text:
Friday, July 24, 2009

News From Ygraine Land

Two things in particular.

First, my articles, some reproduced here, continue:

Avalon Bookstore's Faery Fair/Ygraine on the town

And my part representing the Church of Satan on:

52 Religions in 52 Weeks

I hope these meet with your approval and enjoyment.............

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Today kinda sucks........

Okay, first I have to deal with the stuff below---essentially the first CoS member I have ever met who doesn't appreciate what I do and that I do it for them, and then, get this, I am called anti-climatic!

As my beloved Jim would say Jesus Fucking Kneival! Did I wake up in FuckYgraine Town again?

Ok, so after I get shit on by Member X, I go to the website of my latest interview. I was asked By High Priest Gilmore to do this podcast of a guy who is interviewing/reporting on 52 religions in 52 weeks.

Now I know Mr. Hummel. the interviewer, meant it as a compliment, but regardless being called anti-climatic is not flattering. He no doubt was revealling how normal the Satanic witch was. He was trying to surprise his audience with my lack of black apparel (the interview was outside, ok? It was a gazillion degrees in the shade. It was a wonder I was wearing clothes at all!,) my deep and abiding love for Starbucks (I downed two white mochas with extra espresso during the taping, while the poor man spilled his frap,) and that I kept checking my cell to make sure my teenagers hadn't actually killed each other while I was out. I am not sure but he may have seen me pull up in my white minivan. Surely that would make any Satanist seem anti-climatic.

But damn.

Two slams in one day.

This witch needs some cursing time.

A Critique

Ladies & Gents,

Often the Church of Satan is accused of being a great big organization where members must never question the hierarchy. This is not true. I recently received a letter from a loyal member who disagrees with me and just to prove we are open to criticism I will post that letter here. Of course while he is welcome to voice his views, I, too, am welcome to voice my responses.

Now, I am about to slam this member. This is not normal. Generally when a member comes to me to question something I did or has even a disagreement with me I respond with kindness. I love our members, truly. They are part of the reason I do what I do and I feel a loyalty and devotion towards them that I cannot explain. When they need me I want them to know I am there, 100%.

In this case, however, the member in question choose to lie, to be rude, and to be arrogant and to think by flattering me I would simply fold. 'not my style.

However, I will not publish his name because I am a benevolent deity :)

I would like to express a critic on you blog:
O course I do not want to hurt you, and I understand that being a Magistra you have a more direct knowledge of the problems of our Church than an active Member like me, based in a country far from the Satanic way of life.

My feelings do not play into my work for Satanism. In fact if they are doing more than serving the interests of Satanists I am rendered incapable of doing my job, so please don't consider them.

However you are positively correct in saying i have more direct knowledge of the problems of our church than you. Having over 29 years experience in advocacy for alternative/occult religions gives me a point of view based not just on times served, but the changing societal times.

Anyway my consideration is that to answer to all the attacks from the other religionists is a wrong strategy that could ruin our reputation instead of bettering it. It is important to remember that if somebody attacks another, the attacked will generally react.

If I answered ALL the attacks from other religionists I wouldn't have time to cook dinner or get laid. On any given day I read about 25 attacks. 3/4 of them are from either individuals or churches that have so little power that to respond to them would be granting them more than they deserve. The other 1/4 get a token, pre-packaged response that simply defines the difference between Satanism and the Christian heresy of Devil Worship.

An extremely small amount get a personal message because I feel like it. Yup. No other reason---well, actually, as I have informed our High Priest, I do it to keep my claws sharp. 'funny, he didn't send me a little note.

Then there are the ones that I am asked by CoS administration to deal with.

The rest are either responded to because they have legal or social power, or because the case went national. These are the ones that are the most necessary.

So bottom line--I DON'T Respond to ALL the ATTACKS, and if you think that I am ruining our reputation, which would actually hurt me deeply, please list the times I have done so and if you are accurate and can substantiate that notion I will consider retiring after 29 years.

Christians have the problem of child molesters, we have the problem of the criminals who do not understand us but want to join us. Every Church has its problems, of course. What we should do is to clearly say what we are and what we are not, without making captious definitions and distinctions that are useless and can lead also a Magistra like you to do incorrect, captious statements. I do not bother you definition of “ritual abuse” like I do not bother the distinction between “Satanico” and “Satanista” that the head of the Bambini di Satana, here in Italy made on his internet site and at which, after my email, stopped to give the great emphasis that it did not deserve.

You wrote a whole email and fixed something? Really. A whole one? You changed the "ico" and "ista" on "Bambini di Satana?" And here I am wasting my time on things like legislatures, prisons, and court cases. My meaningless life spent attempting to keep murderers in prison by preventing them from insanity defenses based on pretending their crimes were based on Satanic religious freedoms! My futile and meaningless desires to keep devil worshipers from using The Satanic Bible in jails in order to further damage our reputation. Oh, wait. You claim I already have ruined our reputation with "incorrect, captious statements." I have no idea what a captious is but I am guessing it means wrong. If you are claiming I have made wrong statements about SRA or Ritual Abuse I would love to be properly educated by someone who wrote an email and changed the world.

Besides it is not attaching traditional Satanism that our reputation will increase. We simply can say the we do not worship the Devil like a theistic entity.

We can? Really? I am fairly sure if you read this blog you will find I have mentioned that little tidbit about a gazillion times. Likewise I have said so on television, in college classrooms, in newspaper articles, on witness stands, in depositions, at police academies, and on the radio. Wait! Oh! Shit! I neglected an email. I stand before you a failure.

My last consideration is that some letters that you posted are for a certain part discussions between Satanists that, you know very well, the herd is not able to understand, and I think that in publishing those emails you insisted in violating the rules of this board.

From Me:
I hope you two don't mind that I used our exchanges on my blog. I thank you at the end but do not mention who said what. If in any reason I have offended or overstepped, please forgive and let me know so I may fix it.

Thanks, & HS!

From YOU:

#69419 - 04/17/09 02:40 AM Re:

My blog
Dear Ygraine, excuse me because I am so late in answering to you, I have been without connecting to my email for long time. You were not lucky, I usually read my emails.
Of course you can use our exchanges

From the other poster:

No problem, Magistra!

And now I am not supposed to publish the private message in my box that criticqued my performance:

With esteem.

Name of Presumptuous, Sanctimonious, Satanist removed.
P.S. – This email is reserved, you are not allowed to publish it.

Members, come to me with your problems. Let me help. Come to me when you disagree and show me how to do my job better---I can only be grateful. Come to me with lies and presumptions, unsubstantiated views, and flase flattery? Well, you can see where that goes.

Hail, Satan!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Those Cute Little Christians! or: Ain't It Fun To Use Child Abuse to Justify Our Prejudice?!?

To those who write the things to stir up hatred and fear of those who are American enough to embrace religious freedom and fight for the rights of others, I give you me....the Satanic Grandmother aka She Who Calls Out The Flipparoos.

In this shot you see Magistra Ygraine demonstrating that despite The Wizard of Oz, water does not make a witch melt, even the wicked kind!

I am becoming a bit nervous. I keep hearing echoes of the Satanic Panic. While my rational mind tells me those days are over, each day I see more posts from, granted, stupid people who seem to need to hurt others but justify that infliction of pain with lies designed to stir up the common folk.

As I have written before, ad nauseum, it does not help that there are genuine devil worshipers/Christian Heretics running about calling themselves Satanists--but as embarrassing as these people are only a very few are actually dangerous. They are, luckily, so obvious however, that law enforcement can stick the proverbial fork in them and declare them done in a microwave minute.

But for us, for the real Satanists who live and love life to the fullest, for those of us with kids and grandkids who want to embrace all the joys this fantastic world has to offer, this is a horrible state of affairs. It takes so very little to start the kind of fire that burns with no regard for what is is destroyed.

The following are posts that demanded two responses I have been forced to have recently written
. The last piece is one I wrote for
Study – Grow – Know
Christianity in the End Times

Satanists Pray AGAINST the Church!

July 15, 2009 by modres

I received the emailed version of Jan Markell’s newsletter “Understanding the Times” this morning and was a bit shocked to read the cover article by Heidi Swander. Here are the first two paragraphs:

I was stunned recently by the story of a pastor from Brazil. One day in the not-too-distant past he was airborne and seated next to a lady who, at 6 p.m., began praying fervently. When an opportune moment presented itself, he asked her if she was a Christian. Much to his chagrin she said, no, that she was praying to her father, Satan, for the demise of pastor so-and-so.

As the conversation progressed, this Brazilian pastor found out that the Church of Satan worldwide has set aside the 6 p.m. hour every day to pray for the demise of the Christian church, and most specifically for its pastors. It would also appear that they assume or are assigned specific Christian leaders to pray against.

Heidi goes on to remind us that it is 6pm someplace throughout the world at any given moment. The saddest part of this entire thing is not that Satan’s minions pray to him for his will to be done, but that I do not pray as fervently as they do! This is a wake up call and should be to all of us. Even though Jesus said that “the gates of hell” will not prevail against His Church, we can assume from that comment that they will TRY desperately to destroy the Church.

Is it not interesting that our defeated foe continues to work hard AS IF he has NOT been defeated?! He knows his time is short and he also knows he will not prevail, yet he has not given up. He continues to move ahead with his monstrous plan to destroy the Church. Barring that, he creates as much havoc as possible, with one skirmish after another against
God’s elect; ultimately, against God Himself.

Folks, if you are a Christian reading this, then it goes without saying that prayer is the best weapon we have against the dark forces of Satan’s global empire. As we know, he constantly roams the earth looking for anyone that he can devour. He is the prince of the power of the air and uses that to its fullest to accomplish the tasks he has lined up.

Many are saying that we are in the End Times. I believe it and in fact, with everything heating up the way it has been, it becomes nearly impossible to say that we are NOT in the End Times. We await one significant event, which will kick off the Tribulation/Great Tribulation: the signing of the 7 year covenant with Israel, by one man who will act as leader of the “free” world. This maniacal genius – spawned from hell itself – will pretend to be an ally and friend of Israel, but of course will simply be biding his time until he can overthrow them.

Christian: we know the end of the story as it was written in eternity past! Christ is victorious and therefore WE are victorious IN Him. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are seated with Christ now:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3)

The entirety of Ephesians speaks of our calling and position in Christ, along with the manifold blessings of being “in” Him. He is the Head of His Church, which is His Body. There is nothing that can stand against Him. Our responsibility though is to pray and trust. We need to pray for His will, His wisdom and His protection for all within His Body. If Satanists around the globe are praying for their master’s will to be accomplished, how much more do WE as Christians need to pray that God’s will be accomplished?

Daniel of the Old Testament was a virtual prayer warrior, who understood the need for and privilege of praying to the God of the universe. God does NOT need our prayers to accomplish His goals. He invites us to JOIN Him in warring against “powers, principalities and powers” which seek to overthrow God’s will and His eventual Kingdom. In doing so, we share in the blessings of that victory. Pray. Pray long and pray often.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

* Praying Earnestly Manuscript
* My plead for a revival of our own heart!
* The People Formerly Known As …
* Timothy Wright’s son to take over NYC church

Posted in Religious - Christian - End Times | Tagged anti-supernatural, end times, antichrist, man of lawlessness, man of sin, tribulation, great tribulation, second coming, nephilim, fallen angels, as it was in the days of noah, anti-christian, anti-christianity, great apostasy, israel, jewish, jew, satan, satanism, church of satan, prayer, pray, praying against the church | No Comments Yet
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on July 15, 2009 at 1:47 PM | Reply magistraygraine
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To even believe such nonsense should be a religious sin! As a member of the clergy of The Church of Satan I can assure you of the following:
1. Satanists do not pray. Period. Not even for destruction, not for anything. Satanists do not pary because…..
2. Satanists do not believe in any gods, devils, demons, angels, faeries, hobbits, or any external, supernatural deities or entities. Satan is a METAPHOR (look it up,) therefore…
3. Satanists do not see Satan as their “Father.” Satan is a metaphor for the self–

So….this story is either a complete lie, or the pastor bumped into a very specific form of Christian. Yes, a Christian. You see this sort of behavior is not practiced by the Church of Satan, but instead by Christian Heretics called Devil Worshipers. The thing is to be a devil worshiper you have to believe all the same things in The Holy Bible as a Christian, BUT you root for the bad guy.

So, at six o’clock all real Satanists, from the Church of Satan, are NOT praying! We don”t pray to imaginary fairytales of good or bad entities. We might be indulging in a good meal, or a glass of lovely wine. We might be playing Clue with our kids, or on the phone with a good friend. The last thing we are doing is giving the slightest thought to the demise of people so stupid as to believe this sort of thing. We find them amusing, yes, but worthy of our time or energy? Not even a little.

Magistra Ygraine
Church of Satan

Then. a more disturbing piece from OpED:

Memory; Murder; Murder; PTSD; Pagan; Psychotherapy; Trauma; Trauma
Add to My Group
July 11, 2009 at 16:15:57 Permalink
Promoted to Headline (H4) on 7/12/09:

Ritual Abuse

Diary Entry by Jack Johnson

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Ritual abuse exists all over the world. There have been reports, journal articles, web pages and criminal convictions of crimes against children and adults.

Ritual Abuse

Ritual abuse exists all over the world. There have been reports, journal articles[1][2][3], web pages[4][5][6][7][8][9] and criminal convictions of crimes against children and adults [10][11][12].

* 1 Definition

* 2 Origins of the term

* 3 Evidence

* 4 References

* 5 Bibliography

* 6 External Links

Ritual abuse has been defined as:

a brutal form of abuse of children, adolescents, and adults, consisting of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and involving the use of rituals. Ritual does not necessarily mean satanic. However, most survivors state that they were ritually abused as part of satanic worship for the purpose of indoctrinating them into satanic beliefs and practices. Ritual abuse rarely consists of a single episode. It usually involves repeated abuse over an extended period of time. The physical abuse is severe, sometimes including torture and killing. The sexual abuse is usually painful, sadistic, and humiliating, intended as means of gaining dominance over the victim. The psychological abuse is devastating and involves the use of ritual/indoctrination, which includes mind control techniques and mind altering drugs, and ritual/intimidation which conveys to the victim a profound terror of the cult members and of the evil spirits they believe cult members can command. Both during and after the abuse, most victims are in a state of terror, mind control, and dissociation in which disclosure is exceedingly difficult.[13]

and as

WHAT IS RITUAL ABUSE? (BROAD DEFINITION) Ritual abuse is the abuse of a child, weaker adult, or animal in a ritual setting or manner. In a broad sense, many of our overtly or covertly socially sanctioned actions can be seen as ritual abuse, such as military basic training, hazing, racism, spanking children, and partner-battering. Some abuse is private...some public. Public ritual abuse may be either open or secret. WHAT IS RITUAL ABUSE? (NARROW DEFINITION) The term ritual abuse is generally used to mean prolonged, extreme, sadistic abuse, especially of children, within a group setting. The group's ideology is used to justify the abuse, and abuse is used to teach the group's ideology. The activities are kept secret from society at large, as they violate norms and laws.[14]

Origins of the term

Pazder introduced the term "ritualized abuse" in 1980, describing the experiences of an adult survivor that was disclosing satanic abuse memories. He defined the phenomenon as "repeated physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual assaults combined with a systematic use of symbols, ceremonies, and machinations designed and orchestrated to attain malevolent effects." Later definitions came mostly from professionals addressing ritual abuse in child care settings. Finkelhor, Williams, Burns, and Kalinowski elaborated on Pazder's definition, defining ritual abuse as "abuse that occurs in a context linked to some symbols or group activity that have a religious, magical or supernatural connotation, and where the invocation of these symbols or activities are repeated over time and used to frighten and intimidate the children." Kelley referred to ritual abuse as the "repetitive and systematic sexual, physical, and psychological abuse of children by adults as part of cult or satanic worship"[15].

There is a great deal of evidence supporting the existence of ritual abuse crimes as a worldwide phenomenon. Bottoms, Shaver and Goodman found in their 1993 study evaluating ritual abuse claims that in 2,292 alleged ritual abuse cases, 15% of the perpetrators in adult cases and 30% of the perpetrators in child cases confessed to the abuse[16]. "In a survey of 2,709 members of the American Psychological Association, it was found that 30 percent of these professionals had seen cases of ritual or religion-related abuse (Bottoms, Shaver & Goodman, 1991). Of those psychologists who have seen cases of ritual abuse, 93 percent believed that the reported harm took place and 93 percent believed that the alleged ritualism occurred....The similar research of Nancy Perry (1992) which further supports (the previous findings)...Perry also conducted a national survey of therapists who work with clients with dissociative disorders and she found that 88 percent of the 1,185 respondents indicated "belief in ritual abuse, involving mind control and programming"[17].

Recently an online survey[18] of over one thousand people answered questions about ritual abuse and extreme abuse crimes. In a summary of the survey [19], it was found that ritual abuse/mind control is a global phenomenon. Fifty-five percent stated they were abuse in a Satanic cult. Seventy-seven percent of the adult survivors that responded "had been threatened with death if they ever talked about the abuse." Also, "257 respondents reported that secret mind control experiments were used on them as children." Eighty-two percent reported being sexually abused by multiple perpetrators.

Anne Johnson Davis in her book Hell Minus One reported that her parents confessed to her abuse in writing and verbally to clergymen, and to the detectives from the Utah Attorney General's Office. Her suppressed memories started when she was in her mid-30s, which were fully substantiated by her mother and stepfather[20][21].

Many scientific journals articles have discussed the reality of ritual abuse and its effect on its victims. Some of these articles have discussed the extreme nature of these crimes[22], proof of the reality of the ritual abuse phenomenon and victims' symptoms[23], the connection between ritual abuse, multiple personality disorder and mind control[24] and the connections between ritual abuse reports and the higher levels of symptoms of childhood sexual and physical abuse[25]. Several additional studies and organizations have compiled research on the reality of ritual abuse crimes[26][27][28].

Ritual abuse and mind control crimes have also been confirmed in other books[29][30].

A study which identified 270 cases of sexual abuse in day care settings found that allegations of ritual abuse occurred in thirteen percent of the cases[31]. Additional evidence of ritual abuse in day care and child abuse cases has been found in news reports, journal articles and legal transcripts[32][33][34][35][36][37].

Ritual abuse occurrences have also been found in the Netherlands[38]and England[39]. Reports of ritual abuse have also been found in multiple personality disorder sufferers[15]. Kent believes that intergenerational satanic accounts are possible and that rituals related to them may come from a deviant interpretation of religious texts[40][41]. Others have stated that the theories and research around recovered memory "strongly confirm the reality of...cult abuse" of SRA survivors[42].

1. Satanic Ritual Abuse evidence click here

2. 2008 Publications on Ritual Abuse and Mind Control click here

3. Lacter, E (2008-02-11). "Brief Synopsis of the Literature on the Existence of Ritualistic Abuse". click here

8. click here

10. Believe the children (1997). "Conviction List: Ritual Child Abuse". click here

11. The Satanism and Ritual Abuse Archive click here

12. Noblitt, PhD, J. R. - An Empirical Look at the Ritual Abuse Controversy (2007) click here

13. Report of the Ritual Abuse Task Force - Los Angeles County Commission for Women "Mind control is the cornerstone of ritual abuse, the key element in the subjugation and silencing of its victims. Victims of ritual abuse are subjected to a rigorously applied system of mind control designed to rob them of their sense of free will and to impose upon them the will of the cult and its leaders. Most often these ritually abusive cults are motivated by a satanic belief system [only on the surface.] The mind control is achieved through an elaborate system of brainwashing, programming, indoctrination, hypnosis, and the use of various mind-altering drugs. The purpose of the mind control is to compel ritual abuse victims to keep the secret of their abuse, to conform to the beliefs and behaviors of the cult, and to become functioning members who serve the cult by carrying out the directives of its leaders without being detected within society at large." click here

14. Survivorship - Frequently Asked Questions

15. a b Van Benschoten, Susan C. (1990). Multiple Personality Disorder and Satanic Ritual Abuse: the Issue Of Credibility Dissociation Vol. III, No. 1 "A large number of adult MPD patients in psychotherapy are reporting memories of explicitly satanic ritual abuse beginning in childhood. The authors of two limited surveys, conducted with a select group of MPD therapists, suggest the percentage of reported satanic ritual abuse in the MPD population to be 20% (Braun & Gray, 1986) and 28% (Braun & Gray, 1987). A survey by Kaye and Klein (1987) reveals that 20 of the 42 MPD patients in treatment with seven Ohio therapists describe a history of satanic ritual abuse. Ilopponen (1987) states that 38 of the more than 70 MPD patients she has treated report memories of "satanic-type ritualized abuse " (p. 11). Two inpatient facilities specializing in the treatment of MPD report that approximately 50% of their patients disclose memories of satanic ritual abuse (Braun, 1989a; Ganaway, 1989). Similar accounts of satanic ritual abuse are being reported by personally unrelated MPD patients from across the United States (Braun, 1989b; Braun & Sachs, 1988; Kahaner, 1988; Sachs & Braun, 1987). In addition, according to Braun (1989b), the reports of patients in this country are similar to data collected from adult survivors in England, Holland, Germany, France, Canada, and Mexico...Brown (1986), noting many similar allegations in child and adult satanic ritual abuse accounts, suggests that reports are not only comparable across geographical and personal boundaries, but across generations as well."

click here

16. Data from Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (1998)."Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law" (W. W. Norton) ISBN 0-393-70254-5 (p.62) Bottoms, B. Shaver, P. & Goodman, G. (1993) Profile of ritual abuse and religion related abuse allegations in the United States. Updated findings provided via personal communication from B. Bottoms. Cited in K.C. Faller (1994), Ritual Abuse; A Review of the research. The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Advisor , 7, 1, 19-27

17. Noblitt, J.R.; Perskin, P. (2000). Cult and Ritual Abuse: Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America p. 269, Greenwood Publishing Group.

18. Extreme Abuse Survey

19. Understanding ritual trauma: A comparison of findings from three online surveys click here

20. Johnson Davis, Anne Hell Minus One: My Story of Deliverance From Satanic Ritual Abuse and My Journey to Freedom Transcript Bulletin Publishing - ISBN 978-0-9788348-0-7 - 2008

21. Hell Minus One - signed verified confessions of satanic ritual abuse

click here

22. Cozolino, L.J. (1990). "Ritual child abuse, psychopathology, and evil". Journal of Psychology and Theology, 18(3):218-227 "Ritualistic abuse is an extreme form of psychological, physical, and sexual maltreatment of children in the context of "religious" ceremony. The clinical presentation of the victims of such abuse is complex and raises many issues related in the diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology as well as the importance of spiritual counseling"

23. Cozolino, L.J.; Shaffer, R.E (Fall 1992) "Adults who report childhood ritualistic abuse." Special Issue: Satanic ritual abuse: The current state of knowledge. Journal of Psychology and Theology 20(3) "Skeptics question the legitimacy of these reports, but many factors point to the reality of the phenomenon of ritualistic abuse. First of all, the degree of consistency between reports of individuals from different parts of the country is very high. The fact that children as young as 2 and 3 report ritualistic abuse experiences that mirror those reported by adult victims is especially striking in light of the fact that young children do not have access to the kind of printed information that might conceivably allow an older person to fabricate such experiences (Gould, 1987). Second, experiences of ritualistic abuse reported by victims of all ages are virtually identical to written historical accounts of Satan worship and the like (Hill & Goodwin, 1989; Russell, 1972), findings that substantiate our present-day understanding of Satanism and ritualistic abuse as intragenerational phenomenon. Third, the symptoms from which individuals reporting histories of ritualistic abuse tend to suffer are consistent with our current understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and the dissociative disorders. The progression in which ritualistic abuse survivors respond to psychotherapy places these victims squarely within the category of individual who have suffered real-not imagined-trauma."

24. Gould, C., & Cozolino, L. (1992) "Ritual abuse, multiplicity, and mind-control." Special Issue: Satanic ritual abuse: The current state of knowledge. Journal of Psychology and Theology 20(3):194-6 "As a result of the psychologically intolerable nature of their early childhood experiences, victims of ritual abuse frequently develop multiple personality disorder (MPD)....Ritual abuse is conducted on behalf of a cult whose purpose is to establish mind control over the victims. Thus, these perpetrators have a conscious motive for the abuse beyond compulsively repeating their own childhood abuse in an effort to gain mastery over the original trauma. Most victims state that they were ritually abused as part of satanic worship, for the purpose of indoctrinating them into satanic beliefs (Los Angeles County Commission for Women, 1989). Mind control is originally established when the victim is a child under 6 years old."

25. Lawrence, K.J.; Cozolino, L.; Foy, D.W. (1995). Psychological sequelae in adult females reporting childhood ritualistic abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect 19 (8): 975-984. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(95)00059-H. "Women reporting ritualistic features scored significantly higher on measures of childhood sexual and physical abuse. Neither PTSD diagnostic status nor severity for PTSD nor dissociative experiences were significantly different between the groups." click here

26. Gould, C. (1995). Denying ritual abuse of children. Journal of Psychohistory, 22(3), 329-339. "The evidence is rapidly accumulating that the problem of ritual abuse is considerable in scope and extremely grave in its consequences Among 2,709 members of the American Psychological Association who responded to a poll, 2,292 cases of ritual abuse were reported (Bottoms, Shaver, & Goodman, 1993). In 1992 alone, Childhelp USA logged 1,741 calls pertaining to ritual abuse, Monarch Resources of Los Angeles logged approximately 5,000, Real Active Survivors tallied nearly 3,600, Justus Unlimited of Colorado received almost 7,000, and Looking Up of Maine handled around 6,000. Even allowing for some of these calls to have been made by people who assist survivors but arc not themselves survivors, and for some survivors to have called more that one helpline or made multiple calls to the same helpline, these numbers suggest that at a minimum there must be tens of thousands of survivors of ritual abuse in the United States. Evidence also continues to accumulate that the ritual abuse of children constitutes a child abuse problem of significant scope. In 1988, Finkelhor, Williams and Burns published the results of a nationwide study of substantiated reports of sexual abuse in day care involving 1,639 young child victims. Thirteen percent of these cases were found to involve ritual abuse. Other studies of ritually abused children have been relatively small. Kelly (1988; 1989; 1992a; 1992b; 1993) reported on 35 day care victims of ritual abuse, Waterman et al. (1993) reported on 82 children complaining of ritual abuse in preschool, Faller (1988; 1990) studied 18 children who had disclosed ritual abuse in their preschool, and Bybee and Mowbray (1993) from the Michigan State Department of Mental Health identified 62 children alleging ritual abuse in their preschool and 53 children who reported seeing others be ritually abused. Snow and Sorenson (1990) studied 39 children reporting ritual abuse in five neighborhoods in Utah, and Jonker and Jonker-Bakker (1991) reported on a total group of 98 children, at least 48 of whom were believed to be victims of ritual abuse. The latter case is the only one cited here which was conducted outside of the United States."" target="_blank">click here

27. Paley, K. (June 1992). Dream wars: a case study of a woman with multiple personality disorder(PDF). Dissociation 5 (2): 111-116. "Apologists believe that reports of satanic cult abuse either must or could be true. There is some evidence to support the apologists. In 1986, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in Commonwealth v. Drew (397 Mass. 65) upheld the conviction of Carl H. Drew for the murder of Karen Marsden. There was evidence that Drew conducted satanic ritual meetings and that he had killed Marsden "because she wanted to leave the cult " (Commonworth v. Drew, 1986, p. 66). Marsden had gone to the police and reported a human sacrifice. Scott Waterhouse was convicted of the murder of a twelve year-old girl, and the conviction was upheld in the State of Maine v. Scott Waterhouse (513 A. 2d 862, Me. 1986). It was ruled that the trial court's introduction of the defendant's satanic beliefs was relevant in establishing motive and intent. In a study of hundreds of day care centers, Finkelhor and Williams found that "... [c] lear-cut corroboration of ritualistic practices was available in a few cases, such as Country Walk [in Miami], where ritual objects were found by police and where the female perpetrators did admit to some of the sadistic practices alleged in the children's stories" (1988, pp. 59-60). Greaves (1992) describes a video made by the Chicago Police Department of two sites allegedly used for satanic ceremonies. He was struck by the similarity of the material to descriptions he had heard from many of his clients.

28. Report of Utah State Task Force on Ritual Abuse Utah Governor's Commission for Women and Families (1992)

29. Secret Weapons - Two Sisters' Terrifying True Story of Sex, Spies and Sabotage by Cheryl and Lynn Hersha with Dale Griffis, Ph D. and Ted Schwartz. New Horizon Press, P O Box 669 Far Hills, NJ 07931 - ISBN0-88282-196-2 ""By the time Cheryl Hersha came to the facility, knowledge of multiple personality was so complete that doctors understood how the mind separated into distinct ego states,each unaware of the other. First, the person traumatized had to be both extremely intelligent and under the age of seven, two conditions not yet understood though remaining consistent as factors. The trauma was almost always of a sexual nature..." p. 52 "The government researchers,aware of the information in the professional journals, decided to reverse the process (of healing from hysteric dissociation). They decided to use selective trauma on healthy children to create personalities capable of committing acts desired for national security and defense." p. 53 - 54

30. Rutz, Carol (2001). A Nation Betrayed. Grass Lake, MI: Fidelity Publishing. ISBN 0-9710102-0-X.

31. Sexual Abuse in Day Care: A National Study - Executive Summary - March 1988 - Finklehor, Williams, Burns, Kalinowski click here

32. Day Care and Child Abuse Cases Information on the McMartin Preschool Case, Michelle Remembers, the Fells Acres - Amirault Case, the Wenatchee, Washington Case, the Dale Akiki Case, the Glendale Montessori - Toward case, the Little Rascals Day Care Center case, Fran's Day Care case, the Baran case and the Halsey case click here

33. McMartin Preschool Case - What Really Happened and the Coverup click here

34. Archaeological Investigations of the McMartin Preschool Site click here

35. deMause, Lloyd, Why Cults Terrorize and Kill Children The Journal of Psychohistory 21 (4) 1994 [4]"

"Cult abuse is increasing, only that-as with the increase in all child abuse reports-we have become more open to hearing them. But it seemed unlikely that the surge of cult memories could all be made up by patients or implanted by therapists. Therapists are a timid group at best, and the notion that they suddenly begin implanting false memories in tens of thousands of their clients for no apparent reason strained credulity. Certainly no one has presented a shred of evidence for massive "false memory" implantations."

click here

click here

36. Summit, R.C. (1994). The Dark Tunnels of McMartin Journal of Psychohistory 21 (4): 397-416. "The opportunity came in April, 1990 with permission from the new owner of the preschool to search for the tunnels before he demolished the building and redeveloped the property. These soiled but solid citizens managed to find what the district attorney had disclaimed: solid, scientific evidence that someone had not only dug tunnels under the preschool, but also had taken the trouble to try to undo them. The results of this definitive excavation are described in meticulous detail in the 185 page Report of the Archaeological Excavation of the McMartin Preschool Site by E. Gary Stickel, Ph.D., the UCLA archaeologist commissioned to do the study....Dr. Stickel's report (p.95) concludes: There is no other scenario that fits all of the facts except that the feature was indeed a tunnel. The date of the construction and use of the tunnel was not absolutely established, but an assessment of seven factors of data all indicate that it was probably constructed, used and completely filled back in after 1966 (the construction date of the preschool). This age assessment has also been corroborated by the consulting Geologist for the project, Dr. Don Michael." click here

click here

37. Tamarkin, C. (1994a). Investigative Issues in Ritual Abuse Cases, Part I. Treating Abuse Today, 4 (4): 14-23. Tamarkin, C. (1994b). Investigative Issues in Ritual Abuse Cases, Part II. Treating Abuse Today, 4 (5): 5-9. click here

38. Jonker, F.; Jonker-bakker, P. (1991). "Experiences with ritualist child sexual abuse: a case study from the Netherlands". Child Abuse and Neglect 15: 191-196. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(91)90064-K. PMID 2043971 "The case of apparent ritual sexual abuse of children in a community in the Netherlands is described in terms of the children's stories, behaviors, and physical symptoms and the community's reaction to reactions of police and other professionals." click here

39. Sinason, V (1994). Treating Survivors of Satanist Abuse. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-10543-9. Major publications by Valerie Sinason click here

40. Kent, Stephen. (1993). "Deviant Scripturalism and Ritual Satanic Abuse Part One: Possible Judeo-Christian Influences". Religion 23(23):229-241.

41. Kent, Stephen. (1993). "Deviant Scripturalism and Ritual Satanic Abuse. II: Possible Masonic, Mormon, Magick, and Pagan influences". Religion 23(4):355-367

42. McCulley, D. "Satanic ritual abuse: A question of memory."Journal of Psychology and Theology Fall 1994 22(3) p.167-172 "leading memory researchers such as Dr. Bessel van der Kolk of Harvard Medical School maintain that traumatic memories, which typically are engraved in the sensorimotor processes, are not subject to the same kinds of contamination that can affect normal memory. Traumatic amnesia, described in the DSM-III-R as psychogenic amnesia, is a phenomenon which has been known to mental health professionals for more than 100 years. The clinically observed characteristics of traumatic memory formation and retrieval match precisely the patterns of memory recovery exhibited by SRA survivors, and strongly confirm the reality of their cult abuse....If satanic ritual abuse is a question of memory, the data redound to the credibility of those thousands of individuals who identify themselves as SRA survivors. All the scientific studies of memory under trauma indicate that the bimodal response described by van der Kolk (1994), whether hyperpotentiated or dissociative, heightens the reliability of recall. The phenomenon of recovered memory is not a new therapeutic fad created by irresponsible clinical experimentation, but a well established aspect of trauma. The connection between trauma and memory disturbance is made clear by the definition of psychogenic amnesia in the DSM-III-R (1987)...Further, there often is corroboration for these retrieved memories. Judith Herman and Emily Schatzow (1992) found that in a sample of 53 women who disclosed memories of abuse for which they had been amnesic, 74% of the subjects were able to find independent confirmation from family members, pornographic photos, or diaries. Ivor Browne (1990a) found the "internal consistency of the traumatic account" persuasive, and also discovered that in the sizeable minority of cases where there was an available witness that "in every instance, the traumatic events . turn out to be true" (p. 30). There is no longer room for denial and disbelief - for evading the grim reality of SRA - by recourse to memory research which simply does not apply. Solid scientific inquiry does not allow us that luxury; neither should Christian conscience."

* Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (1998)."Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law" (W. W. Norton) ISBN 0-393-70254-5

* Cook, C. (1991). Understanding ritual abuse: A study of thirty-three ritual abuse survivors. Treating Abuse Today, 1(4), 14-19.

* Gould, Catherine. (1992) "Ritual abuse, multiplicity, and mind-control." Special Issue: Satanic ritual abuse: The current state of knowledge. Journal of Psychology and Theology 20(3):194-6

* Hersha, C.; Hersha, L.; Griffis, D.; Schwarz, T (2001). Secret Weapons. Far Hills, NJ: New Horizon Press. ISBN 0-88282-196-2.

* Hill, J. "Believing Rachel" The Journal of Psychohistory 24 (2) Fall 1996

"Rachel's story is one of suffering, courage and hope. As a young child she was the victim of unspeakable crimes, but because she received therapy and the support of a loving family, she has emerged intact." click here

* Johnston, Jerry (1989). The Edge of Evil - The Rise of Satanism in North America. Dallas: Word Publishing. ISBN 0-8499-0668-7.

* Jonker, F and Jonker-Bakker, I. (1997). "Effects of Ritual Abuse: The results of three surveys in the Netherlands." Child Abuse & Neglect 21(6):541-556

* Kent, Stephen. (1994). "Diabolic Debates: A Reply to David Frankfurter and J. S. La Fontaine," Religion 24: 135-188.

* Kent, Stephen. (1993). "Deviant Scripturalism and Ritual Satanic Abuse Part One: Possible Judeo-Christian Influences". Religion 23(23):229-241.

* Kent, Stephen. (1993). "Deviant Scripturalism and Ritual Satanic Abuse. II: Possible Masonic, Mormon, Magick, and Pagan influences". Religion 23(4):355-367

* Leavitt, Frank. Measuring the impact of media exposure and hospital treatment on patients alleging satanic ritual abuse. Treating Abuse Today 8(4) 1998 pp. 7-13 "This study provides evidence that clients who report SRA exhibit a set of associations to SRA-related words that cannot be explained by exposure to the popular media or from inpatient treatment."" target="_blank">click here

* Neswald, D., Gould, C., & Graham-Costain, V. (1991). Common programs observed in survivors of Satanic ritual abuse. The California Therapist, 3 (5), 47 50. "Increasingly, cases of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and Satanic Ritualistic Abuse (SRA) are being reported in the psychotherapeutic community. Though controversy concerning authenticity remains, such cases are slowly gaining in acceptability as a genuine social and psychopathological phenomenon. Concurrently, the etiological underpinnings and treatment demands of these special patients are being unraveled and understood as never before. As a result, it is becoming increasingly clear that perhaps the most demanding treatment aspects of such cases concern the problems posed by what is known as "cult programming."

click here

* Noblitt, J.R.; Perskin, P. (2000). Cult and Ritual Abuse: Its History, Anthropology, and Recent Discovery in Contemporary America p. 269, Greenwood Publishing Group.

* Noblitt, R.; Perskin, P. (2008). Ritual abuse in the 21st century p. 552, Bandon, OR: Reed Publishers. click here

* Pike, P.L.; Mohline, R.J.(Eds.). Ritual abuse and recovery: Survivors' personal accounts. Journal of Psychology and Theology Spring 1995 23 (1) p.45-55

* Sachs, A. & Galton, G. (Eds) (2008). Forensic Aspects of Dissociative Identity Disorder London: Karnac. Chapters include discussions on ritual abuse, dissociative identity disorder, mind control, extreme abuse, survivor accounts and criminal convictions click here

click here

* Scott, S. (2001). The politics and experience of ritual abuse: beyond disbelief. Open University Press. ISBN 0335204198. click here

* Smith, Margaret. (1993). Ritual Abuse: What it Is, why it Happens, and how to Help by Margaret - HarperCollins

* Waterman, Jill; Kelly, Robert J.;Oliveri, M. K.;and McCord, Jane (1993). Behind the Playground Walls - Sexual Abuse in Preschools. New York, London: The Guilford Press, 284-8. ISBN 0-89862-523-8.

* Young, Walter C., Sachs, Roberta G., Braun, Bennett G., and Watkins, R. T. (1993) "Patients reporting ritual abuse in childhood: A clinical syndrome. Report of 37 cases." Child Abuse and Neglect 15(3):181-9

External Links

* An Empirical Look at the Ritual Abuse Controversy click here

* Ritual Abuse articles click here

* Ritual Abuse Cases click here

* Extreme Abuse Survey

*" target="_blank">click here

Then, would you believe, the first comment?:
Thank you for writing on this subject!

The society of normal people have trouble understanding that these things are possible, adding insult to the injury of the victims, according to ponerologist Andrew Lobaczewski. But when society falls under the spell of psychopaths, these are the people with the special knowledge of how to get by that can help others cope, though it is a bigger tragedy for them to have to relive such horrible experiences. It cannot be overstated how crucial knowledge is of the reality of significant psychopathic participation in society--totally normal-looking people who are capable of whatever mind-frame it takes to build a tunnel, for example, under a day-care center in order to torture a bunch of children into slavery.

by Oh (7 articles, 5 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 324 comments [41 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Jul 12, 2009 at 5:47:44 PM

My response:
This is a pic of me & my son Daimon performing the Satanic Theme Park Rite...yes, we Satanists venture out and intermingle with all the normal folk with nary a robe nor candle in sight! 'who woulda' thought?

Ygraine Gidney-Mitchell
Justified Bigotry: Using Children to Awaken Prejudice

In America there most surely have been individuals who have allowed their mental illness to manifest in a way that suggests SRA. Thenks to the churches and Hollywood, glamorizing and glorifying what they believe to be "Satanism," but what is actually the Christian Heresy of Devil Worship, criminals have been handed a "devil made me do it" defense. The fact that devil worship is not Satanism (an atheistic religion created in 1966) but a branch of Christianity, requiring a belief in the Holy Bible and all things religiously Christian, is often ignored. The last thing Christians want to own up to is that they themselves are the parents of the very thing they fear.

And yet true Satanism, as per The Satanic Bible, as practiced by The Church of Satan forbids ritual abuse, the harming of children and animals, and is so conservatively law and order that it remains a minority religion because prospective members are disappointed with the hard line taken by the Church. Most are astonished to find that genuine Satanists are the most vigilante citizens in matters of crime, refusing to accept forgiveness or any defense that requires mercy.

Yes, despite the fact that 89% of ALL crime, murder included is commited by Christians, no one blames the religion itself. The excuses vary. It seems when a Christian commits a crime the Christian community is allowed to disown the criminal. They are permitted to claim that due to his anti-Christian actions the criminal wasn't really a Christian, after all. Satanists are not permitted this denial despite The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rules of The Earth, and the entire Satanic canon forbidding criminal behavior. In fact, The Holy Bible endorses violence, hatred, killing and other assorted variations from The Ten Commanments quite frequently, while Satanism does not. Satanism demands it's members follow the law and rather than move criminals from parish to parish, or send them to forgiveness driven rehabilitation, the Church of Satan terminates memberships of those who commit serious crimes. The problem, as always, is based in greed.

In the 1980's the advent of cable TV spawned a mass of evangelists to merge with some unethical couselors and shrinks and together they decided to justify their bigotry by claiming the metaphors of metal music were real and that Satanism was a thriving underground subculture. They blamed countless atrocities on people they deemed Satanic, filled the heads of patients and parishnors with False Memories (FMS*,) and managed to destroy a goodly amount of innocent lives by pointing accusatory fingers. The cottage industry that led to the Satanic Panic and made it flourish made evangelists and unethical mental health providers and shady writers of dubious talent rich. Really rich.

In 1992 the FBI's Lanning Report, named after Special Agent Kenneth Lanning who researched and authoried it, determined there was no such thing as organized ritual abuse. The Church of Satan, in particular, was completely vindicated. Lanning found that the occasional nut might use Satanic aesthetics or are Christian Heretics, who commit the very rare and occasional atrocity, but that SRA is actually a fallacy.

So when I, a member of the Church of Satan, a mother of five, and a grandmother read this twaddle in 2009, I am revolted. All I see is an excuse to justify bigotry and prejudice and a rejection of fact in order to strike fear in the ignorant. I see an attempt to re-awaken America's last witch hunt. I see more than 90% of the footnotes and articles are over ten years old and that most of the pro-SRAS authors have been discredited.

What is gained by this? Well, perhaps some disenfranchised Christian with a few screws loose will think that he can commit a crime for a devil (who doesn't exist.) Someone already inclined to commit a crime may find this a handy excuse. And, of course, those writers who made a living over the suffering of those in alternative religions will sell a few more lies.

The Satanic Panic is over, and those who attempt to re-start it are plainly nothing more than bigots.

by Ygraine Gidney-Mitchell (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Wednesday, Jul 15, 2009 at 7:01:47 AM
Recommend (0+)
Reply To This

Orlando criminal is not a Satanist. Less 80's, more justice, please.

We can assume that virtually every time someone is arrested at home they will usually have been a Holy Bible on their property. We can further assume that there is a 50-50 chance that in addition to the good book there is likely to be crucifixes, paintings of the last supper (on velvet or painted by numbers) , posters about footprints, and any number of books of the Christian fiction genre on the premises. And yet, NEVER are these items mentioned in the press regarding the arrest or the crime. In a country that is 80% Christian it seems inconceivable to the cops, prosecutors, journalists and judges that part of the criminal mind set might be influenced by their religion, only other people's weird ones. The Catholic Clergy scandal is always seen as a scandal of the priests. There is an undercurrent of presumption that molestation is due to celibacy, not the religion that imposes it.. It is never debated that a religion that places all sin firmly at the feet of women in general and that praises innocence and virginity, as well as implies that children and women are the property of men , might actually be encouraging abuse. In the tradition of hating the sin and not the sinner we see the church happily blaming individual priests for their perversions lest someone question the institution that gave rise to them. Once again the acceptance of Christianity is so broad that the fact that the vast majority of criminals claim to be Christian is never seen as an indictment of the religion. Other religions do not get this free pass. Florida has been a hot bed of horrible crimes this past year or so. The entire nation has watched with a mixture of voyeuristic addiction and repulsion the stories of Casey and Caylee Anthony, Ronald, Missy & Haleigh Cummings, and now, the seeming horror of poor Tracy Ocasio. No mention of religion was made regarding the Anthony Crime. The Church served as background for the memorial. There was no end of swearing to God while lying. Prayer vigils were common and the community leaned on ministers and pastors to get through the pain. Yet, a religion that teaches that to spare the rod is to spoil the child, or that demands that God is loved above children was never a subject in the crime or the medias interpretation of it. The Cummings case also was void of the religion of any of the "persons of interest." We do not read in the newspapers what religion Misty Coslin Cummings follows. We do know that the marriage of Cummings and Croslin was originally supposed to be a Baptist affair but became a civil one because, we must suppose, of the shotgun timing, or perhaps simple good taste. Everyone knows Christianity and Christians. `No one wants to blame what they them selves accept and in fact use to decry crime. It comes as no surprise that the very idea that Christianity or any other traditional/common religion might encourage criminality is met with either abject confusion or righteous anger, and yet people have no problem looking for a religious reason for crimes that confuse them. Recently reported that James Hataway, a person of interest in the disappearance of Tracy Ocasio "was interested in "dark arts." Ocoee detectives said they seized paraphernalia relating to murder, suicide, cannibalism, vampires and serial killers from Hataway's home where he lived with his father....." and that "Investigators also removed items having to do with the dark arts -- generally associated with Satanism and witchcraft." Based upon the statements of Rachel Clarke, we can assume Mr. Hataway is not a particularly nice man. The crimes he is alleged to have committed against women demonstrate the sort of dangerous cowardice we are becoming all too familiar with in this age of Nancy Grace and 48 Hours. This, however, should not be an excuse to accept disproved and dangerous stereotypes that end up affecting the innocent far more than damaging the guilty. When a Satanist reads that items have been removed from somewhere that are associated with Satanism they are bewildered. What sort of items are being discussed? Cookbooks? Comics? Vintage hats? Classical Music? The collected works of Mark Twain? Satanism is a religion that celebrates the individual. The one thing all Satanists have in common is nothing--which is kind of the point. There are no mandatory items every Satanist must have. So the statement in print, that objects related to Satanism have been found on the property of an alleged criminal, leaves the genuine Satanist scratching their head and concerned that this sort of vague acceptance of a faulty stereotype can only harm those who in reality decry the very crimes being alleged. Here it should be noted that Mr. Hataway is not a Satanist. The Church of Satan has no record of him. Additionally it could only be a NON-Satanist who would refer to cannibalism, suicide, murder as an "art," dark or otherwise. This sort of transference, where the majority decide that what they don't like must be what others who aren't them DO like is dangerous and without appropriate purpose. Hataway may or may not be interested in Satanism and witchcraft, but if all it takes to be identified as someone involved in a religion is what sort of books are on their shelves there is not a Satanist on the planet who would not be mistaken for a Christian as they all have the Holy Bible. Then they might also be Jewish because the use kosher salt while cooking. If they read Dawkins are they ChristaJewAtheists? The problem is obvious. Imagine? Do we think Joe Blow is Michael Jordan because he has a Lakers banner? Is someone into bestiality if own dogs? Is everyone with a Lean Cuisine in the freezer skinny...or fat? In the 1980's we saw thousands of people have their lives ruined because some money hungry integrity deprived therapists and clergy people got together and decided to create an urban myth. They sold the notion that there were vast conspiracies led by Satanic organizations that murdered, abused and committed all manner of crimes while being in league with the devil. They fueled hysteria, reaped massive financial bounty, and lied through their teeth. In 1992 the FBI released a report that concluded there was no such thing as organized Satanic Ritual Abuse/SRA. The report concluded that because Satanists are people it is possible that A Satanist might commit A crime, but statistically they were no more likely, and in fact religiously LESS likely to break the law. In years to follow the Church of Satan has reported far more criminals than they have been accused of being home to. They have terminated the memberships of those convicted of crimes and have assisted law enforcement in the prosecution of criminals. While other religions practice forgiveness Satanism demands justice. While Catholicism accepts confession for absolution and refuses to inform authorities of criminals in their midst, Satanists police themselves and report wrong-doers. For this reason it is so distressing when WESH and the police imply a religious motivation to the alleged actions of James Hataway, and worse, allow Tracy Ocasios parents to believe their daughter's fate may have some bizarre religious meaning based in Satanism. Hataway is an alleged scum bag who preys on women, nothing more. He lurks in bars, steals those who bring joy to others, and then runs home to Daddy because he is too weak and cowardly to be on his own and deal with people as a productive adult. By implying a religious motivation for his alleged crimes, we absolve Hataway of the shameful responsibility that should be all his. There is no rite in Satanism, no ritual or holiday or any reason to abduct young women! The Satanic Bible forbids it. The Satanic canon, including The Satanic Rules of the earth forbid it. No modern religion that practices any form of Witchcraft allows this. We must not allow Hataway to minimize or negate his personal responsibility by playing into falsehoods, myths, and lies about religions that veer from the mainstream. Tracy Ocasio's parents should know that while the Christians in the community are praying for their daughter, the Satanists ARE NOT supporting Hataway. In fact the Satanists are doing what the Christians are forbidden to do, wishing him ill, wanting him to pay for the horrors he has brought on others and hoping he suffers for any harm he has caused. They are also disgusted that the media and the police could be gullible enough to fall into that 1980's trap of confusing interest into motivation. Each day we find more diversity, less bigotry, and more reasons to celebrate that which makes us different having ways of bringing us together. It is a shame when we move backwards and allow our fears to create excuses for those who would ruin what is best about us all.

This is James Hataway: A creep of epic proportions, but NOT a Satanist!


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Furnace Fire at First Agape

Furnace Fire at First Agape

Historic church nearly destroyed in Ash Wednesday fire.

“It’s not too bad,” said the Rev. Edgar Bankhead, as he surveyed the damage from the fire that swept through First Agape (formerly Gibson Grove) church.

“My father is an optimist,” said Edgar Bankhead Jr.

The 105-year-old church, which is listed as a historic landmark in the Potomac Master Plan, sustained approximately $500,000 in damage when an oil furnace overloaded on the night of Feb. 25. The church had been waiting about three months for a new gas furnace to be installed, said Judi Bankhead, the reverend’s wife.

Judi Bankhead said that she and Rev. Bankhead were at a Bible study in Manassas, Va., when they heard that the church was on fire. They drove to the church immediately.

“By the time we got here, 32 members of the congregation were outside, singing and praying,” Bankhead said. “The little children were crying. It’s like a second home to them. Some of us stayed until 1:30 [a.m].”

Some 85 members of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service tried to save the church, but the fire swept through the building too quickly. “It’s damaged enough that we’re pretty much going to have to start over again,” said Edgar Bankhead Jr.

The 130-member congregation has no plans to leave the community. “When you think about the people who’ve been singing to the Lord here, for 100 years, that means something,” Judi Bankhead said.

The church had recently been the object of discussion when the county considered a plan to add car-pool lanes to the Beltway and possibly widen it. The church’s location on Seven Locks Road at the Beltway underpass made it possible that, were the Beltway to grow, the church might have to move.

The building is not the first to sit on the spot, on land donated by a former slave. But parts of the original structure remain. The floorboards, said Judi Bankhead, date back to the original structure, and the congregation intends to preserve them. “We’re going to save as much of it as we can,” she said.

The church’s insurance will probably not cover the entire rebuilding costs. The community has already begun to rally around the historic congregation. Danny Harris, a resident of Cabin John, came to the burned building on the day after the fire to offer his support and a donation to the church. “We’re willing to help,” Harris said of the community.

Glen Echo Baptist and St. Andrews’ churches have already offered the congregation a place to worship, and the church’s trustees are looking at other places where they might go while they rebuild the church.

“It will make us stronger and bring us closer together,” said Rev. Bankhead.


text:
The Great Falls Ecumenical Council is hosting an Easter Sunrise Service on April 16 at 6:30 am at Great Falls National Park. Pastor John Weyant, Dranesville Church of the Brethren, will preach on the theme “What Is It Your Are Looking For?” Soloists are Soni Oberleas and Juanita Wallace Jackson. Paul Ward is directing the brass ensemble. Scout Troop 55 will serve as ushers. The offering will go to Habitat For Humanity. Come casual, bring a chair if you like, and enjoy the beauty of this glorious day. Call the Rev. Paul Gysan at 703-759-6068.

As part of its Lent observance, the Church of the Good Shepherd will again host a weekly Soup, Song and Story. Each Wednesday night during Lent, soup will be served beginning at 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, followed by song and story. Good Shepherd will host a Maundy Thursday Seder service on April 13 at 7:30 p.m. A Good Friday prayer vigil will be held from 4-7 p.m. on April 14, followed by Good Friday service. On Easter, April 16, a special outdoor sunrise service will be held at 6 a.m., followed by the regular worship services at 8:30 and 11 a.m. in the church sanctuary.

The church is located at 2351 Hunter Mill Road, Vienna. Call the church office at 703-281-3987 or visit

A Community Good Friday Service will be held at Oakton United Methodist Church, 2951 Chain Bridge Road, April 14 from noon-3 p.m. Guest speakers from area Churches will include Rev. Edward Bauman and Rev. James F. Hoffman, who will be sharing the Seven Last Words of Christ. All are welcome. Childcare provided.

There will be regular Easter Worship Services April 16 at 8:30 a.m. in the Chapel and 10:55 a.m. in the Church Sanctuary. Call 703-938-1233 or visit

Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter services at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. Maundy Thursday, April 13: worship service will begin at 11 a.m. and will remember the Last Supper. The 7:30 p.m. service will explore Jesus' last teachings of love and service.

Good Friday, April 14: the morning Children's Service at 10 a.m. will tell the story of Jesus' betrayal, trial and suffering on the cross. The Good Friday Tenebrae Service at 7:30 p.m. will provide the drama of this Service of Shadows as participants reflect on Jesus' final hours and His sacrifice.

Easter Sunday, April 16: begins at 7 a.m. with an Easter sunrise service to celebrate the new day and life through the Resurrection. Easter worship services at 7, 8:30, 9:45 and 11 a.m. will proclaim the joy of Christ's gift of salvation with a choir and musicians.

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is located at 1545 Chain Bridge Road, McLean. Visit or call the office at 703-356-3346.

A Second Night Seder is being hosted by the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia, 8900 Little River Turnpike, Fairfax, on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. This will be a kosher seder complete with traditional food. Open to the entire community; singles are encouraged to attend. Cost is $38 for members, $50 for non-members, $12 for children up to age 10. Call 703-323-0880 for reservations. Visit for information.

The Nidaros Cathedral Boys Choir from Trondheim, Norway will appear at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean on April 15 at 7 p.m. This concert is sponsored by the Norwegian Embassy and Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. This is the oldest boys choir in Norway and represents a 900-year long tradition of boy singers in the Nidaros Cathedral. The present choir consists of 50 boys ages 9-13 and 25 men who were formerly member of the choir. The church is located at 1545 Chain Bridge Road Visit or call the office at 703-356-3346.

Oakton Church of the Brethren will host Easter morning breakfast at 9:30, April 16. Easter Services will be held at 11 a.m. and will include Handbell and Choir music as well as soloists. The church is located at 10025 Courthouse Road, Vienna. Call 703-281-4411 or visit

The Great Falls Ecumenical Council is sponsoring a community prayer breakfast for Thursday, May, from 7:30 am to 9 am at the Tavern, in the village of Great Falls. As this is the National Day of Prayer, celebrations will be occurring all over the United States. The special speaker is Dr. Bart Ransom, author of “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” and long-time affiliate of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. Ransom’s topic is “Praying for Our Neighbors.” A buffet breakfast will be offered. Cost is $12, and tickets are available at all Great Falls Churches as well as at the door. Call Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church at 703-759-3509.

McLean Bible Church. Service times are Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The 10:45 a.m. service includes sign interpretation. Visit Frontline services are Sunday nights at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The 5:30 p.m. Frontline service includes sign interpretation. Visit The church is located at 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna. Call 703-790-5590; 703-770-2939 (TTY). McLean Bible Church was established in 1965, and the senior pastor is Lon Solomon.

Westmoreland Community Church, located at the corner of Westmoreland and Kirby in McLean, is an inter-denominational congregation, which began as a Southern Baptist Church but in 1978 officially changed its name to Westmoreland Community Church to better express the nature of its congregation: a community of Christians who gather to worship God as revealed through Christ. While officially independent of any other denomination, members come from a variety of religious traditions. Westmoreland offers Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by services led by Chaplain Kal McAlexander at 11 a.m. Sunday school is provided for children at 11 a.m. Call Sandy at 703 241-4993.

Vienna Presbyterian Church holds the following events/services. The church is located at 124 Park St. S.E., Vienna. Call 703-938-9050 or visit

* Cross Roads. Young adults meet each Wednesday, from 7:30-9 p.m., at 146 Maple Ave. Contact Amy Reeves at

* Teacher Support Group. The group meets the third Monday of each month, from 7-8 p.m. Call Gail Allen at 703-476-3931.

* Book discussion group. The book club meets the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Contact Ronniejean Irvin at 703- 273-4113.

* Adult Bible Studies. Classes take place Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. For information on Tuesday group, call Barbara Greig at 703-242-3511; Wednesday group, call Dave Gifford at 703-255-9366.

Christian Assembly offers an opportunity for all to enter into Praise and Prayer every Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m., at 8200 Bell Lane, Vienna. Call 703-968-9777 or visit

Vienna Baptist Church offers numerous Christian worship, education, music and mission opportunities. Each Sunday begins with a high-energy VBPraise service at 8:45 a.m. Sunday school begins at 9:45 a.m., providing different programs to people of all ages. The traditional liturgical worship service takes place at 11 a.m. The church is located at 541 Marshall Road, Vienna. Call 703-281-4400 or visit

Emmanuel Lutheran Church has a full range of education, music, worship and outreach programs. Traditional worship is at 8 and 11 a.m. in the Lutheran tradition of liturgical song mixed with music of the masters, spirituals and contemporary Christian music. Contemporary worship is at 9:30 a.m. with fresh liturgical song and contemporary Christian music led by Revelation. Christian education for all ages is 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-noon. The church is located at 2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna. Call 703-938-2119.

Unity of Fairfax, located at 2854 Hunter Mill Road in Oakton, hosts the following events and services. For more information, call 703-281-1767 or visit

A program using music, drumming, movement, song and prayer seeks to bring communities together as part of everyday life. The dances are cross-cultural using sacred phrases, chants, music and movements from many faith traditions. Efforts are to promote peace and integration within individuals and groups. There are no performers or audience, and no experience is necessary. Donations are accepted. The group meets the second Saturday evening each month, September-June, 7:30-10 p.m. Contact Kathryn at 703-573-1236 or For more information on the worldwide Dance Net-work, visit

St. Athanasius Lutheran Church sponsors the following Sunday services: Bible Class for adults and Sunday School for children begins at 9 a.m. followed by worship at 10:15 a.m. Coffee, dessert and fellowship time follows. Midweek Bible Study takes place on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., preceded by an open forum titled "Ask the Pastor" at 7 p.m. Call 703-455-4003 or visit St. Athanasius is located at 114 Kingsley Road S.W., Vienna.

Body & Soul is a high/low impact aerobic workout, kick boxing, strength training, Pilates all-in-one exercise session to the latest in contemporary Christian music. There are several area church locations from which to choose.

McLean Bible Church conducts classes on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9:45-11:15 a.m. Call Mary Ward at 703-830-2478 for more information. Child care available. Classes are also offered on Wednesday evenings from 6:45-8:15 p.m. Contact Tricia Van Ryn at Emmanuel Lutheran Church offers a Fit over 50 version on Wednesday mornings from 9:15-10:30 a.m. The church is located at 2589 Chain Bridge Road. Call Lynn Mostellar at 703-698-8624.

Chabad at Tysons hosts Shabbat educational services at 1503 Lincoln Center Court, in the Club House of the Fountains of McLean, across from Freddie Mac. Saturday morning service starts at 9:30 a.m.; Torah discussion at 10:30 a.m., followed by a sit-down Kiddush. Thursday night features a Kabbalah class. Call 703-356-3451, or e-mail, for more information.

A Centering Prayer Group meets Fridays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. at Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, 1301 Trap Road, Vienna. The hour includes a brief reading related to Centering Prayer, followed by a 20-minute prayer period. The group will also hear portions from "A Centered Life," an audio tape series by Basil Pennington. Contact Martha Thomas at or call the church at 703-759-3509.

The New Union Baptist Church, located at 205 Pleasant St., Vienna, offers Sunday School at 9:30 a.m., Worship service at 11 a.m., and Communion each second Sunday at 11 a.m. All are invited to attend. Call 703-281-2556.

Faith Baptist Church, located at 301 Center St. S., Vienna, offers Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. for all ages, 11 a.m. worship, and Bible Study on Sundays at 6 p.m. On Wednesdays at 7 p.m., the Awana Children's Club for ages 4 to sixth-grade takes place during the school year. Nursery school is provided for all services. The preschool and kindergarten program uses the Abeka curriculum and serves ages 3, 4 and 5. Visit or e-mail Call the church at 703-938-9688.

Lewinsville Presbyterian Church, 1724, Chain Bridge Road in McLean, has a full range of worship, Christian education, youth, music, and small group ministry programs. Traditional worship services are held at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Visitors are always welcome. Call 703-356-7200 or visit


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The Voice of Citizens

The Voice of Citizens

Citizens Associations work with government to meet communityâ€™s needs.

As unincorporated areas in Fairfax County, Great Falls and McLean rely on government officials to make sure their voices are heard. Each community also has a citizens association that acts a liaison with officials.

The citizens associations each have committees designed to do research, speak with the principal decision-makers, and help the group come up with a position on each issue.

"If an issue arises somewhere, we start a committee, or the board assigns it to a committee, who will study the issue and make recommendations," said Rob Jackson, president of the McLean Citizens Association. "As a board, we will decide what we support or oppose, and suggest changes."

The MCA have committees for such issues as budget and taxation, education, environment, parks and recreation, planning and zoning and transportation. They also have a special Tysons Corner Liaison Committee, whose charter was recently extended to make sure the MCA stays involved in the Tysons Corner development process.

Jackson says he sees the MCAâ€™s primary function as a place for the community to be heard.

"Anyone can come to our meetings and raise an issue. Weâ€™ll give them time to express their concern, and we will address it," Jackson said. "Generally, people arenâ€™t very shy about letting us know if thereâ€™s a problem."

The 40-member MCA board offers a variety of opinions and is not shy about backing those opinions up.

"We have a very diverse board, we donâ€™t all think alike," Jackson said. "We like to get input from a lot of different sources, and we do our homework to support what we say."

Great Falls has its own citizens association, which is also dedicated to expressing the will of residents to those in power.

"The role of the Great Falls Citizens Association is to help focus, define and voice issues within our community," said Bill Canis, a board member on GFCA. "We have no mayor, no town council, weâ€™re represented at the county level, who we work closely with."

Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville) said his district, which includes McLean and Great Falls, as well as Herndon, Vienna and Falls Church, is very involved with their surroundings.

"Theyâ€™re very active, very vigilant when it comes to proposals that would change their community," Foust said.

"I think we have a credibility when it comes to elected officials," Jackson said. "We donâ€™t expect them to vote with us every single time, but we expect them to listen."

Canis said "people recognize the Great Falls Citizens Association as a solid representation of the issues at hand, we try to get widespread community input."

Information on the MCA can be found at, and the GFCA can be found at


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Clegg willing to block more curbs on migrants

Curse of Clegg 2“The deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader insists that proposed restrictions on benefits for migrants are enough to protect Britain from an influx from eastern Europe. He has signalled that there will be no further negotiations on the issue with Conservative colleagues before 2015. Writing in The Sunday Times today, he says: “This is where we draw the line.” Clegg’s intervention comes two days after David Cameron told Brussels that Britain will veto any further expansion of the EU unless far tighter controls are placed on the “vast migrations” of workers.” – Sunday Times (£)

Clegg article in full

  • Exclusion zone to target epicentre of Romanian and Bulgarian influx – Mail on Sunday
  • How the Tory right turned against EU enlargement – Observer
  • Migrants can’t expect ‘something for nothing’ – Iain Duncan Smith, Sunday Telegraph
  • Bulgaria issues rebuke to Cameron over migrants – Observer
  • Mark Field warns the Prime Minister that his immigration stance could cost ethnic minority votes – Mail on Sunday
  • Home Office refuses to allow Norman Baker to have a Ministerial bicycle – Mail on Sunday
  • Jo Swinson wants to stop children referring to “muffin tops, thunder thighs and cankles” – Sunday Times (£)

Cameron: This year, I will bring the troops home from Afghanistan

“One of the first things I did when I became Prime Minister in 2010 was to set out a plan for bringing our troops home. My message this Christmas is simple. I am going to deliver on that plan. By the end of next year we will no longer have British servicemen or women in a combat role in Afghanistan. Of course, we will not leave behind a perfect country or a perfect democracy. Afghanistan is an extremely poor country with a very troubled history.” – Sun on Sunday

Matthew D’Ancona: Cameron wouldn’t say No to a second Coalition

COALIT~2“This is why, in moments of private candour, the PM admits that he would much prefer another coalition with Clegg to governing with a small Tory majority, pleading daily with a handful of his own backbenchers, staving off disaster hour by hour. Don’t forget that Cameron was a Cabinet special adviser during the Major years: he knows how that movie ends, and it is not pretty. Between now and polling day, you will often hear him denouncing coalition as a woeful second-best, and he’ll mean it when he says it. But you’ll never hear him say “never again”.” – Sunday Telegraph

Iain Martin: Osborne’s operation to Stop Boris

“George Osborne has also dedicated his considerable resources to blocking the Mayor getting back into the Commons. A Tory MP jokes that Mr Osborne has an alarm set up in his office to alert him to Boris being on manoeuvres. Indeed, so good is the Chancellor’s intelligence network that in the event of Boris snooping around a desirable constituency, and treating the chairman of a friendly local Conservative association to dinner, Mr Osborne will know about it before they have finished the starters.” – Sunday Telegraph

> Today: ToryDiary – For the first time, Theresa May tops our poll as Party members’ favourite to be next Tory leader

Greening: How I’ve shaken up DFID

Greening Justine Feb 2012“Greening’s Commons office is right next to that of Andrew Mitchell, her predecessor. Her criticism of his record is so thinly veiled that I half expect him to burst in, especially when she declares that what DfID needed was “someone to really show some leadership . . . and start making this department a proper government department”. Lucky the walls are thick. I point out that she has said nothing nice about him. There is an awkward pause. “I’ve not said anything about him, full stop,” she replies briskly. An aide immediately signals that the interview is over. We are on dangerous territory.” – Sunday Times (£)

Gove wants schools to open 51 weeks a year

“The proposals have been submitted to the School Teachers Review Body, an independent panel that vets teachers’ pay and working conditions, by Michael Gove, the education secretary. The panel is due to report by January 14, after which the government will decide whether to accept its recommendations. Gove wants to give schools more powers over pay, the length of holidays and working hours available to staff. He argues that “children in the Far East are often learning for many more hours than their peers in England”.” – Sunday Times (£)

IDS clashes with Trussel Trust

Screen shot 2013-12-22 at 08.45.10“Mould first wrote to Duncan Smith in June, saying that many of the problems people were facing could be tracked back to changes in their benefits, and to delays in the payment of them…[Duncan Smith] rejected any suggestion that the government was to blame. “I strongly refute this claim and would politely ask you to stop scaremongering in this way. I understand that a feature of your business model must require you to continuously achieve publicity, but I’m concerned that you are now seeking to do this by making your political opposition to welfare reform overtly clear.” – Observer

  • NHS England chairman complains about Jeremy Hunt – Observer

Redwood wants the top rate cut to 40p

“Tory Right-wingers are demanding the Prime Minister proves his low-tax credentials by pledging to slash the top rate of income tax from 45p to 40p. The call comes after senior figures – including Thatcherite ex-Minister John Redwood – gained a key role in drawing up policies for the party’s next General Election manifesto. Mr Redwood, given the job of feeding the demands of backbenchers into the manifesto, is set to make a cut to a 40p top rate the core of his proposals.” – Mail on Sunday

Douglas Alexander: Labour must ‘do God’ to fight anti-Christian persecution

Screen shot 2013-12-22 at 08.47.23“Mr Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, spoke out to voice his concerns about growing harassment and attacks suffered by Christians in the Middle East. Writing in the Telegraph, he warns that the mounting persecution of Christians is a “story that goes largely untold”, describing those who have spoken out on the issue, including the Prince of Wales, as lone voices. “Across the world, there will be Christians this week for whom attending a church service this Christmas is not an act of faithful witness, but an act of life-risking bravery. That cannot be right and we need the courage to say so,” Mr Alexander says.” – Sunday Telegraph

Alexander article in full

Adam Boulton: The Chilcot impasse. He wants to publish Blair memos. Sir Jeremy Heywood won’t let him. So he won’t move to his inquiry’s next stage.

“This row at the heart of the British establishment has become bruisingly personal. Chilcot insists that his eminent committee of privy councillors should be allowed to publish the material in its report ordered by parliament, not least because protocol has already been violated by disclosures in the memoirs of Blair, his chief of staff Jonathan Powell and Alastair Campbell, and even in the fictionalised stage play Loyalty, written by Powell’s journalist wife, Sarah Helm. Adding further piquancy, one of the characters who comes out worst in Helm’s play, Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6, is thought to be considering publishing his own version of events.” – Sunday Times (£)

  • Now Labour complains about Cameron’s links with lobbyist cleared over Villiers lunch – Mail on Sunday
  • Sadiq Khan studying plans to extend elections beyond one day a week – Sunday Times (£)
  • Syrian doctor’s family claims that Chuka Umunna failed to help him – Mail on Sunday
  • Asked down a bad phone line to discuss “Government failure,” Umunna replies: “Do you want the number of my tailor?” – Guido Fawkes, Sun on Sunday

Andrew Tyrie: The Intelligence and Security Committee is  a watchdog with no teeth or credibility

TYRIE Andrew“To rebuild confidence in the ISC’s independence, the Government should adopt the balanced proposals of the 2009 Wright Committee on parliamentary reform. The ISC chairman should be elected by MPs, subject to a prime ministerial veto over initial nominations. This would both bolster accountability to Parliament and provide the appropriate safeguards. The importance of restoring credibility to the appointment of chairmen should not be underestimated. The manner of these appointments, under the last government, did much damage to the ISC’s standing.” – Independent on Sunday

John Rentoul: “The more successful Ukip is, the harder it is for Farage to maintain the anti-politics pose.”

“Then Farage comes up against another limit. The more successful Ukip is, the harder it is for him to maintain the anti-politics pose. His dinner with Rupert Murdoch in March made him look like just another politician; and it is notable that he rarely mentions same-sex marriage, although it really animates his new recruits. His reluctance is part of his desire to keep his party away from some of the fruitier cakes of the better yesterday brigade, such as Godfrey Bloom, the former Ukip MEP who yesterday accused Farage of having done a deal with the Tories to stand aside in some seats in return for a peerage. (As if: the party would lynch him.)” – Independent on Sunday

  • Farage embroiled in row over lack of leadership – Observer

News in Brief

  • Screen shot 2013-12-22 at 08.53.17Scottish independence: Ex-Tory MSP backing Yes – Scotland on Sunday
  • EU loses AAA rating in S&P downgrade – Observer
  • Peers guilty of flouting lobbying rules – Sunday Times (£)
  • China cracks down on Bitcoin: why can’t we? – Louise Mensch, Sun on Sunday
  • Chinese military reacts angrily to Japan swelling defence force – Observer
  • Fracking protests head north as activists mass on proposed Manchester shale gas exploration sites – Sunday Telegraph
  • More than 100 convicted perverts have used a human rights ruling to get off the sex offenders register – The Sun on Sunday (£)
  • Interview with Lee Rigby’s fiancee – Mail on Sunday
  • ‘Asbos’ to silence 25 hate clerics – Sunday Times (£)
  • Nigella 1) Scotland Yard U-turns on drugs investigation – Sunday Telegraph
  • Nigella 1) Grillo sisters claim she was “a spaced-out zombie” – Sun on Sunday
  • Nigella 2) In defence of my sister – Dominic Lawson, Sunday Times (£)
  • Abbey Clancy wins Strictly Come Dancing – Sunday Express

Christmas Stories In Brief

14 comments for: Newslinks for Sunday 22nd December 2013

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text:
By Peter Hoskin
Follow Peter on Twitter

Energy Bill will be debated in Parliament today, but the scrap is already
underway on the streets of Westminster. CCHQ has today released a graphic – contained within Grant Shapps' tweet, above – pointing to a stark choice: an immediate £61 rise in your energy bills under
Labour’s current plans versus a “potential saving” of £158 under the Conservatives’.
That graphic is also pasted at the bottom of this post.

do the numbers come from? The £158 is from an Ofgem report which suggests that people
can save up to that much by switching to the cheapest tariff deal on the
market, as the Tories’ policies allow. The other figure is based on Ed Miliband’s
opposition to solar subsidy reforms which have, apparently, already saved an average
£61 for each household.

course, the number on Ed Miliband’s side of the ledger could rise or fall
depending on what other policies he has in store – but CCHQ is keen to stress that
“this is a minimum figure, as Ed Miliband also wants to hike bills by wasting
money on a rebrand of the Ofgem regulator, and on reorganising the utilities
market so that energy is ‘pooled’ for auction”. They’re not giving any ground in
the battle over the cost of living.

others aren’t prepared to give ground, either. In his article
for ConservativeHome
yesterday, Charles Hendry – a self-described “enthusiastic
supporter of a low-carbon economy” – explained why he won’t support Tim Yeo’s
calling for decarbonisation targets for 2030. “The costs of
getting it wrong would have to be picked up by consumers for decades to come,”
is how he put it.

here’s that graphic again:

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text:
By Mark Wallace
Follow Mark on Twitter.

GoveToday's A-Level results provide further evidence that the simplistic grade-is-good analysis is being replaced by an appreciation for a more rigorous exam system.

For the second year in a row, the proportion of A or A* grades awarded has fallen (by 0.3 per cent to 26.3 per cent).

Interestingly, it seems pupils are also gravitating towards those subjects which have traditionally been more academically demanding, suggesting they also appreciate the value of a more rigorous set of qualifications.

While the uptake of General Studies has collapsed by 30.4 per cent since 2010, Law has fallen by 14.3 per cent  and Business Studies has declined by 9.3 per cent, the number taking Chemistry is up 23.7 per cent and Maths is up by 19.2 per cent. Economics saw a jump of 7.4 per cent in a single year.

As the CBI suggests, It seems no coincidence that these changes have happened since the introduction of increased tuition fees. Pupils are placing a greater value on more difficult subjects which have greater relevance to their eventual careers, and are abandoning more whimsical subjects that offer less practical benefit in their later life.

Gove's reforms are rippling through the system.

The knock-on effect is that the nation is gaining more mathematicians and more scientists: a welcome reversal of what had been a damaging trend.

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Where everyone knows your name

Who does not remember what this is from? Yes, “Cheers” where this is the theme song, and when Norm walks in, everyone says his name. Isn’t that a great feeling? To be missed because you were gone for months as you recuperate from surgery? To receive invitations to lunch? I am from Southern California and it just blows my mind when this little town of 25,000 people are somehow connected by marriage, years of school together or otherwise related or known. I think there are no six degrees of separation here – it is more like 4. But I also wish I would’ve had something like that growing up. Where you can see the change of how the city has changed with newly paved roads (yes, I remember gravel roads when we first moved here), new businesses come to town, and progress as it changes the residents. I moved around a lot when I was younger and looking back, probably was not very grounded to one location. To some people, that is hard to comprehend because that is all they have ever had. They grew up in one place, went to school in one place, went off to college, to come back to live in that one place. That wasn’t me. But every time, I visit family, I cannot wait to get back home. This is where I have lived for almost 14 years now and I love it here. This is where I am most comfortable. I like knowing that I can walk into one of the local restaurants or stores and maybe run into someone I know, but also know I might not. I get that feeling every time I walk into Rock’s store…she always says the same thing – just like it was the something the Seven Dwarfs would say. Don’t get me wrong – not everyone knows my name, but they might know one of my sons, or my husband. They might know my neighbor or someone I work with. That’s what I am talking about – those degrees of separation that are a lot closer than we think. Who knows your name? Is there a place where you live that you can walk into and know “I belong here.” Someone told me she learned that lesson several months ago when not one person acted like they were glad to see her after being gone. Not one. Sometimes the words not said say more than we think they will. When someone you love and care about stops by to pick up a piece of chocolate from your office, use their name. I love to be able to call people by their names – it connects me with them and I want to be able to do that, even at different levels. If you know how this makes you feel when someone calls you by your name, return the favor. It has been said that “What’s in a name?” but sometimes it means much more than we think it does. It makes us feel that we belong, that we are loved, that we are home. Nothing is better than that.

Michelle Homme 2011 ©

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British singer Cheryl Cole regrets asking a friend to shoot her upcoming fly-on-the-wall Tv show because she divulged more personal information than she would have if a stranger was behind the camera.

The Girls Aloud star filmed a documentary during her time on the road with her solo gigs in October (12), and even let cameras catch her kissing and cuddling her new boyfriend, backing dancer Tre Holloway.

The Tv programme, titled Cheryl: Access All Areas, is set to air in the U.K. on Tuesday night (20Nov12), and Cole admits she "cringed" when she first saw the show.

In a series of posts on her page, she writes, "I literally had a friend of mine filming so that I would not feel like I had a 'camera crew' in my way and at times forgot myself.

"I have since regretted this decision at (sic) the number of times I cringed watching it... Oh well... It is def (definitely) Access All Areas. Up close personal and raw hahaha."


text:
September 19th, 2015

Residents of Quebec can enter here for a chance to win $1000 for a party and a 2 house cleanings from Hertel Cleaning Squad. Don’t tell your friends about the cleaning service though. If they’re anything like mine they’ll think that means they can make all sorts of messes all around your house. I should really make new friends. Good Luck!

Entry Frequency: single
Open to: QC
Age: age of majority

Expires November 30, 2015

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text:
Attention all Forum Users.
We’re working on a brand new shiny tool to make your experience as simple as possible.
Which means the community forums is now read only whilst we work on a new & improved ‘My Contiki’ space.

European Magic starting 12/25 - Switzerland question

18 Aug 2009 Diane said

I've been looking at going on this tour, and I found that for the winter tours there isn't a mountain excursion offered for Switzerland. I'm bummed - I was so looking forward to going up in the mountains. Anyone know of anyway to make this happen? Can this be done "on your own"?

Thanks!
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  • Diane

Visas? Money? Where to go? Chat to us about travel.