Posts Tagged ‘Thanksgiving’

Happy Turkey Day!

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

News & Submissions 11/22/2010

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Thanksgiving symbolizes Native generosity and kindness
VERONA, N.Y. – When the first immigrants from Europe arrived on the North American shores, they were homeless and hungry. They survived thanks to the generosity and kindness of Native peoples, who helped them through the first brutal northeastern winter and shared traditional methods of agriculture that would sustain them through future seasons.

That tradition of hospitality and help is replayed throughout Indian country during the Thanksgiving season in various acts of kindness by tribal nations. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

My Take: My top 3 books for the hotel nightstand
If you have ever contemplated being stranded in a hotel room without electricity, you might be happy to hear that the Gideon’s ubiquitous nightstand Bibles are no longer your only reading option. For some time, many Marriott Hotels have featured copies of the Book of Mormon, and, now, according to Kate Shellnutt at the Houston Chronicle, Hare Krishnas have placed roughly 7,000 copies of the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita in 100 Houston-area hotel rooms. Read full story from cnn.com

Banned medic vows to fight GMC ‘witch-hunt’
WHEN Doctor Sarah Myhill first began treating sufferers of ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, she saw herself as a pioneer – changing the lives of hundreds of patients who had nowhere else to turn.

But now, banned from practising medicine and under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) for posing a risk to patients’ health, Dr Myhill says her life has been engulfed by legal battles and her ongoing fight to clear her name. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Hundreds gather for interfaith Thanksgiving celebration
Members of more than a dozen religious organizations gathered in Central Austin on Sunday in advance of Thanksgiving to show their appreciation for one another.

People packed into University Baptist Church near the University of Texas during a nearly two-hour ceremony that featured prayers and songs from different religions. Read full story from statesman.com

Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims
At 18 hospitals in the U.S. and U.K., researchers have suspended pictures, face up, from the ceilings in emergency-care areas. The reason: to test whether patients brought back to life after cardiac arrest can recall seeing the images during an out-of-body experience.

People who have these near-death experiences often describe leaving their bodies and watching themselves being resuscitated from above, but verifying such accounts is difficult. The images would be visible only to people who had done that. Read full story from wsj.com

Ancient Roman bath found in Jerusalem
Jerusalem – Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a 1 800-year-old bathing pool which proves that Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city built after the destruction of Jerusalem, was larger than thought, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Monday. Read full story from news24.com

Secret chamber in National Library
KOLKATA: National Library has always been reputed to haunted. Now, here is a really eerie secret. A mysterious room has been discovered in the 250-year-old building a room that no one knew about and no one can enter because it seems to have no opening of kind, not even trapdoors.

The chamber has lain untouched for over two centuries. Wonder what secrets it holds. The archaeologists who discovered it have no clue either, their theories range from a torture chamber, or a sealed tomb for an unfortunate soul or the most favoured of all a treasure room. Some say they wouldn’t be surprised if both skeletons and jewels tumble out of the secret room. Read full story from indiatimes.com

Tiger Extinction: Tigers Could Be Extinct In 12 Years If Unprotected
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching, global wildlife experts told a “tiger summit” Sunday.

The World Wildlife Fund and other experts say only about 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, a dramatic plunge from an estimated 100,000 a century ago. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Arguments to take place in Oklahoma over ban on Islamic law in courts
A federal judge will hear arguments Monday on a temporary restraining order against an Oklahoma referendum that would ban the use of Islamic religious law in state courts.

Oklahoma voters approved the amendment during the November elections by a 7-3 ratio. But the Council on American-Islamic Relations challenged the measure as a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange issued a temporary restraining order November 8 that will keep state election officials from certifying that vote Read full story from cnn.com

Are Some People Not Fit to Be Vegans?
What to eat? It’s still a touchy subject, and posts about food choices here at TreeHugger tend to draw (at best) sprited debate and at worst, heated ire. So here’s more fuel for the fire – dedicated vegan food blogger Tasha at the Voracious Vegan has turned her back on 3.5 years of veganism, drawing support but also ire from her readers. Some people say veganism doesn’t meet the nutritional needs (especially for B-12) of its practitioners. Others, including medical expert Dean Ornish, swear that a low-fat plant-based diet is better for the body and for the planet. Read full story from treehugger.com

A prayer for Fido: Pet lovers flock to Danvers church for monthly service with pets
DANVERS — The Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas began last night’s service at Calvary Episcopal Church in Danvers with an important public service announcement.

“Don’t be afraid if your friend needs to walk around or talk during the service,” she told the two dozen-or-so people and their canine friends.

On cue, in walked Addy, a Chinese crested powderpuff, with her owner, Lis Carey of Lawrence. Instantly, the room erupted in a chorus of barks, as suddenly-alert mutts looked around, angling to get a good glimpse or sniff of the late arrival. When order was restored, Keith-Lucas resumed. Read full story from Salemnews.com

Recent Discoveries Shed Light On Ancient Human Migration & Sport
In 2009, the Norwegian research magazine ‘Apollon’ reported that archaeologists had discovered a 70,000 year old religious site in the remote region of Ngamiland, Botswana. In the year since the announcement, little follow-up discussion and speculation has been undertaken despite the fact the discovery is both profound and history changing.

This discovery can not be underestimated, for not only does it shed new light on the mankind’s earliest religion but also on early human migration, biblical accounts in the Book of Genesis, as well as the historic significance of ancient stick and ball sports. The Ngamiland discovery is the first solid evidence of the ‘Serpent Religion’ being practiced by early man 30,000 years before similar sites appear in Europe and the Near East. In addition, it adds new fuel to the on-going debate on pre-Columbian New World civilizations and their ancient links to Africa and the Mediterranean. Read full story from boxscorenews.com

Public apology to Natives overdue
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – President Barack Obama will be asked – again – for a formal and public apology to Indian country on behalf of the U.S. government for past atrocities, said Don Coyhis, whose White Bison Inc. made a cross-country trek in 2009 fruitlessly seeking such an acknowledgment.

Instead, Coyhis noted, the president issued an “Apology to Native Peoples of the United States” last December that was buried in the Defense Appropriations Act and was “never properly presented to Native Americans and to the American people.”

The apology said, in part, that the U.S. through Congress, “recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the federal government regarding Indian tribes.” Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Islamic community center developer seeks federal funding
The developer behind the controversial Islamic community center and mosque planned for Lower Manhattan has requested federal funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to support the project known as Park51.

The funding would come from money the Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated to help rebuild the neighborhood after the 9/11 attacks.  “Park51 has applied for a Lower Manhattan Development Corporation grant,” said Sharif El-Gamal, CEO of SOHO Properties, the developer behind the Islamic center. Read full story from cnn.com

News & Submissions 11/20/2010

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

2010 Wild Hunt Winter Pledge Drive, Nov 15-21
Since it started in 2004, the Wild Hunt has become a vital news source for modern Pagans, and a crucial resource for those outside the Pagan movement who want to explore the issues that are important to us.

The Wild Hunt doesn’t simply alert you to the interesting (or infuriating) stories of the day, but adds analysis, context, and unique features. Read full story from wildhunt.com

Battle Over Public Christmas Displays Begins Again
And so it starts. Cities are again battling over whether to allow religious Christmas displays in public squares during the “winter holidays.”

Freedom from religion groups start lawsuits over Christmas, disagreements by school boards occur over whether children can sing songs about Christ in holiday programs. It happens every year. Read full story from yahoo

Pyramidal Tombs at Syrian Forgotten Cities
Damascus- Dead cities were built on low height mountains in the provinces of Aleppo, Idleb and Hama governorates and called by the archeologists as “The Desolate Cities, or the Forgotten Cities”, Tishreen daily said Saturday.

The daily added that those cities are distinguished by unique characteristics, attracted the attention of a number of archeologists and international organizations including the UNESCO which works now on preparing a file to register those archeological sites on the World Heritage List. Read full story from dp-news.com

Thanksgiving: A Holiday For Believers and Non-Believers
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Ken Guthrie and his partner will be at his aunt’s house for Thanksgiving, sharing a table with his grandmother, siblings and cousins — a veritable holiday crowd.

But when it comes time to express thanks, Guthrie, a board member of Salt Lake City Pagan Pride, will not be speaking to the Christian God his relatives might address.

“I’m thanking, first, the universe for allowing me to be alive. I’m thanking my family for being with me, and I give thanks to the turkey that gave its life, the plants on our table, to the Earth itself for being abundant.” Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Frankly, the future is all too predictable
Today I am going to write about psychic powers, but you knew that already, didn’t you? Because according to a recent “study”, humans have the ability to predict the future. Which means that even when you were reading about William and Kate, and all the while you were taking in the wise words of Simon Heffer, you were well aware that you were moments away from a piece about extra-sensory perception. That, or this article has been flagged up in the previous pages.

Anyway, Professor Daryl Bem of Cornell University in New York carried out nine different experiments involving more than 1,000 volunteers, all but one of which appeared to indicate that people have psychic powers. In one of his experiments, students were told to memorise various words. Astonishingly, they tended to recall the ones they would later be asked to type. Cue the Twilight music, please. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

News & Submissions 11/30/2009

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Shayne Looper: To coexist is just not enough
We were in an Ivy League town recently, and I noticed a number of cars sporting a bumper sticker that read COEXIST. The letters were constructed from various symbols, some of which were religious in nature. Read full story from norwichbulletin.com

Winter solstice is a time of renewal, reconnection with the Earth
Throughout the ages, a variety of cultures have viewed the winter solstice as a time for celebration and renewal. The tilt of the earth’s axis makes the winter solstice the shortest day — and longest night — of the year. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, the word solstice comes from the roots “sol,” which means sun, and “stit,” which means stand. In the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice usually falls on Dec. 21 or 22. Read full story from poughkeepsiefournal.com

Obama Makes History: Thanksgiving Proclamation First Ever to Omit Direct Mention of God
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Obama’s brief proclamation of Thanksgiving Day on November 26 was unique among all recorded Thanksgiving proclamations by his predecessors: it is the first one that fails to directly acknowledge the existence of God. Read full story from lifesitenews.com

Climate research e-mail controversy simmers
The scientific conduct of climate researchers has come under increasing heat in a sprawling online debate over leaked e-mails that, critics say, raise questions about the arguments that global warming threatens the world. Read full story from usatoday.com

Indianapolis Public Schools response to question of censorship
Dorothy Crinshaw of the Indianapolis Public Schools was able to return a phone call made last week to her office before Thanksgiving regarding IPS censoring Pagan/Wiccan and Atheistic content and was able to answer a few questions. Read full story from examner.com

News & Submissions 11/28/2009

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

Welcome to Melbourne for the Parliament of the World’s Religions, December 3-9, 2009
On behalf of the spiritual ancestors and the traditional owners of Melbourne, I invite you to Melbourne in 2009, for the Parliament of the World’s Religions to share in the traditions, culture and spirit of Australia. Read full story from parliamentofreligions.org

Hidden Symbols of Thanksgiving
According to an article published on the Fox News website, there are five secrets of Thanksgiving and they are:
1- A secret society invented Thanksgiving.
2- There’s a secret connection between the Bible and Thanksgiving.
3- A manuscript lost for two centuries resurfaces with true Thanksgiving meanings.
4- Pilgrims preferred Thanksgiving to Christmas.
5- The Statue of Liberty holds Thanksgiving Day secrets.
Read full story from  examiner.com

Right-Wing Culture Warriors Warn of Atheist Attack on Thanksgiving!
Michael Tomasky notes that the annual “War on Christmas” has started early this holiday season. But that’s old hat — mainstream stuff that’s become just another part of the old holiday spirit among the Fox News set. Read full story from alternet.org

Christian church, Native American tribe reconcile
NEW YORK – Members of one of America’s oldest Protestant churches officially apologized Friday , for the first time , for massacring and displacing Native Americans 400 years ago. Read full story from philly.com

Let’s get it straight: Irish child abuse was perpetrated by the trendy, modern post-Vatican II Catholic Church
The Obama principle that a crisis is too good to waste is clearly being applied in the case of the clerical child abuse scandal in Ireland. A spin is being put on the shocking revelations in the report on abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin to implicate the “pre-Conciliar” Catholic Church in the wrongdoings of post-Vatican II pederasts. In the process, the name of a good man has been dragged into the cesspit, for political purposes. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

O Christmas tree: Centuries-old tradition brings joy to the season
Decorating your home with an adorned tree or two during the holidays is a centuries-old tradition.Long before the ubiquitous ‘Christmas Tree’ was offered up in store windows, or tied to a cherished religious holiday, people decorated their homes with evergreen foliage during the bleak winter season as a reminder and symbol of life. Read full story from citizen-times.com

Have a Holly, Jolly Xmas Solstice!
OLYMPIA, Wash. — An atheist group has unveiled an anti-religion placard in the state Capitol, joining a Christian Nativity scene and “holiday tree” on display during December. Read full story from leatherpenquin.com

News & Submissions 11/23/2009

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Witch Bottle Discovered; Made to Ward Off Evil Spirits?
October 29, 2009—In time for Halloween, a beer bottle-turned-talisman against malicious spirits has been found buried near a former pub in England, archaeologists say. Read full story from nationalgeographic.com

Ten-year-old refuses to stand for Pledge of Allegiance
When ten-year-old Will Phillips, of West Fork, Ark., found a principle he couldn’t stand up for––he sat down. And the repercussions from that action have spread across the country. Read full story from uuworld.org

Interview with Autumn Breeze, 5th Generation Witch
Personal Note: As I was heading to Butch and Nellie to interview Autumn Breeze, something very odd happened. Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant played three times on 3 different radio stations. Two times going to Butch and Nellie and one time leaving Butch and Nellie. Was I getting a message from the great beyond? Read full story from sacramentopress.com

Nativity scene proposed in Clarksville draws ire
The pastor at Grace Church of the Nazarene says he and his congregation will present their “Christmas on the Cumberland” Nativity scene despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union. Read full story from theleafchronicle.com

TWISTED HISTORY: Pilgrims gone wild: A reality check on the early settlers
With the approach of Thanksgiving, and thoughts of pumpkins, turkey, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, I wanted to share a little information about the people who came up with this delicious bacchanal of food and drink that we enjoy so much. Read full story from registercitizen.com

Talks Julia Sweeney on letting go of God
Video on TED

Islam in Europe: Swiss to vote on banning minarets
The European backlash against Islam has entered a new phase. This Sunday, there’s a referendum in Switzerland on whether to add the sentence “The construction of minarets is forbidden” to Article 72 of the Constitution. Needless to say, Muslims, churchmen and Amnesty International are all pleading with the Swiss to vote against the ban.Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Thanksgiving for all faiths
Like many other religious groups, Wiccans have a tradition of giving thanks in connection with the harvest season, said the Rev. Selena Fox, of Circle Sanctuary, a Wiccan church near Barneveld. Read full story from madison.com

Different faiths gather to mark annual interfaith celebration
The 25th annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service and Celebration on Sunday began with a Muslim chant and the blowing of a ram’s horn from the second floor of the First Baptist Church of Austin. Dancers leading a procession wore bright purple dresses, green-and-white robes, Wiccan symbols, crosses, hijabs and yarmulkes. Read full story from statesman.com

Atheist groups flourish on college campuses
Bodnar is the happy face of atheism at Iowa State University. Once a week at this booth at a campus community center, the PhD student who spends most of her time researching the nutritional traits of corn takes questions and occasional abuse while trying to raise the profile of religious skepticism. Read full story from everydaychristian.com

Channel 4 returns to Africa’s witch children
Tonight’s Dispatches special shows intrepid Brit Gary Foxcroft returning to the Nigerian region where he uncovered widespread cruelty to children accused of witchcraft by rogue church pastors. Read full story from mirror.co.uk

Haunted by ghost monkeys
The owners and employees rarely ventured down to the basement as they went about their business in the 100-year-old building that had become the Candle Shoppe of the Poconos. There just was not very much need to head down there, and besides, there was some seriously creepy stuff in that basement. Read full story from poconorecord.com

News & Submissions 11/5/2009

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The Wild Hunt at The Florida Pagan Gathering
Assuming that all went well yesterday with my flights, by the time you read this I’ll be enjoying my first day at the 2009 Samhain Florida Pagan Gathering! During the three-day event I’ll be giving talks, and enjoying presentations and performances by festival co-headliners Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone, Donald Michael Kraig, and musical guests Kellianna & Coyote Run. The event runs from November 5-8th (the theme being “Hail the Honored Dead”), and has gotten positive reviews from former presenters  Thorn Coyle and Chas Clifton. Read full story from The Wild Hunt

Familiars, pets and totem animals
Many Pagans have a favorite “familiar” –  a household pet that is very close to their hearts and souls. Familiars may inspire writers and artists, become very interested in any rituals or magick you may be performing or watch you as you fashion your own ritual tools. (And don’t worry, familiars may cross into and out of a sacred circle without the customary cutting of a door. The innocence and pure spirits of small children and animals confirm that they are safe to do so.) Read full story from The Examiner

The reality of impermanence in this month of November
In the Buddhist traditions of our country the dead are always remembered with periodic and regular almsgivings and various meritorious acts. In addition special remembrance days are also observed in memory of the valiant military that died in the continuing war we have had for almost thirty odd years. Ranaviru day is given special significance and continues to keep in our minds the debt the nation owes to the service personnel who fought so valiantly and sacrificed their lives on many an occasion. Dr. Narmmasena F. Wickremesinghe, former head of Ranaviru Seva Authority in an article referring to the sacrifice of the forces states that the ballad of Bill Ray Cyrus adapted and sung at the Memorial Service for the late Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa,is very apt :“All gave some, some gave all, Some stood through for a nation, so true and some had to fall ,and if you ever think of me ,think of all your liberties and recall some gave all’. So we will always continue to honour and remember with various acts   of merit , those who defended the peace and integrity of Mother Lanka. Read full story from DailyMirror

Child Exorcisms in Africa deserve attention, help
Do you believe in witchcraft? No? I don’t either. But I do think there are a good number of believers in Africa, as we can see by the number of children tortured, mutilated and murdered following accusations of witchcraft. There have also been more than a few bodies found disemboweled and missing their organs (which are believed to be used as charms). Read full story from jackcentral.com

‘Christmas’ to stay in name of event in Birdsboro
Wiccan resident suggests name of event emphasizes Christianity; council disagrees Read full story from readingeagle.com

Confederate flag banned again
HOMESTEAD – Just days before the annual Veterans Day parade in Homestead, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) group announced on Wednesday that the Confederate battle flag has been banned from the event Read full story from sfttime.com

Atheists take message on road
TAMPA – Motorists along one of Lakeland’s major thoroughfares are being greeted with a billboard asking a provocative question: “Don’t believe in God?” Read full story from TBO.com

Historic sites teach Thanksgiving from a Native American view
As she often does at this time of year, Richmond was explaining the origins of Thanksgiving from a Native American point of view — how the so-called “First Thanksgiving” was actually part of a much larger cycle of Native American thanksgiving festivals and how roast turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie probably weren’t on the menu. (Instead, the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag dinner guests most likely sat down to a meal of venison served with dried corn and fruit). Read full story from Read full story from projo.com