Ari Mandel - Attempts at Cyberbullying

Ari Mandel (AKA: Rachmuna Litzlon)

Attempts at Cyberbullying 

For years various individuals have set their minds on cyberbullying, harassing and cyberstalking Vicki Polin, who is the founder and director of The Awareness Center.  The attacks began back in 2004, when The Awareness Center was assisting survivors of a few alleged, confessed and convicted sexual predators.  The attacks against Ms. Polin was created as an attempt to discredit her and to create a distraction from the real issues, which involved a long history within various Jewish communities of covering-up sex crimes, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.  It's obvious that Ari Mandel amongst others, are unaware of the history of the attacks, yet choose to continue with the discreditation of one of the pioneers in the Jewish anti-rape movement.

Ari Mandel is an untrained, yet self-proclaimed expert in the Jewish anti-rape movement.  Through experience if someone cyberbullies one person, the odds are they have cyberbullied others.

For more information on Adults who cyberbully, please read the following articles:

• Bullying and Depression
• Cyberbullying Over Fifty: The Facebook Drama
• Cyberbullying

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Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet their own personal needs.

Table of Contents


2013

1. Oy, if he were a rich man, but not by selling heaven on eBay  (05/29/2013)
2. Ari Mandel tries to sell his spot in heaven on eBay (05/31/2013)
3. Man jokingly puts his place in heaven up for sale on eBay and bids reach $100,000… before it gets taken down (05/31/2013)
4. eBay Pulls Auction For Spot IN Heaven After Bids Reach Nearly $100,000... (05/31/2013)

Cyberbullying Attempts

1. Facebook (09/07/2013)
2. Facebook (09/08/2013)
3. How To Beat Cyberbullies

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Oy, if he were a rich man, but not by selling heaven on eBay
By Suzanne Choey
NBC News - May 29, 2013

There are some things that are never for sale, not even on eBay. A place in heaven is among them. A New Jersey man posted such a listing as a joke, he says, but was inundated with bids that reached $100,000 before the listing was pulled by the online auction giant.

"I didn't think anyone would take it seriously," Ari Mandel, who put up the listing, told NBC News.

"It's gotten way more attention than I expected. I really didn't expect it to blow up and go crazy the way it did."

Ari Mandel served in the U.S.
Army from 2007 to 2011.

Mandel, an Army veteran and student at New York University, said with school now done for the semester, he decided to post the "low-burning idea" he'd been kicking around on eBay Tuesday.

But the listing was removed the same day it went up. An eBay spokesman told NBC News the offer of heaven was in violation of the auction site's "No Item" policy. That policy, spelled out here, says: "We don't allow listings that aren't offering anything for sale or those that have intangible items (generally things don't physically exist)."Little did he realize that 181 people would not only bid on it, but he would get hundreds of emails, phone calls and Facebook messages. Many were from people asking him what the heck he was doing, but he also got equal numbers of responses from those who thought the listing was funny.

Under "listings with no items," eBay goes on to say that intangible items are "things that people won't be able to use or be able to confirm whether they've received the items."

Other intangibles including the selling of one's soul: "Listings that offer someone's 'soul' or a container that claim to have someone's 'soul' are not allowed." And, forget about trying to sell magic potions, spells and curses: those intangibles are cursed as sale items.

Mandel posted "My Portion in Olam Habaah (Heaven)" with bids starting at 99 cents. Among the bidders' comments, he said, were these:

Need to know more b4 I can bid on it.  What's the approximate square footage, with that amenities does it come with, and what's the location?  Is it in the prime are or more in the back?

Can you tell me where in heaven this portion is?  For the price you are asking, I want to make sure I am in prime real estate somewhere over a rainbow, right between the lord and a few angels.

"I really didn't expect it to blow up and go crazy the way it did," said Mandel, 30, who said he has received calls from around world, including from a reporter in Israel. "It was a goofy little joke."

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Man jokingly puts his place in heaven up for sale on eBay and bids reach $100,000… before it gets taken down

Daily Mail - May 30, 2013

• Ari Mandel posted the prank auction item as a joke but quickly received more than 180 bids
• As a former Hasidic Jew, he was happy to give up his 'Portion in olam habaah [heaven]' and promised to live a life free of sin
• But eBay removed the item because it was 'intangible'

Former Hasidic Jew Ari Mandel, 31, 

claims he posted his 'Portion in olam habaah [heaven]' 

on eBayas a joke

A New Jersey man who offered $100,000 for his spot in heaven by an eBay bidder before the auction site took down his proposal.

Ari Mandel, 31, who identifies himself as atheist lived in an Orthodox Jewish community until he was 23. He posted his 'Portion in olam habaah [heaven]' on eBay on Tuesday.

Since Mandel no longer considers himself a member of the Hasidic community, he was happy to give up his spot.

He promised the winning bidder a signed contract guaranteeing his spot in Habaah, plus another contract guaranteeing that he would live free of sin in order for that spot to be secured. He also promised never to return to religious life and steal the spot back for himself.

‘I didn't think anyone would take it seriously,’ Mandel told NBC News.

‘It's gotten way more attention than I expected. I really didn't expect it to blow up and go crazy the way it did.’

Mandel posted his prank auction on Tuesday and the price quickly grew from 99 cents to $100,000, with more than 180 people bidding. 

He also received emails and phone calls, some asking what he was doing, other telling him they thought it was a fun thing to do.

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Ari Mandel tries to sell his spot in heaven on eBay

ABC News-15 - May 31, 2013

NEW JERSEY - Turns out not everything is for sale, not even on eBay.

According to the New York Daily News , the site has pulled a man's auction for his "portion in olam habbah (heaven).

Ari Mandel, a Jewish man from Teaneck, N.J, posted the prime spot on the auction's website Tuesday morning.

The winner would have won two signed contracts, one guaranteeing Mandel's "timeshare" in the skies and the other promising Mandel would keep the spot open by abstaining from sin.

Bidding started at 99 cents and skyrocketed within hours to nearly $100,000.

Once eBay got word, they shut down the auction after receiving numerous complaints from people who thought Mandel's post was offensive.

An eBay representative called Mandel and reminded him that users aren’t allowed to sell intangible items.

Mandel said the auction was a "harmless prank."

He told the Daily News: “To those of you who took this seriously, chill out. It was just a joke,” he said. “Whether or not you’re a believer in this sort of thing, chill out.”

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eBay Pulls Auction For Spot In Heaven After Bids Reach Nearly $100,000

Huffington Post - May 31, 2013

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Cyberbullying Attempts

Facebook - Elyahu Fink

September 7, 2013

Facebook - Elyahu Fink

September 8, 2013

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How To Beat Cyberbullies

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FAIR USE NOTICE
 
Some of the information on The Awareness Center's web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
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Going "Off The Derech" Hurts!

Going "Off The Derech" Hurts!

By Vicki Polin

Examiner - September 5, 2013

Walking away from a religious community is very similar to pain experienced when someone in your family dies or that of a close friend. It’s also not uncommon for OTD survivors to feel like they have been used or betrayed.

Jewish survivors of child abuse and/or neglect often have no other choice but to leave the families and communities they grew up in. This is especially true for those who grew up in an ultra-orthodox, insulated community. Many of these survivors have shared that they believed they had no other option -- or else they would have end up using drugs or giving up on life.

For Jewish survivors who grew up in secluded, insulated environments going “Off The Derech" (OTD) is like moving to another universe. Many of these survivors often do not know how to read or write in English, have very little education in secular studies, have never watched TV, gone to the movies, let alone used the internet. So even though this select group of people grew up in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Israel or any other country considered to be a part of western civilization –– they have no idea how to live in the secular world. Most have also never had friends from outside of their own communities.

Considering all of these facts, survivors who are OTD face many challenges. Leaving everything you know and love can feel devastatingly painful, especially because many have never learned how to identify, process or cope with their thoughts and feelings.

GOING OFF THE DERECH CAN FEEL: 


EXTREMELY PAINFUL, especially when a survivor realize’s that their own thought processes are different then those who live within their communities they were born.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a survivor starts to believe what they were taught was the truth –– begins to have cracks and they no longer can believe what they see as being falsehoods and or lies.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a survivors who has gone OTD, realizes their beliefs in God (higher power) are different then their parents, other family members or that of their communities. The same is true for the OTD survivor who realizes they no longer believe in God.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when an OTD survivor realizes that the community leaders and or family members they loved and trusted implicitly –– who taught them never to question authority –– were actually manipulating the survivor along with other community members.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when an OTD survivor believes they have been deceived –– that what they were taught was true Judaism was not, instead the begin to realize the dogma they were taught was nothing more then cult like propaganda.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a survivor going OTD realizes individuals who grew up in other communities are not "bad, evil, liars, cheaters or deceivers". The OTD survivors starts to realize that individuals who come from other movements within Judaism or who are not even Jewish are people just like themselves.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL AND CONFUSING when a survivor realizes their faith in God hasn't changed - only their trust in their rebbe, family and or their community has.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL AND CONFUSING when a survivors starts to ask questions or verbalize their thoughts and feelings about how the community is ran. Once a survivor reaches this point they are often accused by family members, friends and or other community members of being problematic, a trouble maker, psychologically disturbed or even dangerous.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when OTD survivors starts to be shamed, blamed, isolated and by lifelong friends, family members and or other community members –– because the survivor can no longer “play the game”.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL to a survivor who is in the process of going OTD –– when they realize that the love and acceptance provided by family members and community leaders was conditional –– “as long as they did what they were told to do when they were told to do it”.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for the OTD survivor when they reach the point that it is nearly impossible to cope with this extremely deep infectious wound -- bubbling up inside them –– when trying to suppress it all doesn’t work anymore. Let alone the survivors attempts at trying to forget hat happened to them doesn’t work.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for the OTD survivor when they realize they have to leave the only home and or community they have ever known. How does walk away from family members, your children, your friends, etc.?

IT’S EXTREMELY PAINFUL to see the looks of hatred coming from the faces of those you –– to hear the deafening silence when you try and talk to those you love –– when they no longer return phone calls. It’s extremely painful when you try and give a close relative a hug and push you away or stand like a statue, pretending you aren't there. It’s incredibly painful when those you love looks at you as if you were the most evil person on the planet and they teach your siblings children, nieces and nephews and cousins to hate you.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL AND CONFUSING to know that the survivor has no other choice but to start their lives all over again. Often survivors feel they have betrayed, disillusioned, and then become very suspicious of everyone including family, friends and other community members who might be trying to offer them support.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a OTD survivor find themselves feeling guilty or ashamed of where they grew up, the beliefs they were taught –– and/or the fact they have no other option but to walk away. Survivors in these types of situations often feel depressed, confused, lonely and isolated. It makes perfect sense that they might find it difficult to make decisions -- especially for those who never had to do this before -- because everything was decided for them by their rebbe or other community leaders.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a OTD survivor first walks away and has so much time on their hands. Prior to leaving their communities their lives were consumed with family responsibilities, learning, Jewish rituals and prayer. Now survivors have to find other things to do with themselves, which can leave them feeling guilty –– for not doing what they were taught to –– or even guilty for discovering new hobbies, which were thought to be sinful in their previous life.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for OTD survivors on shabbos or yom tovim. These are times in which family and friends gather. Survivors may find themselves alone with no where to go or friends to be with.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL at times when an OTD survivor feels as if they lost touch with reality or their feelings go numb. Often survivors go through periods of time where they feel as if they are just "floating" –– and at times consider going back to the security they felt living within a cultish community or cult involved family.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL when a survivor feels all alone and isolated. They don’t believe that anyone in the outside world can understand what they are experiencing. It’s also extremely scary when an OTD survivor feel that their sense of self confidence and self worth are almost non-existent.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for the OTD survivor who grew up outside the frum world, when they realize that they gave up everything for a cultish lifestyle –– giving up on such as your continuing their education, career, finances, friends, families, etc.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL after leaving the cultish community, when an OTD survivor has to explain voided time in their work history when job seeking. They may also find they have no other choice but to go back to school to further their education after time away from their studies.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for a person who grew up outside of the religious world who walked away, to explain all those missing years to your friends and family. It’s also difficult to hear from those who love you “I told you so”.

EXTREMELY PAINFUL for the OTD survivor who grew up secular to realize that they had been deceived, that they alone were responsible for being taken in. These survivors may feel stupid, used and feel ashamed that they wasted so much of their time, energies and money living within the quasi-frum world.

IT’S EXTREMELY PAINFUL TO LEAVE THE FRUM WORLD

Many individuals who loose not only their families and communities, but a lifestyle go through a huge grieving process –– just as one would grieving a death.

There are no instant cures for the sense of loss, inability to trust, feelings of guilt, confusion, emotional pain, anger , and or disillusionment. It takes time to heal, and often the OTD survivors will need to find a licensed mental health professional who not only understand the issues of working with survivors of child abuse, yet also someone who has experience working with ex-cult members.

The truth is that with time many of the negative feelings will disappear and will be replaced with happiness, joy, a sense of peace, being able to trust again –– along with the ability to think for ones self independently.

YES at times the pain may feel unbearable, yet with time, patience and as an OTD survivor learns how trust again, develops healthy friendships and builds a new support system –– the feelings will lesson and the survivor will be able to live life outside of the quasi-frum world.

Also See:

1. The quasi-orthodox Jewish world compared to the "BITE" Model of Cult Mind Control (11/06/2013)

Ex-Chassidic Woman Speaks Out: Perl Prery on Dr. Phil

March 2, 2012

Case of David Silverman

Case of David Silverman

(AKA: DJ RIngs, King Dingling)

Monroe, NY

Spring Valley, NY

David Silverman along with two friends (who are both fugitives in Israel) used MySpace to lure in three teenage girls to a nightclub near Javits Center in March, 2007.  

During the time of the assaults, Silverman was considered to be OTD (Off The Derech).  He had shaved his head, pierced his ears multiple times and had tattooed his body.  

There are several individuals who go by the name of David Silverman. The individual discussed on this page was born on June 12, 1985.

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Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves whether the resources meet their own personal needs.

Table of Contents: 

2007

1. Sexually assaulted 3 teenage girls (03/2007)

2009

1. 'Perv' Twist 'occasional hasid' (02/09/2009)
2. Accused Child Predator Uses Faith Excuse (02/09/2009)
3. Teen sex case takes religious twist  (02/11/2009)
4. Hasidic 'Rapist' Fit For Trial (03/05/2009)
5. Hasidic Teen-Rape Perv Guilty (03/20/2009)

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'Perv' Twist 'occasional hasid'

By Laura Italiano

New York Post - February 9, 2009

A Hasidic Jew indicted on shocking kiddie-porn and child-rape charges claims he’s too religious to even look at the grotesque photographic evidence against him.

The 23-year-old Rockland County man is due in a Manhattan court today to seek bail. If convicted, he could go to jail for as many years as he’s lived.

Prosecutors say David Silverman and two buddies – both now fugitives in Israel – used MySpace to lure three girls, ages 14 and 15, from their Westchester County homes to nightclub-style porn set near the Javits Center in March 2007.

Once there, the men allegedly plied the girls with alcohol and filmed the resulting orgy.

“The worst part is, we have no idea if these pictures – and there’s video, too – are still out there,” one source said

Raised in a Hasidic family upstate, Silverman left home in his teens, shaved his hair, tattooed his body, pierced both ears multiple times, and joined the sex- and drug-drenched rave and trance music scene.

The girls knew him only as David or his online names, “DJ Rings” and “King Dingling.” By the time cops found him, his two friends had fled the country, the illegal “dance club” on 34th Street had been dismantled, and his computer’s hard drive was wiped clean.

Or so Silverman thought.

Three days into jury selection last month, prosecutors resurrected a series of triple-X photos implicating Silverman and his two alleged accomplices.

Silverman has insisted he never touched the girls.

On the strength of the new evidence, Silverman, who had returned to the Hasidic lifestyle and moved to Spring Valley, was tossed into jail in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of child pornography and statutory rape.

Now, he is refusing to discuss anything to do with the charges or look at the evidence “for religious reasons,” says his lawyer, Israel Fried.

“He was 21 at the time, and the girls were 14, 15, but did not represent themselves as such,” Fried claimed.

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Accused Child Predator Uses Faith Excuse
By Roie Opperman
WPIX - February 9, 2009

NEW YORK, N.Y. (WPIX) -- A Hasidic Jew who is facing child rape and pornography charges, claims his religion prevents him from looking at the shocking evidence filed against him.

David Silverman, 23, and two friends are accused of using MySpace to lure three teenage girls from their homes in Westchester to a porn film set near the Javits Center in March 2007.

Prosecutors say the men gave the girls alcohol and then filmed the ensuing group sex acts. Investigators say Silverman's accomplices are now fugitives who fled to Israel.

When police caught up with Silverman in late 2008, the illegal porn set was dismantled and his computer's hard drive was wiped out. 

But according to prosecutors, during jury selection last month a series of triple-X photos clearly implicating Silverman and his two accomplices in the crime, surfaced.

Silverman, who had left his Rockland County home while still a teenager, recently returned to a Hasidic lifestyle. He is refusing to discuss anything to do with the charges and says his religion prevents him from looking at the pornographic evidence.

Silverman is currently in jail while he awaits trial on charges of child pornography and statutory rape.

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Teen sex case takes religious twist

By Steve Lieberman

The Journal News - February 11, 2009

NEW YORK - A Spring Valley man accused of having sex with underage girls claims his religious beliefs prevent him from viewing sexual photographs and helping his own defense.

David Silverman, 21 at the time, is accused of having sex with three Westchester girls during a day of debauchery in Manhattan in March 2007, authorities said.

He returns to Supreme Court in Manhattan today for a bail hearing before Justice Bruce Allen.

Silverman is accused of not only having sex with the girls, but also taking photographs of them having sex with other men, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

But because he later returned to being an ultra-religious Hasidic Jew, Silverman won't look at the photos, his lawyer, Israel Fried, said yesterday. Fried said Silverman's refusal to participate makes defending him more difficult.

"He's clearly become more religious since this case has been initiated," Fried said. "His religious practices prohibit him from viewing certain images that would be immodest."

Silverman was being evaluated by professionals to "figure out if this is strictly a religious belief or a mental defect," Fried said. :D

Silverman grew up Hasidic but left the community in his teen years and entered the foster-care system, Fried said.

Fried said he is a former prosecutor and that he had met Silverman while doing community outreach with young people.

A grand jury indictment accuses Silverman of having sexual intercourse and oral sex and of committing other sex acts with three girls - two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old.

Silverman apparently met the girls through www.MySpace.com, said Jennifer Kushner, a public information officer for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Silverman and another man are accused of picking up the girls on March 23, 2007, in Westchester and driving them to a building near the Javits Convention Center on 34th Street.

A third man joined them, and they are accused of getting the girls drunk on alcohol.

Silverman and the other men were accused of having sex with each girl, with digital photos being taken, Kushner said.

Fried said that while the law is clear that sex with minors is illegal, the girls were less than forthright with Silverman about their ages. Fried also said the girls' MySpace page was suggestive and salacious.

Silverman has pleaded not guilty to the charges, denying he touched the girls. Attempts at a trial have been aborted twice during jury selection.

Nine jurors were selected as of Jan. 26, when prosecutors told the judge that incriminating photos had been found. As a result, both sides agreed to release the jurors and start again, Kushner said.

Silverman is being held on $50,000 bail, which has been posted.

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Hasidic 'Rapist' Fit For Trial 

By Laura Italiano

New York Post - March 5, 2009

Shrinks aren’t buying a 23-year-old Hasid’s claim that he can’t assist in his defense against charges of rape and child pornography because he’s too devout to look at the photographic evidence.

David Silverman, of Rockland County, has been found mentally fit to proceed on charges that he and two buddies lured three Westchester County girls, ages 14 and 15, to a porn set near the Javits Center, where they allegedly got them drunk and photographed the resulting orgy.

Defense lawyer Israel Fried admitted that a plea may be the best course to avoid more prison time.

“A lawyer I am,” he said. “A magician I am not.”

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Hasidic Teen-Rape Perv Guilty
By Laura Italiano
New York Post - March 20, 2009

A 23-year-old Hasidic Jew who’d insisted he was too devout to deal with rape and child-porn charges against him pleaded guilty yesterday to seducing three Westchester girls ages 14 and 15.

David Silverman, of Rockland County, will be sentenced next month to one to four years for rape, sodomy and child endangerment.

The victims had met him online via MySpace in 2007.

Raised in an ultra-Orthodox community, Silverman had by then moved away, tattooed his body, shaved his head and pierced both ears.

He and two of his buddies now believed to be in Israel got the girls drunk in an illegal club near the Javits Center and photographed the resulting orgy.

By the time he was indicted a half-year later, Silverman had returned to Hasidism, and insisted he’d never had sex with the girls.

But prosecutors later recovered from Silverman’s laptop computer a series of photographs recording the orgy in X-rated detail.

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New York Sex Offender Registry
December 31, 2013

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FAIR USE NOTICE 

Some of the information on The Awareness Center, Inc.'s web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. 

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." –– Margaret Mead
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