October 18, 2009

An increasing number of children in Africa are being accused of witchcraft by pastors and then are harmed or killed, often by family members. "Around 15,000 children have been accused in two of Nigeria's 36 states over the past decade and about 1,000 have been murdered. In the past month alone, three Nigerian children accused of witchcraft were killed and another three were set on fire." This isn't happening just in Nigeria; it's estimated that tens of thousands of children have been targeted throughout Africa. A spokesman for the U.N.'s Children's Fund says that poverty, conflict, and poor education lay the foundation for accusations. Some suspect that with the rapid growth in evangelical Christianity, there are so many churches that making witchcraft accusations has helped churches to remain competitive. Pastors are seen as more spiritually powerful because they can detect witches. (Full Story)

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Interesting article on civil marriages in the middle east. Because of strict religious rules, interfaith couples are not able to get married in their country. "In the middle east, civil marriage doesn't exist and no religious authority will perform an interfaith marriage. Lebanon and Israel are different in that they recognize civil marriages as long as they're performed abroad." The closest country that performs these marriages is the island of Cyprus. Last year, Cyprus married 523 couples from Lebanon and 1,533 from Israel. (Full story)

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Interesting tidbit: There are more marijuana stores/dispensaries in Los Angeles than there are public schools. As the numbers are getting so high, officials are trying to crack down on these dispensaries by prosecuting those that turn a profit. (Full Story)

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Rush Limbaugh wanted to become part-owner of the St. Louis Rams. A lot of people were against this, including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who thought Rush's divisive comments would not be acceptable for an NFL owner. Once again, Rush Limbaugh shows the NFL they made the correct decision...Rush wrote an op-ed that blames Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson for making comments that helped to play a role in him being kicked out of the group that was trying to buy the team [yeah, Rush, it's their fault..]. Rush went on to say that Rev. Al Sharpton played "a leading role" in two riots. Sharpton says these allegations are false, and that he wasn't present for or involved in the rioting. Unless Limbaugh apologizes and clarifies his statement, Sharpton will file a lawsuit. Sharpton's spokeswoman said, "He has the right to criticize Rev. Sharpton, but he does not have the right to accuse him of criminal activity, and riots and murders are criminal." (Full Story)