The Witches Digest

Actress Heather Graham has claimed that she and her coven of witches did their bit to help Barack Obama become the US President.

The 39-year-old Hangover star said she and her pals sent the president positive energies so he would get elected to the White House, reports the China Daily. She said: “It’s just for fun. We never jinx someone with evil spells. We meet in order to release positive energy. When one of us wishes to meet a great guy, we try to have an influence on that. “We sent Barack Obama positive energies, so that he would become the next president. I always liked magic. Now when I see Obama’s picture in the paper, I feel good.”

An international human rights group has urged a Saudi court to overturn a death sentence imposed on a Lebanese man convicted of practising witchcraft.

Human Rights Watch has urged the Saudi government in a statement released late Tuesday to halt the increasing use vaguely defined “witchcraft” charges.

Ali Sibat, a psychic who made predictions on a satellite TV channel from his home in Beirut, was sentenced by a Saudi court on Nov. 9. He was arrested in Medina in May 2008 by members of the religious police who recognized him from the TV show.

Witchcraft, sorcery and fortune-telling are considered polytheism by the government of this Muslim country.

Technorati Tags: abuse of human rights, accused of witchcraft, international human rights

This year the AFA (American Family Association), as in years past, has called for a Christmas boycott of all Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic stores, because the company’s ads have not used the word Christmas.

Gap did in fact, use the word Christmas in its holiday ad this year, but also mentioned, Hanukkah, Kwanza and Solstice.

The AFA keeps a list on its website of companies that don’t use the word Christmas in holiday ad campaigns, which the conservative Christian group considers as censoring “Christmas.” When Gap’s new holiday ad came out this past week, the AFA immediately sent out an “action alert” condemning it as being condescending towards Christian Christmas traditions.

The ad entitled Ready for Holiday Cheer features a group of people dancing and chanting:

“Two, Four, Six, Eight, now’s the time to liberate
Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanza, Go Solstice.
Go classic tree, go plastic tree, go plant a tree, go add a tree,
You 86 the rules, you do what feels just right.
Happy do whatever you wanukkah, and to all a cheery night.
Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, go whatever holiday you wanukkah.”

Technorati Tags: christmas holiday, christmas traditions, holiday greetings, war on christmas, winter solstice

A PARADE of glow-sticks lit a trail around a Derby park in a celebration of the city’s different faiths.

As visitors walked around the path at the Arboretum, in Normanton, on Saturday evening, nov 21 they found decorated stalls which plotted a history of different religions in the area.

Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Sikhism, Muslim, Baha’i and Pagan religions all had their own stall, complete with people staffing them and explaining about the collections of objects and books on show.

Mohammed Ramzan, 40, was there with his children. Mr Ramzan, of Shamrock Street, Normanton, said: “My child goes to Arboretum School and she saw it advertised there.

“They have done a really good job making it look good.”

Steve Endsor, 62, was helping to run the Christianity stall and said the event would help to introduce people to religions.

Mr Endsor, of Chaddesden, said: “There is a lot more to religion than what makes the news headlines.

“Extremists and terrorists are a  minority and an event like this can show people what different faiths can offer and how they can exist together.”

Organiser Janet Tristram said: “The idea was that people would be able to walk through the faith history of the world and, through that, see how diverse Derby is.

“It has given people the opportunity to understand more about  faiths around them.”

Ms Tristram, 50, organised the event through the Forum of Faiths.

She said it was the biggest event the group has organised and was funded through Derby Community Safety Partnership, which awarded the group £2,500 to put on the  show.

Based at the St James’ Centre, in Malcolm Street, Normanton, the forum runs an assortment of research projects to make people aware of how many different religious beliefs there are in Derby by holding educational lessons at the centre and hosting events out in the community.

Sanjukta Sahu, 42, was visiting the parade with her family and said she had heard about the event through the St James’ Centre.

She said: “The whole thing is quite easy to walk around and take in. The stalls are well put together and it is easy to learn about the different beliefs.”

Anna Gautama, from the Forum of Faith, was running the Hindu stall.

She said: “We have tried to make this a trip through the history of faiths around Derby. People start out with Pagan religion, moving through faiths one at a time.

“It gives us the chance to show people what our religions have to offer.”

Original Article

Moldovan soldiers have been issued with an extra ration of onions and garlic to ward off swine flu, according to the defence ministry’s chief doctor. “We have introduced an extra 25 grams (one ounce) of onion and 15 grams of garlic in their daily ration,” Sergiu Vasilita told AFP. So far, 24 soldiers have completed treatment for swine flu, while 19 are in hospital with acute respiratory infections, he said. Moldova has registered more than 900 cases of the A(H1N1) virus infection. This week, most schools and universities reopened after a quarantine period was lifted, but five schools and one university remain closed.

Technorati Tags: flu protection, herbal remedies, natural antibiotics, swine flu prevention

By Emmeline Saunders

Harriet Harman could ban Christmas celebrations with her equality bill, a group of bishops has warned.

The equalities minister, is being blamed by Roman Catholic clergy worried they will be forced to cancel Christian celebrations for fear of offending other cultures.

In a letter to MPs, Monsignor Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said Ms Harman’s bill will fuel Britain’s ‘risk-averse’ culture.

“Under existing legislation, we have seen the development of a risk-averse culture with outcomes as ridiculous as reports of a local authority instructing tenants to take down Christmas lights in case they might offend Muslim neighbours, or of authorities removing the word Christmas out of cultural sensitivity to everyone except Christians.

“If this bill is serious about equality, everything possible must be done to avoid it having a chilling effect on religious expression and practice.”

The letter is part of the evidence being considered by the parliamentary committee examining the proposed bill.

The legislation being championed by the Labour deputy leader aims to close the gender pay gap and encourage public authorities to give minority groups more opportunities.

It could also force religious groups to take on gay staff; a measure that was derided by senior clergy who fear the new law would reduce the power of the Church and ‘dilute’ its moral message.

“The Catholic Church has significant concerns about the practical implications of some parts of the bill,” the letter added.

An Equalities Office spokesman denied the claim that the legislation would impact on Christmas celebrations.

He said: “That’s ridiculous; of course local councils can still put up Christmas tree lights or mark any other religious ceremony such as Diwali, Eid or Ramadan.”

The emergence of the letter follows yesterday’s ruling by the BBC Trust that Radio 4’s Thought for the Day would continue to showcase religious views only, rejecting calls to allow atheists, secularists and humanists to contribute.

Original Report: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/14/20091118/tpl-harman-will-ban-christmas-bishops-wa-81c5b50.html

Technorati Tags: cultural diversity, equality act, equality issues, equality laws, religion discrimination, religious discrimination

Thailand’s main airport is to relocate 12 giant “demon statues” to boost the morale of staff who thought the figures brought bad luck.

The statues at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport will move from the arrivals area to the check-in zone at a cost of around 1.7 million baht (51,000 dollars), said Airports of Thailand (AOT) president Serirat Prasutanond.

“AOT has decided to move the statues to the check-in concourse to give passengers and other people a chance to appreciate the statues’ beauty,” he said in a statement.

But according to the English-language Bangkok Post newspaper, airport director Niran Thiranartsin admitted the decision had partly resulted from complaints from airport staff.

“The shopkeepers are blaming the ‘demon statues’ for the problems they have faced at the airport, which was seized late last year by demonstrators and supporters of the People’s Alliance of Democracy” (PAD), the paper said.

“The guardian spirit statues will be shifted from the inner zone of the passenger terminal to the check-in area to ‘improve morale’ of people working at the airport,” the report added.

The anti-government PAD seized two of the Thai capital’s airports in a crippling eight-day blockade late in 2008, which badly dented the kingdom’s tourist-friendly image.

Serirat presided over a religious ceremony at the airport Monday ahead of the relocation of the figures, which are modelled on 12 statues at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. He said the move should be finished within 90 days.

Technorati Tags: demon statues, religious ceremony, thailand news, unlucky

When 17-year-old Shaun Derusha informed his mother that he would be unable to return to Purvis High School until she met with his principal, Denise DeSadier thought he was joking.

She had received neither letter nor phone call indicating any sort of misbehavior from her son. Such would have been the “proper” procedure for any institution purveying the attainment of education, but DeSadier agreed to have a conference with the involved administrators at her son’s school in hopes of reinstating her son’s place.

Her son explained to her that he had no idea what was going on, that he’d been called out of one of his classes by the administrators and a security guard to have his backpack rummaged through and personal questions about particular parts of his lifestyle fired at him.  He failed to realize how serious the situation was until he found himself suspended under the suspicion that he’d threatened the life of some of the students by way of demon possession.

“It was believed that he planned on summoning demons to attack select students at the high school,” his mother told me.

DeSadier left the conference feeling her son had been severely wronged due to the fact that he and their family are practicing witches. A more formal name for their religion is Eclectic Paganism.  It is hardly surprising that in a Bible-belt town with less than 3,000 people would frown upon such a lifestyle.

The family is no stranger to ostracization and the “cold shoulder” when people find out their religion.

“When people found out that we were practicing witches, they took it very very negatively,” DeSadier responded when asked how her family fit into this small town. “We are not part of their community. If only people would realize that there is no demon-summoning within our religion, there is no devil worship”

DeSadier felt as though Derusha had not been given his “due process” when these accusations had been made and when the school would not allow her to review the witness statements under the grounds of protecting the privacy of the three students involved.

Principal Ace Bryant of Purvis High School informed me that he was unable to disclose any information about the situation at all, but he did assure me that any disciplinary action taken against students that will leave some sort of mark on their permanent record were all investigated thoroughly and fairly. The online handbook of Purvis High School forbids intolerance of inequality, harassment or conduct that would make any student uncomfortable. If there was a problem that a student was too afraid to venture towards the principal’s office with, he or she could use AnComm’s online reporting tool, Talk About It, that is designed to bridge this communication gap by allowing students to anonymously report issues and engage in safe dialogue with school personnel.

Either way, the damage to Shaun’s record is done, as he was profiled in a way that would make words such as “Columbine” and “VTech” come to mind.

After taking an evaluation meant to grade his mental stability, Derusha was allowed back into school. When asked why the family hasn’t pursued some sort of appeal or lawyer for that matter, DeSadier responded that her son is a very mature thinker.

“Shaun just wants to graduate and move on in life. He won’t move because he feels that then they [discriminators, instigators, and those who are very close-minded] win. And he won’t give them that satisfaction.”

By Jasmine Wolfe
Original Article: http://www.studentprintz.com/non-christian-harassed-at-purvis-high-1.893052

A team of Pagan spiritual counselors has been formed by Circle Sanctuary to provide free telephone counseling support this month for Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, Pantheists, and other Nature religion practitioners distressed by the shootings at Fort Hood in Texas this past Thursday.

Fort Hood is the largest US military installation in the nation. On Thursday afternoon, November 5, an Army psychiatrist stationed at Fort Hood went on a shooting rampage, killing 13 and wounding 30 at the base. This tragedy has shaken and stressed those at Fort Hood and in neighboring areas as well as across the country and at US military installations around the world.

More than 150 Pagans of many paths live in and around Fort Hood. Many are part of the Fort Hood Open Circle, which is sponsored by the Sacred Well Congregation. Some are connected with other groups, and some are solitary practitioners.

Circle Sanctuary formed this Pagan counseling support team as part of its services to Wiccans, Druids, Heathens, and other Pagans in the US Military. This special response team consists of sixteen Pagan leaders from across the nation who are among those doing various forms of Pagan ministry through Circle Sanctuary. The team is collaborating with other Pagan leaders in the Fort Hood area in providing help. Circle Sanctuary is offering free Pagan oriented counseling by telephone to supplement grief counseling resources at Fort Hood.

Circle Sanctuary’s Fort Hood Tragedy response counseling services are for Pagans in and around Fort Hood as well as for Pagans at other US military installations and elsewhere who have been adversely impacted by the Fort Hood shootings. The counseling work being offered is specific to distress resulting from the Fort Hood shootings and will be offered throughout the month on November.

NEED HELP? CONTACT: counselingsupport@circlesanctuary.org

Please include your name, email address, phone number(s) and best days & times to call, and a brief description of how the Fort Hood shootings have stressed you. Information you share will be kept confidential by those assisting you.

TELL OTHERS: please post this notice to blogs, websites, e-lists, elsewhere to help get the word out to those in need of this support.

MORE INFO;

Info about the Fort Hood rampage & healing process:

AP Article
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/healing/fort_hood.htm

Info about Circle Sanctuary Military Ministries
http://www.circlesanctuary.org/ministries/military/

Pagan News Media Release: Saturday, November 8, 2009

published by Circle Sanctuary
serving Pagans worldwide since 1974
PO Box 9, Barneveld, WI 53507 USA
(608) 924-2216
circle@circlesanctuary.org

To his old classmates in Boston, Jigme Wangchuk is a normal 11-year-old schoolboy - but in India he is worshipped by thousands of Buddhists who consider him the reincarnation of one the faith’s holiest figures.

He has traded his American life for a monastery in the Himalayan hill town Darjeeling to fulfil his “destiny” as a spiritual leader and live among his followers throughout Bhutan, Nepal and India’s Himalayan states.

His parents have also given up their restaurant business to be near his Drukpa Sangag Choeling Monastery.

They say they discovered their son was not like other children two years ago when he started talking about his “past life”. At first, they dismissed it as a childish fantasy, but began taking it seriously during a trip to a monastery in Mysore, southern India.

“He used to always talk of his past life but we did not take it seriously, dubbing it as a child’s fantasies,” said his mother Dechen. At one point she claims he stopped playing and went into a trance in which he recounted the story of his former life as “His Holiness the Second Galwa Lorepa” lama who died in 1250 in Tibet.

While in a trance he described a celebrated Buddhist monastery with a 35ft dragon on the roof. After hearing his description of the temple he had not visited, the monks proclaimed he was the reincarnation of the ‘Rinpoche’ or high priest Galwa Lorepa, the founder of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Now he will spent the next ten years in virtual seclusion and only be able to communicate with his former school friends by email.

“It has been a very difficult period for us over the past two years. I have been crying for the past five months, but have, at last, come to terms with it,” said his mother Dechen.

“When we were in New Delhi on our way to Darjeeling, I asked him whether he would like to go back to Boston. He said he has to fulfil his responsibilities to his people.”

But for ‘His Holiness’ Jigme, there’s no regrets. “I will miss my school days but I am happy in my new role. I like it here,” he said.