Moria's Place

mardi 13 mars 2012

Symbols of faith.

Am I missing something here?

I was reading through the Daily Mail online today and I came across what, on the surface, was an amusing article on prisoners worshipping ‘skyclad’, which led me to follow the link to the serious ‘related’ article about this issue. This in turn reminded me of the recent article about the Christian airport check-in staff member being banned for wearing her cross and I just can’t escape the conclusion that I’m missing something crucial here.

On the one hand the government are in the process of going through a costly legal battle to stop law-abiding Christians from having the right to wear the symbol of their faith (a simple little cross on a chain that most people don’t even notice as they are usually so tiny anyway) at their place of work; while on the other, they are permitting prisoners to demand the right to dictate what they can and can’t have access to in their cells based on a religion that most of them have only adopted to cause a stir or get benefits that other inmates don’t have! Has this country gone stark staring mad!!!

I am all for human rights, don’t get me wrong, but the human rights act was designed to protect the innocent and downtrodden. Those people living under intolerable conditions and at the whims of terrible dictators. It was not designed to be a tool for people who have so little concern for their fellow man that they will steal, harm, push drugs onto and/or murder said fellow man, to gain benefits and/or cause mayhem in the prisons they have (for the most part) been so rightly sent to. A prison sentence is supposed to be a punishment and a deterrent but this sort of nonsense is why so many criminals couldn’t care tuppence about getting caught and sentenced.

As for the cross wearing Christians, what’s the problem? I wear my Pentagram every day, on a chain around my neck, usually tucked under my collar but often in full view (it depends on what top I’m wearing) and that is my right! I have a right to wear the symbol of my chosen faith at all times unless there is a security or safety reason not to (i.e. an area with a strong magnetic field such as an MRI scan room or going through metal detectors at security checkpoints and then I am usually given the choice to take it off or leave), the same should apply to all religions. Stopping Christians from wearing the cross is no different from asking a Sikh to stop wearing their turbans and, as was seen recently in another DM article, the government continues to permit females to go through customs at airports etc; wearing their burqa’s which is a clear security threat (and all hell would break loose if that were to happen), but a Christian can’t wear a cross. Get real people! It’s just a piece of jewelry, it could as easily be a patch sewn onto a garment or a design feature of their garments, or even a ring on their finger, the point is just that, it’s a simple necklace which many non-christians wear too) and unless the environment they work in makes it dangerous to wear one then they should be allowed that choice. if not then ALL jewelry in the workplace should be banned across the board! Perhaps the cross does not have any ‘legal’ status as a ‘symbol of faith’ but neither does the wearing of the Burqa or the Turban (unless I miss my guess). The important point here is, in my humble opinion, why is it even being considered that these rights should be given to convicted criminals in prisons while the same rights are in the process of being stripped from the general public.

(See below for links to the full articles concerned)

Minister in legal battle to STOP Christians being able to wear a cross to work

Move is from Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone
It puts the Government at odds with its own equality quango

By STEVE DOUGHTY and NICK FAGGE

PUBLISHED: 00:01 GMT, 12 March 2012 | UPDATED: 10:00 GMT, 12 March 2012

Let us pray in the nude and wear hooded robes in our cells, demand pagan prisoners

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 00:14 GMT, 12 March 2012 | UPDATED: 07:31 GMT, 12 March 2012

dimanche 4 mars 2012

Intentions change.

Isn’t it strange how intentions change? I recently popped into a shop that had been suggested to me as a place where I might get a piece of Malachite as I was away from home and had forgotten the one I always hold when I’m sleeping, as it helps me sleep better and have clearer dreams. Anyway, a good while later I leave, but not with the Malachite!, instead I leave with a beautiful Silver filigree pendulum with 7 interchangeable crystal ‘sugar loafs’ and feeling a millions times happier than when I went in.

It has to be said I wouldn’t have noticed the shop if I hadn’t been sent by a friend with local knowledge but I’m glad she sent me, the owners where so friendly and welcoming that I felt like I’d been going there for years (Ooo, déjà-vu - shades of Crystal Moon in Goring looming up – actually the first thing I noticed was the Wildwood Tarot deck I bought there!) and really wouldn’t have left if I’d not been on such a tight schedule. Craft Crazy is a bit Tardishish (new word and I’m keepin’ it!) as, when seen form the outside it looks like a small craft/gift shop sitting beside a small tattoo parlour, but when you go in it’s actually this big, bright New Age gift shop with a tattoo parlour behind the counter.

So, what started out as a quick pop into a shop to find a piece of tumbled Malachite to help me sleep, turned into a little voyage of discovery, the acquisition of a beautiful piece of divination equipment and a reminder not to ‘judge a book by it’s cover’ confirming very firmly that intentions' can so easily be changed and I will definitely be going there again when I am next in the Fareham area.

jeudi 1 mars 2012

How is this only now news?

Barbaric torture of 83 children branded witches: Case of boy beaten to death over four days exposes horrifying crimewave fuelled by medieval beliefs

Kristy Bamu's sister Magalie, 29, and her partner Eric Bikubi spent three days torturing youngster
Police found knives, sticks, metal bars and a hammer and chisel in squalid east London flat where Kristy died on Christmas Day 2010
He was accused by the pair of taking part in kindoki - or African voodoo
Scotland Yard has investigated 83 ritualistic or faith-based abuse cases in the last 10 years

Yes, you read it right, This is happening right now in London (and who knows how many more of our Towns and Cities). and what makes it even worse is the fact that it is their own children that they are killing and brutalising. This is barbaric and, yes, medieval (with a hug emphasis on Evil) and it has, it seems, been going on for a long time (at least ten years) so how is it only now becoming public knowledge. The maniacs who did this were the boys oldest sister and her husband and they are facing a potential life sentence for their actions, big deal!, ‘life’ nowadays can mean just a few years and the prisoners seem to have more rights than the general population and then they walk free. What about that poor buy and the way his life ended,, what about his parents who have lost a son, have a murderer for a daughter and two other sons and daughters who have to live with what we are told they were forced to participate in for the rest of their lives.

I say quite clearly that we should bring back the death sentence for people like this, no two ways about it, even by their own standards in these cases it should very definitely be a case of A LIFE FOR A LIFE!

jeudi 23 février 2012

8 more recovered from the Wreck

My heart goes out to the families and friends of the 32 people drowned in this terrible event and we here at Moria's Place continue to send healing and support to them via the 'Healing Place' but I still cannot forget the miracle that has taken place that has resulted in there being only 32 fatalities during this terrible event. Let us not forget that this is a case where a ship with over four thousand passengers went down, at night, and the captain and most of the crew deserted their posts and left the majority to fend for themselves, over half the lifeboats were pinned down or un-launchable and it was freezing cold and pitch-black in the water that most of the passengers were forced to jump into.

In my book, the loss of only 32 souls is a miracle, as is the recovery today of another 8 bodies, meaning that 25 of those families will have been able to achieve some measure of closure of this terrible event (though I’m certain they will still wait for the full closure of seeing the Captain and crew members bought to book for their cowardice and incompetence!)

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104938/Eight-bodies-Costa-Concordia-including-missing-year-old-girl-salvage-workers-reveal-intricate-hand-drawn-plans-recover-victims.html#ixzz1nCpUChrq

Eight more bodies are found on Costa Concordia including missing five-year-old girl as salvage workers reveal intricate hand-drawn plans to recover more victims
Officials say 32 people drowned in the disaster but only 17 bodies had been retrieved before the new announcement
Body of a five-year-old girl, is believed to be youngest victim Dyana Arlotti
Prosecutors are investigating seven more people over the disaster including employees of the ship's operator Costa Crociere

mercredi 22 février 2012

Education about Pagans in our schools

I got this article sent to me in my newsletter subscription from http://paganwiccan.about.com and thought it should be shared.

Much the same thing has happened in English schools too with a Pagan parent I know offering to go in and talk on the subject only to find that the 'open' invitation to educate the classes on various religions suddenly wasn't so 'open' as before. While Pagans are much freer to live their lives than they have ever been there is still a heck of a lot of prejudice and fear out there.
In fairness, there are also schools out there that are actually giving teachers the opportunity to pass on this knowledge to our children as I know that at least one of my site members is a non-Pagan teacher in a school that has supported him in teaching his students about the Pagan religion as equally as other religions.
In my humble opinion it is incumbent on every one of us to challenge this prejudice in as non-confrontational a manner as possible, for as long as is necessary, to bring Pagan's on a par with all other religions in our schools.

Fear and Loathing in Buncombe County
By Patti Wigington, About.com Guide February 6, 20

http://paganwiccan.about.com/b/2012/02/06/fear-and-loathing-in-buncombe-county.htm?nl=1

lundi 20 février 2012

Designer paints and Charity shops.

While checking out the paper for interesting stories today to highlight on my community page here at www.moriasplace.com I stumbled upon an article about ‘designer label’ paint.

Personally, I think it is a great idea for the paint company to have donated the end of line paints to charity and it is an equally great idea for the charity shop itself to be careful of who is in receipt of the said paint (more companies should take a leaf out of their book), but they (the charity shop) seem to be overlooking one small fact…

Being a low-income family does not necessarily equal being on benefits! Many families are on and income that amounts to ‘living on the breadline’ but are just outside of the legal limits for receiving state benefits, are they then to be refused the possibility of benefiting from the largess of Farrow & Ball’s donation. Perhaps the most equitable method of dealing with this would be for the charity to adopt a policy of only allowing registered charitable organisations to purchase said paint from them as they would have the resources and background information already available to determine the people who genuinely have low incomes whilst not penalising those who have just enough income to not be in receipt of any benefits.

You're too rich to shop here: Wealthy turned away from charity shop selling posh £58 Farrow & Ball paint at £5 a tin because 'it's meant for struggling families'

One well-to-do homeowner bought 40 litres, saving £424
Now shop demands proof that buyers are on benefits

By SUZANNAH HILLS

Last updated at 10:44 AM on 20th February 2012

lundi 2 janvier 2012

Did I miss something?

Did I miss something? Since when has London been putting on an American style parade on New Years Day? Just one more step on the slippery slope to the Americanisation of England and the loss of our British identity!

That's one way to cure the hangover: Revelers take New Year's Day dip in icy firth as thousands gather on streets of London for annual parade
By EMILY ALLEN
Last updated at 6:41 PM on 1st January 2012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me make myself clear…………I am not anti-America!

That said, I am anti-Britain being Americanised! We, in Britain have a unique identity with a rich and varied history and I for one, think it is one we should strive to maintain. Instead we seem hell bent on becoming a clone of the USA.

We should be striving to keep our individuality not become a poor imitation of any other country and be proud of our heritage, there’s a lot to be proud of, after all people all over the world do everything they can to prove their links to our component parts. The very Americans we seem to be trying, as a nation, to become are always banging on about how they have finally proved their ancestors were Scottish or Irish and even on occasion Welsh (not hard I would have thought since they all stem from the Pilgrim Fathers anyway unless they are descendants of the Native American tribes that were the original Americans)

Britons, why not stop trying to be something your not and put all that effort back into being proud to be British and let’s put the GREAT back into Great Britain!