42 ICSA TODAY 40
Department of Labor finds multiple child-labor violations
at Common Sense Farm as a result of Twelve Tribes
investigation
“Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon today announced
the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the
Twelve Tribes community located in Cambridge, NY, based on
an Inside Edition (IE) investigative report that aired on Friday,
6/1/18. The IE video showed children as young as six years old
being put to work in farm and factory settings. On Monday,
June 5, an investigative team from the Department of Labor
Worker Protection unit conducted an on-site investigation at
Common Sense Farm. The team found multiple violations
involving 12 minors who were engaged in factory work,
which is prohibited. As a result of these violations, the DOL
has opened cases that could result in significant fines in
the tens of thousands of dollars. ‘Every child under the age
of 18 in this state has a right to be protected by the Child
Labor Law, and we take our enforcement responsibilities
seriously,’ said Commissioner Reardon. ‘Children are our most
valuable asset and compliance with the Child Labor Law is not
discretionary—it’s mandatory.’ As part of the investigation,
The Department of Labor also educated the owners about
child labor standards. DOL is also investigating the following
12-Tribes related entities across NYS. …New York has some
of the best child labor protections in the U.S. The law restricts
the hours that children can work, requires working papers for
each child, limits the age at which children can perform certain
types of work, prohibits assisting in dangerous occupations
or using certain types of machinery, and imposes other
requirements. (New York State Department of Labor, 6/05/18)
Upstate religious cult allegedly beats kids, forces them into
labor
“A religious cult is forcing children as young as 9 to work the
assembly line in its upstate factory—packaging fancy soaps
and other goods that are then sold by Amazon, Whole Foods,
Target and Walmart, a new exposé claims. The factory, in rural
Cambridge—a small town an hour northeast of Albany—is
owned and run by a controversial international religious cult
called Twelve Tribes. The cult has been fined by New York
authorities at least twice before, in 2001 and 2006, over child
labor-law violations.” (New York Post, 5/31/18)
Study says yoga and meditation may make you Zen, but
they also inflate your ego
“One of the foundational points of yoga and meditation is
to let go of the sense of self and release the ego in order to
attain nirvana, or bliss. Unfortunately, the modern practice
could instead be causing the exact opposite. Despite the
best of intentions, practicing yoga and meditation may
instead inflate the ego, according to a new study published
online by the University of Southampton. A classical theory
by US psychologist William James notes that practicing any
skill creates ‘self-enhancement,’ or ego. Although Buddhism
teaches that meditation helps to overcome self-regard, James’
theory holds that practicing any skill makes it, in and of itself,
egotistical. To see whether yoga affected the ego, researchers
followed almost 100 yoga students for nearly four months.
After a yoga class they would answer questions about how
they felt after having practiced, including how they compare
to the average yoga student in the class, how they rated
themselves following those classes, and evaluating a scale
ranking their self-esteem. In a majority of cases, students who
evaluated themselves within an hour following a yoga class
had higher views of themselves compared with when they had
not taken a class.” (IFL Science!, n.d.) n
Department of Labor finds multiple child-labor violations
at Common Sense Farm as a result of Twelve Tribes
investigation
“Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon today announced
the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the
Twelve Tribes community located in Cambridge, NY, based on
an Inside Edition (IE) investigative report that aired on Friday,
6/1/18. The IE video showed children as young as six years old
being put to work in farm and factory settings. On Monday,
June 5, an investigative team from the Department of Labor
Worker Protection unit conducted an on-site investigation at
Common Sense Farm. The team found multiple violations
involving 12 minors who were engaged in factory work,
which is prohibited. As a result of these violations, the DOL
has opened cases that could result in significant fines in
the tens of thousands of dollars. ‘Every child under the age
of 18 in this state has a right to be protected by the Child
Labor Law, and we take our enforcement responsibilities
seriously,’ said Commissioner Reardon. ‘Children are our most
valuable asset and compliance with the Child Labor Law is not
discretionary—it’s mandatory.’ As part of the investigation,
The Department of Labor also educated the owners about
child labor standards. DOL is also investigating the following
12-Tribes related entities across NYS. …New York has some
of the best child labor protections in the U.S. The law restricts
the hours that children can work, requires working papers for
each child, limits the age at which children can perform certain
types of work, prohibits assisting in dangerous occupations
or using certain types of machinery, and imposes other
requirements. (New York State Department of Labor, 6/05/18)
Upstate religious cult allegedly beats kids, forces them into
labor
“A religious cult is forcing children as young as 9 to work the
assembly line in its upstate factory—packaging fancy soaps
and other goods that are then sold by Amazon, Whole Foods,
Target and Walmart, a new exposé claims. The factory, in rural
Cambridge—a small town an hour northeast of Albany—is
owned and run by a controversial international religious cult
called Twelve Tribes. The cult has been fined by New York
authorities at least twice before, in 2001 and 2006, over child
labor-law violations.” (New York Post, 5/31/18)
Study says yoga and meditation may make you Zen, but
they also inflate your ego
“One of the foundational points of yoga and meditation is
to let go of the sense of self and release the ego in order to
attain nirvana, or bliss. Unfortunately, the modern practice
could instead be causing the exact opposite. Despite the
best of intentions, practicing yoga and meditation may
instead inflate the ego, according to a new study published
online by the University of Southampton. A classical theory
by US psychologist William James notes that practicing any
skill creates ‘self-enhancement,’ or ego. Although Buddhism
teaches that meditation helps to overcome self-regard, James’
theory holds that practicing any skill makes it, in and of itself,
egotistical. To see whether yoga affected the ego, researchers
followed almost 100 yoga students for nearly four months.
After a yoga class they would answer questions about how
they felt after having practiced, including how they compare
to the average yoga student in the class, how they rated
themselves following those classes, and evaluating a scale
ranking their self-esteem. In a majority of cases, students who
evaluated themselves within an hour following a yoga class
had higher views of themselves compared with when they had
not taken a class.” (IFL Science!, n.d.) n
