Witchy Woman

"The lower house in the central African nation of Burundi has passed legislation making homosexuality a federal crime.
The legislation, which must first be approved by Burundi’s senate, is part of a sweeping reform of the country’s legal system that for the first time abolishes the death penalty and creates laws on genocide.
The new law[s] also protect women and children from all forms of violence - especially sexual violence.
Burundi is struggling to emerge from a civil war that has resulted in more than 300,000 deaths since 1993. The provisions on genocide and the abolition of the death
penalty are considered part of the healing process, but increasingly, hardliners have blamed many of the country’s problems on gays."

"As they beat me with sticks and whips, the soldiers repeatedly shouted, ‘We will crush you! We will crush you!' Then they threatened to kill me and others who opposed Kabila."

"At 3 in the morning seven Republican Guards came into the prison. They took 10 of the prisoners, tied their hands, blindfolded them, and taped pieces of cardboard over their mouths so they couldn't scream. The captain who did this said he had received orders. He said he would drink the blood of Equateurians that night. They took them away.... I knew one of the guards and asked what had happened. He said the others had been taken to the [Congo] river near Kinsuka and killed."

"They started to hit me. They stripped off my clothes. They took four sets of handcuffs and tied my hands behind me and then to my feet. I was thrown on the ground in this position... They gave me electric shocks all over my body. They put the electric baton in my anus and on my genitals.... I cried so much that I could hardly see any more. I shouted I would sign whatever they wanted me to."

"Kabila took a decision to beat-up on Bemba and to teach him a lesson."

"We all saw this coming, but again we did not do enough to avert the crisis."

"You JED who do you think you are? If you don't agree with the regime, go into exile and wait until your champion takes power. If you don't leave we'll help to shut you up for good. We won't miss. Too much is too much. You have been warned."

"Afghan authorities have arrested 10 Taliban militants in connection with this month's acid attack on schoolgirls, a provincial governor said Tuesday.
The militants confessed and said they were paid 100,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,265) to carry out the acts, said Rahmatullah Raufi, governor of Kandahar, where the November 12 attack occurred.
The men said high-ranking Taliban officials in Pakistan paid them to cross the porous border to carry out the attack, Raufi said.
The attackers used water pistols to spray acid on girls walking to school in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, blinding at least two of them, U.S. military officials said at the time.
Kandahar government spokesman Parwaz Ayoubi gave different figures on the number of girls injured, saying that six were burned, including one severely. He called the attackers "enemies of education."
Girls were forbidden to attend school under the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, when U.S.-led forces removed them."

"Barely three weeks since America elected its first black president, noose hangings, racist graffiti and death threats have struck dozens of towns across the country.
More than 200 such incidents - including cross burnings, assassination betting pools and effigies of President-elect Barack Obama - have been reported, according to law enforcement authorities and the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups."

"You said recently the real issue behind the anti-gay marriage movement is the crisis in the family. What do you mean?
American families are under a great deal of stress. The divorce rate isn't declining, it's increasing. And the majority of American women are now living alone. We are raising children in America without fathers. I think of Michael Phelps at the Olympics with his mother in the stands. His father was completely absent. He was negligible; no one refers to him, no one noticed his absence.
The possibility that a whole new generation of American males is being raised by women without men is very challenging for the churches. I think they want to reassert some sort of male authority over the order of things. I think the pro-Proposition 8 movement was really galvanized by an insecurity that churches are feeling now with the rise of women.
Monotheistic religions feel threatened by the rise of feminism and the insistence, in many communities, that women take a bigger role in the church. At the same time that women are claiming more responsibility for their religious life, they are also moving out of traditional roles as wife and mother. This is why abortion is so threatening to many religious people -- it represents some rejection of the traditional role of mother.
In such a world, we need to identify the relationship between feminism and homosexuality. These movements began, in some sense, to achieve visibility alongside one another. I know a lot of black churches take offense when gay activists say that the gay movement is somehow analogous to the black civil rights movement. And while there is some relationship between the persecution of gays and the anti-miscegenation laws in the United States, I think the true analogy is to the women's movement. What we represent as gays in America is an alternative to the traditional male-structured society. The possibility that we can form ourselves sexually -- even form our sense of what a sex is -- sets us apart from the traditional roles we were given by our fathers."

"The state Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined to reconsider its decision in a child custody case in which the child's father claimed the child's mother practiced Wicca.Two judges dissented, accusing the majority of embarking on "a grand inquisition."

In a per curiam order, the appeals court denied without explanation a petition for rehearing filed by the child's mother, who claimed a Chicot County circuit judge's decision granting custody of her child to the child's father was based in large part on the judge's finding that the mother was involved in a "cult." "

"A draft resolution scheduled for consideration by a committee of the United Nations General Assembly threatens to criminalize criticism of religion.
In its current form, the resolution would declare defamation of religion to be a violation of international law. The resolution’s drafters hope to circumvent free-speech statutes in other countries, including the United States’ own First Amendment."

"Opponents of a voter approved measure banning unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children in Arkansas are calling on lawmakers to overturn it.
About 300 people gathered at the Capitol to denounce the ban, known as Act 1 and approved Nov. 4 by voters. Act 1 does not have the power of a constitutional amendment, but does change state law to make fostering and adoption by unmarried people illegal.
A two-thirds vote by the legislature could overturn it.
Protesters carried signs saying “Kids need loving homes: Repeal Act 1.” The rally was organized by a number of LGBT rights groups.
Among the speakers was Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen who said Act 1 ties the hands of judges to the detriment of children in state care.
“In the name of justice I am here to ask you to say to legislatures please respect the judges that the people of Arkansas have elected to do their job,” he said.
Griffen, who also is a pastor, drew on Biblical references to criticize Act 1, referencing Jesus and Naomi and Ruth from the Old Testament, saying “[none of them] would be allowed to foster or adopt a child according to Act 1.”
Act 1 passed by 57 percent of votes. The voter initiative was organized by the socially conservative group behind the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
Although it does not specifically mention same-sex couples, Act 1’s target was gay pairs and grew out of a controversial state supreme court ruling last year.
Arkansas’s Child Welfare Agency Review Board had established a policy in 1999 that banned gay people from serving as foster parents, and the Arkansas Supreme Court struck it down after a seven-year legal battle between the state and the ACLU."

"Police are investigating a death threat against Vermont Senate Majority Leader John Campbell, made a day after the Democrat announced he would introduce a marriage equality bill in the new session of the legislature.
The threat was made by an anonymous woman angry over the proposed bill who telephoned Campbell. Campbell said she threatened to blow up his home.
“It is disturbing,” Campbell told the Times Argus newspaper. “You never can tell if this is someone who is giving an emotional reaction or if there is some seriousness to it.”
Campbell said the threat was not just directed at him but also at his family. “They should not be exposed to threats of this type,” Campbell said. “You don’t expect that in Vermont.”
Campbell already has drafted the same-sex marriage bill. It would amend Vermont’s landmark civil union law to allow gay and lesbian couples full marriage.
Vermont was the first state in the country to legalize civil unions in 2000."

"His bill, which has already been drafted, would specifically exempt religious organizations from having to recognize such marriages, Campbell added. Campbell said it is one thing to have someone react with a threat against a lawmaker, however distasteful and worrisome. However, his family was also threatened by Wednesday's phone call, which police are investigating, he said."

"Residents of the small Arkansas town of Eureka Springs noticed the homosexual community was growing. But they felt no threat. They went about their business as usual. Then, one day, they woke up to discover that their beloved Eureka Springs, a community which was known far and wide as a center for Christian entertainment--had changed. The City Council had been taken over by a small group of homosexual activists. The Eureka Springs they knew is gone. It is now a national hub for homosexuals. Eureka Springs is becoming the San Francisco of Arkansas. The story of how this happened is told in the new AFA DVD “They’re Coming To Your Town.”
One of the first actions of the homosexual controlled City Council was to offer a “registry” where homosexuals could register their unofficial “marriage.” City Council member Joyce Zeller said the city will now be promoted, not as a Christian resort, but a city “selling peace, relaxation, history and sex.”
AFA’s “They’re Coming ToYour Town” documents the story of how and why this happened. And how homosexual activists plan to do the same in other towns. Order a copy of “They’re Coming To Your Town.” Watch it. Then take the 28-minute DVD and share it with your Sunday School class and local church. This is a story the liberal media will never tell, but one you need to know." (Via Shakespeare's Sister)

"ROMANCE -- The lure of romance keeps Eureka Springs at the top of the list for getaway destinations. On any given day, somewhere in this historic hamlet, a couple is beginning their wedded bliss together, an anniversary is being celebrated, a marriage proposal is being proffered, or a spark is being rekindled. Eureka Springs has long been a special place for lovers."

" "On December 10th, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"- and donate your time to service."
The idea of 'calling in gay' could be an issue in the 30 states where lesbian, gay and bisexual employees have no legal protection against discrimination at work.
The organisers have provided a list of other activities that may not involve coming out in the workplace."

"Students who make politically incorrect comments at Ontario’s Queen’s University, in Canada, can expect a lecture, whether they’re in or out of class.
The Kingston university has hired student facilitators to step in if they overhear students making homophobic or racial slurs, remarks bashing women or other offensive language.
The dean of student affairs at Queen’s says if students are making offensive comments loud enough for others to hear, it’s not a private conversation anymore. Jason Laker says the facilitators use a respectful, non-confrontational approach.
But Angela Hickman, who edits a campus newspaper, says having such a program could stifle public discussion."
(Via)

"The California Supreme Court agreed today to review legal challenges to Prop. 8, the voter initiative that restored a ban on same-sex marriage, but refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a ruling.

Meeting in closed session, the state high court asked litigants on both sides for more written arguments and scheduled a hearing for next March. The court also signaled its intention to decide the fate of existing same-sex marriages, asking litigants to argue that question."

"A proposed high school for LGBT students under intense criticism has been retooled in a bid to win approval. The Chicago Board of Education put off voting on the Social Justice High School—Pride Campus last month, following criticism by conservative religious groups that it was catering to “a special class” of students, and concerns by Mayor Richard Daley and some LGBT leaders that it would segregate gay students.
The new plan would see the school’s mission expanded to include all disenfranchised students and the name changed to Social Justice Solidarity High School.
The revised mission will be presented Wednesday to the Chicago Board of Education. If it is approved, it would open in 2010.
“While the school will be open to all students, its special mission will be to provide a haven where students can feel safe and valued for who they are,” the school’s new mission statement says."

"Colorado Independent reports that Focus on the Family “is poised to announce major layoffs to its Colorado Springs-based ministry and media empire today.”
The layoffs come after the right-wing group spent more than $600,000 to defeat marriage equality in California. Praising the passage of Prop. 8, the group said that the measure “helps protect millions of children from radical indoctrination in the homosexual lifestyle.” The group also touted its involvement collecting signatures and gathering donations, patting itself on the back for being “integrally involved” in the fight against marriage equality."