New works in the public domain since 1987.
“In many countries, male circumcision is practiced as part of the rites of initiation by traditional healers who are not trained in aseptic surgical techniques. So adverse events following traditional circumcisions can be high.”
Male Circumcision Reduces HIV Risk: No Further Evidence Needed, According To Review
A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot. [YAY!]
Crash pilot who paused to pray is convicted | Oddly Enough | Reuters
those who draw on religion to cope with their illness are more likely to receive intensive, life-prolonging medical care as death approaches –– treatment that often entails a lower quality of life in patients’ final days.
Link Between Religious Coping And Aggressive Treatment In Terminally Ill Cancer Patients
The Brotherhood of the Spirit (renamed Renaissance Community in 1974) was one of the largest and most enduring communes in the Northeast and as such was a distinct link between the commune movement of the 1960’s and the New Age consciousness happening today.
a character with the beard and giant erect phallus of Priapus is walking away with the caduceus and winged sandals of Mercury (supposedly, the humour was to see Priapus thieving the god of thieves, but both are gods of fertility and abundance).
used extensively in Buddhist iconography as one of the three protective deities surrounding the Buddha. [Hercules again?]
wrath-filled and muscular guardians of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples in China, Japan and Korea in the form of frightening wrestler-like statues. [Influenced by Hercules?]
the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE
About a week ago I decided to spend less time reading online. I didn’t have any particular goal in mind but I guessed that if I spent less time reading online then I would spend more time doing something else, and it was possible that something else would be at least as worth doing as spending time reading online. This has been the case.
The first day was unpleasant. Reading the news is something I enjoy, and having such a simple pleasure a just few keystrokes away was quite a temptation. Nothing as good as reading the news presented itself on that first day. On the second day I found myself spontaneously… doing ‘nothing.’ Being in my apartment, in the quiet, puttering about. Doing things I needed to do (clean house, balance checkbook, etc.) and things I enjoyed doing (come on over and I’ll show you some new art). Not taking in information and then blogging about it, which had filled several hours a day only two days earlier. On the third day I drew a hot bath and read a book – that was nice, and something that wouldn’t have happened if I’d been sitting at the computer. A week into my media fast I felt info-cleansed and am glad for the experiment. When I’m at my computer I hope to be doing more original work and I expect that to occur less frequently. We’ll see. OVO blog may have fewer posts but I hope they will be more worth reading. Other online projects may also benefit from this recalibration.
A central theme of this blog for some time has been a criticism of religion and an attack on theocracy. If you’ve been reading OVO blog to get this sort of information, here are the sources I was getting much of my information from. I won’t say any of them represent all of my views, or that all of their views are my own, or that the views of any one of these is compatible with any other one of these.
Dhimmi Watch (seeks to bring attention to the plight of the dhimmis)
Religion News Blog (articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues)
The Jawa Report (Islamic theocracy through Star Wars metaphors)
Jihad Watch (bringing attention to the role that jihad theology plays in the modern world)
Religion Clause (Commentary on the first amendment by law professor Howard M. Friedman)
VDARE (devoted to the National Question)
Western Resistance (Our objective is to help expose Islam)
Western Resistance is the only blog on this list I’m going to keep reading at present. They post less often but in greater detail with more original content. Otherwise I’m recalibrating my online reading to focus on individual authors (such as Klint Finley) or blogs that I enjoy enough that I don’t have to justify to anyone (such as metafilter). I’m also going to keep viewing the visual-oriented blogs I enjoy (such as everlasting blort). These are the current settings of my recalibration but they will change over time.
I spend a good deal of time on public transportation and walking, and I enjoy listening to podcasts during that time. Here is a list of what I’m listening to these days. Similar disclaimers apply: I like them, they may not like me or each other.
The Bugle (weekly audio news for a visual world)
Guardian Daily (daily news)
Le Show (weekly news and commentary by Harry Shearer)
Ouch! (monthly BBC disability program, highest recommendations)
Point of Inquiry (weekly interviews from the Center for Inquiry)
Puzzling Evidence (weekly audio collage)
The SubGenius Hour of Slack (weekly SubGenius ministry)
OVO blog has existed for a year and a half. I’ve been online since around 1991. I’ve been publishing OVO since 1982. My first zine was made in 1979. I’ve made stuff since childhood. Some things change, some things remain the same. Taking stock once in a while as to where my time goes seems to always be beneficial. I recommend it.
More than half of all Christians also believe that some non-Christians can get into heaven.
This is the tool box of any flimflamming, big-time guru. [Correct. Applicable to new agers, Christians, occultists, any sort of superstition.]
In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. In August the results were confirmed. “Religion” in 21st Century USA is “what I think is nice.”
Without comment, the justices agreed to hear Daniel Hardesty’s argument that the First Amendment protections of free exercise of religion entitle him to use marijuana as a “sacrament” of his church. Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals rejected those arguments.
Religious- pot case is headed to Ariz. justices | www.azstarnet.com ®
A Liberian woman accused of smuggling endangered monkey meat from Africa to New York has failed to persuade a judge that she shouldn’t be prosecuted because she needed the butchered carcasses for religious reasons.
Judge rejects faith claim in NY monkey meat case — Newsday.com
Exposing conspiracy theories, cults, quack medicine, bogus science and fake history
The Greek Magical Papyri is a collective term for a collection of texts, written mostly in Ancient Greek, Coptic, Demotic Egyptian, etc., found in the deserts of Egypt which cast light in some way on the magico-religious syncretistic world of Greco-Roman Egypt and the surrounding area.
in just over a generation the number of people attending Church of England Sunday services will fall to less than a tenth of what they are now.
Church attendance ‘to fall by 90%’ | World news | The Observer
