Quick Notes: Ghanaian Witch-Burning, The Power, and Polyamory
Will a Ghanaian Witch-Burning Turn the Tide? Last week a 72-year-old woman in Ghana was accused of being a witch, tortured, doused with kerosene, and lit on fire. This is nothing new; the United Nations and various NGOs have been talking about the global epidemic of witch-killings and witch-hunts for some time now. But will this latest gruesome case spark a change in Ghana? It could just be an illusion created by international press attention, but there seems to be widespread revulsion and outcry over this case, and even those forced to live in “witch camps” are agitating for justice. Read full story wildhunt.org
Meaning of winter solstice
The darkest, coldest time of the year is at once the most dreaded and the most hopeful.
It is the period when, throughout human history, people have feared the possibility that days might continue to get shorter, and nights longer, with the inevitable demise of life.
Indeed, light and life go together, as do darkness and death. To many people in various northern hemisphere cultures, this late-December period has been considered the most dangerous time of year. Indeed this is true, for until quite recently it was when food and fuel might run out with no means left for survival, and when unpredictable weather might bring dreadful results. Read full story from projo.com
Zodiac Zone: Meet Sagittarius
Nearly everyone knows a little something about astrology – even if it’s only where to find the daily horoscope section in the local newspaper. Whether you truly believe the stars control your destiny, think it’s all bunk, or just like to have fun with it, the 12 signs of the zodiac are part of our cultural heritage. Over the next year, the Farmers’ Almanac will introduce you to the facts and mythology behind each constellation in the traditional Western zodiac. This month, Sagittarius. Read full story from farmersalmanac.com
GUEST COLUMN: Repentant sinners find God’s mercy
EASTON —“Well after all, I’m only human!”
Have you ever heard that, or maybe even said it yourself? This expression is one we humans sometimes use to explain why we have done something wrong. It’s not only an attempt to explain our bad behavior, but is used on some occasions to even justify it.
Is that really the explanation for our wrongdoings, that we’re just human and therefore imperfect? Some who believe in God as their creator suggest that that is how God made them imperfect. But is God really the cause of our imperfection? Read full story from wickedlocal.com
Extra claims she was rejected for Hobbit role for looking ‘too brown’
A British woman of Pakistani origin was reportedly turned away from auditions for Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit in New Zealand on the basis that she was not white enough.
Naz Humphreys, who is 5ft tall, had travelled to Hamilton from Auckland last Tuesday in the hope of securing an extra role on Peter Jackson’s forthcoming two-part adaptation of JRR Tolkien‘s classic fantasy tale. However, according to the Waikato Times, she was told after a three-hour wait that her skin tone made it unlikely she would be cast. Read full story from guardian.co.uk
Short Animated Films About Green Stuff (Videos)
And the Oscar for Best Green Short Goes to…
One of the great things about the web is how inexpensive it now is to reach a lot of people. Not so long ago you would have needed to have access to either a printing press, a movie or television studio, or a radio station. Now, anybody can create a website and publish text, or use digital tools to create videos that can then be hosted on a variety of free sites (youtube, Vimeo, etc). Here’s a compilation of some great short animated films about green topics. Read full story from treehugger.com
Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus
In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out billions of dollars in stimulus money to some of the nation’s biggest polluters and granted them sweeping exemptions from the most basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found.
The administration has awarded more than 179,000 “categorical exclusions” to stimulus projects funded by federal agencies, freeing those projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. Coal-burning utilities like Westar Energy and Duke Energy, chemical manufacturer DuPont, and ethanol maker Didion Milling are among the firms with histories of serious environmental violations that have won blanket NEPA exemptions. Read full story from publicintegrity.com
Poll: Majority support gays serving openly in military
Washington (CNN) – A national poll released Monday indicates that a majority of Americans say they favor allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces.
The Pew survey’s release comes one day before the Pentagon is expected to release a report on how military personnel feel about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bans openly gay troops for serving in the armed forces. Red full story from cnn.com
Where lucky suspected witches live in camps
From Accra, the capital to Hamile in the north, and from Aflao in the east to Elubo in the west, it looks like Ghanaians are becoming obsessed with witchcraft and this has taken a dangerous trend.
Whilst some Pentecostal churches claim they have to exorcises those who confess, in some traditional communities, especially in the north, these so called witches are isolated and made to live in camps. What is worrying is that, women are mainly those who are accused of witchcraft and made to suffer the consequences. Read full story from africareview.com
Caribou Survival Depends on Ancient Cultural Knowledge
It’s beginning to be the time of year when caribou, as reindeer are known in North America, show up on holiday cards and tree ornaments.
But not all is well with this iconic species, which has been in retreat from humans for decades. Now new thinking about the conservation and restoration of North America’s wild herds of caribou combines not only the latest western approach to science but also the tried-and-tested ancient knowledge and perspectives of indigenous cultures that co-existed so long and so successfully with these northern animals. Read full story from nationalgeographic.com
Navajo Nation urges US to adopt UN Declaration
ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. – The disparity in the government’s treatment of federally recognized and non-recognized tribes is not consistent with the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Duane H. Yazzie, chairperson of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission said Oct. 15.
The “Declaration does not separate or categorize us and treat us differently based on the categories, like the U.S. does,” he said, citing Article 1 of the Declaration: “Indigenous peoples, whether individually or collectively shall enjoy their human rights.” Read full story from indiancountrytoda.com
Portland bomb plot suspect felt betrayed by family, thought living in U.S. was sin
Mohamed Osman Mohamud was angry at his parents for keeping him from jihad and had thought about carrying out an operation, “something like Mumbai,” since he was 17. On the two-year anniversary of the shooting and bombing attack on a Mumbai, India, hotel that killed 166 people, Mohamud pressed the buttons on a cell phone he thought would trigger an explosion, creating a “spectacular show” and killing hundreds at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the government alleges.
The Corvallis teenager, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb during the annual tree-lighting ceremony in “Portland’s living room,” will make his first court appearance Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Portland. Read full story from oregonlive.com
Oregon mosque attended by bomb plot suspect target of apparent arson (source cnn)
