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News & Submissions 11/30/2010

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Can Faith Slow Climate Change?
Give us all a reverence for the Earth as your own creation, that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others and to your honor and glory.

The prayer was recited regularly by a young Sally Bingham growing up in San Francisco.

Only years later, as an ordained Episcopal Church priest, did Bingham realize something was amiss with the childhood supplication. Read full story from scientificamerican.com

Headless Scorpio Seeking Answers
In a past life I was beheaded on the battlefield, and I’m unable to release my hatred towards the man who killed me. That’s the only professional explanation that I’ve received for my chronic upper back pain, and I’m not convinced of its validity. Thus far, my supernatural queries have failed to explain my life, yet I continue to consult the paranormal for answers.

The allure of the occult stems from my interest in explaining the vagaries of the world. My astrologist, Deb, who thankfully is also the chef at my fraternity house, attributes my fascination to the fact that I’m a Scorpio. She also tells me I should date a Pisces. Why a fish and a scorpion make a good combo is beyond me, but she’s my go-to gal for these matters. Read full story from cornellsun.com

Islands fear “end of history” due to climate changes
CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) – Some low-lying island nations face the “end of history” due to rising sea levels unless the world takes stronger action to slow global warming, a spokesman said at U.N. climate talks on Monday.

Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives were most at risk, said Antonio Monteiro Lima, a delegate of Cape Verde who is vice-chair of the 43-member Alliance of Small Island States. Read full story from Scientificamerican.com

7 Herbal Remedies You Already Have in Your Kitchen (PHOTOS)
Many people have asked me if I eat differently since writing “Ancient Wisdom, Modern Kitchen: Recipes from the East for Health, Healing, and Long Life” with Chinese medicine experts Yuan Wang, L.Ac., and Warren Sheir, L.Ac. The answer is “Yes, but not always in the way you might imagine.”

Some formerly exotic foods have become familiar (Lotus root? Bring it on!), but a larger shift involves the way I look at many of the ingredients that were already on my kitchen shelf.

Here are seven familiar foods and spices that I have come to appreciate for their therapeutic properties in the 3000-year-old East Asian tradition of treating — and preventing — physical ailments through diet. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Stonehenge ‘was built by rolling stones using giant wicker baskets’
It is one of the abiding mysteries of Britain’s Neolithic past.

For all the awe-inspiring wonder of the standing stones at Stonehenge no one has ever worked out how our ancient ancestors were able to heave boulders weighing many tonnes over such huge distances.

But now an engineer and former BBC presenter believes he has come up with a theory which explains how the giant stones were moved.

Garry Lavin believes that the engineers who built Stonehenge used wicker basket-work to ‘roll’ the huge boulders all the way from Wales to their present location. Read full story from dailymail.co.uk

Judge issues permanent injunction on Oklahoma Sharia law ban
A federal judge in Oklahoma has issued an order putting on hold the certification of a ballot measure that forbids state courts from considering or using international laws, as well as Sharia, or Islamic law.

That permanent injunction will allow the judge more time to consider the constitutional issues raised by State Question 755, which was approved by voters earlier this month.

Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange had earlier issued a temporary restraining order in favor of the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which had sued to nullify the law completely. Read full story from cnn.com

Gardens: Things to do in December
The leaves are down from the trees now, the light falling to earth for the first time in half a year. We have had frost, even in the microclimate of London, and there is no denying it, winter is with us. There’s a host of jobs to do now that the growing side of things is out of the way, but you need to be strategic over the next few months to work with the weather. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Onondaga Nation faces new environmental threat: Fracking
NEDROW, N.Y. – The Onondaga, a member nation of the Haudenosaunee Iroquois Confederacy and long leaders as healers of the environment face a new threat: Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The technique, used for much of today’s natural gas extraction shoots chemicals mixed with millions of gallons of sand and water thousands of feet underground to break apart the rock, allowing more gas to escape and flow out of a well.

Complaints have soared as fracking has expanded across the country. “Every state where this is going on, people’s water is contaminated,” said Joseph Heath, general legal counsel to the Onondaga Nation. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Father Loses Custody of His Children for Being Agnostic (source Live Leak)

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News & Submissions 11/29/2010

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Quick Notes: Ghanaian Witch-Burning, The Power, and Polyamory
Will a Ghanaian Witch-Burning Turn the Tide? Last week a 72-year-old woman in Ghana was accused of being a witch, tortured, doused with kerosene, and lit on fire. This is nothing new; the United Nations and various NGOs have been talking about the global epidemic of witch-killings and witch-hunts for some time now. But will this latest gruesome case spark a change in Ghana? It could just be an illusion created by international press attention, but there seems to be widespread revulsion and outcry over this case, and even those forced to live in “witch camps” are agitating for justice. Read full story wildhunt.org

Meaning of winter solstice
The darkest, coldest time of the year is at once the most dreaded and the most hopeful.

It is the period when, throughout human history, people have feared the possibility that days might continue to get shorter, and nights longer, with the inevitable demise of life.

Indeed, light and life go together, as do darkness and death. To many people in various northern hemisphere cultures, this late-December period has been considered the most dangerous time of year. Indeed this is true, for until quite recently it was when food and fuel might run out with no means left for survival, and when unpredictable weather might bring dreadful results. Read full story from projo.com

Zodiac Zone: Meet Sagittarius
Nearly everyone knows a little something about astrology – even if it’s only where to find the daily horoscope section in the local newspaper. Whether you truly believe the stars control your destiny, think it’s all bunk, or just like to have fun with it, the 12 signs of the zodiac are part of our cultural heritage. Over the next year, the Farmers’ Almanac will introduce you to the facts and mythology behind each constellation in the traditional Western zodiac. This month, Sagittarius. Read full story from farmersalmanac.com

GUEST COLUMN: Repentant sinners find God’s mercy
EASTON —“Well after all, I’m only human!”

Have you ever heard that, or maybe even said it yourself? This expression is one we humans sometimes use to explain why we have done something wrong. It’s not only an attempt to explain our bad behavior, but is used on some occasions to even justify it.

Is that really the explanation for our wrongdoings, that we’re just human and therefore imperfect? Some who believe in God as their creator suggest that that is how God made them imperfect. But is God really the cause of our imperfection? Read full story from wickedlocal.com

Extra claims she was rejected for Hobbit role for looking ‘too brown’
A British woman of Pakistani origin was reportedly turned away from auditions for Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit in New Zealand on the basis that she was not white enough.

Naz Humphreys, who is 5ft tall, had travelled to Hamilton from Auckland last Tuesday in the hope of securing an extra role on Peter Jackson’s forthcoming two-part adaptation of JRR Tolkien‘s classic fantasy tale. However, according to the Waikato Times, she was told after a three-hour wait that her skin tone made it unlikely she would be cast. Read full story from guardian.co.uk

Short Animated Films About Green Stuff (Videos)
And the Oscar for Best Green Short Goes to…
One of the great things about the web is how inexpensive it now is to reach a lot of people. Not so long ago you would have needed to have access to either a printing press, a movie or television studio, or a radio station. Now, anybody can create a website and publish text, or use digital tools to create videos that can then be hosted on a variety of free sites (youtube, Vimeo, etc). Here’s a compilation of some great short animated films about green topics. Read full story from treehugger.com

Big Polluters Freed from Environmental Oversight by Stimulus
In the name of job creation and clean energy, the Obama administration has doled out billions of dollars in stimulus money to some of the nation’s biggest polluters and granted them sweeping exemptions from the most basic form of environmental oversight, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found.

The administration has awarded more than 179,000 “categorical exclusions” to stimulus projects funded by federal agencies, freeing those projects from review under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. Coal-burning utilities like Westar Energy and Duke Energy, chemical manufacturer DuPont, and ethanol maker Didion Milling are among the firms with histories of serious environmental violations that have won blanket NEPA exemptions. Read full story from publicintegrity.com

Poll: Majority support gays serving openly in military
Washington (CNN) – A national poll released Monday indicates that a majority of Americans say they favor allowing gays to serve openly in the armed forces.

The Pew survey’s release comes one day before the Pentagon is expected to release a report on how military personnel feel about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which bans openly gay troops for serving in the armed forces. Red full story from cnn.com

Where lucky suspected witches live in camps
From Accra, the capital to Hamile in the north, and from Aflao in the east to Elubo in the west, it looks like Ghanaians are becoming obsessed with witchcraft and this has taken a dangerous trend.

Whilst some Pentecostal churches claim they have to exorcises those who confess, in some traditional communities, especially in the north, these so called witches are isolated and made to live in camps. What is worrying is that, women are mainly those who are accused of witchcraft and made to suffer the consequences. Read full story from africareview.com

Caribou Survival Depends on Ancient Cultural Knowledge
It’s beginning to be the time of year when caribou, as reindeer are known in North America, show up on holiday cards and tree ornaments.

But not all is well with this iconic species, which has been in retreat from humans for decades. Now new thinking about the conservation and restoration of North America’s wild herds of caribou combines not only the latest western approach to science but also the tried-and-tested ancient knowledge and perspectives of indigenous cultures that co-existed so long and so successfully with these northern animals. Read full story from nationalgeographic.com

Navajo Nation urges US to adopt UN Declaration
ST. MICHAELS, Ariz. – The disparity in the government’s treatment of federally recognized and non-recognized tribes is not consistent with the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Duane H. Yazzie, chairperson of the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission said Oct. 15.

The “Declaration does not separate or categorize us and treat us differently based on the categories, like the U.S. does,” he said, citing Article 1 of the Declaration: “Indigenous peoples, whether individually or collectively shall enjoy their human rights.” Read full story from indiancountrytoda.com

Portland bomb plot suspect felt betrayed by family, thought living in U.S. was sin
Mohamed Osman Mohamud was angry at his parents for keeping him from jihad and had thought about carrying out an operation, “something like Mumbai,” since he was 17. On the two-year anniversary of the shooting and bombing attack on a Mumbai, India, hotel that killed 166 people, Mohamud pressed the buttons on a cell phone he thought would trigger an explosion, creating a “spectacular show” and killing hundreds at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the government alleges.

The Corvallis teenager, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb during the annual tree-lighting ceremony in “Portland’s living room,” will make his first court appearance Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Portland. Read full story from oregonlive.com

Oregon mosque attended by bomb plot suspect target of apparent arson (source cnn)

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News & Submissions 11/28/2010

Sunday, November 28th, 2010

Masters of Math, From Old Babylon
If the cost of digging a trench is 9 gin, and the trench has a length of 5 ninda and is one-half ninda deep, and if a worker’s daily load of earth costs 10 gin to move, and his daily wages are 6 se of silver, then how wide is the canal?

Or, a better question: if you were a tutor of Babylonian scribes some 4,000 years ago, holding a clay tablet on which this problem was incised with cuneiform indentations — the very tablet that can now be seen with 12 others from that Middle Eastern civilization at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World — what could you take for granted, and what would you need to explain to your students? In what way did you think about measures of time and space? How did you calculate? Did you believe numbers had an abstract existence, each with its own properties? Read full story from nytimes.com

How the Internet Changed Paganism
The Internet is a wonderful tool used by numerous people worldwide. Although some might not admit it, most people rely on the Internet for most things that they do. Now, how does this relate to Paganism, one might ask? Well it seems that the Internet has made information on Paganism and the various traditions that it encompasses (i.e. Druidism, Wicca, etc) more accessible to people now a days. There are many articles on Paganism available to read on the Internet (not all are good but there are many informative pieces out there) .

If it weren’t for the wonder that is the world wide Internet, I probably would not be on the spiritual path that I am today- I cannot say that for sure but it is improbable. To be honest, I can’t quite remember exactly how I ended up typing “Wicca” into the Google search engine on my laptop computer. However, what I do know is that for some reason I did and it led me to reading various articles on the religion, that I now call my own. It led me to discover that there is a spiritual path that seems to encompass basically everything that I believe- in terms of what the divine is. It felt to me like I finally had found the spiritual path that I was meant to be on. Many people will understand what I am saying by this; that something which had been missing was finally filled. In fact, Wicca helped me become a better person and Paganism in general, is something that I find myself feeling extremely passionate about. Read full story from witchvox.com

Istanbul Treats Its Famous and Beautiful Bosphorus Strait Like a Trash Can, Turkish NGO Says
From the deck of a boat bobbing on its surface, Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait seems to flow fresh and strong, breathing air and energy into the city it divides into two continents. When anchored in a secluded cove near the Black Sea end of the strait, it even feels clean enough to swim in. But what lies underneath the waves is apparently another matter altogether.

“Everywhere there are people, there is pollution,” Hakan Tiryaki, the head of the Underwater Cleaning Movement (STH), which works to raise awareness about aquatic pollution, told the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. Members of the group have dived down to the seabed 250 times since 2005 and say the strait is full of garbage — from old furniture to boat parts, cleaning supplies to restaurant trash. And, of course, plenty of plastic bags. STH divers have removed more than 16,000 pieces of solid waste from just one part of the waterway. Read full story from treehugger.com

Wicken Traditions in Salem During Halloween
Halloween in Salem—the phrase generally conjures up images of reveling party-goers dressed as scantily as possible, roaming the streets for a night of fun and excess. Halloween is taken to the extreme here in Salem, as anyone who ventures downtown can confess. College students are especially revved up for Halloween, since their celebrating typically includes partying in costumes, stuffing their faces with candy, and generally having a good time.

For some of us, however, there is more to Halloween than ghosts and ghouls and sexy French maid costumes. To the Wiccan and Pagan community, Halloween is a sacred holiday which stems from the ancient Celtic New Year known as “Samhain” (pronounced “Sow-ain”). Samhain is traditionally celebrated as the end of the harvest season, and also as a time when the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest. Read full story from salemstatelog.com

In Salem, Life After Halloween
It’s no surprise to Salem residents and to SSU students alike that the city of Salem is a madhouse in the days leading up to and on Halloween. However, now that the season has come and gone with Thanksgiving and Christmas on the horizon, what happens to all the businesses that thrive off their long-gone cash-cow month?

Since Salem’s 300th anniversary in 1992 of the Witch Hysteria, the city has seen a regular increase in the number of revelers out to enjoy the month-long Haunted Happenings celebrations.

According to Destination Salem, Salem’s tourist office, there has been a 12 percent increase in the number of visitors since last year, and it is estimated that the October season pumps approximately $9 million into the local economy. So what happens now to all our local tourist traps after Halloween? Read full story from salemstatelog.com

One scientist’s hobby: recreating the ice age
CHERSKY, Russia – Wild horses have returned to northern Siberia. So have musk oxen, hairy beasts that once shared this icy land with woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Moose and reindeer are here, and may one day be joined by Canadian bison and deer.

Later, the predators will come — Siberian tigers, wolves and maybe leopards.

Russian scientist Sergey Zimov is reintroducing these animals to the land where they once roamed in millions to demonstrate his theory that filling the vast emptiness of Siberia with grass-eating animals can slow global warming. Read full story from yahoo.com

Spanish woman claims ownership of the Sun
MADRID (AFP) – After billions of years the Sun finally has an owner — a woman from Spain’s soggy region of Galicia said Friday she had registered the star at a local notary public as being her property.

Angeles Duran, 49, told the online edition of daily El Mundo she took the step in September after reading about an American man who had registered himself as the owner of the moon and most planets in our Solar System. Read full story from yahoo.com

Leaking Siberian ice raises a tricky climate issue (source USA Today)

The Sahara Solar Breeder Project (source DigInfo)

Psychic Healers: Shamanic Healing Teacher Answers Essential Questions (source rillara.com)

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News & Submissions 11/27/2010

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

Christopher Hitchens vs. Tony Blair: the full transcript
You may need to set aside the rest of your Saturday to get through this, but here in full is the transcript of the long-anticipated Munk debate between Christopher Hitchens and former prime minister Tony Blair. The motion: “Be it resolved, religion is a force for good in the world”. No prizes for guessing who was arguing for and against.

The debate was hosted last night in Toronto, Canada before an audience of 2,600. Reports suggest that touts were selling tickets for up to five hundred Canadian dollars.

According to post-debate voting on the Munk debate website, Hitchens won the argument against the motion by 68 per cent to 32 per cent. A pre-debate poll showed that 57 per cent were against the motion and 22 per cent were for it — demonstrating, I guess, the impressive debating skills of both men. Red full story from newstatesman.com

My Take: How real interfaith dialogue works
I’ve thought for some time that if more Americans had personal contact, even friendships, with their fellow Americans who are Muslims there might be less mistrust and misunderstanding about the role Islam plays in their lives.

The years have convinced me that interfaith dialogue, particularly the one-on-one variety, is a more viable way to break down barriers between people than large-scale efforts. Read full story from cnn.com

“What Do You Ask a Shaman?” on November 30 “Why Shamanism Now?” Radio Show with Christina Pratt
(OPENPRESS) November 27, 2010 — Streaming live on the Co-Creator Radio Network (www.co-creatornetwork.com) on Tuesday, November 30, at 11 a.m. Pacific time/2 p.m. Eastern time, on her show “Why Shamanism Now?: A Practical Path to Authenticity,” shaman and founder of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing Christina Pratt reviews some of the questions posed to her – questions like: Can shamanism help with mental illness? What about my depression? Am I cheating myself out of healing by taking my pharmaceuticals? Can you heal my father’s dementia? Does shamanic healing work long distance? How do I “pay the rent” with powerful psychoactive plants and stay in good relationship with the spirit world? Why does gratitude matter? Read full story from theopenpress.com

Snapshot of a Civilization in the Making
The eastern desert of Jordan is unforgiving, a lunar landscape that races 500 lonely miles from Amman to the outskirts of Baghdad. Along the main road, there are few signs of life: a dusty army base, a desert grouse, the bleached bones of a dead animal. Yet through the sandy silence, the wind carries whispers of luxury. About 50 miles from Amman stands a small, richly decorated bathhouse called Qusayr Amra. It is among the strangest, most spectacular examples of early Islamic art, a solitary monument to la dolce vita in this sun-scorched earth. At Qusayr Amra, we can catch a glimpse of Islamic high culture in the making. The picture that forms is surprising, to say the least. Read full story from wsj.com

White house confirms support of ‘clean Carcieri fix’
WASHINGTON – The White House has reiterated its support for a “Carcieri fix” – legislation confirming the federal government’s authority to take Indian land into trust for general purposes, while the Interior Department has distanced itself from a senator’s proposal that would virtually eliminate off reservation trust land for gaming.

“I think everyone in the administration that’s talked about it has made it very clear that we support the clean Carcieri fix,” White House spokesman Shin Inouye told Indian Country Today Nov. 23. “The president has said that, the Secretary (of Interior) has said that, we’ve said that in all our letters and testimony to Congress. Is there some confusion out there about our position?” Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Loch Ness monster: new pictures and sighting of Nessie
The legend of Nessie has resurfaced with a new sighting and pictures of the Loch Ness monster.

Richard Preston, a landscape designer, has been the latest person to spot a mysterious shape that might be the Loch Ness monster and capture a series of images on camera. Read full story from stv.tv

There’s oxygen on Rhea, but aliens? Don’t hold your breath
On its journey around Saturn and its moons, the Cassini mission – jointly run by NASA and the European Space Agency – has made another breathtaking discovery. The findings, published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.1198366), show that Rhea, the second biggest moon of the giant planet, has an atmosphere that is 70 per cent oxygen and 30 per cent carbon dioxide. This adds to the picture of Rhea that Cassini has already provided by imaging its craters and discovering its rings. Read full story from newscientist.com

Fun “green” projects from Marc de Vinck
We’ve done a lot of projects on MAKE over the years that use largely recycled or scrounged materials. As we continue our MAKE Green Projects Contest, we thought it’d be fun to feature some of them here. We figured we’d tag some of our own green! Read full stor from makezine.com

Towards a Spiritual future with Celtic beliefs:
In Ancient times, the ancestral races of many European nations today were known as ‘Celtics’ as they shared Iron Age inherent roots and they had many mythological belief’s with a touch of spirituality.

Literary Druids were Celtic priests and legend says that they were possessed by many magical powers.

As the Druidism movement was originally inspired by 17th, 18th, and 19th century Romantic movements, neo druids also developed fraternal organizations modeled on Free-masonry that employed the romantic figure of the British Druids and Bards as symbols of indigenous British spirituality. Read full story from dailymirror.lk

Man not denied chauffeur’s permit because he was a pagan
The man who claimed Vancouver police discriminated against him and refused to give him a chauffeur’s permit because he was a pagan whose sexual practices included bondage, domination, sadism and masochism has lost his appeal to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.

Peter Hayes had filed a complaint against the Vancouver Police Board and Const. Kevin Barker after Barker refused to give him the permit needed for his employment as a limousine driver in May 2005. Read full story from vancouversun.com

Why is Cthulhu on this 300-year-old gravestone?
The Reverend Ichabod Wiswall (1637-1700) is a historical footnote. When he’s remembered, it’s for giving the first funeral sermon in America, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. So why is there a Lovecraftian cephalopod on his gravestone?

Wiswall was responsible, with the Reverend Increase Mather, for persuading Queen Mary to create the 1692 charter which united the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Wiswall served the town of Duxbury as a minister for 24 years and is buried in Duxbury in the Myles Standish Burial Ground, supposedly the oldest continually maintained cemetery in the United States. Read full story from i09,com

Priest accused of hiring hitman (source cnn)

Sacred Spaces: Meet the mason at the Washington National Cathedral (source cnn)

New Atheist Billboard Up in New Jersey (source cnn)

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Happy Turkey Day!

Thursday, November 25th, 2010

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News & Submissions 11/24/2010

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Ross: Being thankful on Thanksgiving
Sometimes it’s simply about saying “thank you;” nothing more, nothing less.

The prayers went on forever. Actually, they lasted – usually – about 45 minutes, maybe an hour. It really did seem like they would never end, though.

And the worst part was that he knew what he was doing to us! He knew that it was torture – the smells, the sights, the waiting. He and grandma put all of the boiling meats and the red hot dogs and the sweets all on the little table with the yellow, vinyl table cloth on it – right there for all of us to see. We all knew that the potato salad was going to be good and mustardy, and we knew that we were gonna get some pop that was not warm Cragmont Cream Soda. And it was simply mean, what he was doing, gosh darn it – the smells were incredible! Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Deputy: Woman Advised To Leave Gun On Grave To “Clear Her Spirits”
BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. –A gun was found sitting in a box on a grave in Boiling Springs after a woman says she was advised by a medium to leave something behind that was given to her by the deceased.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office says a .45 caliber pistol was found in a box sitting on a grave at Good Shepard Memorial Gardens Tuesday afternoon. Read full story from wspa.com

TIBET – CHINA Dalai Lama to retire in six months
Dharamsala – The Dalai Lama plans to retire from political life over the next six months, a spokesman said today, thus reiterating what the leader of Tibetan Buddhism said two days ago in an interview with an Indian TV network.

The 76-year-old spiritual leader, who fled Chinese-occupied Tibet in 1959, wants to step down in order to return to his homeland as an ordinary citizen. The current 14th Dalai Lama, who wants to die on the “roof of the world”, is not likely to convince the Chinese to grant him this wish. Read full story from speroforum.com

Australian Poltergeist Video
GT reader David S. contacted us about a “ghost hunter” from Queensland Australia who is said to have captured some compelling evidence of poltergeist activity.

NQGHOSTHUNTER is the ghost hunter’s username on YouTube. His videos show some interesting and clear shots of objects being tossed around and moved by unseen forces….or strings.

Check out the first clip. In this clip, we see lights being flicked on and off and some basic object movement: Read full story from ghosttheory.com

China says it is world’s top greenhouse gas emitter
BEIJING (Reuters) – China acknowledged on Tuesday it is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases stoking global warming, confirming what scientists have said for years but defending its right to keep growing emissions.

China’s chief negotiator in international climate change talks, Xie Zhenhua, made the comment while spelling out his government’s position ahead of negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, from November 29 over a new global pact to fight global warming. Read full story from scientificamerican.com

A Wandering Mind is an Unhappy One
We spend billions of dollars each year looking for happiness, hoping it might be bought, consumed, found, or flown to. Other, more contemplative cultures and traditions assure us that this is a waste of time (not to mention money). ‘Be present’ they urge. Live in the moment, and there you’ll find true contentment.

Sure enough, our most fulfilling experiences are typically those that engage us body and mind, and are unsullied by worry or regret. In these cases, a relationship between focus and happiness is easy to spot. But does this relationship hold in general, even for simple, everyday activities? Is a focused mind a happy mind? Harvard psychologists Matthew Killingsworth and Daniel Gilbert decided to find out. Read full story from scientificamerican.com

Illinois Christmas traditions vary
GALESBURG —There was a time when Christmas went uncelebrated at Knox College.

“It was seen as an unnecessary celebration,” said historian Owen Muelder, director of the Galesburg Colony Underground Railroad Freedom Center at Knox and a former administrator at the college.

The college was established by Congregationalists and Presbyterians who followed strict religious practices and codes of behavior.“They did not want to in any way have celebrations at Christmas that had to do with pagan tradition,” Muelder said. “The founders of Knox College didn’t celebrate Christmas the way we do. They didn’t celebrate in any way other than recognition of Christ’s birth. No parties. No Christmas trees. Read full story from galesburg.com

California Dreaming? The Golden State Takes the Lead in U.S. Efforts to Combat Climate Change
SACRAMENTO—Only two weeks after California voters turned back an effort to suspend the state’s program to combat climate change, a cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gas emissions saw its first trade, a swap of a climate-change pollution permit for 2012.

“While our federal government is sitting on its hands, California is moving full speed ahead to a clean-energy future,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in his weekly address on November 19. “We are creating a consistent, long-term energy policy—something that has eluded Washington for decades. In fact, Washington should take a lesson from what is happening right now here in California.” Read full story from scientificamerican.com

Crazy Things You Didn’t Know You Could Compost (Plus, Some You Can’t), Holiday Edition
Fresh on the heels of the pizza box scandal, in which EcoSalon cleared up some mysteries with recyling, we’ve uncovered more items that you can’t compost — and some surprising ones you can. This being the holiday season, we enter a whole new level of composting controversy. Seriously, Santa, lay off the tinsel. Here’s how to navigate the festivities with an eye to the bin and the bucket. Read full story from treehugger.com

Pope raises possibility of resignation in book (Source cnn.com)

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News & Submissions 11/23/2010

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

‘Worst Act Of Aggression Against South Korea’ Since ’50s
We start the day with more about the unsettling news that “North Korea (has) fired at least 200 rounds of artillery at a South Korean island near the countries’ disputed western sea border.”

Two South Korean marines were killed and more than a dozen people injured in today’s incident.

On Morning Edition earlier, Dongseo University international studies professor Brian Myers spoke with co-host Steve Inskeep from Seoul. As Myers said, “this is the first time since the Korean War that we’ve had an attack on civilian territory with artillery shells. So, this is really … the worst act of aggression against South Korea that we’ve seen since the end of the Korean War.” (Myers was referring to the end of open warfare, of course, since the conflict between the North and South has never officially ended.) Read full story from npr.org

Selling souls for a celery stick and playing with Ouija boards
For as long as I can remember I’ve been into horror and all things related to it. Ghosts, demons, spirits, scary movies and anything having to do with the occult are always interesting topics to me. I think it would be cool to be a vampire and live forever off the blood of the innocent or a zombie, feasting on brains and other delicacies. Does this mean I truly believe in ghosts and goblins? Not at all. What is surprising, though, is how many people actually do.

Last week, at work, a coworker and I were talking about summoning a demon to the office. We used an online Ouija board and tried to bring a demon forth to haunt our workplace. Obviously it didn’t work. Later, when we told another coworker about it, she replied by saying, “Oh, I don’t mess with that kind of stuff.” Read full story from daily49er.com

Professor explores the Isle of Man’s fascination with fairies!
THE Isle of Man’s fascination with The Fairy Bridge and Manx traditions about fairies has resulted in a British historian arranging a visit to the Island to give a lecture on the subject in January.

Professor Ronald Hutton will deliver his lecture – ‘Traditional Fairy Beliefs’ – at the Gaiety Theatre and will explore the intriguing subject of fairies, including the value that fairy stories served, whether ‘real’ or not. Read full story from isleofman.com

How BP Clashed and Cooperated With Scientists
A detail-rich, 39-page working paper from staff members of the oil spill commission says the government and BP have “much to take pride in” for their response to the crisis, given that “neither was ready for a disaster of this nature.” It says, however, that the failure to get an accurate rate of oil flow early on may have “impeded” BP’s efforts to have oil-collection equipment ready when needed. Read full story from sciencemag.org

Energy Services Platform (ESP) (Source People Power)

Pope makes frank comments in new book (source cnn.com)

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News & Submissions 11/22/2010

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Thanksgiving symbolizes Native generosity and kindness
VERONA, N.Y. – When the first immigrants from Europe arrived on the North American shores, they were homeless and hungry. They survived thanks to the generosity and kindness of Native peoples, who helped them through the first brutal northeastern winter and shared traditional methods of agriculture that would sustain them through future seasons.

That tradition of hospitality and help is replayed throughout Indian country during the Thanksgiving season in various acts of kindness by tribal nations. Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

My Take: My top 3 books for the hotel nightstand
If you have ever contemplated being stranded in a hotel room without electricity, you might be happy to hear that the Gideon’s ubiquitous nightstand Bibles are no longer your only reading option. For some time, many Marriott Hotels have featured copies of the Book of Mormon, and, now, according to Kate Shellnutt at the Houston Chronicle, Hare Krishnas have placed roughly 7,000 copies of the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita in 100 Houston-area hotel rooms. Read full story from cnn.com

Banned medic vows to fight GMC ‘witch-hunt’
WHEN Doctor Sarah Myhill first began treating sufferers of ME and chronic fatigue syndrome, she saw herself as a pioneer – changing the lives of hundreds of patients who had nowhere else to turn.

But now, banned from practising medicine and under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) for posing a risk to patients’ health, Dr Myhill says her life has been engulfed by legal battles and her ongoing fight to clear her name. Read full story from walesonline.co.uk

Hundreds gather for interfaith Thanksgiving celebration
Members of more than a dozen religious organizations gathered in Central Austin on Sunday in advance of Thanksgiving to show their appreciation for one another.

People packed into University Baptist Church near the University of Texas during a nearly two-hour ceremony that featured prayers and songs from different religions. Read full story from statesman.com

Seeking Proof in Near-Death Claims
At 18 hospitals in the U.S. and U.K., researchers have suspended pictures, face up, from the ceilings in emergency-care areas. The reason: to test whether patients brought back to life after cardiac arrest can recall seeing the images during an out-of-body experience.

People who have these near-death experiences often describe leaving their bodies and watching themselves being resuscitated from above, but verifying such accounts is difficult. The images would be visible only to people who had done that. Read full story from wsj.com

Ancient Roman bath found in Jerusalem
Jerusalem – Israeli archaeologists have uncovered a 1 800-year-old bathing pool which proves that Aelia Capitolina, the Roman city built after the destruction of Jerusalem, was larger than thought, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced on Monday. Read full story from news24.com

Secret chamber in National Library
KOLKATA: National Library has always been reputed to haunted. Now, here is a really eerie secret. A mysterious room has been discovered in the 250-year-old building a room that no one knew about and no one can enter because it seems to have no opening of kind, not even trapdoors.

The chamber has lain untouched for over two centuries. Wonder what secrets it holds. The archaeologists who discovered it have no clue either, their theories range from a torture chamber, or a sealed tomb for an unfortunate soul or the most favoured of all a treasure room. Some say they wouldn’t be surprised if both skeletons and jewels tumble out of the secret room. Read full story from indiatimes.com

Tiger Extinction: Tigers Could Be Extinct In 12 Years If Unprotected
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching, global wildlife experts told a “tiger summit” Sunday.

The World Wildlife Fund and other experts say only about 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, a dramatic plunge from an estimated 100,000 a century ago. Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Arguments to take place in Oklahoma over ban on Islamic law in courts
A federal judge will hear arguments Monday on a temporary restraining order against an Oklahoma referendum that would ban the use of Islamic religious law in state courts.

Oklahoma voters approved the amendment during the November elections by a 7-3 ratio. But the Council on American-Islamic Relations challenged the measure as a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange issued a temporary restraining order November 8 that will keep state election officials from certifying that vote Read full story from cnn.com

Are Some People Not Fit to Be Vegans?
What to eat? It’s still a touchy subject, and posts about food choices here at TreeHugger tend to draw (at best) sprited debate and at worst, heated ire. So here’s more fuel for the fire – dedicated vegan food blogger Tasha at the Voracious Vegan has turned her back on 3.5 years of veganism, drawing support but also ire from her readers. Some people say veganism doesn’t meet the nutritional needs (especially for B-12) of its practitioners. Others, including medical expert Dean Ornish, swear that a low-fat plant-based diet is better for the body and for the planet. Read full story from treehugger.com

A prayer for Fido: Pet lovers flock to Danvers church for monthly service with pets
DANVERS — The Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas began last night’s service at Calvary Episcopal Church in Danvers with an important public service announcement.

“Don’t be afraid if your friend needs to walk around or talk during the service,” she told the two dozen-or-so people and their canine friends.

On cue, in walked Addy, a Chinese crested powderpuff, with her owner, Lis Carey of Lawrence. Instantly, the room erupted in a chorus of barks, as suddenly-alert mutts looked around, angling to get a good glimpse or sniff of the late arrival. When order was restored, Keith-Lucas resumed. Read full story from Salemnews.com

Recent Discoveries Shed Light On Ancient Human Migration & Sport
In 2009, the Norwegian research magazine ‘Apollon’ reported that archaeologists had discovered a 70,000 year old religious site in the remote region of Ngamiland, Botswana. In the year since the announcement, little follow-up discussion and speculation has been undertaken despite the fact the discovery is both profound and history changing.

This discovery can not be underestimated, for not only does it shed new light on the mankind’s earliest religion but also on early human migration, biblical accounts in the Book of Genesis, as well as the historic significance of ancient stick and ball sports. The Ngamiland discovery is the first solid evidence of the ‘Serpent Religion’ being practiced by early man 30,000 years before similar sites appear in Europe and the Near East. In addition, it adds new fuel to the on-going debate on pre-Columbian New World civilizations and their ancient links to Africa and the Mediterranean. Read full story from boxscorenews.com

Public apology to Natives overdue
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – President Barack Obama will be asked – again – for a formal and public apology to Indian country on behalf of the U.S. government for past atrocities, said Don Coyhis, whose White Bison Inc. made a cross-country trek in 2009 fruitlessly seeking such an acknowledgment.

Instead, Coyhis noted, the president issued an “Apology to Native Peoples of the United States” last December that was buried in the Defense Appropriations Act and was “never properly presented to Native Americans and to the American people.”

The apology said, in part, that the U.S. through Congress, “recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the federal government regarding Indian tribes.” Read full story from indiancountrytoday.com

Islamic community center developer seeks federal funding
The developer behind the controversial Islamic community center and mosque planned for Lower Manhattan has requested federal funding through the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to support the project known as Park51.

The funding would come from money the Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated to help rebuild the neighborhood after the 9/11 attacks.  “Park51 has applied for a Lower Manhattan Development Corporation grant,” said Sharif El-Gamal, CEO of SOHO Properties, the developer behind the Islamic center. Read full story from cnn.com

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News & Submissions 11/21/2010

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

Atheists don’t have to share religious beliefs, but they also don’t have to share ill will, either: Regina Brett
Americans are going to be hit with a blitz of billboards, TV, newspaper and bus ads promoting the “joy and wisdom of atheism” according to an article in the New York Times last week. Four organizations that represent atheists, free thinkers and humanists plan to launch the campaign in time for the holidays.

Some ads will cite barbaric excerpts from the Bible and the Koran; others will quote famous non-believers, like Albert Einstein. Reporter Laurie Goodstein wrote that the groups are trying to recruit the “untapped” people who identify themselves as having “no religion.” About 15 percent of American adults claim no religion, according to a study quoted in the article. Read full story from clevland.com

Where the legends rest
It’s overgrown and old, and it’s the type of place you’d only be seen dead in. It’s a cemetery. It’s not any cemetery though. It’s Highgate Cemetery. This iconic resting place in London probably has more famous dead people per square metre than anywhere else in the world. What’s more the place is a monument to Victorian era tombstone culture.

I first visited Highgate Cemetery in the mid-1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was taking on the last bastion of organised militant labour, the mineworker’s union, led by its dyed in the wool Marxist leader Aurther Scargill. There was more than a hint of left wing radicalism in the air, so it seemed quite apt to visit the grave of Karl Marx. To my surprise, however, I found the cemetery to have a lot more going for it than just Marx’s tomb. Read full story from deccanherald.com

WRITERS WRITE: Grandma’s secret life, hidden in an old box
As I probed further, I discovered that Grandma Mary had led a secret life. She had put herself in the hands of a mail-order psychic. This Christian pillar of the church was involved in psychic readings and astrological charts. I was more than a little shocked. This was not the grandma I had known.

I learned that by subscribing to the New York Magazine of Mysteries, the Exalted Mystic would send a pamphlet which would teach her how to tell the names of people she had never seen before. Read full story from wiscnews.com

Hindu Bhagavad Gita to Join Bible in Some Houston Hotels
Pull open a drawer in some Houston hotel rooms, and beside your room-service menu and Gideons Bible, you might find a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.

The sacred Hindu text is making its way into nightstands across the country through a campaign to spread the scripture and awareness about Lord Krishna, the deity believed to have spoken the philosophical teachings millennia ago. Read full story from nbcdfw.com

Facebook-banning NJ pastor acknowledges threesome
NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP, N.J. – A pastor who said Facebook was a “portal to infidelity” and told married church leaders to delete their accounts or resign once testified that he had a three-way sexual relationship with his wife and a male church assistant.

The Rev. Cedric Miller confirmed the information reported Saturday by the Asbury Park Press of Neptune, which cited testimony he gave in a criminal case in 2003. The relationship had ended by that time. Read full story from yahoo.com

Sharia fear-mongering threatens religious freedom
Much of the news media seemed bemused or bewildered when Sharron Angle warned of an Islamic-law takeover in America during her unsuccessful bid to unseat Sen. Harry Reid.

Angle was widely ridiculed for citing Frankford, Texas (a town that no longer exists), and Dearborn, Mich. (with a large population of Arab-Americans living under American law), as examples of the imposition of Islamic or sharia law. Read full story from firstamendmentcenter.org

Experts: Mystery contrail was from Chinese missile (Source wnd.com)

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News & Submissions 11/20/2010

Saturday, November 20th, 2010

2010 Wild Hunt Winter Pledge Drive, Nov 15-21
Since it started in 2004, the Wild Hunt has become a vital news source for modern Pagans, and a crucial resource for those outside the Pagan movement who want to explore the issues that are important to us.

The Wild Hunt doesn’t simply alert you to the interesting (or infuriating) stories of the day, but adds analysis, context, and unique features. Read full story from wildhunt.com

Battle Over Public Christmas Displays Begins Again
And so it starts. Cities are again battling over whether to allow religious Christmas displays in public squares during the “winter holidays.”

Freedom from religion groups start lawsuits over Christmas, disagreements by school boards occur over whether children can sing songs about Christ in holiday programs. It happens every year. Read full story from yahoo

Pyramidal Tombs at Syrian Forgotten Cities
Damascus- Dead cities were built on low height mountains in the provinces of Aleppo, Idleb and Hama governorates and called by the archeologists as “The Desolate Cities, or the Forgotten Cities”, Tishreen daily said Saturday.

The daily added that those cities are distinguished by unique characteristics, attracted the attention of a number of archeologists and international organizations including the UNESCO which works now on preparing a file to register those archeological sites on the World Heritage List. Read full story from dp-news.com

Thanksgiving: A Holiday For Believers and Non-Believers
SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) Ken Guthrie and his partner will be at his aunt’s house for Thanksgiving, sharing a table with his grandmother, siblings and cousins — a veritable holiday crowd.

But when it comes time to express thanks, Guthrie, a board member of Salt Lake City Pagan Pride, will not be speaking to the Christian God his relatives might address.

“I’m thanking, first, the universe for allowing me to be alive. I’m thanking my family for being with me, and I give thanks to the turkey that gave its life, the plants on our table, to the Earth itself for being abundant.” Read full story from huffingtonpost.com

Frankly, the future is all too predictable
Today I am going to write about psychic powers, but you knew that already, didn’t you? Because according to a recent “study”, humans have the ability to predict the future. Which means that even when you were reading about William and Kate, and all the while you were taking in the wise words of Simon Heffer, you were well aware that you were moments away from a piece about extra-sensory perception. That, or this article has been flagged up in the previous pages.

Anyway, Professor Daryl Bem of Cornell University in New York carried out nine different experiments involving more than 1,000 volunteers, all but one of which appeared to indicate that people have psychic powers. In one of his experiments, students were told to memorise various words. Astonishingly, they tended to recall the ones they would later be asked to type. Cue the Twilight music, please. Read full story from telegraph.co.uk

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