Non Fluffy Wicca

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Wiltshire | Vandals in attack at Stonehenge:


Vandals in attack at Stonehenge

Suspected souvenir hunters broke into Stonehenge and vandalised the ancient monument, English Heritage said.
A small chip the size of a 10p piece was taken from the side of the Heel Stone with a screwdriver and hammer.
English Heritage said further damage was prevented by security guards who spotted the two men at the 5,000-year-old site in Wiltshire.
Police believe the men could be the same two people caught on CCTV acting suspiciously a few days earlier.

Posted by mikki at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Teacher Loses Job Over Magic Trick:


by John Blunda



The charge from the school district ? Wizardry! The stories in the news about inappropriate relationships between teachers and students have been overwhelming. There was even a substitute teacher in New Port Richey who got in trouble after investigators say she had a relationship with an underage student. Well, another Pasco County substitute teacher's job is on the line, but this time it's because of a magic trick. Substitute teacher Jim Piculas does a 30-second magic trick where a toothpick disappears then reappears. But after performing it in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land 'O Lakes, Piculas said his job did a disappearing act of its own.



"I get a call the middle of the day from head of supervisor of substitute teachers. He says, 'Jim, we have a huge issue, you can't take any more assignments you need to come in right away,'" he said. When Piculas went in, he learned his little magic trick cast a spell and went much farther than he'd hoped. "I said, 'Well Pat, can you explain this to me?' 'You've been accused of wizardry,' he said. Wizardry?"

Posted by mikki at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While sex education should be done at home IN CONJUNCTION with health education about one's own body in schools, I believe that if we are indeed a religion that celebrates responsible fertility in all forms, we must have the knowledge to be responsible WITH. This article brings up some very disturbing issues, from a 14 year old not knowing you can get STDs from non-vaginal sex, to the ridiculous claim that sweat and tears are a conduit for HIV.

It worries me how widespread this crap could be. It worries me that we are raising a society of uneducated people who will pass the same garbage along to their children.

Posted by mikki at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Full story

The COFEE, which stands for Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor, is a USB "thumb drive" that was quietly distributed to a handful of law-enforcement agencies last June. Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith described its use to the 350 law-enforcement experts attending a company conference Monday.

The device contains 150 commands that can dramatically cut the time it takes to gather digital evidence, which is becoming more important in real-world crime, as well as cybercrime. It can decrypt passwords and analyze a computer's Internet activity, as well as data stored in the computer.

It also eliminates the need to seize a computer itself, which typically involves disconnecting from a network, turning off the power and potentially losing data. Instead, the investigator can scan for evidence on site.

More than 2,000 officers in 15 countries, including Poland, the Philippines, Germany, New Zealand and the United States, are using the device, which Microsoft provides free.

Posted by mikki at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A homeless man has found confidential blueprints for New York's new Freedom Tower dumped in a city rubbish bin. Mike Fleming handed the documents - marked "Secure Document - Confidential" in to the New York Post newspaper. The Freedom Tower is being built at Ground Zero, to replace the World Trade Centre towers destroyed on 9/11. A spokeswoman apologised for the security breach and said that anyone found responsible would be liable for "serious disciplinary action".

More at the BBC News

Posted by mikki at 01:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Traveler says she was forced to remove nipple ring - CNN.com:


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A Texas woman who said she was forced to remove a nipple ring with pliers in order to board an airplane called Thursday for an apology by federal security agents and a civil rights investigation.

"I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," Mandi Hamlin said at a news conference. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."

Hamlin, 37, said she was trying to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on February 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.

The female TSA agent used a handheld detector that beeped when it passed in front of Hamlin's chest, the Dallas-area resident said.

Hamlin said she told the woman she was wearing nipple piercings. The agent called over her male colleagues, one of whom said she would have to remove the jewelry, Hamlin said.

Hamlin said she could not remove them and asked whether she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent. But several other male officers told her she could not board her flight until the jewelry was out, she said.

She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped piercing but had trouble with the second, a ring.

"Still crying, she informed the TSA officer that she could not remove it without the help of pliers, and the officer gave a pair to her," said Hamlin's attorney, Gloria Allred, reading from a letter she sent Thursday to the director of the TSA's Office of Civil Rights and Liberties. Allred is a Los Angeles lawyer who often represents high-profile claims.

Applying pliers to the torso of a mannequin wearing a bra with the rings on it, Hamlin showed reporters how she took off the second ring.

She said she heard male TSA agents snickering as she took out the ring. She was scanned again and was allowed to board even though she still was wearing a belly button ring.

"After nipple rings are inserted, the skin can often heal around the piercing, and the rings can be extremely difficult and painful to remove," Allred said in the letter.

TSA officials said they are investigating whether the agency's policies were followed.

"Our security officers are well-trained to screen individuals with body piercings in sensitive areas with dignity and respect while ensuring a high level of security," the agency said in a statement.

On its Web site, the TSA warns that passengers "may be additionally screened because of hidden items such as body piercings, which alarmed the metal detector."

"If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search," the site says.

Hamlin would have accepted a "pat-down" had it been offered, Allred said.

If an alarm does sound, "until that is resolved, we're not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they're wearing or where they're wearing it," said TSA spokesman Dwayne Baird in Salt Lake City.

People routinely pass through security wearing wedding rings without problems, and it might take a larger bit of metal to trigger an alarm, Baird said.

Hamlin filed a complaint, but the TSA's customer service manager at the Lubbock airport concluded that the screening was handled properly, Allred said.

Hamlin wants an apology from the TSA and an investigation by the agency's civil rights office.

Allred said she might consider legal action if the TSA does not apologize.

Hamlin was publicly humiliated and has "undergone an enormous amount of physical pain to have the nipple rings reinserted" because of scar tissue, Allred said.

Hamlin said her piercings have never set off an airport metal detector.

"The conduct of TSA was cruel and unnecessary," Allred wrote. "The last time that I checked, a nipple was not a dangerous weapon."

Posted by mikki at 08:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Indian 'witch' tied to tree, beaten by mob - CNN.com:


NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- An Indian woman accused of being a witch was tied to a tree and beaten by a mob, with television footage of the incident aired in India on Friday.


Villagers tied the woman to a tree after a man accused her of practicing black magic.

Nishant Tiwari, a police official in northeastern India, said a journalist who filmed the beating called him Thursday to report the incident, which took place in the village of Dumaria in central eastern Bihar state.

He arrived to find the woman tied to a tree, her hair partially cut and her complexion ruddy from being being slapped. She had no serious injuries.

"I was appalled at what I saw because people should be more socially responsible than to do this," Tiwari said.

Authorities arrested six people, including the man who admitted to hiring her services as a witch. They were due to appear before a magistrate on Friday.

Ram Ayodhya, who could face up to seven years in prison for his role in the attack, told police he was justified in beating the woman, Tiwari said.

Ayodhya said he paid her to use magic and prayer to improve his wife's health.

When his wife's condition deteriorated, Ayodhya accused her of performing black magic, Tiwari said, and a crowd soon gathered and tied her to the tree.

The woman seen being attacked is expected to testify when the suspects appear before the magistrate.

Tiwari said he was disturbed by the fact that a journalist filmed the incident before contacting authorities.

"The media filmed the incident, then called the police -- instead of the police first," Tiwari said.

CNN's partner network, CNN-IBN, reported that the incident took place close to the local police station.

It reported that there had been other such occurrences of mob justice in the state.

In Bhagalpur district in August 2007, a man caught trying to snatch a woman's chain was beaten up, with police looking on, and later tied to a motorcycle and dragged around by a police officer.

In September, in Lucknow's Wazirganj area, an angry mob beat a man to death after a two-and-a-half-year old girl was allegedly found sexually assaulted and murdered in his house.

Posted by mikki at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anyone who's watched "Big Trouble in Little China" can tell you that there are many Chinese hells. I surmise that now there is a new one - the Chinese hell of plastic packaging. I've ranted on this before, but damn, it seems to be getting WORSE rather than better.

Today I had to open 4 of these horrible packages. One had a clever perforated back that, when the tab is pulled, does nothing because the perforations go maybe 1/4 through the plastic. So I cut through it, finally pulling the tab up to find....you still can't open it because underneath it is ANOTHER plastic barrier with no perforation. Ok, so I cut through that. And, you guessed it, ANOTHER plastic barrier. That was worth an email of complaint.

Next, a travel adapter that advertised itself as "grounded." Well, wanting a grounded adapter, I bought it. Upon finally cutting through the plastic (painfully, I might add) we find that the UK ground prong is plastic. Uh, interesting ground that plastic... Another email of complaint.

Next, Monster's iSplitter. A LOVELY idea and a great product. You can put it in your iPod and 2 people can listen and have separate volume control. Excellent! Cept for one thing....you can't open the damn thing.

Last, but not least, the travel charger for my nifty little new Nikon camera. every....piece....was....encased....in...different.....impenetrable.....plastic.

I HEX YOU ALL, you EVIL PLASTIC PACKAGING PEOPLE!!!!! (not really, of course :-))

Posted by mikki at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I truly do not understand how companies think that we're quite so stupid as to let them get away with these things.

TomTom: When a paid upgrade is a downgrade:


Stick this one in the extremely shady business practices category. In order to add more revenue to the coffers, a paid upgrade from existing TomTom 910 and 510 maps that currently include locations of Starbucks will result in losing the locations of said Starbucks! Hey, that's darned good service for all us long-standing customers.
It wasn't until after the map upgrade that my folks told me that they could no longer find any Starbucks when they did a POI search. What's the cause of this? TomTom has decided that these POIs are now a Paid For option. And, to make matters even worse, after calling support, I was informed that:

• The web-based online store is down (due to a planned upgrade that was supposed to take 21 days and is now taking much longer)
• The Windows-based version of TomTom home has access to it, but the Macintosh version does not
• This change was intentional and not based on any licensing fees

What's the solution?

For me, I think the solution is going to be getting the POIs from someplace else. I'm not sure how up-to-date they are, but the POIs available from POI Handler seem to work fine and many are free. There's a database of over 7000 Starbucks available. You may need to register for the site (I had already registered previously), but I have yet to receive anything annoying from them. Once there, follow the Download POI link to get to the screen where you can get your POIs. They're tailor made for a bunch of the common GPS devices and have pretty up-to-date data.

Posted by mikki at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Grotesque statement of the day:

Wales: There has been a string of teenage suicides in Bridgend recently. The young people all knew each other, and might have been inspired by the earlier deaths. It's a terrible situation, but one religious nutter knows it wasn't the pressure of school, the lack of employment opportunities, or the impossibility of getting a start in adult life contributing to the record levels of depression and self-harm among young people. As he explained to the Daily Mail:

Teenage suicide doesn't surprise me. Children are taught at school that we are nothing more than animals, descendents of an ape-like creature. When life gets tough why carry on living if our lives are just a freak of nature. Well done to all those who teach our kids that evolution is a fact.

If being more than an animal means being a nasty, hateful scumbag, well I say OOK!

Teenage suicide cult sweeps through town as SEVEN youngsters kill themselves in copycat deaths—The Daily Mail, 22nd January 2008.

Posted by mikki at 06:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

News::Wiccan: If Suspect Was Wiccan 'Throw The Book At Him':


Two days after their deaths, balloons and a teddy bear sit at the home of 10-year old Kendra Suing and 8-year old Alysha Suing. A common practice in the U.S. which signifies the love and sorrow people have for the victims and their families. But something not so commonplace is what allegedly took place behind the walls of this house, witchcraft.

Dr. Bruce Forbes, Morningside College Religion Professor, "Satanism and witchcraft, they kind of come together but there's no relation and in fact anyone I know involved in witchcraft at all thinks it's a joke."

Rev. Jeva Singh-Anand, Wiccan "A lot of satanists reject these practices... They reject the actual hurting of people."

The man charged in the girls' death, their step-father. Police say Lawrence Harris told them it was a spell gone wrong.

Forbes, "When I think of other crimes in the past that have been associated with witchcraft, it's really a mentally unstable person who then looks for some kind of religion that is unusual in the larger society and then they're drawn to those symbols but it's not the religion that made him do that, it's their own mental illness or personal problems that cause them to do that."

Jeva Singh-Anand is the head of the local Siouxland 1st Wiccan Congregation. A federally recognized religion which practices witchcraft.

Jeva Singh-Anand, "Being part of a spell that had gone wrong, it doesn't make sense, I don't know what the man's religion was, if it turns out he was a Wiccan, then I would say, as as Wiccan, throw the book at him."

Singh-Anand, "He's casting a spell and something goes wrong, he ends up killing those kids, I think that's just an excuse."

A judge and jury must decide that.

Funeral arrangements are pending for Kendra and Alysha at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapter.

Posted by mikki at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seems we're not the only ones who are fighting this assault of privacy.

We have everything to fear from ID cards - Telegraph:


We start the year in Britain with a challenge to our essential nature, for 2008 might turn out to be the year when we decide to rip up the Magna Carta.

Among the basic civil rights in this country, there has always been, at least in theory, an inclination towards liberal democracy, which includes a tolerance of an individual's right to privacy.

We are born free and have the right to decide what freedom means, each for ourselves, and to have control over our outward existence, yet that will no longer be the case if we agree to identity cards.

Britain is already the most self-watching country in the world, with the largest network of security cameras; a new study suggests we are now every bit as poor at protecting privacy as Russia, China and America.

But surveillance cameras and lost data will prove minuscule problems next to ID cards, which will obliterate the fundamental right to walk around in society as an unknown.

Some of you may have taken that freedom so much for granted that you forget how basic and important it is, but in every country where ID cards have ever been introduced, they have changed the relation between the individual and the state in a way that has not proved beneficial to the individual. I am not just talking Nazi Germany, but everywhere.

It is also a spiritual matter: a person's identity is for him or her to decide and to control, and if someone decides to invest the details of their person in a higher authority, then it should not be the Home Office.

The compulsory ID card scheme is a sickness born of too much suspicion and too little regard for the meaning of tolerance and privacy in modern life.

Hooking individuals up to a system of instantly accessible data is an obscenity - not only a system waiting to be abused, but a system already abusing.

Though we don't pay much attention to moral philosophy in the mass media now - Bertrand Russell having long been exchanged for the Jeremy Kyle Show - it may be worth remembering that Britain has a tradition of excellence when it comes to distinguishing and upholding basic rights and laws in the face of excessive power.

The ID cards issue should be raising the most stimulating arguments about who we are and how we are - but no, it is not: we nose the grass like sheep and prepare to be herded once again.

It seems the only person speaking up with a broad sense of what this all means is Nick Clegg, the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, who has devoted much of his new year message to underlining the sheer horribleness of the scheme.

He has said he will go to jail rather than bow to this "expensive, invasive and unnecessary" affront to "our natural liberal tendencies".

I have to say I cheered when I heard this, not only because I agree, but because it is entirely salutary, in these sheepish times, to see a British politician express his personal feelings so strongly.

Many people on the other side of the argument make what might be called a category mistake when they say: "If you've nothing to hide, why object to carrying a card?"

Making it compulsory to prove oneself, in advance, not to be a threat to society is an insult to one's right not to be pre-judged or vetted.

Our system of justice is based on evidence, not on prior selection, and the onus on proving criminality is a matter for the justice system, where proof is of the essence.

Many regrettable things occur as a result of freedom - some teenage girls get pregnant, some businessmen steal from their shareholders, some soldiers torture their enemies, some priests exploit children - but these cases would not, in a liberal society, require us to end the private existence of all people just in case.

If the existence of terrorists, these few desperate extremists, makes it necessary for everybody in Britain to carry an ID card then it is a price too high.

It is more than a price, it is a defeat, and one that we will repent at our leisure. Challenges to security should, in fact, make us more protective of our basic freedoms; it should, indeed, make us warm to our rights.

In another age, it was thought sensible to try to understand the hatred in the eyes of our enemies, but now it seems we consider it wiser just to devalue the nature of our citizenship.

What's more - it won't work. Nick Clegg has pointed to the gigantic cost and fantastic hubris involved in this scheme, but recent gaffes with personal information have shown just how difficult it is to control and protect data.

A poll of doctors undertaken by doctors.net.uk has today shown that a majority of doctors believe that the National Programme for IT - seeking to contain all the country's medical records - will not be secure.

In fact, it is causing great worry. Many medical professionals fear that detailed information about each of us will soon be whizzing haphazardly from one place to another, leaving patients at the mercy of the negligent, the nosy, the opportunistic and the exploitative.

"Only people with something to hide will fear the introduction of compulsory ID cards."

That is what they say, and it sounds perfectly practical. If you think about it for a minute, though, it begins to sound less than practical and more like an affront to the reasonable (and traditional) notion that the state should mind its own business.

In a just society, what you have to hide is your business, until such times as your actions make it the business of others. Infringing people's rights is not an ethical form of defence against imaginary insult.

You shouldn't have to tell the government your eye colour if you don't want to, never mind your maiden name, your height, your personal persuasions in this or that direction, all to be printed up on a laminated card under some compulsory picture, to say you're one of us.

You weren't born to be one of us, that is something you choose, and to take the choice out of it is wrong. It marks the end of privacy, the end of civic volition, the end of true citizenship.

Posted by mikki at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Passport Card Rule Will Weaken Border Security and Privacy:


Today, the Department of State released a final rule for the new "Passport Card," which is intended to be used by American citizens who frequently travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda. The new rule calls for the use of "vicinity read" RFID technology without the use of encryption. This means the card will be able to be read remotely, at a long distance. CDT strongly objected to the use of this technology--developed for tracking inventory, not people--because it is inherently insecure and poses threats to personal privacy, including identity theft, location tracking by government and commercial entities outside the border control context, and other forms of mission creep.

Posted by mikki at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the latest "how bloody selfish can one person be" segment of Non Fluffy, we find this beastly creature who had no problem putting others at risk, and her idiot doctor who didn't make sure she couldn't fly. Time to make this public so that everyone exposed to the bitch can sue her sorry ass.

TB Patient's Trip To Bay Area Causes Alarm - News Story - KTVU San Francisco:


SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A Santa Clara County woman was hospitalized in isolation after becoming infected with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis and then taking a plane flight to return to the Bay Area.
Health officials said the 30-year-old woman was being treated for a form of TB at Stanford Hospital that is considered a public health problem because it is difficult to treat and has a higher mortality rate than conventional TB.
"The patient is in isolation, and we're taking all necessary precautions -- both to protect her and the public and our employees," Shelley Hebert, executive director for public affairs for Stanford Hospital & Clinics, told the San Jose Mercury News.
The woman was overseas when she flew back to the United States earlier this month.
Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, Santa Clara County's public health officer, did not know how the woman could have ended up on an international flight given she was diagnosed with TB while overseas and told her strain was probably resistant to multiple drugs.
"If people were here in our county and we know they're infectious, we would not allow them to fly anywhere," he told the paper. "She was aware of it. Her doctor was aware of her diagnosis. And then she got on a plane and came here. But there's no question she had symptoms."
Health officials also contacted the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who will contact and do a follow-up investigation with passengers on the woman's flight.
"Three or four rows in front or back of where she was sitting," on the plane will be contacted, according to Fenstershieb.
Stanford officials were also contacting those who may have come in contact with the woman when she was in the emergency room. Hebert said that was fewer than 10 people.
"The risk to those people is very low and there is no risk to the public," Hebert said.
The woman's name or the flight she was on has not been released.

Posted by mikki at 03:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More commentary on the creationist theme park:

One of the stated aims of the AH Trust's proposed Creationist theme park is that it will provide an alternative to binge drinking for young people. David Mills ponders this in the Guardian's Comment is Free section:

Although the trust correctly identifies that there is a drinking problem endemic in the culture of young people today, to believe that by providing religion as an alternative so that youngsters will put down the White Lightning and pick up a bible, seems quite naive and out of touch.

What's more, he wonders whether the Bible is really good for young people.

To correct the wrongs of society, perhaps the theme park - using its multimedia to maximum effect - will tell the story of how Lot was prepared to give up his daughters to the Sodomites and eventually slept with them himself? Is it appropriate moral guidance to show how Abraham was going to kill his son because God ordered him to? Will it also tell the story of Cain killing his brother Abel? How will tales of rape, incest, infanticide, fratricide and mass homicide become the antidote to binge drinking and a society that watches too much sex and violence on television? Theologians would say they are not meant to be taken literally but how are they meant to be taken? Are these the kind of family models we want "our youth" to look up to?

Taking children for a ride—Comment is Free, 23rd December 2007.

Posted by mikki at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howard County Man Sentenced For Poisoning Neighbor's Dog - News Story - WRC | Washington:


ELLICOTT CITY, Md. -- A Howard County man is facing a month in prison for poisoning a neighbor's dog.
Jack Schroeder admitted in a plea agreement in November to feeding the dog -- which later died -- antifreeze and chicken bones. Charges of aggravated animal cruelty were dropped.
Schroeder was sentenced in Howard Circuit Court to 18 months with all but 30 days suspended. He was also placed on 18 months supervised probation, counseling and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.
Schroeder said he is embarrassed by his actions, but the dog's barking forced him to sleep in a back bedroom and hurt his relationship with his wife.

Posted by mikki at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the things that continues to bother me is that more "New Agers" don't stand up and say "hey, wait just a minute here" when the latest "Pagan Star" stands up in front of a group and tells them they can all learn the extra special secret Indian whatever spirituality thing from them because they're ever so important and 1/1000th Foo Foo Indian from the Secret Tribe of Nobody Ever Heard of Em, for only 199.95. (I still should find a translation for "Spewing Butt Cheeks" and use that as my sacred Indian name).

We really do need to stand up and say "that is not us" and not be afraid to piss off those few in our community who don't understand what this rape of someone else's culture is about and think "it's all good." Well, it's not. and we have to say so, and not feed into this.

The Danger of 'Wannabes':


by Jason Pitzl-Waters

The Colorado Springs Gazette features an editorial from columnist Barry Noreen on the problems faced by Native Americans trying to preserve their religious culture in the face of appropriation and exploitation by the New Age community. Noreen continues this theme in his blog for the newspaper, where he recommends the NAFPS (New Age Frauds and Plastic Shamans) group, and claims that spiritual exploitation is "another way to attack Indians".

"Christians aren't the only ones for whom spirituality is a matter of life and death. So Jacob Anaya has taken up the role as a defender of the faith. Anaya, owner of All My Relations Creations in Manitou Springs, acknowledges he is a bit like the little Dutch boy, standing up against the latest assault on American Indian spirituality: New Agers. Anaya, originally of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico and later a teacher of Lakota traditions, gives presentations to sound warnings about modern charlatans who will sell sweat lodge, vision quest or pipe ceremonies for a price ... Typically, Anaya said, a New Age spiritualist will know some of the sweat lodge details and perhaps a snippet of Lakota language. They're all about trying to create a ceremony, not about treating it as a way of life ... These wannabes sometimes hand out certificates - "they start handing out (Indian) names like cigars," Anaya said, derisively suggesting someone can become "Squeaking Squirrel Butt" overnight."

Posted by mikki at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CNN is reporting that Mike Huckabee is now leading other republicans by 22 points in Iowa. This is a man who says he can't separate faith from politics. This misogynist would overturn Roe v. Wade, would appoint only "pro choice" people into public positions that have anything to do with women's choice, and says:

# As Governor, I did all I could to protect life. The many pro-life laws I got through my Democrat legislature are the accomplishments that give me the most pride and personal satisfaction. To me, life doesn't begin at conception and end at birth. Every child deserves a quality education, first-rate health care, decent housing in a safe neighborhood, and clean air and drinking water. Every child deserves the opportunity to discover and use his God-given gifts and talents.

Without even going into his draconian approach to religion, and his thoughts that global warning is a "moral issue," isn't this enough to reject the guy? What's going on there in Iowa anyway?

Perhaps the pundits have it right - the reason why Huckabee is doing well is because the media never thought he really had a chance, so hasn't seen fit to play hard ball with him and give the voters the information they might need. But wait a minute....does this mean that if "the media" chooses a candidate then we'll only get good information about that candidate? Do we really give them that much control of our lives and our votes? Is "One Nation Controlled By the Media" real?

Maybe that's why so many media conglomerates are against net neutrality..... Think about it.

Posted by mikki at 09:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It seems that with the advent of point and shoot digital cameras and cheap underwater housings, just about everyone has a camera to go diving with. This phenomenon has many pluses and minuses, but I must say that the minuses thus far, at least in my experience, seem to outweigh the pluses.

Without trying to be an elitist snob diving takes practice and skill. In order to achieve proper buoyancy, one must be comfortable in the water, and must know where all body parts and all extensions like fins are at all times in relation to the world around you. Most of the places we dive today are protected (thank goodness), meaning you are not allowed to touch the reef or the creatures living there. A careless fin, laying across coral for a photo, standing on coral, etc. can cause significant damage that takes a great deal of time to repair. I must say that I'm very lucky to have been originally introduced to ocean diving by people who took their responsibility to the environment very seriously, and taught me not to ever touch live coral or other creatures.

In order to shoot photos with most cameras (especially point and shoot digitals), you must get close to your subject. As you get close to your subject while diving, you generally must get close to the reef. As you get close to the reef, lack of buoyancy control will cause you to trash everything around you as you madly flail in order to get that picture that your family and friends just MUST have.

The more excited a photographer gets about the subject being photographed, the more he or she forgets that there are living creatures around (including fellow photographers). This week, I have watched a person lay on the reef and become incensed when the divemaster picked him off the coral and told him not to do this. I watched an excited photographer kick another photographer in the head as he cut her off for a picture of a file fish. I've seen numerous people kick over gorgonias, sponges, and soft corals while trampling each other for a photograph of a seahorse. I was personally shoved to the side by someone who wanted a picture of a frogfish I was filming (I have video of his camera cutting in front of mine), and the ruckus caused the frogfish to just give up and leave, moving to another spot. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the paparazzi, who chased him to the new spot and started all over again.

So, as a dive instructor and an underwater photographer and videographer, I have some suggestions. 1) Do not put a camera in your hands until you can demonstrate proper buoyancy AND dive without using your hands. 2) If the subject you wish to photograph is in a poor spot for you to get close enough without banging into something, come back later. It might have moved. 3) Take turns. Just like in kindergarten. Chances are, the subject won't be going far. It is not a feeding frenzy, and you'll likely stress the animal and yourself before you get a decent picture. 4) Make sure you are weighted properly for all aspects of the dive. Late in the dive with a light tank is not the time you should find out you can't hold position to shoot that squid who is coming right at you. 5) If you see ME shooting...do not taught happy fun recalcitrant videographer. I will bite, or inflate your BCD and send you to the surface.

I did laugh pretty hysterically today when the paparazzi chased a turtle around the reef. As they all clamored for position, the turtle took off and hung out with me for a good 4 minutes of video. He got so close that I had to pull back so he'd be in focus. Same thing happened with a frogfish. He wound up directly in front of me where I got some great video. Ditto with a seahorse.

To see video shot without crashing onto reefs, go to this handy link

Posted by mikki at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

WorldNetDaily: If they're not criminals, what are they?:


It has been six years since Americans were murdered in the cowardly attack of terrorism carried out by pagans who had overstayed their visas, which made them illegals. Yet, even though the ability exists to track a quarter pound of contaminated beef back to the cow from which it was born, little or nothing is done to rid our shores of the criminal contaminants flooding our cities and communities today.

And once again, to stress the point – they are criminals. It doesn't matter if they attend church, care for the sick and/or sing hymns to geriatrics – if they came here illegally, they are criminals. Their criminal activity is compounded by the use of false documentation and identity theft, to mention but two additional crimes. Not only doesn't the White House and Congress grasp this reality, but neither do many so-called intellectuals and those running for president.

Rudy Giuliani, the uber liberal masquerading as a Republican, told radio/television talk-show host Glenn Beck and his listening audience that illegal immigration isn't a crime. Giuliani told Beck: "I know that's very hard for people to understand, but it's not a federal crime … in fact, when you throw an immigrant out of the country, its not a criminal proceeding. It's a civil proceeding."

Continue reading "WorldNetDaily: If they're not criminals, what are they?" »

Posted by mikki at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Worried about your personal information being compromised? Do you trust the government with the most personal of personal information?

Judge wants everyone in UK on DNA database | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited:


The entire UK population and every visitor to Britain should be put on the national DNA database, a top judge said today.
Lord Justice Sedley, one of England's most experienced appeal court judges, described the country's current system as "indefensible".

"We have a situation where if you happen to have been in the hands of the police, then your DNA is on permanent record. If you haven't, it isn't ... that's broadly the picture," Sir Stephen Sedley told the BBC.



Click on the above link for more

Posted by mikki at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So here we are, occupying a Muslim country, and playing games about blowing away the 'Antichrist'? Why would anyone think that it's an ok thing to send religious games to troops? Of course, this was going to be CHRISTIAN religious games, and you can be certain those of other faiths blowing away unbelievers would not even have been considered.

ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: News Round-up: Religion, Spy Satellites, Death Penalty, National Security:


ABC News reported "Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S. troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense after ABC News inquired about the program." (H/T Religion Clause) From RC:

The Department of Defense has stopped plans by a Christian evangelical group to send soldiers in Iraq a video game in which Christian believers fight the Antichrist in the Battle of Armageddon.

Posted by mikki at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steve Jackson is the Antichrist!:

Is this meta-conspiracy? Cutting Edge Ministries have put together a number of pages insisting that a card game shows that the Spetember 11th attacks were an inside job and planned a long way in advance.

In nine pertinent playing cards of the "Illuminati New World Order" Game, how did the inventor know -- in 1995 -- the three events comprising the 9/11 attacks? How did he know also the correct plan in the near future? Why do his cards predict the appearance of Antichrist and the Rapture as the last two events of the Illuminati Plan?

Players in the darkly humourous game are competing conspiracies and the aim is to dominate. The game consists of hundreds of cards (637, I believe) drawn from the rich vein of conspiracy theory. Still, as we all know, there is no such thing as coincidence in that world.

Posted by mikki at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Federal ID plan raises privacy concerns - CNN.com:


(CNN) -- Americans may need passports to board domestic flights or to picnic in a national park next year if they live in one of the states defying the federal Real ID Act.

The act, signed in 2005 as part of an emergency military spending and tsunami relief bill, aims to weave driver's licenses and state ID cards into a sort of national identification system by May 2008. The law sets baseline criteria for how driver's licenses will be issued and what information they must contain.

The Department of Homeland Security insists Real ID is an essential weapon in the war on terror, but privacy and civil liberties watchdogs are calling the initiative an overly intrusive measure that smacks of Big Brother.

More than half the nation's state legislatures have passed symbolic legislation denouncing the plan, and some have penned bills expressly forbidding compliance.

Several states have begun making arrangements for the new requirements -- four have passed legislation applauding the measure -- but even they may have trouble meeting the act's deadline.

The cards would be mandatory for all "federal purposes," which include boarding an airplane or walking into a federal building, nuclear facility or national park, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the National Conference of State Legislatures last week. Citizens in states that don't comply with the new rules will have to use passports for federal purposes.

"For terrorists, travel documents are like weapons," Chertoff said. "We do have a right and an obligation to see that those licenses reflect the identity of the person who's presenting it."

Chertoff said the Real ID program is essential to national security because there are presently 8,000 types of identification accepted to enter the United States.

"It is simply unreasonable to expect our border inspectors to be able to detect forgeries on documents that range from baptismal certificates from small towns in Texas to cards that purport to reflect citizenship privileges in a province somewhere in Canada," he said.

Chertoff attended the conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in part to allay states' concerns, but he had few concrete answers on funding.

The Department of Homeland Security, which estimates state and federal costs could reach $23.1 billion over 10 years, is looking for ways to lessen the burden on states, he said. On the recent congressional front, however, Chertoff could point only to an amendment killed in the Senate last month that would've provided $300 million for the program.

"There's going to be an irreducible expense that falls on you, and that's part of the shared responsibility," Chertoff told the state legislators.

Bill Walsh, senior legal fellow for the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based conservative think tank that supports the Real ID Act, said states shouldn't be pushing for more federal dollars because, ultimately, that will mean more federal oversight -- and many complaints about cost coincide with complaints about the federal government overstepping its bounds.

"They are only being asked to do what they should've already done to protect their citizens," Walsh said, blaming arcane software and policies at state motor vehicle departments for what he called "a tremendous trafficking in state driver's licenses."

The NCSL is calling Real ID an "unfunded mandate" that could cost states up to $14 billion over the next decade, but for which only $40 million has been federally approved. The group is demanding Congress pony up $1 billion for startup costs by year's end or scrap the proposal altogether.

Everyone must visit DMV by 2013

The Real ID Act repealed a provision in the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act calling for state and federal officials to examine security standards for driver's licenses.

It called instead for states to begin issuing new federal licenses, lasting no longer than eight years, by May 11, 2008, unless they are granted an extension.

It also requires all 245 million license and state ID holders to visit their local departments of motor vehicles and apply for a Real ID by 2013. Applicants must bring a photo ID, birth certificate, proof of Social Security number and proof of residence, and states must maintain and protect massive databases housing the information.

NCSL spokesman Bill Wyatt said the requirements are "almost physically impossible." States will have to build new facilities, secure those facilities and shell out for additional equipment and personnel.

Those costs are going to fall back on the American taxpayer, he said. It might be in the form of a new transportation, motor vehicle or gasoline tax. Or you might find it tacked on to your next state tax bill. In Texas, Wyatt said, one official told him that without federal funding, the Longhorn State might have to charge its citizens more than $100 for a license.

"We kind of feel like the way they went about this is backwards," Wyatt said, explaining that states would have appreciated more input into the process. "Each state has its own unique challenges and these are best addressed at state levels. A one-size-fits-all approach to driver's licenses doesn't necessarily work."

Many states have revolted. The governors of Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Washington have signed bills refusing to comply with the act. Six others have passed bills and/or resolutions expressing opposition, and 15 have similar legislation pending.

Though the NCSL says most states' opposition stems from the lack of funding, some states cited other reasons for resisting the initiative.

New Hampshire passed a House bill opposing the program and calling Real ID "contrary and repugnant" to the state and federal constitutions. A Colorado House resolution dismissed Real ID by expressing support for the war on terror but "not at the expense of essential civil rights and liberties of citizens of this country."

Privacy concerns raised

Colorado and New Hampshire lawmakers are not alone. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation say the IDs and supporting databases -- which Chertoff said would eventually be federally interconnected -- will infringe on privacy.

EFF says on its Web site that the information in the databases will lay the groundwork for "a wide range of surveillance activities" by government and businesses that "will be able to easily read your private information" because of the bar code required on each card.

The databases will provide a one-stop shop for identity thieves, adds the ACLU on its Web site, and the U.S. "surveillance society" and private sector will have access to the system "for the routine tracking, monitoring and regulation of individuals' movements and activities."

The civil liberties watchdog dubs the IDs "internal passports" and claims it wouldn't be long before office buildings, gas stations, toll booths, subways and buses begin accessing the system.

But Chertoff told legislators last week that DHS has no intention of creating a federal database, and Walsh, of the Heritage Foundation, said the ACLU's allegations are disingenuous.

States will be permitted to share data only when validating someone's identity, Walsh said.

"The federal government wouldn't have any greater access to driver's license information than it does today," Walsh said.

States have the right to refuse to comply with the program, he said, and they also have the right to continue issuing IDs and driver's licenses that don't meet Real ID requirements.

But, Walsh said, "any state that's refusing to implement this key recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, and whose state driver's licenses are as a result used in another terrorist attack, should be held responsible."

State reaction to Real ID has not been all negative. Four states have passed bills or resolutions expressing approval for the program, and 13 states have similar legislation pending (Several states have pending pieces of legislation both applauding and opposing Real ID).


Chertoff said there would be repercussions for states choosing not to comply.

"This is not a mandate," Chertoff said. "A state doesn't have to do this, but if the state doesn't have -- at the end of the day, at the end of the deadline -- Real ID-compliant licenses then the state cannot expect that those licenses will be accepted for federal purposes.

Posted by mikki at 02:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bush targets those who threaten Iraq's stability - A Concord Monitor Article - Your News Source - Concord NH 03301:


B
e careful what you say and whom you help - especially when it comes to the Iraq war and the Iraqi government.
President Bush issued an executive order last week titled "Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq." In the extreme, it could be interpreted as targeting the financial assets of any American who directly or indirectly aids someone who has committed or "poses a significant risk of committing" violent acts "threatening the peace or stability of Iraq" or who undermines "efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform" in the war-torn country.

The executive order, released Tuesday, was designed to target "perpetrators of violence in Iraq including Shiite militia groups linked to Iran, Sunni insurgent groups with sanctuary in Syria, and other indigenous Iraqi insurgent groups," said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, which will determine who is in violation of the order. The move follows similar Bush orders to freeze assets of members or associates of al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and former Iraqi government officials, Millerwise said. "It fills in the cracks," she added.

White House press secretary Tony Snow offered further clarification at a briefing on Tuesday: "What this is really aimed at is insurgents and those who come across the border . . . or anybody who is caught providing support or poses a significant risk of providing support to those who may come across the border."

But the text of the order, if interpreted broadly, could cast a far bigger net to include not just those who commit violent acts or pose the risk of doing so in Iraq, but also third parties - such as U.S. citizens in this country - who knowingly or unknowingly aid or encourage such people.

Under the order, the Treasury secretary - in consultation with the secretaries of defense and state - creates the list of those whose assets are to be frozen. But the targeting of not just those who support perpetrators of violence but also those who support individuals who "pose a significant risk" of committing violence goes far beyond normal legal language related to intent and could be applied in a highly arbitrary manner, said Bruce Fein, a senior Justice Department official in the Reagan administration and a frequent Bush administration critic.
Fein also questioned the executive order's inclusion of third parties, such as U.S. citizens who assist, sponsor or make "any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services" to assist people on the Treasury list. "What about a lawyer hired to get someone off the list?" Fein asked.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control keeps a "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons" roll that includes those covered by several such executive orders. It most recently ran to 276 pages; of the roughly 11,000 entries, more than 700 are Iraq-related. Millerwise said the list is primarily for use by banks and other financial institutions that regularly check it to freeze assets and prevent financial transfers.

What happens to the Shiite Iraqi American who sends money or speaks out in support of humanitarian efforts by Moqtada al-Sadr's political party remains to be seen. Though Millerwise said the Treasury Department already has some names in mind for the list, they will be disclosed only after their assets under U.S. control are frozen.

Meanwhile, the department must develop rules and regulations to carry out the order, a process that Fein said he hopes will protect civil liberties that could be at risk.

------ End of article

By WALTER PINCUS

The Washington Post

Posted by mikki at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bored now:

There has been very little by way of interesting anti-Harry Potter rubbish to mark the publication of the last book in the series, but at last, I found some written by one Greg Farber. It seems that some early British socialists had the (very common) family name Potter, and this is grounds for a conspiracy.

Also the true Author of the wounded in the head, little Dark Prince Harry Potter was written by Richard Potter himself, The Lady J.K. Rowlings who claims to be the author is not at all, she was just given the job of editing and a nice title. Richard Potter a benifictionary of Sydney and Beatrice Webb who began the Fabian Socialist movement in England and they really intended to Socialize the World but began in a very small way. Potter was a very rich Rail road magnet who helped them with a lot of money. They sent Ramsey McDonald to the United States in 1895, touring the United States. He came back and said, The United States will never be Socialised until we can get rid of the State and Federal Constitution Ramsey McDonald became the future Prime Minister of England.

And who exactly was Richard Potter? The father of Beatrice Potter, who was born in 1858. That explains the turgid Victorian prose and the complete lack of any reference to anything modern in the books! Another paragraph from the article is interesting, too, and I think is meant as some kind of explanation:

The British Labor Party has been controlled by the JESUITS since its inception in the late 1800s. it has always advocated Home Rule for Ireland-as did British SIS Aleister Crowley!!Asquith, Lloyd George, and Labor-Loyalist Smokin Winston Churchill were all controlled by the Order via its Fabian Socialists, Like the American Republican Party, nothing good ever proceeded, or was allowed to proceed from British Labor–the true backers of the Soviet Russia's Bolshevicks and the Pope's Masonic Jewish Zionists ruling Israel's Labour party.

The author does not explain what the British Labor Party is - maybe some American organisation of ex-pat Labour Party supporters or something? Nor what it has to do with Harry Potter. The article ends with something which was debunked in Harry Potter and the Fundamentalist's Mind, published in the Prattle back in 2002.

J.K. Rowling uses imagery in her Harry Potter books contained in the Alchemy Book, “The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosendreutz” written in 1459. Using such a obsure book, known only to the occult initiated, is one strong indication Rowling does practice Witchcraft.

As I pointed out five years ago, it's a Rosicrucian text, not and alchemical one, and available online. These days, there's even an English translation. Other fundies insist that the text is the single most important one, though it's obvious that neither interpretation is the case.

And that's not all. The same individual has written another piece which is even less comprehensible. Harry Potter and Hollyweird only mentions Harry Potter in passing, but "exposes" the terrible symbolism of recent Disney films.

Under Michael Eisner, the Walt Disney Co. ( Which has seen Walt's surviving nephew, Roy E. Disney, part ways with Eisner in disgust) has become one of the mass initiators of children through visual processing loaded with brazen occult themes. As one example, the animated film Atlantis contains a surfiet of OTO symbolism. ( Ordo Templi Orientis ) The cartoon character Scooby Doo has also been transformed into an evangelist for Witchcraft. In Scooby Doo and the witches ghost, kids learn that Sarah Ravencroft, buried long ago in a Puritan village, was really a Wiccan and that Wiccans were people who were in tune with forces of nature and used them for healing purposes.

Apparently the Da Vinci Code has made Catholic nuns turn to Wiccan practices, too.

Harry Potter, Socialism and the truth—Sun Valley Idaho Online, 19th July 2207; Harry Potter and Hollyweird—Sun Valley Idaho Online, 20th July 2207.

Posted by mikki at 03:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Violence has never worked in these matters....

Vandals attack man's Hummer, leave note - Yahoo! News:


WASHINGTON - When Gareth Groves brought home his massive new Hummer, he knew his environmentally friendly neighbors disapproved. But he didn't expect what happened next. The sport utility vehicle was parked for five days on the street before two masked men smashed the windows, slashed the tires and scratched into the body: "FOR THE ENVIRON."

"The thought of somebody vandalizing it never crossed my mind," said Gareth Groves, who lives near American University in Northwest Washington. "I've kind of been in shock."

Police said they see small acts of vandalism in the area from time to time, but they have not seen anything so severe, or with such a clear political message, in recent years.

"This seems to be an isolated event," Cmdr. Andy Solberg said.

Investigators said they are searching for the vandals but don't have many leads. Witnesses said they saw two men smash up the seven-foot-tall SUV early Monday and then run off.

Now, as Groves contemplates what to do with the remains of his $38,000 Hummer, he has had to deal with a number of people who have driven by the crime scene and glared at him in smug satisfaction.

"I'd say one in five people who come by have that 'you-got-what-you-deserve' look," said his friend Andy Sexton.

Neighbor Lucille Liem, who owns a Prius hybrid, said that a common sentiment in the neighborhood is that large vehicles such as the Hummer are impractical and a strain on the Earth.

"The neighborhood in general is very concerned with the environment," said Liem, whose Prius gets about 48 miles a gallon compared with the Hummer's 14 miles a gallon. "It's more liberal leaning. It's ridiculous to be driving a Hummer."

Liem quickly added that she does not condone violence.

Posted by mikki at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, you can't paint a whole group by the ramblings of a complete ignoramus ditz, but how many believe that others should be penalized in some way for protesting the war or speaking out against government erosion of civil liberties? It's very difficult to believe that any American would truly think this way.

Conversations with neocons on a cruise:


Mark Frauenfelder:

Johann Hari of the Independent (UK) paid $1200 to take a cruise with 500 "straight-talking, gun-toting, God-fearing Republican" readers of the conservative National Review magazine. His mission: to "find out what American conservatives say when they think the rest of us aren't listening."

I lie on the beach with Hillary-Ann, a chatty, scatty 35-year-old Californian designer. As she explains the perils of Republican dating, my mind drifts, watching the gentle tide. When I hear her say, " Of course, we need to execute some of these people," I wake up. Who do we need to execute? She runs her fingers through the sand lazily. "A few of these prominent liberals who are trying to demoralise the country," she says. "Just take a couple of these anti-war people off to the gas chamber for treason to show, if you try to bring down America at a time of war, that's what you'll get." She squints at the sun and smiles. " Then things'll change."

Link

Posted by mikki at 01:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

9NEWS - Article - University investigates threatening e-mails condemning evolution:


BOULDER - University of Colorado police are investigating threatening e-mails with anti-evolution messages sent to biology professors at the Boulder campus.

Police Commander Brad Wiesley says the e-mails claim be from a religious group but investigators don't know whether more than one person was behind them.

He said the e-mails were considered threatening and made reference to killing people who back evolutionary theory. He said they didn't contain any specific threat against any individuals.

"The people that are worried in biology are certainly concerned. I mean it's not every day they're threatened by somebody who doesn't agree with the work that they're doing and so there's heightened concern," said Wiesley.

Some professors had been receiving critical e-mails for more than a year, but the tone became more threatening last week and they reported them to police.

Then, last weekend, someone slid anti-evolution materials under the doors of offices and laboratories of the building housing the ecology and evolutionary biology department.

"We just try and keep a cool nerve and basically not try and take any action ourselves, just report it to the department heads or security," said Michael Robeson, a CU graduate student.

Posted by mikki at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm still laughing :-)

Beware the Magical IPhone:


Beware the Magical IPhone
06.27.07 | 2:00 AM
There's been a lot of media attention directed at the iPhone recently. Some of it has been positive, some negative, but none have come forth to acknowledge the obvious, sinister context of Apple's latest toy. This device, portrayed as a harmless product of science, is obviously designed to introduce our children to witchcraft and sorcery.
The central pentagram in Apple's vile altar of temptation takes the form of "gestures," hand movements used to control the device. Wiggle your fingers at the iPhone and it does your bidding. Does that not sound familiar? Is that not one of the main ingredients in the blasphemous bisque of sorcery?
Keep in mind as you consider this dire news that Apple is also one of the main proponents of so-called "voice recognition" technology. Every Macintosh computer they ship includes this "feature," allowing you to command your computer using the power of your voice, much as Harry Potter commands demons to do Satan's work.
Another feature provided by the iPhone is the ability to play videos from anywhere in the world. Think of your child gazing into this device, viewing events taking place elsewhere on the planet and even looking back through time. The device itself has a "friendly" rounded look to it. Is this Apple's way of introducing children to the concept of a crystal ball? Will the next iPhone be a perfect transparent sphere? Very likely.
In addition, the iPhone has the ability to sense the environment around it. For instance, it can tell when you've turned it on its side. No doubt you're thinking, "You move it? Like a magic wand?"
It's worse than that, much worse. Certainly there is a similarity to that obscenely phallic symbol of a sorcerer's Satan-fueled power, but it goes much further. The iPhone's ability to sense motion, proximity and light is clearly designed to make it seem less like an object and more like a "familiar spirit," a sort of witch's helper explicitly banned by Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Not convinced? The iPhone also includes a built-in web browser, one that has no limitations on the sort of filth it can access. The internet is well known for being willing to answer any question posed to it, at least from an atheist perspective. Right-thinking people realize that knowledge should be limited to that which is healthy for the mind and soul, but the internet does not agree.
And finally, what do iPhone users and witches have in common? Contracts. The iPhone requires a two-year contract with a cellular-phone company, while witchcraft requires an eternal contract with the Devil, but the parallels are clear.
Now consider the implications of all this. A child growing up in this secular age is introduced to a little technological "friend" that it can control with gestures and words, one that lets it look at other places and times, one that is happy to answer any question, especially if the "correct" answer denies God and the Bible. Shortly thereafter the child -- your child -- is approached by a witch or wizard with similar "devices" like magic wands and crystal balls, which require nothing more than the signing of a contract. Is there any reason the child would resist these overtures?
This is no coincidence! Apple is not working alone under some sort of cloak of secrecy. This has been planned for decades, if not centuries! Science-fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, a noted secular humanist, gloated over this sort of "innovation" when he revealed that future advanced technologies would make people unable to distinguish them from magic.
The media are not the watchdogs of these evil devices that are being shoved down our throats and the throats of our children, they are Satan's salesmen!
Avoid the iPhone! Avoid all of Apple's products, and Microsoft's as well! If you're reading this online, it may already be too late.

Posted by mikki at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Vatican approves of rape and torture:

The Vatican has told Roman Catholics not to support Amnesty International because the organisation considers that criminalising women who want to control their fertility, especially those who have been raped, is counterproductive. This is, according to the Vatican, a much worse thing than rape, torture and judicial killing.

Amnesty International does not have any position at all on whether abortion is morally acceptable and accuses the Vatican of misrepresenting its position.

We are saying broadly that to criminalise women's management of their sexual reproductive right is the wrong answer, Amnesty's deputy Secretary General Kate Gilmore told Reuters news agency.




The Catholic Church, through a misrepresented account of our position on selective aspects of abortion, is placing in peril work on human rights, Ms Gilmore said.

Vatican urges end to Amnesty aid—BBC News, 13th June 2007.

Posted by mikki at 09:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Church leaders plead guilty of money smuggling into U.S - Pravda.Ru:


Brazilian leaders of one of their country's largest evangelical Christian churches became convicted felons Friday when they pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling more than $56,000 (41,950 EUR) in cash into the United States.

Estevam Hernandes Filho, 53, and 48-year-old Sonia Haddad Moraes Hernandes also are charged in Brazil with stealing millions of dollars from parishioners. They will likely be deported home once their U.S. case is resolved.

The couple - known as Apostle Estevam and Bishop Sonia to their thousands of faithful - pleaded guilty to evading U.S. currency requirements and conspiracy charges at a hearing in Miami federal court.

"Yes, guilty," Hernandes and his wife both said in Portuguese to U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno, according to a court translator.

The charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison, but the couple would probably get far less time than that under U.S. sentencing guidelines. A maximum fine of $500,000 (374,560 EUR) each also could be imposed by Moreno, who scheduled sentencing for Aug. 17.

The guilty pleas came a few days before trial was scheduled to start next week.

Hernandes tightly hugged his wife, who was fighting back tears, after they entered their pleas, but both refused comment, as did their lawyers. Moreno said the couple would remain under house arrest and electronic monitoring until sentencing at a house they own in a gated neighborhood in Boca Raton.

The couple leads Brazil's Reborn in Christ Church, which they founded in 1986 and which now claims hundreds of thousands of followers and about 1,200 temples in the world's largest Roman Catholic country. The church has temples in Orlando, Deerfield Beach and Boston and their empire also includes newspapers, TV and radio stations, a recording company and the Brazilian patent on the English word "gospel."

But Brazilian authorities say the couple stole parishioners' donations for their own use, including the purchase of mansions and horse farms in Brazil and the United States. Brazil is seeking the couple's extradition from the United States on charges of fraud, larceny, tax evasion and money laundering.

Moreno told the couple they would probably be deported to Brazil after completing whatever sentence they get in the United States. Church officials in Brazil have blamed "religious persecution" for the charges and followers have continued to express support.

The U.S. charges were brought after the couple arrived Jan. 8 at Miami International Airport on a flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, with $56,467 (42,300 EUR) stashed in their luggage, a son's carry-on backpack, Sonia Hernandes' purse and in a Bible.

Prosecutors say they initially failed to declare on a customs form that they were carrying more than $10,000 (7,490 EUR), then declared under questioning that they actually had about $21,000 (15,730 EUR). A search of their luggage revealed more than twice that, leading to the currency evasion charges.

Under a plea agreement, the couple will forfeit the more than $56,000 (41,950 EUR) they attempted to bring into the United States.

Posted by mikki at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

U.S. can't alter 'dolphin-safe' tuna rules: court - Yahoo! News:


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. government has arbitrarily and capriciously sought to ease rules for foreign fisherman on "dolphin-safe" tuna, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled on Friday in upholding current standards.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to back the standards is the latest in a long-running dispute on what tuna sold in the United States can be labeled "dolphin safe" -- a designation that means tuna is fished using practices that protect dolphins.

Previous such decisions have angered Mexican and South American fishing industries.

The dispute involves the use of huge "purse seine" nets, which fisherman have used since the late 1950s to boost their capture of tuna swimming beneath dolphins. The nets get their name as they can be closed like a drawstring purse.

Dolphins, which are air-breathing mammals, can be easily spotted by fishermen when they surface for air.

As decades of such fishing dramatically lowered the numbers of certain species of dolphins, the U.S. Congress enacted a law in 1990 that said companies could not market tuna as "dolphin-safe" if they caught the fish by purposely surrounding dolphins with the nets.

Worrying that they could be shut out of the U.S. tuna market, officials in Latin America have since lobbied for a less stringent rule that would allow the "dolphin-safe" label if observers on the foreign boats had not seen dolphins killed or seriously injured.

The U.S. secretary of commerce has backed the rule change, but the 9th Circuit, reaffirming its 2001 ruling on the issue, said the U.S. effort was not based on proper scientific analysis on the impact to dolphins and was politically influenced. In the ruling, the court deemed the secretary's findings "arbitrary and capricious."

FOREIGN POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

"This evidence shows that the agency's decision-making process, which was devised to conduct a scientific analysis of the fishery's effect on dolphins, was influenced to at least some degree by foreign policy considerations rather than science alone," Chief Judge Mary Schroeder wrote for a three-judge panel.

The San Francisco-based Earth Island Institute and other environmental groups have led the litigation against the U.S. government and Latin American fishing interests in the case.

"As a practical matter ... there will be no change in tuna labeling standards absent new congressional directive," the court ruling said. "The label of 'dolphin-safe' will continue to signify that the tuna was not harvested with purse-seine nets, and that no dolphins were killed or seriously injured when the tuna were caught."

The court said such fishing practices have killed more than 6 million dolphins.

According to the Earth Island Institute, more than 90 percent of tuna canners in 51 countries worldwide follow "dolphin-safe" standards.

Earlier this year, the World Wildlife Fund warned that illegal fishing has critically depleted global stocks of tuna and urged nations to undertake measures to reduce the large numbers of dolphins and other species ensnared in tuna hooks and nets.

Posted by mikki at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ya know, I'm really hoping that there is some Swedish law being broken here so that they can order the extradition of this lunatic and his group of nutjobs and throw their sorry asses in jail for.... oh, how bout until rapture?

The Local - Princess Madeleine harassed by fanatical sect:


The Swedish Royal Court has confirmed that it has been receiving abusive faxes from the fanatical Westboro Baptist Church sect.

Led by minister Fred Phelps , the small group's hatred of the royal family and all things Swedish is linked directly to an equally virulent hatred of homosexuals.

Phelps praises homophobic crimes, including murder. When controversial Swedish minister Åke Green was convicted of inciting hatred of homosexuals following an anti-gay sermon, Phelps saw red and turned his attention to Sweden.

"You're doomed to spend eternity in hell," he said. "All you Swedes and your Swedish king and his family."

As part of the campaign Phelps launched the hateful website God Hates Sweden , which attacks the royal family and delights in the loss of Swedish lives in the 2004 tsunami disaster.

Princess Madeleine has been the main recipient of the sect's abuse, Expressen reports.

"I know that this is happening all the time. There have been strange faxes containing all sorts of terms of abuse," court spokeswoman Nina Eldh told the newspaper.

The court's lawyers have so far failed in their atempts to call a halt to the site's anti-Swedish hate campaign.

Expressen's attempts to secure a comment from the group were met with resistence from an agitated female representative.

"We hate Sweden! Don't call here again," she said.

Posted by mikki at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speechless:

England: There are some stories I wish were April Fools' Day jokes, but this one is dated 2nd April, so it can't be:

Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid offending Muslim pupils, a Government backed study has revealed.




It found some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial.




There is also resistance to tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local mosques.

I am lost for words.

Teachers drop the Holocaust to avoid offending Muslims—London Evening Standard, 2nd April 2007.

Posted by mikki at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A fundamental wrong in letting some marry - Opinion - Home:


The views I am about to express are not very fashionable. They are certainly not politically correct. But I believe what I am about to say must be expressed to protect the institution of marriage.

Too often in the media, currency is given to the theory that everyone should be allowed to marry regardless of gender, outlook and whether the two people are creating a suitable family environment in which to bring up children.

Well, it is time to ask some hard questions about this attitude. The only way we will save marriage is to reclaim the institution for the mainstream. Marriage is for normal people who want to raise children in a healthy and secure environment. This is why we should ban religious fundamentalists from marrying.

Fundamentalists of all religions engage in unnatural practices. The unconventional views they hold inevitably lead to their children being teased in the playground and, no matter what studies may show, there is surely a greater risk they will grow up to be fundamentalist themselves if they are exposed to dangerous ideas from a tender age.

No matter what fundamentalist propaganda may claim, fundamentalism is not sanctioned by nature. There is not a single species in the animal kingdom which stresses the infallibility of the Bible or adheres to the teachings of the Koran. Even in the higher orders of primate, no species has conclusively shown faith in the virgin birth or the second coming. Animals tend to be atheist, pagan or animist, which shows that these views are surely instinctive, normal, natural and right.

Maybe you think it is OK for humans to differ from animals. Maybe you think consenting adults should be able to do what they like regardless of whether the average person agrees with their views.

Such a liberal approach is a slippery slope. When we allow fundamentalists to marry it says that fundamentalism is OK. It encourages these people to foist the fundamentalist agenda on the rest of the community. Before long they will be trying to "convert" people to their "religions". Should we risk this? Fundamentalists are a small minority of the population, so only a small number of people would be inconvenienced by a ban. It would not even be discriminatory as fundamentalists would still have the right to marry - so long as they renounced their religion.

Let's not forget that we are not just talking about consenting adults. When you allow fundamentalists to marry it encourages them to have children. Sure, they might still have kids even if they cannot marry in the eyes of the law, but why legitimise it? Children are the true victims of fundamentalist marriages. Children don't get a say when they are born into a household practising a fundamentalist lifestyle. Tiny children should not be subjected to cultural experiments and social engineering. Imagine how confused and guilty children would feel when they were indoctrinated with the bizarre idea that they were born with the stain of original sin and were in fact so inherently bad that a man had to bleed to death to make it all OK.

Imagine also the teasing that children who have grown up in these "families" would be subjected to in the playground when other kids find out about their unusual views and practices. What are normal parents supposed to do when their children arrive home asking uncomfortable questions because they have been exposed to these groups at an age when they are too young to understand?

Before you know it, fundamentalist parents will be insisting preschool children read storybooks about the fundamentalist lifestyle in order to better understand it. There will be colouring books directed at four-year-olds showing Jesus turning water into wine and walking on water, as if it were gospel.

What hope does a child indoctrinated with this sort of propaganda have of growing up to be normal? Can you really tell me they will not be more likely to grow up fundamentalist themselves?

Before you accuse me of hate speech, I should point out that I bear no grudge against fundamentalists personally. "Love the fundamentalist, hate the fundamentalism" is my policy.

I suppose one chink in this argument is that banning a minority from marrying is utterly unfair, inhumane and intolerant. Kind of like the ban on gay marriage.

Posted by mikki at 07:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I lost a friend over my decision to use disposable diapers regardless of the fact that it would cost the environment MUCH more for me to launder all those diapers using tons of salt and water softening chemicals (I'm on a well) overflowing my septic system, all that detergent going into the water table, etc. etc. We don't have any diaper services anywhere nearby, and if we got one, it would mean all THAT stuff going into the environment every time they come to deliver or pick up.

The great diaper debate:


By Sarah Hatten



In the first two years of a baby's life, parents will change between 5,000 and 7,000 diapers, according to Environment Canada. That makes a pretty strong argument for trying to make an environmentally conscious decision on what type of diapers to use. But making the greener choice may not be as obvious as it first seems. When trying to choose a diapering option that will please both your baby and Mother Nature there are many points -- beyond garbage disposal -- to consider. Here are some facts to help you make an informed decision.

Posted by mikki at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*sigh* I don't know which I've found more annoying - that a "practicing Pagan" would confuse Paganism and Wicca, or that it's immediately assumed that this is Pagans rather than, say, "Anti-Christians."

Skull, bones found in cauldron:


By Danée Attebury

A human skull in a black cauldron as well as other unusual items that may have been part of a religious ritual were uncovered by police Thursday in Conowingo. Several local residents discovered the site while walking through a wooded area near the 500 block of Belle Manor Road at about 2 p.m. They called Maryland State Police, said Detective Sgt. Steve Seipp. The skull was inside one of two black cauldrons at the scene. Police also found two human thigh bones, a plastic skull, animal jaw bones, turtle shells, feathers, purple and red cloth, toy handcuffs, crosses and a small statue resembling a totem pole, Seipp said.



Although police described the finding as a possible "pagan ritual" Iris Dickerson, an Elkton resident and practicing pagan, said the finding does not sound like a pagan ritual. She said real pagans do not use human bones or hurt animals in their religious practices. "You do what you will, but you harm none" she said. "There's definitely nothing demonic."

Posted by mikki at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Exec busted for clearing 1,100 trees on mountain so paraglider could take off - MSN-Mainichi Daily News:


HIROSHIMA -- A company executive was arrested on Wednesday for clearing about 1,100 trees in a mountain forest here, which had been planted and grown by the forest owner, to use the area as a place for his paraglider to take off, police said.
Masaharu Hashimoto, 55, a resident of Hiroshima, is accused of violating the Forest Law and destroying property.
He denied the allegations during questioning. "I obtained permission from the owner of the forest," he was quoted as telling investigators.
Hashimoto used a chainsaw to clear about 1,100 Japanese cedar and cypress trees in a privately-owned forest near the summit of 837-meter-high Mount Amida in Saeki-ku, Hiroshima, investigators said.
He never allegedly obtained permission to clear the trees from the forest owner. His crime caused losses worth some 7.5 million yen.
Most of the trees were 20 to 50 years old and were left lying at the scene. (Mainichi)

Posted by mikki at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh boy! Maybe now they'll accept my application as alchemy and astrology professor.

Evolution to be cut from Texan Schools:


By ROBERT T. GARRETT



Memo: Stop teaching evolution



Georgia lawmaker's plea comes to Texas through No. 2 in House. The second most powerful member of the Texas House has circulated a Georgia lawmaker's call for a broad assault on teaching of evolution. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, used House operations Tuesday to deliver a memo from Georgia state Rep. Ben Bridges.



The memo assails what it calls "the evolution monopoly in the schools." Mr. Bridges' memo claims that teaching evolution amounts to indoctrinating students in an ancient Jewish sect's beliefs. "Indisputable evidence – long hidden but now available to everyone – demonstrates conclusively that so-called 'secular evolution science' is the Big Bang, 15-billion-year, alternate 'creation scenario' of the Pharisee Religion," writes Mr. Bridges, a Republican from Cleveland, Ga. He has argued against teaching of evolution in Georgia schools for several years.

Posted by mikki at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had an interesting discussion with a friend who feels that Muslims are attempting to "take over" the United States and my disagreement with that sentiment meant that I'd only be happy if I was forced to wear a veil. This person, unfortunately, was not swayed by the fact that many Christian sects also limit women's rights, and also "wish to take over the United States." Now a bit more evidence that the Muslims aren't the only ones out there with serious difficulties regarding women's equality.

globeandmail.com: Women taking a stand to sit up front:


JERUSALEM -- It began as a peaceful morning, with a religious woman boarding a bus just after daybreak to take her to the Old City to pray.

But Miriam Shear's day quickly turned ugly when she was ordered by a religious man to move to the back of the bus, a common practice on many routes serving the religious population.

Ms. Shear, a 50-year-old Toronto-area resident who was in Israel that November day for religious study, refused politely when he demanded her seat, pointing to several others nearby. He yelled and spat on her. Incensed, she spat back. In the 20-minute scuffle that followed, which was joined by four other men, she was slapped, pushed out of her seat and onto the floor, beaten and kicked; her hair covering fell off, a great shame for a married religious woman, and she suffered bruising to her cheek.

Now, Ms. Shear's case, which has gained notoriety here as a kind of religious Rosa Parks incident, is cited in a petition to the Supreme Court to review the segregated bus policy, in what is seen as a test case in balancing the rights of a minority's freedom of religion against the basic human rights of all.

Posted by mikki at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What's next? Are they going to test the kid for excess sugar or trans fat that they might eat outside of school? I'm so glad my daughter is going to be out of school in 2 years.

High School to Expand Alcohol Testing:


PEQUANNOCK, N.J. -- Some teenagers who drink over the weekend could be in big trouble come Monday morning: A New Jersey school district plans to institute random urine tests capable of detecting whether alcohol was consumed up to 80 hours earlier.

Pequannock Township High, with about 800 students, said it will begin administering the tests next Monday.

"This is a major issue for America," School Superintendent Larrie Reynolds said Tuesday. "There are more kids that die each year in alcohol-related traffic deaths than there are soldiers who have died in Iraq. The numbers are staggering."

At least one other New Jersey high school, in Middletown, employs the EtG test, which screens for ethyl glucuronide, a substance produced by the body when it metabolizes alcohol.

Pequannock teenagers who participate in sports or other extracurricular activities, or drive to school, are already tested for illegal drugs, under a 2005 program prompted by the heroin overdose of a student.

Students who test positive for alcohol will not be kicked off teams or barred from extracurricular activities. Instead they will receive counseling and their parents will be notified, Reynolds said.

"That's going to give our kids riding in the back seat of someone's car a very powerful reason to say no," he said.

Drug tests, similarly, can detect drug use that occurred days earlier.

The new test worries civil-liberties advocates and others who oppose school drug testing as an invasion of privacy.

"Medical care and treatment are issues between parents and children," said Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

They also say that common household products such as mouthwash can produce a positive test result. Reynolds said that the test has been recalibrated so that for students to test positive, they would generally have to consume one or two drinks.

The EtG test costs about $20, Reynolds said. The school's overall testing program is funded by a three-year, $120,000 federal grant.

"No one's really taking it seriously. If you want to go to a party, you're still going to go to a party," senior Matt Huber said.

Posted by mikki at 10:54 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)

Now science is 'the occult', too:

United Kingdom: It's long been noticed that censorware used to limit internet access seems to reflect the subjective opinions of (often religious) company owners, and their tendency to block sites on feminism, religions other than evangelical Christianity, and lgbt issues. Has a correspondent to New Scientist's Feedback column fallen victim to more religious censorship?

HAVE creationists seized control of the UK's net filters? After buying Richard Dawkins's The God Delusion, Eliot Attridge thought it worth visiting Dawkins's website from the school where he works.




Unfortunately, the school has installed a net filter called Netsweeper which, Attridge discovered, blocks access to www.richarddawkins.net on the grounds that it is an occult site.




Amazed - as Dawkins is possibly the man least likely to be a proponent of occultism - Attridge decided to check his rating with another net filter called Sonicwall. This described Dawkins's site as religious, a categorisation Dawkins would probably find even more disturbing than the occult one. It all looks very suspicious.

Feedback: Richard Dawkins and the occult—New Scientist, 25th November 2006.

Posted by mikki at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Unfortunately, these types of things happen VERY often, where issues that sound more likely to appear in Divorce Court than anywhere else, rip our communities into shreds and pit brother against sister. The Rede gets thrown into the trash and the "get them at all costs" mentality comes out, regardless of how many lives it destroys. It's very sad to watch.

When Witch-Wars Go Bad:


by Jason Pitzl-Waters



Conflicts within our communities (often called "Witch Wars") like conflicts within any religious body can get ugly. Threats, intimidation, and ostracization have all happened at different times and places. But The Scotsman reports on a conflict between Pagans living in a Pagan commune that appears to have gone beyond the pale. The case involves fantasy author Bernard King, Asatru author Freya Aswynn, and accusations of possessing child pornography.



"Fantasy writer Bernard King, 60, walked free from court yesterday after allegations that he hoarded pornographic images of children on his home computer were thrown out. But before the case against him was dropped, details of King's life in a pagan commune - set up at Bankhead Farm, Strathaven, by fellow writer and self-confessed witch Freya Aswynn - were revealed at Hamilton Sheriff Court. It emerged that King left the peace-loving commune of nature lovers after a row with Aswynn over a replica gun. After his departure 5,518 pictures, some showing children having sex with adults, were found on a computer King gave to a fellow pagan's teenage daughter. Police were called and King was arrested."

Posted by mikki at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More invisible terrorists:

United States: It seems that the phenomenon of not reporting certain terrorists is not limited to the UK. Over in the US, Jennifer L. Pozner, executive director of Women In Media and News has drawn our attention to an appalling attempted suicide bombing which took place in Iowa on the 5th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. A man drove a car into a building with the intention of causing an explosion which would kill himself, and destroy the building. Like the September 11th terrorists, he was taking part in a holy war, but David McMenemy is a white Christian fundamentalist, so only one news source bothered to report the incident.

He is also a particularly stupid Christian terrorist—he attacked the Edgerton Women's Health Center because he thought abortions were done there. They're not. The centre specialises in providing smear tests, immunisation and other ob-gyn services for low income families. The cost of the damage was $170,000.

The terrorists who aren't in the news—Newsday, 8th October 2006. (thanks to Arthur D. Hlaverty).

Update: there is more coverage and analysis of this issue over at Wisse Words and Making Light.

Posted by mikki at 08:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boy Scouts shill for MPAA with copyright merit badge:


Cory Doctorow:

The Boy Scouts of America will offer rewards to Scouts who absorb a brainwashing regime written by the MPAA. The merit badge in "respecting copyright" will almost certainly not include any training on fair use, anything about the fact that the film industry is located in Hollywood because that was a safe-enough distance from Tom Edison that the its founders could infringe his patents with impunity; that record players, radios and VCRs were considered pirate technology until the law changed to accommodate them; or that the entertainment industry enriches itself without regard for creators, who are routinely sodomized through non-negotiable contracts and abusive royalty practices. I'm sure it won't mention the anti-competitive censorship masquerading as the Hollywood "rating" system, or the way that the studio cartel's copyright term extensions have doomed the majority of creative works to orphaned oblivion, since they remain in copyright, but have no visible owner and can't be brought back into circulation.

Bravo, Scouts -- letting an industry group brainwash the children in your charge is the only way you could sink lower than being mere religious bigots -- now you're religious bigots who shill for a cartel of Fortune 100 companies.

Boy Scouts in the Los Angeles area will now be able to earn a merit patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music.

The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a "C" enclosed in a circle.

The movie industry has developed the curriculum.

"Working with the Boy Scouts of Los Angeles, we have a real opportunity to educate a new generation about how movies are made, why they are valuable, and hopefully change attitudes about intellectual property theft," Dan Glickman, chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, said Friday.

Link

(Thanks, Kingkong, Cyrus, Jeffrey, Dolface, and Jdaisy!)

See also

Boy Scout badge in Intellectual Property

Posted by mikki at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The "War Against Civil Liberties" continues....

Criticizing Cheney to His Face Is Assault? | The Progressive:


Steve Howards says he used to fantasize about what he’d say to President Bush or Vice President Cheney if he ever got the chance.

That opportunity arrived on June 16, the same day he says he read about U.S. fatalities in Iraq reaching 2,500.

>Howards says he was taking two of his kids to their Suzuki piano camp in Beaver Creek, Colorado. They were walking across the outdoor public mall area when all of a sudden he saw Cheney there.

“I didn’t even know he was in town,” Howards says. “He was walking through the area shaking hands. Initially, I walked past him. Then I said to myself, ‘I can’t in good conscience let this opportunity pass by.’ So I approached him, I got about two feet away, and I said in a very calm tone of voice, ‘Your policies in Iraq are reprehensible.’ And then I walked away.”

Howards says he knew the Administration has a “history of making problems” for people who protest its policies, so he wanted to leave off at that.

But the Secret Service did not take kindly to his comment.“About ten minutes later, I came back through the mall with my eight-year-old son in tow,” Howards recalls, “and this Secret Service man came out of the shadows, and his exact words were, ‘Did you assault the Vice President?’ ”

Posted by mikki at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The White House Warden - Los Angeles Times:


The White House Warden
Congress may give the president the power to lock up almost anyone he thinks is a terror threat.
By Bruce Ackerman, BRUCE ACKERMAN is a professor of law and political science at Yale and author of "Before the Next Attack: Preserving Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism."
September 28, 2006

BURIED IN THE complex Senate compromise on detainee treatment is a real shocker, reaching far beyond the legal struggles about foreign terrorist suspects in the Guantanamo Bay fortress. The compromise legislation, which is racing toward the White House, authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights.

This dangerous compromise not only authorizes the president to seize and hold terrorists who have fought against our troops "during an armed conflict," it also allows him to seize anybody who has "purposefully and materially supported hostilities against the United States." This grants the president enormous power over citizens and legal residents. They can be designated as enemy combatants if they have contributed money to a Middle Eastern charity, and they can be held indefinitely in a military prison.

Posted by mikki at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, why is a book so dangerous to fundamentalists? Why are authors targeted for death by some extremists, and their books targeted in countries where authors aren't usually shot in the streets? What is it about free thought that frightens so terribly many?

This planet is crazy: US library ban on JK Rowling - most wanted:


Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has been voted the author Americans most want to ban from libraries over fears that her books promote witchcraft.

The American Library Association (ALA), who compiled the list for their Banned Book Week, said there were more than 3,000 attempts to remove the books from libraries and schools between 2000 and 2005.

The ALA said some of the main reasons cited for protesters trying to get controversial books removed from circulation were sexually explicit material, having an occult theme or offensive language.

Other complaints highlighted books with violent content or promoting homosexuality or a religious viewpoint.

Other authors on the list include John Steinbeck, for racism, violent language and sexism in Of Mice and Men, Harper Lee for To Kill a Mocking-Bird and William Golding for Lord of the Flies.

Rowling said: "As this puts me in the company of Harper Lee, Mark Twain, JD Salinger, William Golding, John Steinbeck and other writers I revere, I take my annual inclusion on the list as a great honour."

An ALA spokesman said: "Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to express one's opinion, even if it is considered unorthodox or unpopular and it stresses the importance of ensuring others have access to those viewpoints."

Posted by mikki at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ok, the title of this rant may kinda tweak some people, in that some feel that anti growth is always a good thing, but my argument is that there are ways to accomplish the goals you seek, and ways that do nothing but throw roadblocks in front of people for no good reason. Take, for example, my town of Great Falls.

Great Falls is an eclectic community, tucked out in the woods approximately 15 miles from Georgetown. My home is close to the Great Falls National Park, an unspoiled (mostly) gem on the banks of the Potomac, heavily wooded, and full of trails, animals, plant life, etc. Many of those who live here, live in Great Falls because of the rural quality of the area, added to a relative ease in commuting (for whatever can be easy commuting in this ridiculously overcrowded and traffic filled nightmare of an area). Most of the lots here are large, over 2 acres at least, housing horses, gardens, trees, etc.

There are many of us here in Great Falls who do not wish to see developers come in here and carve up 5 acre lots into 4 homes per acre parcels of McMansions. To me, there is a simple way to do this - convince the County of Farifax who controls the zoning of this little piece of paradise, to just say NO to lot sizes smaller than say, 1 to 2 acres. But that's not what they're doing.... Instead, they've decided to prohibit public water and sewer hook ups in most areas of the town except for highly critical areas like the elementary schools, fire station, etc.

So, thinking on a highly personal level, how does this affect me? Glad you asked. Today we once again replaced a well pump. Seems that my water is so corrosive that it ate through the casing of a well pump that was supposed to last at least 20 years in 3. This means that the boys from Bell Pump and Well drive out here, haul a pump up 200 feet from the water source, and put in a new one. This means that the resulting sludge and crud that wind up in our household water system has to be flushed out after 24 hours of no water. Ok, that just sucks. Good thing we don't DRINK that stuff.

Fairfax County, you listening? Change the zoning out here and run the water pipes. I'm tired of paying huge amounts of money for water softeners, filters, pumps, backwashers, etc. etc. worrying about the effect of this water on my indoor pipes, AND the septic system. Perhaps it's time for Great Falls to enter the 21st century. *ARGH*

Posted by mikki at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's really too bad that this creepy bunch of anti-human cretins continue to disrupt grieving families when they are at their weakest, but it's good that one father is standing up to them. I can't think of anything more apt to intentionally inflict emotional distress on others than someone saying that it's great that your loved one died.Let's hope that this suit helps to stop the hatred being portrayed by this useless bunch of losers.

Funeral Picketers Sued By Marine's Dad, Lawsuit Claims Anti-Gay Church Furthers Grief For Families Of Dead - CBS News:


On Friday, July 7, Army 1st Lieutenant Forrest P. Ewens was buried at a respectful ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery, which many consider to be the most hallowed ground in the United States.

But the peace was disrupted by protests from members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. In a cordoned-off area by the entrance to the cemetery, they carried signs with anti-gay and anti-American slogans and proclaimed that Ewens' death in Afghanistan on June 16 was another sign of God's impeding doom on the nation.

Westboro has taken what it calls "love crusades" to military funerals across the country. The church was not protesting at the funeral because Ewens was gay, but because he died, in their view, serving a country that has incurred the wrath of God by accepting and tolerating homosexuality.

Posted by mikki at 01:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A thoroughly fascinating read, and something that deserves a lot more coverage than it is getting (as I've complained about before).

ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society: ABA Report Criticizes Inappropriate Use of Signing Statements:


The American Bar Association's Task Force on Presidential Signing Statements and the Separation of Powers Doctrine released its Final Report with Recommendations today, in which it criticized President Bush's use of presidential signing statements to avoid enforcing laws passed by Congress. To date, the administration has issued over 800 signing statements challenging the constitutionality of bills signed by the President, about 200 more than all previous presidents combined. Moreover, many of Bush's statements have claimed the right to decline enforcement despite clear precedent to the contrary. Neil Kinkopf recently addressed the issue of signing statements in an ACS issue brief, Signing Statements and the President's Authority to Refuse to Enforce the Law. For a news account of the ABA's release of their report, check out Robert Pear's article in The New York Times.

Posted by mikki at 01:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bloody kids:

United States: A young man charged with spaying Satanic grafitti over a Roman Catholic religious site has admitted that he is not a Satanist, and has nothing to do with Satanism - he just did it because he thinks he's a punk, and that that's what punks do. Mick Trevey, a reporter from Today's TMJ4 spoke to the normal-looking 21-year-old Tyler Groth about his motives:

Trevey: Are you religious?

Groth: No.

Trevey: Do you have a problem with people who are?

Groth: No.


Trevey asked him why he sprayed satanic graffiti on these holy shrines.


Groth said, 'cause I'm a punk - that's what I do.

Trevey: Do you know you spelled Satan wrong?

Groth: No - I'm not aware of that.

Trevey: You spelled it satin - like the fabric.

Groth: See - if I was big into the devil, I would have spelled it right.

Trevey: Do you think that's funny?

Groth: That I spelled it wrong? No - I'm a bad speller.

No Remorse from Suspect—Today's TMJ4, 10th June 2006 (thanks, Calyxa).

Posted by mikki at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you bring your rolex watch to the jeweler for repair, you sign a series of papers and take a receipt with you when you leave. Your watch is then in the care of the jeweler, and if it is lost or destroyed, the jeweler's insurance will replace it for you. Why is it that when we turn over something even more valuable, the caretakers seemingly have no responsibility whatsoever to you for its loss?

Your jeweler keeps your watch in a locked cabinet in a locked store with alarms and sometimes security guards. Where is your personal data kept? Do you even know? Every time a credit card company asks you for your social security number, or a health insurance company demands it to write you a policy, ask them what procedures they have in place to protect your data from identity thieves. Your name and SSN is all it takes to go through and get all kinds of information about you, which can be used to access your money, your medical records, your personal property, etc.

So what's my point? If each and every company who requires you to give your personal data to them was required to use their best efforts to protect that data from unauthorized access, and if there were sanctions against companies who do not, including the companies being solely responsible for cleaning up your credit if that information is misused, you would see a significant change in the way your data is collected and stored.

I firmly believe that once responsibility is transferred from you to a random company, a number of changes would take place. First, the amount of personal data required would be lessened. Second, the data that IS required would be encrypted, and would not be transferred to employees laptops where it could be stolen. Backup tapes would be transferred with greater security, as is other valuable property. Third, and related to the first point, perhaps companies would stop attempting to identify individuals by use of their social security numbers, and would instead issue random numbers for identifiers.

It really isn't rocket science. Day after day we hear of yet more personal data being compromised by ridiculous carelessness of employees of companies and/or agencies who should know better (sometimes in direct violation of company or agency procedures). Day after day we hear of those who have been victimized because of these breaches. Yet when do we hear of the data collection organizations stepping up to the plate to further protect our information, or to help clear up a credit report that has been trashed? It's time to shift the burden and create a standard of care for our personal data that is at least as extensive as that for valuable personal property.

Posted by mikki at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

People who make our religion(s) look bad, or attempt to use them to justify immoral, illegal, and unethical behavior, should be publicly denounced by all of us. Like these Pagans in Australia, we should stand up for what is right, and not allow our religion to be used as an excuse for predatory criminal acts.

Pagans demand extra punishment for witch - National - theage.com.au:


Australia's pagan community has moved to distance itself from a jailed male witch who turned teenage girls into sex slaves under the guise of a witchcraft initiation.

Robin Fletcher, who is due to be released from Ararat Prison on June 12 after 10 years behind bars, was convicted of prostituting a child and of sexual penetration and indecent acts against a child aged under 16.

Fletcher, 49, used hypnotism and mind-altering techniques to entice two 15-year-old girls into prostitution, sado-masochism and black magic.

He dressed the girls in dog collars, bound them and flogged them with a horse whip and paddle.

Fletcher consented in court yesterday to an extended supervision order allowing Victorian authorities to track him and restrict his movements for five years.

Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice Bill Gillard said there was a high risk Fletcher would re-offend if released unsupervised because he still believed his religion justified his crimes.

"Mr Fletcher maintains his sex offending occurred as a result of his religion," Justice Gillard said.

"He asserts he is unable to cease wiccan practice."

But the Pagan Awareness Network Incorporated (PAN Inc) today said Fletcher did not represent the beliefs or practices of witches and other pagans and had used the pretext of a witchcraft initiation to carry out his "despicable" crimes.

"Every community has its predators," PAN Victorian co-ordinator Marian Dalton said today.

"The pagan scene, sadly, is no exception.

"Fletcher doesn't represent who we are or what we do any more than paedophile priests represent the values and teachings of Christian churches."

PAN, which represents witches, pagans, and other followers of nature-based religions, said Fletcher's 10-year sentence was too lenient.

"No one in the pagan community that I have spoken to wants to see him released from jail," Ms Dalton said.

Fletcher was due for release earlier this year but his parole was revoked after authorities discovered he had engaged in "disturbing" correspondence with people in Ghana, West Africa.

Ms Dalton said Fletcher's failed 2004 attempt to sue Corrections Victoria and the Salvation Army using religious vilification laws had made it much harder for pagans with genuine complaints to be taken seriously.

"He's set back recognition and acceptance for our religion at least 10 years, a day for every day he's spent in prison," she said.

Posted by mikki at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we reflect on another Memorial Day where we are supposed to be remembering our Veterans, living and dead, I can't help but wonder what, exactly, we are honoring today. Supposedly, we are honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom. But what freedom, exactly? I'm truly wondering about this in a country where a Wiccan who gave his life saving his fellow soldiers (winning the Bronze Star and Purple Heart) isn't allowed the freedom to have his religious symbol on his grave. The same country where his widow wasn't allowed to speak at a memorial dedication of her husband's monument because she used the First Amendment rights that our Veterans died to preserve in order to complain about the injustice done to her late husband. A country where a secret court with secret indictments and secret warrants are issued, which is bad enough, but an Administration that doesn't believe it should even have to follow THAT modicum of rubber stamp because its motivations should never be questioned. That same country where I, as a free American citizen, have to worry about my telephone being tapped because I occasionally make international calls, and have spoken out against governmental actions upon occasion.

I would be willing to bet that the majority of those who gave their lives to preserve Freedom would be first surprised, and then perhaps disgusted that one of their own, a hero, is denied the symbol of his faith. They would likely also be appalled that our current Administration doesn't follow even the most simple of rules designed to protect the freedoms of all Americans. And for this reason, I am very sad, and truly hope that these fallen heros did not give their lives in vain.

Posted by mikki at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arrrrrgh Mateys. Do not dress like a pirate or a ninja or our lovely ATF, yes, those fine folk who brought us so many fireworks shows in the past, are now hot on the trail of these sinister humanoids cleverly blending in with the rest of society on college campuses. Luckily, the ATF is there, saving the day before we average citizens have to contend with evil parrot toting pirates who talk funny, or those equally evil, black uniformed purveyors of doom, destruction, and chop saki laughs on Saturday mornings, the ninjas.

Thanks for keeping us safe, ATF. Gee, I wonder what would happen if they went to a renn faire.....

redandblack.com - ATF rids Univ. of ninja threat:


ATF agents are always on alert for anything suspicious — including ninjas.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents, on campus Tuesday for Project Safe Neighborhoods training, detained a “suspicious individual” near the Georgia Center, University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.

Jeremiah Ransom, a sophomore from Macon, was leaving a Wesley Foundation pirate vs. ninja event when he was detained.

After being held in investigative detention, he was found to have violated no criminal laws and was not arrested.

“It was surreal,” Ransom said. “I was jogging from Wesley to Snelling when I heard someone yell ‘freeze.’”

Ransom said he thought a friend was playing a joke before he realized officers had guns drawn and pointed at him.

ATF agents had noticed Ransom’s suspicious behavior and clothing and gave chase, apprehending him, Williamson said.

“Agents noticed someone wearing a bandanna across the face and acting in a somewhat suspicious manner, peeping around the corner,” said ATF special agent in charge Vanessa McLemore.

Posted by mikki at 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Watching CNN I saw this quite interesting story about an American Airlines flight from Dallas to Newark that was detained on landing by TSA and taken to a secure area. 5 passengers were removed for questioning, and all the baggage was offloaded and screened. All the other passengers were interviewed and bussed to terminals.

Their suspicious activity? Sitting and talking together about their flight training they had just undergone for helicopters and having "navigation devices." According to a retired flight attendant passenger, they were doing nothing untoward, and had one glass of wine each, then took a nap.

For those who may not know, I am a flight instructor and pilot. I have seen the freedom of flight in the Washington DC area completely destroyed by ridiculous regulations to stop a ridiculously minor threat. Thousands of jobs (no, I'm not exaggerating) and hundreds of businesses within the "ADIZ" defense area around DC and the FRZ, a smaller area closer to the White House, have been forced to close because people do not choose to fly into an area where they may be shot down for dialing the wrong number in their transponder, or turning in the wrong direction accidentally. I most certainly can't blame them. Since the ADIZ, I have had zero flight students. No students want to take the chance of their first solo being their last. Flight instructors are too terrified to sign students off for mandatory solo training, since if the student gets into trouble, the instructor loses her license. The blanket of fear covering the general aviation community is palpable, and shows itself at any airport inside the zone. These airports resemble ghost towns where once was bustling activity. But back to the American Airlines flight...

It is so comforting to know that the TSA is doing so much to promote flight training and general aviation as to automatically put flight students and/or pilots into the "possible terrorist" category just by talking to each other and existing. Many pilots I know routinely used to carry flight manuals and handheld GPS devices in their carry on baggage, especially when going to and from training, or to pick up an aircraft and transport it elsewhere. Does this mean that we all deserve "special scrutiny?"

Meantime we only screen a very small percentage of cargo that goes on board an aircraft, not to mention the cargo that comes into ports. Which is the greater threat? Some kid with a Gleim manual and an E6B or Cr in a bag?

Get over yourselves, TSA and so the REAL job you're here for. Stop chasing ghosts in the general aviation world, and start screening ALL cargo.

Posted by mikki at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Isn't it amazing what things the media grab onto for explaining the unknowable states of mind of those who commit despicable crimes? Of course, anything that is different from the mainstream is generally pounced upon as a probable reason. Despite the vast majority of these criminals (and their victims) being Christian, you only hear speculation of a religious motivation if they are members of a small minority group of Christianity. You don't see "classmates of the perpetrator revealed that he was becoming more and more obsessed with being a Southern Baptist and regularly described himself as 'born again.'"

That which is defined as "good" by the majority is rarely seen as any type of issue, and even, as in the Andrea Yates case, where she claims the Christian God told her to cleanse her children through murdering them, this is dismissed (as it should be) as the blatherings of a deranged mind. No one actually thinks that it could, for a moment, be true. No one attempts to keep their children from the cult of Christianity, in fear that they too might be whispered to by this evil God or called to commit unspeakable acts in his name.

So, why do otherwise rational people believe that mere exposure to "the occult" or to "witchcraft" can become a valid newsworthy point in describing other acts of deranged minds? Perhaps it's a need to feel "it won't happen to ME because I would never be THAT." Perhaps it's fear of the unknown, or fear of finding their stereotyping behavior may be incorrect. For whatever reason, it is so common as to be almost ingrained behavior by the news media to report anything out of the ordinary, and by the reader to sagely nod and say "oh yes, that's why they committed unthinkable crimes" as if any singular reason can drive a human to do those things.

Our desire for simple answers - perhaps that's why we continue electing such shallow politicians.

What the papers won't say:

United States: A love of Classical music led to a 16-year old girl brutally slaughtering her mother in a ritualistic killing, the Prattle can reveal. Neighbours thought Esmie Tseng was a kid any parent would be proud of, but her involvement in the "Classie" scene was slowly turning her from a talented honour student into a vicious murderer.

...she stabbed her mother to death with a knife in an incident that apparently took the mother and daughter through several rooms of their home.

The murder happened after Tseng's mother threatened to sell her piano, an instrument popular among Classies. Police are investigating whether Classical music's frequent use of occult and violent imagery, influenced Tseng. Such music has provoked violence in the past, such as the riot at the premiere of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, a glorification of sexual pagan ritual.

Like many teenage Classies, Tseng kept an online journal in which she detailed her increasing hatred of her parents, along with her obsession with classical music. After the murder, neighbour Jacob Horwitz read through her site and was shocked at what he found there:

My God, Jacob Horwitz remembers thinking when he read her weblog, it's a shame that another parent didn't see this yesterday.

Of course, this tragic story wasn't covered in this mendacious manner, and reading the full details, it will become obvious that there is a lot more to it than has been written here. Had Tseng been a goth, or into rap music, the press coverage would have been somewhat different.

Killer daughter case ignites US debate—BBC News, 3rd May 2006.

Posted by mikki at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SJ-R.COM - Playground pentagram to go:


The new playground at Springfield's Washington Park is being altered because of complaints that a five-pointed star etched in concrete could be interpreted as a symbol of the occult.


The pentagram is on the circular stage of a small amphitheater at the rear of the playground. The design was intended to be a spoked wheel, but landscape architect Kent Massie said a mistake made when the concrete was poured late last summer rendered that design impossible. It was decided to go with the star.

It was an innocent mistake, Massie said, and the star was not intended to signify anything.

To correct the problem, new lines and colors will be added to give the circular area more of a pinwheel appearance. Work could begin within the next week.

The $400,000 playground was a project of the Springfield Parks Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports the park district. It includes attractions such as a climbing wall, a water play area and new landscaping. The amphitheater area is intended for small groups of schoolchildren and others.

Foundation president Cathy Schwartz said that when she first saw the star design, she thought nothing of it.

"There were probably 10 guys up there helping to pour the concrete. None of us made the connection (to the occult). To us it's a star, but to others, it's not," Schwartz said.

Springfield resident Leland Rhodes said he found the design "distressing."

"There is a certain breed of individual out there who reveres such symbols, and in that context, it becomes a religious icon. In this day and age of general concern for children's welfare, especially in regard to predators, my main concern was for the crowd that it might draw," Rhodes said.

Posted by mikki at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keep your ideas of morality off my body. Indian tribe says "stick it" to South Dakota's draconian idea.

Tribal leader rallies for abortion clinic on reservation:


Oglala Sioux Tribe President Cecelia Fire Thunder says a clinic on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation could provide abortions if South Dakota’s new abortion ban goes into effect.

“We’re working on it,” Fire Thunder said in a telephone interview Friday. “This is a free-choice issue. If I were in that situation, I’d want somewhere to go where I’d be taken care of.”

The new South Dakota law bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother — with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Fire Thunder said the state law would not apply to the reservation. “We’re a sovereign nation,” she said.

The new law is set to go into effect July 1, but a court challenge almost certainly will delay it, and opponents of the law are already gathering signatures to put it on the ballot in November.

Fire Thunder, in fact, is one of 15 co-leaders of the new South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which on Friday announced a statewide campaign to overturn the new law.

South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long declined to comment on the proposal, saying he likely would have to write a description of the new law for ballots in November.

Long said that major crimes committed on reservations come under state jurisdiction if they are committed by non-Indians against non-Indians. Other major crimes fall under federal law.

Posted by mikki at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting. After having been on the receiving end of many IRS blunders (some of which cost considerable amounts of money), I can only hope that if they decide they're going to make such sensitive personal information public, that we can sue them for libel when they mess up.

IRS plan would allow sale of tax data to marketers:

PHILADELPHIA -- The Internal Revenue Service is quietly moving to loosen the once-inviolable privacy of federal income-tax returns.

If it succeeds, accountants and other tax-return preparers for the first time would be able to sell information from individual returns -- or even entire returns -- to marketers and data brokers.

The change is in a set of proposed rules the Treasury Department and the IRS published in the Dec. 8 Federal Register, where the official notice labeled them "not a significant regulatory action."

IRS officials portray the changes as housecleaning needed to update outmoded regulations adopted before it began accepting returns electronically. The proposed rules, which would become effective 30 days after a final version is published, would require a tax preparer to obtain written consent before selling tax information.

Critics call the changes a dangerous breach in personal and financial privacy. They say the requirement for signed consent would prove meaningless for many taxpayers, especially those hurriedly reviewing stacks of documents before a filing deadline.

"The normal interaction is that the taxpayer just signs what the tax preparer puts in front of them," said Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America, one of several groups fighting the changes. "They think, 'This person is a tax professional, and I'm going to rely on them.'

"Criticism of the proposal also came from U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. In a letter March 14 to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, Obama warned that, once in the hands of third parties, tax information could be resold and handled under even looser rules than the IRS sets, increasing consumers' vulnerability to identity theft and other risks.

The IRS announced the proposal in a news release the day before the notice was published, headlined: "IRS Issues Proposed Regulations to Safeguard Taxpayer Information."

The announcement did not mention potential sales of tax information.

IRS spokesman William M. Cressman said, "The heart of this proposed regulation is about the right of taxpayers to control their tax return information. The idea is to emphasize taxpayer consent and set clear boundaries on how tax return preparers can use or disclose tax return information."

Posted by mikki at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Imagine losing a loved one to the War in Iraq. I'm personally against the war and think it's an awful thing, but those who have died in this war deserve the utmost respect, as do their families. Imagine saying goodbye to your loved one at his or her funeral, and having screaming protesters telling you how God hates your loved one and how they deserved to die?

Finally, some are banding together to protect the families from the lunatics lead by "Rev." Phelps and his hate mongers. They are protecting funerals from the psychotic spotlight hogs bent on kicking those who are already down "in Jesus' name."

More power to those who try to save the families from further pain.

The Hutchinson News, Hutchinson, Kans. | Local News:


According to Terry "Darkhorse" Houck, the Patriot Guard Riders formed in Kansas when a few friends in Mulvane heard members of Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, were planning to protest the funeral of a soldier killed in Iraq. Church members oppose an army that represents a country that accepts homosexuality.

"This isn't a motorcycle gang," he said. "You don't even need to have a motorcycle or know what one is to belong. It's the patriotic thing to do. A lot of the people come in cars with flags."

Posted by mikki at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's quite sad that the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail would bring such a ridiculous lawsuit against Dan Brown as if THEY were the first people to come up with the idea of the "Divine Feminine." That is like suing the producers of "The Chronicles of Nardia" for "copying" the Bible. Sheesh!!

Union Leader - Author denies stealing from 'Holy Grail' - Wednesday, Mar. 15, 2006:


London – Dan Brown returned to the witness stand this morning and acknowledged "reworking" passages from an earlier book for his best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code," but he firmly rejected charges that he ripped off key ideas for his conspiracy thriller.

The author spent a third day defending his work against a copyright infringement suit brought by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of a 1982 nonfiction book, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail."

Posted by mikki at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moment of Silence in Texas Challenged:


(AP) - DALLAS-A couple has filed a complaint in federal court charging that the state's mandated moment of silence in public schools is unconstitutional.

Posted by mikki at 05:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NEW DELHI - Hindu priests who look after the memorial of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi conducted a purification ceremony at the shrine after a visit from
President Bush. But it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs who scoured the area ahead of his visit.

After the dog visit, the memorial was cleansed with water brought from the Ganges river, which Hindus consider holy, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported Sunday.

Bush visited the memorial on Thursday during his three day visit to India. The site, where pacifist icon Gandhi was cremated, is considered sacred and all visitors, including Bush and his wife Laura, removed their shoes before going in.

The dogs, flown in from the U.S., were part of the intense security surrounding the president, but the Hindu priests believe they tainted the site.

Letting dogs into the memorial also drew sharp protest from Hindu politicians and Gandhi's great grandson, Tushar Gandhi, who called the incident a "national shame," the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Posted by mikki at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Abstinence Program Loses Federal Funding:


A nationwide abstinence-only program that uses a silver ring to remind teens to refrain from pre-marital sex has lost federal funding with the settlement of a lawsuit alleging it used the money for Christian evangelization.



The Silver Ring Thing, which presents its message though comedy skits and music, has received more than $1 million in federal funding during the past three years.



But it

Posted by mikki at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Interesting to find that someone who wished to squelch science isn't even a scientist. Not surprising, but interesting none the less.

From Slashdot

"George C. Deutsch, who tried to muzzle top NASA climate scientist James Hansen and ordered NASA web designers to add the word 'theory' to every mention of the Big Bang, has resigned. the New York Times reports that NASA declines to discuss the reasons for his resignation, but that it came the same day that Texas A&M University, from which Deutsch claimed on his resume to have graduated, revealed that he had attended the university but did not complete his degree."

The New York Times reports it today, but as of yesterday, it was the Times that had unquestioningly passed along the falsehood of Deutsch's graduation, and it was the blog Scientific Activist whose investigation revealed he'd left before graduating to work on the Bush reelection campaign. For more on the 24-year-old political appointee's interesting viewpoints, see World O'Crap on Monday,we covered the anger over his attempts to squelch science-- something that, sadly, Jim Hansen has gotten used to .

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

Gee, let's rewrite science in accordance with what our invisible friends tell us. What's next? No, don't tell me. It might come true. *sigh*

Unintelligent Design at NASA:

Distressing to read in the New York Times that political appointees are trying to dictate how NASA reports science. I note that one White-House-appointed flack apparently wants “intelligent design” to be considered as an alternative to Big Bang cosmology. This is new and weird, since “intelligent design” has up until now been offered as an alternative to the theory of evolution.

There are of course no observational data at all to support the idea that the universe was intelligently designed. (It may well have been, but nothing in what we can observe cosmologically suggests this is so.)

Posted by mikki at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Living out here, only 15 miles from DC, right next to Reston and McLean, but in the land of wells and septic, we have the choice of one (count em) entities that deliver crappy fast food. And, in fact, our local Dominos didn't deliver to our house when we first moved in, so I had to beg them to deliver, and tip them mightily in order to make them continue to bring us not terribly bad pizza when we were too hungry and lazy to fetch or cook. So it was yesterday, in the pouring rain, when Leslie arrived to visit her coven sister.

The pizza arrived. I rarely eat meat on my pizza, but Leslie wanted sausage (yes, it's all her fault :-)). The 1/2 sausage, 1/2 plain pizza arrived, and we both partook of the plain and the sausage. This, in retrospect, was a mistake.

Both of us are allergic to sulfa, sulfites, sulfates, etc. etc. Although the sausage listing found in tiny tiny tiny print on a pdf file from Dominos had no mention of sulfa type stuff per se, both of us became quite ill while the husband who is not allergic to sulfa, did not. The menu lists: pork, seasoning (spices, corn syrup solids, salt, paprika, garlic powder, chili pepper, disodium imosnaate, disodium guanylate, bha, bht, and citric acid, water, salt, disodium tripolyphosphate). Given that "spices" is listed first, I have a feeling they used tumeric, which is VERY HIGH in sulfa content.

So, either the local Dominos added sulfates of some kind, using a different type of sausage as the general Dominos franchise stuff, or they use tumeric, or, somehow we are totally allergic to something else on that lovely list of chemicals. In any case, we didn't have a great night.

Posted by mikki at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes, definitely... those ham picketing vegans are just SO dangerous. Why aren't they catching us some uh... terrorists? Maybe criminals? Even a jaywalker or two?

Boing Boing: Department of Homeland Security: ever-vigilant against vegan menace:


Department of Homeland Security: ever-vigilant against vegan menace
A vegan who picketed a ham store was surveilled by a Homeland Security spook, who arrested her for taking down his license-plate number. Tax-dollars well-spent. Nation well-defended. Once every person with a nonstandard dietary preference has been imprisoned, I'm sure we'll be able to leave our shoes on in the airport again.
An undercover DeKalb County Homeland Security detective was assigned to conduct surveillance of the protest and the protestors, and take the photographs. The detective arrested Childs and another protester after he saw Childs approach him and write down, on a piece of paper, the license plate number of his unmarked government car.
"They told me if I didn't give over the piece of paper I would go to jail and I refused and I went to jail, and the piece of paper was taken away from me at the jail and the officer who transferred me said that was why I was arrested," Childs said on Wednesday...

"We believe that spying on American citizens for no good reason is fundamentally un-American, that it's not the place of the goverment or the best use of resources to spy on its own citizens and we want it to stop. We want the spies in our government to pack their bags, close up their notebooks, take their cameras home and not engage in the spying anymore," Gerald Weber of the ACLU of Georgia said during a news conference.

Link (Thanks, Saundra!)
Click here to join the ACLU, Click here to join EFF

Posted by mikki at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

EFF Sues AT&T to Stop Illegal Surveillance:

Telecom Collaborated with NSA to Spy on Customers

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a class-action lawsuit against AT&T Tuesday, accusing the telecom giant of violating the law and the privacy of its customers by collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in its massive and illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications.

The NSA program came to light in December, when the New York Times reported that the president had authorized the agency to intercept telephone and Internet communications inside the United States without the authorization of any court. Over the ensuing weeks, it became clear that the NSA program has been intercepting and analyzing millions of Americans' communications, with the help of the country's largest phone and Internet companies.

Reporting has also indicated that those same companies—and AT&T specifically—have given the NSA direct access to their vast databases of communications records, including information about whom their customers have phoned or emailed with in the past. And yet little has been accomplished by this illegal spying: recent reports have shown that the data from this wholesale surveillance has done little more than waste FBI resources on dead leads.

"The NSA program is apparently the biggest fishing expedition ever devised, scanning millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls and emails for 'suspicious' patterns, and it's the collaboration of US telecom companies like AT&T that makes it possible," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "When the government defends spying on Americans by saying, 'If you're talking to terrorists we want to know about it,' that's not even close to the whole story."

In the lawsuit, EFF alleges that AT&T, in addition to allowing the NSA direct access to the phone and Internet communications passing over its network, has given the government unfettered access to its over 300 terabyte "Daytona" database of caller information—one of the largest databases in the world.

"AT&T's customers reasonably expect that their communications are private and have long trusted AT&T to follow the law and protect that privacy. Unfortunately, AT&T has betrayed that trust," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien. "At the NSA's request, AT&T eviscerated the legal safeguards required by Congress and the courts with a keystroke."

By opening its network and databases to unrestricted spying by the government, EFF alleges that AT&T has violated the privacy of AT&T customers and the people they call and email, as well as broken longstanding communications privacy laws.

While other organizations are suing the government directly, EFF is seeking to protect Americans' privacy by stopping the collaboration of AT&T with the illegal NSA spying program and making it economically impossible for AT&T to continue to give its customers' information to the government.

"Congress has set up strong laws protecting the privacy of your communications, strictly limiting when telephone and Internet companies can subject your phone calls to government scrutiny," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "The companies that have betrayed their customers' trust by illegally handing the NSA direct access to their networks and databases must be brought to account. AT&T needs to put a sign on its door that reads, 'Come Back With a Warrant.'"

In the suit filed Tuesday, EFF is representing the class of all AT&T customers nationwide. EFF is seeking an injunction to stop AT&T participation in the illegal NSA program, as well as billions of dollars in damages for violation of federal privacy laws. Working with EFF in the lawsuit are the law firms Traber & Voorhees, and Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP.

For the full complaint:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/att-complaint.pdf

For more on EFF's suit:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/

Contact:

Rebecca Jeschke
Media Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
rebecca@eff.org

Posted by mikki at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A person on one of the mailing lists I'm on, posted a story about a Michigan man who is running for governor on a platform of impaling various and sundry criminal types. He calls himself a "satanic priest" and claims that the Christian God is his mortal enemy. He says he is running on behalf of the "Vamypres, Witches and Pagans" ticket.

The person who posted the article wanted to know what we should "do" about this man. Someone else posted that we should do nothing, and he would just fade away.

Guess what? I disagree. I've had quite enough of those who have decided to use our choice of religion as a marketing stunt, deliberately denigrating and making a joke out of what we hold sacred. I would guess that the majority of the American public believes that Wiccans are somehow associated with people like this "Michigan Impaler," since we already know that they believe we are satanists and anti-Christian.

I feel it is almost a sacred duty to stand up and say that these wackos do NOT speak for us, that we do NOT agree with them, and they should NOT associate nutjobs with us. There are ways to do this that do not make us look as screechy or whiney as those who use our religion in vain. Let me provide a short example.

When you see a story or article about a whackjob claiming silly religious exemption from things, or touting Wicca or Paganism for illegal or unsavory acts, write a letter to the editor of the publication where you saw it, or to the author. Tell them, respectfully and without rancor, that you, as a Wiccan, do not agree with the statements made, and that the abhorrent behavior is NOT a part of our religion. Don't call names, engage in personal attacks, or otherwise stray from the focus of your annoyance, which should be the misuse of our religion. Remember that the reason you are writing is to separate "us" from "them" in the eyes of the general public.

If only one reader sees this and then says to themselves "Not ALL Wiccans are like THAT one" we have served to educate at least that one individual. Who knows, that person's vote may tip a balance someday towards understanding rather than knee-jerk reactions when people hear the word "Wicca."

Posted by mikki at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not necessarily Robertson's opening his mouth yet again to spout idiocies that is surprising. It was also quite interesting to watch what happened later. Israel, justifiably got quite annoyed at his spouting that God gave Ariel Sharon a stroke, yanked the rug out from under him where it hurt most - in Robertson's pocket.

The story didn't end there, of course - Robertson begged Israel for "forgiveness." This, of course, makes me wonder whether or not he would have apologized and begged for forgiveness had Israel not picked his pocket, so to speak.

Signs of Intelligence: Israel Pulls The Plug On Robertson:


Furious over Pat Robertson's recent "wrath of God" remark about
Sharon, an Israeli government spokesperson has declared that
Israel will no longer do business with Robertson. This decision
could cost Robertson $50 million.

It was recently reported that evangelical broadcaster Pat
Robertson called Israel Prime Minister Sharon's stroke
punishment from God for "dividing God's land".

It was also recently reported that Pat Robertson is head of a
coalition to build a...

Posted by mikki at 06:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pastor Is Arrested Over 'Child Witch' Cruelty Claims:


The pastor of a London-based African church has been arrested on suspicion of child cruelty after claims that he had been branding children as witches and ordering that they be sent back to Africa where he would pray for them to die.



Pastor Dieudonné Tukala, 40, was held after a raid on his South London home. Mr Tukala, who is married with two children, heads a Congolese church with a congregat

Posted by mikki at 06:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh the fun... let's find ourselves a trad we don't agree with, and bash them up one side and down the other. Let's get ourselves a Live Journal blog and kick the crap out of a trad we don't belong to. Yeah! What a wonderful way of passing the time.

Yo, people, have you ever thought about how that looks to the non-Wiccans out there? We look like a bunch of in fighting little children who are so jealous of the "others" that we can't focus on our OWN glass house rather than throw rocks at someone else's.

Today I saw a Live Journal blog having a great time at bashing Witchschool.com. One person even advocated shooting all of the Correllian Nativist Tradition. Well gee, how Wiccan of them. That's exactly what people who accuse Wicca of not being a "real religion" love to see as "proof" that we don't practice what we preach.

Every tradition that I have seen has something to "bash." It's pretty simple; you don't like a tradition - DON'T JOIN IT! Gee, how difficult is that?

Yes, there are things in the Correllian Nativist Tradition that I don't agree with. And yes, I am a member of that tradition, among others. However, those things I have disagreed with, I have noted to the heads of the tradition who are actually in a position to change things. I have done so with what I consider to be reasoned arguments and respect. In some cases, the things were changed. In others, they were not. I have no right to join someone else's tradition and expect it to change to fit MY desires. My choices are 1) find a tradition that incorporates ALL of my beliefs and desires (pretty damn difficult if you ask me, although CUEW is closest and I'm already there :-)) 2) live with the disagreements if there are other good reasons to stay (i.e. most of the stuff makes sense, and the people are really great) or 3) get off my own sorry butt and do the insane amount of work necessary to start my own tradition and make it exactly what I want until someone comes along expecting me to change it to fit THEIR desires and beliefs :-).

There are ways to bring up disagreements with anyone's tradition or the way that they are doing things. Those ways do not necessarily include relatively anonymous bashing in forums that the leadership of the tradition likely will never see. But then, I suppose that much depends on your motivations for the critiques. Do you want to draw attention to yourself and how much "better" you are than THEY are, or do you want to effect change? If the former, by all means, get yourself a blog and rant on. If the latter, try a reasoned argument presented to the leadership of the trad in question.

Feh!

Posted by mikki at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Throughout our news, etc. we hear a lot about religious discrimination. People often fear what they don't understand, and thus try to avoid it, or openly revile it, or even use passive aggression against it. Oftentimes, you won't know why the discrimination is taking place, or even THAT it is taking place. It is quite easy to keep it relatively hidden, or be quite subtle about it, for example if you are in charge of hiring, and you deny a candidate because of their religion but justify it in other ways. Up until now, I hadn't knowingly experienced religious discrimination personally, or at least found anyone with the guts enough to tell me that I was being discriminated against because of my religion.

Imagine my surprise and confusion when a friend that I had known for over 10 years told me that he would not provide a service (for pay) to a group I am affiliated with, because we are Pagans. I am still rather in shock over it. Of course, I tried to get him to tell me the reason for this, but he refuses to say why Paganism bothers him to that extent.

Of course, I feel personally betrayed in a way. While obviously an individual has the right to deny services to anyone they see fit under many circumstances, my feelings are hurt, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because I believe that a person's religion shouldn't matter so long as they didn't try to impose it on others or use it to hurt people. Perhaps it's because I thought that this friend was more open minded than to discriminate against an entire group of people. Perhaps it was because I thought he liked me, and this had never come up in the previous 10 years. Or, perhaps it's because he won't TELL me what issues he has.

This is definitely something I'm going to have to mull over for quite some time. It is quite difficult to consider.

Posted by mikki at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It never ceases to amaze me how some people seem to be oblivious to the behavior of their own children, and how they will continue to bring ill behaved brats to solemn occasions in which concentration is paramount - such as solemn rituals. I now see, with great clarity, why there are rules banning children from some events, and why many churches banish the children to "Sunday School" while the "real" services are going on.

I was at the Wiccaning of a baby over the weekend. The child's parents were High Priesthood in a tradition, and owners of the Temple in which the event was taking place. The heads of the Tradition flew in especially for the event, as did many guests from different parts of the country. Clearly, this was a "big deal" and a very solemn event in which a non trivial amount of energy was being raised to protect and bless the child. If you had a child who had previously disrupted rituals, would you have brought such a child to this ceremony? Only, in my opinion, if you were either deluding yourself as to the extent of the disruption or if you were ridiculously selfish.

There was a child of about 8 or so standing next to me, dressed up as if going to church, who stood quietly and solemnly, carefully mimicking the actions of her mother across the circle. She was beautifully behaved. There were a few other young people scattered around the circle, who were also well behaved, quiet, and respectful. However, there were two who had caused difficulty and hard feelings before, who again lived up to their histories, yapping incessantly (despite being shushed by a Priestess several times) and one even LOUDLY answered for the baby at the most important points in the ceremony. The parents did nothing.

I had heard, but had not seen, previous horror stories about various out of control children at high rituals, knocking things over deliberately, dancing in front of the altar during a non dancing ritual, blocking the clergy from performing the necessary acts, screaming at the tops of their lungs despite being WELL old enough to know better, and generally making a mockery of proceedings while one or both parents stood by doing nothing. One actually became totally offended when someone ELSE told the particular child to sit down and behave properly or leave.

In many cases, the anti-social behavior is glossed over by the parents with the attempted excuse that the child has ADD and is therefore uncontrollable. It truly frightens me that a parent would say that a child is "uncontrollable." Does this mean that the child should be in a locked institution? I am confused by the concept that any parent can't control a child who is perhaps 1/4 their size. If they TRULY believe that the child is uncontrollable, I pity the poor teachers in whatever school the parents place such child. Obviously, said uncontrollable child should NOT be foisted upon the rest of the community during such events as high rituals.

I have ADD. I had ADD when I was a child. I did not misbehave in public, or my parents would remove me from the situation immediately, and there would be "holy hell to pay." My boundaries and limitations were clear. When I was outside with the other kids, I could run around until the cows came home, but in public places including school, the lines were drawn with neon paint. Why is it not that way with others?

I clearly do not understand the concept of imposing one's child upon others if the child can't behave themselves. And yes, I have a child, and yes, she has misbehaved. In those cases, I have removed the child from the public situation immediately, told her that her behavior was inappropriate, and took action as befit the situation. She soon learned that disruptive behavior resulted in the opposite effect than she desired and governed herself accordingly.

Each method of parenting is different, of course, and each person has the right (within legal limitations) to bring their children up in any manner they desire. However, they do NOT have the right to impose a child upon others who has no respect for either the ritual being performed, or the rights of the group.

Perhaps a disclaimer to be signed that allows for the removal of any person who disrupts a ritual, regardless of their age, and if under 18, at least one parent must accompany said disruptive person out the door. Said removal shall take place by burly and strong individuals picking up the annoying person as quietly as possible, and tossing them out the door.

So Mote it Be!

Posted by mikki at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So we have this issue. We find that Mr. Alpizar and his wife were in Columbia on a Christian Missionary trip. We also find that the man had severe mental illness. This brings us many more questions.

If Mr. Alpizar had been of almost any other religious persuasion than Christian, there would be definite questions regarding whether his religion had any link to his mental illness or his agitated behavior which led to his death. The tenets of the religion would be scrutinized for clues to explain his behavior. For example, if he were a Scientologist, it could be theorized that this could be a reason for him not to have taken his medication.

Since his religion was Christianity, I very much doubt we will see any references to biblical passages or other Christian teachings as a cause for his behavior. Is that "fair?" Is it appropriate to scrutinize a person's religious beliefs, regardless of whether it is a "popular" religion when the person commits dangerous acts? Is it ever appropriate to do so? Let's see those comments :-)

Passengers
Didn't Hear Alpizar Say 'Bomb':


By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Writer (AP) - MIAMI-The airline passenger shot to death by federal marshals who said he made a bomb threat was agitated even before boarding and later appeared to be desperate to get off the plane, some fellow travelers said.

Posted by mikki at 12:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a totally intelligent move, these proponents of "Intelligent Design" used their hands rather than the much more difficult and time consuming idea of actually using discourse. So how does this square with the Fundamentalists' book about "turn the other cheek" and the rest of those things that talk about getting along peacefully with others?

Morons in the News: Criticize Intelligent Design, Get Assaulted and Beaten:


A Kansas University professor was hospitalized after religious
fanatics who disagreed with his position on Intelligent Design
attacked him...

Kansas University religious studies Professor Paul Mirecki is no
friend to fundamentalist Christians who support the teaching of
the non-theory of "Intelligent Design" in science classrooms.
And a pair of Kansan thugs have made it clear that in...

Posted by mikki at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chunk of Marble Falls Off of Supreme Court Building - WTOP Radio:


Chunk of Marble Falls Off of Supreme Court Building
Updated: Monday, Nov. 28, 2005 - 2:26 PM

By ANDREW BRIDGES
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A basketball-sized piece of marble molding fell from the facade over the entrance to the Supreme Court Monday, landing on the steps near visitors waiting to enter the building. No one was hurt.

The chunk of Vermont marble was part of the dentil molding that serves as a frame for nine sculptural figures completed in 1935. The piece that fell was over the figure of Authority, near the peak of the building's pediment, and to the right of the figure of Liberty, who has the scales of justice on her lap.

Posted by mikki at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And we give this country "Most Favored Nation" status? Why did we have to hear from this from Pravda? Why didn't the US media pick this up?

Paul McCartney boycotts China:


Sir Paul McCartney has said he will never perform in China after watching a secret video of dogs and cats being killed for fur.The ex-Beatle was given a preview screening of undercover footage taken in a fur market in Guangzhou, southern China

Posted by mikki at 10:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Morons in the News: Evolution Education Site Sued by Religious Extremists:


Unhappy that a web site about evolution receives some public
funding, a couple of religious extremists are trying to sue to
make it go away...

The web site Understanding Evolution factually presents
information about evolution, billing itself as "your one-stop
source for information on evolution." The site provides
explanations of what evolution is, how it works, how it affects
our lives,...

Posted by mikki at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NewsFromRussia.Com U.S. judge orders woman to spend night in woods after she abandons kittens there:


U.S. judge orders woman to spend night in woods after she abandons kittens there

00:39 2005-11-20
An animal rescuer who abandoned 35 kittens in two parks has been sentenced to a night in the woods without food or shelter.

Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael A. Cicconetti, known for handing out unusual punishments, sentenced Michelle M. Murray to the spend the cold night alone when she begins her 15-day jail sentence next week.

"How would you like to be dumped off at a Metropark late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes coming upon you, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you're going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?" the judge asked. "That's what you're going to do."

Murray, 25, pleaded guilty last month to abandoning domestic animals, a second-degree misdemeanor. The kittens were recovered but many had upper respiratory infections and nine died.

She apologized and has previously said she was experiencing family problems when she dumped the kittens.

Murray must report to jail Wednesday where a park ranger will drop her off at a remote location.

Cicconetti previously sentenced a man who called an officer a pig to stand on a city sidewalk for two hours in a pen next to a 350-pound (160-kilogram) hog along with a sign reading, "This is not a police officer," reports AP.
O.Ch.

Posted by mikki at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And this is a surprise? I mean really folks, the more you build stuff where the deer live, the more they are going to become confused (especially during running season) and appear on your doorstep. Perhaps the answer is curbing a little of that growth. Maybe even planning things just that little bit more.

Another Deer Makes Way into Store:


First Georgetown, now Germantown -- deer in the Washington region are popping up in some strange places.

Posted by mikki at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, someone tell me where the same "backlash" is occurring towards Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving celebrations in schools? If the Supreme Court has said that Christmas is a "secular holiday" then Halloween is a LOT more secular, with children across the country having nothing to do with Paganism running around in costumes collecting candy. Sheesh!

Banned at the schoolhouse door: pint-size ghosts and goblins | csmonitor.com:

Posted by mikki at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gee. Could this POSSIBLY be because county and municipal governments are playing "yes men" to development schemes that put house after house on postage stamp lots while destroying what's left of any deer habitat? And gee, with everyone running around screaming "oh my GAWD, there are COYOTES here" and trying to get rid of them too, what natural predators do we have left?

So, government leaders - Listen up! You can't continue to let developers stuff houses and cars and people into wooded areas and then expect that the original inhabitants will just simply disappear. Leave some room for our environment.

Deer Could Pose Record Road Hazard: "It's as seasonal as the falling leaves and about as welcome as soaring gas prices, but the arrival of deer-mating season has many motorists girding for what officials predict could be a record year for deer crashes in the Washington suburbs."

(Via Washington Post: Metro.)

Posted by mikki at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well guess what, people. Importation of wild birds for pets is a VERY BAD THING. There are plenty of bird breeders around the world who will sell beautiful domestic bred birds who think they're humans and make MUCH better pets than some poor terrified bird chopped out of a tree. Add to the environmental disruption in removing wild birds from their habitat (what we haven't destroyed by purchasing goods made from what's left of rain forest woods from around the world) the quarantine program, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. In fact, it may already HAVE happened.

Quarantine facilities are often packed full of birds from many different areas of the world, passing germs to each other that most have never developed an immunity to. The birds get sick. They pass the diseases on. Only the strongest survive quarantine, and they may be carrying who knows what asymptomatically. All of those poor birds that were sharing airspace with this British parrot are being euthanized. What about those who may have been discharged prior to this parrot becoming ill? What about the other countries that don't have the facilities that Britain does to quarantine and determine disease?

My first parrot was a wild caught, sold to me as a hand fed baby. Back then I didn't know what a quarantine leg band was. My bird was so sick that he spent 10 days in the animal hospital under heavy antibiotics. This was AFTER quarantine in a USDA facility for 45 days. Luckily, Boo survived and became a great pet, but the point is that allowing wild caught birds to be imported to a country and sold as pets is a very bad idea, and one that may bite many countries in the ass in the form of bird flu.

Britain urges EU-wide ban of wild bird imports, examines what strain of bird flu killed parrot: "Britain on Saturday urged the European Union to ban imports of wild birds into the 25-nation bloc as British scientists tried to determine whether a parrot that died of bird flu had the strain that has killed more than 60 people around the world."

(Via Pravda.RU: World.)

Posted by mikki at 06:11 PM | Permalink

Acre after acre of land all around the metropolitan DC area is being plundered by developers to build house after house on postage stamp lots, totally destroying the very reasons why people want to live here. A beautiful field across the street from us was sold by the church that owned it to make way for HUGE homes selling for two million dollars apiece, on MAYBE 1/4 acre of land. Of course, this meant that all the deer who used that field were displaced and wound up in people's yards, where some would take offense and either call for hunting in residential areas, complain bitterly when their hostas were eaten, or put up eyesore deer fences.

When I moved here 14 years ago, the road to my house was mostly beautiful woods. Now it's hideous McMansions whose presence has caused mini landslides into the main road, displacement of animals, and total disregard for nature of the "greater good."

Will people wake up? Will it be too late? Will my 14 year old daughter have to see trees in museums? Yeah, it's pretty depressing.

Cherry Hill Farm to Close This Fall - WTOP Radio: "Cherry Hill Farm to Close This Fall

Updated: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005 - 8:33 AM

Mark Segraves, WTOP Radio

CLINTON, Md. - Cherry Hill Farm, a local landmark in Prince George's County, will be closing this fall.

Cherry Hill Farm is where you may have taken the kids for a hayride or homemade pumpkin ice cream or to pick apples or strawberries or see the 600 scarecrows in the fields.

The 130-acre farm, just off Indian Head Highway, where thousands of children have come over the years for birthday parties and magic shows is being sold to developers. The land will become new homes.

The sale will end generations of farming by the Gallahan family. The family has worked the land since before the Civil War."

Posted by mikki at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This has GOT to be one of the STUPIDEST thing I have read in a long time. I don't know who is more totally ridiculous. The parents who wrote in, or the idiot who made the decision. How much do you want to bet that they will allow "Christmas Parties" and songs at this very same school?

Letter Stops Va. School from Performing Song - WTOP Radio: "WOODBRIDGE, Va. - The marching band at Hylton High School in Woodbridge is going to have learn a different song.

The Washington Post says the band had added 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia,' by the Charlie Daniels Band to its play list for an upcoming guest appearance at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

One letter, however, from a parent whose children are home-schooled, was sent to a local newspaper complaining that the song about the devil shouldn't be played at school events because of separation of church and state.

The letter worked because the band's director has decided not to use it.

The decision is especially unpopular with Charlie Daniels himself, who tells the Post that he, 'doesn't write pro-devil songs,' and that it's, 'a shame,' the band director would yield to one piece of mail."

(Via WTOP.)

Posted by mikki at 01:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In Evolution Debate, Creationists Are Breaking New Ground: "PETERSBURG, Ky. -- The guide, a soft-spoken fellow with a scholarly aspect, walks through the halls of this handsome, half-finished museum and points to the sculpture of a young velociraptor.
"

(Via Washington Post: Intelligence.)

Posted by mikki at 05:26 PM | Permalink

Wiccan Priestess Loses High Court Appeal: "The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Tuesday from a Wiccan priestess angry that local leaders would not let her open their sessions with a prayer. Instead, clergy from more traditional religions"

(Via Witchvox - RSS Feed - News from the Nest.)

Posted by mikki at 05:17 PM | Permalink

CNN just ran yet another story about people who refused to leave their homes because the evacuators could not or would not take the pets along with them. Before condemning people for not evacuating when they "should have," think about all the thousands upon thousands of pets that have been left behind to starve or die of lack of clean water. Think about how much you care for your familiars, your loyal pets, these parts of your family that mean so much to you. Then decide whether you could leave them behind.

As I write this, Bushi, one of our dogs came over and laid his head on my knee, looking up with big brown eyes as if to say "hell no, you can't leave me. I'm too damn CUTE.

To a lot of people, their pets ARE their family. They are loyal, loving, and would do anything they could to help you. When you are called upon to help THEM, can you just turn your back and leave? I couldn't. We have 3 parrots, 2 cats, and now 10 dogs, and I am not prepared to leave any of them behind if we are told to evacuate.

This pair who didn't leave were twin nuns who would not leave their parrot and their dog. Rescuers could not take the animals as well, so the Sisters refused to go. It took many days for people to come back, but they did come back, and they took their animals with them.

If the ASPCA had the resources to get all of those animals and house them and feed them and take care of them while their humans evacuate, that would be one thing. Unfortunately, humane societies are strapped for cash during the best of times because we, as a society, treat our animals so damn poorly that there HAS to be organizations to take care of them when we do not. They're doing the best they can, but unless we help them dramatically, we can't be certain they can handle what is clearly our responsibility to handle ourselves.

Bottom line is that if you are going to evacuate people, you MUST make allowances for them to take their animals with them. Otherwise, many will choose to stay. We should not condemn them when they make that choice.

Posted by mikki at 12:51 PM | Permalink

When not busy making statements about murder, Pat Robertson has set up this lovely "Operation Blessing." Hopefully they are really helping, and taking care of people, but given Mr. Robertson's track record, it would likely be a much better bet to donate to secular organizations like the Red Cross, despite their screw ups in New York.

Posted by mikki at 09:19 AM | Permalink

The Good

Those air crews in the Gulf who are flying mission after mission and rescue swimmers who are saving person after person deserve serious kudos. Thousands of people have been saved. Thousands more wait to be saved. The tireless air crews and those amazing rescue swimmers just keep going, flight after flight, rescue after rescue. Thank the Gods for them.

Other stories are coming out now of people looking out for their elderly neighbors, their handicapped neighbors, other people's children and animals, and sacrificing in order to help others. These stories are heartwarming and hopefully will overshadow some of the other stuff going on.

The Bad

In Mississippi, they have no facilities for the dead, so they have to put black paint on the doors where there are bodies inside of buildings and get them at some other point. The water is rising in New Orleans. They have to evacuate the poor people in the Superdome, with overflowing toilets, no water, no air conditioning, but they are still alive, and not sitting on top of a roof.

The human misery is unfathomable as I sit here in my air conditioning with my electrical power, my refrigerator full of food, my working television and my Internet access. Those poor individuals who want to get back to their homes, and possibly their pets, who won't be able to get there for weeks if not months. They're saying that they may not have power for 4 to 6 weeks. I've had to wonder what we would do if we ever had to evacuate with 2 cats, 3 parrots, and right now... 10 dogs. And most shelters won't take pets, so what do you do? You stay home and take your chances, or you abandon your pets. I don't abandon my pets, so guess where that would leave me? On the roof waiting for rescue.

And what about the poor? Those who couldn't leave for whatever reason? Those who were too sick, those who couldn't take their pets, those who couldn't, for whatever reason, get to the Superdome or leave the city? So easy to say "gee, you should have left, you deserve what you get" but who are we to make that kind of decision without being in that person's shoes? Nobody deserves a death sentence for doing what they think is the right thing at the time.

The Ugly

Looters and price gougers need to be shot on sight. Yes, I'm a bleeding heart liberal, and yes I believe in the American legal system (as opposed to that of other countries...not that it's a panacea by any means, but you know what I mean). However, anyone who would take advantage of this type of a situation and this type of horrible suffering does not deserve the benefits of living in society. Either shoot them or send them off somewhere else. Like perhaps....Crawford Texas :-).

Posted by mikki at 05:28 PM | Permalink

A highly disturbing trend with individuals with high media power, broadcasting intolerance and violence throughout the world. Will England step up to the challenge and truly treat all religions equally? They now have a very big opportunity to prove to the Muslim world that they are not being discriminatory.

Memo to Charles Clarke: a pair of "preachers of intolerance and hatred": "

Since the London bombings in July, politicians have wasted no time in deciding what to do about religious bampots. British Home Secretary Charles Clarke recently announced plans to crack down on what he describes as preachers of intolerance and hatred. He declaimed:

We must protect the traditions of tolerance that we have established in this country through centuries of struggle and that means cracking down on those who preach intolerance and abuse free speech to justify terrorism, advocate violence or foster hatred.

Spain, Italy and France had already introduced measures to facilitate the expulsion of such preachers after the bombs in Madrid, and Denmark has acted against both Islamist extremists and those who use them as an excuse to whip up hatred against Islam.

So, presumably a few of the Prattle's favourite loony Christian preachers will find themselves unable to enter European countries from now on?

Pat Robertson is surely guilty of advocating violence when he called for the murder of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez?

Mr Robertson, 75, said on Monday's edition of the 700 Club: You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it.

Yet have we have yet to hear a word from the Home Secretary about what action he plans to take against The God Channel, which broadcasts The 700 Club in the UK. Surely the best way to not drive young Muslims into extremism is for the government to demonstrate that it will apply the proposed lesgislation against all those who preach hate, not just the Muslim ones?

Fred Phelps would be another candidate for persona non grata status. He's just decided that he and 20 of his congregation are going to make a trip to Sweden next month to hunt down the Swedish king.

'We'll hunt down your king,' he said ominously to Expressen. 'It doesn't make any difference where he tries to hide.'

Phelps' hatred of the royal family and all things Swedish is linked directly to his equally virulent hatred of homosexuals. He praises homophobic crimes, including murder. When controversial Swedish minister, Åke Green, was convicted of inciting hatred of homosexuals following an anti-gay sermon, Phelps saw red and turned his attention to Sweden.

You're doomed to spend eternity in hell, he continued. All you Swedes and your Swedish king and his family.

But Phelps doesn't seem to have any faith that his god will actually do any such thing.

The minister and twenty members of his congregation from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, are planning to come to Sweden at the beginning of September. They are bringing plenty of placards in order to spread their message that Sweden is the cradle of all evil and that the king rules a nation of sodomites.

King Carl Gustaf is their primary target.

Your king represents your doomed country and we'll find him wherever he may be.

Security around the royal family has been stepped up, though presumably Phelps and his cronies are unlikely to be allowed to enter Sweden after such a rant. And obviously, as he's the sort of preacher Clarke wants rid of, should he come via Heathrow, we will see him packed straight onto the first plane home. Won't we?

Clarke to launch hatred crackdown—BBC News, 22nd August 2005;Europe moves against radical imams—BBC News, 6th May 2004; Denmark targets extremist media—BBC News, 17th August 2005; TV host urges US to kill Chavez—BBC News, 23rd August 2005; Minister of hate to hunt down Swedish king—The Local, 25th August 2005.

Additional tags: religion, extremism, christianity, islam, United Kingdom.

(Via The Pagan Prattle Online.)

Posted by mikki at 04:03 PM | Permalink

Other news organizations are likely being stupid as well, but I'm currently only watching CNN. What I'm wondering is - why are they putting these correspondents in the middle of hurricanes? I find this totally irresponsible. How many people think "oh, well if CNN is here, then I don't have to evacuate. If they can weather the storm, so can I."

We all know that hurricanes are nasty, windy, wet, and have lots of storm surge. We don't need Anderson Cooper being Mr. Macho Man standing up to the wind and showing us how manly he is. We don't need Rob Marciano standing there while pieces of roof fall off and land near him. And for each "manly reporter" there's at least one camera person, and likely a producer. So how many people does CNN send into harm's way for mere sensationalism? And how many people feel that it's a cool idea to copy them?

While I certainly hope for the safety of everyone who is in harm's way in the hurricane, I'm afraid it's going to take the injury or death of media personnel before the outlets "get religion" and perhaps follow their own advice and keep away from these areas. Nature does not differentiate between people with cameras and microphones and those without when she hits.

Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the effected areas. May the Gods protect you. Just don't hang out with the CNN guys.

Update Yep, the idiots are out trying to see/hang out with Anderson Cooper in Baton Rouge. How brilliant can you get? Perhaps CNN is helping with social Darwinism by showing us a live demonstration.

Posted by mikki at 11:45 AM | Permalink

So, we have this Christian "leader" telling everyone on his very own television show, with millions of people watching, that the United States should "take out" President Chavez of Venezuela. This is the same man that claimed that feminism causes women to kill their children and practice witchcraft (damn, we'd have a LOT more witches today if that were the case, eh?).

So, where is the rash of Christians condemning this extremism that is JUST as dangerous as any Islamic radicalism that we are afraid of? I'm watching Rev. Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals on CNN right now, being an apologist for Robertson's statements. While he's saying that "some comments are more constructive than others," he's certainly not distancing himself, from these ridiculous statements. "Granted, his semantics may not have been well advised, but [fill in how wonderful Pat Robertson is and what great things he's done for Christianity]."

Then we find emails from idiots saying that the reporting of this clearly stated bulloney, on tape, out of his own mouth, is slanted and awful, thereby attacking the messenger rather than distancing oneself from the ridiculousness of the message. Others, of course, state that Robertson does not speak for all Christians, and that the message of assassination is not a Christian one, which is something I would personally agree with (seeing as how Jesus did not assassinate anyone in the Bible, nor order their assassination despite how he purportedly knew they were out to kill him). However, this message is NOT coming from the "higher levels," i.e. those who purport to speak for Christians.

Until the leadership of ALL religions strongly condemns acts of violence, and ceases to encourage them by silence, whether they be manifested through TV begging shows watched by millions, through pastors attempting to force parishioners to vote in a particular way, through Muslim clergy preaching hatred from the mosques, or from convicted child molesters attempting to speak for all Wiccans, there will be nothing but confusion in the religious message they are trying to put forth.

Hypocrisy is ugly, whether cloaked in the Bible, the Koran, or any other Holy book.

Posted by mikki at 02:32 PM | Permalink

Iraqi Christians to American evangelists: Piss off: "

Iraq: American evangelists have managed to really annoy one particular group of Iraqis - Christians. Patriarch Emmanuel Delly is the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Iraq's largest Christian denomination, affiliated with the Vatican. Delly, who ranks as an archbishop in the Roman Catholic Church and is tipped to become a cardinal, explained his problem with the evangelists that have plagued the country since the invasion in March last year:

Delly told Al-Jazeera News on May 19 that Iraq did not need Christian missionaries because its churches dated back long before Protestantism. He objected to the aspect of trying to convert Muslims and said, You can’t even talk about that here.

According to Delly, the evangelicals attract poor youths with displays of money and then take them out in cars to have fun. Then, they take photos and send them here, to Germany, to the United States and say ‘look how many Muslims have become Christian.’

The (atheist) correspondent at uruknet.info goes on to discuss the role of well-known fundies like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell in bringing these pests to Iraq.

Reuters has more detail on the story, and notes that Christians in predominatly Muslim countries tend not to make pains of themselves.

Many Muslim countries consider Christian missionaries as part of a Western campaign against Islam and punish both the preacher and the apostate Muslim severely. Violent Iraqi groups killed at least five evangelical missionaries last year.

At least 20 Iraqis were killed in bombings of Christian churches last year as unknown attackers stepped up pressure on non-Muslims there. Christian minorities in Muslim countries usually keep a low profile and do not evangelise.

JUST WHAT EVERY IRAQI NEEDS: A BIBLE - uruknet.info, 23rd May 2005; Patriarch denounces U.S. evangelicals in Iraq - Reuters, 19th May 2005 (via The Sideshow and The Green Knight).

(Via The Pagan Prattle Online.)

Posted by mikki at 12:25 AM | Permalink

So I finally get someone to run to the post office for me after addressing a box to a service member. Person comes back carrying the box, and a form. Apparently, in order to ship to the Fleet Post Office (not any particular ship mind you... but the FLEET Post Office, located INSIDE THE UNITED STATES) one must fill out a customer declaration form.

Besides necessitating yet another trip to the post office with yet another wait in line, you may ask what the POINT is to filling out such a lovely form. If I was a bad guy who wanted to do bad things to the fleet post office, I would just fill in "Nothing Dangerous Here" while stuffing the box full of naughty things and ship it on over. Or, I would just go there and do naughty things. Either way, a stupid customs form that does nothing but invade the privacy of both shipper and service personnel does nothing except annoy and cost more money to process more useless bits of paper.

I have no idea why I even bother to get surprised at the ridiculousness of any branch of the US Government.

Posted by mikki at 01:04 PM | Permalink

Aren't you so glad, that while sexual predators are raping and killing so many young girls in Florida, that instead of doing something about THAT, the Florida Social Services Agency is instead meddling in the rights and with the health of a 13 year old girl whose pregnancy would definitely be far more detrimental to her health than a safe and legal abortion.