Workers at African aid program linked to alleged cult sue for back pay | Reveal

Staff who worked on U.S. foreign aid projects have filed a legal complaint against an African contractor, claiming they were forced to work thousands of hours without pay.

In interviews, the workers described a secret behind the unpaid hours at the contractor, Development Aid from People to People in Malawi, or DAPP: A cult-like organization called the Teachers Group demanded that members attend indoctrination sessions, where they were admonished to pledge their money, time and free will to the orders of the collective.

“They say Teachers Group is your family, and that is the first family I should observe and be together with all my life,” said Andrew Chalamanda, one of the plaintiffs in a complaint filed with Malawi’s Industrial Relations Court.
,,,
“It is painful because I have been used; I have been one of the people who have been used to fulfill somebody’s needs to access funds through the organization. I have been the implementer,” Chalamanda said. “They just wanted to use me to stand there so that the owners of the funds would come, and they would see that we were on the ground doing one, two, three things. So I feel bad.”

Workers at African aid program linked to alleged cult sue for back pay | Reveal

Hunting for humans: African albinos live in fear - CNN.com

For Agness Jonathan, every day is a gamble with her children's lives.

Simple questions like whether they should go to school carry an unimaginable risk of death and dismemberment to satisfy a barbaric demand. 

 

This is because her daughters are living with albinism, a genetic condition resulting in little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. And this makes them a target.

It is children like Agness' who, according to a newly released Amnesty International report, are being hunted like animals in Malawi where their bones are sold in the belief the body parts bring wealth, happiness and good luck.

The report chronicles the day-to-day lives of those living with the condition, and details the extent of a recent surge in killings of albinos living in the landlocked country in southern Africa. 

 

The bloodiest month was April this year, when Amnesty says four people were murdered, including a baby.

Hunting for humans: African albinos live in fear - CNN.com

Havoc and Chaos: January 9, 2016::End of the day round-up (pg 2)

Ruqia Hassan: Isis executes first female citizen journalist in Raqqa, confirmed by 'Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently'

Isis has executed what is believed to be the first female citizen journalist for reporting inside its territory, Syrian media has reported.

The execution of Ruqia Hassan marks the fifth journalist who reported on Isis to be killed since October, according to Syrian journalism organisation Syria Direct.

Ms Hassan, who also went by the pseudonym Nisan Ibrahim on social media, was a independent reporter. Her death was confirmed by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group exposing human rights abuses from within Syria.

Abu Mohammed, founder of RBSS, tweeted on Saturday that Ms Hassan’s last words were: “I’m in Raqqa and I received death threats, and when Isis [arrests] me and kills me it’s ok because they will cut my head and I have dignity its better than I live in humiliation with Isis [sic]”

Fourteen days from the "5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion" which is taking place on January 23, 2016. Here is part 1 of 4 from 2014 to tickle your appetite.

Muslims in America - 24 Famous celebrities who are Muslim - Pictures - CBS News 

From the "pen" of Yvette D'Entremont, aka the "SciBabe"

Why Your Detox Is Bullsh*t

These juice cleanses generally claim to give you more energy, make your skin glow, and help you lose weight by ridding your system of heavy metals, pesticides, and other nefarious yet unnamed toxins … how exactly does apple juice or kale accomplish this, even if it is "cold pressured" or organic? Why couldn't you do this in (much cheaper and more nutritious) salad form? Could any of these websites point me to the mechanism of action or do they just do this via waving their magic wand of organic-iness?

Let me point out: In order to be detoxed, you first have to be, well, "toxed." And you're probably not. If you actually had a build-up of heavy metals or pesticides in your body, you'd be crazy sick. There are specific symptoms to having both of these "toxins" inside of you. In fact, different metals and pesticides have specific symptoms, like muscle spasms and breathing difficulties. Bottom line? Breakouts and feeling a little rundown aren't symptoms of any of them, and you need REAL MEDICINE — dimercaprol chelation and atropine, respectively — for treatment. Not juice.

And why else shouldn't you do a juice cleanse? Suja's three-day program drains you of $162, and that's pretty standard. For that much, I expect perkier boobs, fuller hair, and Republicans and Democrats to act like grown-ups. Instead, you're just getting juice. The only real thing these programs cleanse is the money right out of your wallet.
,,,
More ridiculously, colon hydrotherapy — aka a colon cleanse or a colonic — is a service offered at some spas, during which some 60 liters of water are piped into your bowels and the "toxins" are "plumbed" straight out of you. That sounds nice and cleansing, doesn't it?

Nope. Removing toxins? You're just forcibly giving yourself diarrhea. There's no toxin or waste build-up the water is removing. This is just fecal matter that would have been expelled naturally (in time) by your body anyway, but with added potential complications — like intestinal parasites, bowel perforation, and heart failure. In fact, this article from The Journal of Family Practice reported the following adverse effects due to colon cleansing:

Case reports also have noted back and pelvic abscesses after colonic hydrotherapy, fatal aeroportia (gas accumulation in the mesenteric veins) with air emboli, rectal perforations, perineal gangrene, acute water intoxication, coffee enema-associated colitis and septicemia, and deaths due to amebiasis.

The discovery of a 300-year-old ship at a construction site has archaeologists ecstatic

“It’s very rare. This almost never happens,” said Dan Baicy, the hard-hatted field director for Thunderbird Archeology, the firm watching for historic evidence during construction. “In 15 years that I’ve done this work, I’ve never run into this kind of preservation in an urban environment where there’s so much disturbance.”

On Monday, naval archaeologists joined the crew at the site to help dismantle the vessel, timber by timber, looking for artifacts and markings that could identify it and show where it sailed and what it carried. The public is invited to view the findings Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon, after which the wood will be removed from the site.
,,,
The find has archaeologists surprised and ecstatic. Unlike the warehouse, which was noted in old city records, there was no known documentation of the buried ship’s existence.

Call for police probe of anti-gay hate speech in Malawi

Anti-gay politicians and preachers in Malawi have responded harshly to the government’s decision on Dec. 19 to continue the country’s moratorium on arrests for violations of its law against same-sex intercourse.

In return, the Malawi Law Society has asked police and the Malawi Human Rights Commission to investigate recent anti-gay statements as hate speech, a criminal offense.

Enforcement of the law has been suspended since November 2012 while courts decide whether the law is unconstitutional and politicians decide whether it should be repealed. The law calls for sentences of 14 years for violations by men and five years for women.

Louisville woman accused of assaulting, robbing disabled man after he jokes that he doesn't believe in God

A woman was arrested at the Hall of Justice in downtown Louisville Tuesday afternoon, months after police say she assaulted and robbed a man after he joked that he did not believe in God.

According to an arrest warrant, the incident took place on Oct. 20.

Police say that 49-year-old Laura Reid was visiting a disabled man in his home. At one point, police say, Reid asked the victim if he believed in God, and he jokingly replied that he did not.

According to an arrest warrant, Reid became angry with his response, so she picked up his metal cane and began beating him on the head and body, hitting him so hard that the cane broke.

Warning from the Birding Community to the Terrorists in Oregon: We're Watching You

Just a friendly warning from the birding and wildlife photography community to the Oregon terrorists. We are watching your every move, and we have been watching you for a long time. And yes absolutely you are domestic terrorists of the worst kind, and the truth about your decades of constant poaching of protected wildlife around Malheur and other wildlife refuges, national parks, national forests and BLM lands has been well-documented. For years those of us who are wildlife photographers, birdwatchers and carers of wildlife, have been documenting the activities of you poachers and criminals around many of our nation's wildlife refuges. With our powerful cameras, and ability to move unseen in the wilderness, we have found and documented your illegal hunts, your illegal traps and all sorts of illicit activities, and are constantly feeding that information to law enforcement, and we have finally got many of you poachers on the run and into jails. And I for one am a westerner sick to death of you welfare queens and cheats living off of BLM land, illegally gutting our wilderness and our wildlife,,,

January 4, 2016::End of the day round-up

Gay Malawian appeals for justice; now he’s in hiding

Friends stopped coming to chat at his place, some sent him messages explaining that they cannot go on chatting with a Satanic; one person went up to throwing a stone at him as he walked by.

“I withdrew, I stayed indoors. My brother heard of the rumours and he told me that as much as he hopes that I will stop being gay, the family cannot disown me but again they cannot support me in my being gay.”

Nobody has ever told his father fearing that his frail heart will topple over. The father however has also heard of the rumours and when he asked Fortune, he flatly denied all in the name of protecting the father from a heart attack.

This is Why She Left the Jehovah’s Witnesses (VIDEO)

‘Christian’ Preachers: God Has Very Good Reason Why We Need Our Private Jets

The prosperity gospel is possibly the most deceptive “gospel” in all of Christianity. It involves preachers telling their parishioners, “Give me money, and God will return it to you ten-fold,” more or less, and people buy it, making these preachers rich. Two such preachers, Kenneth Copeland and Jesse Duplantis, used the prosperity gospel along with their god to justify having enough wealth for private jets, and it’s probably as close to the opposite of Christianity as one can get.

First off, Copeland and Duplantis both say that God wants to keep them off of the airlines because of dope-filled air full of demons. Copeland explained how Oral Roberts used to fly airlines, and people would bother him by asking him to pray for them and such. They can’t deal with all of that now. They can’t get to their flocks, to the world, to help God make things right, without their wealth and their private jets. They need their jets for that – it’s what God wants.

Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi's health deteriorating, wife says

A member of Amnesty International in Canada and a spokeswoman for the Canadian government both said they were unable to confirm the hunger strike.

"Canada remains very concerned by the situation of Mr Badawi and we will continue to call for clemency to be granted in his case," said government spokeswoman Rachna Mishra.

Mr Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was found guilty in 2014 of breaking Saudi Arabia's technology laws and of insulting Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes.

He received his first 50 lashes in January, prompting strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom's human rights record.

"I am very worried about him," Ms Haidar said on Thursday. "His health, both physical and mental, is very poor."

She said she last spoke with her husband two weeks ago, and had been kept informed of Mr Badawi's condition by a contact in Saudi Arabia whom she declined to identify.

Cruz tells volunteers: “strap on the full armor of God”

"I want to tell everyone to get ready, strap on the full armor of God, get ready for the attacks that are coming," a hoarse-sounding Cruz told volunteers on a conference call. "Come the month of January we ain’t seen nothing yet."

Louisiana Courthouse Hosts Pro-Christian Signs from Government Agencies

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent separate letters to the Police Jury and Clerk of Court alerting them to the problem and requesting in writing how they plan to fix this in the future:
_
There are ample private and church grounds where religious displays may be freely placed. Once the government enters into the religious business, conferring endorsement and preference for one religion over others, it strikes a blow at religious liberty, forcing taxpayers of all faiths and of no religion to support a particular expression of worship. We request a response in writing about the steps you are taking to remedy this violation of the First Amendment.

How Do You Help A Food Stamp Recipient Get A Job?

“I don’t think there’s anybody else in the country who can claim the kind of success we can claim,” Weber told ThinkProgress, “and it’s because we’re approaching things holistically.” That success is striking, according to numbers that Weber’s Fresno Bridge Academy has crunched on the economic impact of the 1,000-plus SNAP recipients who have found jobs through the group. Every dollar spent on the Bridge has returned $22.28 in economic benefits, the group told the Fresno Bee. Weber said in an interview that about $17 of that comes in the form of higher earnings for the family in question, “but $5.50 goes back to the taxpayers” in the form of reduced spending on SNAP and higher income tax collections.

Following Backlash, U.S. Air Force Academy Allows Football Players to Pray on the Field

The Academy reviewed and investigated the complaint, but concluded that players are free to follow their own religious beliefs.

“The United States Air Force Academy will continue to reaffirm to cadets that all Airmen are free to practice the religion of their choice or subscribe to no religious belief at all,” the USAFA said in a statement. “The players may confidently practice their own beliefs without pressure to participate in the practices of others.”

The MRFF released a statement Thursday expressing its discontent.

“By allowing public prayer by the football players in Air Force uniform, command is officially endorsing one religion–Christianity.”

Shepherd Bushiri: Prophet Or Charlatan? By Leo Igwe | Sahara Reporters

There is nothing ‘enlightened’ about him and his so-called Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG), the Malawi-born Shepherd Bushiri is a prophetic disaster that has exploded on the faces of believing folks in Southern Africa.  And people in the region need to wake up and resist every initiative by this roving con artist to dupe and exploit them.

Addressed as the ‘man of the moment’, ‘major prophet’, ‘prophet of the most high’, Shepherd Bushiri is a charlatan by any stretch of imagination. He markets a prosperity gospel narrative that only prospers the shepherd and pauperizes the sheep. But the question is: Do the sheep know?

Bushiri uses his church- which is headquartered in Malawi with branches in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania, Namibia and Ethiopia to spread ignorance, darkness and deception. He issues fake prophecies and miracle schemes to enhance the church’s visibility, exploit gullible people, and of course raise enough money to purchase a jet, the Shepherd Bushiri Aircraft.

One of his most recent controversial miracle claims was that he ‘walked on air’.  Yes Bushiri claims he could levitate and recorded it in a video. However, the video of Bushiri walking on air only shows the legs of an unidentified man dangling as if the man is holding onto something to support himself. The video does not show a complete image of the person who is supposed to have walked on air. So why didn’t Bushiri reveal himself fully ‘walking on air’?

Shepherd Bushiri: Prophet Or Charlatan? By Leo Igwe | Sahara Reporters

Missionary to be held without bond on child abuse charges - Odessa American: Law Enforcement

The Odessa missionary accused of abusing 11 orphans at a children’s home in Malawi will continue to be held without bond after he waived a preliminary hearing regarding the probable cause for his arrest.

Gerald Dean Campbell, who is charged with engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, could face up to life in federal prison if convicted.

By waiving his hearing, Campbell will be held without bond and declined to contest his arrest.

According to a federal complaint, Campbell was the general manager of the Victory Christian Children’s Home from 1997 until he resigned in 2009 amid the sexual abuse claims.

Campbell is a member of Grace Fellowship Church, which has had ties with the children’s home for a number of years.

Missionary to be held without bond on child abuse charges - Odessa American: Law Enforcement

Malawi: Manerela+ Condemns Faith Healing - allAfrica.com

Think religious based superstition is harmless?

Malawi Network of Religious Leaders living with or Personally Affected by HIV/AIDS (MANERELA+) has urged churches in the country to stop discouraging people from taking medical drugs.

Programs Manager for Manerela+, Bruce Tushabe told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that some churches have been for some time encouraging people to believe in faith healing instead of taking their medical drugs as prescribed by medical doctors.

"We are facing the challenge of religious practices where some church leaders encourage people living with HIV/AIDS to stop taking Anti Retro Viral (ARV) that help boost the immune system.

"Instead, they are told to believe in faith healing which does not work with the immune system at all," said Tushabe.

,,,

"Whether someone gets healed by faith or not, church leaders are not supposed to tell anyone to stop medication," Banda explained.

Malawi: Manerela+ Condemns Faith Healing - allAfrica.com

Witchcraft plane crash’ causes commotion in Kasungu | Malawi Nyasa Times – Malawi breaking news in Malawi

Kasungu Police Station and Gundani in Kasungu District, on Monday became centres of attraction on Monday as hundreds of people flocked to the places to see an alleged witchcraft plane.
,,,

The black object, which resembles a small airplane, attracted hundreds of people as the news of its crash spread like wild fire to surrounding areas of Chitete, Chiteyeye and as far as Juma and Kasalika.

Police later went to the scene and took the object to Kasungu Police Station.
,,,
People’s attention then shifted to the police station where they gathered to see the ‘plane’.
,,,
The country’s laws do not recognise the existence of witchcraft and police spokesperson Edwin Kaunda said they took the object away for safety reasons.

Witchcraft plane crash’ causes commotion in Kasungu | Malawi Nyasa Times – Malawi breaking news in Malawi