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Santa Claus and Odin

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:29:16 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Influence of Germanic paganism and folklore

Numerous parallels have been drawn between Santa Claus and the figure of Odin, a major god amongst the Germanic peoples prior to their Christianization. Since many of these elements are unrelated to Christianity, there are theories regarding the pagan origins of various customs of the holiday stemming from areas where the Germanic peoples were Christianized and retained elements of their indigenous traditions, surviving in various forms into modern depictions of Santa Claus.

According to Phyllis Siefker, children would place their boots, filled with carrots, straw, or sugar, near the chimney for Odin's flying horse, Sleipnir, to eat. Odin would then reward those children for their kindness by replacing Sleipnir's food with gifts or candy.

ADL, AJC join brief on Wiccan clergyman

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:25:58 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: blogs.jta.org

The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee have signed on to an Americans United for Church and State amicus brief arguing that a Wiccan clergyman should be able to challenge a state prison policy that limits paid chaplaincy positions to people who are Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim or Native American.

“Whether the State needs to hire a Wiccan chaplain and, if so, whether McCollum is the right person for the job, may be unclear,” the brief says. “What is clear, however, is that the district court erred in denying McCollum the chance to have his claims heard.”

Religious minorities should have the right to go to court and challenge discriminatory hiring practices imposed by the government, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

McCollum is a qualified candidate for a chaplain position at the California Department of Corrections but cannot be considered for the job because of his religious beliefs.

Yank their tax-exempt status! Bishops be damned.

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:22:06 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.suntimes.com

Barack Obama, the unapologetic pro-choice presidential candidate, needs to find his strong voice again on the issue now that he is president.

And he needs to stand up to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a tax-exempt religious organization, declaring that reproductive rights of women will not be sacrificed in the fight over a universal health-care bill.

Catholic bishops have every right to speak their mind and preach the church's teaching. But they are engaging in outright political lobbying. Helping to write legislation that turns Catholic doctrine into law. Violating the separation of church and state.

When bishops lobby legislators, they should be required to do what all tax-exempt 501(c)3 groups have to do. Create a parallel political organization and pay taxes on the contributions they receive. And fully disclose, like every other lobbying organization -- corporate or charitable -- what they take in and what they spend to advance positions they advocate.

Edward Woodward, The Wicker man, dies

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:30:10 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - British actor Edward Woodward, best known for his starring roles in cult classic "The Wicker Man" and U.S. television series "The Equalizer," died on Monday aged 79.

* LIFE DETAILS:

-- Edward Albert Arthur Woodward was born June 1, 1930, in Croydon, Surrey.

* STARRING ROLES:

-- Feature film roles in such acclaimed period costumers as "Becket" (1964) and "Young Winston" (1972) were overshadowed by his more successful work on television, especially his weary spy in "Callan" (1967), which spawned a TV movie and the popular character. In this role Woodward demonstrated his ability to express controlled rage which occasionally explodes, and his stoic demeanor has seen him cast in similar roles since.

-- His memorable role as repressed police Sergeant Howie in the chilling cult thriller "The Wicker Man" (1973) eventually led to international stardom as courtmartialed Lt. Harry Morant in the classic Australian-made historical drama "Breaker Morant"

Why is marriage a civil right?

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:34:47 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: More:

This is why refusing communion is not a violation of civil rights - because communion is not a civil contract, it does not confer civil rights or responsibilities, and is therefore not a matter of civil law.

I will say it yet again. Your laws that say same-sex couples can't get married are the same laws that say they can't eat shrimp or cut their beards. Which is fine and well for you, but I'm going to continue to enjoy my crab louie salad bare-faced without even humoring the idea that I need to protect, defend, and preserve your "sanctity of brunch".

Clip Source: tongodeon.livejournal.com

An anonymous poster is asking, perhaps rhetorically, why marriage is considered a civil right. And it's a good question. Why does the state get involved in this sacrament? The state doesn't recognize baptism, or circumcision, or first communion, or any other religious sacrament. Why does marriage get special legal attention?

In the context of civil law marriage is a civil contract, which is why the right to that contract is a civil right. Circumcision doesn't confer shared property rights, first communion doesn't confer hospital visitation, baptism doesn't provide power of attorney. Marriage does, along with a bunch of other well-known civil rights and a few obscure ones. Some religions currently consider marriage a sacrament, but "protecting" religious sacraments with secular laws is as irrelevant as secular cracker-eating laws would be to protect the sanctity of Catholic communion.

Tags: marriage, religion, politics, equality

Student Suspended for Cancer Head Shave

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:22:53 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken

Clip Source: www.news.com.au

A 15-YEAR-old Brisbane schoolgirl was suspended for shaving her head to raise money for vital cancer research

her father is battling leukemia.

He underwent a bone marrow transplant a few weeks ago but has been given only a few months to live.

Ms Pridham decided to shave her head as part of a fundraiser for cancer research.

"Basically my way of coping is to try and help other people going through the same thing," she said.

Ms Pridham said she has been banned from Mount Alvernia College until her hair grows back.

Barbara Pridham said she supports her daughter's fundraising decision.

"I am just appalled that she could be suspended by a Catholic school that promotes joy, respect and community spirit," she said.

Mount Alvernia College released a statement to Channel Nine News that said Ms Pridham had breached the college's uniform guidelines and had been suspended because of "ongoing issues".

La Paz celebrates Day of the Skulls

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:45:49 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Earlier this month the Church called on the faithful to stop using human skulls at special mass celebrations. The Archbishop of La Paz, Edmundo Abastoflor, urged followers of the Andean rite to "let them rest in peace".

Some inside the Church even link the practice to the occult.

However, some priests believe they have no other choice than to let people pray Catholic prayers to their skulls, and even allow them to go to church with them.

"I receive them and not as enemies of the Catholic faith," the cemetery's Roman Catholic priest, Father Jaime Fernandez, told the BBC after giving an informal blessing to thousands of skull-carrying devotees at the cemetery's chapel.
"Officially the Catholic Church does not recognise such a thing," Father Fernandez adds. But, let's be honest, in the end, who am I to stop their uncontrollable faith?"

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Day of the Skulls has its roots in ancient, pre-Inca rituals for death

In Bolivia, the Day of the Skulls is a colourful collision of ancient ritual with Catholic belief. The BBC's Andres Schipani went to a central La Paz cemetery to find out more.

Oscar Morales kneels down facing two crystal boxes, each containing two beret-wearing human skulls.

"I pray to Saddam [Hussein] and Che [Guevara]," he says. "I have them with me, at my place in a shrine. I give them offerings and they give me their protection. They've never failed me, never, I am their most faithful devotee."

'Ancient death rituals'

The "natitas" - or "flat noses" in the local Aymara indigenous language - are human skulls that are revered by thousands of Catholic indigenous Bolivians who believe they protect them from evil, help them attain goals and even work miracles.

'Confused religious ideas'

Sofia Fernandez says she prays to God at the same time as she prays to Victor

Invested In War

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:33:12 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: n 2004, the first full year after the current Iraq war began, Republican and Democratic lawmakers-both hawks and doves invested between $74.9 million and 161.3 million in companies under contract with the DoD.
No wonder the Democratic congress kept approving the enormous spending bills on the war, since a significant portion of it happens to end up in their deep pockets.
Interestingly, the report also mentioned that members of the senate foreign relations and armed services committees which oversee the Iraq war had between $32 million and $44 million invested in companies with DoD contracts.
The burning questions for many people are the following:

Are there any ethics left in politics?

Could the universe ever exist without wars?

The answer is no, because wars have been a major part of our social make up, in addition they force geostrategic changes, make profits for the elite, and reduce population.

Clip Source: globalresearch.ca

What do war, Congressmen, Senators, and the defense/offense industry have in common? The answer, if you haven’t already guessed is “profits.”

Conflict makes money for the military industrial complex, and the cronies they place in Congress, the Senate, and the White House.

An investigation by Ralph Forbes from American Free press reported on May 05, 2008 that more than a quarter of US senators and congressmen have invested at least $196 million of their own money in companies doing business with the Department of Defense (DoD) that profit from the death and destruction in Iraq

The report also edifies that 151 members of congress invested close to a quarter-billion dollars in companies that received defense contracts of at least $5 million in 2006. These companies got more than 275.6 billion from the government in 2006, or $755 million per day, according to Fedspending.org

contractors yielded Congress members between $15.8 million and $62 million in personal income from 2004 to 2006

"Laughable" Refund to Sweat Lodge Victim's Family

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:52:11 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cbsnews.com

James Arthur Ray, the new age guru whose Sedona, Ariz. sweat-lodge ceremony may have caused three deaths, sent one victim's family a check for $5,000, about half the participation fee for the event, the family told CNN's Larry King on Monday night.

According to the mother of victim Kirby Brown, the check came in a sympathy card on Oct. 22, two weeks after the Oct. 8 tragedy, along with a note that read, "Please accept this financial assistance. And on the check he (Ray) wrote, 'In honor of Kirby Brown.'"

"It's laughable," Virginia Brown said on Larry King Live. "My daughter paid twice that to go to his event."

Ray has become a self-help superstar by packaging his charismatic personality and the promise of financial wealth through spiritual awakening. He uses free seminars to recruit people to expensive seminars like the Sedona retreat that led to the sweat-lodge tragedy.

Tags: tragedy, spirituality, death, sweat lodge, new age

Get Your Free Torture Team Cards!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:42:13 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: act.credoaction.com

Want the torturers prosecuted? Tired of the "few bad apples" line? The Center for Constitutional Rights has partnered with CREDO to distribute Torture Team trading cards to spark the conversation about responsibility for torture at the highest levels. Get one pack of 10 cards for free. $5 for a complete set of all 20 cards; $20 for five sets. All money will go to CCR. The cards may take 3-7 weeks to arrive.

Near stadium, Cowboys have a new rival: Satan

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:37:26 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.star-telegram.com

ARLINGTON — A wee bit o’ Scotland has come to the outskirts of Cowboys Stadium, and with it a foggy auld controversy over whether a Scottish sculpture park is also a pagan shrine that might hex the Dallas Cowboys.

City leaders and the family of late philanthropist Jane Mathes Kelton gathered Thursday to rededicate Caelum Moor, a former $3 million corporate sculpture park now relocated as public art along the bonny banks of Johnson Creek.

The letter was headlined, "No Witchcraft Park in Arlington."

In a Thursday phone interview, Tummillo called Caelum Moor "a mockery of Christianity" and said those near the park — including the Cowboys — are "in a dance with the devil."

Tummillo was a youth pastor with the now-disbanded Redeeming Love Covenant Church when the Rev. Danny Smith and his wife, Dena, took their witchcraft warnings nationwide on CNN and even to the syndicated TV entertainment show Strange Universe.

Dallas Police Improperly Cite Drivers for Not Speaking English

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:10:36 GMT

clipped by: boniface

Clip Source: www.foxnews.com

DALLAS — Dallas police officers have improperly cited drivers for not being able to speak English 38 times in the past three years, Chief David Kunkle said Friday.

The discovery came after a woman was pulled over earlier this month for making an illegal U-turn and was given a ticket for being a "non-English speaking driver."

The police chief said the citations are disappointing for Dallas, a city where the Latinos make up 44 percent of the more than 1 million residents and nearly 45 percent speak a language other than English.

At least six officers wrote the citations, including one who wrote five of them, Kunkle said at a news conference. The officers and their commanders are under investigation, and Dallas police also plan to look beyond the last three years to see if other citations turn up, Kunkle said.

New Study Demonstrates Significant Harm From Just ONE Mercury-Containing Vaccine

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:53:48 GMT

clipped by: brightlight4

Clip Source: articles.mercola.com

New Study Demonstrates Significant Harm From Just ONE Mercury-Containing Vaccine

A new study found that primates that received just ONE vaccination containing thimerosal, the mercury-preservative found in many vaccines including the new swine flu shot, had significant neurological impairment when compared with those who received a saline solution injection or no injection at all.

The finding that early exposure to potentially toxic vaccine formulations can cause significant neurodevelopmental delays in primates has explosive implications for vaccine safety management.

As always with pandemic flus, taxpayers are footing the $1.5 billion check for the 250 million swine flu vaccines that the government has ordered so far and will be distributing free to doctors, pharmacies and schools. In addition, Congress has set aside more than $10 billion this year to research flu viruses, monitor H1N1's progress and educate the public about prevention.

Ralph Lauren says size 4 is too fat!

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:52:14 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: Ladies, when are you going to stop buying from companies like this?

Clip Source: www.accesshollywood.com

The model at the center of an advertising photo editing controversy last week has claimed she was fired for being a size 4.

At 5’ 10” and 120 pounds, 23-year-old model Filippa Hamilton claims her weight was behind Ralph Lauren terminating her contract earlier this year.

“Had they told you before they wanted you to lose weight?” Acccess Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson asked Filippa on Wednesday morning.

“No,” Filippa said. “It makes me sad. It makes me think Ralph Lauren wants to have this kind of image.”

Filippa claims she was terminated in April, six months before the abnormally thin Photoshopped advertisement published by the fashion house surfaced online.

However, the French bombshell maintains her agent was sent a letter noting she didn’t fit into the sample clothes she needed to wear.

Hidden Cost of Nokia's $299 Netbook

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:46:37 GMT

clipped by: boniface
clipper's remarks: What a rip off!

Clip Source: www.pcworld.com

When the hidden costs are calculated in the Nokia Booklet 3G becomes an expensive option in a cheap device niche.

That subsidized price comes with some strings that affect the total cost of ownership though. The $299 price tag is based on a 2-year wireless service commitment with a mandatory data plan requirement. So, $299 isn't just $299. It is $299 plus $60 a month for two years which brings the total cost up to over $1700.

But wait, there's more! The data plan you get for $60 a month has a limit of 5Gb of bandwidth per month. Even moderate netbook users could easily surpass the bandwidth cap and end up hit with steep overage charges that add even more hidden costs and increase the total cost of ownership for the Booklet 3G.

You can forego the AT&T subsidy and purchase the Nokia Booklet 3G outright for $599 without the contract. That brings the total cost over two years down significantly, but the device is still almost double the cost of comparable devices.