By Rowan Pelling,telegraph.co.uk -
Exposure to the web’s dark, pornographic underbelly has left my lovely, naive son mired in guilt and confusion
I recently eavesdropped on one Boden-dressed mother telling another how she had walked in on her 12-year-old boy as he was viewing pornography on his PC. My heart ached for innocence lost and I felt a huge sense of relief, turning back towards my own sons throwing bread to ducks, that I wouldn’t face this problem for some years yet. After all, my elder son shows almost zero interest in anything beyond Lego, Dr Who and the online game Minecraft. Added to that, we have parental controls on our computers and only allow time-controlled, supervised access downstairs.
So I felt fairly complacent about the matter, until the night my husband came down the stairs ashen-faced, after tucking him in for the night. He said our son had confessed that he and a friend had tried to look at s-e-x (he spelt the word out, too mortified to say it aloud) on a computer while at the other child’s house. The duo swiftly found a site promising untold filth, but before they could proceed a notice flashed up saying they could only continue if they verified they were at least 18. Touchingly, it never occurred to either boy that they could lie, and they abandoned the search. However, even this minimal exposure to the web’s dark underbelly had left my lovely, naive child mired in guilt and confusion. Meanwhile, my husband and I felt bewildered at the ease with which our painstaking safeguards had been bypassed.
At this point I should acknowledge the irony in writing about such incidents when you’ve spent eight years of your adult life editing a magazine titled The Erotic Review, even if that era now seems like the last gasp of an age of innocence. I always said any success I had as an editor was because I discovered erotica late in life, and believed in the complex yet rewarding sensuality of sustained relationships. The safe shelters of my childhood made me a liberal, not a libertine. My readers were happy to buy a print-heavy journal that was easy to hide from prying young eyes in binders or drawers – just as my friends’ parents once hid The Joy of Sex under their mattresses.
It’s a whole new, jaw-dropping ball game now, as the National Association of Head Teachers acknowledged this week when they called for the perils of online pornography to be taught in our schools. The association surveyed a thousand parents and found that 83 per cent believed “issues around pornography” should form part of sex education. More…
It’s the Devil!: Video emerges of Cult Leader Pope Francis performing an exorcism in St Peter’s Square
MICHAEL DAY,independent.co.uk -
Pope Francis appears to have been captured on video performing an exorcism in St Peter’s Square.
The astonishing footage, taken immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday 19th May, shows the Pontiff approach the second of two wheelchair bound people, whose face is pixelled out.
After a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell Francis something, the Pope’s expression becomes more serious, the voice-over notes. He then grips the top of the subject’s head firmly and is seen pushing him down into his wheel chair. As this is happening the Pontiff recites an intense prayer, and the boy’s mouth drops wide open and he exhales sharply, Italian press reports added this morning.
Francis’s usual smile then returns and he continues with the traditional – and more gentle — Sunday greetings for sick or disabled visitors to St Peter’s.
The Argentine Pope has made it quite clear since his election that he believes the Devil, whom refers to as “the Enemy” and “The Prince of this World” is a real force that needs to be fought constantly.
From palmbeachpost.com -The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C.
Nearly 60 protestors were arrested Monday at the North Carolina General Assembly, bringing the demonstrations led by the state chapter of the NAACP to their highest total in their fourth straight week.
Hundreds thronged the Senate rotunda to show support for demonstrations that are drawing increasing numbers of people to Raleigh for what the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is calling “Moral Mondays.” General Assembly Police Chief Jeff Weaver placed the arrest count at 57, which brings the total over four weeks to 153.
Hundreds more supporters remained outside the General Assembly before and after the protests, waiting for those arrested to emerge.
What started with tens of supporters and 17 arrests has attracted hundreds of people of different age groups, races and professions to protest the policies of the General Assembly, which came under Republican leadership after the 2010 midterm elections. Their complaints range from cuts to social programs to the proposed repeal of a law intended to take racial bias out of capital punishment.
Rich D’angiolillo, a 63-year-old software developer from Mebane, said he heard about the demonstrations from friends and decided he needed to join the supporters to raise his voice against a decision to forego a Medicaid expansion that would have completely covered 500,000 people through 2016.
“I’m not sure if it is the best way or not, but I feel that I have to do something,” he said. “I don’t feel that my efforts in other ways — letter writing, phone calls — have worked that effectively, so I’ll keep trying until something does work.”
Leigh Bordley, a member of the Durham Public Schools board, stood among those risking arrest to challenge proposals she said will only exacerbate achievement gaps caused by poverty. She said a House proposal to give grants to families who send their children to private schools will further undermine funding for public schools. Read more…
From theextinctionprotocol. -
The 2013 Hajj will take place in mid-October, only five months from now. Experts watching the coronavirus situation are already worried about the potential for spread of the new virus, both within Saudi Arabia and internationally. “I don’t think anyone necessarily knows for certain what is or isn’t happening,” said Dr. Kamran Khan, an infectious diseases specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
May 21, 2013 – TUNIS, Tunisia – Tunisia’s Health Ministry says a 66-year-old man has died after being infected by the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia. The ministry’s statement reported that his son and daughter were also diagnosed with the virus but have been treated and since recovered. The cases are the first for Tunisia and indicate that the virus is slowly trickling out of the Middle East, where more than 30 cases have been reported. There have been at least 20 deaths from the virus worldwide. The Tunisian, a diabetic, had been complaining since his return from a trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar and died from acute respiratory distress at a hospital in Monastir. The new coronavirus is related to SARS, which killed about 800 people in 2003, mostly in Asia. –
–CTV News
World’s Largest Pilgrimage – Hajj Documentary
Hajj
The Hajj (Arabic: حج Ḥaǧǧ ”pilgrimage“) or haj is one of the largest annually occurring pilgrimages in the world,[1][2] and one of the five pillars of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so at least once in his or her lifetime.[3] The state of being physically and financially capable of performing the Hajj is called istita’ah and a Muslim who fulfils this condition is called a mustati. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God (Allah in the Arabic language).[4]
The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than theGregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year. Ihram is the name given to the special spiritual state in which Muslims live while on the pilgrimage.
The Hajj is associated with the life of Prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time ofAbraham (Ibrahim). Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Ka’aba, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslimdirection of prayer, runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from theZamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, and throws stones in a ritual. The pilgrims then shave their heads, perform a ritual of animal sacrifice, and celebrate the four day global festival of Eid al-Adha.[5][6][7]
Ray Manzarek, Founding Member Of The Doors, Dies
WS – “This is the end… My only friend..
Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and a founding member of The Doors, died Monday in Germany. He was 74.
A statement from publicist Heidi Ellen Robinson-Fitzgerald said Manzarek died in Rosenheim, Germany, after a long battle with bile duct cancer.
Manzarek and Jim Morrison founded the iconic band after meeting in California. The Doors went on to become one of the most successful rock ‘n’ roll acts of the 1960s — and continues to have an impact decades after Morrison’s death in 1971. More…
Today is “Celebrate Your Own Amazing Abilities Day” – Armpit farts don’t count.
Florida Girl, 18 Arrested For Relationship With 15-Year-Old Girl
WS – Homophobic bullshit! You know the hypocrites, politicians and fundamental preachers will get the medias “fanny patting” with this. And a lot of rich old fat white guys a tickle.
SEBASTIAN, Florida — A Sebastian River High School Senior, 18-year-old Kaitlyn “Kate” Hunt, was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old Sophomore who attended the same school.
According to Kate’s mother, who has created an online petition to ask the State Attorney to drop the charges, “The two girls began dating while Kaitlyn was 17 but her girlfriend’s parents blamed Kailtyn for their daughter’s homosexuality. They waited until after Kaitlyn turned 18 and went to the police to have charges brought against her.”
Kate’s mother goes into greater detail of her side of the story on a “Free Kate” Facebook group: More…
U.S. Report Says Religious Freedom On The Decline Worldwide
WS – National security threat? - Fucking Secretary of State John (Tomato Paste) Kerry wants you to suck that one in… If it’s true… Time to nuke Saudi Arabia.
Religious freedom is on the decline in many parts of the world, according to a new report from the U.S. State Department, which calls the trend “worrying.”
The 2012 International Religious Freedom Report also documents what it calls “a continued global increase in anti-Semitism.”
Secretary of State John Kerry released the annual report, which surveys almost 200 countries and territories, at the State Department in Washington on May 20. He told reporters that the “freedom to profess and practice one’s faith, to believe, or not to believe, or to change one’s beliefs [is] a birthright of every human being.”
“When countries undermine or attack religious freedom, they not only unjustly threaten those whom they target; they also threaten their countries’ own stability, and we see that in so many places,” he said. “Attacks on religious freedom are therefore both a moral and strategic national security concern for the United States.”
The report found that China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Central Asian countries remain among the world’s most difficult places to worship freely, but it also noted that many countries around the world have authoritarian leaders who restrict and repress religious thought and practice. More…
American Indian Woman of the Year Named, Native Explorers Co-Founder Gets Award
WS – Congrats, Sister!
Nicole Schultz Walls, Chickasaw, is the youngest president in the history of the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women. The organization’s board has recognized the exceptional time and effort she dedicates to the Native American community with its American Indian Woman of the Year Award.
“I am honored to be recognized with this award,” Walls said is a press release. “I am also proud to be part of the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women, whose members work tirelessly on behalf of Indian women throughout the state through advocacy efforts, community service projects and statewide awareness of issues important to Native American women. I look forward to continuing to be part of the organization, and I appreciate the support and recognition of its members.”
A native of Ada, Walls earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. She currently works for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Communications and Community Development, in the Public Affairs office. Walls is a 2013 graduate of Ada Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership YOUniversity program and she currently serves on the Native American Journalist Association’s national election committee. Among her others honors include being a former Junior Miss Indian Oklahoma, director of Miss and Jr. Miss Indian Oklahoma in 2009-11, recipient of the Te Ata Thompson Fisher Culinary Arts Award in the Chickasaw Nation Employee Art Show, and has received the Chickasaw Nation Department of Communications and Community Development Community Involvement Award for the past two years. Walls also hosts a weekly radio show “Monday Saving Mondays” on 89.5 FM KCNP. Walls will continue to serve as president of the Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women until July, and then she will assume a membership position on the organization’s board. In her current role, she has lead a recent Youth Conference and Women’s Conference focused on Native American women. More…
Police departments, civilians hanging onto ammo as supply continues to tighten
WS – A storm cometh this way.
– An ammunition shortage has persisted for months, and police departments nation wide are taking notice.
A department in Minnesota was so short on ammo they asked for donations. In St. Louis, the shortage has been prevalent for some time, due partly to concerns over future gun control laws. With stricter laws being proposed, many gun owners are stocking up on ammunition in case it becomes more difficult to obtain in the future.
Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has increased it’s order for ammunition in recent months, which has contributed to the low supply.
The DHS isn’t buying the same kind of ammunition as civilians, however because of the high demand created by the agency, manufacturers have been less focused on civilian ammunition and more focused on filling the increased governmental orders. More…
Blunts are the new booze for baby boomers
WS – 99 grams of pot on the wall… 99 grams of pot…
Like many of her peers, Zoe Helene, 48, smoked marijuana in her early 20s but gave it up as her career in the digital world took off in the 1990s. Today the multidisciplinary artist and environmental activist lives in Amherst, Mass., and is building a global network of trailblazers called Cosmic Sister. Since she married an ethnobotanist in 2007, she has returned to using cannabis occasionally — “as a tool for evolving and expanding my psyche.”
Helene is among a group of women that Marie Claire magazine has dubbed “Stiletto Stoners — card-carrying, type-A workaholics who just happen to prefer kicking back with a blunt instead of a bottle.” She’s also one of a growing legion of boomers who are returning to marijuana now that the stigma and judgment (and laws) surrounding its use are becoming more lax.
Massachusetts, which decriminalized pot in 2008, became the 18th state to legalize medical marijuana, last year. In the 2012 presidential election, which New York Times columnist Timothy Egan called America’s “cannabis spring,” Colorado and Washington voters legalized recreational use, launching weed into the national spotlight and spawning a flurry of marijuana initiatives. Since then, decriminalization bills have been introduced in 10 additional states, and legalization is being considered in 11 states and Puerto Rico. More…
Government’s student loan business more profitable in 2012 than ExxonMobil
WS – All Obama ever did for students was to take their cash for “his” budget and allow the bankers a write it off.
Loan payments a big burden as economy stagnates
Figures released by the Congressional Budget Office show that the government generates tremendous revenue from the exploitation of students.
The Department of Education is taking in an estimated $51 billion more in payments from student loan borrowers in 2013 than it is lending out. The budget surplus amounted to $120 billion from student loans over the last five years and is forecast to total another $110 billion by the time Obama leaves office, according to the CBO.
To put these numbers into perspective, the most profitable company in the United States, Exxon Mobil Corp., had profits of $44.9 billion last year. Apple Inc. made $41.7 billion and Chevron Corp. reported $26.2 billion. The interest being paid by students to the Department of Education in 2013 roughly equals the combined 2012 net income of the four largest U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
As the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing rates for “eligible financial institutions” to 0.75 percent, student loan interest rates set by Congress hover around 3.4 percent. For some, such as graduate students, the rates are twice that, and the lower rate will double on July 1 if Congress fails to act. More…
G8 summit sparks biggest police operation in Northern Ireland’s history
WS – Shhh… No reporting on this allowed in the US.
Eight thousand officers on duty as Fermanagh meeting prompts memories of 7/7 London attacks during Gleneagles G8 meeting
Dissident republicans are likely to launch a terrorist attack during next month’s G8 leaders’ summit in Northern Ireland, police have warned.
With world leaders including Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin in attendance, the summit, at the Lough Erne golf resort in Fermanagh on 17 and 18 June, has prompted the biggest police operation in Northern Ireland’s history, involving 8,000 officers, 4,400 of them local and 3,600 from England and Wales.
Alistair Finlay, the assistant chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said: “During the G8 is a great opportunity for those groups … threatening harm to communities and threatening harm to my officers. People should not be surprised if there are incidents.”
With the enlarged police presence surrounding the summit, Finlay said the threat was more likely to manifest itself elsewhere, in areas such as north and west Belfast, Newry and Derry. “What we anticipate is those incidents wouldn’t be at, near or affecting any element of the G8,” he said. More…
World’s Largest Tropical Glacier Shrinks
WS – Wish my prostate would.
Earth is fast becoming a planet where tropical glaciers will be myths. Here are a couple of recently released satellite images from 1988 and 2010 showing the shrinkage of the world’s biggest tropical glacier, the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru.
High mountain tropical glaciers have long been the alarm bells of global warming, but this ice cap, with its many glacial arms, is especially important since its ice contains an archive of data about El Niño and La Niña episodes for the past 1,800 years. The receding glaciers have also exposed frozen plants that were locked beneath the glacier for thousands of years — giving clues to the age of the glacier advances through the last several millenniums.
From survivalinternational.org - One year after Oscar winning actor Colin Firth launched Survival International’s campaign to save the Awá, Earth’s most threatened tribe, a large number of international celebrities have joined him and his wife Livia in backing the urgent campaign.
Hollywood star Gillian Anderson, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, Californian rock band Allah-Las, actors Mark Rylance, Sophie Okonedo, Emilia Fox, Sinead Cusack and stars of the hit series Game of Thrones Oona Chaplin, Natalia Tena and Finn Jones are among the celebrities photographed with the awáIcon, which reads ‘Brazil: Save the Awá’.
Gillian Anderson told Survival, ‘We must as human beings collectively wake up and help save the Awá: the Earth’s most threatened tribe. We cannot have another people become extinct due to the negligence and greed of others. We all have a duty.’
Other British celebrities backing the campaign to save the Awá include Olympic star and winner of Strictly Come Dancing Louis Smith, TV and radio presenters Davina McCall and Dave Berry, MTV presenter Lilah Parsons, human rights activist Peter Tatchell, artist Kurt Jackson and many others.
The Awá of northeastern Brazil live under the threat of extinction due to violent attacks and the theft of their land by loggers and ranchers. Brazil’s authorities have done nothing to evict the invaders from the Awá’s heartland, despite experts warning of a ‘genocide’ if no action is taken.
Pire’i Ma’a Awá, an Awá man told Survival International, ‘We’ve been waiting too long. When the rains stop, the loggers will come back. The loggers will close in on us, here around our community. The police must be brought here!’
The celebrities joined a worldwide movement to save the Awá which has seen over 50,000 letters sent to Brazil’s Justice Minister and the awáIcon photographed at famous landmarks around the world – from Brazil’s Sugarloaf mountain, to the Eiffel tower in Paris.
Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said today, ‘As celebrities join the campaign to save the Awá, Brazil must not ignore the growing number of voices being raised in support of the world’s most threatened tribe. Its reputation hangs in the balance.’
Act now to help the Awá
Your support is vital if the Awá are to survive. There are many ways you can help.
- Writing a letter to the Brazilian government is a quick and simple way to let them know of your concern.
- Donate to the Awá campaign (and other Survival campaigns).
- Write to your MP or MEP (UK) or Senators and members of Congress (US).
- Write to your local Brazilian high commission or embassy.
- If you want to get more involved, contact Survival…
