Here are some videos and slide shows I found on YouTube from the recent Parliament of the World's Religions.
So, enjoy...
Parliament of the World's Religions Slide Show
Parliament of the World's Religions 2009
Parliament of the World Religions 2009.wmv
Parliament of the World's Religions 2009 SBS News Report
URI Intro Video for Parliament 2009
Aboriginal Elder addresses the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne, 9 Dec 2009
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar 's speech at the opening of the Parliament of the World's Religions 2009
The Dalai Lama addresses Parliament of the World Religions 2009
Australian Aboriginal Invitation to the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions
History of the Parliament of the World's Religions
Youth Invitation to the 2009 Parliament of the World's Religions
We are All in this Together
Day 6 at the PWR 2009 - Youth at the Parliament
Peace Next
PWR Day One at PWR 2009 - The Welcome
Day 2 at the PWR 2009 - Healing the earth
Day 3 at the PWR - Peace & the pursuit of justice
Day 4 at the PWR - Indigenous peoples
Day 5 at the PWR - Social cohesion & tensions
Who Will Guide Us in Our Care of the Earth?
Building Peace in the Pursuit of Justice
The Face of God - Parliament of the World's Religions
UN Climate Negations in Copenhagen: A Message from the Parliament of the World's Religions 09
Human Face of Climate Change: Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision Australia at PWR 2009
Climate Change is a Matter of Justice: Nobel Prize Nominee Sulak Sivaraksa at PWR 2009
Climate Change is a Matter of Justice: Naga Chanter and Singer Visier Sanya at PWR 2009
Swami Mayatitananda Speaks at Parliament of the World's Religions 2009
Swami Shankarananda at Parliament of theWorld's Religions 2009
Buddhist Welcome to the Parliament of the World's Religions
The Tibetan Monks bless the Mandala at PWR 2009
Sikh Turban video - Parliament of the World's Religion 2009
Om, Shanti, Om-Tamil at PWR 2009
Isobel At Parliament of World's Religions 2009
NewThoughtMusic at PWR 2009
The Brothahood - Muslim Hip Hop at PWR 2009
Erika Luckett and Lisa Ferraro performing their Parliament Blessing at PWR 2009
Kevin Locke - Lakota Souix - Eagle Song - PWR 2009
Creating Social Cohesion PWR 2009
Paul Carus: His Living Legacy
Dennis Walker: 'White Man has lost his Dreaming; Insanity is about to ensue'
Pagans At the Parliament of World Religions 2009 - Gede Pama
A day with Andrew Cohen at the Parliament of the World's Religions 2009
Being a Zoroastrian in Today's World at PWR 2009 - Patheos.com
Being a Soka Gakkai in Today's World at PWR 2009 - Patheos.com
Being a Jain in Today's World - Patheos.com
Being an Australian Unitarian Universalist in Today's World at PWR 2009 - Patheos.com
Being a Gnostic in Today's World at PWR 2009- Patheos.com
Here are a some from MagicTV
PWR 2009 Opening & Auntie Joy Murphy Gives Blessing
PWR 2009 Meet and Greet, With Mother Tongue
PWR 2009 Australian Pagan Speaks: A Community Forum
PWR 2009 Divine Feminine Panel
PWR 2009 Men Who Love The Goddess
PWR 2009 Indigenous Statement Panel
PWR T Thorn Coyle Ritual Highlights
And here is a blast from the past...
Selena Fox & Rowan Fairgrove at Paliament of the World's Religions 1999
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Memorial service in honor of Ted A. Andrews.
On Saturday, Jan. 30, at 10 a.m. there will be a memorial service in Dayton Ohio in honor of Ted A. Andrews. Here is the story from the Dayton Daily News
..."Mr. Andrews, a prolific writer, teacher, story teller, protector of wildlife, a musician, and a serious student of the occult and esoteric, died from cancer at his Jackson, Tenn., farm and animal refuge on Oct. 24 at the age of 57.
Born in Dayton on July 15, 1952, he lived the formative years of his life in Beavercreek and graduated from Carroll High School in 1970....
“Ted was eventually famous around the world for his many books regarding the spirit world, animals and psychic understanding and mysticism.”
The book “Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small” was the top-selling book of the 40 Mr. Andrews authored. It was released in 1993 and had sold more than half a million copies by the time of his death."...(Cont)...
..."Mr. Andrews, a prolific writer, teacher, story teller, protector of wildlife, a musician, and a serious student of the occult and esoteric, died from cancer at his Jackson, Tenn., farm and animal refuge on Oct. 24 at the age of 57.
Born in Dayton on July 15, 1952, he lived the formative years of his life in Beavercreek and graduated from Carroll High School in 1970....
“Ted was eventually famous around the world for his many books regarding the spirit world, animals and psychic understanding and mysticism.”
The book “Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small” was the top-selling book of the 40 Mr. Andrews authored. It was released in 1993 and had sold more than half a million copies by the time of his death."...(Cont)...
U. S. Air Force Academy to add stone circle worship area
Here is an interesting and hopeful note from the U. S. Air Force Academy web site.
... "The Air Force Academy chapel will add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions during a dedication ceremony scheduled to be held at the circle March 10.
The circle, located atop the hill overlooking the Cadet Chapel and Visitor Center, will be the latest addition to a collection of worship areas that includes Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist sacred spaces"....(Cont.)...
... "The Air Force Academy chapel will add a worship area for followers of Earth-centered religions during a dedication ceremony scheduled to be held at the circle March 10.
The circle, located atop the hill overlooking the Cadet Chapel and Visitor Center, will be the latest addition to a collection of worship areas that includes Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist sacred spaces"....(Cont.)...
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Support the work COG member Peter Dybing in Haiti
Another one of our members is out doing great work in the world on behalf of our community, and we should do our best to support him. His name is Peter Dybing and he is a solitary COG member originally from New Mexico who is working right now in Haiti. His story is recounted in in this "Letter to the Pagan Community from Alane Brown," posted on Pagan Space.net.
"...Please consider donating money to Haiti Community Support. This NGO is not itself affiliated with any political or religious group. However, the man running the clinic, Peter Dybing, is a member of the Covenant of the Goddess and a longtime practitioner of the Craft. He was very active in the Albuquerque Pagan community before relocating to the Virgin Islands a few years ago. There he met Mathilde and Bruce, who run Haiti Community Support. Haiti Community Support is a NGO that has been helping Haiti since 2006 through programs in health, education and infrastructure building. Following the earthquake, Haiti Community Support shifted its emphasis to disaster relief. Peter (an EMT) and Mathilde traveled to Port au Prince on January 14th and set up an emergency clinic in a park. They recruited over 30 local Haitians and together they began caring for people who, despite severe injuries, just could not get into the overwhelmed hosp itals.
They arranged for shipments of medical supplies through a grassroots overland supply route from the Dominican Republic. At first, their medical supplies did not meet demand. They would treat patients until they ran out of supplies, then had to close up and wait for more. But as more donations began to come in, they were able to purchase more supplies, and can now make it through each long and grueling day. They treat wounds that have become increasingly serious because of the delay in treatment. Peter treats unset broken bones, cleans maggots from infected wounds and treats dysentery and other disease spreading through populations living in horrible conditions."...(Cont.)...
We can directly support his efforts by contributing to the NGO he is working for which is Haiti Community Support. Encouragement and messages of support can be relayed to Peter via his longtime priestess friend, Alane Brown, of the Crow Women Circle and Goddess Choir in Colorado: alane@frontier.net.
Alane's letter was picked up on Jason's "The Wild Hunt" Blog along with a nice picture of Peter doing the relief work.
May the Lady and the Lord watch over, protect, and bless Peter Dybing in his critical work on behalf of us all.
"...Please consider donating money to Haiti Community Support. This NGO is not itself affiliated with any political or religious group. However, the man running the clinic, Peter Dybing, is a member of the Covenant of the Goddess and a longtime practitioner of the Craft. He was very active in the Albuquerque Pagan community before relocating to the Virgin Islands a few years ago. There he met Mathilde and Bruce, who run Haiti Community Support. Haiti Community Support is a NGO that has been helping Haiti since 2006 through programs in health, education and infrastructure building. Following the earthquake, Haiti Community Support shifted its emphasis to disaster relief. Peter (an EMT) and Mathilde traveled to Port au Prince on January 14th and set up an emergency clinic in a park. They recruited over 30 local Haitians and together they began caring for people who, despite severe injuries, just could not get into the overwhelmed hosp itals.
They arranged for shipments of medical supplies through a grassroots overland supply route from the Dominican Republic. At first, their medical supplies did not meet demand. They would treat patients until they ran out of supplies, then had to close up and wait for more. But as more donations began to come in, they were able to purchase more supplies, and can now make it through each long and grueling day. They treat wounds that have become increasingly serious because of the delay in treatment. Peter treats unset broken bones, cleans maggots from infected wounds and treats dysentery and other disease spreading through populations living in horrible conditions."...(Cont.)...
We can directly support his efforts by contributing to the NGO he is working for which is Haiti Community Support. Encouragement and messages of support can be relayed to Peter via his longtime priestess friend, Alane Brown, of the Crow Women Circle and Goddess Choir in Colorado: alane@frontier.net.
Alane's letter was picked up on Jason's "The Wild Hunt" Blog along with a nice picture of Peter doing the relief work.
May the Lady and the Lord watch over, protect, and bless Peter Dybing in his critical work on behalf of us all.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Comic books and Animism
What do comic books have to do with the religious philosophy of Animism? Let's see if we can find out First, we have this quote from The Politics of Well-Being
"...And yet, if we examine the universe of comics and manga, we see that animist beliefs still exert a powerful influence over us, they still resonate in the folk consciousness. If these beliefs have been banished from the mainstream by Protestantism, Newtonian physics and liberal economics, they have not been entirely rooted out. First they retreated to eighteenth century fairy tales, then to Romantic literature and Gothic fantasy, until they found a particularly fertile breeding ground on the margins of our newspapers and in the pages of pulp magazines" ...(Cont.)...
Ah but when it comes to superhero comics there is politics involved as outlined in this post from Bioregional Animism: Upper Rio Grande, Santa Fe River
". . . So superhero comics are imperialist, jingoistic, anti-democratic, anti-civilization and devoted to the worship of uninhibited violence and (in manga) frequently rape as well. They come from the same dark, tribal and irrationalist part of the psyche that led to fascism.
But we can’t say that comics created this part of our psyche. Perhaps they help us become more aware of it. Indeed, the present generation of comic book writers is very much aware of the amoral and even fascist strains in superhero myths, and they consciously explore them. The costume and character of Judge Dredd, for example, was consciously modelled on Franco-era Spain, although this, and the fascist tendencies of Dredd himself, did not seem to put readers off. “The more fascistic we made him, the wilder the readers went”, notes Dredd’s creator, Alan Grant. "...(Cont.)...
"...And yet, if we examine the universe of comics and manga, we see that animist beliefs still exert a powerful influence over us, they still resonate in the folk consciousness. If these beliefs have been banished from the mainstream by Protestantism, Newtonian physics and liberal economics, they have not been entirely rooted out. First they retreated to eighteenth century fairy tales, then to Romantic literature and Gothic fantasy, until they found a particularly fertile breeding ground on the margins of our newspapers and in the pages of pulp magazines" ...(Cont.)...
Ah but when it comes to superhero comics there is politics involved as outlined in this post from Bioregional Animism: Upper Rio Grande, Santa Fe River
". . . So superhero comics are imperialist, jingoistic, anti-democratic, anti-civilization and devoted to the worship of uninhibited violence and (in manga) frequently rape as well. They come from the same dark, tribal and irrationalist part of the psyche that led to fascism.
But we can’t say that comics created this part of our psyche. Perhaps they help us become more aware of it. Indeed, the present generation of comic book writers is very much aware of the amoral and even fascist strains in superhero myths, and they consciously explore them. The costume and character of Judge Dredd, for example, was consciously modelled on Franco-era Spain, although this, and the fascist tendencies of Dredd himself, did not seem to put readers off. “The more fascistic we made him, the wilder the readers went”, notes Dredd’s creator, Alan Grant. "...(Cont.)...
Friday, January 22, 2010
The "Witch Trials" and loosing candidate Martha Coakley
Back in 1984 during the middle of the "Satanic Panic" period of American justice Violet Amirault, her son Gerald, and daughter Cheryl, operators of the Fells Acre Day School in Malden, Massachusetts, found themselves accused of child molestation. These charges were based on the so called "spectral evidence" of children being coxed to testify to outlandish crimes by so called therapists. Just like in the "Salem Witch Trials" there was little or no physical evidence and no other witnesses, but these folks and many others across the country were routinely convicted anyway and given long prison sentences by outraged juries.
On appeal most of the cases were overturned when the manipulation, coxing, and badgering, of the child witnesses became evident. This case was moving in that direction as well based on accumulating evidence of perjury and fraud when Martha Coakley became local district attorney in 1999. Despite the evidence, and instead of agreeing with the judge and Governor's Board of Prison Pardons, she organized a public media campaign to keep Gerald in prison. It worked - she became popular, and he remained incarcerated for two more years - basically destroying his life. But now we come to payback time as reported by Carey Roberts in The Post Chronicle.
"...This legal travesty did not attract national attention until last Fall. At that point, Coakley held a nearly insurmountable 30-point lead over her Republican challenger.
Then Ann Coulter devoted her December 9 column to the case, calling it the "second-most notorious witch trial in Massachusetts history" and charging Coakley had "kept a clearly innocent man in prison in order to advance her political career."...(Cont.)...
A few more similar editorials and columns and only a few weeks later Coakley ended up loosing by five percentage points.
Perhaps prosecuting innocent men for lurid satanic crimes that never happened can no longer be considered a route to to electoral success. There is alot more coverage of this sordid case in Jason's "Wild Hunt" Blog.
On appeal most of the cases were overturned when the manipulation, coxing, and badgering, of the child witnesses became evident. This case was moving in that direction as well based on accumulating evidence of perjury and fraud when Martha Coakley became local district attorney in 1999. Despite the evidence, and instead of agreeing with the judge and Governor's Board of Prison Pardons, she organized a public media campaign to keep Gerald in prison. It worked - she became popular, and he remained incarcerated for two more years - basically destroying his life. But now we come to payback time as reported by Carey Roberts in The Post Chronicle.
"...This legal travesty did not attract national attention until last Fall. At that point, Coakley held a nearly insurmountable 30-point lead over her Republican challenger.
Then Ann Coulter devoted her December 9 column to the case, calling it the "second-most notorious witch trial in Massachusetts history" and charging Coakley had "kept a clearly innocent man in prison in order to advance her political career."...(Cont.)...
A few more similar editorials and columns and only a few weeks later Coakley ended up loosing by five percentage points.
Perhaps prosecuting innocent men for lurid satanic crimes that never happened can no longer be considered a route to to electoral success. There is alot more coverage of this sordid case in Jason's "Wild Hunt" Blog.
"Pagan bonfire rituals" summon the snow for Telluriders
Here is the story by Ben Fornell from the Telluride Daily Planet
"...As it turns out, the fires, and the dances, are not a thing of the past. Alex Chaloux went to a bonfire in Ophir where a couple of dozen pair were sacrificed, including a cherished set of Volkl Gotamas.
Kelli and Galena Gleason were among the crowd of about two dozen, doing a daring jig around the fire that saw them chanting for “buckets and buckets and buckets of snow,” grabbing forearms and twirling, kicking their legs into each others’ like a pretzel, tapping feet and creating a tangle that always worked itself out."...(Cont.)...
"...As it turns out, the fires, and the dances, are not a thing of the past. Alex Chaloux went to a bonfire in Ophir where a couple of dozen pair were sacrificed, including a cherished set of Volkl Gotamas.
Kelli and Galena Gleason were among the crowd of about two dozen, doing a daring jig around the fire that saw them chanting for “buckets and buckets and buckets of snow,” grabbing forearms and twirling, kicking their legs into each others’ like a pretzel, tapping feet and creating a tangle that always worked itself out."...(Cont.)...
The Riddle of the Sphinx
This is the story of Mark Lehner who was exposed to the writings of the clairvoyant Edgar Cayce while he was a teenager, and later became a famous archaeologist working on the riddle of the Sphinx. Here is his story, and that of the Spynx as reported in Smithsonian Magazine.
"...Lehner helped confirm what others had speculated—that some parts of the Giza complex, the Sphinx included, make up a vast sacred machine designed to harness the power of the sun to sustain the earthly and divine order. And while he long ago gave up on the fabled library of Atlantis, it’s curious, in light of his early wanderings, that he finally did discover a Lost City.
The Sphinx was not assembled piece by piece but was carved from a single mass of limestone exposed when workers dug a horseshoe-shaped quarry in the Giza plateau. Approximately 66 feet tall and 240 feet long, it is one of the largest and oldest monolithic statues in the world."...(Cont.)...
"...Lehner helped confirm what others had speculated—that some parts of the Giza complex, the Sphinx included, make up a vast sacred machine designed to harness the power of the sun to sustain the earthly and divine order. And while he long ago gave up on the fabled library of Atlantis, it’s curious, in light of his early wanderings, that he finally did discover a Lost City.
The Sphinx was not assembled piece by piece but was carved from a single mass of limestone exposed when workers dug a horseshoe-shaped quarry in the Giza plateau. Approximately 66 feet tall and 240 feet long, it is one of the largest and oldest monolithic statues in the world."...(Cont.)...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Gaelic makes a comeback in Scotland
Sir Iain Noble the sun of an English ambassador to China who was educated at Eaton ,and did not speak a word of gaelic, moved to the island of Skye, learned gaelic, speaks it only now, and started a gaelic university that is very popular, and provides full employment for his community. Here is his story from the Telegraph.co.UK;
"Gaelic, soft as the beating of doves’ wings, used to be the medium of the Highlands and Islands – and 30 years ago you would have thought it was dying out even there. But not any more; its popularity has been steadily growing. Soon the Ordnance Survey will be printing place names in their Gaelic, not English, form. Goodbye Stornoway, welcome Steòrnabhagh. The language has been put, literally, back on the map."...(Cont.)...
"Gaelic, soft as the beating of doves’ wings, used to be the medium of the Highlands and Islands – and 30 years ago you would have thought it was dying out even there. But not any more; its popularity has been steadily growing. Soon the Ordnance Survey will be printing place names in their Gaelic, not English, form. Goodbye Stornoway, welcome Steòrnabhagh. The language has been put, literally, back on the map."...(Cont.)...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Hundreds gather for Wassail events in England
Here is a report on Wassail events in Somerset in Merry Ole England that appears in the Weston and Somerset Mercury:
"The tradition dates back to early Pagan times, when rural communities would perform ceremonies in January to encourage a healthy apple harvest.
Historical acts were re-created by students from Sandford Primary School at Thatchers cider company in Station Road, Sandford.
Pupils crowned the Wassail king and queen and enjoyed a procession led by the Green Man." ...(Cont.)...
"The tradition dates back to early Pagan times, when rural communities would perform ceremonies in January to encourage a healthy apple harvest.
Historical acts were re-created by students from Sandford Primary School at Thatchers cider company in Station Road, Sandford.
Pupils crowned the Wassail king and queen and enjoyed a procession led by the Green Man." ...(Cont.)...
Neolithic Male Farmers Sexier than the Hunters
It seems that 85% of men in Ireland carry ancient Neolithic farmer genes from the East. The conclusion seems to be that these farmers moving west across Europe had sexier men. Here are the details from an article in Scientific American
"In total, this means that more than 80 percent of European Y chromosomes descend from incoming farmers," geneticist Patricia Balaresque, also of the University of Leicester and lead study author, said in a prepared statement. "In contrast, most maternal genetic lineages seem to descend from hunter-gatherers."
How could these early European ancestors come from such different groups? "To us, this suggests a reproductive advantage for farming males over indigenous hunter-gatherer males during the switch from hunting and gathering to farming," Balaresque said. "Maybe, back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer." ...(Cont.)...
"In total, this means that more than 80 percent of European Y chromosomes descend from incoming farmers," geneticist Patricia Balaresque, also of the University of Leicester and lead study author, said in a prepared statement. "In contrast, most maternal genetic lineages seem to descend from hunter-gatherers."
How could these early European ancestors come from such different groups? "To us, this suggests a reproductive advantage for farming males over indigenous hunter-gatherer males during the switch from hunting and gathering to farming," Balaresque said. "Maybe, back then, it was just sexier to be a farmer." ...(Cont.)...
Monday, January 18, 2010
COG interfaith work mentioned in Tikkun Daily
The progressive Jewish blog site Tikkun Daily has a nice article about Pagans at The Parliament of the World's Religions, and it specifically mentions COG. However, there are some problems with the characterizations of COG's direct involvement. Here is what the author - Nancy Vedder-Shults has to say:
"The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) brought Raul Manani, an indigenous practitioner from Argentina — CoG has been especially involved in this work through their Lost and Endangered Religions Project (LERP) since the late 1990s"...(Cont.)...
I appreciate that we are being mentioned in a positive way, but the accuracy of her observations are a little less than correct. The Lost & Endangered Religions Project (LERP) was started by Don Frew who is one of COG's National Interfaith Representatives, and we do support his work, but LERP is not specifically a COG project. In fact it is a project of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in San Francisco. The project's directors includes a number of important academics and scholars such as:
"Archana Venkatesan MA, PhD is Chief Research Coordinator in LERP’s South Asian division. She is a Professor at St. Lawrence University in the Religious Studies Department. She is also the main facilitator of LERP’s Araiyar Sevai Conservation Project.
Layne Little MA, PhD is the Director of LERP’s South Asian division. He is a Fulbright scholar and teaches in the Humanities & Social Sciences Department at Clarkson University, Potsdam NY.
Devesh Soneji PhD is the Director of The Mangala Initiative and Scholar Ambassador of the Devadasi Preservation Project. He is also an Assistant Professor of South Indian Religions at McGill University, Canada.
Hari Krishnan MA is the artist in residence at Wesleyan University CT. He is the co-founder of the Mangala Initiative and is the Performing Arts Director of the Lost & Endangered Religions Project. "
These folks are not affiliated with COG
Also, Raul Mamani was privately sponsored to attend the Parliament by a group of people including members of COG and the United Religions Initiative.
"The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG) brought Raul Manani, an indigenous practitioner from Argentina — CoG has been especially involved in this work through their Lost and Endangered Religions Project (LERP) since the late 1990s"...(Cont.)...
I appreciate that we are being mentioned in a positive way, but the accuracy of her observations are a little less than correct. The Lost & Endangered Religions Project (LERP) was started by Don Frew who is one of COG's National Interfaith Representatives, and we do support his work, but LERP is not specifically a COG project. In fact it is a project of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in San Francisco. The project's directors includes a number of important academics and scholars such as:
"Archana Venkatesan MA, PhD is Chief Research Coordinator in LERP’s South Asian division. She is a Professor at St. Lawrence University in the Religious Studies Department. She is also the main facilitator of LERP’s Araiyar Sevai Conservation Project.
Layne Little MA, PhD is the Director of LERP’s South Asian division. He is a Fulbright scholar and teaches in the Humanities & Social Sciences Department at Clarkson University, Potsdam NY.
Devesh Soneji PhD is the Director of The Mangala Initiative and Scholar Ambassador of the Devadasi Preservation Project. He is also an Assistant Professor of South Indian Religions at McGill University, Canada.
Hari Krishnan MA is the artist in residence at Wesleyan University CT. He is the co-founder of the Mangala Initiative and is the Performing Arts Director of the Lost & Endangered Religions Project. "
These folks are not affiliated with COG
Also, Raul Mamani was privately sponsored to attend the Parliament by a group of people including members of COG and the United Religions Initiative.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Women and Religious Discrimination
Nicholas Kristof has written an interesting Op-Ed column about religious discrimination against women recently in The New York Times. In it he mentions the Parliament of the World's Religions:
“Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths, creating an environment in which violations against women are justified,” former President Jimmy Carter noted in a speech last month to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Australia.
“The belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God,” Mr. Carter continued, “gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo.”
“Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths, creating an environment in which violations against women are justified,” former President Jimmy Carter noted in a speech last month to the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Australia.
“The belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God,” Mr. Carter continued, “gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo.”
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Midwest Interfaith Storytelling and Arts Event next Saturday
If you are around Kansas City you might check out Winter’s Light, a multi-faith storytelling and arts event Saturday, Jan. 23. It is sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. Here is more information from the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle:
"In addition to Galex, the other artists featured here Jan. 23 will include storytellers Caroline Baughman, a practitioner of Paganism; Rev. Cara Hawkins, American Indian spirituality; and Karta Purkh Khalsa, Sikhism. Sonnenschein said there will also be some Sufi dance, Hindu music and more" ...(Cont.)....
"In addition to Galex, the other artists featured here Jan. 23 will include storytellers Caroline Baughman, a practitioner of Paganism; Rev. Cara Hawkins, American Indian spirituality; and Karta Purkh Khalsa, Sikhism. Sonnenschein said there will also be some Sufi dance, Hindu music and more" ...(Cont.)....
Friday, January 15, 2010
World’s oldest ritual worshipped the python 70,000 years ago
Here is some interesting Archaeology news from Oslo Norway's - Apollon:
"A startling archaeological discovery this summer changes our understanding of human history. While, up until now, scholars have largely held that man’s first rituals were carried out over 40, 000 years ago in Europe, it now appears that they were wrong about both the time and place.
Associate Professor Sheila Coulson, from the University of Oslo, can now show that modern humans, Homo sapiens, have performed advanced rituals in Africa for 70,000 years. She has, in other words, discovered mankind’s oldest known ritual." ...(Cont.)...
"A startling archaeological discovery this summer changes our understanding of human history. While, up until now, scholars have largely held that man’s first rituals were carried out over 40, 000 years ago in Europe, it now appears that they were wrong about both the time and place.
Associate Professor Sheila Coulson, from the University of Oslo, can now show that modern humans, Homo sapiens, have performed advanced rituals in Africa for 70,000 years. She has, in other words, discovered mankind’s oldest known ritual." ...(Cont.)...
The myth of Haiti being dedicated to the devil
The idea that Pat Robertson is touting that Haiti has "a pact with the devil" has been around for quite a while. In 1791 the Haitians who were mostly slaves successfully organized a revolution to overthrow their French masters. This was one of the first of many anti-colonial revolutions that in a sense put "the fear of God" into European imperialists. They reacted by demonizing the mostly black revolutionaries and hinting that they must have had supernatural help in overthrowing their "civilized" white Christian overlords. This type of propaganda has been used against Haiti ever since, and is still very popular in right wing "dominionist" Christian circles. Here is a good article about this sordid history from the religious site - Talk to Action:
"Haiti has been portrayed as a nation of people who ritually sacrifice children and attack their enemies with voodoo dolls and "zombies." Historians debate whether the "Vaudoux" or "Vodou" ceremony in which leaders of the slave rebellion are supposed to have participated actually took place. Regardless, Haitian voodoo is not devil worship, unless viewed in the context that all non-Christian religion is demonic. Much of the mythology around Haiti is a product of imperialism, political intrigue, and Hollywood."...(Cont.)...
"Haiti has been portrayed as a nation of people who ritually sacrifice children and attack their enemies with voodoo dolls and "zombies." Historians debate whether the "Vaudoux" or "Vodou" ceremony in which leaders of the slave rebellion are supposed to have participated actually took place. Regardless, Haitian voodoo is not devil worship, unless viewed in the context that all non-Christian religion is demonic. Much of the mythology around Haiti is a product of imperialism, political intrigue, and Hollywood."...(Cont.)...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
I suggest contributing to "Partners in Health" for Haiti Relief
If you are looking to contribute to the Haiti relief effort you might want to consider carefully where your donation would do the most good. Gus DiZerega is his Pagan blog at Beliefnet, suggests that we give to Dr. Paul Farmer's center in Haiti. I agree, and the name of that organization is Partners in Health .
Tracy Kidder, the author of the book about Haiti - Mountains Beyond Mountains, agrees in an Op-Ed column in yesterday's New York Times
"In the arena of international aid, a great many efforts, past and present, appear to have been doomed from the start. There are the many projects that seem designed to serve not impoverished Haitians but the interests of the people administering the projects. Most important, a lot of organizations seem to be unable — and some appear to be unwilling — to create partnerships with each other or, and this is crucial, with the public sector of the society they’re supposed to serve.
But there are effective aid organizations working in Haiti. At least one has not been crippled by the earthquake. Partners in Health, or in Haitian Creole Zanmi Lasante, has been the largest health care provider in rural Haiti. (I serve on this organization’s development committee.) It operates, in partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Health, some 10 hospitals and clinics, all far from the capital and all still intact. As a result of this calamity, Partners in Health probably just became the largest health care provider still standing in all Haiti."
Here is the statement in the Partners in Health - Stand With Haiti Web Site
"PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. We urgently need your support to help those affected by the recent earthquake.
Partners In Health (PIH) works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The work of PIH has three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world.
Based in Boston, PIH employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities we serve."
Tracy Kidder, the author of the book about Haiti - Mountains Beyond Mountains, agrees in an Op-Ed column in yesterday's New York Times
"In the arena of international aid, a great many efforts, past and present, appear to have been doomed from the start. There are the many projects that seem designed to serve not impoverished Haitians but the interests of the people administering the projects. Most important, a lot of organizations seem to be unable — and some appear to be unwilling — to create partnerships with each other or, and this is crucial, with the public sector of the society they’re supposed to serve.
But there are effective aid organizations working in Haiti. At least one has not been crippled by the earthquake. Partners in Health, or in Haitian Creole Zanmi Lasante, has been the largest health care provider in rural Haiti. (I serve on this organization’s development committee.) It operates, in partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Health, some 10 hospitals and clinics, all far from the capital and all still intact. As a result of this calamity, Partners in Health probably just became the largest health care provider still standing in all Haiti."
Here is the statement in the Partners in Health - Stand With Haiti Web Site
"PIH has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. We urgently need your support to help those affected by the recent earthquake.
Partners In Health (PIH) works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. The work of PIH has three goals: to care for our patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world.
Based in Boston, PIH employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses and community health workers. The vast majority of PIH staff are local nationals based in the communities we serve."
Science Denial on the Rise
Here is an interesting article from the Huffington Post:
"Science denialism works differently. Creationists are unmoved by the wealth of fossil, molecular, and anatomical evidence for evolution. Global-warming denialists are unimpressed by mountains of climate data. Denialists ignore overwhelming evidence, focusing instead on a few hoaxes, such as Piltdown Man, or a few stolen e-mails. For denialists, opinion polls and talk radio are more important than thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles." ...(Cont.)...
"Science denialism works differently. Creationists are unmoved by the wealth of fossil, molecular, and anatomical evidence for evolution. Global-warming denialists are unimpressed by mountains of climate data. Denialists ignore overwhelming evidence, focusing instead on a few hoaxes, such as Piltdown Man, or a few stolen e-mails. For denialists, opinion polls and talk radio are more important than thousands of peer-reviewed journal articles." ...(Cont.)...
Monday, January 11, 2010
Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography
There is a new book out: Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography, by Stephen Knight from Cornell University Press. Kinght is a professor of English at Cardiff University. He states that Robin Hood is a mythic figure who stands for resistance to corrupt authority, who continues to change his form, and operates as a kind of safety valve which is "the reflex of genuine political resistance to oppression." Here is an extensive review in Salon.com
" by 1600 there were at least 200 known references to Robin Hood, almost all stressing Robin's boldness and resistance to authority but as yet lacking a Maid Marian or a Friar Tuck (though Little John is around, not always as a sidekick but sometimes as an equal). Once the basics of the story were established, Robin began to acquire new companions, got himself involved in contemporary controversies, and became a wonderfully serviceable symbol for whatever social or intellectual currents happened to be sweeping through England in a given century."
" by 1600 there were at least 200 known references to Robin Hood, almost all stressing Robin's boldness and resistance to authority but as yet lacking a Maid Marian or a Friar Tuck (though Little John is around, not always as a sidekick but sometimes as an equal). Once the basics of the story were established, Robin began to acquire new companions, got himself involved in contemporary controversies, and became a wonderfully serviceable symbol for whatever social or intellectual currents happened to be sweeping through England in a given century."
Some Humor
Here is an interesting doctor joke from The Surging Waves Blog:
A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDICINE: "Doctor, I have an ear ache."
2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."
1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."
1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."
1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."
1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."
2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!"
A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDICINE: "Doctor, I have an ear ache."
2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."
1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."
1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."
1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."
1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."
2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root!"
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The Lore of Constellation Orion
The constellation Oroin the Hunter is hard to miss in the winter night sky over our hemisphere, It comes up just after dusk in the Southeast and has the appearance of an hour glass. Here is an informative article on the lore of Orion in the Republicanherald.com:
"Like most constellations today in the western world, Orion's depiction as a hunter descends from Greek and Roman mythology, but the earliest lore we know about Orion and most of the other significant constellations comes from the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia prior to 2000 B.C. Sumerians called the constellation Uruana which means "light of heaven." They saw it as their great hero Gilgamesh, who was constantly at battle with what they called the Bull of Heaven. That Bull of Heaven is what we know as the constellation Taurus the Bull, which hovers above and to the right of Orion in our evening southeastern sky." ...(Cont.)...
"Like most constellations today in the western world, Orion's depiction as a hunter descends from Greek and Roman mythology, but the earliest lore we know about Orion and most of the other significant constellations comes from the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia prior to 2000 B.C. Sumerians called the constellation Uruana which means "light of heaven." They saw it as their great hero Gilgamesh, who was constantly at battle with what they called the Bull of Heaven. That Bull of Heaven is what we know as the constellation Taurus the Bull, which hovers above and to the right of Orion in our evening southeastern sky." ...(Cont.)...
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Wolves firmly established in Montana but the debate goes on
Wolf numbers seem to be back from brink of extinction in the Rocky Mountain West. It is estimated that the numbers of wolves in Montana alone are now around 500. Because of this 2009 was the first official wolf hunting season in this area in many years as reported in the blog: The Sleeping Giant - Nature Spirituality in Montana
"For Ed Bangs, 2009’s first-ever wolf hunting season in Montana and Idaho proved that the federal Endangered Species Act works. As one of those instrumental in their reintroduction in the Northern Rockies in 1995, Bangs viewed the season as evidence that those wolves have advanced from a species threatened with extinction due to poisoning and trapping in the early 1900s to a predator whose numbers are so abundant that they need culling through hunting, like mountain lions and black bears." ...(Cont.)...
"For Ed Bangs, 2009’s first-ever wolf hunting season in Montana and Idaho proved that the federal Endangered Species Act works. As one of those instrumental in their reintroduction in the Northern Rockies in 1995, Bangs viewed the season as evidence that those wolves have advanced from a species threatened with extinction due to poisoning and trapping in the early 1900s to a predator whose numbers are so abundant that they need culling through hunting, like mountain lions and black bears." ...(Cont.)...
Benevolent and Malevolent Trees
It is story time here at NPIO Reports, and here is one about those ubiquitous tree spirits from the blog - The Fern Law of Faery:
"A man has to make a journey late at night along a stretch of road which crosses a river at a place where the torrent is particularly fast and rocky. He is afraid because this stretch of road is haunted by a malevolent ash tree known as 'Crooker' who causes people to drown in the torrent. So although the way is dark, it is important to get to the bridge before moonrise when Crooker become active. But more important still is to gain the protection of a benevolent tree. This the traveller does and the beech tree appears to him in the form of three separate women dressed in green and each of them gives him a posy of flowers "for Crooker". He is also given a beech nut for a talisman." ...(Cont.)...
"A man has to make a journey late at night along a stretch of road which crosses a river at a place where the torrent is particularly fast and rocky. He is afraid because this stretch of road is haunted by a malevolent ash tree known as 'Crooker' who causes people to drown in the torrent. So although the way is dark, it is important to get to the bridge before moonrise when Crooker become active. But more important still is to gain the protection of a benevolent tree. This the traveller does and the beech tree appears to him in the form of three separate women dressed in green and each of them gives him a posy of flowers "for Crooker". He is also given a beech nut for a talisman." ...(Cont.)...
Tarot Conference in New York in June
Here is an interesting message for those of you on the East Coast or Tarot Fans in general from Mary K. Greer's Tarot Blog:
The Omega Institute Tarot Conference: TAROT & INTUITION June 11 - 13, 2010 in Rhinebeck NY.
We are delighted to announce the first Omega Tarot Conference featuring Juliet Sharman-Burke, Lon Milo DuQuette, Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone, Mary K. Greer, and Rachel Pollack. Join us at this beautiful retreat in upstate New York for an incredible learning experience with some of the most exciting teachers in the field." ...(Cont.)...
The Omega Institute Tarot Conference: TAROT & INTUITION June 11 - 13, 2010 in Rhinebeck NY.
We are delighted to announce the first Omega Tarot Conference featuring Juliet Sharman-Burke, Lon Milo DuQuette, Ruth Ann & Wald Amberstone, Mary K. Greer, and Rachel Pollack. Join us at this beautiful retreat in upstate New York for an incredible learning experience with some of the most exciting teachers in the field." ...(Cont.)...
Scottish poet infuses nature and folklore in work.
Scottish Poet Robin Robertson recently became the first poet to win Britain’s Forward Prize in all three categories. He won Best First Collection in 1997 with (A Painted Field), then Best Collection (Swithering, 2006), and Best Single Poem (“At Roane Head,” 2008). Here is an article on what he is up to at Open Letters Monthly Arts and Literature Review
"...Scottish (Celtic) poetry is identified for its intimacy with nature and folklore. There are many echoes of old Scottish ballads in your most recent collection, Swithering. How has Gaelic/Scottish nature, folklore, music and lyrical tradition influenced your work?
The countryside in which I grew up is very beautiful, with the Highlands to the west and the North Sea to the east, with the lowlands of Aberdeenshire and its barrows and circles and standing stones in between; an unusual blend of Celtic and Pictish culture. We were the wrong side of Scotland for the Gaelic tongue, but there was still, in the late 50s and early 60s, a real and vivid sense of the old gods, the old ways, and many superstitions persisted vestigially. Samhain (Hallowe’en) was celebrated with great enthusiasm and A’Callainn (pagan Hogmanay) was almost more important in the community than Christmas. Meanwhile, my father was a Church of Scotland minister
That’s poetic tension for you.." ...(Cont)...
Here is a link to some of his work including audio files at The Poetry Archive
And here is one of his:
Wedding The Locksmith's Daughter
The slow-grained slide to embed the blade
of the key is a sheathing,
a gliding on graphite, pushing inside
to find the ribs of the lock.
Sunk home, the true key slots into its matrix;
geared, tight-fitting, they turn
together, shooting the spring-lock,
throwing the bolt. Dactyls, iambics —
the clinch of words — the hidden couplings
in the cased machine. A chime of sound
on sound: the way the sung note snibs on meaning
and holds. The lines engage and marry now,
their bells are keeping time;
the church doors close and open underground.
"...Scottish (Celtic) poetry is identified for its intimacy with nature and folklore. There are many echoes of old Scottish ballads in your most recent collection, Swithering. How has Gaelic/Scottish nature, folklore, music and lyrical tradition influenced your work?
The countryside in which I grew up is very beautiful, with the Highlands to the west and the North Sea to the east, with the lowlands of Aberdeenshire and its barrows and circles and standing stones in between; an unusual blend of Celtic and Pictish culture. We were the wrong side of Scotland for the Gaelic tongue, but there was still, in the late 50s and early 60s, a real and vivid sense of the old gods, the old ways, and many superstitions persisted vestigially. Samhain (Hallowe’en) was celebrated with great enthusiasm and A’Callainn (pagan Hogmanay) was almost more important in the community than Christmas. Meanwhile, my father was a Church of Scotland minister
That’s poetic tension for you.." ...(Cont)...
Here is a link to some of his work including audio files at The Poetry Archive
And here is one of his:
Wedding The Locksmith's Daughter
The slow-grained slide to embed the blade
of the key is a sheathing,
a gliding on graphite, pushing inside
to find the ribs of the lock.
Sunk home, the true key slots into its matrix;
geared, tight-fitting, they turn
together, shooting the spring-lock,
throwing the bolt. Dactyls, iambics —
the clinch of words — the hidden couplings
in the cased machine. A chime of sound
on sound: the way the sung note snibs on meaning
and holds. The lines engage and marry now,
their bells are keeping time;
the church doors close and open underground.
Friday, January 8, 2010
How About Some Pagan Music Pages
If you know of more links that should be in this section let me know!
Sheet music and MIDI sound files for quite a few Pagan chants: Beths'Pagan Chant Page
MP3's, lyrics and music from the Utah Pagan Clergy Association: Community Song Cycle
EarthSpirit Pagan Chant Library
Witch's Cauldron Chants Page, with lyrics and .wav files.
Ariel’s Craft Music
Witches Voice Music Page
Witchox's list of Pagan Musician's Web Sites
2 Witches Blog - Pagan Music Fridays
Hosted by Jason Pitzl-Waters - A Darker Shade of Pagan "is an ongoing weekly podcast and streaming Internet radio show that looks at modern music from a unique spiritual perspective. The Pagan perspective. Cutting a wide swathe through several musical genres, the show takes a look at themes relating to the occult, nature, myth, storytelling, old gods, mischievous spirits, our ancestors, and the nature of sacrifice."
Pagan Radio Network
A Pagan run music promotions company for bands and artists who either follow or have an interest in the ancient paths of our ancestors: Tripple Goddess Music
Articles & Blogs for Witchcraft Music: Panpipe and Lyre
Pagan Music Discussion Group
Hundreds of titles listed for sale at Serpentine Music & Books
Instruments, Videos , CD's & Tapes at Earth Tones Studios
Ladyslipper Music is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to expand the scope and availability of recordings by women. Their comprehensive catalog and resource guide of recordings by women offers more than 1,500 titles.
Sheet music and MIDI sound files for quite a few Pagan chants: Beths'Pagan Chant Page
MP3's, lyrics and music from the Utah Pagan Clergy Association: Community Song Cycle
EarthSpirit Pagan Chant Library
Witch's Cauldron Chants Page, with lyrics and .wav files.
Ariel’s Craft Music
Witches Voice Music Page
Witchox's list of Pagan Musician's Web Sites
2 Witches Blog - Pagan Music Fridays
Hosted by Jason Pitzl-Waters - A Darker Shade of Pagan "is an ongoing weekly podcast and streaming Internet radio show that looks at modern music from a unique spiritual perspective. The Pagan perspective. Cutting a wide swathe through several musical genres, the show takes a look at themes relating to the occult, nature, myth, storytelling, old gods, mischievous spirits, our ancestors, and the nature of sacrifice."
Pagan Radio Network
A Pagan run music promotions company for bands and artists who either follow or have an interest in the ancient paths of our ancestors: Tripple Goddess Music
Articles & Blogs for Witchcraft Music: Panpipe and Lyre
Pagan Music Discussion Group
Hundreds of titles listed for sale at Serpentine Music & Books
Instruments, Videos , CD's & Tapes at Earth Tones Studios
Ladyslipper Music is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to expand the scope and availability of recordings by women. Their comprehensive catalog and resource guide of recordings by women offers more than 1,500 titles.
Pagan Gods and Temples all over Washington DC
I just found this web site that goes along with a class at Vanderbilt University. The title of the class is THE CLASSICAL TRADITION IN AMERICA - The Influence of Greece and Rome on American Public Architecture. Great pictures and lots of information - check it out.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Massachusetts Native Americans challenge large Wind Farm Project
This story was passed on to me by Anna Korn of NCLC.
A large wind power project is being proposed for Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. However, it is being challenged two local Indian tribes who state that the proposed turbines would "thwart their spiritual ritual of greeting the sunrise, which requires unobstructed views across the sound, and disturb ancestral burial grounds."
Here is the link to coverage of the issue in The New York Times
A large wind power project is being proposed for Nantucket Sound off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. However, it is being challenged two local Indian tribes who state that the proposed turbines would "thwart their spiritual ritual of greeting the sunrise, which requires unobstructed views across the sound, and disturb ancestral burial grounds."
Here is the link to coverage of the issue in The New York Times
Egyptian archaeologists discover huge tomb near Cairo
Here is some Archaeology news from BBC News:
"Archaeologists in Egypt have said they have discovered the largest known tomb in the ancient necropolis of Sakkara, to the south of Cairo.
The tomb dates back 2,500 years to the 26th Dynasty and contains important artifacts, including mummified eagles." ...(Cont.)...
"Archaeologists in Egypt have said they have discovered the largest known tomb in the ancient necropolis of Sakkara, to the south of Cairo.
The tomb dates back 2,500 years to the 26th Dynasty and contains important artifacts, including mummified eagles." ...(Cont.)...
Ronald Hutton lecture series - 'The Changing Face of Manx Witchcraft'
Here is an interesting tid bit from isleofman.com:
"A forthcoming lecture at the Manx Museum by Professor Ronald Hutton will shed light on the Isle of Man's historical relationship with witchcraft.
Professor Hutton, who is the Professor of History at Bristol University (and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries) will give the fifth of Manx National Heritage’s popular winter lectures.
A leading authority on ancient and medieval paganism and one of the most recognised historians on British television, Professor Hutton says, "In the Middle Ages, the Isle of Man had the reputation of being the part of the British Isles most steeped in sorcery.
"In the Seventeenth Century, it became the only place in the world of the Anglican Communion in which people were burned for witchcraft." ...(Cont.)...
So if anyone is in the neighborhood of the Isle of Man - stop on by.
"A forthcoming lecture at the Manx Museum by Professor Ronald Hutton will shed light on the Isle of Man's historical relationship with witchcraft.
Professor Hutton, who is the Professor of History at Bristol University (and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries) will give the fifth of Manx National Heritage’s popular winter lectures.
A leading authority on ancient and medieval paganism and one of the most recognised historians on British television, Professor Hutton says, "In the Middle Ages, the Isle of Man had the reputation of being the part of the British Isles most steeped in sorcery.
"In the Seventeenth Century, it became the only place in the world of the Anglican Communion in which people were burned for witchcraft." ...(Cont.)...
So if anyone is in the neighborhood of the Isle of Man - stop on by.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Can "Rewilding" save Earths' life-support ecosystems
Here is another important story outlined in the book Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution. Scientists and environmentalists all over the world are warning of the looming extinction of thousands of species. They say that half of all species of plants and animals could disappear by the end of the century--and with them earth's life-support ecosystems that provide our food, water, medicine, and natural defenses against climate change.
The author - Caroline Fraser offers a detailed account of various campaigns to address this crisis. She refers to this process as "rewilding". This idea "aims to save species by restoring habitats, reviving migration corridors, and brokering peace between people and predators." She travels with wildlife biologists and conservationists, to report on major projects that are "turning Europe's former Iron Curtain into a greenbelt, creating transfrontier Peace Parks to renew elephant routes throughout Africa, and linking protected areas from the Yukon to Mexico and beyond."
Here are exerpts from her book featured in a long article in Scientific American:
"The current extinction rates are alarming enough. Preeminent biologist E. O. Wilson believes we stand to lose half of all species by the end of this century. Of the 45,000 species evaluated in the 2008 Red List, issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 17,000, or nearly forty percent, may vanish. Conservative estimates suggest that the extinction rate in the modern era has reached a hundred to a thousand times normal....
Why do species matter? Why worry if some go missing? Part of the answer lies in the relationships coming to light between creatures like the canyon coyotes and the chaparral birds. After the nineteenth century’s great age of biological collecting, when collectors filled museums to bursting with stuffed birds and pinned beetles, the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have proved to be an age of connecting. Biologists have begun to understand that nature is a chain of dominoes: If you pull one piece out, the whole thing falls down. Lose the animals, lose the ecosystems. Lose the ecosystems, game over....
The tremendous variety of species held in wilderness areas, particularly the tropics, is our bank and lifeline, our agricultural and medical insurance policy. Three-quarters of the world’s food supply comes from twelve plant species, but those species are dependent on thousands of others: pollinators (insects, bats, birds), soil microbes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and fungi. The tropical rain forests contain a pool of genetic diversity for important food crops, a source for vital new strains that can be hybridized to fight pests and diseases....
Gradually, we are realizing that the environment is the economy. The planet’s rain forests currently function as a “giant ‘utility,’ ” according to Andrew Mitchell, director of the Global Canopy Program. He points out that the Amazon alone releases twenty billion tons of water into the atmosphere daily, providing free air-conditioning, free irrigation, free hydropower. With more tracts of rain forest lost every day, what will it cost to provide artificially the services we currently get for free? A recent study commissioned by the European Union calculates that those lost services, along with the massive release of carbon as forests go up in smoke (accounting for 20 percent of carbon emissions worldwide), add up to 7 percent of global GDP, or two to five trillion dollars annually— the equivalent of the total cost of the Iraq War every year"....(Cont.)...
The author - Caroline Fraser offers a detailed account of various campaigns to address this crisis. She refers to this process as "rewilding". This idea "aims to save species by restoring habitats, reviving migration corridors, and brokering peace between people and predators." She travels with wildlife biologists and conservationists, to report on major projects that are "turning Europe's former Iron Curtain into a greenbelt, creating transfrontier Peace Parks to renew elephant routes throughout Africa, and linking protected areas from the Yukon to Mexico and beyond."
Here are exerpts from her book featured in a long article in Scientific American:
"The current extinction rates are alarming enough. Preeminent biologist E. O. Wilson believes we stand to lose half of all species by the end of this century. Of the 45,000 species evaluated in the 2008 Red List, issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 17,000, or nearly forty percent, may vanish. Conservative estimates suggest that the extinction rate in the modern era has reached a hundred to a thousand times normal....
Why do species matter? Why worry if some go missing? Part of the answer lies in the relationships coming to light between creatures like the canyon coyotes and the chaparral birds. After the nineteenth century’s great age of biological collecting, when collectors filled museums to bursting with stuffed birds and pinned beetles, the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have proved to be an age of connecting. Biologists have begun to understand that nature is a chain of dominoes: If you pull one piece out, the whole thing falls down. Lose the animals, lose the ecosystems. Lose the ecosystems, game over....
The tremendous variety of species held in wilderness areas, particularly the tropics, is our bank and lifeline, our agricultural and medical insurance policy. Three-quarters of the world’s food supply comes from twelve plant species, but those species are dependent on thousands of others: pollinators (insects, bats, birds), soil microbes, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and fungi. The tropical rain forests contain a pool of genetic diversity for important food crops, a source for vital new strains that can be hybridized to fight pests and diseases....
Gradually, we are realizing that the environment is the economy. The planet’s rain forests currently function as a “giant ‘utility,’ ” according to Andrew Mitchell, director of the Global Canopy Program. He points out that the Amazon alone releases twenty billion tons of water into the atmosphere daily, providing free air-conditioning, free irrigation, free hydropower. With more tracts of rain forest lost every day, what will it cost to provide artificially the services we currently get for free? A recent study commissioned by the European Union calculates that those lost services, along with the massive release of carbon as forests go up in smoke (accounting for 20 percent of carbon emissions worldwide), add up to 7 percent of global GDP, or two to five trillion dollars annually— the equivalent of the total cost of the Iraq War every year"....(Cont.)...
Book review - Animism: Respecting the Living World
Animism: Respecting the Living World by Dr. Graham Harvey honors and presents indigenous and environmentalist spiritualities in which people celebrate human relationships with "significant other-than-human beings." This new use of the term ‘animism’ applies to the religious worldviews and way of life for communities and cultures who promote living respectfully within the wider community of ‘persons’.
In this new book Graham Harvey discusses a number of examples of religious cultures such as Ojibwe, Maori, Aboriginal Australian and eco-Pagan to demonstrate the diversity of ways of being animist. He presents case studies that are examples of issues that arise among animists. How, for example, do we distinguish between animate persons and inanimate objects? What does death mean if everything in the world is alive? What role do deities, tricksters, shamans, totems, elders and others play in animistic traditions and relationships?
The book asks the reader to take animism seriously, arguing that animists and their understanding of the world can contribute significantly to contemporary debates about consciousness, cosmology and environmentalism. The ideas that ‘animism’ is about a ‘beliefs in spirits’, attributing life to inanimate objects or the projection of human attributes on to ‘non-humans’ are rejected in favour of a "nuanced and positive evaluation of indigenous and environmentalist understandings that the world would be a better place if humans celebrated their relationships with all of life."
I believe that many of us would feel that our spirituality is a part of or very close to the ideas presented here. So it would seem to me that this book should be very much worth reading.
Generic Disclaimer
I have not received anything from anybody to notice this book on this blog. I will have to buy the book just like everyone else.
In this new book Graham Harvey discusses a number of examples of religious cultures such as Ojibwe, Maori, Aboriginal Australian and eco-Pagan to demonstrate the diversity of ways of being animist. He presents case studies that are examples of issues that arise among animists. How, for example, do we distinguish between animate persons and inanimate objects? What does death mean if everything in the world is alive? What role do deities, tricksters, shamans, totems, elders and others play in animistic traditions and relationships?
The book asks the reader to take animism seriously, arguing that animists and their understanding of the world can contribute significantly to contemporary debates about consciousness, cosmology and environmentalism. The ideas that ‘animism’ is about a ‘beliefs in spirits’, attributing life to inanimate objects or the projection of human attributes on to ‘non-humans’ are rejected in favour of a "nuanced and positive evaluation of indigenous and environmentalist understandings that the world would be a better place if humans celebrated their relationships with all of life."
I believe that many of us would feel that our spirituality is a part of or very close to the ideas presented here. So it would seem to me that this book should be very much worth reading.
Generic Disclaimer
I have not received anything from anybody to notice this book on this blog. I will have to buy the book just like everyone else.
Pope Pius XII who worked closely with Nazis may become a Saint
Cat Chapin Bishop over at Quaker Pagan Reflections asks us to give the criticism of Jesus a rest for 2010:
"If Jesus is not part of your religion, if you don't have a relationship with him you are interested in pursuing or exploring, can you please, please, please shut up about him already?"
Even though I am very active in interfaith work I can not agree with her sentiment entirely. Here is part of my reason why - Pope Benedict last Saturday just took the first steps to make Pius XII the Pope from the World War 2 period a saint. This was noticed by a fellow Pagan blogger who points outs that murder and genocide seem to be historically good qualifications for sainthood. Here is what he has to say in A Heathen's Day
"There are Nazis who are justly condemned for their part in murdering thousands, but a man who worked with the Nazis, who not only worked with them but signed a treaty of cooperation with them, a man who stood by while the Nazis shipped Jews of his city off to concentration camps to die, is going to be made a Saint.
How can this be, you might ask? The truth is, it’s not as uncommon as you might think. In fact, there is plentiful precedent for it." ...(Cont.)...
Here are views on Pius XII from Debórah Dwork - a professor of Holocaust history in The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Whom the church chooses as a candidate for sainthood is the church's department. Holocaust history and defense of the Jewish people, however, are our department.
Benedict's decree on behalf of Pius XII may serve the church, but it does not serve history. Indeed, it is a denial of history. And it is an act of aggression against the Jewish people."
When some of the Christian God's earthly representatives stop their serious and public misbehavior and stop attacking others, I will stop reacting to and reporting on these activities.
"If Jesus is not part of your religion, if you don't have a relationship with him you are interested in pursuing or exploring, can you please, please, please shut up about him already?"
Even though I am very active in interfaith work I can not agree with her sentiment entirely. Here is part of my reason why - Pope Benedict last Saturday just took the first steps to make Pius XII the Pope from the World War 2 period a saint. This was noticed by a fellow Pagan blogger who points outs that murder and genocide seem to be historically good qualifications for sainthood. Here is what he has to say in A Heathen's Day
"There are Nazis who are justly condemned for their part in murdering thousands, but a man who worked with the Nazis, who not only worked with them but signed a treaty of cooperation with them, a man who stood by while the Nazis shipped Jews of his city off to concentration camps to die, is going to be made a Saint.
How can this be, you might ask? The truth is, it’s not as uncommon as you might think. In fact, there is plentiful precedent for it." ...(Cont.)...
Here are views on Pius XII from Debórah Dwork - a professor of Holocaust history in The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Whom the church chooses as a candidate for sainthood is the church's department. Holocaust history and defense of the Jewish people, however, are our department.
Benedict's decree on behalf of Pius XII may serve the church, but it does not serve history. Indeed, it is a denial of history. And it is an act of aggression against the Jewish people."
When some of the Christian God's earthly representatives stop their serious and public misbehavior and stop attacking others, I will stop reacting to and reporting on these activities.
Over 500 missing Aboriginal women in Canada
Here is a story from Vancouver BC. Canada, from the Canwest News Service:
"More than 100 women rallied in Crab Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Sunday to demand the federal government listen to their plea for a public inquiry into the more than 500 missing and murdered aboriginal women cases across Canada.
“We’ve asked and asked again but there is no answer,” said Bernie Williams, a native elder and activist"....(Cont.)...
"More than 100 women rallied in Crab Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Sunday to demand the federal government listen to their plea for a public inquiry into the more than 500 missing and murdered aboriginal women cases across Canada.
“We’ve asked and asked again but there is no answer,” said Bernie Williams, a native elder and activist"....(Cont.)...
Monday, January 4, 2010
Irish atheists use Jesus, Bjork, Mark Twain, and Mohammed to challenge blasphemy law
Apparently there is a new blasphemy law that just went into effect on January 1st. in Ireland. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a $35,800 fine. One can break the law by saying or publishing anything "grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion."
The new law is being challenged by a group of Irish Atheists. The web site - Atheist Ireland just published "25 blasphemous quotations" to challenge the law. Here is quote number 15 from the great George Carlin, 1999:
“Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!”
Here is more information on the law and its detractors from CNNWorld and The Washington Post.
The new law is being challenged by a group of Irish Atheists. The web site - Atheist Ireland just published "25 blasphemous quotations" to challenge the law. Here is quote number 15 from the great George Carlin, 1999:
“Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time! But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!”
Here is more information on the law and its detractors from CNNWorld and The Washington Post.
Feminist theologian Mary Daly dies
The death of Mary Daly
This just in from catholicanarchy.org
"With a heavy heart, yet grateful beyond words for her life and work, I report that Mary Daly died this morning, January 3, 2010 in Massachusetts. She had been in poor health for the last two years.
Her contributions to feminist theology, philosophy, and theory were many, unique, and if I may say so, world-changing. She created intellectual space; she set the bar high. Even those who disagreed with her are in her debt for the challenges she offered.
May her spirit soar and her ideas endure.
Mary E. Hunt
Hoechenschwand, Germany"
In 1973 she wrote “Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation." Her work and this important book were quite an influence on the new field of feminist theology, and therefore a big boost to emerging feminist Neo-Paganism. She was a teacher at the Catholic Boston College for 33 years, and she once wrote this concerning women and Catholicism - "a woman's asking for equality in the church would be comparable to a black person's demanding equality in the Ku Klux Klan." She died at the age of 81
Here is a great summery of her life and work titled "Where no man has gone before: the be-dazzling voyage of Mary Daly" in the Blog - African Alchemy
"Mary Daly was born in Schenectady, New York, on October 16, 1928. Educated in Catholic schools, she went into the lion’s den in a time when young Catholic women all around the world were taking the vow, taking the veil, entering convents as nuns, women religious taking vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. Mary Daly wanted to study theology. To teach theology. To do theology right in the heart of a patriarchal church." ...(Cont.)
Here is some of what T.Thorn Coyle has to say about Mary's views in her blog Peacock Dreams:
Imagine 1950s America. Imagine wanting more than anything to study philosophy and theology. Imagine being told you could not because of your gender (or any other "other-ing" that may arise). Imagine wanting it so much, you found a way regardless. Mary did. She went to Europe to study, living on not much, dedicated to the mind. Imagine exiting school at the beginning of a new social movement in which white women were throwing off the shackles of the delimited social system. Imagine having studied some of the very systems that gave rise to this. Imagine having the power to write, to think, to make change.
Mary did. The Goddess Movement would not be the same without her. Contemporary Paganism would not be the same without the Goddess Movement. The radical essentialism of thinkers like Daly was a challenge to the pole that said "only men can communicate with the divine". That pillar that she went up against? Mostly it has changed, leaving behind laughable relics, some of whom unfortunately still hold a measure of power. Yes, inequality still exists and yes, I am still a feminist, but things have gotten better. Much, much better. I don't know if Mary Daly was able to see the battles she actually won. ...(Cont.)...
Here is an Excerpt from Daily's SIN BIG in the The New Yorker, February 26, 1996
"EVER since childhood, I have been honing my skills for living the life of a Radical Feminist Pirate and cultivating the Courage to Sin. The word "sin" is derived from the Indo-European root "es-," meaning "to be." When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a woman trapped in patriarchy, which is the religion of the entire planet, "to be" in the fullest sense is "to sin." Women who are Pirates in a phallocratic society are involved in a complex operation. First, it is necessary to Plunder--that is, righteously rip off--gems of knowledge that the patriarchs have stolen from us. Second, we must Smuggle back to other women our Plundered treasures. In order to invent strategies that will be big and bold enough for the next millennium, it is crucial that women share our experiences: the chances we have taken and the choices that have kept us alive. They are my Pirate's battle cry and wake-up call for women who want to hear."
Here is a link to an April 2006 audio interview with Mary Daly
Here is an obituary from Bryan Marquard at the Boston Globe
Here is Barbara Bradley Hagerty's report on NPR Radio
I am sure Mary will now have clear sailing to the Summerland to be counted among the Mighty Dead.
This just in from catholicanarchy.org
"With a heavy heart, yet grateful beyond words for her life and work, I report that Mary Daly died this morning, January 3, 2010 in Massachusetts. She had been in poor health for the last two years.
Her contributions to feminist theology, philosophy, and theory were many, unique, and if I may say so, world-changing. She created intellectual space; she set the bar high. Even those who disagreed with her are in her debt for the challenges she offered.
May her spirit soar and her ideas endure.
Mary E. Hunt
Hoechenschwand, Germany"
In 1973 she wrote “Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation." Her work and this important book were quite an influence on the new field of feminist theology, and therefore a big boost to emerging feminist Neo-Paganism. She was a teacher at the Catholic Boston College for 33 years, and she once wrote this concerning women and Catholicism - "a woman's asking for equality in the church would be comparable to a black person's demanding equality in the Ku Klux Klan." She died at the age of 81
Here is a great summery of her life and work titled "Where no man has gone before: the be-dazzling voyage of Mary Daly" in the Blog - African Alchemy
"Mary Daly was born in Schenectady, New York, on October 16, 1928. Educated in Catholic schools, she went into the lion’s den in a time when young Catholic women all around the world were taking the vow, taking the veil, entering convents as nuns, women religious taking vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. Mary Daly wanted to study theology. To teach theology. To do theology right in the heart of a patriarchal church." ...(Cont.)
Here is some of what T.Thorn Coyle has to say about Mary's views in her blog Peacock Dreams:
Imagine 1950s America. Imagine wanting more than anything to study philosophy and theology. Imagine being told you could not because of your gender (or any other "other-ing" that may arise). Imagine wanting it so much, you found a way regardless. Mary did. She went to Europe to study, living on not much, dedicated to the mind. Imagine exiting school at the beginning of a new social movement in which white women were throwing off the shackles of the delimited social system. Imagine having studied some of the very systems that gave rise to this. Imagine having the power to write, to think, to make change.
Mary did. The Goddess Movement would not be the same without her. Contemporary Paganism would not be the same without the Goddess Movement. The radical essentialism of thinkers like Daly was a challenge to the pole that said "only men can communicate with the divine". That pillar that she went up against? Mostly it has changed, leaving behind laughable relics, some of whom unfortunately still hold a measure of power. Yes, inequality still exists and yes, I am still a feminist, but things have gotten better. Much, much better. I don't know if Mary Daly was able to see the battles she actually won. ...(Cont.)...
Here is an Excerpt from Daily's SIN BIG in the The New Yorker, February 26, 1996
"EVER since childhood, I have been honing my skills for living the life of a Radical Feminist Pirate and cultivating the Courage to Sin. The word "sin" is derived from the Indo-European root "es-," meaning "to be." When I discovered this etymology, I intuitively understood that for a woman trapped in patriarchy, which is the religion of the entire planet, "to be" in the fullest sense is "to sin." Women who are Pirates in a phallocratic society are involved in a complex operation. First, it is necessary to Plunder--that is, righteously rip off--gems of knowledge that the patriarchs have stolen from us. Second, we must Smuggle back to other women our Plundered treasures. In order to invent strategies that will be big and bold enough for the next millennium, it is crucial that women share our experiences: the chances we have taken and the choices that have kept us alive. They are my Pirate's battle cry and wake-up call for women who want to hear."
Here is a link to an April 2006 audio interview with Mary Daly
Here is an obituary from Bryan Marquard at the Boston Globe
Here is Barbara Bradley Hagerty's report on NPR Radio
I am sure Mary will now have clear sailing to the Summerland to be counted among the Mighty Dead.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Lisa Simpson: The World’s Most Famous Wiccan
Personally, I find alot of fluff in some of the articles over at the mega site - Witchvox, but not this article by Zan Fraser on Lisa Simpson. It really hits the spot for me, and I could not agree with her more. So here is Lisa Simpson: The World’s Most Famous Wiccan:
"I am convinced that a major milestone in the progression of Wicca into the public consciousness was achieved on Nov 29, 2009, when The Simpsons aired “Rednecks and Broomsticks” (Season 21, Episode 7) , in which Lisa Simpson “came into” her Wicca-hood."...(Cont)...
"I am convinced that a major milestone in the progression of Wicca into the public consciousness was achieved on Nov 29, 2009, when The Simpsons aired “Rednecks and Broomsticks” (Season 21, Episode 7) , in which Lisa Simpson “came into” her Wicca-hood."...(Cont)...
Will we get to see the movie - Agora?
The long awaited movie Agora is starting to get more buzz and should perhaps soon be released here in the US. It has already been released all over Europe and has done quite well there, and was opened in Canada back in September, but is yet to be seen here in America. Scheduled for general release here on
December 18th it seems to have been put off until sometime in 2010. Curious is it not?
Directed by Alejandro Amenbar from Spain, the movie features the last stand of Hypatia of Alexandria trying to hold her own against Christian fundamentalists in the 4th century. This is a great epic tragedy. The Christians win, destroy the Library of Alexandria, and kill Hypatia. It foreshadows the transformation of the late Pagan Roman Empire into the Christian dominated "dark ages".
Here is a link to the movie trailer
Here is the review in Variety
"...The central dramatic event is the sacking of Alexandria’s fabled library, the repository of “all the knowledge of the world” up to that time, and the parallel drawn between early-day Christian fundamentalists, who have just been legalized by the Roman Empire at the story’s start, and a certain other religion’s present-day fanatics is entirely clear. These issues and more echo throughout the story, which unfolds in a physical rendering of Alexandria that is vivid and extensive in its display of fabulous architecture, divide between the haves and have-nots and polyglot nature of one of the ancient world’s great melting pots."...(Cont.)...
And here is a description of the background setting in AFRIK.COM.
"At the end of the Roman Empire, Alexandria became the last bastion of antique culture, and the monumental Serapeion (Sarapeum) complex, which was the religious and historic heart of the city, was of particular importance to pagan Egyptians. It was a place of high culture where the scholarly work and scientific research that had illuminated the ancient days beamed its final rays, highlighting the philosophical works of Olympios and the fundamental astronomical discoveries of Hypatia, its daughter. The school of Alexandria continued to train brilliant students throughout the Roman Empire, with a freedom of thinking and writing that was inherited from its founders, especially Ptolemy the Savior, a former disciple of Aristotle and general of Alexander."...(Cont.)...
This proto university complex is beautifully rendered and destroyed in the movie. What do they say about "those who don't learn from history"...? Food for thought folks.
December 18th it seems to have been put off until sometime in 2010. Curious is it not?
Directed by Alejandro Amenbar from Spain, the movie features the last stand of Hypatia of Alexandria trying to hold her own against Christian fundamentalists in the 4th century. This is a great epic tragedy. The Christians win, destroy the Library of Alexandria, and kill Hypatia. It foreshadows the transformation of the late Pagan Roman Empire into the Christian dominated "dark ages".
Here is a link to the movie trailer
Here is the review in Variety
"...The central dramatic event is the sacking of Alexandria’s fabled library, the repository of “all the knowledge of the world” up to that time, and the parallel drawn between early-day Christian fundamentalists, who have just been legalized by the Roman Empire at the story’s start, and a certain other religion’s present-day fanatics is entirely clear. These issues and more echo throughout the story, which unfolds in a physical rendering of Alexandria that is vivid and extensive in its display of fabulous architecture, divide between the haves and have-nots and polyglot nature of one of the ancient world’s great melting pots."...(Cont.)...
And here is a description of the background setting in AFRIK.COM.
"At the end of the Roman Empire, Alexandria became the last bastion of antique culture, and the monumental Serapeion (Sarapeum) complex, which was the religious and historic heart of the city, was of particular importance to pagan Egyptians. It was a place of high culture where the scholarly work and scientific research that had illuminated the ancient days beamed its final rays, highlighting the philosophical works of Olympios and the fundamental astronomical discoveries of Hypatia, its daughter. The school of Alexandria continued to train brilliant students throughout the Roman Empire, with a freedom of thinking and writing that was inherited from its founders, especially Ptolemy the Savior, a former disciple of Aristotle and general of Alexander."...(Cont.)...
This proto university complex is beautifully rendered and destroyed in the movie. What do they say about "those who don't learn from history"...? Food for thought folks.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Book Review: Modern Paganism in World Cultures
Here looks to be an interesting if not somewhat expensive book coming out. The title is Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, and it is a compilation of essays edited by Michael Strmiska. The price of the book lists on Amazon at just over $62.00 - hardcover. One of the contributors is Professor Sabina Magliocco who I believe is a COG member. Here is what the reviewer has to say over at Blogtrotter:
"A topic widely misunderstood, here explained mostly by insiders who are scholars, this collects essays on European-American revivals, reinventions, and reimaginings of ethnically based, traditionally rooted, and nature-based polytheistic practices. Although aimed at the scholarly audience-- for all eight chapters come heavily documented and occasionally sound more like lectures than articles-- it's an accessible collection. The subject's a new one; before the 1960s counterculture, few had known of seekers who shared ambivalence to the dominant "Abrahamic" faiths and who, common with neo-pagans, found their inner dissatisfaction with common religions shared by a few dissenters and visionaries. The past couple of decades, despite the "satanic panic" of the late 80s & early 90s, a growing number have come out of what the U.S. military contributor, Stephanie Urquhart, calls "the broom closet." ...(Cont)...
"A topic widely misunderstood, here explained mostly by insiders who are scholars, this collects essays on European-American revivals, reinventions, and reimaginings of ethnically based, traditionally rooted, and nature-based polytheistic practices. Although aimed at the scholarly audience-- for all eight chapters come heavily documented and occasionally sound more like lectures than articles-- it's an accessible collection. The subject's a new one; before the 1960s counterculture, few had known of seekers who shared ambivalence to the dominant "Abrahamic" faiths and who, common with neo-pagans, found their inner dissatisfaction with common religions shared by a few dissenters and visionaries. The past couple of decades, despite the "satanic panic" of the late 80s & early 90s, a growing number have come out of what the U.S. military contributor, Stephanie Urquhart, calls "the broom closet." ...(Cont)...
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