It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Saturday, September 26, 2020
DEJA VU DOO
THE TOMB: DEVIL'S REVENGE Trailer (2020) Shatner Vs. Satan PLOT: John Brock is a down-on-his-luck archaeologist who returns from an expedition to the caves of rural Kentucky, after unsuccessfully trying to locate a mysterious relic that his family has sought for generations. Upon his return, John starts to see dream-like visions of a ferocious bird-like creature from ancient folklore.
John soon learns that the cave he came into contact with on his last expedition was indeed the cave that contains the relic, and also a portal to Hell and a place of worship for the occult. John discovers that the only way to stop the increasingly realistic visions is to go back to the cave with his family, find the relic once and for all, and destroy it...
CAST: William Shatner, Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager), Jason Brooks (Star Trek, 2009), Jackie Dallas (Stranger Things) and Michael Yahn (Daredevil).
Nick Sweat1 week ago This movie's been out for close to a year now. It's horrible by the way, just warning anybody thinking of watching it>
Earl Richardson1 week ago (edited) Fact Check: Aired in 01-Oct.-2019 to watch try Amazon prime. It was released as "Devil's Revenge". In US.
WAIT A MINUTE SPEAKING OF REALLY BAD MOVIES WITH SHATNER VS SATAN
CHECK OUT THIS SEVENTIES DRIVE IN THROW BACK
Featuring William Shatner as Mark Preston, Ernest Borgnine as Jonathan Corbis, Tom Skerritt as Tom Preston, Ida Lupino as Mrs. Preston, Anton LaVey as High Priest, and John Travolta in his first feature film role as Danny ("Blasphemer! Blasphemer!").
Opinion:
A Little Bit of History Repeating – The New “Satanic Panic”
We live in a strange world, my friends, one that is populated with many colorful personalities and individuals. Our diversity is our strength. We have no shortage of opinions, perspectives, and voices and that myriad of voices is what makes the “alterative spirituality movement” as robust and vibrant as it is.
[Envanto Elements]
While many of those voices–if not most— are what adds strength and beauty to our communities, there are some that are – either in their ignorance or outright derangement — a growing threat to rational thought and the health of our society. A dire-sounding warning, and not one that I am leveling lightly.
I am referring to QAnon, the latest manifestation of group psychosis and hysteria to hit the scene since a failed businessman and mediocre reality TV show host was gobsmackingly elected to the nation’s highest office. Even I have been tempted to at least consider the possibility that the CERN collider timeline-slip theory might actually have some merit at this point. (Okay, fine – maybe not.)
A QAnon supporter at a 2019 rally for Donald Trump’s re-election [Marc Nozell, Wikimedia Commons, CC 2.0]
I’m a warlock of a certain age, and so I remember the Satanic Panic and what it did to real people’s lives. Accusations of a global Satanic conspiracy that had infiltrated police and governments abounded, in which member-families were alleged to ritually abuse and even sacrifice their children to the devil, often drinking their children’s blood in their macabre rites. No evidence was ever found, of course, because of “the conspiracy,” and perhaps even because of special technology not available to the public like portable cremation machines.
It was all so over the top that it’s hard to think anybody ever actually believed in it. But believe it they did, and real people went to jail without a scrap of physical evidence. The McMartin preschool scandal in 1983 was a precursor to the more recent Pizzagate, but both shared the same DNA: both involved accusations of occultist pedophiles operating with impunity under everyone’s noses, enough to stoke real fears even if nothing ever actually happened.
It might have been “fake news,” but real people’s lives were destroyed as a result. Like Damien Echols of the “West Memphis Three,” who in 1993, was wrongfully convicted, along with two other teens, of the grisly murders of three eight-year-old boys in what law enforcement and the media proclaimed to be the result of a “Satanic ritual.” While there was no physical evidence linking the teenagers to the murders, Echols was interested in the occult, and this proved to be all that was needed for the prosecution to focus on him in what became a literal witch trial.
Now in hindsight, it all sounds somewhat incongruous, in much the same way that the events of the Salem witchcraft trials might sound as much to the modern observer. But taken contextually, these intangible, unprovable accusations remain enough to stoke fear to the degree that eventually anything seems possible, even the otherwise unthinkable – no matter how far-fetched, demonstrably false, or downright absurd. The West Memphis Three spent eighteen years of their lives in prison because of unfounded fears and prejudices. And some people are still in prison because of the Satanic Panic today.
When I first heard of QAnon it seemed easy enough to dismiss. It’s not even that original an idea; it directly draws from anti-Semitic propaganda and repurposes many of the same claims and accusations that have been leveled against Jewish people for centuries, repackaging them for a new fad movement of pop hatred, only disguised in the form of defending the vulnerable. The ultimate “concern trolls,” QAnon believers hide behind the fallacy of “protecting children” – and in so doing, may actually be hurting the very cause they think they are here to champion.
What causes my concern, however, is the sheer number of people who seem to be – for lack of a better phrase — “body snatched” by the movement, as if their brains have been rewired to only believe what the cult tells them to believe. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they believe wholeheartedly that they are the only ones that have it right and that the rest of us are either ignorant sheep or part of the secretive cabal as well. And in part, we are to blame.
TWH’s readers may already know this, but it recently came to my attention that, depending on where a person lives, their Google results will be drastically different. And we’re not just talking about which Starbucks is closest or what the local Walmart’s hours are. We will get fundamentally different results in terms of news and information and current topics.
For extra credit do this little experiment: In a separate page, go to Google and type in “Climate change is” and observe what the predictive search suggestions say. Feel free to share the results in the comments section of this article.
I’ll start:
What does Google say where you live? [S. Faerywolf]
This underscores the necessity to get our information from multiple sources, but we also have to consider those sources as well. For years I have heard people on the Left as well as the Right bemoan the existence of “corporate media”. The accusation is that, since these media conglomerates are privately owned businesses, it is in their best interest to not report on activities that would cast a bad light on their corporate masters. I do think that this is a concern, but not to the degree that it has been assumed by this growing fringe. And this is a fringe that has easily infiltrated the Pagan and spiritual communities, and been quietly growing in plain sight for many, many years.
In the “Venn diagram” of Pagan community fringe interests, QAnon seems to fall somewhere in the middle, between alternative healing, chemtrail enthusiasts, anti-vaxxers, the transphobes, and the racists. With respect to alternative healing, the rest of these ideologies have usually been begrudgingly tolerated in some form at the Pagan events I have attended over the years in various states across the US, with more of a push in recent years to weed-out the more racist and transphobic elements. But corrosive ideologies do not simply go away when they are swept under the rug or into a corner. They fester. They grow. They mutate.
The poison remains, only now clothed in the garments of current events, seemingly new, but really just telling the same sad old story: from the depth of our feelings of powerlessness and insignificance, we turn to crutches and to the vice of small-minded ideologies because we find comfort in them. We find comfort in them because they make us feel larger than others, and that, to a wounded ego, is what we think will bring us healing and satisfaction.
The followers of QAnon truly believe that they are in possession of special knowledge and that they are truly awake, while the rest of us remain asleep. This is a tactic used in cults to help separate members from “outside influences;” it is employed in all the cults that are effective, even cults that have are typically called religions, including Christianity, Mormonism, Scientology, and the like. If members can be separated into “Us vs. Them,” then the battle is already half-won.
Right now, that battle is very real. I have been personally shocked at some who have suddenly “turned to the dark side.” People whom I casually knew but whom I thought were sane, balanced individuals, now spouting pro-Trump memes that draw directly from racist propaganda, without a flicker of conscious awareness of what they are actually serving. In one recent exchange, when confronted with the argument that there was no scientific basis for any of their spurious claims, their response was, “Well, who funds your science?” (I hadn’t realized it was my science. I sort of assumed it was for everyone.) And that, as they say, was that.
For practitioners of spirituality, this level of unconscious bypassing is alarming as many of these individuals have positioned themselves to be authorities in their largely insular communities, creating the perfect environment for the rot of cultish thinking to flourish.
It is important that we research for ourselves but not limit ourselves to social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, or 8Chan. (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.) If one were to assume that the corporate media is lying to the public, then what exactly do we think these platforms would be doing any different? If the goal is to suppress free speech, as is alleged, then what is stopping the corporations that own Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and 8Chan from doing the same? The goodness of their hearts? How is social media more credible than the Associated Press? Or BBC News? Or Reuters? I’m supposed to get my news from the same place that made PewDiePie famous for – I’m checking my notes – being anti-Semitic and racist?
It used to be funny. Oh, that person believes in chemtrails. That one is a flat earther. This one believes that they have alien DNA. But now it isn’t funny. Things are getting serious. Trump has praised and courted the conspiracists and now this shade of crazy is just a shade away from being brought into Congress. We are already on the precipice of a functional democracy, experiencing a pandemic during the most closely watched election cycle of more than a century. And now we have another pandemic, one born of denial, cognitive dissonance, racism, and propaganda. And it’s so much closer than we could have imagined. It’s in our neighborhoods, maybe even in our covens. Qanon believers see Trump as a savior, and they intend to keep him in office.
The world holds its breath.
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To protest against reform bills, farmers block Delhi-Noida road at Sector 14A NOIDA
Updated: Sep 25, 2020
Shafaque Alam
Farmers from Noida Friday blocked the city’s border with Delhi for over two hours to protest against three farm reforms bills passed by Parliament last week, throwing traffic in the area out of gear till afternoon.
A number of farmers bodies, under the aegis of Bharatiya Kisan Union, had come together to march from Noida to Delhi in support of the nationwide protest, but were stopped on the way by police.
More than 150 farmers —all members of Bharatiya Kisan Union — reached Noida Gate near Mayur Vihar border around 11.45am, but were met by barricades that had been set up by Delhi Police personnel.
Around 150 Delhi Police personnel — armed with anti-riot gear — were deployed at Chilla village on the border on Friday morning in a bid to prevent the agitating farmers from crossing over to the national capital.
The deployment of Delhi Police personnel at Alipur on the Delhi-Haryana border was minimal.
The farmers parked several tractors and cars on the Noida side of the border, completely halting vehicular movement from both sides. The protesters blocked the road till 2pm, slowing down vehicular movement on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, and forcing the police to divert traffic.
According to Delhi deputy commissioner of police (east) Jasmeet Singh, traffic going towards Noida was diverted towards other border points, including New Ashok Nagar, Kondli, and Mayur Vihar Phase-3. Except the Chilla border, which was blocked for nearly three hours, all other routes connecting Noida from Delhi, including the Delhi-Noida Direct flyway, were open for motorists. The traffic diversion, however, caused some confusion among several motorists.
At 12.44 pm, the Delhi Traffic tweeted a traffic alert, informing the public about the “obstruction in traffic at Chilla border due to demonstration.”
However, the police, in a tweet two hours later, said that the traffic had returned to normal.
Uttar Pradesh (UP) police officers spoke with leaders of the farmers’ groups in Noida, said Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (JCP), (eastern range), Delhi Police.
The farmers were apprised about the guidelines of Unlock 4, which prohibits any kind of mass gathering or protests across the country, including the national capital, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic after which the protests were called off.
The three farm bills approved by Parliament, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance; and Farm Services Bill and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, have become contentious issues.
The new laws aim to liberalise the agriculture sector by removing hurdles created by the Agriculture Marketing Produce Committee (AMPC) Act in direct procurement of agriculture produce by buyers and create a level-playing field for all, thereby allowing private players a bigger role in farm trade.
Farmer bodies and opposition parties say that these reform bills take away price protection provided through Minimum Support Price (MSP), whereas the government maintains that MSP will remain in place and the bills will ensure higher remuneration for farmers.
BKU’s NCR chapter president, Subhash Chaudhary said through the bills, the government will abolish mandis (agricultural produce marketing committees) and open avenues for corporates to directly access farmers’ produce.
“There are no measures in the bills to ensure farmers are able to sell their produce at decent rates. The government should at least ensure that grains are bought at or above the MSP. The government is promoting capitalism with the bills, and hence farmers demand amendments in them,” he said.
Ashok Bhati, spokesperson, BKU (Noida), said the farmers had held a symbolic protest in different districts of Uttar Pradesh on September 21 as well. “We had requested the government to address our grievances. The government ignored our demands hence we hit the streets,” he said. Bhati said the government framed the three bills— Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020—without consulting farmers and without safeguarding their interest.
Vipin Pradhan,a farmer leader, said that the farmers submitted a memorandum to senior police officers demanding the three bills to be rolled back.
Kumar Ranvijay, additional deputy commissioner of police, Noida, said the protest was peaceful. “We had diverted the Delhi-bound traffic to DND Flyway and Kalindi Kunj. The police personnel were also deployed at the DND Flyway loops and Noida Expressway to guide the commuters. Delhi Police had diverted Noida-bound traffic to internal roads,” he said.
Ganesh Saha, deputy commissioner of police, (traffic) Noida said arrangements were placed on time to divert the traffic in light of the protest and there were no jams on Thursday.
The happy hug of a clinic clown
It is established that dementia rates are rising worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 50 million people already suffer from dementia, with 10 million new cases being added every year
The happy hug of a clinic clown
6 min read.Updated: 25 Sep 2020, 10:20 PM ISTPriti Salian
As dementia rates rise worldwide, clinic clowns are helping to induce positive emotions and create a sense of well-being among patients
In Auroville, a few years ago, a bed-ridden woman was watching Fif Fernandes attentively as she sang and pranced around, playing on her ukulele. When the woman, who was living with dementia, finally smiled, Fernandes asked, “What did you do as a child?" The woman beamed and drifted into a childhood memory, when as a four-year-old she would travel on a bullock cart with her father to get an ice lolly. “The lolly melted and dripped down my chin, and then down my clothes, and then it broke and fell," she recalled just before her thoughts meandered elsewhere.
It is established that dementia rates are rising worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 50 million people already suffer from dementia, with 10 million new cases being added every year. India itself has about 4.1 million cases, as The World Alzheimer’s Report 2015 notes. Experts believe this number may be higher, since many cases go undiagnosed, with people ascribing forgetfulness to old age. In such a scenario, clinic clowns, or clowns working in healthcare spaces, can be harbingers of joy to the elderly. Studies show that they induce positive emotions and a sense of well-being among patients.
Fernandes is one of the handful of trained clinic clowns in India. After practising for over 30 years in Canada, she moved to Auroville and co-founded MeDiClown Academy in 2013 with her husband, Hamish Boyd, also a therapeutic clown. The academy’s work entails training and conducting workshops for individuals and organizations. The couple also visits people of all ages in hospitals and senior homes across cities. “Music is a huge part of what we do," says Fernandes. “It brings back beautiful memories for the elderly."
Once she is in an elderly person’s room, she observes pictures on the wall, a favourite pillow or a dress, which can be used in conversation. Once she has forged a connection, Fernandes recreates stories related to those objects through her clowning skills.
Once, for instance, an elderly woman with dementia told Fernandes that as a nine-year-old, she would walk to the village school with her four sisters. “One day, when we reached school late, we covered up by saying that the milk pot broke at home and that delayed us," recalls Fernandes. The teacher believed the five sisters and gave them a glass of milk each. In the evening, she told their mother, who was angry with the children for lying. Fernandes took cues from the story and enacted it for the lady with her colleagues. “The elderly love to go back to their childhood and like the freedom to laugh and be silly with clowns," chimes in Boyd.
Such exercises are significant for people with dementia; they often feel lost because they can’t remember things. “Families keep checking about facts and dates, without realizing the trauma and agitation it can cause," explains Fernandes. “Role-playing their narratives, under their direction, gives them the power to be in control without being challenged about their memory. We never tell them something could not have happened, however surprising it may appear."
Clowning in hospital settings was first started in North America in 1986 by Michael Christensen, co-founder of the New York-based Big Apple Circus. Karen Ridd (Robo the Clown), a child life specialist, simultaneously founded Canada’s first therapeutic clown programme at the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital. The practice later spread to Europe.
Since the 1990s, it has played a particularly significant role in Germany, where one in five citizens is over 65, and almost 10% of the seniors have dementia. Take Arnsberg, a city of 73,000 that is considered a model for inclusion of the elderly. It has nine trained clinic clowns like Julia Wille, who goes by the clown name of Mia Mumpitz and visits senior homes at least once a month.
The process has a therapeutic value for clowns too. Wille, 46, found her calling in clowning more than four years ago, during a long spell of clinical depression. “I saw a picture of a clinic clown in a newspaper and instantly knew the road ahead for myself," she recalls. She works at an assisted living facility in Arnsberg but has been doing honorary clowning work at elderly care facilities. “Clowning has kept me in good mental health without medication," she says.
One cheerful morning in July, Mia Mumpitz entered Helena Desol’s room at the St Anna home with a loud and affectionate “Hola", a red clown nose covering her own, hair pulled up into ponytails and lips defined with red gloss. Spain-born Desol, who is 80, lost the ability to speak a few years ago but squealed with delight on seeing her. Like a long-lost friend, Mumpitz enclosed her in a hug. Desol wrapped her left arm around Mumpitz—it’s her good side, ever since she suffered a paralytic attack.
Mumpitz then broke into a song, placed her hands on her waist and began the footwork. Eyes brimming with joy, Desol swung back and forth in her armchair and hummed along.
“About a third of the 90 residents at St Anna have dementia, and benefit from clown visits," says Dagmar Freimuth, the leader of social service at St Anna. Wille’s clowning gently persuades elderly people to participate in her activities. “Sometimes, though, all it takes is a gentle touch to reduce their agitation and anxiety caused by dementia," Wille says.
One of the residents of St Anna stopped talking to everyone after his sister’s death but opened up after the clowns cajoled him, recalls Wille. “An old lady always shooed me away, however hard I tried talking to her, but one day I happened to sing a song from her childhood and that was it. I am always welcome in her room now," Wille smiles.
Johannes Föster, who trained to be a clinic clown three years ago at the age of 72 and now volunteers as Clown Berti in Arnsberg, interjects with another story. There is a woman, Föster says, who would never respond to the clowns, but the last time she saw him in the lounge, she said, “Have a nice day!" Föster smiles, “I think she is coming around."
Fernandes has seen similar results in India, where medical clowning is still in its infancy. There are only a handful of individuals and groups working in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Like Sheetal Agarwal, a former teacher who got into clowning in 2016 and founded Clownselors, now heads a team of 15 regular volunteers in Delhi. Then there is Humanitarian Clowns, which has had 250 volunteers visiting hospitals and old-age homes for the past eight years in Vellore and sometimes Chennai.
Generally, however, the absence of training institutes means clinic clowns are untrained and doing voluntary work. Which is why, in August 2019, MeDiClown Academy started its first 600-hour course on medical clowning with 11 students, to educate participants on art, storytelling, yoga, music and improvisation. “We want medical clowning to become a respectable profession in the country," says Boyd.
Students learn about patient psychology, dealing with care facilities and working in tandem with a medical team. “However," emphasizes Fernandes, “the most important thing for clowns is to know how to make a connection with their heart."
Priti Salian is a freelance journalist who has covered human rights, social justice, development and culture issues in India, Germany and Uganda.
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Fif Fernandes of MeDiClown Academy. Photo: courtesy MeDiClown Academy
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Julia Wille (standing, second from left) at work.
Best of Phoenix 2020: A Longtime Arizona UFO Hunter Still Has His Eyes on the Skies
Phoenix's independent source of local news and culture
The truth is out there — and maybe in Phoenix. Luster Kaboom
“Some of the things you see flying around in the sky are questionable,” says Jeff Willes. “It could be a Mylar balloon, or a military aircraft. I try to weed that stuff out.”
Willes has made a career of sorts out of weeding that stuff out. As a UFO hunter — Arizona’s first and original, he insists — he’s spent decades eyeing the skies in and around Phoenix. His vigilance has paid off with hundreds of hours of footage that show off strange things hovering in our heavens. Most of his discoveries are logged in video clips on a website, ufosoverphoenix.com, and on a YouTube channel jammed with images of shiny objects dancing around in the sky.
He started early. “I moved to Phoenix in 1978 and I couldn’t believe how many flying objects are visible here. Phoenix is a good place for UFOs because there’s a lot of wide-open desert spaces where a spacecraft can move 100 miles this way or that way without bumping into stuff.”
One of many UFO hunters who spotted the infamous Phoenix Lights in March 1997, Willes has continued to document the return of those same boomerang-shaped craft in the years since. “I got video of them in 2005, and they came back with jumping lights and similar craft in 2006,” he says. “These spacecrafts are real interested in this part of the desert, for some reason.”
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Alien abductions are totally a thing around here, Willes swears. “Those mainly occur from the Zeta Reticuli guys,” he explains. “Those are the beings with gray skin and big eyes, and we usually call them the Greys. The most common thread among abductees is the Greys take ovum and sperm, and sometimes they’ll show the woman a half-alien, half-human baby. So the theory is that the Zetas are doing a breeding experiment on us.”
Some of the mysterious things flying around up there, Willes says, are secret American military experiments and not little gray joyriders from other planets. And then there are the hoaxers, whose faked UFO videos and photos make a mockery of real UFO-hunting. “There’s even an app now that’s designed to help you make a fake UFO video,” he moans. “The fake flying saucer thing is getting a little out of hand.”
Willes thinks people are skeptical about the existence of life in other galaxies because aliens haven’t given us enough drama. Yet.
“They haven’t landed a fleet of vehicles on the White House lawn,” he says. “There hasn’t been a massive sighting of alien spaceships over every city that has stayed in the sky for 24 hours so the whole world could see it. Can you imagine what that would be like? Anyway, that would finally prove that UFOs are real.” Robrt L. Pela has been a weekly contributor to Phoenix New Times since 1991, primarily as a cultural critic. His radio essays air on National Public Radio affiliate KJZZ's Morning Edition.
Water in My Grave and Other Short Stories is a sinister collection of 24 short stories based on sorcery and urban legends from Sri Lanka that delve into the mysteries of the undead and the unburied said to walk among us. Prepare to be dragged into the dark depths of Eastern Sri Lanka’s supernatural world that is guaranteed to keep you petrified till the last page.
The book was authored by the mother-daughter writer duo – Chandrika Gadiewasam and Nadeesha Paulis – to shine a light on the many superstitions spoken of in hushed tones in various parts of the country.
This set of occult-themed short stories will drag you into the sinister realm of the Eastern supernatural world with a number of visuals by Sri Lankan artists Udara Chinthaka and Kalath Warnakulasuriya. Their hauntingly beautiful illustrations further add to the element of fear. The book is the perfect introduction to the dark and insidious side of local folklore and features jungle exorcisms, haunted ancient relics and cursed properties where evil entities conduct personal vendettas from beyond the grave. The book also addresses superstitions held by many Sri Lankans such as abstaining from eating fried items come dusk for reasons other than cholesterol, and rituals observed by graveyard caretakers to prevent evil entities from pursuing them.
Two stories that are particularly terrifying are that of the “Train to Hell” and “The Feud”.
“Train to Hell” is centered on people dying in vehicles that have stalled on the 600+ unprotected railway crossings around the country.
The Feud, on the other hand, details a grizzly disagreement that takes place between two shamans who practice necromancy. The book elaborates that a pilluwa is a dried-up corpse brought to life by a shaman or gurunanse to do their evil bidding. Water In My Grave is also beguilingly informative, with the authors including a relatively detailed glossary at the end of the book that lists the names and descriptions of various undead entities covered in the book, from prethayas to the Kalu Kumaraya and Mohini, to name a few.
Among the stand-out features of the book is that in spite of it being written in English, the content has been localised, and any terms the reader may not be familiar with (be it kattadiyas or kinduris) are made easy to understand. This makes it an ideal gift for foreigners. There has also been a significant amount of time and effort the authors invested into researching folklore surrounding the occult. The widely espoused beliefs of some Sri Lankans pertaining to demons, ghosts and witchcraft featured in the book stem from personal encounters they claim to have had and that’s what makes it all the more terrifying!
If you’re interested in exploring the sinister parallel dimension of Serendib, Water In My Grave may prove to be a good start and is bound to leave you at the edge of your seat, from start to finish. If you are a fan of the occult and would like to get your hands on a copy of the book, message https://www.facebook.com/srilankanhorror or email nadeeshapaulis@gmail.com. The book retails at LKR 1000 and can be posted to you. Happy reading!
PEACE, FLOWERS & THE OCCULT?LED ZEPPELIN'S SECRETS EXPOSED IN NEW REELZ DOC
SEPTEMBER 25, 2020 9:27AMby OK! Staff
'Led Zeppelin: Breaking The Band' airs Sunday, September 27, at 8pm ET on REELZ.
The new REELZ documentary Led Zeppelin: Breaking The Band takes viewers behind the scenes of the iconic British rock group and into their Occult fascination and unwavering success, as die-hard fans still hope for a final reunion after the foursome’s tragic demise.
With exclusive interviews from music journalist Sunta Templeton, music writer Barney Hoskyns, Creem Magazine co-founder Jaan Uhelszki, Led Zeppelin biographer Mick Wall and radio host Darren Redick, the documentary looks into what really happened between the members of the world’s greatest rock band.
MEGA
Selling over 300 million albums and headlining 600 concerts worldwide, the rock supergroup had some dark rumors surrounding their inner circle, including paganism and fascination with the Occult — even Satanism.
During Led Zeppelin’s rise to fame in the 1970s, people were “getting more and more interested in weird and wonderful things like the Occult,” Templeton explained. People during the ’60s and ’70s were getting more interested in “the darker side of life,” she added.
“That was the flip-side of love and peace and flowers — this new interest in the Occult,” Hoskyns noted.
Zeppelin lead singer Jimmy Page even went so far as to buy the mansion left behind by famed Occult leader and magician Aleister Crowley. “Why else would you do that? Is it curiosity?” Uhelszki said, questioning why Page would purchase the house. “It’s too much money to just satisfy a curiosity.”
Zeppelin’s rock star excesses became the stuff of legend. The success of their most legendary track, ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ was believed to be “due to black magic,” according to the upcoming doc.
Led Zeppelin split on December 4, 1980, right after the tragic death of the group’s iconic drummer, John Bonham. Forty years later, new and old fans eagerly await a final reunion, which promoters say would be the “billion-dollar tour” if it came to be. Unfortunately, Plant has sworn he will never play again with Zeppelin, leaving guitarist Jimmy Page and bass guitarist John Paul Jones without a singer. So what really happened to the once-close members of the world’s greatest rock band? Why won’t they ever play together again?
Watch REELZ on DIRECTV 238, Dish Network 299, Verizon FiOS 692, AT&T U-verse 1799 and in HD on cable systems and streaming services nationwide. Find REELZ on your local cable or satellite provider at www.reelz.com.
THIRD WORLD USA
Some Covid-19 Survivors Grapple With Large Medical Bills
While the federal government and the health-care industry have worked to help Americans avoid costs associated with Covid-19 testing, some patients can be subject to high out-of-pocket costs for treatment, long after leaving the hospital. Photo: Krystle Bodine and Drew Harris
Belarus police detain dozens as crowds chant against Lukashenko
MINSK (Reuters) - Belarusian security forces detained dozens of protesters on Saturday as crowds rallied in central Minsk accusing President Alexander Lukashenko of rigging last month's election.
One group of women chanted "Our president is Sveta!" - referring to opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who they say won the vote - before riot police dragged many of them into vans. Other protesters were arrested nearby.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic closely allied with Russia, has been rocked by mass street protests since Lukashenko's claim of a landslide victory in an Aug. 9 vote.
On Saturday, video on social media showed police detaining Nina Baginskaya, a 73-year-old who has become a central figure of the protest movement after scuffling with police last month.
Protesters have used the flag that Belarus adopted after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, before Lukashenko restored the Soviet version four years later.
Lukashenko, a 66-year-old former collective farm manager, was sworn in for a sixth term on Wednesday in a ceremony held without warning, prompting thousands to take the streets of the capital.
PRANJANI, Serbia (Reuters) - A monument shaped like a military transport plane was unveiled on a Serbian hillside on Saturday, commemorating the rescue of hundreds of allied pilots who were shot down by German forces during World War Two
About 500 airmen, mostly Americans, were brought to the village of Pranjani during 1944 to be airlifted back to base in Bari, Italy, in the bold mission behind enemy lines - known as Operation Halyard.
U.S. diplomats and senior Serbian officials raised their countries' flags at the site in central Serbia during Saturday's inauguration ceremony.
For more than 50 years, during Communism, the operation was not officially acknowledged or taught in schools because it received local support from royalist troops led by convicted Nazi collaborator Draza Mihajlovic.
Radoljub Jankovic, a local resident who was 14 at the time of the airlifts, recounted his memories of the operation in a speech at the ceremony.
"I still hear the noise of the engines of the American planes in the air," he said, presenting a bottle of home-made traditional plum brandy to the U.S. ambassador to Serbia and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
"I will make sure to drink this bottle of traditional Serbian brandy with President (Donald) Trump when he visits Serbia so he feels how American soldiers enjoyed it 76 years ago," Vucic said.
(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Helen Popper)
