I didn't know to put this under economics or religion. I put it under religion, but I do think that they are onto something. It also says a lot about the value of women within any given heirarchy.

This is still happening today. It is not a 'historical' problem, it is a contemporary problem. I read Witchvox news frequently, and there is always some poor old woman or even children getting killed for withcraft. It is sad. India has a real problem with it.

"Emily Oster, an economist at the University of Chicago, has tried to gather systematic data on the link between witch trials and the weather. The results look striking: between 1520 and 1770, colder decades go hand-in-hand with more trials. The link may be simply that witches were often blamed for bad weather. Or there may be a less direct link: people tend to lash out in tough times. There is some evidence, for instance, that lynching was more common in the American south when land prices and cotton prices were depressed.

Such deaths are, sadly, not a historical footnote."

Why it is dangerous to be a witch in a recession

You KNOW you are in a minority when someone can call your religious group 'bad, nasty' and refuse to apologize.

The problem is, pagans don't want their children coming home bloody either, so religious hate speech like this is not tolerated the way it used to be.

Kathy Lee and Those Bad, Nasty Pagans

Oh wow.
Pentagon and Military officials, Joint Staff - you name it -

" report released publicly on Thursday by the Defense Department's (DOD) inspector general has found high-ranking Army and Air Force personnel violated long-standing military regulations when they participated in a promotional video for an evangelical Christian organization while in uniform and on active duty."

Good video to watch. Amen. ;)

Video, Report Details Evangelism at Highest Level in Military

For background on this short article and powerful picture, see: Longer article and explanation of Iran's Fashion Police

"The clashes, which took place at Haft Tir Square in Tehran, came during the current Iranian security forces campaign to enforce the dress code. "

Fashion Police - Graphic - The Ugliness of Islam Fundamentalism

This is just WRONG - wow - Would you put breasts on Jesus?

But there's a lesson in this - please note - the protesters were PEACEFUL.

Hate to see what would happen in Britain if they did that to Mohummad!

Pagans Object to Sex Change of The Long Man

Here's a recent piece by Laura Mallory who seeks to have Harry Potter removed from school libraries.

Her belief is firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian literalist thought. That said, her personal website is one that sells supposed exposes by 'occult experts.' (I'm extremely well read on the subject, and have never heard of ANY of these folks.) Hindus are also dismissed as 'evil.' SHe's making quite a business out of marginalizing and demonizing other religions.

I've always heard the way to get rich is to capitalize on either potential for gain, or fear of loss. Clearly, she's playing on fear of loss - of children's 'souls.' If it were not for the commercial nature of her quest to outlaw the books of Harry Potter, and coattail on said books's success, I might be more inclined to believe that she really is concerned about children.

But it is interesting to read her thoughts, even if I get a kick out of our my child trying to read tarot cards to find out when the next Smash Brother's Mario is coming out. Those same tarot cards gave him quite some mature insight into his own nature sometimes, and help him with problem solving. I won't deny him an intuitive tool that I like myself. Sigh::::

She says the occult sells. Look at her own products! Surely this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Laura Mallory Speaks Out about Harry Potter

"WASHINGTON _ Florida evangelist Bill Keller says he was making a spiritual -- not political -- statement when he warned the 2.4 million subscribers to his Internet prayer ministry that ``if you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!''

But the Washington-based advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State says the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should revoke the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of Bill Keller Ministries, nonetheless."

It is about time.

IRS complaint filed against preacher who compares politician to Satan

What does he think he (and everyone else) is....stupid?

"In a speech at the Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate, the pope characterized pre-contact Indians as ''silently longing'' for Christianity and stated that ''the proclamation of Jesus and of his Gospel did not at any point involve an alienation of the pre-Columbus cultures, nor was it the imposition of a foreign culture.'' It may be the most blatantly erroneous statement about the Christian legacy on indigenous cultures ever uttered.

Not only did the pope's comments exhibit an ever-increasing general arrogance that aims to deny the rights of indigenous peoples around the world but, in this rare case, they came straight from the source. Millions of tribal people died as a result of the institution of the 15th century Inter Caetera papal bulls that provided legal justification for European colonization of the Native people of the Americas (including Brazil where Benedict spoke) and Africa. Then, Indians were slaughtered, enslaved or exposed to deadly diseases. Now, Native survivors of Christian colonization efforts suffer its traumatic generational effects: a diminished ability to relate to and practice traditional life ways, social exclusion and learned sexual abuse. If this does not qualify as an ''imposition'' on the culture of indigenous peoples, what does?"

Pope Alienates and Insults America's Indigenous People

This is where you can watch the entire Scientology documentary from the bbc.

What I find so strange is how close to people the scientologist defender gets in this video - really in the reporters personal space. I've seen that in other scientology videos. It is a creepy to me when people do that.

Scientology Documentary from the BBC that is in the news

(Picture of paper at link above.)
"Dear Friends, This recent headstone victory for Wiccans is indeed an historic moment, but it has been dampened by The New York Post. While the text of the article was a fair and balanced report, it was accompanied by a mocking and insulting composite picture of what a Wiccan GI's headstone would look like. The said photograph is seen below. We will let the picture speak for itself, but I think we should let the Post know how insulted and outraged we all are. Please send a letter to the editor and call the editorial room if you are as insulted as we are. Their email is: letters@nypost.com and the phone #: 212 930 8000.

We've received a few emails wondering if the photo composite is a hoax, as if the New York Post would be above printing such an apalling thing. Those emailers obviously didn't know the Post - it is an ultra-conservative rag that routinely mocks and shocks. We might have dismissed this newspaper as such - - if it weren't for it's large circulation in the Metro NY Area, and it's sizeable distribution through NYC's school system!"

New York Post Blatantly Insults Wiccan Soldiers - Indeed, all wiccans