... Nwanaokwo Edet was one of an increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.
Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria.
For their part, the families are often extremely poor, and sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed. Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which are then triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund.
"When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change ... and children are defenseless."
The idea of witchcraft is hardly new, but it has taken on new life recently partly because of a rapid growth in evangelical Christianity. Campaigners against the practice say around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and around 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire. ...
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
Churches involved in torture, murder of thousands of African children denounced as witches
Arora, the latest detention profiteer
Activists from No Borders London staged a protest last week inside the Arora International Hotel, near Heathrow airport, against the hotel owners' plans to turn one of their other hotels, at Gatwick airport, into an immigration prison. Driven by what appears to be a decline in business, Arora Management Services had applied to the Crawley Borough Council for permission to convert its four-star hotel, Mercure, into an immigration detention centre. As one of the protesters put it, "this is just another example of the cynical, profit-driven opportunism exhibited by big companies wanting a slice of the lucrative detention market."
The art of planning
Planning application no. CR/2009/0421/COU, which can be viewed on the Council's website, shows that Tim Jurdon, Arora's head of planning, lodged a 'change of use' application with the Council on behalf of Arora Management Services Ltd. on 10th September 2009. The application seeks permission to change the property's use from Class C1 (hotels) to Class C2A (secure residential institutions), or what the application refers to as "removals centres".
The Crawley Borough Council's Local Plan 2000 - Saved Policies, September 2007, states that planning permission "will not be granted for development within the airport boundary which is not clearly required in this location for [the airport's] operational, functional, safety or security reasons." Policy GAT 4, which covers changes to Gatwick, specifically lists the following "major developments and uses" as shown on the Proposals Map: (i) cargo handling facilities; (ii) aircraft maintenance and engine testing facilities; (iii) other operational developments; (iv) an airport visitor centre; (v) short and long term passenger car parking; (vi) activities ancillary to the airport's operation; and (vii) structural landscaping.
Arora, however, is trying to sell its plans arguing that locating detention centres at airports would make deportations easier and less costly for the immigration authorities. The Planning, Design & Access Statement accompanying the planning application claims that "there are clear operational, functional, safety and security reasons why an airport location would be suitable or desirable for this development as required by Policy GAT4 of the Local Plan." More specifically, "close proximity to the airport terminals and immigration handling facilities provides the functional link and relatively short distances to transport detainees."
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Rogues' map of London
Corporate Watch and Disarm DSEi have produced a map showing the locations of all 924 exhibitors at the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) arms fair. The map is intended to show that the arms trade is present in every community in the UK. The map also represents the first stage in Corporate Watch's 'Mapping the Arms Trade' project aimed at creating a comprehensive interactive map showing locations of arms dealers across the UK. The map can be viewed at www.dsei.org.
‘Angola 3’ performance gives strong message
Loyola had the honor of continuing the dialogue surrounding the Angola Three by presenting a play that has been considered by state funded schools as being too controversial.
The Loyola College of Law presented the show, performed in Nunemaker Hall on Sept. 18, 19 and 20 by a Houston theatre group.
Writer and producer Parnell Herbert’s “Angola 3,” directed by Wayne DeHart, calls for prison reform through the story of a group of inmates of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly called Angola, who, dissatisfied with their living conditions, starts a chapter of the Black Panther party in 1971 in order to fight for change.
After a guard was killed, the prison staff sends three to solitary confinement for 30 years, until they are discovered and granted retrial. Robert King, played by Phil Brent, is released following his trial when the Supreme Court rules that he was subjected to an “inhumane and unconstitutional” sentence.
Since his release, King has worked for the acquittal of the two other prisoners, bringing light to the poor prison conditions in the US system.
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Meat-eaters soak up the world's water
Governments may have to persuade people to eat less meat because of increasing demands on water supplies, according to agricultural scientists investigating how the world can best feed itself.
They say countries with little water may choose not to grow crops but trade in "virtual water", importing food from countries which have large amounts of water to save their supplies for domestic or high-value uses.
With about 840 million people in the world undernourished, and a further 2 billion expected to be born within 20 years, finding water to grow food will be one of the greatest challenges facing governments.
Currently up to 90% of all managed water is used to grow food.
[ ... ]
"Western diets, which depend largely on meat, are already putting great pressures on the environment. Meat-eaters consume the equivalent of about 5,000 litres [1,100 gallons] of water a day compared to the 1,000-2,000 litres used by people on vegetarian diets in developing countries. All that water has to come from somewhere."
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Israel condemns Human Rights Council decision
Israel has reacted strongly to the decision by the UN Human Rights Council which has approved the Goldstone Report.
The controversial report has charged that Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas committed war crimes during the Gaza War.
Israel has claimed the rights council move is biased and one-sided, and the charges of war crimes are outrageous.
"This diktat is phrased in very extreme terms that try to impose rules that will make it impossible for any country to defend themselves against terror," Israeli spokesman Yigal Palmor says.
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MI5 chief defends links with foreign agencies accused of torture
The head of MI5 has issued a vigorous defence of the organisation's co-operation with intelligence agencies known to use torture, saying that it thwarted many terrorist attacks after 9/11 and saved British lives.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the mounting concern over British involvement in the torture of terrorism suspects overseas, Jonathan Evans, the director-general of the security service, said the country had quickly needed help to understand the nature of the threat from al-Qaida at a time when another attack could have been imminent.
"In my view we would have been derelict in our duty if we had not worked, circumspectly, with overseas liaisons who were in a position to provide intelligence that could safeguard this country from attack," he said.
Speaking at his old university, Bristol, last night, Evans said he did not defend "the abuses that have recently come to light within the US system since 9/11". He said working with the intelligence agencies of other countries that he did not identify had posed "a real dilemma" for MI5 officers working in difficult and at times dangerous circumstances.
"Given the pressing need to understand and uncover al-Qaida's plans, were we to deal, however circumspectly, with those security services who had experience of working against al-Qaida on their own territory? Or were we to refuse to deal with them, accepting that in so doing we would be cutting off a potentially vital source of information that would prevent attacks in the west?"
Evans defended the current system of oversight of MI5 and the other main intelligence agencies, MI6 and GCHQ, by ministers, retired judges and a committee of MPs and peers, the intelligence and security committee (ISC).
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Foucault History Of Sexuality
A school house rock like version of Foucault's first book in his series of The History Of Sexuality.
World Leaders Please Listen - first edit
"...This is an entry in the united nations competition " what would you say to the world leaders"
- I have been interviewing people on this theme for the past year, what you see here is a very small sample of what people have had to say - I will be creating a much more comprehensive piece from the footage down the road - enjoy
:)
........................................ ................
1+1=11 -- We Are S.Y.N.E.R.G.Y
"There is nothing wrong with our world,
we are just having a weird conversation"
"Reclaim the conversation"
"Our New World Order IS Love
http://www.infinitepossibility.org ..."
Critics: Failed Indiana-IBM deal can warn others
Indiana said it was going to get outsourcing right when it turned welfare eligibility services over to a private contractor in 2007. Now critics say the failed move is the latest warning that states should not allow for-profit companies to run social services.
The ambitious, $1.34 billion effort to automate applications for food stamps, Medicaid and other welfare benefits was being closely watched after states such as Texas had problems when they tried similar plans.
Indiana fired IBM Copr. as the lead contractor on the project Thursday over problems including lost documents, delays in benefit approvals and poor service.
"Other states should beware," said Jim Wallihan, an advocate for senior citizens in Indiana. "Indiana's been a good demonstration, along with Texas, that there's some variables involved that just don't take well to privatization."
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NY Times: Is the CIA still hiding JFK assassination secrets?
The CIA is fighting to prevent the release of hundreds of documents involving its funding of an anti-Castro group in New Orleans that engaged in well-publicized clashes with Lee Harvey Oswald in the summer of 1963.
The New York Times reported on Friday that the files "involve the curious career of George E. Joannides, the case officer who oversaw the dissident Cubans in 1963. In 1978, the agency made Mr. Joannides the liaison to the House Select Committee on Assassinations -- but never told the committee of his earlier role."
Joannides was the deputy director for psychological warfare at the CIA's Miami station, JM/WAVE, which was the center of anti-Castro activities in the early 60's and served as a spawning ground for figures who would later be involved in covert operations in Vietnam and in Iran-Contra. In 1963, Joannides worked closely with leaders of the the Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil and exercised a significant degree of control over the group's leaders.
Former Washington Post reporter Jefferson Morley has been engaged since 2001 in a battle to learn move about the dual role placed by Joannides, which has raised suspicions that he was part of a coverup. "I know there's a story here," Morley told the Times. "The confirmation is that the C.I.A. treats these documents as extremely sensitive."
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image from http://www.spitting-image.net
