Leading up to the raid on Agriprocessors the government painted the company as one of the worst drug producing and sexual abuse hubs in the country, lead by a drug king Sholom Rubashkin. But in the end it all boiled down to inflating invoices… yes it’s a crime but does it deserve to destroy a huge company? Destroy thousands of jobs? Put a father of 10 – with a long history of community service – in jail for LIFE?

Did he scheme to defraud and steal money for the bank? Did he have any intention NOT to repay every last penny of the loan? That is until the government directly caused it to go bankrupt?

And after they filed for bankruptcy protection, when attempting to sell the company to minimize the loss to the debtors, the US GOVERNMENT threatened serious potential buyers with Forfeiture if they employ ANY member of the Rubashkin family – even those not charged with anything!!! – Basically turning away all serious investors. Rubashkin’s were ONLY ones with intricate knowledge of the national kosher meat industry, and without their input, it would be very difficult to succeed.

Then, after causing serious buyers, willing to pay in the vicinity of 25 million dollars for the company to turn away, the government charges Sholom Rubashkin for causing a $27 million dollar loss to the bank… who caused the loss to the bank? This is a sad chapter in the US justice history…

You deemed my previous explanations regarding tza’ar ba’alei chayim at AgriProcessors inadequate. I have responded in greater depth in this new The Jew & The Carrot post that just went online:

http://tinyurl.com/2dk7vya

Re further evidence about inhumane treatment of animals
I’ll post about this separately, hopefully later tonight.

Re “the first neurenberg [sic] law”
I didn’t understand your question the first time because of the typo and unclear wording. I’m well aware that shechita was banned in Nazi Germany. In modern times, it has also been banned in New Zealand and 3 other countries. The fact that shechita was banned by the Nazis because of anti-Semitism does not mean that all practices of shechita are immune from error, mispractice, or criticism within the Jewish community (my later post will have more information about this) and that all criticism is necessarily anti-Semitic. As for your historical points, I regret using Wikipedia and other Web sources (I certainly know the gist but wanted to confirm the dates–and this is quick and easy), but it appears your account is inaccurate. The Nuremberg Laws (a subset of Nazi laws targeting Jews, not the entirety) were passed in 1935 and had nothing to do with shechita. Shechita was banned in April 1933. That was soon after Hitler came to power (January 1933), but it certainly was not the first action taken against the Jews in Nazi Germany — in other words, your insinuation that shechita is the first target for anyone out to destroy Jews is false.

Re “the Orthodox Union (who I am sure you despise)”
I don’t despise the OU. I’m not sure where you came up with that idea, but it’s probably not worth arguing the point.

Re “the Orthodox Union … had also gone down there since the meat would be non kosher if … other suffering [was] caused.”
This is simply not an accurate account of the OU’s involvement. If you disagree, please provide a source. Although I disagree with their argument, many in the kosher establishment have said that tza’ar ba’alei chayim is distinct from certifying meat as kosher and that tza’ar ba’alei chayim does not invalidate kashrut.

It is untrue that Sholom Rubashkin was “found not guilty” of the federal immigration-related charges. They were dismissed conditionally in November, and they could still be reinstated at a later date. Prosecutors’ request for dismissal stated (http://tinyurl.com/ydsut7x):

“According to the government’s calculation of the sentencing guidelines, due in large part to the amount of loss associated with defendant’s fraud and false statement convictions, any convictions with regard to Counts 1 through 72 [i.e., the 72 federal immigration-related charges] would be entirely eclipsed by defendant’s recommended guideline sentence on the counts for which he has already been convicted. This is not to minimize the importance of those counts, but at least for the purposes of the advisory sentencing guideline range, any convictions on Counts 1 through 72 would have no impact upon defendant’s sentence. However, any evidence of immigration violations would be relevant conduct that the Court could consider at sentencing even without a second trial.

In the government’s estimation, now that defendant has been convicted on the most serious offenses charged in the pending indictment (in terms of potential penalties), and given that a jury has determined defendant committed crimes by making false statements about the harboring of undocumented aliens at Agriprocessors, Inc., and his knowledge of undocumented workers at Agriprocessors, Inc., dismissal without prejudice of Counts 1 through 72 and the forfeiture allegation is the most appropriate and efficient manner in which to proceed in this case. Dismissal will avoid an extended and expensive trial, conserve limited judicial and prosecutorial resources, and lessen the inconvenience to witnesses. The public interest has been substantially served because of the convictions and jury findings noted above. The government asks that such dismissal be without prejudice so criminal charges and the forfeiture allegation could be reinitiated based upon a change in circumstances or a reevaluation of present circumstances.”

Can anyone spell S E N S A T I O N A L I S M?

“Have you any proof from a credible source that animals were treated inhumanely?”
Besides seeing the video footage with my own two eyes, I’m going by what the USDA declared — that AgriProcessors employees “engaged in inhumane slaughter of cattle” (pg. 4 of the PDF).

“do you in all of your textbook spitting brilliance know what the first law was?”
I think you’re asking for clarification about what the charges were in the federal trial re financial fraud. See my previous commentary here: http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com.....trial.html .