Matt Friedman's must-read briefing on the Garden State's important news of the day. If one is interested in exploring the rich Hindu culture without actually visiting India, then consider visiting this new and intricate temple. Federal workplace safety inspectors determined it had been an accident. It is not illegal. The former friends and colleagues are split over Johnson, with Paul accusing Huttle of using her experience with Johnson for her own political leverage, trying to undermine the off-the-line contenders campaign. The Catholic Church fought for over 20 years in its refusal to turn over internal records of pedophile priests sexually molesting boys. But what happens when White Supremacists claim religious status, i.e. In 1976, Newark Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety befriended her family and sexually abused her on multiple times in his bedroom in the church rectory when she was 5 years old, she said. The Mandir is geographically situated at the heart of the U.S. Northeast megalopolis and with relative proximity to Newark . "They were told that if they left that they could be subject to being picked up by the police," Kakaleck said. The Homeland Security Investigations division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment. From The New York Times we learn that federal agents raided a massive Hindu temple in Robbinsville of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha . Missed yesterday: State Sen. Ah, so not only is your Aryan (if they can define that) Princess supposed to cook, clean, rear children, help with the crops, and respond to all your desires, she also has to learn Kegels. Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here. Most big religious leaders have private jets, live in mega-mansions, and are paid exorbitant salaries and benefits. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Photo: CBS Philly. Shortly after, Kumar contacted Swati Sawant in 2020, an immigration lawyer who then began investigating these claims. From The New York Times we learn that federal agents raided a massive Hindu temple in Robbinsville of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) sect, which appears to. This opens the door to the abuses enumerated above and many other human rights violations. The funds are intended to help states and local governments make up for lost revenue, curb the pandemic, bolster economic recoveries, and support industries hit by Covid-19 restrictions. In a good week the pay might be $50 which is still only 50 cents per hour. The outer beauty of the temple conceals the evil within perpetrated by the leaders. [citation needed] ', Murphy appoints three to Corrections ombudspersons advisory board, Assembly panel to weigh bill allowing 17-year-olds to vote in primaries Wednesday, NJ asks Facebook to abandon harmful tween version of Instagram, How historic judge shortage could overwhelm states judicial system, NJ considers $10M to manage lakes, including algal bloom fight. VIDEO: Finally, Scientific Proof that Scientologys Body Thetans Cannot Exist! Swaminarayan Akshardham in Robbinsville, New Jersey, is a Hindu mandir (temple) complex. Bob Jumbojets: The Dalit workers did virtually all the work including pouring the foundations, masonry, heavy equipment, etc. Instead Fulop had his spokesman blame the media for reporting his foolishness [Wetsuit wholesaler] Conrad Ferla cut to the heart of the matter. The panel told the woman it could not find any evidence to independently verify her claims of abuse by the well-known archbishop, who died five years ago. WHERES MURPHY? United States v. Thind (1923) The workers, who lived in trailers hidden from view, had been promised jobs helping to build the temple in rural Robbinsville, N.J., with standard work hours and ample time off, according to the lawsuit, a wage claim filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. To further illustrate this point, when one looks at the blessings promised by the likes of Osteen, typical televangelists or scientology even, these blessings are invariably material and self-centered. However,they were paid merely 10per centof the hourly minimum wage according to New Jersey law, and forced to live ingruellingconditions. Religious workers in America are exempt from secular workplace protections as they are classed as volunteers and not employees. Benny Hinn can blow on people and declare that they are healed. Its a human trafficking story the workers allegedly came over on religious visas for volunteers, had their passports taken an were confined to the grounds a class story and yes, even a political one. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to expand on your thoughts. Gov. ROBBINSVILLE, N.J. (CBS) -- A local palace of peace turned into the site of suffering, according to a new lawsuit filed against the largest Hindu temple in the country. This is why the religious hypocrites that benefit from human suffering fight to maintain the status quo. Kakalec said that the situation was a "labor trafficking" case" and that the workers were "constantly monitored" with dozens of cameras and threatened with fines for breaking rules. wont support eminent domain, wants to negotiate BMC deal with HRH. He reaped huge financial returns until Ole Anthony and others exposed him as a fraud and a con artist preying on the poor, the sick, and the desperate. Kanu Patel, the chief executive of BAPS, who is named as a defendant, told The New York Times, "I respectfully disagree with the wage claim." The US Congress and the IRS created a bit of sophistry for use by American religions called intangible spiritual benefits. This allows televangelists to send people a prayer cloth or a vial of water from the Holy Land in exchange for people sending them tax-exempt cash. 90.4 MASTROS Jersey City BOE approves fully funded $814M budget at uncharacteristically brief meeting, by Hudson County Views Daniel Ulloa: The Jersey City Board of Education approved a fully funded $814,051,708 budget for the 2021-2022 scholastic year at an uncharacteristically brief meeting last night that lasted just over an hour The spending plan, which narrowly passed on first reading back in March, comes with a $278,019,494 local tax levy which includes a bank cap of $85,000,000 and an annual tax increase of approximately $996 per homeowner with an assessed value of about $460,000., THE BEACH BOY SENDING OUT BAD VIBRATIONS Beach excess: Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop puts his foot in it again, by The Star-Ledgers Paul Mulshine: The news report was that the council had taken the side of the surfers and permitted the parking. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Didnt he run on a campaign on being inclusive? Fulop has indeed pushed for inclusiveness in New Jersey., Deal public beach access: Would new parking rules keep out those who don't live here?, THE MASKLESS MARTYR Stafford school board will not renew contract of nurse who rebelled against mask mandate, by The Asbury Park Press Erik Larsen and Ken Serrano: The township school board has decided not to renew the contract of a school nurse who stopped wearing a facemask to work and who remains suspended without pay, according to the nurse, Erin Pein. While the temple appears complete, Eyewitness News is told that these workers were part of various ongoing construction projects. Religion in America has become an inherently abusive and cruel system that just keeps getting worse. AS LONG AS THEY DIDNT TRY TO INTRODUCE HER Senate Republicans spar with Persichilli over pandemic response, reopenings, by POLITICOs Sam Sutton: Senate Republicans didnt waste their opportunity to grill state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Tuesday over Gov. They were brought to the United States on religious visas, or R-1 visas temporary visas used for clergy and lay religious workers such as missionaries and presented to the U.S. government as volunteers, according to the claim. While these groups are anti-Government and racist, they nevertheless enjoy tax exemption and other religious protections. The New York Times: The workers, who lived in trailers hidden from view, had been promised jobs helping to build the temple in rural Robbinsville, N.J., with standard work hours and ample time off, according to the lawsuit, a wage claim filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have found that face masks are effective in reducing the spread of the disease., A year living in a hotel with 3 kids. Extending CRT, one could argue that First Amendment religious protections are part and parcel of White Supremacy as they chiefly benefit White American Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, and other mainstream Christian denominations that are primarily White.. The ministry keeps the money they donated and is under no legal obligation to return the money. They were asked to sign several documents, often in English, and instructed to tell U.S. embassy staffers that they were skilled carvers or decorative painters, the complaint said. They were brought to the United States on religious visas, or R-1 visas temporary visas used for clergy and lay religious workers such as missionaries and presented to the U.S. government as volunteers, according to the claim. Rabid Cult: Scientology Bites Dog Food Company; Attacks Cream Cheese; and Screams at Rolling Stone Magazine, Podcast with Aaron Smith-Levin: Grant Cardone Lawsuit Update & David Gentile Criminal Case, Scientologys Celebrity Centre in Hollywood was involved in covering up the alleged multiple forcible rapes committed by Danny Masterson. Hence, White Supremacist churches are still tax-exempt. The complaintadded thatthe workers passports had been confiscated, theywere givenlentils and potatoesfor mealsand that their paywas cutfor thesmallestof violations such as being seen without a helmet. "There was a sense of invasion, that sense of loss of privacy when something like this happened to us," Srinivasa Sunkari, a Board member for the Brazos Valley Shri Omkarnath Temple said. Quoting a source, theNYTreport said 90 labourers were removed from the site byUS federal agencies after Tuesdays raid. Eyewitness News is told that there are still workers on the property Tuesday night, but that many did leave when offered by federal agents when they arrived this morning. CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: 858 newly-reported positive PCR tests for a total of 881,171. Weeks before the FBI raided a New Jersey temple in May, the agency reached out to multiple local charitable organizations with a message: We are going to need your help in the aftermath of. From Wiki: Tulane University history professor Lawrence N. Powell, who read a rare copy of the book given to him by journalist Patsy Sims, wrote that it includes advice on vaginal exercises, oral and anal sex and advocated adultery. Religious workers can be legally subjected to harsh ecclesiastical disciplines. The only hope that I have is that people will see organizations such as these two (and more) for what they are and that as a people we will unmask these frauds, deprive them of oxygen, prosecute where warranted and move on to better things. Eyewitness News. Enlightenment does not turn a blind eye to suffering. Phil Murphys Covid-19 response, using the bulk of their time during a 2 1/2-hour budget hearing to tear into the administrations management of outbreaks at nursing homes, its economic reopening guidance and limited public transparency. DaniellaSilva is a reporter for NBC News, focusing on education and how laws, policies and practices affect students and teachers. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, accuses Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu sect known as BAPS, and its leaders of "shocking violations," including forced labor, trafficking and wage theft. Not enough evidence (sure not)? They lived in trailers on the property and were not permitted to leave. Brain Rumpf. "They were brought in as religious workers, but they were not religious workers and they certainly were not volunteers," Patricia Kakaleck, an attorney at Kakaleck Law, said. cult are more than just a coincidence. And I share your outrage that these criminals abuse the special trust and vulnerability that exists in a belief-based (religious or otherwise) relationship. DEEP DISH AND DEEP DEBT Treasury rescue wont bail out Chicago, New Jersey from debt, by Bloombergs Shruti Singh and Amanda Albright: The U.S. Treasury Department is sending a message to states and cities that the billions in aid from the American Rescue Plan should provide relief to residents, not their governments debt burdens. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents raided a temple in New Jersey Tuesday after allegations that a Hindu sect lured hundreds of low-caste men from India to work on the building's construction for about $1 per hour under grueling conditions, numerous sources reported. They allegethat they werepaid $1 per hour for their work when the minimum wage in New Jersey is$12 per hour. Lawyers for the workers said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu sect known as BAPS that has close ties to Indias ruling party and has built temples around the world, had exploited possibly hundreds of low-caste men in the yearslong construction project. Sikander Ranu says his religion differs widely from the BAPS sect of Hinduism, including that Sikhism does not recognize the caste system, which he feels may have made these workers more vulnerable. The way he moved from Neo-Nazi KKK Grand Wizard to a born again Christian rooted in the racist Christian Identity movement was pure semantics on his part. Over the years, the organization has grown into a global enterprise made up of both for-profit and nonprofit entities. They were asked to sign several documents, often in English, and instructed to tell U.S. embassy staffers that they were skilled carvers or decorative painters, the complaint said. The organization, related entities and several people are accused of recruiting the men to come to New Jersey and help build the temple for around 87 hours a week for $450 a month, or around $1.20 an hour. Or that a sizable proportion of religions abuses the system. New Delhi:ASwaminarayan temple in New Jersey, US, was raided by theFederal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security,and the US Department of Labourtoinvestigate allegations of forced labour against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan (BAPS),reportedThe New York Times. DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. Extending it further, Why is David Duke and company always shown with a cross of some form or other? 10. Nope. ***** But given the number of religious people in the US (since were talking about US Law, Ill leave it at that) and the immense good done by well-meaning and sincere religious people and institutions, I would still argue that this amounts to an argument by exceptions. Kakaleck represents six previous temple workers in a suit that involves at least 200 low-caste men allegedly lured from India to New Jersey. In any event, while my conclusion may differ from yours in this case, I am most thankful that youre putting the facts out there and following the money. Always good to read your blog! We are taking them very seriously and are thoroughly reviewing the issues raised.". First Amendment religious protections and Supreme Court rulings were used to enforce slavery and racism in America for hundreds of years. Tony Ortega, Recruit poor people with false promises of a better life in America, Bring them into America using R1 religious worker visas, The use of religious worker visas acts to conceal human trafficking and exploitation, Do not allow them to talk to their family back home, Ensure that exploited workers only get a minimum amount of sleep, Demand enormous amounts of labor from the trafficked workers, Make these workers fear arrest and imprisonment if they try to escape, Call this forced labor and exploitation religious work, Pay the workers slave wages and justify it because they are religious volunteers. This happened when Scientology recruited her mother in Siberia. Details of the groups spending has not been previously reported. Mr. Modi has said that Pramukh Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head who built BAPS into the largest Hindu sect in the United States before dying in 2016, was his mentor. Karan Deep Singh contributed reporting from New Delhi. Conversely, superstar hacker Kevin Mitnick had to resign from the Board of KnowBe4 when the company went public as convicted felons cannot serve on corporate boards. This racist ban was not illegal in any way whatsoever nor could the matter be heard before any secular court. But I cant be the only one who thought this statement odd coming on the heels of months of domestic terror from the far left that we were supposed to accept or even embrace as mostly peaceful protests. Peaceful assemblies which somehow destroyed countless livelihoods, cost over $2 billion and resulted in numerous injuries and deaths? BJU sued the IRS. New Delhi: A Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey, US, was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Department of Labour to investigate allegations of forced labour against Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansthan (BAPS), reported The New York Times. But what happens when First Amendment religious protections and Second Amendment gun protections collide with the Government wanting to impose a terrorist definition on a religious group? He can take in tax-exempt donations for doing this. But the compensation board offered her a settlement $5,000. These elected officials are, in turn, beholden to these voting blocs on issues of abortion, race, immigration, guns, education, and every other issue. First Amendment religious rights and Second Amendment gun ownership rights exist simultaneously. His church ministry gives him a large media platform. / CBS Philadelphia. They subsisted on a bland diet of lentils and potatoes, and their pay was docked for minor violations, such as being seen without a helmet, according to the claim. A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleges the builders of a New Jersey Hindu temple considered to be one the largest in the United States lured workers from India, worked them. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. These abuses are compounded, in some instances, by Second Amendment protections whereby ideologically-driven religious zealots can own assault weapons and private arsenals. The stunningly beautiful Swaminarayan Akshardham Hindu temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey the largest Hindu temple in the US was raided this week by the authorities. This is our secret. The New Jersey Independent Victim Compensation Program, a board created by the Catholic Church to settle abuse claims out of court, reviewed the womans allegations last year, her attorney said. Did the Founders want cynical and self-serving religious leaders and their churches to amass great wealth and power by conning simple believers and covering up for rapists and pedophiles in their midst? For example, beautiful religious sites can hide a wealth of deviance, rape, criminality, human trafficking, suicide, and death. In the complaint,sixmen have come forward with the allegations saying they were brought to theUSin 2018 and were made to worklong hours often under dangerous conditions. Mukesh Kumar, a 37-year-old worker who has since returned to India, contacted Ms. Sawant, the immigration lawyer, who began investigating. In that process, we need specialized artisans, Mr. Joshi said, saying this work qualified the men for the visas. The total spent by the group over the previous three years is nearly as much as the $15.6 million Murphys campaign will be permitted to spend in this years general election, assuming it takes part in the states public financing program. Hidden category: Commons category link is on Wikidata. 2023 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. However, narcissism, conceit, arrogance, and a sense of entitlement does. In a surprise to some, these funds cant be used for debt payments, a potential complication for fiscally stressed governments that had already etched out plans to pay off loans The rule could also affect New Jersey, which sold nearly $3.7 billion of bonds last year to cover its shortfall during the pandemic. The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Robbinsville, NJ is largest Hindu Temple in the United States. They thought they would have a good job and see America. FBI agents and other law enforcement officials raided the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, NJ, following a lawsuit by several workers accusing the temple of exploiting them and paying the equivalent of roughly $1.20 an hour. Arguing from exceptions/abuses, one could posit that the govt should take more strenuous efforts at domestic surveillance or should apply less scruple to what constitutes lawful search and seizure to curb the evils that are enabled by these Constitutional protections. The Mormons excluded Black men from its Priesthood until 1978. But in the first seven days of May, only 121,000 first doses of Pfizer and Moderna were administered, according to a review of state data. However, Jeffs still leads FLDS from prison. In fact, I would argue that as the US increasingly secularizes so do the hucksters. FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4325293. Them next, please. According to journalist Tyler Bridges, The Times-Picayune obtained a copy and traced its provenance to Duke, who compiled the content from womens self-help magazines. The May raid on a Hindu temple in New Jersey, however, . Lenin Joshi, a spokesman for BAPS, also disputed the accusations, saying the men did complicated work connecting stones that had been hand-carved in India. Other ideologies have their Rev Jackson, Rev Sharpton, blm and anti- fa. Katrina had no choice. THE CHURCH Former Newark Archbishop sexually abused 5-year-old in church rectory, lawsuit claims, by NJ Advance Medias Kelly Heyboer: A former Newark resident went to the Archdiocese of Newark last year with an explosive claim. These White religious groups form powerful and wealthy voting blocs that keep White elected officials in power. Further, the Mormons never had to tell the US Government it had amassed that much cash. No one seemed put out by the dopey white folk. A spokesman for the department did not respond to a request for comment. Of course, Scientology has had its internal culture of violence and cover up exposed many times. The lawsuit says hundreds of workers from India suffered torturous treatment.