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News & Submissions 3/24/2011

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

To break up all the monotony, I’ve done a little reformatting.I I hope this is more pleasing to the eye, the old format was bugging me. Be sure to check back daily, more changes are on the way. All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Headlines:

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS – Japan Disaster Relief (Click to Donate)

Events:

Festival Invites Public to Stand With Japan – Beginning at 6:30pm on March 24, people will gather at Sylvan Theater (15th Street and Independence Avenue, SW) before walking the Tidal Basin. All donations received throughout the fundraising effort will go directly to the National Cherry Blossom Festival Red Cross Online Donation Site, benefiting the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund.

Arts & Entertainment:

‘The Secret Circle’ Gets a Little Smaller
Executive producers Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain are out as executive producers of The Secret Circle, CW’s witchcraft pilot based on the novel by Vampire Diaries author L.J. Smith.  More after the jump. Read full story from fearnet.com

Exclusive video: Leigh Whannell on “INSIDIOUS,”
How’s this for a match made in…hell?! The creators of the SAW and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchises have teamed up for INSIDIOUS, a superscary haunted house chiller guaranteed to have you jumping out of your seat. Over the next week or so, Fangoria.com will be presenting exclusive video chats (directed and edited by Bill Hall) with Australian filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell. Today Fango’s Tony Timpone continues his talk with actor/screenwriter Whannell (see part one here) about the making of INSIDIOUS and provides scoops on his future projects. Read full story from fangoria.com

Environment:

Oil Spill in South Atlantic Threatens Endangered Penguins
A major spill of heavy crude oil from a wrecked freighter has coated an estimated 20,000 endangered penguins on a remote South Atlantic island chain, the local authorities and environmental groups said Tuesday.

More than 800 tons of fuel oil has leaked from the Maltese-registered ship, which ran aground on Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, a British territory, early in the morning of March 16, local officials said. All 22 crew members of the M.S. Oliva were rescued.

“The scene at Nightingale is dreadful, as there is an oil slick encircling the island,” Trevor Glass, a local conservation officer, said in a statement. Read full story from nytimes.com

Say it with Butterflies – Green Start-Up Grows Monarch Butterflies for Events, Therapy & Conservation
Here is an interesting buisness idea; grow butterflies to let fly at special ocasions and at the same time help the enviornment as well as people with special needs. The project is called Mariposeando (Spanish for something like ‘butterflying’) and has just hatched out in the North of Spain. The idea behind it is to help the population of Monarch Butterflies (Danaus Plexippus) grow as it has been declared as a species that needs protecting by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment. So why not let some butterflies free at your next party or send them as a green wedding gift! Read full story from treehugger.com

Health:

6 Natural Remedies to ‘Cure’ a Cold
With winter fully upon us, cold season has officially arrived, with coughing, sinus congestion, and the dullness that colds impart. Fortunately, natural cold remedies can help you to beat colds more quickly, and reduce the severity of symptoms.

Here are a few of my favorite remedies, which are free of side effects. Read full story from foxnews.com

Old cures, new uses
Modern America is chronically overmedicated, report after report says. Traditional doctors prescribe drugs for all sorts of maladies, but one shop in Chicago’s Chinatown is touting its ancient cures as an alternative.

Kent Young Health Products Center Co. in sells over 400 herbs for a variety of ailments, from the common cold, nausea and digestive problems to urinary tract infections, high blood pressure and cancer. Read full story from chicagojournel.com

Lifestyle & Religion:

Rich under attack
Newly rich South Africans are increasingly accused of witchcraft and attacked by their neighbours, police in the northern province of Limpopo said Wednesday.

“Now you are a witch because you are driving a four-by-four. This is the mentality that people have,” police spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi, told the Sapa news agency.

“Once people start amassing wealth, getting bigger houses and sending their children to better schools, it means you are engaging yourself in witchcraft. Read full story from theprovince.com

White witch Dot is refusing to die
THE White Witch of Milton Keynes is alive and magical after a spell of sickness so severe doctors gave her three hours to live.

Remarkable Dot Griffiths, known as Madam Morgana, has bounced back after gruelling surgery and radiotherapy to take her wheelchair-bound wizardry all over the country.

The 74-year-old great gran has been casting spells, practising paganism and fighting for the good of the world for decades.

Even on her sick bed, fighting stage 3 Endometrial cancer, she held impromptu clairvoyance session for her fellow patients. And while recuperating she dashed out a book of spells called ‘Grimoirs of Madam Morgana’, which she hopes to get published. Read full story from miltonkeynes.co.uk

Local Celtic jeweler gets national attention

Fairport, N.Y. — The difference between jeweler Stephen Walker and historians who study Celtic jewelry is simple. While they analyze how ancient metal crafts were made, he has a more hands-on approach — something that comes naturally to him.

Walker, who owns Walker Metalsmiths Celtic Jewelry in Fairport, has worked with silver and gold for more than 25 years, studying the intricate artistry of Scottish and Irish craftsmen of old. It’s a topic that’s interested him since the age of 13, and his curiosity has earned him a spot on the international stage.

In July he will be presenting his research at the Sixth International Conference of Insular Art in York, England. He is one of the few craftsmen presenting, and says having the chance to share his findings with the best and brightest scholars, archeologists and curators in his field is a great honor. Read full story from fairport-erpost.com

News:

Pastor loses job after questioning hell’s existence
DURHAM, N.C. — When Chad Holtz lost his old belief in hell, he also lost his job.

The pastor of a rural United Methodist church in North Carolina wrote a note on his Facebook page supporting a new book by Rob Bell, a prominent young evangelical pastor and critic of the traditional view of hell as a place of eternal torment for billions of damned souls.

Two days later, Holtz was told complaints from church members prompted his dismissal from Marrow’s Chapel in Henderson. Read full story from msnbc.msn.com

Crisis In Japan: Dead, Missing Total Rises Above 26,000
Here are some of the latest developments in Japan, which is recovering from the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands, left hundreds of thousands homeless and crippled a nuclear power plant in Fukushima:

— More Than 26,000 Dead Or Missing: According to the latest estimate from the National Police Agency, “more than 26,000 people are officially dead or missing.” There are 9,737 confirmed deaths and 16,423 people unaccounted for. (NHK) Read full story from npr.com

Westboro Baptist Church Plans To Picket Elizabeth Taylor’s Funeral
Members of Westboro Baptist Church revealed plans on Wednesday to picket the funeral of Elizabeth Taylor, the silver screen legend who passed away this week at the age of 79.

The Twitter stream of Margie Phelps, legal adviser and de facto spokesperson for the small Kansas-based congregation, was littered on Wednesday with messages disparaging the late activist actress and revealing plans for Westboro to demonstrate at her forthcoming funeral.

“No RIP Elizabeth Taylor who spent her life in adultery and enabling proud fags. They cuss her in hell today. #Westboro will picket funeral!” one tweet read. Read full story from huggingtonpost.com

32 arrested for ‘witch’ murders
The suspects were found just after midnight yesterday hiding in a cave on a mountain near the village.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwane Mulaudzi said police launched a massive manhunt after a tip-off from members of the community, who told them the whereabouts of the suspects.

He said the police went to the houses of the suspects at about midnight. Read full story from sowetanlive.co.za

Witches have right to live
The number of victims in the various witches’ camps in Northern Ghana appears to be increasing by the day, despite numerous campaigns by both non-governmental organisations (NGO) and the media. The existence of three camps in the three, namely the Upper East, Upper West and Northern, is helping to address the problem.  Many accused of witchcraft are now insulated from the wrath of their own people, by being confined to these camps.

It is a shame that in a society like Ghana, where old age has always been revered, to be in the evening of one’s life is threatening to become a nightmare.

The vulnerable, especially, old and weak women, is the group of people who always fall victim when suspicion of the existence of a witch or wizard arises among a family or society. The belief of the people of the northern part of the country makes people attribute bad dreams, poor harvests, sickness and epidemics to witchcraft manipulation. Read full story from modernghana.com

Paranormal:

Creeped Out by Paranormal Doings at Home?
Creaky floors. Cool drafts. Bumps in the night. They’re enough to get the imagination running. Hollywood images converge with rational explanations, clouding reality and making these occurrences difficult to comprehend.

“Eighty percent of the claims of paranormal activity are things that can be explained away,” said Melissa Tanner, founder and lead investigator of TnT Paranormal Investigators LLC. For three years, Tanner and her crew have been enlisted by area homeowners to dispel potential hauntings. Armed with digital camcorders, audio equipment and infrared cameras, Tanner seeks explanation. Read full story from frankfur.patch.com

Media:

Eco-homes: Living the good life – video (Source – Guardian)
Following his trip to the self-sustainable Lammas in Wales, Heydon Prowse visits Pembrokeshire national park to meet two families living in low-cost, environmentally sustainable dwellings

Storm Worlds (Source – National Geographic)

Blogspot:

Feel free to leave comments regarding the articles posted.

If you’re interested in guest blogging or would like to submit an article or event, contact me at pagansworld.org@gmail.com.

Thanks for stopping by! Well wishes to you all and have a great day!

Lisa

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News & Submissions 3/21/2011

Monday, March 21st, 2011

Eastpointe fortune tellers to tell all … about themselves
Psychics or fortune tellers who want to predict the future in Eastpointe will first have to share their past with police under conditions spelled out in a new city ordinance.

The Eastpointe City Council recently finalized a fortune telling ordinance that requires anyone who works in the city as a medium, clairvoyant, mind reader or similar craft to obtain a license and provide any information on past criminal convictions.

Councilwoman Veronica Klinefelt said the new regulations were largely in response to newspaper articles detailing how people — in particular, seniors — were being financially victimized by unscrupulous psychics.

“We were concerned about certain individuals who say ‘You have a bad aura, for $1,000 I can remove it.’ We want them to post their charges up front to make sure they are legitimate,” she said. Read full story from macombdaily.com

Minorities feel rising tide of bigotry
DISTRUST of Muslims and hostility towards homosexuals and pagans remain widespread in Australia, a new Australian Human Rights Commission report to be published today says.

The biggest snapshot of Australian attitudes about religion in more than a decade, the report also suggests rising political involvement by religious groups, tension between religious and secularist groups and great wariness about rights legislation.

The report, Freedom of Religion and Belief in 21st Century Australia, reveals a vastly more complex religious landscape than 1998, when the last similar survey was done.

The research involved community consultations with 274 religious and secularist groups, and with governments, human rights groups, ethnic and city councils, plus more than 2000 public submissions. Read full story from smh.com

Centuries old Nepal banishment ritual endangers girls and women
The centuries old practice of chhaupadi in Nepal can cause prolonged depression in girls and women. In extreme cases it can also cause death.

Chhaupadi pratha, or ritual practice, places Nepali women and girls in a limbo of isolation. In history it is a practice that has been largely accepted. The word chhaupadi, translates in the Achham local Raute dialect as ‘chhau’ which means menstruation and ‘padi’ – woman.

Today the ritual of banishment surrounding chhaupadi still affects girls and women on all levels of Nepali society.

This dangerous practice also isolates woman during and after childbirth as they are banished for up to eleven days away from family members, causing critical danger and increasing complications that can, and do, lead to maternal and child mortality due to the possibility of excessive bleeding and asepsis following labour. Read full sotry from womennewsnetwork.net

‘Myth Makers’ tells a historical tale about the Cherokee Tribe
Isaac Smoke could neither read nor write but when he heard the white man’s creation story, he closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

“Paper talks,” the medicine man hissed. He had other uses for the Indian newspaper that cost all of $2.50 a year.

Above is an excerpt from the book “The Myth Makers” by author J. Houston-Emerson.

The Fort Smith Museum of History held a reading and book signing with Judith Houston-Emerson on Saturday (Mar. 19). Guests arrived early and mingled before Emerson discussed her family heritage and her book.

After discussing her Cherokee heritage, Emerson read from her book, which is a work of historical fiction but based on facts. The book took Emerson more than four years to write and publish. She has already started to work on the sequel.

“The Myth Makers” starts in the early 1800s and ends in 1838 with the arrival of her ancestors in Tahlequah. It deals with witchcraft, missionaries, and white intrusion of every kind. Emerson weaves a historical tale about her Cherokee forbearers, their lives and belief systems and the wondrous world of mythic animals before their removal. Read full story from thecitywire.com

Do You Believe in Vampires, Witch’s and Ghosts?
Vampires and Witch’s have been around forever, including ghosts. I met a ghost once and she was murdered and she talked to me. I solved the murder case, found her mother walking one day and spoke to her softly and asked the mother of the deceased daughter, if she was the mother, name withheld, and she told me yes, that indeed she was.

We went to her home, and good thang I had my tarot card with me in my large sized purse made of wooden handle and straw, that look tattered and old, as bought it at a yard sale long time ago, way before the birth of my two sons, whom are into wiccan religion and magick such as I am. They used to attend church but decided my religon of Wiccan is much better to grasph the concept of. Now back to my true story. I dealt the cards and amazed at what I saw in the cards. I felt a strong presence too, and then I told the mother of the deceased woman, the names of the murderers and told her to write the wicked ones names down on a pad of paper. So she did accordingly, to my instructions. She did not hesitate to telephone the police about all this and two days later they found the evidence in his closet and he was arrested for the murder. Now this is a true tale, not fiction at all.

I have found lost things, items so to speak for many folks. I used to own and operate my own Witchy sites, and no longer do as is quite costly. I do accept reqeusts from friends to cast magical spells for them as well as strangers, that write me and desire a spell to be granted. I do invoke the spirit guides as they help me with psychic powers and spell craft.Read full story from modernghana.com

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News & Submissions 3/16/2011

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS – Japan Disaster Relief (Click to Donate)

Deja Vu: What Does the Gulf Oil Spill Tell Us About the Japanese Nuclear Crisis?
For the second time in under a year, a large-scale energy disaster is unfolding before our eyes. Two different industries. Two different crises. Can we apply any lessons from the Gulf Oil Spill, and what can we expect for the nuclear industry moving forward?

It was just over a year ago that the Macondo well erupted in a ball of flames in the Gulf of Mexico. For many of us, this disaster was a poignant reminder of the tradeoffs we make every day for energy resources. Oil production is a dirty industry that has been artfully hidden away halfway around the world along the coastlines of Nigeria or deserts of the Middle East. For decades, Americans have been largely disconnected from the consequences of oil production until a blowout preventer failed to prevent a blowout and sent millions of gallons of petroleum into the ocean and onto our shores.

Fast forward to March 2011 and it seems to be an eerie repeat of recent history where explosions rock a major energy facility and safety and backup systems fail to contain a disaster while we watch as the events unfold over the Internet and Twitter. As of 5pm Tuesday (Texas time), a small team of Japanese technicians is wrestling the nuclear plant back under control. Details are still scarce and the situation is still developing. It really is too early to tell how long the plants will out of control. Read full story from scientificamereican.com

Lesson From Japan: There’s No Avoiding Nature
Japan is a country lauded for its emergency preparedness, and yet, as the world has seen in terrifying and scary images since the 8.9 earthquake struck last Friday, there are limits to what us humans can do in the face of Nature.

The Damage Could Have Been Much Worse

There a couple of provisos here: the damage could have been much worse, like that we saw recently in China and Haiti; also the Japanese emphasis on preparedness has been in the southern part of Honshu island, after the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake that burned down more than sixty percent of Tokyo and killed 145,000 people. This quake struck of the coast of north-east Japan. Read full story from care2.com

Soapbox Mike Lake: Why are some schools still promoting Christianity over all other beliefs?
EVEN an evangelical atheist like me supports religious education in schools – as long as children are taught about different beliefs.

I represent Humanism on the Derby Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education and, as an ex-teacher myself, I helped with the latest revision of the RE syllabus followed by all schools in the city.

I am pleased to say that non-belief, atheist Humanism, is represented on that syllabus and on the syllabus for all county schools.

I am also pleased that things have come a long way from the days when Christianity was promoted, no matter what you believed.

It came as a shock, therefore, to find that some local schools seemed to promote one religion over others. Read full story from thisisderbyshire.co.uk

Tibetan monk burns himself to death in protest against Chinese rule
A Tibetan Buddhist monk has burned himself to death in western China, triggering a street protest against government controls, according to a group campaigning for Tibetan self-rule.

Phuntsog, 21, was a monk in Aba, a mainly ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan province that erupted in defiance against Chinese control three years ago. The monk “immolated himself in protest against the crackdown”, said Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet, a London-based organisation.

The self-immolation and subsequent demonstrations mirror the protests that gripped Tibetan areas of China in March 2008 when Buddhist monks and other Tibetans loyal to the exiled Dalai Lama confronted police and troops. Read full story from guardian.uk.co

Police chase nets suspected thief of pagan sign from Santa Cruz shop
SANTA CRUZ – A man who stole a shop sign with a pentagram on it was arrested about 4:30 p.m. near Morrissey Boulevard and Fairmount Avenue after a 20-minute car chase, Capitola police reported.

About 4 p.m. in front of The Sacred Grove, a metaphysical bookstore and pagan community center at 924 Soquel Ave., a black Isuzu Trooper screeched to a stop, book shop representatives said. A man got out and took a sign – which said “Witchcraft wares and magical supplies, potion brews and unique gifts” with a pentagram on the back, said Sacred Grove owner Michael Correll. Read full story from mercurynews.com

Magick Spells Can Be Fun to Cast!
I am a Wiccan witch and go by the Wiccan Crede. I believe it is safe to cast lovers spells, money spells and what have you, s long as it is not harming another person. I have been casting spells all my life, so it seems, since I was fourteen years and now in my early 40s’: I have learned to appreciate casting magick spells even more.

I believe in many gods and goddesses and all my magick spells have come true for myself and others. I cast a spell for all my poems to become published ans within a month tops, they wore published. I know magick works splendidly for myself as well as my family and friends. Many people write me asking for a spell and I usually cast spells for free and all that is required is a witch book sent to me, if they wish to do so, as payment. Yes, magick can be so much fun!

I enjoy casting spells during the daytime as well as the night time. You may wish to cast some of your own magick as well. Here are some free spells of mine you may wish to try! Read full story from modernghana.com

Witch shop opens in downtown Amesbury
AMESBURY — You won’t find bat blood, unicorn horns or an eye of a newt inside this witch’s cauldron.

After all, Forest Rangel is a white witch — think Glinda in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

While witch shops may seem more appropriate in Salem, one has come to downtown Amesbury with the opening of The Witches Cauldron.

Why Amesbury?

“You have lots of different people of different denominations,” Rangel said.

Rangel opened up her store at 19 Main St., where you’ll find candles, oils, books, tarot cards and even fairies, in the form of figurines. Read full story from newburyportnews.com

Man tells police he set fire because of Satan
LYNNWOOD — Convinced that he was sharing a motel room with Satan, a man set his blankets ablaze in Lynnwood on Friday, according to what he told police.

The man, 52, of Redmond, had been staying at the Days Inn on 196th Street SW for about a month, according to a police affidavit filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Fire crews were called about 8:30 a.m. Friday when smoke began pouring out of the second floor room where the man was staying.

The fire was contained to one room because of fire sprinklers, officials said. About six rooms were damaged in all, as well as guests’ personal property.

The man told police that he set the room on fire because Satan was in there, according to the affidavit. He reportedly said he wanted to protect “the good people” by setting the fire. Read full story from heraldnet.com

ACLU Defense of Religious Freedom Lost on Virginia Students
Here’s a fascinating story for people who struggle to understand the difference between individual expression and government-endorsed displays of religion – and why the two are not the same.

The Giles County School District in Floyd, Va. has been embroiled in a back-and-forth battle over the religious displays in all its schools of the Ten Commandments. In the latest controversy over the issue, 200 students walked out in protest Monday over the school board’s latest decision to ban them.

The whole brouhaha started in December when the school board voted to remove the displays after the Freedom from Religion Foundation sent the district a letter notifying it that it was in violation of the Constitution. In response, the board voted to take down them down. Read full story from religiondispatches.org

Skulls found during Utah drug raid
(NBC) — Utah police involved in a drug investigation came across human skulls and animal bones allegedly used as part of a religious shrine.

Now investigators and attorneys are trying to decide if the animal carcasses and remains constitute religious freedom or if it is against the law.

The Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force served a warrant Sunday to search in Clearfield as part of an ongoing drug distribution investigation.

While there, narcotics detectives discovered at least two human skulls and several hundred pounds of animal bones and flesh in a shed in back. Read full story from wcsh6.com

The Buzzards return to Hinckley
HINCKLEY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Whether you believe the legend of a massive critter kill that turned into a buzzard buffet, or the one about the dying curse of an Indian woman, the Cleveland Metroparks marked the annual Return of the Buzzards Tuesday. Read full story from cleveland.com

Teen creator of ‘Note to God’ app in coma (source cnn)

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News & Submissions 3/15/2011

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

Split family blamed on maid’s sorcery
A Saudi family who suffered from a series of problems has accused its Indonesian housemaid of causing them by using witchcraft to punish them for bad treatment of her, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The maid had confessed to the police that she did cast a malicious spell on the family but later retracted her confession after colleagues warned her she could be executed for sorcery in the conservative Gulf Kingdom. Yet the court sentenced her to five years in prison.
Just a few weeks after she was jailed, police told her she would be released under a pardon of thousands of prisoners announced by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia following his return from a treatment trip abroad. Read full story from emirates247.com

Aiding Children Accused of Witchcraft
Over a year ago, Selene’s 9-year-old daughter Emma began waking up every morning and saying that witches were taking her to the woods at night to teach her witchcraft. Selene, a gentle farmer in rural Malawi and fiercely protective mother, soon noticed that Emma was also experiencing weight loss, mood swings and chronic morning fatigue. Determined to help her daughter, Selene tried to save enough money to bring Emma to a powerful witchdoctor, despite her nagging suspicion that many are charlatans. And then Selene heard about our mobile legal-aid clinic, which was offering free legal services for witchcraft cases in her rural community. She came to us for help.

My law students and I were in southern Malawi partnering with a Malawian N.G.O., the Center for Human Rights Education Advice and Assistance, to run the mobile legal-aid clinic. In the months before our arrival, the students researched the legal and social contours of witchcraft accusations in Malawi and other African countries, guided by our Malawian partners who work on witchcraft cases year-round. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Gearing up for the Gathering of Nations
One of the largest pow wows in the world, the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, draws over 100,000 visitors a year.  Last year’s Gathering also brought an address from President Obama, the first sitting president ever to do so. President Obama’s visage was visible via satellite connection to the jumbotron at the University of New Mexico’s football field. Last year’s Gathering also featured in this year’s Grammys – the winning album for Best Native American Music Album was 2010 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow: A Spirit’s Dance. This album was the work of many talented artists who recorded live during the weekend event.

This kind of momentum means this year’s Gathering could be even bigger then usual.  And that’s saying something considering more than 500 tribes from all over the country and Canada converge on Albuquerque in late April (this year’s Gathering is on April 28, 29 and 30).  With the 2010 census putting Albuquerque’s population at roughly 870,000, each year’s Gathering balloons the population by roughly ten percent. This means if you want to take in this legendary pow wow, you need to plan ahead and know what you’re doing before you get down there. Read full story from indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Becoming a Witch and Learning Magick!
One does not have to know magick to become a witch or even be initiated into a coven or secret coven to become a witch whether it be a wiccan or even a pagan witch. I used to own and operate six wiccan sites and offered free spells to other individuals. I know that I have been practicing witchcraft at the tender age of 14. Although I was baptised and my grandmother wanted this for me, still…I took the Wiccan Crede, and ”harm ye none” and live by this golden rules. I do not like to cast black magick on other people, even though..in the past, I have to those I thought or felt wore deserving of it. I know of folks that stole jewels and a good sum of money from me, but still..I do not wish anything bad to befall them, or bad luck of any kind. I wish them well and hope that one day, they will come forth and admit to me they stole from me. I can only guess whom did these dasterdly deeds to me.

All and all, becoming a wiccan witch or even a pagan witch, to back track here for a moment, does not require a lot of effort, you may worship gods or goddesses during all your ritual magic. If you prefer to not worship a deity, then this is entirely up to the individual. I much more prefer to worship Isis and Aphrodite, as they both are kind and good Goddesses or so I feel they are. Read full story from modernghana.com

Exiled lawmakers to debate Dalai Lama’s devolution plan
New Delhi, India (CNN) — Exiled Tibetan lawmakers are set to hold a historic debate on the Dalai Lama’s offer to shed his political role, the speaker of their parliament said Monday.

The statement came after the speaker read to the legislators the spiritual leader’s proposals to accord greater powers to their elected representatives.

“The essence of a democratic system is, in short, the assumption of political responsibility by elected leaders for the popular good. In order for our process of democratization to be complete, the time has come for me to devolve my formal authority to such an elected leadership,” the Dalai Lama said in his message to Tibet’s parliament-in-exile, which is meeting at Dharamsala, India. Read full story from cnn.com

Traditional medicine a source of shame?
The use of traditional ‘muti’ today, unlike in the past, has been made a secret such that many people would not even admit to using it. Many people are ashamed of using traditional medicine and would rather go for consultations at the coven late at nights or early in the morning so as not to be seen by other people. They will not even talk openly about it for fear of being stigmatised by the society.

Research from the Traditional Health Organisation website indicates that the use of traditional medicine is confused with witchcraft, citing the abuse of the gifts of God has given to cause harm or influence another’s life to their own benefit with traditional healers. A true healer could not take part in any action that can harm another person. According to Head Mountain Church preacher, Goitseone Mperi Chidubi, people would rather apply traditional medicine in things like Vaseline, food, and lotions, and face powders and creams which other people would not be suspicious about. Read full story from mmegi.bw

So-called ‘vampire’ in Chandler gets 3 years probation in stabbing
PHOENIX – A man that police say stabbed his roommate who refused to let him suck his blood in Chandler was sentenced to three years probation Monday morning.

Aaron Homer was arrested in October after Chandler police found him and his girlfriend Amanda Williamson at an apartment near Alma School and Ray roads with a large amount of blood inside.

Homer reportedly told police a man had attacked Williamson, who stabbed the man in self defense. Read full story from abc15.com

‘I need to carry knife for my religion’ says Llangollen warlock
A SELF-PROCLAIMED warlock has told why he carries a five-inch knife for his moonlit rituals.

Llangollen’s Cerwyn Jones last week had a night-time curfew lifted so he can go out when there is a full moon.

The 52-year-old dad-of-three was in court because his blade was seen as an offensive weapon.

Sympathetic magistrates accepted he was a genuine follower of the religion of Wicca – or white witchcraft. Read full story from dailypost.co.uk

How Japan’s religions confront tragedy
Proud of their secular society, most Japanese aren’t religious in the way Americans are: They tend not to identify with a single tradition nor study religious texts.

“The average Japanese person doesn’t consciously turn to Buddhism until there’s a funeral,” says Brian Bocking, an expert in Japanese religions at Ireland’s University College Cork.

When there is a funeral, though, Japanese religious engagement tends to be pretty intense.

“A very large number of Japanese people believe that what they do for their ancestors after death matters, which might not be what we expect from a secular society,” says Bocking. “There’s widespread belief in the presence of ancestors’ spirits.” Read full story from cnn.com

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News & Submissions 3/10/2011

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Dalai Lama to retire from political life
The Dalai Lama has announced he will retire from political life within days.

In a speech posted on the internet and delivered in the northern Indian hilltown of Dharamasala, the veteran Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader said that he would ask the Tibetan parliament in exile to make the necessary constitutional changes to relieve him of his “formal authority” as head of the Tibetan community outside China.

The assembly, which meets early next week, is expected to approve his request. Though long-anticipated, the move away from the limelight by one of the world’s best known political figures signals a dramatic change. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Chillicothe looks to add diversity to invocations
CHILLICOTHE — Chillicothe City Council has no intention of removing prayer from its formal meetings, but it likely will draft formal plans to make prayers more diverse and keep them separate from official business.

At a community affairs committee meeting Wednesday, council members met with Columbus attorney Matthew Burkhart, a member of the Alliance Defense Fund, a group that has helped communities across the country adopt policies to keep invocations as part of their meetings.

“This policy would see those invocations continuing and formalizing the procedures,” Burkhart said. Read fulls story from chillicothgazette.com

Pagan holidays in modern Ukraine
For the most flavourful celebration of pagan rituals, visit Ukraine in the summer for the Ivana Kupala festival of making wreaths, jumping over bonfires and peeking into the future. In December, Saint Andrew’s Day is another chance for some quality palm reading while saying goodbye to the sun for the winter. Epiphany, celebrated in January, helps wash sins away – in icy rivers and lakes – but not before another healthy dose of fortunetelling. And when decadent parades sweep European and American streets for Mardi Gras, Ukrainians stand by their forefathers munching on pancakes during the Pancake Week celebrations.

The easiest way to experience the supernatural is booking a trip to Kiev in July. Celebrated after the summer solstice on 6 July, Ivana Kupala refers to the god of the fruits of the earth. Legend has it that if you venture into the forest and find a fern in bloom – although it is nearly a botanical impossibility – start digging. This magic fern allegedly indicates a hidden treasure. The rite has found its way into films, cartoons and children’s books, all contributing to its mass popularity across the country. Read fulls tory from bbc.com

The deity by any other name: Army resilience program gets a thumbs down from atheists
The best thing about writing a story as a journalist is that you get to interact with astute readers who are never reticient about telling you what you missed in your reporting. My story, “The Neuroscience of True Grit,” the cover in the current issue, talks about what we know, and what we’re still trying to find out, about psychological resilience: the thing that  allows you to slog through when S**T happens.

Even though there’s a lot that we still don’t know, the U.S. Army has launched a gargantuan program to teach resilience to soldiers and their families, an effort that encompasses more than one million people. There is a software training module in one segment of the program to teach “spiritual” fitness. The Army is smart and they emphasize that the program is oriented toward the “human” side of spirituality. Translation: we are not violating separation of church and state. Secular, secular, secularissimo.

Here’s where it gets interesting, though. The atheists don’t really buy the official interpretation as handed down by the Army. “Spiritual,” to them, can’t be construed as anything but the sotto voce mouthing of the letters “G-O-D.” I got several e-mails about my uncritical mention of the spiritual fitness module, one of which contained a press release from The Freedom From Religion Foundation , the nation’s largest atheist organization (actually, they call themselves ‘nontheists’ because they also have agnostic members) that stated: Read full story from scientificamerican.com

The True Language of a Pow Wow Drum
The pow wow season is under way, and the sound of drums—the universal “heartbeat of the nation”—will reverberate in dance arenas around the country.

But in Denver, a major crossroads in Indian country, surprisingly few pow wow-goers may actually understand the words that accompany some drum songs—veterans’ songs, for example– rather than just hearing the vocables, or syllabic sounds, that accompany others. The same gap is likely true at other pow wows.

Doug Goodfeather, Lakota, leads a drum group that carries his grandfather’s drum’s name, Rock Creek Drum, from the South Dakota side of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. His name, Goodfeather (“Wiyaka Waste’”), was derived from both who he is as a Hunkpapa Lakota and also from who he is in terms of his personal character. It was given him as a small boy in ceremony by his grandmother after an eagle flew at him in attack mode and then shot skyward, leaving a feather behind.

The values of his Hunkpapa band are embodied in Sitting Bull, to whom Goodfeather’s grandmother always referred to as “Grandpa Sitting Bull” not “Chief Sitting Bull,” he said, adding he has not done the genealogy that might describe lineal descent.

He estimates that only a very small percentage of the 40,000-some Native residents along the Rocky Mountains’ Front Range are regular pow wow attendees or participants who really know and understand the songs. Read full story from indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com

Human remains found in Bronze Age pots
wo Bronze Age burial pots containing human remains have been found at the base of a standing stone in Angus.

Archaeologists excavated the ground around the Carlinwell Stone at Airlie, near Kirriemuir, after it fell over earlier in the winter.

Both pots – known as collared urns – could be up to 4,000 years old and were typically used in early Bronze age cremation burials.

The 7ft (2.1m) high monolith will be re-erected on Friday.

One of the pots is about 4in (10cm) in diameter, and the other is about 8in, the archaeologists said.

Melanie Johnson, from CFA Archaeology of Musselburgh, said: “The pots are typical of early Bronze Age cremation burials. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

Satanic sex cult paedophile guilty
AN “EVIL” paedophile and three women are facing years in jail today for establishing a satanic sex cult to abuse children and young adults in a quiet Welsh town.

Former Tesco security guard Colin Batley, 48, presided over the depraved “quasi-religious” sect which indulged in occult Egyptology-inspired rites from his home in Kidwelly.

A jury at Swansea Crown Court found him guilty of carrying out a series of perverted sexual acts on children and adults, including 11 rapes. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Dalai Lama ready to give up political power (soiurce cnn)

Al Qaeda trying to radicalize U.S. Muslims, congressman claims (source cnn)

Students walk out of high school to bring Ten Commandments back in (source wdbj7)

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News & Submissions 3/9/2011

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

“Black Death” a treat for medieval history buffs
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – You can’t quarrel with that title, “Black Death.” The film is black all right, pitch black, and death is everywhere.

The story is set in 1348, after all, when the plague began to sweep through Europe, decimating its populace by as much as half and spreading panic to every corner. Yet what a strange land for a horror filmmaker to pitch camp in since he has little to add when horror is a fact of everyday life.

Sure enough, Christopher Smith (“Creep,” “Severance”) plays with the notion of necromancers and demons lurking within the pestilence, but winds up retreating into a kind of historical morality tale told with documentary flourishes and a grim attraction to violence and cruelty.

All of which leaves “Black Death” without a reliable audience. Horror film buffs like to giggle as much as scream but there’re no giggles here. To its credit, the film doesn’t indulge in visual-effects devilry as a very similar plague film, “Season of the Witch,” did just two months ago. So it’s up to medieval history buffs to fill the theaters when it opens on Friday. Lots of luck.

The coincidence of storylines between “Season of the Witch” and “Black Death” is rather striking and in every instance Black Death is the superior film. In both films, the church, seeing its grip on the population severely loosened by this inexplicable plague, sends Christian knights into a remote region to determine if witches, demons or non-believers are the source of this frightening scourge. Read full story from reuters.com

Bulgarian Mayor: ‘Dog Spinning’ Ritual Harmless Folklore, Not Barbarian!
The “dog spinning” ritual practiced in a southeastern Bulgarian village is misinterpreted by the society and the international community, according to Tsarevo Municipality Mayor Petko Arnaudov.

In dog spinning, which is practiced in Brodilovo, a southeastern Bulgarian village, at the beginning of March, a dog is suspended above water on a rope.

The dog is turned repeatedly in a given direction to wind the rope, then released so that it spins rapidly in the opposite direction as the rope unwinds, until the dog falls into the water. The locals claim that the dog is not supposed to be physically hurt.

This ancient ritual of pagan origin is performed in order to prevent rabies and is a part of the traditional Kukeri rituals. Read full story from novinite.com

Blair launches new faith films contest for youth
Last year, Tony Blair ran a film contest for young people, inviting them to make films about faith.

His Faith Foundation was overwhelmed by the response: hundreds of entries, from Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, Sikhs and humanists, on five continents around the world.

Buoyed by the success of the first “Faith Shorts” film contest, Blair is now doing it again.

He was impressed not only by the quality of the films, he said, but what they said about the people who made them.

“I think the fascinating thing about young people and the films that they sent us about faith… is that for them their faith isn’t just about a personal relationship with God, it’s also motivating them to do things, to get active, to have a purpose in life,” he told CNN. Read full story from cnn.com

Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo leave 11 dead
Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, have left 11 people dead and more than 90 wounded.

The clashes broke out on Tuesday night as thousands of Christians protested against the burning of a Cairo church last week. The church was set on fire after tensions escalated over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple’s families.

Security and hospital officials said six Christians and five Muslims died from gunshot wounds and 94 people – 73 Muslims and 21 Christians – were wounded. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

“An inoffensive, vanilla Christianity”
Paris, France (CNA) — Addressing a gathering of European church officials on March 4, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver warned that many contemporary Christians have reduced their faith to a convenient “form of paganism,” which cannot compete with the widespread “idolatry” of modern consumer culture.

Archbishop Chaput offered his observations at a conference in Paris honoring the late Cardinal Archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who was the Archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005.

The Denver archbishop described Cardinal Lustiger as “an unsentimental realist” who dared to speak about disturbing trends in the Church and society – including a lack of faith among professed Christians, leaving a vacuum that would be filled by other “gods” such as sex and money. Read full story from calcotholic.com

Fort Bragg says atheist concert was treated the same as Christian group
Fort Bragg’s garrison commander said Tuesday he supports an atheist concert on post, but the concert’s organizer said the colonel’s refusal to allow it on the Main Post Parade Field or to provide funding effectively canceled it.

Sgt. Justin Griffith was planning an event called Rock Beyond Belief for April 2 on Fort Bragg. British atheist Richard Dawkins was to be the keynote speaker in a day that included other speakers and bands, Griffith said.

Rock Beyond Belief was, in part, a response to Rock the Fort, a concert sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association that was held on the parade field in September.

In a letter dated Sept. 22, Lt. Gen Frank Helmick wrote in response to protests of Rock the Fort that Fort Bragg would be “willing to provide similar support to comparable events sponsored by similar nonfederal entities that address the needs of the soldiers on this installation.”

Col. Stephen Sicinski, the garrison commander, and Griffith disagree over whether Fort Bragg is holding true to that statement.

Sicinski said he has received overwhelmingly negative feedback since the concert’s cancellation, and he believes that in part is because people aren’t aware of the facts.

“It disheartens me a little bit to think that we’re being misrepresented,” Sicinski said.

Sicinski said Fort Bragg’s market analysis determined that Griffith’s event would draw, at best, hundreds of people. Events at the parade field need an expected crowd of 5,000 or more, Sicinski said. On March 1, Sicinski wrote to Griffith that the event could be held at the Main Post Theater or the York Theater. Read full story from fayobserver,cin

Why won’t pagans accept trans women?
At a pagan gathering in February, the Pantheacon in San Jose, California, trans women were excluded from a Dianic ritual in honour of Lilith. Many of the defenders of this position – the veteran witch Z Budapest, for example – argue from an essentialist position (“you have to have sometimes in your life a womb, and ovaries and moon bleed and not die”) but also by an appeal to tradition, which is a bit rich from a religious standpoint invented or at best recreated within the past 50 years.

Most of the really bad things that happen to trans women could happen to all women – rape, murder, unequal pay. Some of them happen to trans women more, proportionately; when there aren’t many of us to begin with, a murder rate worldwide of one every two or three days is something we notice.

So being snubbed or made to feel unwelcome in women’s space really is not all that important. After all, some hostile feminists will say – have always said – there are so few of us, why are we demanding all the time that we have this conversation? As if excluding us were not starting that conversation pretty definitively. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Early humans began in southern Africa, study suggests
Modern humans may have originated from southern Africa, an extensive genetic study has suggested.

Data showed that hunter-gatherer populations in the region had the greatest degree of genetic diversity, which is an indicator of longevity.

It says that the region was probably the best location for the origin of modern humans, challenging the view that we came from eastern Africa.

The study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Africa is inferred to be the continent of origin for all modern human populations,” the international team of researchers wrote. Read drull story from bbc.co.uk

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News & Submissions 3/8/2011

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Witchcraft casts its spell over a growing community in Thanet
ALTHOUGH they were almost hunted to extinction during the Middle Ages there is a growing community of witches in Thanet.

Three covens, with up to 13 witches in each one, regularly meet either behind closed doors or outside at night.

Witch and Doyle’s Psychic Emporium owner Robert Doyle, 35, dabbles in what were once considered the dark arts. He said: “I have taken part in different rituals. In one, we welcome the four elements – earth, air, fire and water. Sometimes we meet in people’s homes and sometimes on the beach.”

Robert explained that witchcraft is deeply rooted in paganism. He added: “One ritual is called the rites of cake and ale where we say goodbye to winter and hello to summer. We pass cake and ale in a clockwise direction saying, ‘May you never hunger or thirst.’”

Witch Wendy Starr, 54, who co-owns a psychic shop called Magik in Ramsgate with Serena Lowman, 58, has started her own gathering of pagans called Magik Cafe. She said: “We had our first night last week and we had 30 people come along. I started it because I wanted to bring together the pagan community and give them somewhere to go when they meet up.” Read full story from thisiskent.co.uk

The Origins of Monothiesm in Hindu Dharma
The dialogue which Raja Ram Mohun Roy had started in the third decade of the nineteenth century stopped abruptly with the passing away of Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948. The Hindu leadership or what passed for it in post-independence India was neither equipped for nor interested in the battle for men’s minds. It believed in ‘organising’ the Hindus without bothering about what they carried inside their heads. It neither knew nor cared to know what Hinduism stood for. Its history of India began with the advent of the Islamic invaders. The spiritual traditions, ways of worship, scriptures and thought systems of pre-Islamic India were beyond its mental horizon.

The Christian missions, as we have seen, had never had it so good. Unchallenged ideologically, they broke out of the tight corner in which Mahatma Gandhi had put them and resumed the monologue which had characterised them in the pre-dialogue period. A number of mission strategies were dressed up as ‘theologies in the Indian context’. The core of the Christian dogma remained intact, namely, that Jesus Christ was the only saviour. The language of presenting the dogma, however, underwent what looked like a radical change to the unwary Hindus, particularly those in search of a ‘synthesis of all faiths’.

In the days of old, the missions had denounced Hinduism as devil-worship and made it their business to save the Hindus from the everlasting fire of hell. Now they abandoned that straight-forward stance. In the new language that was adopted, Hinduism was made a beneficiary of the Cosmic Revelation that had preceded Jehovah’s Covenant with Moses. Hinduism was also credited with an unceasing quest for the ‘True One God’. The business of the missions was to direct that quest towards Christ who was ‘hidden in Hinduism’ and thereby make them co-sharers in the final Covenant which Jesus had scaled with his blood. That was the Theology of Fulfilment. A number of learned treatises were turned out on the subject. The labour invested was perhaps praise-worthy. The purpose, however, was deliberately dishonest. Read full story from chakranews.com

International Women’s Day reminds us why feminism must not lose its bite
This is International Women’s Day and it is a great moment to take the temperature of the women’s movement in the UK. For quite a while it’s been clear that the long-predicted demise of feminism has not happened; on the contrary, over the last few years there have been sparks of new life that have surprised many observers.

You can map those sparks in the growth of grassroots events, such as the Million Women Rise march, launched three years ago, and the Feminism in London conference, whose thousand cheering delegates surprised me with their numbers and energy last year.

You can also map them in the increasing readiness of influential organisations and individuals, from the UN to Judi Dench, to be associated with what might once have been seen as stridently feminist rhetoric. To see the grassroots and the establishment coming together is to witness a movement with a great legacy taking on new energy.

International Women’s Day has not, historically, been a huge deal in the UK. It kicked off in 1911 in more idealistic and embattled times, when women all over the western world were seeking basic political and employment rights. With its roots in the international socialist movement, it is perhaps unsurprising that we hear it has more of a profile in China and Russia than in Britain. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

International Women’s Day: how rapidly things change
A century ago International Women’s Day was associated with peace, and women’s and girls’ sweated labour – which votes for women were to deal with. Not a celebration, but a mobilisation. And because it was born among factory workers, it had class, real class. Later it came to celebrate women’s autonomy, but changed its class base and lost its edge. This centenary must mark a new beginning.

We live in revolutionary times. We don’t need to be in North Africa or the Middle East to be infected by the hope of change. Enough to witness on TV the woman who, veiled in black from head to foot, led chants in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, routing sexism and Islamophobia in one unexpected blow. She and the millions moving together have shaken us from our provincialism, and shown us how rapidly things can change. Women in Egypt have called for a million women to occupy Tahrir Square today. Who would have predicted that a month ago?

Feminism has tended to narrow its concerns to what is unquestionably about women: abortion, childcare, rape, prostitution, pay equity. But that can separate us from a wider and deeper women’s movement. In Bahrain, for example, women lead the struggle for “jobs, housing, clean water, peace and justice” – as well as every demand we share. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Museum of Natural History Lecture Explores Ancient Animal Remains Burial Cave In Israel
The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History presents “Feasting with the Dead on the Eve of Agriculture: Ancient Animal Remains from a Burial Cave in Israel,” a lecture by Dr. Natalie Munro from the Department of Anthropology at UConn. The lecture will be held in the Biology/Physics Building, Room 130, UConn Storrs Campus, on Sunday, March 20, 3 p.m.

Zooarchaeological evidence from a small burial cave in Israel reveals evidence that prehistoric funerary feasts and shamanism were practiced as early as 12,000 years ago, at the very beginning of human transition from hunter-gatherer to agriculturalist. The site of Hilazon Tachtit in Israel, where Dr. Munro has conducted her research for several years, contains a variety of unusual deposits of animal associated with funeral practices. Read full story from courant.com

Stone Age walkers cause a stir
WALKERS clad in Stone Age costumes attracted plenty of modern-day interest as they made their way from Avebury to the Ancient Technology Centre in Dorset.

The fur-wearing wanderers were recreating a Walk of the Ancients which took them via Stonehenge, Old Sarum and the city centre.

On the way they visited St Michael’s School in Figheldean and met children and parents at Larkhill to answer questions about Stone Age life. Read full story from salsburyjournal.co.uk

Mexicans seek spiritual solace amid chaos (source YouTube – AlJazeeraEnglish)

Road trip to the end of the world (source cnn)

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Sunday Morning Post

Sunday, March 6th, 2011

17th century witch chronicles published online
LONDON — A 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online.

The notebook written by Nehemiah Wallington, an English Puritan, recounts the fate of women accused of having relationships with the devil at a time when England was embroiled in a bitter civil war.

The document reveals the details of a witchcraft trial held in Chelmsford in July 1645, when more than a hundred suspected witches were serving time in Essex and Suffolk according to his account.

“Divers (many) of them voluntarily and without any forcing or compulsion freely declare that they have made a covenant with the Devill,” he wrote. Read full story from msnbc.msn.com

Krause probes Renaissance witchcraft
“‘She confessed and was burned’ was a refrain,” Virginia Krause, an associate professor of French at Brown University, said during her lecture yesterday, titled “Under the Witch’s Spell: Demonology in Renaissance France.”

During the lecture, held in the Mandel Center for the Humanities and sponsored by the Mandel Center for the Humanities, the Romance Studies Department, the History of Ideas Program and the Comparative Literature Program, Krause focused on the intangible evidence that many courts required while prosecuting witches.

Her main focus was on Jean Bodin, the 16th-century French author, who wrote treatises advising the French courts to rely on auricular evidence rather than visual, believing that the auricular was more trustworthy than the visual.

Due to this belief, most witches were prosecuted with their own confessions, obtained after torture. Bodin wrote that a confession “must pass from the mouth of the witch to the ears of the judge.” Read full story from thebrandeishoot.com

Woman attacked for ‘witchcraft’
Dungarpur (Rajasthan), March 5 : Rajasthan police Saturday began probing an alleged attack on a woman by villagers who labelled her as a witch. Five villagers, including two women, have been charged in the case, an official said.

According to police, Kamla of Modar village in Dungarpur district complained that she was being tagged as a witch and was tortured by some villagers. Read full story from topnews.in

NASA scientist finds evidence of alien life
Aliens exist, and we have proof.

That astonishingly awesome claim comes from Dr. Richard B. Hoover, an astrobiologist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, who says he has found conclusive evidence of alien life — fossils of bacteria found in an extremely rare class of meteorite called CI1 carbonaceous chondrites. (There are only nine such meteorites on planet Earth.) Hoover’s findings were published late Friday night in the Journal of Cosmology, a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

“I interpret it as indicating that life is more broadly distributed than restricted strictly to the planet earth,” Hoover, who has spent more than 10 years studying meteorites around the world, told FoxNews.com in an interview. “This field of study has just barely been touched — because quite frankly, a great many scientist would say that this is impossible.” Read full story from yahoo.com

A look at the ways the world could end
Think you’ve got a prediction for when and how the world will end? Get in line.

Throughout time, and across continents and belief systems, humankind has dished out enough end dates to fill a doomsday menu.

The backgrounds of the people who serve them up may differ, as might the details of what will unfold, but the general apocalyptic worldview is nothing original, says Lorenzo DiTommaso, an associate professor of religion at Concordia University in Montréal, Quebec and author of the forthcoming book, “The Architecture of Apocalypticism.”

“It’s a philosophy that explains time, space and human existence,” DiTommaso says. And by buying into this sort of outlook, a person can find comfort in a “comprehensive answer.”

Having studied apocalyptic movements for nearly 12 years, DiTommaso has strong opinions. He calls the apocalyptic worldview “adolescent” because it’s “a simplistic response to complex problems” and one that “places responsibility for solving these problems with someone else or somewhere else.” Read full story from cnn.com

The war that must be lost
In every religious domain, every geographical sector of the world, every culture and in every organised human endeavour, the ‘maximum patriarch’ has historically declared war on everyone who was privileged to be born with a vagina.

This unholy, cruel, oppressive, evil, anti-development, well-organised and systematically executed war has used every weapon in the patriarch’s arsenal to remove the inherent human rights and dignity of every woman in the global village.

Of course, the historical records of this universal war against the female of the species has been noted, documented and passed on in the religious tracts, the oral history, the artefacts, legal records and other documented facts from generation to generation.

In more recent times, the areas in which the women of the world have blunted the patriarch’s weapons have not only been documented but have set the stage for strategising around the female war plans in the continuing search for effective antidotes to relieve battle fatigue and the conservation of the positive energies to neutralise the enemy forces through love, compassion, determination and the best qualities of the human spirit. Read full story from jamaica-gleaner.com

Sex swap prisoners get right to bras and make-up
A detailed new policy document drawn up by Kenneth Clarke’s Ministry of Justice sets out the rights of sex change inmates, saying they must be allowed to purchase “gender appropriate” clothing from a home shopping catalogue.

Jail warders, who are already required to address inmates by courtesy titles such as Mister, must call transsexual prisoners “Miss” or “Ms” under the new mandatory guidelines, which come into effect later this month.

The document also offers advice on other problematic issues when dealing with transsexual prisoners – such as access to prison showers – and urges officers to contact the Ministry of Justice’s dedicated “gender recognition policy team” if they have questions about the policy.

The 20-page guidebook, issued to prison governors last week, says: “An establishment must permit prisoners who consider themselves transsexual and wish to begin gender reassignment to live permanently in their acquired gender.” Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

Deborah Harkness And A Discovery Of Witches
Once upon a time, science and the supernatural were pretty much the same thing. The stars, Haley’s Comet, eclipses, mysterious diseases, chemical reactions, it all seemed pretty paranormal to the wizards and monks and scholars who studied them.

Historian Deborah Harkness has thought a lot about the science and the supernatural. Now, she’s written her first novel, a fantasy about modern-day scholarly witches & research scientist vampires fighting great battles in our midst. And it has become a runaway best-seller.

This hour, On Point: Writer Deborah Harkness and A Discovery of Witches. Read full story from wbur.org

TheTrue Blood: Season 4 “Waiting Sucks” Eric (HBO) (soiurce Youtube – HBO)

Thanks for stopping by! Well wishes to you all, have a great Sunday!

Lisa

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News & Submissions 3/3/2011

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

‘Witch’ killings described in book
A 350-year-old notebook which describes the execution of innocent women in East Anglia for consorting with the devil has been published online.

Puritan writer Nehemiah Wallington wrote passages on his attitudes to life, religion, the civil war as well as the witchcraft trials of the period.

By 1654 Wallington had catalogued 50 notebooks, of which only seven are known to have survived. Four are in the British Library, one in the Guildhall Library, one in the Folger Library in Washington DC, and one at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

The Tatton notebook describes battles and skirmishes of the English Civil War period and the disturbing violence of the 1640s in which dozens of East Anglian women were killed. Read full story from newsletter.co.uk

Government releases UFO sighting and policy files
(Reuters) – The government Thursday released 35 previously classified files documenting sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the military and members of the public dating back to the 1950s.

The files contain around 8,500 pages which mainly cover the period from 1997 to 2005 and include photographs, drawings and descriptions of flying saucer sightings, as well as letters the Ministry of Defence sent eyewitnesses in response to their accounts.

Policemen, a soldier, a RAF officer and members of the public report sightings of objects including a “chewy mint shaped solid craft” and aerial objects resembling a “ring,” a “jellyfish” and a “silver voile spin top.”

In one account a man said he believed he had been “abducted” by aliens in October 1998 after seeing an unidentified craft hover over his London home and finding he had gained an hour of time in the process. Read full story from reuters.com

My Take: The Bible really does condemn homosexuality
In her recent CNN Belief Blog post “The Bible’s surprisingly mixed messages on sexuality,” Jennifer Wright Knust claims that Christians can’t appeal to the Bible to justify opposition to homosexual practice because the Bible provides no clear witness on the subject and is too flawed to serve as a moral guide.

As a scholar who has written books and articles on the Bible and homosexual practice, I can say that the reality is the opposite of her claim. It’s shocking that in her editorial and even her book,  Unprotected Texts, Knust ignores a mountain of evidence against her positions.

It raises a serious question: does the Left read significant works that disagree with pro-gay interpretations of Scripture and choose to simply ignore them?

Owing to space limitations I will focus on her two key arguments: the ideal of gender-neutral humanity and slavery arguments. Read full story from cnn.com

Spiritual panel explores ideals
The Nordic Lounge was host to the Anthropology Student Association and Pagan club’s Spirituality Panel on Thursday Feb. 24, where leaders and teachers from different faiths shared their personal stories and discussed the main aspects of their respective faiths.

Hinduism; Spirituality of Recovery Programs, also known as the 12 -Step Program; Asatru, a Norse/Germanic Paganism; Soka Gakkai, a form of Buddhism; and Wicca were represented.

The speakers talked about their faiths and shared with the audience their gods, myths and history.

Dennis Price, an undecided major, said, “I really am grateful that the Anthropology and Pagan Clubs make this possible for us. I think it is essential for us to know about the spiritual paths that they took. It’s like putting on different glasses to see different effects.” Read full story from lbcvikingnews.com

US declares eastern cougar extinct
WASHINGTON – The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the eastern cougar officially extinct Wednesday, even though the big cat is believe to have first disappeared in the 1930s.

The eastern cougar is often called the “ghost cat” because it has been so rarely glimpsed in northeastern states in recent decades. It was first placed on the endangered species list in 1973. Read full story from rawstory.com

13 face charges of arson
THERE was pandemonium at the Naphuno magistrate’s court in Limpopo when 13 people appeared in court for allegedly burning the houses of people they accused of practising witchcraft.

The accused, all aged between 19 and 50 years, were arrested on Monday and appeared on Tuesday on charges of public violence.

Their appearance follows an incident at Santeng village outside Hoedspruit on Sunday when a group of angry villagers allegedly set alight seven houses belonging to people accused of practising witchcraft.

This followed allegations that a 13-year-old girl was caught naked casting a spell over a neighbour’s house just after midnight.

The girl was allegedly arrested and forced to appear before the village’s kangaroo court where she was grilled by the villagers. Read full story from sowetanlive.co.za

Grandmothers get support from safe
In most rural areas in Malawi, elderly people, who are not longer active and need the support of canes to walk, are always suspected of being witches.

One such victim of old age is Daitoni Wala of Nyanu Village, T/A Malemia in Zomba. He lost his wife and two children in 1954 due to a flood that hit Mulanje in the year. Since then, his life has been a misery. Wala says he used to live a good life until he lost his family. And as he grew older, he says, society became hostile towards him.

He says people in the community always suspect elderly people of witchcraft and blame them for any bad thing that happens in the community. Wala says he has no one to assist him and he lives alone in a house which is in a bad state.

However, his dream to live a better life may one day be realised even though he is old. The Sub-Saharan Family Enrichement (Safe), a non-governmental organisation working in Malawi, introduced a group called goo Grandmothers, to provide a support system for the elderly. Read full story from nationnw.net

Sweat lodge trial fuels Native American frustrations
Growing up on a reservation in lower Saskatchewan, Alvin Manitopyes learned early to respect the sweat lodge. He was 10 when he attended his first sweat ceremony, and for more than 15 years tribe elders instructed him in his people’s ways.

He understands the spiritual mandate he was given as a healer to serve as an intermediary between people and the spirit world. He carries with him the ancient ceremonial songs, passed on through generations.

He knows how the natural elements – earth, fire, water and air – work together to cleanse people, inside and out, and create balance. At 55, he has spent more than 20 years conducting ceremonies in sweat lodges, where water is poured over hot lava rocks as part of a purifying ritual.

“If you have the right to do it, then the environment you’re creating is a safe place,” says Manitopyes, a public health consultant in Calgary, Alberta, who is Plains Cree and Anishnawbe. “But today we have all kinds of people who observe what’s going on and think they can do it themselves. … And that’s not a safe place to be.” Read full story from cnn.com

Funeral protest ruling painful but right
(CNN) — The Supreme Court ruled that a Kansas church whose members travel the country to protest at military funerals, holding signs that say “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God blew up the troops,” has a right to continue such demonstrations.

The case was brought by Albert Snyder, whose 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, was killed in Iraq in 2006. The family-dominated Westboro Baptist Church, run by Fred Phelps, protested at Matthew Snyder’s funeral to spread their opinion that American deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God’s punishment for U.S. immorality and tolerance of homosexuality and abortion.

CNN.com talked to CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin about Snyder v. Phelps, which pitted the right of families to grieve in privacy against the First Amendment right to free expression. Read full story from cnn.com

Cracked Mayan Code May Pave Way to Lost Gold
Led by Joachim Rittsteig, an expert in Mayan writing, a group of scientists and journalists left Germany Tuesday, on a mission to Guatemala in search of a lost Maya treasure allegedly submerged under Lake Izabal.

According to the German newspaper Bild, which sponsored the expedition, the expedition includes two reporters from the publication, a photographer, a television camera, and a professional diver who will submerge into Lake Izabal in an attempt to find eight tons of gold said to have been lost there. Read full story from foxnews.com

Charlie Sheen, you are sooo hexed!
A trio of Salem witches, offended by Hollywood hell-raiser Charlie Sheen’s proclamation that he is a “warlock,” are planning a spiritual housecleaning for the “Two and a Half Men” train wreck in the Witch City on Sunday.

“If he doesn’t get some spiritual help, he could end up dead,” said a witch who goes by the name of Lorelei. Just Lorelei. She’s hosting the Sheen-orcism at her witchcraft emporium Crow Haven Corner.

So what will you do Sunday, Loreliei?

“Sacrifice him,” deadpanned the witch, who was immediately chastised by her conjuring colleague Christian Day.

“We’re going to use high ritual and high magic to give him all the help he needs,” declared Christian.

Salem’s sorcerers have their cloaks in a twist ever since Sheen, in an interview with “Today,” said CBS had “picked a fight with a warlock.” Day, a self-proclaimed warlock and the owner of Hex, an “Olde World Witchery” shop, said Charlie seems to be confusing warlocks with warlords. Read full story from bostonherald.com

The Great Debate – What is Life? (source The Science Network)

Richard Dawkins on his book The God Delusion – full show (souirce Youtube – AllenGregg)

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Sunday Morning Post

Sunday, February 27th, 2011

Welcome to juju nation!
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is home to some of the most devout Christians and Muslims in the world. The composition of the population is about 50-50, with the believers enjoying unprecedented peace and harmony, as they go about their worship since Independence nearly 50 years ago. Therefore, the findings of a recent survey that lists Tanzanians among the leading believers in witchcraft and worshippers of traditional African religions in sub-Saharan Africa will come as a surprise to many.

The report has revealed that although the majority are either churchgoers or attend prayers in mosques, a good number of them still believe in witchcraft, evil spirits, sacrifices to ancestors, traditional religious healers, reincarnation and other elements that are the cornerstones of traditional African religions.

More than half of the people surveyed between December 2008 and April 2009 in 19 countries, including Tanzania, in the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project of the United States, confirmed that they practise superstition and trust the supernatural world of spirits.  In the five-member East African Community (EAC), Tanzanians were said to be the most superstitious and ranked third after Senegal and Mali, among the 19 countries.  Burundians are the least superstitious in the EAC, followed by the Rwandese and Kenyans. Ugandans are the second most superstitious in the EAC, and came 11th in the survey. Read full story from thecitizen.co.tz

Lafayette gives psychic business evil eye
Lafayette city officials are dusting off a little-known municipal code in an attempt to shut down a self-proclaimed psychic who police say misled customers into giving up thousands of dollars.

On Thursday, the city issued a cease-and-desist letter to Patricia Johns, owner of Astrology Gallery on South Street, said Ed Chosnek, the city’s attorney. If she doesn’t shut down the business soon, the city will consider legal action.

“Not within hours, but within days of the receipt of the letter we expect her to be in compliance with the ordinance,” Chosnek said.

He said Johns is violating a code on the books since at least the 1970s. It bans fortune-tellers and clairvoyants from profiting off those services.

Johns came to the city’s attention after police heard from two of her former customers. They said they were misled into giving Johns cash or items worth $80,000, said Lafayette Police Detective B.T. Brown. Read full story jconline.com

Pagans campaign for Census voice
Pagans are campaigning for druids and witches to declare their religious affiliation in next month’s Census to gain greater recognition for the group.

The Pagan Federation says it wants the same recognition as other faiths.

Secularists say the optional question about what religion people are could lead to artificially large numbers identifying themselves as Christian.

That in turn could lead to an over-provision of faith schools, the British Humanist Association argues. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

Neglected graves home to ‘invisible dead’
Gore, Georgia (CNN) — Duncan Shropshire stops at the edge of the treeline, where the meadow becomes a forest. His yellow linen shirt is misbuttoned and crooked, leaving the bottom of his belly slightly exposed.

His 8-year-old daughter, Mia-Grace, stands a foot or so behind him, wiping her runny nose with the sleeve of her blue sweatshirt. After about a minute, she lets out a sigh of boredom.

Shropshire, 51, clasps his daughter’s hand and begins leading her into the Northwest Georgia forest.

“This is where your ancestors are buried, back here,” Shropshire says. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

And with a loving tug, Duncan Shropshire shares with his daughter a key piece of their family’s history. Read full story from cnn.com

Ancient child burial site found in Alaska
Alaska researchers have found the cremated remains of a 3-year-old child whose parents were among the first immigrants to North America, crossing over the then-existing land bridge from Asia to the New World through the region known as Beringia.

The 11,500-year-old remains were found buried on the banks of the Tanana River in the hearth of what appears to be a summer home for the early Beringians, the earliest known habitation for these first American settlers.

Archaeologists already know quite a bit about these early people based on sites where the groups gathered briefly to hunt, skin and consume large game, said archaeologist Frank E. “Ted” Goebel of the Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University, who was not involved in the current research. Read full story from latimes.com

Listening to dreams can help build self-esteem
Jan Brehm of Portland woke up from a dream confused and shaken to her core. Lisa Espich of Tucson woke so deeply disturbed by a dream featuring her husband that she knew her marriage would never be the same. Jennifer Lambert of Virginia Beach felt such agitation over her dream that she cried for 30 minutes straight when she woke up — and then called her sister, from whom she’d long been estranged.

Dreams can rock us, scare us, and in some cases, inspire us. But is listening to our dreams right up there with calling a psychic hotline? Not at all, say leading experts. “People are now using their dreams as tools to make their lives better,” comments Marcia Emery, PhD, a psychologist at Holos University.

Don’t be robbed of a good night’s sleep! Use these strategies to get your zzzz’s.

This is relatively newfound respect. Many researchers used to believe that dreams simply reflected the random firing of nerve signals while we sleep. “The thinking was that the dreams were meaningless and didn’t serve any function at all,” says Harvard psychology professor Deirdre Barrett, PhD. But today, many scientists feel that dreams play the vital role of clarifying what truly matters to us. “Dreaming is thinking — just in a different biochemical state,” explains Dr. Barrett, author of “The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Dreams for Creative Problem-Solving — and How You Can Too.” “It’s a mode of contemplation that’s much more visual, intuitive, and emotional, as opposed to the patterns of waking thought.” Read full story from msnbc.com

Voodoo sex ceremony starts fatal fire, officials say
New York (CNN) — Candles used in voodoo sex ceremony caused a fatal five alarm fire after they tipped over and ignited bed sheets in a Brooklyn, New York, apartment, authorities said Friday.

The fire left an elderly woman dead and injured 20 firefighters and three Brooklyn residents, according to a New York Fire Department statement.

A voodoo priest allegedly placed the candles on the floor around the bed on Saturday after a woman paid him $300 to perform a ceremony with a sexual component, that was meant to bring her good luck, fire department officials said. Read full story from cnn.com

Book bound in human skin goes on display in Devon
When Devon murderer George Cudmore was sentenced to hang at the Lent Assizes in 1830, he knew that part of his sentence was that his dead body would be taken to an Exeter hospital to be dissected.

What he probably was not aware of was that a chunk of his skin would eventually be flayed, tanned and used to cover an 1852 copy of The Poetical Works of John Milton.

The book is now housed at the Westcountry Studies Library in Exeter.

It will go on show to the public for the first time on 26 February as part of Devon’s annual Local History Day. Read full story from bbc.co.uk

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