandered off from his job in Newark, New Jersey in frigid temperatures without taking his coat. This man was known to walk for hours on-end when distraught, and his family members were concerned for his safety in the cold, and in the dangerous neighborhoods of Newark.

Rabbi Moshe Leib Witriol, the director of Kiryas Joel Public Safety, and a Newark Police Chaplain, got in touch with a Newark Police captain, who sent down Newark’s “mobile precinct” truck, a detective and several officers. He also arranged for a helicopter to join the search.

Newark Police brought down its K-9 unit (a.k.a. a.dog) to sniff for the scent of the missing person. Due to the cold and the wind, however, the dog was unable to track the scent.

Hatzolahs of North Jersey and Union City responded with volunteers, and began coordinating a searching of the local streets and in the nearby park. Hatzolah of North Jersey volunteers borrowed a heat-sensing thermal imager from Rabbi Witriol, in order to search for heat in the park and in cluttered parts of the warehouses where the man worked.

The Kiryas Joel, and Misaskim command centers arrived and set up at the staging area, and coordinated the search together with coordinators from North Jersey and Union City Hatzolahs, and Boro Park Shomrim.

As it got later, more volunteers from Chaveirim, Shomrim, Hatzolah, as well as non-affiliated people showed up to assist with the search. At about 10:00 pm, some searchers at a laundromat a few miles away were told that a “Hasidic man” had been seen there several hours before, but no one had seen where he had gone.

At 11:03 pm, someone received a call that the missing man had been found walking near the Goethals Bridge. It was hard to get the details because the person calling was not the person who had the missing man. The caller stated that someone had the man in a car in an Exxon Station right at the foot of the Goethals Bridge.

The ambulances from Union City and North Jersey Hatzolahs raced over to the gas station, which was a 9 mile drive from Newark. The missing man was found in good condition in the car of a middle-aged non-Jewish couple, Bob and Susan Streit.

The couple explained that they had been driving in the area, when the Susan spotted a “Hasidic man” walking in the cold without a coat. She told Bob, who turned the car around and asked the man to come in the car. He seemed not-well, so they asked him where he was from, and he told them from Boro Park. The husband knew a frum person from Boro Park, Heshy Deutch, whom he did business with, and called him and told him he had found a “Hasidic man.” walking without a coat.

Mr. Deutch told him that that was amazing, because not less than 10 minutes before, he had received a text message about a search for a missing man in Newark. Mr. Deutch then called someone who was at the search. The couple was very humble about their role, and insisted it was what anyone should have done.

The missing person was checked out by Hatzolah of Union City, and was taken back to the police “mobile precinct” where the police finished their report, and the man who was just cold, but in stable condition was taken home by family members.

(News Source: The Yeshivah World North Jersey Desk)

Inside The KJ OEM Command Center

Governer Corzine Extends Holiday Greetings

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

125 WEST STATE STREET

PO Box   001

Trenton NJ 08625-0001

 

Dear Friend,

 

I hope this Holiday season finds you well and spending time with those who are most important to you. I wanted to take a moment to offer you and your family a warm holiday greeting during this special time of year.

 

Watch the Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1FlVI2K4Oc

 

I hope you enjoy the video and I wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jon S. Corzine

Teaneck Police Participate in “Cops in Shops Program”

 

Teaneck, N.J.-  The Teaneck Police Department was recently chosen to participate in the “COPS IN SHOPS 2008/2009 College/Fall Initiative” under a Grant provided by the Division of Highway Traffic Safety and Alcoholic Beverage Control. Since its inception in 1996, the Teaneck Police Department has regularly participated in this program due to our continued success in curbing and preventing the illegal sale of alcohol to minors. Cops in Shops is a proactive approach which places undercover officers in retail liquor establishments to foil the sale of alcohol to minors as well as to those of legal age who attempt to purchase it for them.

If caught, offenders find themselves talking to a police officer, not a store clerk, about losing their driver’s license, going to court and paying fines. And the penalties are harsh—an arrest can lead to a minimum $500.00 fine and a mandatory six month loss of driving privileges. Since 1996, the Cops in Shops program has accounted for more than 7,100 arrests

Underage drinking is a significant safety problem that affects the citizens of our State. Through the Cops in Shops program, local retailers and law enforcement work together to send a strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated anywhere, whether in our parks, local neighborhoods, or in our college communities.

In New Jersey, 29,270 individuals were arrested in 2006 for drunk driving, and 2,971 of those people charged with DWI were under the age of 21, Young drivers face many risks every time they get behind the wheel. Inexperience, driver distraction and speed are just a few of the factors that contribute to making traffic crashes the number one cause of death for motorists 15 to 34 years of age. Adding alcohol to that already potentially deadly equation can only result in tragedies for teen drivers and all who share the road with them.

The true benefit of Cops in Shops goes beyond the number of arrests a police officer makes. It deters young people from attempting to purchase alcohol and helps cut down on illegal age consumption in New Jersey. By working closely with the licensed beverage industry, we can maximize our resources for combating underage drinking. Retailers who might otherwise be exposed to liability for underage sales are assisting law enforcement and, law enforcement is much better able to apprehend underage purchasers and send its message of deterrence. This initiative focuses on the individual who knows he or she is breaking the law, rather than on the licensee who may, in good faith, believe the person is of legal age.

Parents are urged to take the time to talk with their children about the consequences of underage drinking and the penalties for attempting to illegally purchase alcohol. Our goal is to educate our young people rather than having to take enforcement action against them and it is imperative that parents join us in this effort.

(News Source: Helene V. Fall-Municipal Manager)

Cold War Traces Linger in New Jersey

HACKENSACK, N.J. – The last defense against a Soviet nuclear attack was in the backyards of North Jersey.

Tucked behind Gary’s Wine Marketplace on Route 23 north in Wayne are 32 acres owned by Passaic County that were once home to a missile base and now stand as a relic to the Cold War era.

Through the height of the Cold War, from 1955 to 1963, 14 Nike missile batteries were nestled in suburban communities throughout the state, at the ready to fire against any Soviet bomber that might have dodged the U.S. Air Force’s interceptors and headed toward New York City.

Additional sites were control areas where radar stations kept watch for a Soviet attack.

“In these leafy suburban towns, they were actually the very tangible manifestations of the international Cold War tensions,” said Donald E. Bender, a marketing consultant in Livingston who has researched the New Jersey’s Nike missile bases for the past 15 years.

His expertise has been tapped by a variety of U.S. military branches and landed him appearances on national television.

Most of the site installations have gone the way of Bergen County’s two former sites: either redeveloped into luxury housing, like the former launcher site that was nestled in the woods of Mahwah, or picked up by a local government, like old radar station buildings that are now Bergen County’s horseback riding center in Franklin Lakes.

At the former missile site in Wayne, asphalt now covers the three 25-foot-deep missile magazines that each housed 10 Nike Ajax surface-to-air missiles. It’s now a parking area for Passaic County’s Para-Transit jitneys.

But the single-story cinderblock building that was an Army barracks is still standing and is home to the county’s Mosquito Control Division, a Weight and Measures office and other departments.

The entrance is still marked by a steel gate, barbed wire and a security guard’s shack – presumably where a guard acting as Checkpoint Charlie made sure that only U.S. Army or Army Reserve personnel were admitted.

The structures hearken back to the 1950s, when schoolchildren were taught to “duck and cover” beneath their desks to protect against an atomic bomb blast, and the Soviets’ Sputnik satellite struck fear and awe in Americans as it orbited the Earth for a few months in 1957.

Jerry Pluhar, a 72-year-old driver for Passaic County Meals on Wheels who now gets his daily driving assignments in the old Army barracks, said he remembered the Cold War era, but he didn’t know the place where he got his daily driving assignment was a part of its history.

The military wanted to build the launcher sites in a circle about 25 miles from the center of New York City’s Central Park, and situate them to provide overlapping coverage for the metropolitan area, Bender said.

The ideal sites for the launcher areas were expansive and had soil with little rock. Elevated places were sought for the radar stations.

Salem and Maha Abugosh were surprised to learn that their home in The Ridge at Wayne development near Alps and Ratzer roads was on a former Nike control site where three radar towers once stood. One tower scanned the skies over Manhattan, another would have been fixed on an enemy aircraft and the third would have tracked the missiles deployed from the launcher base near Route 23, Bender said.

The Nike Ajax missiles kept at the Wayne base were nonnuclear and akin to those that shot down U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers over the Soviet Union in 1960.

(News Source:Paul Brubaker, The Record)

Thieves Targeting Holiday Shoppers

As the last-minute holiday rush kicks into high gear, thieves sometimes aren’t far behind shoppers, police say.

 With the holidays a blur for many shoppers, security patrols have increased at many malls, including Clifton Commons.

“Almost every year, we get someone who was followed home from the shopping center,” said Sgt. William Gibson, head of the Clifton Police Department’s anti-crime unit.

In response, some stores step up their safety measures come December, and North Jersey security companies report good business during the holidays. But police say it’s ultimately up to patrons to protect themselves.

“You have to be aware of your surroundings,” Gibson said.

In Clifton, robberies peaked last year during the holidays. Fifteen robberies took place in December, nearly double the monthly average, said Clifton police Detective Capt. Robert Rowan.

In Paramus last week, thieves broke into more than 20 unlocked cars near Route 17 and stole Christmas presents, including two 32-inch LCD flat screen televisions, a TomTom Global Positioning System and a Louis Vuitton handbag, according to police.

Urban areas without malls see less of a spike in property crimes. Paterson averages about a dozen thefts a week throughout the year, said Paterson police Detective Lt. Anthony Traina. In Passaic, fake checks tend to be the holiday crime of choice, said Passaic police Detective Gabriel Guzman.

The miles of strip malls along Routes 3 and 46 provide a fertile ground for thieves. During the last week of November, Clifton detectives recorded nine burglaries to cars outside Barnes & Noble, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and other stores along the highways, police records show. Items taken included purses, laptops, packages and GPS devices.

Large shopping centers tend to step up patrols during the busy shopping season, said Mark Riggio, director of operations for Bowles Corporate Services in Clifton. Clifton Commons on Route 3 east hires additional uniformed security for inside and outside stores, and patrol cars rove the parking lot.

“The management company is very responsible,” said Riggio, who provides security for 80 businesses in New Jersey and New York.

The types of businesses bolstering holiday security has grown through the years, Riggio said. This season, Bowles is providing an armed guard for a North Bergen trucking company.

“Every year, we get special requests,” he said.

Police recommend that shoppers keep their personal bags tightly shut and next to their sides at all times. Packages, GPS devices, laptops and other electronics should be stored in vehicle trunks during shopping trips. If someone suspects they are being followed, call 911 and don’t drive directly home, Gibson said.

“Most of these crimes could have been prevented,” Gibson said.

(News Source: Heather Haddon, Herald News)

Hungry To Be Heard – Eating Disorders In Our Community

Many young women in the frum Jewish community are well aware of the pressures that exist for them in today’s society. The shidduch world oftentimes has potential mates asking about body size before character. Choosing between full-time work, being a stay-at-home mother, or a combination of the two roles can drive the sanest to second-guess themselves. And, as wonderful as living among other Jews in a tight-knit community is, it also leaves little room for errors in religious observance.

All these pressures have been cited as reasons for the increase of eating disorders among young Orthodox women. Not many of us make it a mission to actively try and stem the tide of rising rates of anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. Luckily, Elisheva Diamond is forcing us to do something about it: her new film, Hungry to be Heard, is an absorbing documentary that forces us to confront the issue head-on.

Diamond, a former resident of the Five Towns, served as executive producer. She originally got the idea for the project three years ago, after observing what she calls a lack of awareness on the part of parents. “I would watch these very educated and intelligent parents just be totally clueless when it came to recognizing signs of eating disorders and disordered eating,” says Diamond. “If they just had more information, perhaps the phenomenon of adolescents struggling with those things wouldn’t have become so widespread.”

Diamond also discusses another reason which she feels contributed to the increase of these disorders in the community: Body development is not something that is really discussed, especially in the more “right wing” schools; this only contributes to a sense of shame and chagrin when a youngster’s body begins transforming into that of an adult.

As a member of the Orthodox Union’s Young Leadership Cabinet, Diamond broached the topic of the film with the organization’s higher-ups for initial funding. The idea was given the green light, and she quickly began raising the rest of the funds for the project through parlor meetings and contacting various mental-health professionals as well as former and current eating-disordered patients to appear in the film.

Among the cadre of professionals she communicated with was Sarah L. Weinberger-Litman, a health psychologist who recently earned a Ph.D. from the CUNY Graduate Center. Weinberger-Litman, who became one of the film’s producers, explains, “I was so intrigued by what Elisheva was trying to do that I quickly became involved in all aspects of the project.”

Together, Diamond and Weinberger-Litman have recruited an impressive roster of health professionals and rabbinic authorities to address the various medical, psychological, and halachic issues involved. They include Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb of the OU, Rabbi Steven Burg of NCSY, and Dr. Judith Rukay Rabinor, a renowned psychologist. Their interviews are intermingled with accounts from eating-disordered patients, both those who have recovered and those still struggling. Some footage was filmed at the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, one of the most prestigious and well-known treatment centers for eating disorders, where the staff graciously welcomed Diamond and Weinberger-Litman.

Diamond treated her subjects with the utmost sensitivity. In the film, many of them remain nameless, and their faces appear blurred—but not Aliza Stareshefsky’s. A former patient who lives in Passaic, N.J., Stareshefsky’s name and face have been made public in the film. Currently the director of student programming at a girl’s high school in New Jersey, Stareshefsky is candid and frank in her assessment of the situation.

“When Elisheva called me, quite frankly, I was pretty skeptical that it would actually happen,” says Stareshefsky. “Thankfully, I was wrong. I think it is due time that the Jewish community take some responsibility for educating its members about such an important issue.” Stareshefsky was asked to speak about her eating disorder and recovery at a local school some ten years ago, and since then she has been asked to speak at various yeshivas and Jewish day schools across the country. “It was a little hard for me to speak about my experience before an audience at first, but actually, a lot of my healing came from speaking publicly about it. As a survivor, I need to be a voice for change and give others hope that they, too, can get past this to live a full and healthy life.” Diamond echoes Stareshefsky’s sentiment: “A lot of the people who shared their stories actually told me that participating in the film was a healing experience for them,” she said.

Diamond’s film isn’t only for all-girls yeshivas; she, along with Litman and Stareshefsky, believe speaking to boys about the issues is imperative as well. Stareshefsky, who has been asked to speak to a male audience at Yeshiva University in February, comments, “It’s important to make males aware of the issues involved, because they might be unwittingly contributing to the problem. Additionally, many of them have sisters, wives, and friends who are affected by the issues, so they, too, should have the tools to recognize a potential problem when it exists.”

Though the 40-minute film had its first showing at the OU Convention in Jerusalem in November, the film’s official premiere will take place in New York on Saturday night, January 10, at the Manhattan Jewish Experience. Diamond and Weinberger-Litman are going all out for the event, and have scheduled a Q&A panel following the screening, along with a champagne reception at 8:30 p.m. Doors open at 8:00 p.m.

Rabbi Weinreb, executive vice-president of the OU and a clinical psychologist, explained, “Eating disorders are, unfortunately, a prevalent problem in the Orthodox Jewish community, affecting mostly teenage women. It is one of the few psychiatric disorders affecting adolescents that carries a threat to life. As such, it is extremely important that our community address the problem at its roots and learn how to prevent and treat it. I viewed the film at the OU National Convention, and was impressed by its professionalism, poignancy, and power. Hopefully, it will take our community one step further to confronting and solving the issue head-on.” 

Both Diamond and Weinberger-Litman say their understanding and knowledge of eating disorders, and the issues that come along with them, have become much more sophisticated as a result of their journey towards completing the film. The duo plan to distribute DVDs of the film, at little or no cost, to schools and synagogues in an effort to get their message spread.

Diamond comments, “It might be true that your own child won’t develop an eating disorder, but as a community member, isn’t it incumbent upon you to know the signs so you can recognize it in a friend’s child?”

(News Source: Crown Heights . Info)

Judge Rules In Favor Of Engelwood Synagogue

A state judge ruled Friday that the Englewood Planning Board properly allowed a local synagogue to expand seating without adding parking, dismissing a neighborhood group’s claim that the board acted capriciously and unethically.

The decision marks the latest round in what has been years of legal battles between 138 Brayton St., the neighborhood group, and East Hill Synagogue at 225 Walnut St.

In 2007, the Planning Board approved the synagogue’s application to expand from 123 seats to a maximum of 225 without commensurate parking expansion. Brayton’s attorney argued before state Superior Court Judge Garry S. Rothstadt in Paterson last month that the decision was arbitrary and capricious, and that some board members had a conflict of interest in the matter. Four board members who voted on the measure were also members of Ahavath Torah, another modern Orthodox synagogue affiliated with East Hill, the neighborhood group’s attorney argued.

Attorneys for the Planning Board and East Hill maintained that the affiliation between the two synagogues does not present a conflict. Judge Rothstadt ultimately agreed. In his written decision released Friday, he stated, “Here, a conflict could exist if any of the four board members were members of EHS (East Hill Synagogue). Moreover, if Ahavath Torah maintained any financial ties to EHS, that relationship could also be the basis of a conflict, since it is clear that the interest of a synagogue or church passes to all its members.”

But Rothstadt found that wasn’t the case. “None of the members of the board were members of the applicant, EHS. They were simply members of Ahavath Torah, a separate and distinct congregation within the same township. They did not pay money to EHS, nor were they able to avail themselves [of], or [get] any benefits from, EHS. Neither they nor Ahavath Torah maintained any direct or indirect pecuniary or personal interest in EHS.”

Rothstadt went on to state that the Planning Board’s decision had a sturdy basis. “The central issue in regards to the application’s approval involved parking and traffic. The board recognized that a larger sanctuary would cause more people to attend the synagogue than the amount contemplated during the original approval process in 2000,” the judge said, referring to EHS’ initial application to take up residence in the old Victorian house it occupies.

“In deciding the issue, the board relied upon the essentially undisputed fact that parking issues were created on a limited number of times during each year since, for the most part, the congregants walked to EHS and did not drive. In addition, both sides’ experts agreed that to have additional asphalt parking areas was contrary to good planning for a residential area, especially where its use was limited to relatively few occasions. Moreover, both sides’ experts agreed that good planning dictated consideration of typical conditions and not worse-case scenarios,” the judge stated.

“Ultimately, the board decided the parking issue by balancing the interests involved, and deciding that residents in the area would have to tolerate occasional inconvenience caused by occasional overflow on-street parking in order to give continued practical meaning to the freedom to worship.”

State Government To Help With Home Heating Costs

Winter has come in with a blast and despite the drop in oil prices, many social service advocates fear that too many people will sacrifice food, medicine or their health to keep their pipes from freezing this season.

“We are absolutely concerned about seniors who are facing severe economic times,” said Patricia Polansky, state assistant commissioner of the division of aging and community services. “We are afraid they will skimp on food or medicine rather than ask for assistance.”

Nobody knows what the winter weather or heating costs will be, but many forecasters predict both will be tough. Among the elderly, Polansky said, turn-off isn’t the only threat.

“It’s not just a matter of freezing,” Polansky said. “Some utilities will turn down the heat if the customer is behind on payments. Seniors are much more susceptible to the cold and end up in the hospital.”

Last week, Gov. Jon Corzine approved a $22.5 million aid package supplementing the $88 million he approved for home heating aid in October. The new package includes $10 million for those who earn too much to qualify for low-income assistance, but who need temporary help paying their utility bills. The aid will be distributed through the nonprofit NJ SHARES, which has already been flooded with applications.

The NJ SHARES program has no income limit, but is only for those who are facing financial crisis and have a history of good-faith payments of their utility bills. It offers a one-time payment of up to $700 for gas and $1,300 for heating oil.

There are at least a half-dozen other assistance programs, but most are for low-income. Lack of income, however, doesn’t have to be chronic to qualify, said Eileen Leahey, director of the payment assistance outreach program at PS&G.

“Most people don’t realize that some of the programs are based on last month’s income,” Leahey said. “It doesn’t matter what you made last year if you didn’t make anything last month. People may be eligible and don’t know it.”

She said the utility company is currently mailing 18,000 letters to customers at least three months behind in payments. “We think these are people who are first-timers when it comes to not paying their utility bills but don’t realize you don’t have to be poor to get help.”

The extra funds will only go so far, officials agree, and even expanding aid income limits may leave many customers out in the cold. Representatives for the utilities and heating oil companies stressed, however, that accommodations can, and should, be made to customers.

“As long as people let us know they are having a hardship we can help,” said Leahey at PSE&G. “If they are seniors or have disabilities, the heat cannot be turned off. Even if they are not, we can work with them to make a payment plan. But we have to know. We don’t want to turn off people’s heat.”

Heating oil dealers can refuse deliveries to customers in arrears, but “people who are having a tough time should talk their dealers,” advised Eric DeGesero of the NJ Fuel Merchants Association. “Particularly if they have been long-time customers, maybe something can be arranged.”

The New Jersey Citizen Action Oil Group offers a cooperative buying program that can reduce home heating oil prices. For example, the average price among private New Jersey heating oil dealers is currently $2.50 per gallon. The Citizen Action group negotiated a group deal for $2.

The co-op is open even to people who owe money to other oil companies, although customers with bad credit would most likely have to pay cash on delivery. People who locked into a higher price earlier this year should check their contract. Most have stiff penalties for going to another dealer.

Despite the range of aid programs, some seniors may be too proud or too confused to ask for help, experts noted, urging neighbors to be on the lookout for signs that a household may be in trouble.

Visit your neighbor. Check whether there is enough food, that basic repairs are being made and the rooms aren’t too cold. Are the sidewalks being shoveled? Are they seeing the doctor as much as they used to? Are they getting their prescriptions filled?

“This is a proud and self-sufficient age group,” Polansky said. “But these days, everybody needs a little help.

(News Source: Judy Peet/The Star-Ledger)

Part 2 Of The Snow Storm Is Here

The second part of the Snow storm has hit us. Expect 2-5 inches of snow, once again leave extra traveling time.

Bergen Nursing Homes Ranked Below Average in Federal Report

Bergen Regional Medical Center

Bergen Regional Medical Center, the state’s largest provider of nursing home care, was among seven facilities in Bergen County to score below average in rankings released today by the federal government.

The five-star rating system released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) streamlines data to help families select a facility, a task that often follows a medical crisis and requires immediate action.

In Bergen County, three nursing homes scored the highest, a five-star rating, awarded to fewer than 50 of the state’s 372 long term care centers. They include: The Actor’s Fund Home in Englewood; Dell Ridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Paramus and the Van Dyk Manor of Ridgewood.

Rankings of  two- or one-star are considered below average.

Facilities that received two-stars include: Woodcrest Health Care Center in New Milford; Prospect Heights in Hackensack; Care One at Pine Rest in Paramus and Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus.

One-star ratings were given to Maywood Center for Health and Rehabilitation; Oradell Health Care Center and the Plaza Regency at Park Ridge.

“Choosing a nursing home or community-based care is one of the most difficult and sometimes confusing decisions families have to make,” said Thomas Hamilton, director of the CMS Survey and Certification Group. “The new Web site improvements also include links to information…that may be of great interest to families.”

A representative for New Jersey’s long-term care industry sharply criticized the rating system as misleading.

“I gave the list my personal smell test and it didn’t pass muster,” said Paul Langevin, president of the Health Care Association of New Jersey which represents long-term care facilities. “There are facilities I’ve recommended to people regularly and who are very satisfied which have received three stars,” he said.

Facilities are ranked in three areas: a three-year review of annual inspections; staffing and other quality measures.
Bergen Regional’s score was lowered significantly because of recent inspection reports.

“Recent environmental issues related to the size and age of the facility impacted the results of the health inspection survey used in this new report,” said Katie Richardson, interim administrator for Long Term Care.” Corrective plans are in place, she said.

Barbra London, senior vice president of Freedom Elder Care in Hackensack, said families are eager for information, especially when they must select a facility when a loved one is discharged from a hospital.

“It will give them some control over a situation they feel very helpless about,” she said.

She stressed that families must visit facilities themselves and do some homework to know what to look for. Families should ask for inspection reports and note if there’s any reluctance to do so. Find out if dementia patients are separated from the rest of the population. Check menus and activity calendars and notice the quality of the food and if activities are actually occurring as scheduled, London said.

In Passaic County, three of the 19 facilities ranked received top scores including: Doctors Subacute Care in Paterson; Holy Name Friary in Ringwood and St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa. Seven facilities scored below average. Health Center at Bloomingdale and Oak Ridge Rehabilitation in Wayne scored one star.

The following centers received two stars: Wayne View Care Center; Riverview Post- Acute Care Center in Paterson; Preakness Healthcare Center in Wayne; Daughters of Miriam Center in Clifton; Chestnut Hill Convalescent Center in Passaic.

One star rankings included: Health Center at Bloomingdale and Oak Ridge Rehabilitation in Wayne. Twenty facilities in Morris County were ranked, including four that received top scores. Five centers scored below average with two stars.

(News source: North Jersey .com)

N.J. schools meet test score guidelines

Trenton-New Jersey schools are holding fairly steady in meeting federal guidelines in standardized test scores, the state Department of Education announced today.

New Jersey schools are holding fairly steady in meeting federal guidelines in standardized test scores, the state Department of Education announced today.

Almost 71 percent of the 2,210 New Jersey schools in which tests were administered this spring met the so-called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)standards. That number is down slightly from the 73 percent last year but up considerably from the 62 percent in the prior year, the state said.  The tests are mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

The department also released the statewide list of schools making AYP, the list of Schools In Need of Improvement and their yearly status and detailed historical data on all schools.

You can find your school on the list through the following link: http://www.state.nj.us/education/news/2008/1219ayp.htm

(News Source: North Jersey .com)

New Jersey Classroom

Governor Corzine On Chanukah

Governor Corzine the Governor of the state of New Jersey, will be lighting the Menorah on Monday and making the Israel Comission permanent on Monday.

Agudath Israel Combating Unemployment

Passaic N.J.-Many in the Passaic/Clifton Community, work in large corporations. With thousands of blue collar jobs being layed off everyweek,  Agudath Israel has stepped in with Professional Career Services.

Professional Career Services(PCS) a division of Agudath Israel, will be hosting a Information Seminar (LOCATION & TIME BELOW) about their new Healthcare Compliance Officer Training Course. This course will provide a select number of Baalei Mishpacha with the skills they need for a stable and suitable career in a new field that currently has high demand.

The field of Healthcare Compliance has significant opportunities for making a nice living in a job that is well-suited to one with analytical, logical, communication and ethical skills. It is a professional, white-collar career field in an important service environment that is not as susceptible as other fields to the vagaries of the economy. This is an unusual opportunity for those who want to work in a steady job rather than go into business or train for years to enter a profession.

A Compliance Officer in a healthcare facility is responsible for ensuring that the organization complies with the law and follows its own policies and procedures in a correct and ethical manner.

This growing field is perfect for the baal mishpacha who is starting out and needs a job that will support his family. As is known, healthcare is a growing field with a constant demand for professionals, without the volatility of many other fields in a changing economy.  Because of the government’s crackdown on fraud and abuse, Compliance Officers are now considered a crucial component for a healthcare facility’s success, both in ensuring legal compliance and in preventing harmful media exposure.

The salary ranges goes up to $150,000 for Chief Compliance Officer Positions. The required education and certification can be obtained in a relatively short time.

PCS invites you to take advantage of this opportunity!

 On Sunday Dec 21 in Flatbush: 1:00PM at Cong. Neve Yakov-1359 E. 9th St  (Btw M & N).

You will meet, lawyers involved in the profession, and professionals who are in the field!

Tuition: approximately $13,000 – Loans are available  
Course Length:  7months
Applicants must have: BA, BS or BTL (BMG only)

Professional Career Services(PCS) a division of Agudath Israel is a not for profit organization which provides job training and job placement in our community. If you know any quality job opening please let them know at  ny@pcsjobs.org .

(News Source: Agudath Israel)

Troopers, First Responders Struck By Police Cruisers On I-80 Due To Ice At Accident scene.

A chain-reaction accident involving six vehicles on an icy stretch of Route 80 eastbound near Exit 12 in Hope Township sent 11 people, including four State Troopers, to the hospital with injuries and shut the highway for several hours this morning.

None of the injuries were considered life-threatening and all lanes were reopened by noon, said Sgt. Stephen Jones, a State Police spokesman. Cleanup of the crash continued this afternoon on the shoulder due a spill of about 300 gallons on diesel fuel a tractor trailer, Jones said.Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerA New Jersey State Police car hit by a tractor trailer truck is removed for the scene in Hope Township.
Two State Police cruisers and a Hope Township fire truck were stopped on the side of Route 80 eastbound responding to a one-car accident involving a driver who skidded off the road from black ice, Jones said. As they were tending to the injured driver, Floyd Berger Jr. of Mt. Bethel, Pa., another car lost control on the ice, Jones said.

A pickup truck being driven by Olando Ramos, of East Stroudsburg, Pa., slid out of control and hit a tractor trailer being driven by Francis Goodrich, of West Virginia, Jones said. The tractor trailer jack-knifed and slammed into the parked emergency vehicles on the side of the road, Jones said.

The chain-reaction accident sent the two police cruisers into the crowd of four State Troopers, three firefighters and three EMTs who had responded to the initial accident, Jones said. Several of the emergency responders were struck, Jones said. Berger, the driver who originally skidded off the road, sustained additional injuries in the second crash, Jones said.

“Fortunately, none of the injuries seems serious,” said Jones. “All vehicles involved received moderate to significant damage and were towed. The troopers’ vehicles were totaled.”

All 11 people injured were taken to Hackettstown Regional Medical Center. The four State Police troopers injured were Richard Mandragon, Louis Crisafulli, Tara Cumbo and James Hamill, all of the Hope Township barracks, Jones said. The names of the injured emergency responders were not immediately available, Jones said. NJ.com

New Jersey Gearing Up

TRENTON, N.J. – Road crews around the state are gearing up Thursday for a winter storm expected to drop as much as 10 inches of snow in northern New Jersey on Friday.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Warren, Sussex, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties for Friday morning through late Friday night.

Forecasters expect the storm won’t hit until morning rush hour, with the worst weather coming late Friday afternoon.

“It looks like northern Jersey is definitely going to be hardest hit with the snow,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Wanton. He said the southern half of the state would mostly see sleet and freezing rain.

State road crews said they were prepared to handle whatever the storm brings.

“We’re in a pretty good situation,” said Joseph Orlando, a spokesman for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which also operates the Parkway.

“All of our equipment is ready to go; it’s not all worn and torn from an entire season of snow,” he said. “We’re pretty much just under full capacity for our salt.”

Alan Hicks, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said Newark Liberty International Airport was prepared with 500 tons each of salt and sand, as well as thousands of gallons of deicing fluids and snow removal equipment.

Footprints in snow lead to suspect

Photo from: http://fotoblogg.wordpress.com/ (with permission)

CLIFTON — Police say they tracked a teenager they suspect of robbing another youth by following his footprints in the snow Tuesday night.

About 9:30 p.m., a 17-year-old Clifton teenager was walking alone on Van Houten Avenue when he was approached by someone wearing a mask and pointing a gun, said Detective Capt. Robert Rowan of the Clifton Police Department. The thief told him to turn away and stole the victim’s cellphone. He fled on foot toward Passaic on Van Houten Avenue.

When Clifton police responded, they found a distinct set of footprints heading toward Passaic, Rowan said. They tracked the prints a few blocks to a house on Albion Street.

Police spoke to the homeowners, who told officers that a nephew was in the basement with a group of friends. Officers searched the teens and found the pellet gun and cellphone in a 16-year-old’s sweatshirt pocket.

The Passaic boy was charged with robbery in the first degree, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of an imitation firearm in the commission of a crime. Police arrested another teenager in the group on an outstanding $1,500 warrant on disorderly conduct charges in Passaic, Rowan said.

On Wednesday, the 16-year-old was held in the Passaic County Juvenile Detention Center in Haledon.

NORTHJERSEY.COM

NJ Transit Alert

NJ TRANSIT bus tickets and bus passes will be honored on trains and light rail, system wide on Friday, December 19, due to expected winter weather.

Snow Storm Enroute To North Jersey

The weather websites are predicting snow on Thursday night (12/18) with little to no accumulation. The precipitation will continue throughout Friday into Shabbos. Expect 6-9inches of snow on the ground. Be careful driving and walking to Shul. More snow is expected again on Sunday.

Get those shovels, ice choppers and salt ready.

UPDATE 12/18/08 1:00 PM: ADAS ACTIVITY GROUPS WILL BE CLOSED TOMORROW, FRIDAY, DEC. 19TH DUE TO THE ANTICIPATED SNOW STORM.

UPDATE 12/18/08 3:00 PM: WCBS is predicting accumulations up to 7 inches on Friday. Make sure to call your child’s school for School Closing updates. School phone numbers are as follows: Yeshiva K’Tana – 973-916-1555, ext 5 (no information until Friday AM), YBH – 973-777-0735, Passaic-Clifton Cheder- 973-472-0011. School Closings are also avaialble online at PCJN and at WCBS880.com

UPDATE 12/18/08 5:00 PM: New York City N.Y.Alternate Side Parking rules are suspended on Friday, December 19 to facilitate snow removal. Link to New York alternate side parking schedule.

UPDATE 12/18/08 9:45 PM: The following schools are closed tomorrow 12/19/08

Ramapo College Of New Jersey    CLOSED

City Of Passaic Public Schools       

• YKP Girls Elementary, Girls High School and Pre-school: Closed today.
• Yeshiva Mkor Boruch: Open with early dismissal at 11:30AM.
• YBH-Hillel: Closed today.UPDATE 12/19/08 6:57 AM: School Closings Update 
• The Cheder: is open at this time

Report Shows New Jerseys Hospitals “Boosting States Economy”

Newark Beth Israel Hospital

TRENTON —

The New Jersey Hospital Association released an annual report that shows they employ 145,000 people and spend $18 billion. Hospitals are second only to state, county and local governments for employing people in the state.

The industry says it provided $1.3 billion in care to uninsured patients in 2007. The state reimbursed them $715 million by the end of the fiscal year in June.

Eight hospitals have closed over the last two years.

New Jersey’s 74 hospitals say they boost the state’s economic health even though half are losing money.

(News Source: Associated Press)

New Technology To Provide Relief For Air Travelers

Newark Airport Flight Status Board

NEWARK —

The Ground Based Augmentation System uses global positioning data instead of radar to pinpoint aircraft positions. Officials hope it will reduce congestion at the airport by allowing planes to fly closer together without compromising safety.

The system, made by Honeywell, will cost the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey about $2.5 million.

Continental will spend about $1 million to outfit 15 planes with the satellite navigation. The Federal Aviation Administration is committing up to $2.5 million.

Newark Liberty has been one of the nation’s worst airports for departure and arrival delays in recent years.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey will be the first major airport to test new technology aimed at reducing chronic flight delays.

(News Source: Associated Press)

 

 

Gathering of Prayer & Protest To Be Held in Brooklyn N.Y. on Behalf of Chevron & Eretz Yisroel

Chevron, Israel

There will be an “emergency solidarity conference” for the city of Chevron & all of Eretz Yisroel tonight (Wednesday) in Brooklyn N.Y.

The event scheduled for 8:00PM at Congregation Ahaba Ve Ahva [1744 Ocean Parkway near Kings Highway] in Flatbush, will have both Sephardic & Ashkenazi Rabbonim addressing the gathering.

A flyer advertising the event stated: “Please join Rabbis, community leaders & concerned citizens from all communities in an urgent meeting of prayer and protest!”

The evening’s program includes an exclusive video presentation and address by Mr. Morris Abraham, the owner of “Bait HaShalom” in Chevron.

Mr. Morris Abraham, is widely known in Brooklyn & the Deal N.J. Sephardic communities, as a long-time active Community member, and is a true Osek Bitzarchei Tzibur.

The flyer also asked the following questions:

*Why can our community businessman own property in Lebanon and Syria, but not in Chevron – the first Jewish city?

*Why are terrorists’ homes protected by Israel’s Supreme Court, while dedicated Jews are driven from their homes?

*Why is Israel retroactively “Koshering” illegal Bedouin homes and communities, while Jewish farms are being destroyed?

*Why are American Jewish organizations remaining silent while our civil and religious rights are being trampled on?

(News Source: The Yeshiva World)

Chinese Ship Rescued From Pirates In Gulf of Aden

Somalia Pirates

NAIROBI (Reuters) – A multilateral force rescued a Chinese ship from Somali pirates on Wednesday, in a sign foreign navies patrolling the shipping lane linking Europe to Asia are adopting tougher new tactics.

 The Chinese boat Zhenhua 4 was one of four vessels seized by pirates on Tuesday, the same day the United Nations Security Council took a strong stand against the attacks and authorized countries to pursue the gunmen on land.

 A Kenyan maritime group said the crew locked themselves in their cabins and radioed for help. A warship and two helicopters came and fired on the pirates, but did not kill them, it said.

 Chinese state media said a “multilateral” force with helicopters hovered over the ship and successfully fought off the pirates.

 Rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia this year has earned gunmen millions of dollars in ransom, hiked shipping insurance costs and caused international alarm.

 The seizures have prompted some of the world’s biggest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around southern Africa instead — which could push up the cost of commodities and manufactured goods.

 Foreign navies have rushed to patrol shipping lanes off the Horn of Africa nation, but have had little impact so far on the pirates who mostly operate out of northern Somalia.

 According to the Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Assistance program, there have been 124 incidents of piracy off Somali this year and some 60 successful hijacks.

 Nearly 400 people and 19 ships are being held along the coast, including a Saudi supertanker with 2 million barrels of oil and a Ukrainian cargo ship with 33 tanks.

 VERY ROBUST APPROACH

 Last week the European Union launched an anti-piracy operation with warships and aircraft from Britain, France, Greece and Spain, and pledged to take a “very robust” approach.

 China is reported to be seriously considering sending naval ships to the region to escort vessels and Kenya said this week it would sink any pirates carrying out attacks in its waters.

 Mwangura said on Wednesday the Chinese vessel, with 30 Chinese crew, and a yacht with two on board had been seized off Yemen a day earlier. A tugboat and a 100-meter (330-ft) cargo ship belonging to an Istanbul-based shipping company were also taken in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday.

Paterson Comebats Alarming Child Lead Poisoning

Lead Safety Poster

 

PATERSON N.J.— Most of the buildings in New Jersey’s cities were constructed — and painted — more than 30 years ago, which means they have serious problems with lead paint. Paterson’s housing stock is no different.

A study issued by the Department of the Public Advocate in April showed that 5 percent of the children tested in Paterson had lead poisoning, more than double the state average.

On Tuesday, Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres entered into an agreement with the New Jersey Public Advocate to become the state’s seventh “Model Lead-Safe City,” which calls for increased screening for lead poisoning among children and strengthening the city’s current laws on stripping lead paint from the city’s old housing stock.

But, the initiative comes with no new state funds to help the city add to its four lead paint inspectors in the Division of Health or to increase its budget for a public education campaign.

Torres hosted Public Advocate Ronald Chen to announce Paterson’s designation as a model city, an initiative that will train its housing inspectors to test for lead paint and appoint a lead paint coordinator.

“We are targeting our most vulnerable population, our children,” Torres said Tuesday, who added that he wants to work with the school district, churches and pre-kindergarten centers to test all children entering school.

Torres said the city can do this without increased funding levels, if it partners with the schools and non-profits and uses existing grant money.

High levels of lead in the blood can cause a lower IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing and kidney damage. Damage to the brain and nervous system from lead poisoning is irreversible.

Children under age 6 are the most vulnerable, because their brains and central nervous systems are developing.

Exposure to lead-laden paint, household dust, soil, air, drinking water, food, ceramics, home remedies or cosmetics can result in poisoning, according to city health officials.

In Paterson, the rate of lead paint poisoning in children is consistent with other older industrial cities like Newark and Trenton — mainly because the vast majority of its housing stock was built before the 1978 ban on the sale of lead paint.

In Paterson, 91 percent of the housing was built before 1978 and 60 percent before 1950, when lead paint levels were highest, according to the New Jersey Public Advocate.

The model city designation comes four months after the city notified 108 homeowners who took part in a home renovation program called Paterson Pride that city inspectors failed to conduct routine inspections in those houses.

As a result, the city re-sent its inspectors and found seven of those houses had problems with lead paint.

Torres on Tuesday said those inspections slipped through the cracks.

The city’s current ordinance fines a homeowner up to $1,000 for lead paint violations.

Torres said he would strengthen the ordinance by requiring inspections every time a landlord rents an apartment to a new tenant. Torres said that process only occurs now if those units are subsidized with Section 8 rental vouchers or if the owner sells the building to someone else.

“We found shoddy abatement and cleanup and in some cases even observed loose lead dust in homes that had previously been abated,” Chen said Tuesday.

(News source  The Record)

Paris “Super Attack” Thwarted Bombs Found In Department Store

PARIS — A package of dynamite planted in a luxury Paris department store was found and removed by the police on Tuesday, rattling the nerves of Parisians at the height of the Holiday shopping season.

Members of a French bomb squad searched the Printemps department store in Paris on Tuesday.

 

Police officers cordoned off the street in front of the Printemps department store in Paris on Tuesday.

French police found a package of explosives at the Printemps department store complex in central Paris on Tuesday.

The store, Printemps, on the elegant Boulevard Haussmann, was just beginning to fill up with shoppers at 11 a.m. on Tuesday when the police swooped in, acting on a tip from a French news agency. They discovered five sticks of dynamite bound together with a cord in a restroom on the third floor of the men’s store. There was no detonator with the dynamite, French officials said.

A previously unknown group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front said in a warning mailed to Agence France-Presse that it had planted the explosives in the store. It demanded the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan and warned that it would strike again if President Nicolas Sarkozy did not bring the troops home by the end of February.

Interior Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie and the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, rushed to the scene, where bomb-squad vans on the cordoned-off boulevard looked eerily out of place against a backdrop of colorful Holiday lights.

“For the moment, we have found sticks of dynamite in just one location,” Ms. Alliot-Marie told reporters. She said the dynamite was “relatively old” and had no detonator, adding, “From what we know so far, this was not a device that was intended to explode.”

Mr. Sarkozy, speaking from the eastern French city of Strasbourg, said security officials were analyzing the explosives.

“Vigilance against terrorism is the only possible option,” he said in a live television broadcast.

Security had recently been tightened in parts of Paris, as it is every year around the Holidays. Gérard Gachet, a spokesman for Ms. Alliot-Marie, said the ministry had deployed an additional 1,500 police officers in the Haussmann district only last week.

Printemps, with three separate buildings, is one of the grand department stores of Paris, rivaling Macy’s in New York in size. It is famous for its elaborate and creative decorations and lighting displays during the holiday season.

Though people left the building quickly on Tuesday, there was little sense of panic during the evacuation, in part because shoppers and employees were initially told it was for a “technical incident.” But as the police barriers were lifted and most parts of the store reopened, a sense of unease spread as Parisians recalled a wave of explosions in shopping areas in 1985 and 1986 that killed seven people and injured dozens.

Leonie Jean-Julien, 52, a seamstress in the women’s store, was working at Printemps in December 1985 when Hezbollah bombs exploded on the ground floor there and in the Galeries Lafayette department store.

“Since 1985, I take this seriously,” she said.

Outside Printemps, there was a sense of defiance and frustration among shoppers and tourists who found themselves waiting on sidewalks in near-freezing weather.

“They want us to be afraid, but we can’t stop our lives,” said Véronique Nicolas, 53, who was one of the first people back in the store when it reopened shortly after 2 p.m.

An editor at Agence France-Presse, André Birukoff, said that in addition to the letter received Tuesday, the news agency had received an earlier warning that an attack on Printemps was imminent.

He said that one of the agency’s journalists had received an anonymous telephone call on Dec. 10 warning that there would soon be an explosion at the department store. The caller broke off before identifying himself or giving any other information.

In its statement to the agency on Tuesday, the Afghan Revolutionary Front said, “Send the message to your president that he needs to withdraw his troops from our country before the end of February 2009, or else we will act again in your capitalist department stores, and this time with no warning.”

France has about 3,000 troops deployed with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

(News source NY Times Online)

Meg Bortin and Caroline Brothers contributed reporting.

Fort Dix Terrorist Plot Case Goes To Jury

Fort Dix Terror Plot

  CAMDEN, N.J.   A New Jersey jury will begin deliberating Wednesday in the case of five men accused of plotting an attack on the Army’s Fort Dix.

Lawyers completed closing arguments in U.S. District Court on Tuesday evening.

Jurors told Judge Robert Kugler they wanted to wait until morning to begin deliberations in the case, which stretched for 29 days, much of it focused on hundreds of secret recordings and the credibility of the informants who made them.

In an unusual move, Kugler ordered that the jury be sequestered as they consider whether to convict the men on the seven different criminal charges they face

 The five defendants – all foreign-born Muslims who lived for years in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill – are charged with conspiring to kill military personnel and attempted murder. Four of them also face weapons charges. They face life in prison if convicted.

There was no attack before the men were arrested in May 2007. Prosecutors portray the case as an example of law enforcement officials averting what could have been a deadly attack.

In his final remarks to the jury Tuesday, Deputy U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick repeated that assertion as a way to explain some actions by the FBI and its informants – such as setting up a gun deal.

“The FBI investigates crime on the front end. They don’t want to have to do it on the back end,” Fitzpatrick told the jury of eight women and four men. “They needed to know that these guys, these defendants, did not have another source of supply for weapons. They needed to make sure that these guys aren’t going to get weapons from somewhere else and do something right under our nose.”

Defense lawyers argued that while the men talked boldly, they were not seriously planning anything. Rather, they say, the men were prodded along by the informants.

“We know that this is all political talk by young Muslims in the post-9/11 world,” Troy Archie, the lawyer for defendant Eljvir Duka. “They were angry, yes. … Did they have an intent to kill? No.”

In his closing arguments Monday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hammer reiterated the government’s contention that the men traveled to the Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains in February 2007 for training.

Evidence shows that the men went to gun stores to look for weapons, fired guns at a firing range, played paintball and watched jihadist videos while there.

Michael Huff, who represents defendant Dritan Duka, said the government has it wrong. He reminded the jury of eight women and four men of times during secret recordings made by FBI informants that the men were heard referring to paintball as fun.

He also suggested that one of the informants, Mahmoud Omar, was the one who first raised the notion that the paintball games could be used as training for an attack.

Further, he said, the al-Qaeda propaganda videos the men watched took up only one hour of the week they spent in the Poconos. He pointed to testimony about other movies they watched, such as an Eddie Murphy concert film.

And Huff reminded jurors of testimony from a Philadelphia police officer who said one of the suspects, Serdar Tatar, invited him on to go with his friends to the shooting range. Neither the officer nor Tatar ended up making the trip.

But it was still relevant, Huff said.

“Are you going to invite a police officer to your jihad training party?” he asked. Prosecutors said defense lawyers were making such arguments to deflect attention from the damning words and actions of the defendants.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ASSEMBLY ADOPTS RESOLUTION TO CONDEMN MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS, MOURN VICTIMS

 (TRENTON)  The New Jersey General Assembly adopted a resolution Monday Assembly members Upendra J. Chivukula, Peter J. Barnes, III and Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. sponsored condemning the Nov. 26 Mumbai Terror Attacks in which nearly 200 people were killed and over 327 injured.

 Assembly members Linda Stender and Gary S. Schaer joined Assembly members Chivukula, Barnes and Diegnan as Chivukula presented the proclamation to India’s Consul General in New York, His Excellency Prabhu Dayal. Chivukula (D-Somerset) condemned the terror attacks in his native India as a barbaric and brutal assault on human life and democratic principles. “I pledge to fight the destructive forces of terrorism by continuing to raise awareness of the devastation of the Mumbai Terror Attacks and the importance of keeping up the pressure to punish the perpetrators with initiatives such as the resolution adopted by the Assembly,” said Chivukula. “The attack in Mumbai represents an assault on all peace-loving democratic countries.

The New Jersey legislature stands behind the people of India and against the terrorist attacks in Mumbai,” said Barnes (D-Middlesex). “All freedom loving people must join together to fight terrorism across the globe. The citizens of the United States and India stand united in this effort,” said Diegnan (D-Middlesex). All three members said the Assembly resolution was an important symbol – of support for the people of India and against perpetrators of terror.

The resolution reads, “…The New Jersey General Assembly emphatically and without hesitation condemns these horrific and violent acts, through which the perpetrators sought to create chaos and trigger sectarian unrest in the largest pluralistic democracy of the world.” The resolution also mourns the senseless and tragic deaths of innocent people and honors the heroic individuals who performed courageous and selfless acts to rescue survivors, often risking their lives to save another.

India’s Consul General in New York, His Excellency Prabhu Dayal applauded the New Jersey General Assembly for raising its voice against the devastating 60-hour-siege on Mumbai that shocked India and stunned the world. “By adopting the resolution condemning the Mumbai Terror Attacks, the New Jersey General Assembly has taken an important step which should be emulated by democratic institutions all over the world,” Dayal asserted. “The world community must come together to make sure the perpetrators of the Mumbai Terror Attacks are punished and institutions and agencies that support them are crushed,” Dayal added. “We must act, and act once and for all so camps where terrorists are trained are wiped out from the face of the earth.” Dayal is the first-ever Indian diplomat to address the New Jersey General Assembly in recent years. The only Indian-American lawmaker in New Jersey, Chivukula thanked Speaker Joseph J. Roberts and fellow members for their support of the resolution. He said he also was grateful for the outreach of the New Jersey legislature to the Indian-American community in the days and weeks that followed the Mumbai Terror Attacks. Link to original article