Non Fluffy Wicca

Typo takes tourist 13,000 km out - CNN.com:


BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

Dressed for the Australian summer in T-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany on Saturday for a four-week holiday.

Instead of arriving "down under", Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.

"I did wonder but I didn't want to say anything," Gutt told the Bild newspaper. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States."

Gutt's airline ticket routed him via the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon, to Billings, Montana. Only as he was about to board a commuter flight to Sidney -- an oil town of about 5,000 people -- did he realize his mistake.

The hapless tourist, who had only a thin jacket to keep out the winter cold, spent three days in Billings airport before he was able to buy a new ticket to Australia with 600 euros in cash that his parents and friends sent over from Germany.

"I didn't notice the mistake as my son is usually good with computers," his mother, Sabine, told Reuters.

Posted by mikki at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woman gets $115,000 in religion bias lawsuit:


Worker at medical office cited pressure to talk about God

A federal jury has ordered a Huntsville medical practice to pay $115,000 to a former employee who claims that she was fired for refusing to discuss her feelings about God.

Carolyn S. Hall, 48, of Paint Rock sued Alabama Pain Center for religious discrimination under the federal Civil Rights Act in January. The trial was held last week in the federal court here.


Hall claims that Dr. Dean Willis, the clinic's owner, told her in late 2003 that he was concerned about her job performance because he did not know where she stood with God. Hall declined to talk with Willis about her religious views and was fired as office manager several weeks later, she testified.

"The jury obviously agreed with our position that one's religious views are personal," Hall's attorney, John D. Saxon, said Tuesday. "No employer should impose his or her religious views on an employee."

Jurors deliberated for about two hours last Wednesday before siding with Hall. She was awarded $15,000 in damages for mental anguish and $100,000 in punitive damages.

U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith could also order Alabama Pain Center to pay Hall's attorney fees.

Because Congress capped jury awards in civil rights lawsuits, Saxon said, the clinic will probably be able to get the damages reduced to $50,000.

Alabama Pain Center attorney Phillip Scott Arnston said Tuesday that he does not discuss ongoing cases. However, he did say the clinic is considering an appeal.

In court filings, Arnston argued that Hall was terminated for poor job performance.

Hall was hired by the clinic as an insurance specialist in July 2002 but was quickly promoted to insurance supervisor and then office manager, Saxon said. At the time of her firing in February 2004, she was making about $37,000 a year, he said.

In her complaint, Hall said Willis led a daily prayer meeting for employees at the Whitesport Drive medical office. She said the sessions, which lasted up to an hour, were held in a small chapel with stained-glass windows that is part of the business.

Hall said she felt that Willis expected her to attend the prayer meetings. The lawsuit says she went occasionally in an effort to "appease" the doctor.

Saxon said Hall believes in God and attends church. But he said she felt uncomfortable talking with Willis about her religious preferences.

"She just thought it was personal," Saxon said.

Posted by mikki at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Endless carols endless torture, groups say:


LONDON, Dec. 24 Forcing store clerks to listen to the same holiday music over and over could be akin to torture and should change, a British noise pollution group said.
The UK Noise Association and labor unions are suggesting legal action on behalf of store employees who listen to endless looped recordings of holiday music, the Observer said Sunday.
What we are saying is that, if Christmas carols are being played on the same CD repeatedly, that could create an unhealthy working environment. It must drive people to distraction, said Paul Clarke, spokesman for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. Exposure to the same music constantly is no different to being tortured, added Val Weedon, the noise association ' s national coordinator. Legal action could be difficult. An employment lawyer said employees would have to demonstrate that their employers could reasonably foresee any illness.
This means there would have to be some form of notice that an employee had some vulnerability to Christmas music, the ill health in question, or both, the lawyer said.

Posted by mikki at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

10 myths -- and 10 truths -- about atheism - Los Angeles Times:


10 myths -- and 10 truths -- about atheism
By Sam Harris, SAM HARRIS is the author of "The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason" and "Letter to a Christian Nation."
December 24, 2006

SEVERAL POLLS indicate that the term "atheism" has acquired such an extraordinary stigma in the United States that being an atheist is now a perfect impediment to a career in politics (in a way that being black, Muslim or homosexual is not). According to a recent Newsweek poll, only 37% of Americans would vote for an otherwise qualified atheist for president.

Atheists are often imagined to be intolerant, immoral, depressed, blind to the beauty of nature and dogmatically closed to evidence of the supernatural.

Posted by mikki at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a tragic turn of events this Christmas, a small experimental aircraft was shot down after ignoring attempts to divert it away from the area. The White House confirmed that the President was not in residence at the time. The decision to fire was made after repeated attempts to contact the aircraft via radio were seemingly ignored by the pilot, who was seen to throw brightly colored objects out of the aircraft, in a likely attempt to ward off the intercepting fighter jets.

"All pilots know of the Washington Defense Zone," said an unnamed source at NORAD. "Flying in this area without a radio in experimental aircraft is just not done. We regret having to take this dramatic action."

The crippled aircraft limped to an emergency landing on the mall, its 8 engines seemingly intact. As the pilot was being dragged away by the Secret Service, having wrestled him to the ground, he was heard to say "I'm Santa Claus fer chrissakes! Where the hell is your Christmas spirit?" Santa's lawyer could not be reached for comment. Children waking up without gifts this morning are urged to call NORAD's missing gift hotline at 1.800.no.fly.

Posted by mikki at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virginia: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous:

From to

Regarding this article in the New York Times about Congressman Goode’s letter to his constituents condemning America’s first Muslim Congressman’s decision to swear his oath on the Koran:

Congressman Goode: The Constitution which you studied as a law student at Virginia, and swore to defend as a member of the “105th, the 106th, the 107th, 108th and the 109th Congress” says this:

“but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States” (Article VI, section 3)

Does your oath to the Constitution not include this section? Or do you simply not take the oath you took seriously?

Posted by mikki at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

British public: religion is dangerous:


United Kingdom: Religion is a force for harm, not good, and non-believers make up the majority of the population according to a poll published in today's Guardian.

The poll also reveals that non-believers outnumber believers in Britain by almost two to one. It paints a picture of a sceptical nation with massive doubts about the effect religion has on society: 82% of those questioned say they see religion as a cause of division and tension between people. Only 16% disagree. The findings are at odds with attempts by some religious leaders to define the country as one made up of many faith communities.




Most people have no personal faith, the poll shows, with only 33% of those questioned describing themselves as a religious person. A clear majority, 63%, say that they are not religious - including more than half of those who describe themselves as Christian.

But a spokesman for the Church of England denied yesterday that mainstream religion was the source of tension. He also insisted that the impression of secularism in this country is overrated.

He went on to claim that 1 million people (1.6% of the population) attend CofE services each week. As Charles Stross points out, this is far fewer than watch SF and fantasy on TV:

Yeah, right. You speak for an organization that has an audience draw 40% that of a Terry Pratchett mini-series on Sky TV. Doctor Who has a 4:1 lead over the C of E in regular audience terms. Maybe we should give Russell T. Davis four seats in the House of Lords?

Religion does more harm than good - poll—The Guardian, 23rd December 2006.

Posted by mikki at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well gee, while this man rails against immigration, perhaps he doesn't understand that there are actual American citizens that have religions different than his. As more Americans of different religions begin running for office, guess what? There might actually be Hindus, Buddhists, and maybe even those horrible Pagans who might actually get ELECTED! Oh dear. What will my state's Congressman do besides wail his pitiful "I want tradition back" cry of the ignorant who truly believe that America was founded on Christianity, despite the huge number of Deists, Masons, etc. who created such small documents as, oh.... the First Amendment!

So, for those of us who actually want immigration reform, this man's stance is painfully annoying. It has nothing to do with not wanting religious or ethnic diversity. It has everything to do with rule of law and what's best for the whole called the United States. There are many of us who embrace diversity, while wanting to keep uphold the law.

Va. Congressman Fears Election Of 'Many More Muslims' - News - MSNBC.com:


WASHINGTON - A Virginia congressman has warned that "many more Muslims" will be elected demanding to use the Quran unless immigration is tightened. Republican Rep. Virgil Goode made the comment in a letter to constituents who had written in about Congressman-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing-in.

"I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way," Goode wrote.

"The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran," he said. "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America."

Posted by mikki at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Senators Propose Repeal of National ID Card Law:


A pair of Senators last week proposed legislation to repeal a controversial law mandating the creation of a national identification card. Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and John Sununu (R-N.H.) proposed the bill on the last day before the 109th Congress adjourned for good, but are likely to reintroduce it in 2007. The Real ID Act -- approved in 2005 without hearings or debate -- was intended to standardize state drivers' licenses and create a national network of databases of personal information. Since then, it has become increasingly apparent that REAL ID is so fraught with privacy and security concerns that it requires fundamental reevaluation. CDT supports the bill and urges Sens. Akaka and Sununu to reintroduce it in the 110th Congress.

Posted by mikki at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This bill needs to be supported. For MANY reasons already enumerated elsewhere, a national ID card would be a very dangerous thing indeed.

Senators Propose Repeal of National ID Card Law:


A pair of Senators last week proposed legislation to repeal a controversial law mandating the creation of a national identification card. Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and John Sununu (R-N.H.) proposed the bill on the last day before the 109th Congress adjourned for good, but are likely to reintroduce it in 2007. The Real ID Act -- approved in 2005 without hearings or debate -- was intended to standardize state drivers' licenses and create a national network of databases of personal information. Since then, it has become increasingly apparent that REAL ID is so fraught with privacy and security concerns that it requires fundamental reevaluation. CDT supports the bill and urges Sens. Akaka and Sununu to reintroduce it in the 110th Congress.

Posted by mikki at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anti-Gay Church Must Pay Marine's Family - News:


BALTIMORE -- A Kansas church has been ordered to pay $3,150 for costs and fees associated with a summons and complaint filed by the father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by the extremist group.
Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., is suing the Rev. Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church after church members demonstrated at the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, of Westminster, and posted pictures of the protest on their Web site.
Lance Snyder was killed in Iraq in March. Members of the Topeka church claim U.S. soldiers are killed as God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

Posted by mikki at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Forcing religion on consumers is anti-Christmas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:


nly America's Religious Right is able to find controversy where it does not exist. There is nothing more anti-Christmas than forcing American businesses and employees to say Merry Christmas. And only in consumerism-run-amok America is it important to force retail workers who make minimum wage to wish every shopper, ``Merry Christmas.''

Humbug to those phony Christians who think Christmas is all about minimum-wage employees uttering vapid niceties to gluttonous shoppers in mega-store foyers and checkout lanes!

If the Religious Righteous want to demonstrate their commitment to the Christmas spirit, let them start by boycotting the big-box retailers who refuse to pay their workers a living wage and family-sustainable benefits. The Religious Right, in its zeal to make every American conform to a specified form of speech during Christmas, is not much different than the Roman Empire requiring its citizens to say "Hail Caesar!" or the Third Reich requiring Germans to greet one another by uttering "Heil Hitler!"

Grinch-like conservatives take the meaning and spirit of "merry" and "Christmas" out of "Merry Christmas" by making its use mandatory and branding those who refuse to conform as "anti-American" and "anti-Christian."

But hang a wreath on your home in the shape of a peace symbol as one woman recently did in Loma Linda, Colo., and the Christmas zeal soon disappears among the Religious Right. The resident was threatened with a huge fine by her homeowners association for displaying what they considered to be an "anti-American" and "Satanic" wreath. After the case was reported around the world, the crusaders for Christian subdivision covenants backed down.

Much of the phony debate about the phony "War on Christmas" is led by broadcasting right-wing inciters such as Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Last year, the Catholic League, the heirs of Father Charles Coughlin, the suburban Detroit radio-ranter in the 1930s, threatened boycotts of Target, Wal-Mart, Macy's and other stores unless they put up "Merry Christmas" banners.

America's home-grown Fascists now have commandeered the term, calling their enemies "Islamo-fascists" and "cultural fascists."

Posted by mikki at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)