Fighting Modern-Day Witch Hunts in India’s Remote Northeast - The New York Times

Not only am I reminded of the Salem 'Witch Trials' but also the tail end of the Satanic Panic and Cameron Todd Willingham who on February 17, 2004 was murdered by the state of Texas. [I say murdered because Willingham was innocent but beyond the scope of this posting.]

Why you might ask?

In his trial, Tim Gregory (master’s degree in marriage and family issues with no published works in the field of sociopathic behavior) was cited as stating, ",,,I see there’s an association many times with cultive-type of activities. A focus on death, dying. Many times individuals that have a lot of this type of art have interest in satanic-type activities."

At one point, Jackson showed Gregory Exhibit No. 60—a photograph of an Iron Maiden poster that had hung in Willingham’s house—and asked the psychologist to interpret it. “This one is a picture of a skull, with a fist being punched through the skull,” Gregory said; the image displayed “violence” and “death.” Gregory looked at photographs of other music posters owned by Willingham. “There’s a hooded skull, with wings and a hatchet,” Gregory continued. “And all of these are in fire, depicting—it reminds me of something like Hell. And there’s a picture—a Led Zeppelin picture of a falling angel. . . . I see there’s an association many times with cultive-type of activities. A focus on death, dying. Many times individuals that have a lot of this type of art have interest in satanic-type activities.”

It is this mentality of the prevailing culture that allows for it.  We have our Satanic Panic, India has its witchcraft.  And for those that have any doubts as where a theocracy may lead, once a system of law is based on religion, anyone can be suspect.

For three decades, Birubala Rabha, an activist, has fought to end this violent, retrograde practice of punishing women accused of witchcraft. She works with state legislators and residents of rural villages to investigate accusers and protect victims and their families. A videojournalist, Vikram Singh, traveled to Assam State to report on Ms. Rabha’s work.

Rabha's claim to fame A State in India Just Outlawed Witch-Hunting, but Many Fear That Won’t Stop the Practice.

Fighting Modern-Day Witch Hunts in India’s Remote Northeast - The New York Times

The sinister truth behind India’s 'witch' killings - Channel NewsAsia

Despite the intensity of blind faith that drives these attacks, experts believe it is just a veil to disguise the real motives. Data is revealing that accusers tend to be those who live in close proximity to the victim, a clue to the motives.

Lawyer and leading activist in New Delhi, Ms Madhu Mehra, told INSIGHT: “They’re accused by neighbours, by extended family members. We have seen a couple of cases where the man remarried and his children accused the stepmother of witchcraft.”

Family disputes over property, land rights of women and gender conflicts tend to be factors that lead to women being labelled as witches.For example, a woman who voices her opinions, who refuses sexual advances, or whose harvests turn out better than her neighbours’, tend to be most at risk of being labelled witches, say experts.

“When the woman is a widow or does not have a son, or husband has left her, or even if she is living in her father’s house but does not have a brother, people hatch schemes to get hold of the property. And we have also seen that when a woman is vocal, when she talks too much or has leadership qualities, the woman is branded a witch in order to control her,” said Ms Sachi Kumari, a social worker and activist who has saved many such victims.

The sinister truth behind India’s 'witch' killings - Channel NewsAsia

D.M. Murdock/Acharya S on DVD!

D.M. Murdock/Acharya S on DVD! (via http://freethoughtnation.com)

I’m delighted to announce that a new video/DVD featuring me and my work is now available! The DVD, produced by artist Scott Burdick, can be obtained here: “Great Minds of Our Time: D.M. Murdock” Please note that I had little input in the editing…

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▶ Fuck The Poor? - YouTube

Not going to give anything away other than this also is applicable to us here in the US,,,

 



▶ Fuck The Poor? - YouTube

See also: Original posting from Upworthy with transcript -
A Guy Hung An Offensive Sign Around His Neck To Make A Solid Point. And … It Worked.

When we ignore the people around us who are struggling to get by, isn't it a lot like putting on the first sign this guy wears?

Last Of Waterbury's Radium Girls Dies - Courant.com

What a fascinating story. Had never heard of the Waterbury Radium Girls. The associated documentary sounds interesting as well.




Mae Keane did not care much for the job she had during the summer of 1924, painting radioactive radium onto watch dials to make them glow in the dark.

The pay was 8 cents a dial and Keane, then 18, was not as fast as her supervisor wanted her to be.

Keane and her co-workers at Waterbury Clock Co., all young women, were told they could paint faster if they dipped their brushes into the radium-laden paint and then sharpened the bristles with their lips.

But the paint was bitter and Keane would not "lip-point," as the practice was known.

"I made 62 cents one day," Keane told The Courant 10 years ago. "That's when my boss came to me and said I better find another job."

The foreman probably saved Keane's life. She worked in the dial painting room for eight to nine weeks, then transferred to another job at the company.

"The boss actually said, 'You don't like this, do you?' " recalled Keane's niece, Patricia Cohn of Middlebury, with whom Keane lived for the final 13 years of her life.

Keane, 107, died Saturday at her home in Middlebury. Keane's family believes she was the last of the so-called radium girls from Waterbury.

Last Of Waterbury's Radium Girls Dies - Courant.com

See also: Film Festival; A View of the Radium Dial Horror

explore: West Virginia - Hillbillies, Coal Miners, Treehuggers & God | Link TV

This short film from 2012 did not come across in the stereotypical way one may think based on the title. I found it quite insightful and thankful to the people interviewed for being open about what they hold dear.

Ground breaking for the new school was in Oct 2011 with completion slated for Oct 2012. From the school website it is an obvious success. Besides the Annenberg Foundation's contribution of $2.5 Million, the Marsh Fork Elementary School is funded through the Raleigh County School Board ($3.53 million); Alpha Natural Resources ($1.5 million); the School Building Authority of West Virginia ($3.146 million); and Pennies for Promises, Coal River Mountain Watch ($11,000).

As for Massey (they were bought out by Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources), I know charges were filed both criminally and in civil court.

On April 5, 2010, a massive explosion ripped through Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, leading to the deaths of 29 coal miners. Join host Charles Annenberg Weingarten and the explore team as they enter the heart of Appalachia to meet the community torn apart by the disaster, and learn about their fight to protect the environment and rebuild their way of life.

The heritage of coal mining runs deep in every family in the once-thriving Boone and Raleigh counties, West Virginia. Now going through hard times, every stakeholder has a different belief about coal and how to resurrect the region. But many agree that Marsh Fork Elementary School, sitting below a dam holding back billions of gallons of toxic coal slurry in the town of Sundial, is the site of the next disaster waiting to happen.

explore: West Virginia - Hillbillies, Coal Miners, Treehuggers & God | Link TV

Samantha Domingo - 'This Morning' UK ITV - YouTube

This was shared in another group page that I "belong" to. After watching it I asked Sam if I could re-post as I felt it was an excellent portrayal of what it is like in the Co$ and what it is like trying to get out of it, Too many people I have "spoken" with have reiterated much of the same horrors.

Though she touched on a few areas of interest in her interview, she is currently working on finishing her book that deals with her "20 years in the cult of Scientology. Brainwashing, forced abortions, forced imprisonment on a gulag, escaping security guards by jumping out of a 4th story window in the middle of the night and being stalked and harassed by a the cult mafia after leaving."

A few things that jumped out at me, besides the billion year contract:

How/why she got in, "We were there to save the world." (Same sentiment expressed by Diane Benscoter)

"my thinking was not really my own,"

",,,[I]t ruined my life." (and Sam, it is a CULT)




Samantha Domingo - 'This Morning' UK ITV - YouTube

More Creationism in Publicly-Funded Science Classrooms - YouTube

I haven't had a chance to listen to this yet but Zack is the author of the previous article I posted concerning Texas Public Charter Schools teaching creationism. He is speaking with The David Pakman Show which is a nationally syndicated talk radio & television program covering news, politics, and entertainment; David comes from a progressive slant. (I'll post more later after work.)

UPDATE::  Just finished listening.  David and Zack discuss his article, highlighting some points.  Best way to sum the conversation, "Texas science standards do not trump the Constitution" something they are going to learn the hard way!!

-Zack Kopplin, a science education activist working on a campaign for evidence-based science to be taught in science class and a reinvestment in science funding, joins David to discuss teaching creationism in science class.




More Creationism in Publicly-Funded Science Classrooms - YouTube

3rd Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion

This past Sunday-Monday, I spent a spectacular 16 of 24 hours listening to the 3rd Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion (see also and here as well.) It is a 24 hour live broadcast to protest the Religious Indoctrination of Children all over the world. It is 24 hours of experiences and stories from every part of the world which provided a window into the kinds of harm religious indoctrination produces.

PART 1:



PART 2:



PART 3:



PART 4:

John Coffer traded his condo for a log cabin - Coffer - Aeon Film

Something to ponder as old and new are blended together with satisfaction,,,

"Twenty-five years ago, John Coffer gave up his condominium and sports car in Florida for a home-made log cabin in upstate New York. ‘Life ain’t perfect’ he says, ‘and neither is my cabin.’ But the life of a 19th-century homesteader turns out to blend with laptops, solar cells and wind generators pretty well."

John Coffer traded his condo for a log cabin - Coffer - Aeon Film

Writings of William Bradford - C-SPAN Video Library

A video I thought interesting concerning the Mayflower Compact and William Bradford,,,

Guests examined the history of the early Colonial period through the life and writings of William Bradford. Bradford was governor of the Massachusetts Colony and the author of the Mayflower Compact and Of Plymouth Plantation. The guests and “Governor Bradford” responded to audience comments and questions. 

Also featured were the Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum that recreates life in Colonial Massachusetts, and readings from Bradford’s works.

Writings of William Bradford - C-SPAN Video Library

Triangle Fire . American Experience . WGBH | PBS

It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. A dropped match on the 8th floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sparked a fire that killed over a hundred innocent people trapped inside. The private industry of the American factory would never be the same.

Triangle Fire . American Experience . WGBH | PBS

Debt Ceiling Deadline - The Colbert Report - 2013-08-10 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

I take it Mr Yoho this is how you run your household: "If America defaults on its debt, President Obama will just have to pick which programs get funded." Can we say clueless,,,

Will the real comedian please stand up. No Mr Colbert, not you!!

Debt Ceiling Deadline - The Colbert Report - 2013-08-10 - Video Clip | Comedy Central

Untreated mental illness an imminent danger? - 60 Minutes - CBS News

An interesting piece tho I'm a bit disappointed as no "solutions" were offered besides the standard medication, therapy and/or hospitalization. While they all may be necessary to some degree, the thinking is too rigid and why the experience and work of Eleanor Longden are important,,,

Untreated mental illness an imminent danger? - 60 Minutes - CBS News

Transcript

See also:

A first-class recovery: From hopeless case to graduate - Eleanor Longden was a diagnosed schizophrenic and heard menacing voices in her head for 10 years. Now, she has fought back and has graduated with a brilliant honours degree in psychology

How I tamed the voices in my head - When Eleanor Longden began hearing things, she soon found herself drugged, sectioned and labelled schizophrenic. Then a psychiatrist taught her how to talk back

Shaped by Hand on Vimeo

",,,the more mechanical advantages you get, the less need you have to communicate with people. That's supposed to be an improvement. You know."

This short film features Vince McIntyre, a Canadian farmer who is preserving a way of life from a bygone age. Despite the challenges, Vince is farming without machinery, inspired by techniques he observed as a boy in post-war Ireland. Vince shares his experience of working with the land and why he still believes in doing so by hand.

Shaped by Hand on Vimeo

Special: The Last Mountain | Link TV

This issue with mining as a whole, and specifically Massey Energy, came on to my radar back in April of 2011. I have always been a bit fascinated by coal mining since I was a kid as an uncle was a miner outside of Scranton, PA. Which lead me to Centralia, PA. I remember watching a mining operation and also visiting Centralia before it was condemned. I also have a vague memory of a barren flattop mountain that was "smoking," we would pass it on our way to Scranton from the Poconos.

Back in the day I would overhear my uncle telling my parents the conditions he worked under, although I don't recall whether it was good or bad. So when the original article came about I read with interest. Then this documentary came along and it presents a sobering POV, one many may not think about "when you switch that light on."

Three things I learned: more of an understanding of the debate concerning coal mining; the apprehension behind green energy and what is "fueling" it; our dependency on coal and the environmental damage it is causing

In the valleys of Appalachia, a battle is being fought over a mountain. It is a battle with severe consequences that affect every American, regardless of their social status, economic background or where they live. It is a battle that has taken many lives and continues to do so the longer it is waged. It is a battle over protecting our health and environment from the destructive power of Big Coal.

The mining and burning of coal is at the epicenter of America's struggle to balance its energy needs with environmental concerns. Nowhere is that concern greater than in Coal River Valley, West Virginia, where a small but passionate group of ordinary citizens are trying to stop Big Coal corporations, like Massey Energy, from continuing the devastating practice of Mountain Top Removal.

Special: The Last Mountain | Link TV

Ex-Moonie Diane Benscoter: How cults think - YouTube

My journey to coming here today started in 1974. That's me with the funny gloves. I was 17 and going on a peace walk. What I didn't know though, was most of those people, standing there with me, were Moonies. And within a week I had come to believe that the second coming of Christ had occurred, that it was Sun Myung Moon, and that I had been specially chosen and prepared by God to be his disciple.

Now as cool as that sounds, my family was not that thrilled with this. And they tried everything they could to get me out of there,,,

That is the opening to Diane Benscoter's Tedtalk concerning "How Cults Think," she continues,

And about 20 years went by. There was a burning question though that would not leave me. And that was, "How did this happen to me?" And in fact, what did happen to my brain? Because something did. And so I decided to write a book, a memoir, about this decade of my life.

I think we have all hit that "burning question" phase at some point in our lives. We have all wonder or been confronted by the WTF was I thinking. What I find interesting is that Benscoter is not the only individual who has equated extreme religious bullshitery to a brain virus (Dr Darrell Ray, The God Virus):

And so what is this? How does this work? And how I've come to view what happened to me is a viral memetic infection. For those of you who aren't familiar with memetics, a meme has been defined as an idea that replicates in the human brain and moves from brain to brain like a virus, much like a virus. The way a virus works is - it can infect and do the most damage to someone who has a compromised immune system.

What really caught my attention was Benscoter's use of the "Us vs Them" mentality A dichotomy I have noticed in regards to Nephilim Eschatology and the Ancient Alien Hypothesis: ,,,[a]nd the most dangerous part of this is that is creates "us" and "them," "right" and "wrong," "good" and "evil." And it makes anything possible. Makes anything rationalizable.

In a blog post Benscoter talks further in regards to memeplexes, groups of memes which have been used to understand the phenomenon of religion,

This concept gives us a means to view, from an evolutionary perspective, how and why we have tended to clump together into groups with highly polarized ideologies. We can start to understand the pull to view the world from a “Us” versus “Them” perspective. To fully understand how memeplexes work we must examine the psychological elements present in the most powerful and dangerous memeplexes currently in our existence – as well as in our history.

and cites the work of Robert Lifton and his concept of totalism and by proxy "thought reform."

What I find sobering is that I vaguely remember studying some of Lifton's ideas in college and recently watched his appearance in Cults - Dangerous Devotion, a 2009 History channel presentation.

I have to agree with Benscoter in her conclusion to her post and definitely something more to explore:

As a species, we can no longer afford to be swept up in polarizing memeplexes that convince us, falsely, that there are easy answers to life’s hard questions and that our memeplex’s view is THE ultimate truth. Life’s hard questions must be examined with reason and scientific process. This is not possible in a totalistic memeplex.

We must deconstruct totalistic memeplexes to shed light on the glue that binds them and the fuel that gives them power. Only then can we hope to avoid new memeplexes from being born and evolving into dangerous polarizing monsters.

See also: Q&A with Diane Benscoter: Joining, leaving and ultimately defeating the cult

Panama Canal . American Experience . WGBH | PBS

On August 15th, 1914, the Panama Canal opened, connecting the world’s two largest oceans and signaling America’s emergence as a global superpower. American ingenuity and innovation had succeeded where, fifteen years earlier, the French had failed disastrously. But the U.S. paid a price for victory: a decade of ceaseless, grinding toil, an outlay of more than 350 million dollars -- the largest single federal expenditure in history to that time -- and the loss of more than 5,000 lives. Along the way, Central America witnessed the brazen overthrow of a sovereign government, the influx of over 55,000 workers from around the globe, the removal of hundreds of millions of tons of earth, and engineering innovation on an unprecedented scale. The construction of the Canal was the epitome of man’s mastery over nature and signaled the beginning of America’s domination of world affairs.

The second half of the 19th century was a time of expansion and great technological advancement. Americans built the Brooklyn Bridge and completed the Transcontinental Railroad. The French had constructed the Suez Canal in Egypt in 1869 and set their sights on a canal through the Panamanian Isthmus. But after eight years of earthquakes, floods and disease-stunted progress, the French returned home bankrupt. The canal project would lay abandoned for nearly 15 years.

Panama Canal . American Experience . WGBH | PBS

Amish People in America | C-SPAN

A recent roundtable lecture given at Elizabethtown College by the authors of The Amish. Between them is 81 years of scholarly research into the culture of the Amish the we English find fascinating. The book referenced in the lecture is a companion to the PBS American Experience film of the same name.

What I found interesting in this presentation:
1] The book and film are a continuation of John Hosteltler's work Amish Society (1963) which I read in college
2] Authors stressed the importance of the diversity within the Amish community as a whole, "2060 ways of being Amish." Those of us on the outside may not realize that this diversity even exists as most of us can't tell the Amish apart from the Mennonites.
3] The bulk of the discussion centered around what the authors felt was an unanswered question: What is the social glue that holds this diverse Amish world together?

The simple answer a shared history, an ongoing narrative. Kraybill offers a a more complex answer, "German, steel, and farm." Which is echoed by Nolt, "the 18 Articles (the Dordrecht Confession of Faith), horse and buggy, and determined in the church (localism)."

What was common throughout the conversation in regards to this "dividing line," the use of horse-and-buggy transportation, the use of Pennsylvania German dialect in church services/daily conversation, termination of formal education at the eighth grade, the wearing of distinctive plain clothing, and rejection of modern amenities.

4] The fear of critical thinking, the analytical mindset, that comes with higher education which embodies individualism that the Amish avoid. In other words, why their schooling ends with the 8th grade.
5] Religion is the core of society that changes the slowest.
6] Distinction between access to technology and owning technology

Amish People in America | C-SPAN

Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds - YouTube

My response to the vile letter sent to Karla Begley, the mother of 13-year-old Max, "We need to help students who have unique minds to be successful."

Temple Grandin is autistic and for many a true hero. A published author Thinking in Pictures (1996) was made into a movie called Temple Grandin starring Claire Danes and won 7 Emmy Awards. Her new book, The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum came out in April of this
year. As such Grandin is one of the world’s most accomplished and well-known adults with autism; she is a professor at Colorado State University.

During her Tedtalk what came across to me was her ability to describe her experience to the audience. Talking of her High Definition Fiber Tracking that allowed her to see where the connectivity of her brain differs from most people's. And how important that "extra" knowledge can be in working with children, which is where her concern lays.

She relates in writing her first book that she thought everyone with autism saw in pictures the way she does. But in talking to others she discovered that some think differently: mainly photorealistic visual thinkers, pattern thinkers, and verbal thinkers. All people have multiple intelligence – strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. But people on the autism spectrum tend to have extremes, as Grandin puts it, "a specialists mind." They're particularly skilled at one way of seeing the world and truly terrible at others.

"The world needs different kinds of minds to work together."

What I find enlightening in regards to Grandin, she embraces her uniqueness and uses it to contribute something different, and teach us something. "Real change in the real world."

Enjoy!!