Sunday, May 20, 2012 12:21

Archive for February, 2010

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

No Need for Religion to Instill Ethics

Friday, February 12th, 2010

In an article that appears on the Telegraph.co.uk, a new study reveals that people that do not follow any religion or that do not hold religious beliefs know the difference between right and wrong just as much as a regular worshipper does. We needed a study to confirm this?

A team of researchers from Harvard University conducted a study and found that the majority of today’s world religions have a moral code which is used to help keep society organized. The study, recently published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences reveals that people with no religious background have intuitive judgments of what is wrong and what is right and those judgments are the same as those made by believers.

According to Dr. Mark Hauser, from the University, some people believe that if there was no religion, morality would go out the window. Other people believe that a religion is merely a method for expressing moral intuitions. The researchers used a number of psychological studies that were created to test a person’s morality levels. According to Hauser, the tests have indicated that intuitive judgments of what is right and what is wrong operate independently from explicit religious commitments.

I guess this study clearly suggests that all those years that certain religions were imposed on members of society in an effort to control members of society and to keep them from committing crimes and behaving immorally, it was unnecessary since people actually have their own minds and are capable of making their own decisions. What a wonderful surprise! Who knew?

Read more about the study on religion and morality.

Tags:
Posted in Other Religions | No Comments »

Cat Predicts Deaths with Impressive Accuracy

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

In an article published on the Telegraph.co.uk on February 1st, a story reveals how a cat has managed to predict some fifty deaths in a Rhode Island nursing home. A cat named Oscar has the strange ability to detect when the patients in the nursing home are going to die and the cat will often curl up by the patients that will die during their final hours.

According to an assistant professor from Brown University and a geriatrician, Dr. David Dosa, Oscar has been monitored for a period of five years and the records indicate that the cat is hardly ever wrong in terms of predicting patients’ deaths. Oscar is not a social creature and he was adopted when he was a kitten. He now resides at a nursing home for people suffering from extreme dementia: the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center located in Providence.

The information about Oscar’s predictive capabilities was first documented in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Dosa in the year 2007. Since that time, Oscar has predicted an additional 25 deaths with complete accuracy. Oscar does not spend any time with patients that are not near death and only approaches those that are very close to dying. What’s more, if a patient is near death and Oscar cannot get into the room because of a closed door, the cat will scratch at the door in order to get in.

In one incident the nurse put the cat near a patient that they believed was very close to death. The cat would not remain by the patient and instead, headed off to another room and to a different patient who later died the same evening. The patient that the nurses believed was dying did not die for another two days. It has gotten to the point that when Oscar curls up with a patient, family and loved ones are immediately notified. Dr. Dosa suggests that Oscar, much like dogs that can actually smell cancer, may have the ability to smell ketones, the odored biochemicals generated by dying cells.

So is it something physical that the cat is capable of like smelling ketones or is it that the animal has some kind of psychic abilities. I’m leaning toward the latter. The fact that the nursing home has several other cats and none of them do what Oscar does kind of defeats the argument that cats can smell ketones from dying cells. It would certainly be interesting to see more research into the matter. Is it something the cat psychically senses or is there really something physical that makes Oscar unique? Animals have the ability to detect earthquakes before humans do and they can even sense when really bad weather is coming, so is there something about the death experience that animals can also sense? In Tails of the Afterlife: True Stories of Ghost Pets, author Peggy Schmidt writes of an incident where a dog’s puppies, sensing their father’s death, all began to howl simultaneously just before the dog’s passing and that the puppies didn’t stop howling until after the dog passed on. Clearly, some animals have the ability to sense death. What’s most interesting is that some animals respond to what they sense while other animals illustrate no response at all.

Find out more about Oscar.

Find out more about Tails of the Afterlife: True Stories of Ghost Pets by Peggy Schmidt.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Featured, The Strange and Weird | No Comments »

Being a Witch in the Central African Republic Puts You in Danger

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

If you are a witch in the Central African Republic, of if you are not a witch but you are accused of being one, chances are you’ll be convicted and imprisoned, or worse. Hundreds of individuals are imprisoned annually for practicing witchcraft in the region.

One man, Ange Mberkoulat was convicted and received a four year sentence after his fellow villagers accused him of trying to use magick to kill off one of his relatives. Mberkoulat is serving his sentence outside of prison because of the serious lack of prisons in the country, or at least he was, until he was imprisoned again. One United Nations study revealed that some fifty percent of people that are imprisoned in the Central African Republic are there because they have been accused of witchcraft. Here’s an idea; the Central African Republic should stop condemning people for witchcraft and maybe they will have improved prison resources and they will be able to imprison those criminals that really need to be behind bars. Just a thought.

Mberkoulat asserts that the accusations were false, but that didn’t stop the government from sentencing him, and it didn’t stop some people from beating his wife and burning down his home either. Mberkoulat’s wife, and child are now residing with another family member having lost everything, and Mberkoulat has been re-imprisoned at this time.

Witchcraft is considered a criminal offence in the Central African Republic and if one is accused of using witchcraft to cause the death of another, if convicted, one can be executed. The region is famed for abuse of prisoners, questionable and unethical investigative practices, and it practically sounds like the Salem witch trials, which actually occurred in Danvers, Massachusetts and not Salem (but that’s another story), are happening all over again, only this time on the opposite side of the globe.

According to the mission priest Father Aurelio Gazzera, the people that are often the target of accusations are the weak, those that live alone, and those that do little to stir up any kind of problems.

Read more information on the atrocities in the Central African Republic.

Tags:
Posted in Witchcraft Around the World | No Comments »

Catholic Church Frowns on Heavy Sedation Prior to Death

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

In a story appearing on the Telegraph.co.uk on February 3rd, it is revealed that the Roman Catholic Church feels that sedating patients just prior to their death to alleviate their pain prevents the patients from experiencing a “good death.” Apparently, a guide to spiritual care asserts that when a person is dying if they happen to get too much relief from pain via drugs then their semi-conscious state will leave the individual with the inability to make their peace and to say their goodbyes. The guide also further argues that medical professionals should not do anything that will shorten a person’s death experience intentionally.

This new spiritual guide is entitled “A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Care of the Dying Person,” and has been published by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales along with the assistance of some medical professionals, academics, and chaplains. The guide asserts that it is not acceptable to cease treatment in order to hasten death in any instance and that how one spends their remaining days on earth is more important than the actual length of one’s life. This same guide asserts that the over-treatment of patients with heavy drugs that leave them semi-conscious or unconscious inhibits their ability to have a good death and it hinders them from being able to settle things before they pass on.

I believe that people should die the way they choose to die and that the church should have no say in the matter. If a person is suffering terribly before death it is their right to seek out the type of relief that will make them the most comfortable even if it is at the cost of losing some of their lucidity just before their death. In fact, I believe that some people would much rather prefer to go into death in complete peace and would prefer not to be lucid at all. I’ve heard many people say “If I have to die, I would prefer to die in my sleep.” I understand that it may not always be necessary to sedate patients before death, but such a decision should be left solely to the patient and/or the family members. I don’t believe that this is something the church should really have a say on. It’s already bad enough that the church tries to rule over every aspect of a person’s life on earth and now they are putting forth guidelines on how people should die too?

If a person wants to be completely sedated just before death and they are relieved from suffering from a great deal of pain that is their right. Why should a person suffer without reason just to have a “good death?” Perhaps it is easier for some to transition into death without being forced to say their goodbyes or without spending their last hours filled with pain, emotional regret, or anxiety about death. There are many people that hang onto life and that seemingly wait for everyone to leave the hospital room before they pass on too, and it could be that the presence of loved one’s may actually cause the dying to linger longer than they might otherwise remain alive. What next? Is the church going to say that family and loved one’s should never leave the room of a dying loved one because it could hinder their ability to die a good death by causing them to die to quickly? Bottom line; let the dying be in peace and let them retain the dignity of choosing the way they want to die.

Read more about the spiritual guide offered by the Catholic Church.

Tags:
Posted in Other Religions | No Comments »

Is This Really a UFO Over the Kremlin in Russia

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

An article appearing in the Telegraph.co.uk in mid December of 2009 entitled “UFO Pyramid Report over Kremlin,” reveals a video with a pyramid shaped object hovering over the Kremlin in Russia. The size of the object was estimated to be roughly a mile wide in terms of size and two different film clips have been captured of the UFO.

The UFO film offered here was gathered from Youtube and is captured by a few men in a vehicle nearby the Kremlin; the film footage is captured at night, but there is clearly something in the sky above the Kremlin. Supposedly this UFO hovered over the Kremlin for a number of hours. Police will not comment on whether they received additional reports about the object or not.

According to the former Ministry of Defence UFO analyst, Nick Pope, the sighting is one of the most extraordinary UFO clips he’s ever witnessed. Nick Pope asserts that at first he believed what appears in the video was simply a reflection, but that the object appears to be actually positioned behind a power line which rules out the possibility that it is a reflection. A representative from the aerospace journal asserts that they have no clue what the object in the sky is.

Members of the community interested in ufology are arguing that this video capture might be a fake. Some people are curious as to why there are only a few clips of this video on offer and why more reports were not made or have not come forth. Some people question as to why this story hasn’t been on the top of world news reports too. There are even some arguments which suggest that a sighting such as the one revealed in this video would incite some kind of panic and/or that the gentlemen in the car capturing the video seem under emotional about the sighting. In contrast, it must be remembered that the police are not willing to talk about whether or not they received additional reports about the incident, and it must also be remembered that not everyone really pays adequate attention to what is going on in the sky above them as they go about their daily business; still, something of this tremendous size and proportion would seemingly earn a more powerful reaction.

Information source for UFO sighting over Kremlin.

Tags: ,
Posted in Ufology | 1 Comment »

India Plans to Make Witchcraft Illegal

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The government of India will make witchcraft illegal in the very near future; this plan is being pushed forward in a hope to cease all witch hunting and witchcraft practices. According to a report in the Examiner.com, witchcraft is being practiced in a variety of locations throughout India including Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

The United Nations is very concerned over the number of women being murdered that are presently accused of practicing witchcraft. Statistics reveal that from 1987 to 1993, a fourteen year period, more than 2500 women were accused of witchcraft and killed. The women, after being accused of witchcraft are put on display in front of the entire village and stripped naked, then beaten to death.

Just last month three men wearing masks broke into one villager’s home and killed a man and a woman after accusing them of witchcraft and their children were left orphans. According to reports, financial instability in certain regions in India are the cause of the witchcraft uprising and that people are getting involved in witchcraft because of the poor financial conditions.

This is another clear case where fear overrides sensibilities in every regard. It seems to me that some people are turning to witchcraft because they feel hopeless about their situations and are seeking a method of changing their lives for the better. Again, misunderstandings and misconceptions about witchcraft are fueling the fires of ignorance and it is leading to unnecessary deaths. It is a shame that even today there are people in the world that are either being accused of witchcraft and are innocent of the accusation, or there are people that are actually practicing the craft and being persecuted for it. It seems that in some parts of the world, it is deadly to be a witch or to even be considered one.

Find out more about the potential witchcraft banning in India.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Featured, Witchcraft Around the World | No Comments »

The Italians Find the Movie Paranormal Activity Way Too Frightening

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Right now, the Italian government is giving consideration to placing some restrictions on the movie Paranormal Activity after some of the movie goers had panic attacks. These events have caused consumer groups and childrens’ organizations to cite concerns about the film and its accessibility.

Viewers were tended to by emergency units after placing complaints about having palpitations and anxiety immediately after viewing Paranormal Activity. A fourteen year old was so disturbed that she was in shock and was given oxygen just outside the cinema where she viewed the film. Presently, the movie has no viewer restrictions in Italy; that was kind of silly because it is a horror movie and it really shouldn’t be considered okay for young kids.

Codacons, a consumer group, is now threatening to go to the courts for minors that have been terrified by the movie. According to Ignazio La Russa, the Defense Minister, the movie’s trailer should not be offered on television where young children can see it.

Okay, I get that the movie is probably not ideal for children, but come on folks. I’ve seen the movie. It’s not that scary. It really isn’t. The reaction to Paranormal Activity is blown way out of proportion; I’ve seen movies that were far more disturbing than this one and you don’t see them making headlines and giving people panic attacks. Honestly; if you are an adult and find this kind of stuff that disturbing you shouldn’t be watching “scary” movies in the first place.

Source for information on Paranormal Activity.

Tags: ,
Posted in Paranormal Movies | 1 Comment »

Goat Sucker Blamed for Chicken Deaths

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

In an article appearing on the elpasotimes.com, another story about a potential chupacabra attack emerges. Juan Miranda and Cesar Garcia, two men residing in Horizon City, Texas are blaming a chupacabra attack for the death of 30 of their chickens.

Miranda and Garcia have been living in Horizon City since they moved to the location from Chicago three years ago. According to the two men, their rabbits are presently hiding, the cat would not come down off the roof of their home for the entire weekend, their roosters did not crow and their dog did not bark, yet they discovered 20 chickens dead.

Garcia explained that he awoke on Saturday morning to find the 20 chickens had been killed, but that it was especially strange because there was no blood around the inside of the chicken coop. The chickens were all laying dead in a large pile. Garcia reasons that if it were a dog or some other animal that had been responsible for killing the chickens that there would have been a lot more blood and a far bigger mess. Yet, no human is responsible for the attack either, because Garcia photographed some strange tracks by the chicken coop that were clearly not human. The wounds found in each chicken appeared to be two small holes poked through their backs. The tracks were clearly consisting of a heel and paw. The men followed the tracks past their home, over a fence, and four blocks away before the tracks just seemingly disappeared.

On Sunday morning 10 more dead chickens were found dead inside a different chicken coop, and they were all killed in the same fashion. Miranda was surprised that none of the three dogs that they own barked to notify the family of any kind of intruder. According to the director of the Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society, Henry Flores, the paranormal investigative group researched the chupacabra in the northeast El Paso as well as in Chaparral. The team is now thinking of expanding their research to include the Horizon City region.

In the mid 1990s the first reports of the Chupacabra, otherwise called goat sucker, was reported in Puerto Rico. Following the first report, additional reports of chupacabra attacks began cropping up in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and the United States. The creature is commonly described as either having a reptilian appearance with a greenish colored skin that is scaly, and sometimes it is described as having sharp quills or spines on its back. Sometimes the creature is described as having a panther like face, large fangs, and a forked tongue. Some say that the chupacabra hisses and/or screeches when it has been alarmed and that it also leaves behind a bizarre, sulfuric odor. Meanwhile, other reports describe the chupacabra as appearing to be like a hairless dog with fangs. The creature is believed to feed on a variety of animals and not just goats; it is said that it will feed on birds, chickens, dogs, and horses too, sucking out their blood and sometimes organs too.

Read more about the reported chupacabra attack.

Tags: ,
Posted in Cryptozoology | 1 Comment »

Bored to Death

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Interestingly, in a news article appearing on Yahoo! News it’s revealed that there may actually be more meaning to the cliché “I’m bored to death.” A recent study conducted by scientists has revealed that boredom can actually be the death of you.

Researchers heralding from the University College London examined data collected from over 7500 civil servants. All of the civil servants were between the ages of 35 and 55; they were interviewed during a three year period from 1985 to 1988 and questioned about their experiences of boredom. The researchers then assessed the information to determine how many of the civil servants had died by April of 2009.

The civil servants that reported experiencing the most amount of boredom had a greater chance of dying before the conclusion of the study. In fact, the chances of dying were right around 37 percent. It’s likely that the boredom is not the single factor that determines if someone is more likely to die and that mood and habits play a key role. For instance boredom can lead to bouts of depression or a sense of life dissatisfaction. Boredom can also lead to baneful habits like excessive alcohol consumption or smoking which can hinder one’s health and life expectancy as well.

While this study sounds fascinating, I would be interested in reviewing the study further when it appears in the International Journal of Epidemiology later this week. I’m curious to know what other health factors may have been involved, if the civil servants had medical histories collected, and what other measures the researchers took to rule out other possible causes of death before making a link between the experience of excessive boredom and death. I’d also like to know more about the actual causes of death, whether they were natural or unnatural, and how the data was correlated. It would be interesting to know how the researchers separated incidents of actual depression from boredom. Finally, it would also be interesting to know if males or females are more likely to experience boredom and if there is any kind of genetic factors involved in increased experiences of boredom too.

Find out more about the study on boredom.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Science | No Comments »

More Details on the Ntsingizi Village Witchcraft Killings

Monday, February 8th, 2010

On the Dispatch Online, a news story begins to reveal the motivations of three men accused of killing a grandmother and her three grandchildren for witchcraft in Ntsingizi Village near Nqanduli. The mother of the three men accused of the crime explained that her three sons had been recently traumatized by the death of their own loved ones. Sorry, but this is hardly justification for killing an elderly woman and three children with spears and a bush knife. Plainly put, there is no justification for a crime like this.

The three men are accused of killing Nokitani Tshenesi, age 65, and her three young granddaughters, Nonkoliseki Malolo, age 10, Akhona Malolo, 13, and Phumeza Ntakana, 13. All the victims were discovered with multiple stab wounds and the wounds were inflected with spears and a bush knife.

The three men, Mkhuseli, 27, Lungile Mkewenke, 22, and Nkululeko, age 33, were later arrested; their bloody clothes and the two spears used to commit the crime were later found in their homestead. Local police explain the motive for the ruthless killings was witchcraft.

According to the mother of the three accused men, Notshukumile Mkwenkwe, 60, explained that her sons had come home from working in Durban and Johannesburg, to bury Nkululeko’s 30 year old wife, Nokwandisa who had died in December due to pregnancy complications. The child she carried also died. What’s more, Natoshukumile’s husband died at the age of 63 of cancer last May, and her granddaughter, Nomalinge had taken an overdose of tablets in the year 2001 and died. The sister of the three men being accused of the killings, Baliswa, asserted that the death of their father was taken hard by all members of the family because they were so dependent upon the father for financial support.

The terrible irony in this story is that the family of the accused and the family that was ruthlessly attacked had known each other and where close friends. Villagers in Ntsingizi explain that there was nothing that would even suggest that Tshenesi was at all involved in witchcraft, but in crimes like this that is often the case. The accused is often wrongfully accused and many people throughout history have died after being accused of witchcraft that were not witches at all. Of course, even if Tshenesi was a witch, there is no reason whatsoever that she should be killed for her beliefs or practices. The villagers also explained that this was not the first time that one of the elderly women in the village have been accused of witchcraft, and after the killing of Tshenesi, the women in the village have had their fears doubled. The elderly women in the village now fear sleeping and they fear the moment the sun sets.

Read more on this witchcraft killing.

Tags:
Posted in Witchcraft Around the World | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »