All Christians ’targets,’ Iraqi militant group says
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) – All Christians in the Middle East are now “legitimate targets,” al Qaeda in Iraq announced Wednesday, as the group’s deadline for Egypt’s Coptic church to release alleged Muslim female prisoners expired.
An audio message released Monday gave the church 48 hours to disclose the status of Muslim women it said are imprisoned in Coptic churches in Egypt. Read full story from cnn.com
Shamanism: Spirits in the valley
The cultural heritage of pre-Islamic philosophy and mythology is so interwoven into the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan that strands of it survive to this day. Religions born of their environments, the influence of centuries of Shamanism, Buddhism, Baoism and Zartosht are seen most clearly in their interaction with nature, where the word worship can be interchanged with respect for and love of. Read full story from tribune.com.pk
Media needs to stop enabling stigmas
The Senate is on the verge of change as 37 of the 100 Senate seats are up for election in November. However, one candidate for the senate in Delaware is causing quite a stir. Tea party favored Christine O’Donnell caused an upset when she became the GOP Senate candidate after the primaries. Though I disagree with everything the tea party stands for, my issue with O’Donnell does not revolve around her party affiliations, but rather her idiotic comments. Read full story from understatesman.com
Native woman recognized as a pioneer in the aviation field
SAN MANUEL, Ariz. – On a sunny spring day in April a small crowd of people gathered at the San Manuel Airport outside of Tucson. They traveled from as far as Colorado and California to attend the two-day Gyrocopter “Fly-in” event.
In attendance was a woman known as the “Gyrocopter Queen,” 81-year-old Marion Springer, a Choctaw pioneer in the rotorcraft – or rotary wing aircraft – industry. The first female certified flight instructor, she has been flying gyrocopters since the late 1960s. REad full story from indiancountrytoday.com
Bewitching plans for 400th anniversary of Pendle witch trials
A YEAR-long programme of events is being proposed to mark the 400th anniversary of the trial and execution of the Pendle witches. Read full story from lancashiretelegraph.co.uk
Scientologists in Haiti: A Firsthand Account
We’ve spoken to someone who traveled to Haiti on a Scientology plane — and witnessed firsthand the ineptitude, quackery and irresponsibility of the church’s minions in a disaster zone. Here’s his account. Read full story from gawker.com
Dalai Lama greets people of Sikkim
DHARAMSALA - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Saturday greeted the people of Sikkim on the occasion of a five-day ‘Tibet Festival’ in Gangtok. Read full story from blog.taragana.com
British ‘Indiana Jones’ finds missing legs of 900-year-old Buddhist statue
It sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie: an archaeology professor with little more to go on than a yellowing photograph discovers part of a 900-year-old statue deep in the Cambodian jungle, rewriting history in the process. Read full story from independent.co.uk
The Wild Hunt at The Florida Pagan Gathering
Assuming that all went well yesterday with my flights, by the time you read this I’ll be enjoying my first day at the 2009 Samhain Florida Pagan Gathering! During the three-day event I’ll be giving talks, and enjoying presentations and performances by festival co-headliners Janet Farrar & Gavin Bone, Donald Michael Kraig, and musical guests Kellianna & Coyote Run. The event runs from November 5-8th (the theme being “Hail the Honored Dead”), and has gotten positive reviews from former presenters Thorn Coyle and Chas Clifton. Read full story from The Wild Hunt
Near stadium, Cowboys have a new rival: Satan
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. Read full story from star-telegram.com
Wiccan Ways
This is a busy time for Wiccans as they prepare for the pagan New Year. Read full story from fresnobee.com
The fantasy and folklore of All Hallows
Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. Read full story from KMPH.com
Angel Valley Resort Sweat Lodge Incident: 2 Die, 19 Overcome at Arizona Retreat
PHOENIX — A sauna-like sweat lodge at an Arizona resort meant to provide spiritual cleansing became the scene of a police investigation Friday when more than a dozen people became ill during a two-hour session and two later died. Read full story from The Huffington Post