[Fwd: Google Alert - "ritual abuse" OR "ritual killing"]

Google News Alert for: "ritual abuse" OR "ritual killing"

Malaysian men jailed for ritual killing of parents BBC News Two Malaysian cousins have been jailed for 10 years each for beating the parents of one of them to death during a ritual to expel evil spirits. ... See all stories on this topic

We the Corporations Connect Savannah.com Benito Mussolini You witnessed a ritual killing last week, a public execution. Or was it a suicide? It took Republicans several years to convince Americans ... See all stories on this topic

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Tackling FGM in refugee camps

 irinnews
GOZ BEIDA, 6 January 2010 (IRIN) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Chad is identifying pregnant women in refugee camps who have had their genitalia cut, in order to better prepare for potential complications, according to UNHCR and its medical partners. The exercise is part of efforts in the camps to tackle the health fallout of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) as well as prevent new cutting.
Since September 2009 heath clinic workers at the Djabal camp in eastern Chad started recording how many prenatal patients had been cut; for September it was 22 among 330 women. "This helps us identify at-risk pregnancies because women with closed vaginas [resulting from FGM/C] can tear while giving birth," camp health director Nassourou Drassadou told IRIN.

Contributed by Gandolf

Google Alert - "female circumcision" OR "genital mutilation" OR "genital cut"

Google News Alert for: "female circumcision" OR "genital mutilation" OR "genital cut"

Mauritanian Muslim imams initiate rare ban on female circumcision Ethiopian Review Human rights campaigners who have been struggling for years to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) in West Africa got a boost this week as news ... See all stories on this topic

Uganda Urged to Stop 'Anti-Gay' Bill OneWorld.net In another triumph for sexual and women's health, the Ugandan parliament unanimously passed a bill in early December banning female genital mutilation. ... See all stories on this topic

Torture in Health Care Huffington Post (blog) Female genital mutilation is another practice that can cause severe suffering for no medical purpose. Human Rights Watch spoke with midwives and government ... See all stories on this topic

Health Buzz: One Fifth of U.S. Kids Have High Cholesterol U.S. News & World Report Opponents of circumcision nevertheless call the procedure unnecessary and compare it to female genital mutilation; many contend that it's child abuse and ... See all stories on this topic

WeNews 21 Leader Survives Quake; 4 Haitian Activists Killed Women's eNews A group of 30 Muslim leaders have issued a religious edict banning female genital mutilation in the West African country Mauritania, the Associated Press ... See all stories on this topic

Many here misunderstand Islam's teaching on violence, women, member says Evansville Courier & Press Oppression, female circumcision and families who murder or mutilate female relatives they believe have dishonored them are all cultural trappings, ... See all stories on this topic

Police laud Bongo Civic Union for promoting peace Ghana News Agency He said negative cultural practices that were against the law including female genital mutilation, elopement and widowhood rites had reduced drastically. ... See all stories on this topic

UNICEF (press release) UNICEF and the European Commission support campaign to end female genital ... UNICEF (press release) It's part of a programme that promotes human-rights-based development and encourages communities to abandon female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and ... See all stories on this topic

Hairdos now in Indonesia Muslim clerics` crosshairs Moneycontrol.com ... need to [proscribe] everything as haram or not. Some injustices such as polygamy and female genital mutilation are more important" than rebonding, she said. See all stories on this topic

Where Do We Go from Here? Getting Rid of the Oligarchs OpEdNews No genital mutilation. No disease. No neediness. No lack. No starvation. No hoarding. No ownership. No cheating. No adultery. No hidden agenda. ... See all stories on this topic

Vancouver Courier Hey diddle diddle, Joni Mitchell's Fiddle Vancouver Courier Fans of onscreen genital mutilation and talking foxes rejoice. Things get heavy and disturbing at Vancity Theatre as Lars Von Trier's controversial and ... See all stories on this topic

MPs debate Violence Against Women DeHavilland (press release) (subscription) The Government have developed a number of linked national action plans on domestic violence, which includes tackling female genital mutilation, ... See all stories on this topic

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Ending the culture of FGM

Guardian.co.uk

When I was "circumcised" I was five or six, but it happens to girls as young as four. It starts as a ceremony – the girl is bought clothes, gold earrings and bangles. She has henna put on her hands and feet: the preliminaries are regarded as a celebration where she is the centre of attention.

But later they take her and put her in a gadha, which is shaped like a deep dish. They lay her across it and hold her legs open; there are often three people holding her very tight when she's on the gadha, two holding her legs and hands, and one holding her chest and head.

The equipment is handmade: a sharp curved knife which is not sterilised. And the girl is given no anaesthetic. It is usually mostly women in attendance. They leave a little hole for urination. There are no stitches; they treat the wound with herbs, salt and water. It bleeds a lot and the victim is in great pain. I was horribly frightened and crying. The "ceremony" takes as little as 20 minutes or as long as an hour, depending on how much the girl struggles.

Contributed by Gandolf

Doctor Graeme Reeves may face more charges

The Australian
 POLICE are considering laying a further 24 charges against a NSW doctor who is already facing 69 charges of aggravated sexual assault and female genital mutilation.
Graeme Stephen Reeves, 59, a former obstetrician from Bega on the NSW South Coast, was originally facing 17 charges, including aggravated sexual assault, indecent assault, female genital mutilation, and grievous bodily harm offences, after being charged by police in September 2008.
Last month Sex Crimes Squad detectives laid an additional 52 charges in relation to further allegations of sexual assault, indecent assault, and grievous bodily harm, putting his March trial date for the previous offences in doubt.

Contributed by Gandolf

Google Alert - animal sacrifice

Google News Alert for: animal sacrifice

Demonizing Haiti, ignoring slavery Ekklesia Yet Robertson, one imagines, finds animal sacrifice and blood vows repellent, and he has no reason to be accepting of any religion other than his own, ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - "the great satan"

Google News Alert for: "the great satan"

Putting the Ph.D.'s to Work Inside Higher Ed ... even affection, while revealing — perhaps to the astonishment of many abroad — that Americans are not the horned minions of the Great Satan. ... See all stories on this topic

Iran blacklist puzzles Yale Yale Daily News ... Secretary of State went to Yale Law School. America is the Great Satan. Yale hosted the infamous artist Mr. Westerfeld whose art amounts to heresy in Islam. See all stories on this topic

A pragmatist of ease and grace The Australian On Iran, he helped the green movement immensely by removing the "Great Satan" card from the leadership's weakening hand. If he can target sanctions ... See all stories on this topic

Why They're Really at War With Us Human Events (blog) To bin Laden and his ilk, we are the Great Satan. They hate us more than they hate Israel. As for Hamas and Hizballah -- which Pat paints as if they have ... See all stories on this topic

History lost, history found Cabinet.com Perhaps Saudi Arabia will. Or Iran. Or, will they, as usual, leave it up to The Great Satan to help those who can't help themselves? See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - religious exemption

Google News Alert for: religious exemption

Runoff charge debated Charleston Post Courier There's at least one small problem with the exemption -- figuring out how to exclude the religious campgrounds and not exempt business campgrounds. ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - church abuse sex OR child

Google News Alert for: church abuse sex OR child

Chicago Breaking News - Tribune Church music director, roommate face child porn charges Chicago Breaking News - Tribune The music director of a Roman Catholic parish in Glen Ellyn and his roommate have been charged with possession of child pornography. ... See all stories on this topic

Priest taken into custody on sex assault charge Joliet Herald News 4 by Kane County's Child Advocate Center. Detectives were reportedly on the way to interview Flores on Jan. 6, when he went missing. ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - church homosexual OR gay

Google News Alert for: church homosexual OR gay

Trial Airs Mormon Church's Role in Fight Over Prop 8 Law.com He testified that his parents discovered a journal in which Kendall confessed homosexual thoughts, and often berated him over his orientation. ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - "female circumcision" OR "genital mutilation" OR "genital cut"

Google News Alert for: "female circumcision" OR "genital mutilation" OR "genital cut"

FORWARD Awarded £30000 To Help Protect Bristol Girls From Genital Mutilation eGov monitor "Female genital mutilation has very serious health implications for girls in this country. Cutting is usually performed before puberty and we estimate that ... See all stories on this topic

Raising Awareness At Davos Forbes (blog) The 2010 winner, Julia Lalla-Maharajh, is pitching the cause of ending female genital mutilation. Now she gets a free trip to Switzerland--five days of ... See all stories on this topic

Kelis makes fun of PETA News Trends Or female circumcision. Or the Rights of Women in America, we are still paid less for the same work as men. "Moreover, the singer took the opportunity to ... See all stories on this topic

Live: Charlotte Gainsbourg's First Live Solo Show Literally Ever Village Voice (blog) ... this year, she won Best Actress at Cannes for a graphic role that included her own genital mutilation; her gamine allure is frequently, mercifully, ... See all stories on this topic

Pro-Life is a misdirection Amador Ledger-Dispatch In other areas, female genital mutilation, foot binding, women burning ("witch burning") and other forms of violence go back five to ten millennia after a ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - religious vaccination

Google News Alert for: religious vaccination

Muslim anger over US 'Jesus' rifles Ninemsn The report said the religious codes - referencing passages from the New Testament ... Disease threat as vaccination rate dropsAustralia is facing the ...

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Please donate something to help HAITI.

Donate Directly to help Haiti, click here

Instead of praying, or being "skeptical" about praying, do something useful and give your time or money to some reputable relief organization. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS, AND MONEY TALKS.
Thanks in advance.

Google Alert - "child bride" OR "child marriage"

Google News Alert for: "child bride" OR "child marriage"

Board of Ulema member rebukes minor marriage Saudi Gazette "It is impossible to use the marriage of Ayesha, the Mother of Believers (May Allah be pleased with her) as a measure for child marriage because of the ... See all stories on this topic

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Battling Female Genital Mutilation

AllAfrica. com
Kigali — Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Lesotho and Sierra Leone have numerous cases of female genital mutilation in Africa.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) sometimes called female circumcision or female genital cutting involves the cutting of the girl's genitals in order to curb their sexual desire and preserve their sexual honour before marriage.
It comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It has no health benefits and harms girls and women in many ways.

Contributed by Gandolf

Google Alert - faith heal

Google News Alert for: faith heal

OregonLive.com Live blog: Prosecution calls witnesses in day two of faith healing trial OregonLive.com ARCHIVE: Previous stories about faith healing in Oregon. Jeffrey and Marci Beagley, members of the Followers of Christ church, are charged with criminally ... See all stories on this topic

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Google Alert - suicide bomb

Google News Alert for: suicide bomb

Taliban Using Suicide Attacks to Hold Sway Over the US The Epoch Times A group of Taliban fighters stormed Kabul's capital killing five people and injuring more than 70 through the use of suicide bomb vests and firearms. ... See all stories on this topic

World datelines Deseret News 30 suicide bombing that killed seven CIA employees at a remote base in Khost province. JERUSALEM — Israel is arresting a growing number of prominent ... See all stories on this topic

After Afghan Attack, Some See US Role New York Times Amrullah Saleh, the chief of intelligence, said the original target had been the government's central bank, which a suicide bomber tried to enter, ... See all stories on this topic

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Independent Appeal: Saved from the agony of female circumcision

The Independant

This is Hanna Abera. She is seven. Her mother and grandmother wanted to slice off part of her genitals. But she was saved by an extraordinarily brave intervention from her aunt after a British charity launched a programme of education on the consequences of female circumcision – which is still widely practised throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East.

No one knows how many women are subjected to the procedure but it is thought that over two million procedures are performed every year. Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of what it calls female genital mutilation.

 Contributed by Gandolf

Muslim Child Brides in Britain

FrontPageMag.com

First, when I say that the marriage of nine-year-old girls in today’s Britain (and the rest of the EU, for that matter) is unsurprising, my statement is based on my own 17 years of experience in the field of immigration: forms of assault based on tradition and religion – including child marriage, forced marriage, genital mutilation, so-called honor-related offenses such as rape and murder – have become established here as a result of immigration, mostly from Muslim countries.

Census launches faith-based initiative

MyWestTexas.com
So while Census Day, when all responses are due, won’t arrive until April 1, local workers already are preparing to reach Midland’s population groups. It launched a faith-based initiative outreach Friday asking local churches to urge members to participate in the Census. It also has partnered with Midland Independent School District and Midland College to recruit potential employees and to spread the word the 10-question survey should be arriving in mail boxes starting in March.
...
“You’d be surprised how many people don’t even know we have a Census,” McBride said.

The Census is important, McBride said, because its numbers help determine how about $300 billion in federal funds are awarded each year. It also determines the number of representatives a state will have in the U.S. House and is useful in state and community planning that ranges from redistricting — as will occur in Texas during the next legislative session — to building new roads and schools.

The Cycle of Action

The Cycle of Action

Adapted from pg. 20 of "Turning Numbers Into Knowledge", by Johnathan G. Koomey, and from "The Design of Everyday Things", by Norman, See it at Amazon

 

Credibility Index Research Project

This is a project that was derived from the "Unpacking the Atonement" project. There is a need to define what "Accuracy" and "Credibility" are in normative standards. This project will attempt to derive a method that can be used to assign a credibility value to Textual Information that can be compared to a normative standard derived by the application of the method initially of up to 10 textual information sources. The project will be carried out in english from a "Western" viewpoint.

Document Index

• Credibility Quantification Notes

Priest accused of abuse plunges from church balcony

ChicagoBreakingNews.com
A Shorewood Catholic priest who parishioners described as a "very holy man" apparently tried to kill himself by jumping from the balcony of a shuttered downtown Joliet church Wednesday as Kane county investigators began looking into allegations he molested a 13-year-old boy, authorities said.

White House calls Evangelist Pat Robertson's Haiti comment 'stupid'

Donate Directly to help Haiti

BBC
The White House has dismissed as "stupid" comments by evangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson suggesting that quake-struck Haiti was cursed.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said he was amazed by the remarks.

During a broadcast on his Christian Broadcasting Network, Mr Robertson suggested the Haiti's earthquake was divine retribution.

He said Haiti had sworn a pact with the devil when it freed itself from French colonial rule.

The White House said the comments were completely inappropriate.
"It never ceases to amaze, that in times of amazing human suffering, somebody says something that could be so utterly stupid," Mr Gibbs said.

"But it, like clockwork, happens with some regularity."

Former minister facing sex charges

London Free Press

A former Anglican minister is facing historical sexual offences after a woman came forward and reported alleged abuse.
Meurig Pari Lloyd, a 79-year-old Chatham man, is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of gross indecency, two counts of intercourse with a girl under 14 and indecent assault on a female. Lloyd is scheduled to appear in court March 16.
Det. Jim Niven of the Chatham-Kent Police Service's major crime unit said the alleged incidents happened more than 40 years ago
The crimes allegedly took place inside St. Paul's Anglican Church, Holy Trinity Church and a private residence.
The complainant, who resides in Chatham-Kent, recently told police of incidents she says happened when she was between the ages of eight and 15. Niven said it's not uncommon for a sexual assault victim to wait decades before coming forward.

The spiritual war at Achiase

Joy Online

The girl, Patricia, had practised witchcraft for five years and, practically overturned the fortunes of her family.

She was exorcised by Prophet Michael Osei of the Ebenezer Healing Church, Kasoa, after she delivered a live snake in the presence of hundreds of worshippers during an all-night service at the church's premises last month.

God revealed to the holy man that the spiritual pot belonging to Pat in her hometown, Achiase, would have to be exhumed before the witchcraft spirit allegedly given to her by a grandmother, would be totally off her.

Opposition came from the witches' camps in the area and the evil ones, according to the prophet, mounted a full spiritual and physical attack on him and his prayer warriors who went with him.

"When we reached the town, the first thing I saw was a 10-year-old-boy who was playing with his colleagues in an open space. He was walking about upside down, that is, his head was on the ground, his legs high in the air with fire coming out from his backside (anus).

 Contributed by Gandolf

Playing with forms

This is a test of the googledocs forms feature. It allows you to create questionaires and saves the responses in a spreadsheet.

View the results here

Zim police recruited in measles vaccination drive

Eyewitness News
Zimbabwe police have been co-opted to try to force a religious sect to have its children vaccinated against measles.
Members of an apostolic sect have been locking their sick children in huts or hiding them in the hills to evade vaccination.
The Health Ministry said at least 41 people have died of measles, many of them children, since the outbreak began last month.
Members of the Johannes Marange sect’s beliefs allow them only to pray and use holy water to treat measles.

Maasai warriors take on AIDS

Irin Plus News
MAGADI, 29 December 2009 (PlusNews) - Attempts to promote HIV awareness among Kenya's Maasai community have often foundered on the community's unwillingness to accept externally driven change; but a new initiative is using Maasai 'morans', or warriors, to spread the word.
"The Maasai are very traditional people and the best way to reach them is to go in without trying to dilute their culture - we give them free space to learn by using cultural systems to integrate reproductive health education," said Peter Ngura, programme manager for a nomadic youth project of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), a health and development NGO.
"Because I have been taught about the dangers of sex without a condom and circumcizing girls and beating women, I have made it my duty to tell the same to my fellow 'morans'," he told IRIN/PlusNews. "There are things we have done like cutting women [female genital mutilation/cutting] but I think there haven't been valid reasons for doing it."

Contributed by Gandolf

Vaccination: it's a mitzvah

The White Coat Underground
Being a physician and a father, I keep an eye out for news about childhood vaccinations. I've always been concerned about local statutes that allow kids to be admitted to school unvaccinated, especially when all that is required is an affirmation or a letter from a doctor or religious figure. This not only endangers these individual children but also others. As the rates of vaccination drop vaccine-preventable diseases regain a foothold.

Animal sacrifice suspected in Feltonville house

Philly.com
Through a broken blind, a bizarre scene of animal sacrifice was visible yesterday inside the otherwise completely closed front porch of a Feltonville house.
There were bones and feathers arranged in a ritualistic pile. There were bloody knives and a machete, figurines of African or Caribbean design, candles and incense.
On Sunday, Pennsylvania SPCA officers used a warrant to search the property after receiving a tip that two emaciated dogs were being kept at the house, in the 4800 block of North Front Street.
They found the dogs, but only after confronting an elaborate altar and the bones of possibly several hundred animals that had been killed, apparently as part of Santeria - a combination of African religions and Catholicism that originated among slaves in the Caribbean.

Contributed by Gandolf

Fallacy Project, Canceled, not enough resources

This is a new collaboration with John W. Loftus to analyze fallacies that appear at Debunking Christianity.

INTRODUCTION

Document Index

•  Not started
  
•  

Uganda Bans Female Circumcision

EmpowerHer
The Ugandan Parliament unanimously passed a bill in the beginning of December, 2009, that bans female circumcision which is also known as female genital mutilation, or FGM.
According to the United Press International, people who are convicted of performing FGM will have to spend up to 10 years in prison and will face life sentences in those cases where the girl dies from this brutal procedure. The Ugandan Parliament is considering an amendment that would give compensation to the victims of this form of mutilation.

Contributed by Gandolf

Eagle feather issue moves one step closer to resolution

IndianCountryToday
The case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concerns a non-Indian Utahn who insisted on his right to possess eagle feathers for Native religious practices.

Female Circumcision is a human rights violation

cocorioko.net
 Article 21 of the African Charter is on the rights and welfare of a child, protecting him/her against harmful social and cultural practices and this includes the elimination of all harmful practices affecting the welfare, dignity normal growth and development of the child.
In Africa about 140 million girls have undergone female genital mutilation (or circumcision as others would want to call it) and 2 million are subjected to it every year. Several basic human rights are violated by the procedure. These primarily include the right of physical integrity, the right to freedom from violence and discrimination and in most severe cases, the right to life.
FGM is an irreversible operation that removes part or all of a girl's external genital organs. It's performed on women but mostly done on girls between the ages of 4 and 12. The practice is performed in various ways which include just the removal of the clitoris; removal of the clitoris and surrounding labia; infibulations –where all the external genitalia are removed and the opening is stitched so that only a small hole remains; a variety of unclassified traumatic procedures of cutting, stretching or piercing performed on the external genitalia, such as cauterization by burning of the clitoris and tissue surrounding the opening of the vagina.

In addition to the above, research done by World Health Organisation involving 30,000 African women found that 'circumcised' women were 31% more likely to have a caesarean delivery, 66% higher chances of  having a baby that needed to be revived and 55% more likely to have a child who died before or after birth. In addition to the physical complications, there are psychological and sexual impacts including severe trauma, depression and/or frigidity.

Contributed by Gandolf

Atonement Project Schema

"Unpacking" The Atonement Project
Draft: Atonement Project Schema

Atonement Project Questionaire

"Unpacking" The Atonement Project
[The questionaire in the lower part of the article was an attempt to define some terms. Feel free to try your hand at filling in the questionnaire in the bottom portion and join the discussion. I'd like to get feedback from Adherents to other religions, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, etc]

One of the theist commenters said
The atonement gives God the ability to have justice completely fulfilled while allowing him to be merciful. If we repent of our sins, the justice has already been fulfilled by Christ so God can fully forgive the transgression without the need for added punishment. You don't have to use the atonement, free agency, but it is available for all. Without the atonement it is impossible to have a perfect God.

Atonement Project Document Index

"Unpacking" The Atonement Project

• fix Draft: Atonement Project Schema
• fix Draft: Atonement Project Questionaire to Define Terms
  
• Draft: Initial Project Overview Documentation
  
• Draft: HQ's Detailed Logical Analysis of the concept of Sin
• Draft: Back From The Crucifixion, Rev. hq20100114
  

James Ankrah, 37, opened fire on him with a shotgun,

The Post
The incident took place in a district known for gold mining—Obuasi in the Ashanti Region. The "wizard" in question is a 17-year-old boy I will not name for ethical reasons even though he is named in the news report. Apparently, he was sitting on top of a tree in a forest when a James Ankrah, 37, opened fire on him with a shotgun, wounding him in both hands and his shoulders.

The only evidence of witchcraft was villager suspicion, no more.
But the facts are that the boy is still in hospital and his assailant is cooling his heels in a police cell awaiting trial for attempted murder.
I wondered: what fate awaits the teenager when he returns to his village? For sure, there will be no welcoming committee to drape a garland of flowers round his neck when he is discharged. Instead he might find a lynch mob, which is not uncommon in this part of the world.

In the same edition, The Spectator regaled readers with another bizarre report of an 11-year-old witch who was exorcised by a prophet from the Ebenezer Healing Church to a small village, also in the Ashanti Region. The prophet also exhumed a "spiritual pot" containing a snake which belonged to the girl. According to the report, she'd used the pot to impoverish the village and to cause the businesses of family members to fail.

Contributed by Gandolf

People of Hawaii Pass Resolution Against Forced Vaccination

Foodconsumer.org
The Resolution urges State and Federal legislators in Hawaii "to amend vaccine laws to include medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions from any vaccine program," including those declared urgent by health officials.

Kenyan witch-hunt targets elders

aljazeera.net
Dozens of villagers in the Kenyan district of Kisii are falling prey to superstitious groups accusing them of witchcraft.
The poverty-stricken western district, known as Kenya's sorcery belt, has seen an increase in mob attacks on individuals and even killings.
The poor and elderly in particular are being targeted.
Three months ago, a group of youths tortured five suspected witches before setting them on fire.
Joseph Ondiek's 65-year-old mother was one of those killed. He says says he and his family are living in constant fear and cannot even think about getting justice for their mother's killing.

Contributed by Gandolf

Rabbi's Skype exorcism

thejc.com
A renowned Israeli master of kabbalah, Rabbi Dovid Batzri, has attempted to remove a dybbuk, or disembodied spirit, from a Brazilian man via the internet.A video posted on Charedi website ladaat.net, shows Rabbi Batzri, surrounded by dozens of supporters, reciting kabbalistic verses and praying for the exorcism of the dybbuk. He connected with the possessed man via Skype.
According to another Charedi site, kikar.net, the story began when a Brazilian yeshivah student started shouting in shul that he could "smell many sins" and that "the end is very near".
Although he could only speak Portuguese, he was yelling in Hebrew and Yiddish, and "his lips did not move". The commotion caused the women of the unnamed synagogue to flee.

Contributed by Gandolf

Peres also came out strongly against ethnic or religious discrimination

JerusalemPost
Peres also came out strongly against ethnic or religious discrimination in Israel, declaring that "every expression of discrimination should be crossed out."
The Interior Ministry must make sure that young people of all faiths have the same opportunities to acquire higher education, he said, mindful that many young students from minority communities have difficulty in getting past security checkpoints to attend institutions of higher learning.
...
Theophilos was diplomatic in his references to the Israeli authorities, specifically in relation to "free movement of the faithful, provision for entry visas for clerics, honoring the privileges of tax exemption sanctioned by sacred history and the historic standing of the ownership of Church property

Accused Say No Intention To Kill Couple In Exorcism Ritual

BERNAMA.COM
 KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) -- An Al-Arqam follower who is charged with murdering a couple admitted in the High Court here today that he had hit the victims with a piece of wood, crash helmet and mop handle to exorcise them.

The accused Muhammad Ilyas Abdul Razak, said he, however, had no intention of causing death to the couple as they were his uncle and aunt, and was unaware that his action during the exorcism would cause their deaths

"I had hit my uncle with a helmet and a piece of wood from a broken table. He did not protest, cry or say that he was in pain.
"I also asked my aunt to sit on the floor and hit her with a mop handle, the helmet and a detached table until she bled," Muhammad Ilyas said from the dock.
He said after the house had been cleaned of the blood spots, he ordered Muhammad Fauzi to pour hot water over the couple's motionless body to revive them.


"I had no intention of causing the death of my uncle and aunt as they were among the people closest to me and we loved each other. I only wanted to do good for them.
"Nobody, including my uncle and aunt, had restrained me and I only knew that they had died when the police came to arrest me," he said

Contributed by Gandolf

Vaccine 'holy war'

NewYorkPost
"Plaintiffs sought the exemption because they hold sincere and genuine religious beliefs, based upon Christian doctrine and Christian teachings that are contrary to vaccinating, that prevent them from injecting diseases into their bodies," the suit says.

Child marriage still prevalent in Kutch, finds study

IndianExpress.com
A Survey conducted by a group of students on the status of child rights has found that child marriage is still prevalent in Kutch district and cases of abuse of young girls and physical harassment are being reported from the urban areas.

"would not the Covenant also exclude any African Anglican bishop practicing or promoting female circumcision?"

Virtueonline.org
The covenant (section 4) talks of "interdependence" and argues that "where a shared mind has not been reached...every effort must be made to facilitate agreement." It is true that the Standing Committee may request a Church to defer a controversial action, say consecrating Mary Glasspool, a lesbian, as the next Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, but would not the Covenant also exclude any African Anglican bishop practicing or promoting female circumcision? Why infer that homosexuals are the only persons at risk of breaking up the communion.

Top Religious Stories of 2009

Houston Chronicle

* Health care reform includes religious groups urging assistance for “the least of these;” Roman Catholic bishops seek restrictions on abortion funding.

* A devout Muslim, Maj. Nidal Hasan, the accused gunman in the Fort Hood massacre, prompts a review of the role of Islam in terrorism.

* Abortion doctor George Tiller is shot to death at his Wichita, Kan., church.

* Mormons in California come under attack from some gay-rights supporters because of their November 2008 efforts to outlaw gay marriage. Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshire approved gay marriage, but it was overturned by Maine voters.

* Obama gives the commencement speech and receives an honorary degree at the University of Notre Dame after the Roman Catholic university becomes embroiled in debates over his abortion views.

* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America votes to ordain gay and lesbian clergy who are in a monogamous committed relationship, prompting some conservative churches to move toward forming a new denomination.

* The recession forces cutbacks at faith-related organizations.

* The Episcopal Church's General Convention votes to end a moratorium on installing gay bishops.

Rugby star Gareth Thomas: I'm gay

CNN
"I've been through all sorts of emotions with this -- tears, anger and absolute despair," he said. "I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to let people know and, to be honest, I feel anxious about people's reactions and the effect it might have on my family."
...
"I could never accept it because I knew I would never be accepted as a gay man and still achieve what I wanted to achieve in the game," he said.
...
"It's pretty tough for me being the only international rugby player prepared to break the taboo. Statistically I can't be the only one, but I'm not aware of any other gay player still in the game.

Neuroscientists Store Information in Isolated Brain Tissue; Possible Basis of Short-Term Memory

ScienceDaily (Dec. 28, 2009)
When stimulating electrodes were inserted in the hippocampal brain slice the spontaneous activity in the mossy cells remembered which electrode had been activated. The memory in vitro lasted about 10 seconds, about as long as many types of working memories studied in people.
...
"This is the first time anyone has stored information in spontaneously active pieces of mammalian brain tissue. It is probably not a coincidence that we were able to show this memory effect in the hippocampus, the brain region most associated with human memory," said Strowbridge.
...
Strowbridge's group is now looking into how much information they can store in the hippocampus.
...
"It took us four years to be able to reproducibly store two bits of information for 10 seconds" says Larimer. "Our findings should progress faster now that we know what to look for and have found the brain circuit that actually holds the memory."

Upholding the Rights of Women And Children

Africa.Com
Forms of gender-based violence in Ghana include, but are not limited to, domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, sexual harassment and female genital mutilation among others. Some gender advocates have argued that since the success of any democratic process presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society, it is necessary that women are empowered to see themselves as equal partners in that endeavor.
Violence against women who are branded witches is reported from all regions but it is more visible in the northern parts of Ghana. In these parts, old women considered to be witches are often violently driven from their communities and homes and forced to take refuge in "witch camps". They lose their inheritance and their livelihoods as a result and become destitute.

 Contributed by Gandolf

Ancient Homeowner Association Rules

Smithsonian.com
Ah, the homeowners association, which dictates everything from the shape of your shrubs to the color of your house. Such meticulously planned communities are generally thought to be a modern phenomenon, but a recent archaeological excavation near England's Hamme-on-Rye unearthed a 14th-century document that suggests otherwise:
A covenant set to hand this Twelfth Day of June in the year of our Lord 1365 between the Manor by the Meadow Association of Freeholders and the owner in fee symple. Whereas the owner hath entered into this covenant in order to enjoye the especial liffestyle offered by the Manor and to avoid all unnecessary discord, the owner doth hereby acknowledge and acquiesce to certaine rules to ensure the faithful and serene enjoyment of the properties hereby governed, to witte:
...
Clinic
Manor doth operate a clinic at the barbershoppe to provide physic and the healing artes to all residents. Bledeing, leeches and the treatment of excess humours are available upon request. Herbes and medicines will be administered to those possessed of the supplementary potion plan. (Please note that neither exorcism nor treatment for curses is available on site.)

Contributed by Gandolf

Strange irony of bishops' multiculturalism

Irish Times .Com
There are profound philosophical and practical problems with this version of multiculturalism. Philosophically, it ends up eating its own tail, as respect for one "identity" ends up canceling out another. If female genital mutilation is a protected part of an African identity, what happens to women's rights?
If it's okay for imams to preach hatred of homosexuals, is it okay for homosexuals to teach hatred of Muslims?
And who gets to define a "tradition" anyway? (Usually, of course, middle-aged or elderly men in dresses.)
Most obviously, of course, the purveyors of this ideology in the religious sphere don't actually believe it themselves. With a very few exceptions, religions are founded on the idea of a unique and superior access to the mind of God. The relativism that they sometimes adopt is merely strategic. If the Catholic bishops actually believed the stuff that they are currently spouting – that everybody's faith or lack of faith has the same status in a lovely world of pluralism or diversity – they would be Bahais or Unitarians.

Contributed by Gandolf

Jewish Exorcism Text Discovered

Physorg.com
The 150 word neatly written fragment - discovered by Dr Renate Smithuis from The University of Manchester - describes a ceremony to dispel the evil spirit of Nissim Ben Bunya from his widow, Qamar Bat Rahma.
Dr Smithuis thinks the Hebrew document was most likely written in the eighteenth century and probably originated from Egypt or Palestine.
The fragment provides what is likely to be unique evidence of the prayer ritual's actual use in a synagogue.
It is one of the 11,000 manuscript fragments held at The University of Manchester's John Rylands Library - rescued from a 1000-year old storeroom - or Genizah - at the Ben Ezra synagogue in Cairo.
The fragment contains the second part of a prayer ritual in which the husband - or husband-to-be - of a widow recites an exorcism prayer, to which the other men gathered in the synagogue respond with a similar prayer.

Contributed by Gandolf

India's Karnataka State to lose baby-tossing ritual

Digital Journal
 

It's a ritual that is supposed to imbue the participant with health and luck. The age of the participants is under two years of age, and Indian authorities are looking to shut it down.

click "Read more >>" to access the video.

"accused of putting a spell on him that caused his death."

Nepali Times
In November Jug Chaudhary, a 30-year-old mother of four children, was beaten up by her family members and paraded naked around a village in Kailali.
They dragged her out from her home, beat her mercilessly and then forced her to eat human excreta. Her mother-in-law's brother had just passed away. She had been accused of putting a spell on him that caused his death.
When Chaudhary's husband, a labourer in India, returned the couple went to the police station but could not file a complaint. "They said it was a personal matter, it should be solved in the community." Jug Chaudhary did not receive justice. She is living in the same village, in the same Dalit community as those who accused and assaulted her.

Contributed by Gandolf

Yay, I'm under attack by Faith Based Thinkers! I'm somebody now!

Link to Faith Based thinking commenter
"you really need to add comment moderation to your blasphemy…"

"Please don't throw me in that briar patch!"
I'm going to feature you over in the sidebar. I'm even going to give a label for quick reference.
Please feel free to try your best to bring the blog down. You only make my case for me and drive my ranking up!
You silly person, you'll probably be the only one commenting.
*:O)
GOATS ON FIRE! YEE HAH!
And away we go!
thank you, thank you, thank you!

He'll face trial in slaying over religious issues

Philly.Com
It's often been said that one should never argue over religion.
Just such an argument led Christian Hernandez to use a sawed-off rifle to fatally shoot another man in the head in May, according to a statement he gave to Philadelphia homicide detectives.
Yesterday, Hernandez, 18, was held for trial on first-degree murder by Municipal Judge Patrick F. Dugan.

Santeria is an Afro-Caribbean religion based on the Yoruba beliefs and traditions that originated in West Africa, with Roman Catholic elements added.
Believers of Santeria, which grew out of the slave trade in Cuba, seek to build bonds with powerful spirits through the use of drums, dance, song and animal sacrifice while worshiping, according to various sources.

Contributed by Gandolf

Muslim gangs of men were raping Christian minorities.

Freethought Nation
Once again, not a good year for women around the world. Several times this year it was reported that female US soldiers had a probability and fear of being raped. Yesterday it was reported in Egypt that Muslim gangs of men were raping Christian minorities. It breaks my heart. I sincerely hope that 2010 will be safer and religious war free for the entire world.
Happy New Year and thank you.

Contributed by kriss the sexy athiest

"There are faith healers stealing sick peoples money"

Link
First of all I love my beautiful Philippines. Second, the islands have not developed through recent decades like other Asian countries have. Why? Superstition is rampant in the islands. There are faith healers stealing sick peoples money. The Catholic North will not let the Muslim south govern their own land and people (that is what that war is about) and they are still fighting communism and pirates. Thanks for posting the article, it shows that my people are still steeped in superstition. FYI there is a small atheist community of bloggers and freethinker groups representing, and I do mean small. thanks again.

Contributed by kriss the sexy atheist

Prayer Free Problem Solving Procedure

Here is a problem solving procedure that I've made from a lot of different ones that I've researched over the years. I never found one comprehensive and general enough to use for training new technicians in a wide range of troubleshooting skills so I made this one which I have hanging in my office (in pieces with tape). You can call it a critical thinking guide if you want but I prefer "Analytical Thinking". Try it out, apply it to your religion, but be careful! I did and look what happened! Give me some feedback. You can find another copy of it in the sidebar.

"exorcism and prayer were used to treat serious health problems."

6minutes
Former directors of an evangelical Christian charity have admitted to falsely claiming their residential counselling program offered professional support from GPs and other health professionals.  
A ruling from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has declared this claim to be a misrepresentation, saying the now-disbanded Mercy Ministries only allowed access to health professionals at the direct request from residents who were being treated for eating disorders, self harm, and the effects of drug, alcohol, physical and sexual abuse.  
The 18-month ACCC investigation originated from complaints from former residents that exorcism and prayer were used to treat serious health problems.  
Through a range of advertising the organisation also claimed to offer its services for free, however the ACCC found most residents were required to sign over their Centrelink payments for the duration of the treatment.  

Contributed by Gandolf

When race, religion and 'culture' must come second to what is right

Mail Online
When I saw the tear-stained face of Hanim Goren, the mother of 15-year-old Muslim schoolgirl Tulay, who was murdered by her own father (I refuse to dignify the crime with the word 'honour'), I'm afraid all politically correct niceties and notions of acceptance, tolerance and inclusion went flying straight out of the window.

Social workers, too, are terrified of upsetting people who are clearly monsters, because of their race and religion. This was obviously the case in the murder of Victoria Climbie when socalled professionals failed to interfere, dazzled by respect for something they mistook as 'culture' there's an overused word if ever there was one) when in fact it was just plain old 'cruelty'.
...
The policing of crimes that are 'alien' to our culture (there is also the nasty practice of female genital mutilation) needs to be far tougher, if the training video shown to officers who deal with such matters is anything to go by.

I wish, when I was stopped for speeding, that I had been treated with such care for my feelings.

Contributed by Gandolf

Kidnappers demand animal sacrifice

The Star
Prosperidad, Philippines - Tribal gunmen refused to hand over 47 hostages on Sunday as a four-day kidnap drama in the southern Philippine jungle took a bizarre twist with demands for animal sacrifices.

"The negotiations are in stand-off," said Alfredo Plaza, a government spokesman for the negotiating team.

Contributed by Gandolf

Defrocked Zambian cleric demands pension

AFP
LUSAKA — A former Zambian archbishop Saturday said he wanted the Roman Catholic Church to pay him pension for the 23 years he worked in Italy, after he was defrocked for consecrating married men as bishops.
Emmanuel Milingo, 79, who has practised exorcism and advocates optional celibacy for priests, told the private Radio Phoenix station he was still a fully ordained Catholic cleric.

Contributed by Gandolf

Organizations cash in on Female Genital Mutilation

Daily Nation
Unscrupulous non-governmental organisations have flocked to the Kerio Valley area and are soliciting cash from donors on the pretext of fighting female genital mutilation (FGM).

More than 300 girls have undergone the dangerous rite of passage in the region this year despite intensified anti-FGM campaigns by the government and religious groups.

At the same time, more than 100 girls rescued from forceful circumcision in Marakwet District have undergone an alternative rite of passage.

Contributed by Gandolf

"they had allowed the tribals to observe the festival by sacrificing 10,000 animals"

Express buzz
BALANGIR: Acting Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court Justice I M Quddusi today issued show-cause notice to the Home Secretary, the Endowments Secretary, the Balangir Collector, the Sub-Collector, the SP and the DSP regarding animal sacrifice at Sulia festival at Khairguda this year.

Hearing a petition filed by Sulia Sanskar Manch (SSM) joint convener Debashis Biswal, Justice Quddusi directed the officials concerned to explain how they had allowed the tribals to observe the festival by sacrificing 10,000 animals.

Contributed by Gandolf

Somali charged with murder attempt on Muhammad cartoonist

The Guardian ‎

Kurt Westergaard sheltered in a safe room with his grandchild as the attacker raged outside. Photograph: Preben Hupfeld/EPA A Somali man has been charged with trying to murder a Danish artist whose cartoons of the prophet Muhammad sparked a storm of ...

NEPAL: Witch Tag Only on Dalits, Minorities

IPS
KATHMANDU, Dec 23 (IPS) - Just 40 kms away from the capital Kathmandu, in Thasingtole, Lalitpur District, Kalli Kumari B.K., 46, a local Dalit woman, was mercilessly beaten up. She was accused of being a 'witch', imprisoned in a shed and forced to eat her own excreta

The headmistress of a local school along with a local shaman accused her of practicing witchcraft and tortured her for two days.

"They kept hitting my head and my bruises. They fed human excreta and then they took a blade out and started cutting my skin. I couldn't bear it anymore and was forced to admit that that I am a witch so they would stop giving me so much pain," said B.K. in a public forum here in Kathmandu

Contributed by Gandolf

Long-Term Fight Continues Against Genital Mutilation Practice

Coastweek.com
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Since Kenya outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2001, the vice, however, still goes on almost unabated.
And much more so despite the various campaigns that have been fronted by the government, organizations and individuals to eradicate this human rights violation against women and girls.
It is estimated that more than one third of the women in the world are circumcised and in some ethnic communities, almost each and every young woman is subjected to the cut.
But what is even more worrying is that what was once practiced traditionally by ethnic groups is taking a new turn and now parents and health experts are collaborating in this cruel act on their girls and women.

Contributed by Gandolf

Sulia: A gory ritual goes on

Expressbuzz
BALANGIR: In a major setback to anti-sacrifice campaign, animals in droves faced the axe during the annual Sulia festival at Khairguda in Balangir district today. Cocking a snook at the district administration, the tribals went on butchering animals much to the disappointment of Sulia Samskar Manch (SSM), an outfit spearheading a campaign for curbing animal sacrifice at Sulia.

This year the tribals sacrificed animals at three main seats of Sulia Pitha. Earlier, owing to some reform measures taken up by SSM there was no sacrifice of animals at least at the main site.

Problem of Evil/Suffering/Victimization Must be A Design Flaw

This is a response I made to a Christian on the "Problem of Suffering".
The problem of suffering is really a problem of victimization, where gods 'gift' of free will enables the stronger to victimize the weak, with god allowing it in some of the most horrible ways imaginable, and Christians blame humans for it. Effectively blaming the victim. One persons free will impedes another. Obviously a SUBOPTIMAL design.

A lot of the 'sins' are committed because they are LIKED or are PLEASURABLE for people. This is a reaction that is built into people, conversely like the nausea reaction people get around vomit. If God had built the urge to vomit into people when they think of having sex with children the there wouldn't be so many church authorities wanting to molest children.

Fifa in a stew over ritual slaughter of cows in World Cup stadiums

Guardian
Fifa was silent yesterday about a proposal to slaughter a cow at every 2010 World Cup venue in a blessing ritual. The Makhonya Royal Trust, a body to promote traditional South African cultures, has called on World Cup organisers to permit his organisation to "slaughter a beast" at a cultural ceremony in each of the stadiums ahead of the tournament

Contributed by Gandolf

Unpacking "The Atonement" Project

This Project has been moved here, please follow the link and resume at the new location.
This is a long term project intended as a collaboration with theists using shared documents with diagrams to Analyze the Concept of the Atonement as much as possible to assess its coherence.

STATUS 20100116

Currently coping with interpretability issues

INTRODUCTION

Project Documentation Index

[The questionnaire in the lower part of the article was an attempt to define some terms. Feel free to try your hand at filling in the questionnaire in the bottom portion and join the discussion. I'd like to get feedback from Adherents to other religions, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, etc]
So now I ask you, how can God show any mercy at all if he is required by his own perfect state to be 100% just?

One of the theist commenters said
The atonement gives God the ability to have justice completely fulfilled while allowing him to be merciful. If we repent of our sins, the justice has already been fulfilled by Christ so God can fully forgive the transgression without the need for added punishment. You don't have to use the atonement, free agency, but it is available for all. Without the atonement it is impossible to have a perfect God.

so then Harlan Quinn said...

I'm trying to understand your answer to your question, so below I've tried to "unpack" it for closer inspection.

would you mind correcting and filling in the missing pieces please?
=====
God shows mercy
and is 100% just
because he is required by, or is a consequence of his perfect state

Gods perfect state depends on the atonement.

* The atonement is defined as _________________

* Mercy is defined as _________________

* The atonement is merciful because _____________

* The atonement is 100% Just because ____________

* Justice is defined as ____________________

if we repent of our sins
AND
the atonement has been done
There is no need for added punishment

* Normally there is a need for punishment because _________________

* Normally punishment for our sins is ___________________

* Our sins are described as _________________

* Repenting of our sins is not sufficient to fulfill the criteria for punishment because _________________

* Free Agency is defined as __________________.

Woman accused of posing as a witch in court

 CBC News

A Toronto woman accused of posing as a witch in order to defraud a lawyer of tens of thousands of dollars has made her first appearance in court.
Vishwantee Persaud appeared through a video link for a brief preliminary hearing at a Toronto courtroom on Thursday morning.
She has yet to retain a lawyer, so her case was adjourned until Jan. 12. She remains in custody.
None of Persaud's family members was in the courtroom. Neither was the man she is alleged to have defrauded, Noel Daley, a veteran criminal lawyer.
Persaud was arrested earlier this month for allegedly defrauding Daley of more than $100,000. Police said Persaud told Daley that she came from a long line of witches and could do tarot-card readings.

Contributed by Gandolf

UK fails to halt female genital mutilation

The Independent
Hundreds of British schoolgirls are facing the terrifying prospect of female genital mutilation (FGM) over the Christmas holidays as experts warn the practice continues to flourish across the country. Parents typically take their daughters back to their country of origin for FGM during school holidays, but The Independent on Sunday has been told that "cutters" are being flown to the UK to carry out the mutilation at "parties" involving up to 20 girls to save money.
The police face growing criticism for failing to prosecute a single person for carrying out FGM in 25 years; new legislation from 2003 which prohibits taking a girl overseas for FGM has also failed to secure a conviction. 

Contributed by Gandolf