Warren Jeffs FLDS compound in Texas surrounded by police #5

[FlowerChild]

The only approved "toy" for the YFZ children was a trampoline. No playground, no toys , no swings. I saw a picture of some little girls wading in a stream (yes with all those clothes on) and a "teacher" with some balloons made into a baby-like "figure" and kids in a classroom with paper and pencils - but I have yet to see any recreational type areas for kids. Most of the photos are of kids "working" - gardening, with livestock, cooking, holding plants etc. It looks very wholesome (circa 1925) on the surface - until you realize you are looking at the most benign, positive, "sweet" images the FLDS could find and there isn't a crayon or toy or even that "approved" trampoline in sight. And it gets kinda creepy after a few dozen shots because you start to realize that in most of the pictures - little kids are actually WORKING...not posing for a "fantasy farm experience photo" for Mom's Scrapbook .

My Opinion

 

[Linda7NJ]

The only approved "toy" for the YFZ children was a trampoline. No playground, no toys , no swings. I saw a picture of some little girls wading in a stream (yes with all those clothes on) and a "teacher" with some balloons made into a baby-like "figure" and kids in a classroom with paper and pencils - but I have yet to see any recreational type areas for kids. Most of the photos are of kids "working" - gardening, with livestock, cooking, holding plants etc. It looks very wholesome (circa 1925) on the surface - until you realize you are looking at the most benign, positive, "sweet" images the FLDS could find and there isn't a crayon or toy or even that "approved" trampoline in sight. And it gets kinda creepy after a few dozen shots because you start to realize that in most of the pictures - little kids are actually WORKING...not posing for a "fantasy farm experience photo" for Mom's Scrapbook .

My Opinion

I have absolutely no problem with young children working and learning how to do all of those things and doing them well.

BUT children need to also PLAY and be children too! I wouldn't care if they had no high tech toys...I think their kinda crummy too...but toys that allow a young child to use their imagination, stick horses, a playground, a wagon, a babydoll...any circa 1925 toys would suit me just fine...but there just isn't any.

 

[TGIRecovered]

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/apr/25/for-now-a-new-home/

Some FLDS children brought to Abilene

"We have to work with them, build up their trust," he said, over the sounds of the children playing on the facility's playground.
"They love the playground," Miller said. "Their eyes got as big as saucers when they got off the bus and saw the playground."
Their favorite playground equipment?
"They're most interested in the slides and monkey bars," Miller said. "They are having fun."

Thank you so much for the link Ladybass ! I live in Abilene and when I opened the paper this morning, the sight of the children playing on the slide warmed my heart and made my day!

I have attended church with staff members, residents and former residents of Hendrick Home for children. Even my oldest child's pediatrician grew up there. The children who live there are very well-loved, cherished and cared for. I am so glad that our city has been blessed with an opportunity to host these precious children!

Susan

 

[Trino]

Thank you so much for the link Ladybass ! I live in Abilene and when I opened the paper this morning, the sight of the children playing on the slide warmed my heart and made my day!

I have attended church with staff members, residents and former residents of Hendrick Home for children. Even my oldest child's pediatrician grew up there. The children who live there are very well-loved, cherished and cared for. It am so glad that our city has been blessed with an opportunity to host these precious children! Susan

How long can these children be sheltered? Wouldn't it be better for the children in the long run to be introduced to society - at least, gradually? Surely, the courts don't wish the children to return to living again under such conditions.

 

[believe09]

How long can these children be sheltered? Wouldn't it be better for the children in the long run to be introduced to society - at least, gradually? Surely, the courts don't wish the children to return to living again under such conditions.

K, I am going to play devil's advocate here and say that I would like to see cold hard proof that the way of life they are accustomed to is harmful. Again, I am not advocating for it, but I have seen a lot of speculation as to what life is like inside of the compound or the sect itself, but I have not see much that applies to this case, except evidence of underage marriage which I find personally abhorrent...there are lots of cultures outside of the US that function otherwise however.

Waterboarding babies, and the like-of course heinous behavior that needs to be punished severely and if the belief behind it is common, then the belief should be unlearned. Now, my understanding of Scientology is that the children are not to be angered, troubled or challenged-they are to be soothed rather than disciplined etc...and I have read some speculation that this is why Suri continues to carry a bottle at a time most of us would have weaned our children from it.

I am very scared about generalizing the need to de-program beliefs that we don't like...i am not expressing myself well...does anyone understand what I mean?

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

Link to the arrival of children to our local children's home (video of buses arriving, also).

This is the same place that housed many children of the Branch Davidian saga 15 years ago. Over the course of the last few days, staff has mentioned that they would be keeping the FLDS children separate from the other children already housed there.

I think our local community will do what they can to assist these children. I hope after this weekend, that we'll hear little bits of what they're doing, such as playing on the playground, like in Abilene . For all the stresses and strains these children are and will be going through, I'm sure they will also have moments of experiencing some good that they have never had before. Hopefully, it will be a little bit at a time, so that they aren't totally overwhelmed.

My thoughts and prayers to the children AND the staff that will be caring for them at such a critical time :blowkiss:


http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/04/26/04262008wacchildrenshome.html

 

[Native New Yorker]

"State officials say that their long-term goal is reunification of the families torn asunder in an investigation into the possibility that under-age girls at the ranch were forced to marry, and that extraordinary steps are being taken to minimize the shock of foster care and shelter life as the case continues to unfold. Families across Texas have raised their hands to adopt the children or to volunteer as foster parents.
“We’re not going to throw them in the middle of the pond in an alien world,” said Mr. Downey at the Children’s Shelter, where 22 children arrived on Friday, none of them over age 6. “We’re going to stick our toe in the water and walk together — we’re going to be very, very careful.”
But the hard reality, child advocacy experts and foster parents say, is that the children — deeply isolated from much of modern culture all their lives — are being flung headlong into places like this from here to Amarillo that they cannot begin to understand.
And the Texas child welfare system, those experts and insiders say — underfinanced and understaffed in the best of times, dysfunctional in the worst — can do only so much to make the road easier."



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/u...695a3d41a59c1c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 

[Mygirlsadie]

That's so awesome. I also saw where they LOVED the bright red tricycles.

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/apr/25/for-now-a-new-home/

Some FLDS children brought to Abilene

"We have to work with them, build up their trust," he said, over the sounds of the children playing on the facility's playground.
"They love the playground," Miller said. "Their eyes got as big as saucers when they got off the bus and saw the playground."
Their favorite playground equipment?
"They're most interested in the slides and monkey bars," Miller said. "They are having fun."

 

[DEPUTYDAWG]

http://www.kxxv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8231749

The last busloads of children from the group left the San Angelo Coliseum on Friday, headed for shelters and group homes around the state. One bus had to stop several times on the way to Brazoria County, south of Houston, because some of the children got motion sickness.

A state trooper said some of the children had probably never ridden in a vehicle before.

 

[Native New Yorker]

“We want them to remain in their culture while we learn fully what’s happened to them,” said Darrell Azar, a spokesman for the Department of Family and Protective Services, which was granted indefinite custody of the children by a State District Court judge last week. The judge, Barbara Walther, ordered that each child be assigned a lawyer from among a pool of volunteers around the state.
On Tuesday, the state began moving the children from San Angelo, about 45 miles from the Zion ranch, where they had been held in a makeshift shelter at a multipurpose domed coliseum. Mr. Azar and other state officials would not say exactly where the children were going or how many might be coming to San Antonio.
“With this population, we have to do things differently than we would for a child that comes out of downtown Houston — what that fully entails, we’re still working out,” he said.
But state officials also know that the children cannot stay in large group settings like the Children’s Shelter forever. Ninety days is the legal limit in a traditional shelter, though a court order this week by Judge Walther, who is overseeing the case, said discussions would be undertaken about longer-term care."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/u...41a59c1c&ex=1366948800&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

 

[Native New Yorker]

"Meanwhile, traditional foster homes — the presumed next step in the F.L.D.S. diaspora — are waiting. Here in San Antonio, the Block family has already volunteered.
“I told the boys the situation and said, ‘What do you think about helping out some of these kids?’ and they immediately said yes,” said Roy Block, who also serves as executive director of the Texas Foster Family Association, referring to his two sons. “In fact they even offered to give up their rooms.”
The Texas Foster Family Association is a nonprofit group that receives public and private financing.
Mr. Block and his wife, Judi, first took in their two sons, Thomas, 14, and George, 11, who are brothers, as foster children, then later adopted them. The boys entered the foster-care system about five years ago, after they came home from school one day to find their father being arrested in the murder of their mother.
The Blocks are Baptists but said they would respect the culture and traditions of the sect’s children and do everything in their power to make them feel at home.
“We would hope to show them one day that the world is not all bad, that there are a lot of good people,” Mr. Block said. “We’d try to explain to them why this happened, that they’re victims, that they didn’t do anything wrong.”
NEy York Times, 4/26/08

 

[southcitymom]

K, I am going to play devil's advocate here and say that I would like to see cold hard proof that the way of life they are accustomed to is harmful. Again, I am not advocating for it, but I have seen a lot of speculation as to what life is like inside of the compound or the sect itself, but I have not see much that applies to this case, except evidence of underage marriage which I find personally abhorrent...there are lots of cultures outside of the US that function otherwise however.

Waterboarding babies, and the like-of course heinous behavior that needs to be punished severely and if the belief behind it is common, then the belief should be unlearned. Now, my understanding of Scientology is that the children are not to be angered, troubled or challenged-they are to be soothed rather than disciplined etc...and I have read some speculation that this is why Suri continues to carry a bottle at a time most of us would have weaned our children from it. Let the deprogramming begin

I am very scared about generalizing the need to de-program beliefs that we don't like...i am not expressing myself well...does anyone understand what I mean?

I think you have expressed yourself very well and I have the same feelings. I don't think any of us believe adults having sex with and/or physically abusing children is appropriate behavior. The rest of what I have read about the FLDS is not my thing, but I believe people should have the freedom to practice beliefs they wish to practice - even if that practice seems odd, unsavory or unhealthy to the rest ("majority") of us.

However, I think some folks deem the FLDS (as well as Scientology) a cult and believe that people are brainwashed and/or threatened into following certain beliefs. Some think because of this factor, cults are fair game for dismantling/attacking. This is not how I feel, but I can surely understand the point.

The reality is that we can look at every reputable acceptable religion/denomination in the world and find things they do and doctrines they feed to followers that we might consider unhealthy or even vile.

Frankly, now that these children have been completely uprooted from their religious lifestyle (which by nature is small and simplified) and put into the "system," there is no way in the world to keep them from beginning to live an Americanized, mainstream existence. And so the deprogramming will begin whether they or their families want it to or not. I find that sad and dangerous and scary, but I see no way around it given the current situation.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/arts/2005/10/27/spiritual_.html

Followers are taught that the non-faithful are agents of Satan - the truck used by Banking on Heaven's crew drives a wave of fleeing children and adults before it, though not before one mother takes the time to raise her middle finger. The film crew was constantly followed by groups of young men in trucks who at one occasion tried to drive the director and writer's car off the road. When asked during a post-film Q&A if they feared any violence, writer Laurie Allen replied, "Our crew needs to know not just how to use a camera but a .357 too."

 

[mollymalone]

http://thehopeorg.org/photos_Alta_Academy.html
Alta Academy Yearbooks - Photo Gallery- Here are some photos of Warren Jeffs and some other folks at Alta Academy from 1988 to 1996.

 

[Leila]

How long can these children be sheltered? Wouldn't it be better for the children in the long run to be introduced to society - at least, gradually? Surely, the courts don't wish the children to return to living again under such conditions.

I've wondered about that too. At some point, I can see one of the FLDS children asking "what's that" and pointing to the TV, or other things they encounter in their new environment.

If the children are taken outside the facility and see other children dressed differently and ask why they can't dress like that, how will the caregivers respond?

 

[mollymalone]

Excellent video and interview by Mike Watkiss!! Within the clip there are scenes of large groups of the FLDS with lots of children.
http://www.azfamily.com/sharedcontent/VideoPlayer/videoPlayer.php?vidId=51448&catId=245
Ruth Stubbs four years later
February 16th, 2006Mike Watkiss interviews Ruth Stubbs, a young mother who fled her polygamist police officer husband.

Edited to add: http://www.azfamily.com/sharedcontent/southwest/azfamily/features/polygamy/index2.html
A number of other interviews/videos down the page.

 

[Truly]

Re: the Pentagon Contract-background checks are done on the companies and those running the company, but if there are no reports of criminal activity by the company or the persons, then their bid can be considered.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/33510.html
"A large portion of the awards were preferential no-bid or "sole source" contracts because of the company's classification as a small business, according to online databases that track federal government appropriations.
NewEra, previously known as Western Precision Inc. and located in Hildale, Utah, also received a $900,000 loan in 2005 from the federal Small Business Administration, the data show."

(snip for space)

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9827
"The president of Western Precision was Wendell Nielsen, described in multiple media accounts as a senior official in the FLDS religious sect" "Neilsen disappeared with church leader Warren Jeffs after Jeffs was put on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in 2003" "The records show that Western Precision continued to receive government contracts even after the well-publicized manhunt. And when Jeffs was captured in 2006, he was riding in an SUV registered to John C. Wayman, another Western Precision executive.""In an affidavit filed by Wendell Nielsen's son in a church-related court case, Western Precision gave the church up to $100,000 a month, a testament to the close ties between the manufacturing firm and the church itself."

From molly's last link:

And the Defense Department was apparently pleased with Western Precision's work. In 2002, it honored the company with its "Innovative Business Performer of the Year" award.
Nielsen and Wayman and other church elders who worked at Western Precision, now known as the Las Vegas-based NewEra Manufacturing, could not be reached for comment.

So Western Precision, after changing it's name to NewEra Manufacturing, relocated it's headquarters to Las Vegas, Nevada?!! Probably to avoid having it's assets tied up in the disbursement of the UEP trust in Hilsdale. But Las Vegas?!!! I mean, they didn't move to the Little Ranch On The Prairie in Eldorado, Tx.

Nooooo...they headed straight for the den of iniquity itself! What is the FLDS doing in Vegas???Accompanied by Warren Jeffs, while he was on the run as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted men. Where did he get that fifty grand cash he had in his pockets when he was arrested? What exactly are these guys up to in Las Vegas? Anything to do with selling young kids for sex? I am beginning to really think they are breeding kids to sell on the black market.

 

[Truly]

I can only access this article through Google Cache. Published April 1, 2004 it identifies David Steed Allred as the sole registered owner of the property. He was the only shareholder listed on the articles of incorporation for YFZ, L.L.C.

Not surprisingly, Allred is related to Jeffs.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:nXQ7A98BCW0J:www.myeldorado.net/YFZ%2520Pages/YFZ040104.html+eldorado+FLDS+ownership&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

David Steed Allred. Yes, he is the one who showed up to purchase the property in Eldorado, Tx. ostensibly as a 'hunting retreat for his corporate clients'. What are his corporate clients hunting for? Sex with little girls???

Are the authorities actively searching for the men whose names are highlighted above? This is the core group of criminals, imo, all of their false religious facades aside. This is not about religious persecution. It is about the prosecution of crimes against children.

 

[mollymalone]

From molly's last link:


So Western Precision, after changing it's name to NewEra Manufacturing, relocated it's headquarters to Las Vegas, Nevada?!! Probably to avoid having it's assets tied up in the disbursement of the UEP trust in Hillsdale. But Las Vegas?!!! I mean, they didn't move to the Little Ranch On The Prairie in Eldorado, Tx.

Nooooo...they headed straight for the den of iniquity itself! What is the FLDS doing in Vegas???Accompanied by Warren Jeffs, while he was on the run as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted men. Where did he get that fifty grand cash he had in his pockets when he was arrested? What exactly are these guys up to in Las Vegas? Anything to do with selling young kids for sex? I am beginning to really think they are breeding kids to sell on the black market.

Oh, it's no surprise that he headed to Las Vegas, there are companies and some of his followers living there. There were contracts awarded to some of the flds companies in Vegas.

Even though the UEP was in state hands, the money was still flowing directly to Warren Jeffs. They simply stopped paying into the UEP and funneled it through his brother and others close to him.

 

[mollymalone]

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A313592
From government construction sites like one at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve to one at the Clark County Wetlands Park, a river is running. But it's not water that flows from these places. It's money, taxpayers' money. And a whole lot of it is going to JNJ Engineering. The company has nearly $10.5 million in government contracts with the City, County and Water District. Spokesperson J.C. Davis says $9.6 million of that is with the Water District alone. "They keep getting contracts because they keep bidding on contracts."

"JNJ Engineering's Jacob Jessop and his family live in a million-dollar home on Gilbert Lane in northwest Las Vegas and another one in Hildale, Utah.Nevada law requires government to award its contracts to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. JNJ often undercuts the next lowest bidder by tens or hundreds of thousands, and their bids are also often hundreds of thousands less than the government engineer's own estimate. Flora Jessop says there's a reason for that. "A lot of what happens in these corporations is they use their children as the labor force and so they don't have to pay wages."