Saturday, December 25, 2010

The Black Klansman

The melodrama exploits racial tensions with the tale of a light-skinned African-American who impersonats a Caucasisan and joins the notorious Ku Klux Klan to get revenge on the bigots who bombed a church and killed his daughter. Soon after joining, the vengeful father begins having sex with the clan leaders' daughter. This classic expliotation film is finally out, authored from the camera negatives.


Woman sees face of Jesus on pistachio nut
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Sam Harris: Can Science Determine Human Values?

The Atheists

Hitler's Christmas party: Rare photographs capture leading Nazis celebrating in 1941 | Mail Online
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US family killed in pre-Christmas murder-suicide - Telegraph
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Thursday, December 16, 2010

Kafka's A Country Doctor

Koji Yamamura is considered one of the greatest independent Japanese animators of this generation. Born in Japan in 1964, he has been crafting animation since age twelve by combining traditional drawings with mixed media such as modeling clay, still photography and painting. Yamamura has fashioned entirely distinctive, stunningly imaginative worlds with free-spirited creativity: trees grow out of heads, birds dream of fruit, and children are swallowed by whales.

Koji Yamamura first garnered major international attention in 2003 when his universally acclaimed Mt. Head received an Oscar® nomination for Best Animated Short Film. Yamamura is the only Japanese animator (besides the legendary Hayao Miyazaki) to ever receive such an honor.

KimStim is proud to present a collection of Yamaura's most remarkable works for the first time in the U.S., including his latest masterpiece Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor - a nightmarish, virtuoso drawing-on-paper rendering of the famed short story and winner of seven Grand Prizes at major animation festivals worldwide.





The Making of The Red Book

Carl Jung's The Red Book is considered to be the most influential unpublished work in the history of psychology.

When Carl Jung embarked on an extended self-exploration he called his confrontation with the unconscious, the heart of it was The Red Book, a large, illuminated volume he created between 1914 and 1930. Here he developed his principle theories—of the archetypes, the collective unconscious, and the process of individuation—that transformed psychotherapy from a practice concerned with treatment of the sick into a means for higher development of the personality.

While Jung considered The Red Book to be his most important work, only a handful of people have ever seen it. Now, in a complete facsimile and translation, it is available to scholars and the general public. It is an astonishing example of calligraphy and art on a par with The Book of Kells and the illuminated manuscripts of William Blake. This publication of The Red Book is a watershed that will cast new light on the making of modern psychology.

Homebase horror as woman hangs herself from a rafter as customers shop nearby | Mail Online
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Monday, December 13, 2010

Nursery teacher used dozens of pupils to make child pornography in one of worst abuse cases in Dutch history

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:55 PM on 13th December 2010


A nursery school teacher in Amsterdam has confessed to molesting more than 50 pupils, some of who were used to make child pornography, in one of the worst cases of sexual abuse in the history of the Netherlands.

The 27-year-old, who worked for at least two schools, was arrested last week after a U.S. investigation traced the origins of one image to the Netherlands.

When the image was shown on a Dutch TV police programme on Sunday the victim's parents recognised their child and called the police, leading to the man's arrest on the same night.

News conference: Amsterdam's authorities announced the arrest in a news conference on Sunday night

His computers containing child pornography were seized and he had since confessed to dozens of sex crimes allegedly committed over the past year and a half.

'At this moment we do not precisely know how many children are the victims of this 27-year-old man,' said Amsterdam police chief Herman Bolhaar.

The parents of affected children aged up to four were informed at an Amsterdam hotel on Sunday night.

In a late night news conference with the city's police chiefs, Amsterdam mayor Eberhard van der Laan said: 'This is about a serious suspicion of grave abuse by a man who was arrested Tuesday and has been held since then.

'I see it as my most important job to inform parents as well as possible.'

The suspect worked at at least two day care centres in Amsterdam from February 2007 and also offered his services online as a freelance babysitter.

He was identified as a Dutch citizen originally from Riga, Latvia.

His name was not released but police published his photo - an unusual step, as privacy laws usually prevent publication of photograhs of suspects in the Netherlands.

Mr Van der Laan said the photo had been released in part to reassure the thousands of parents in Amsterdam whose children were not affected.

But he said: 'At the same time we want to alert others that it indeed was their babysitter.'

Prosecutors said yesterday they had also arrested the man's 37-year-old partner on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

The older man was not suspected of physically molesting children, they said, but he will appear in court on Monday.

A 39-year-old employee of one of the day care centres where the man worked was also arrested yesterday after allegedly attempting an 'indecent' online chat, the prosecution statement said.

Mr Bolhaar said there may be more victims and more suspects.

A candle was left yesterday on the steps of one of the day care centres affected. An attached note bore the single word: 'terrible.'

The case comes just months after 60-year-old swimming teacher Benno Larue was sentenced in July to seven years in jail for the sexual abuse of 40 girls over a period of many years.

Most of the girls were very young and had learning difficulties.

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338178/Nursery-teacher-confesses-using-pupils-make-child-pornography-Amsterdam.html

Mother and son 'hacked to death with axe as two teenage girls flee bloodbath'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 2:03 PM on 13th December 2010


A mother and her son were murdered in an axe attack in their end-of-terrace home in the early hours of today.

Two teenagers who were in the property at the time fled with minor injuries following the attack on the woman, in her 40s, and man, aged in his 20s.

A 43-year-old suspect was later arrested more than 50 miles away on suspicion of carrying out the double killing.

An investigation was launched after a 13-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman who were in the house in Banbury, Oxfordshire, went across the road and told a neighbour what had happened.

The teenagers were taken to Horton General Hospital in Banbury for their own safety after the emergency services arrived.

The same street where the double murder happened was the scene two years ago of another brutal killing in which a wife was battered to death with a chapatti pan.

In that incident the 30-year-old woman was murdered and body wrapped in a duvet and hidden behind a settee.

Her husband, Mohammed Rashid, was jailed for life after walking into a police station and giving himself up.

Today the scene of the latest killings was sealed off by police as a full-scale forensic examination of the house got underway.

A neighbour who lives opposite the scene said that the family had been renting the house.

'The family only moved in recently, within the last couple of months or so. They are lodgers and they haven't been here long,' he said.

'There was a couple living there and a young teenage girl of about 16.

'The family is very quiet and have kept themselves to themselves since they moved in but there has never been any trouble from them.

'They have always been very quiet and they don't really talk to anyone in the street but it's still a bit of a shock.'

Another neighbour said: 'All we've heard is there's been a murder and an axe was involved.

'I know the house but I don't know who lives there. We can't get up there because the police are blocking it; they've stopped the cars going up and down.

'It's a very quiet street really. I never hear of any trouble.'

Detective Chief Inspector Pete Vigurs, from the Thames Valley Police major crime unit, said: 'Firstly, I would like to reassure the community. We do not believe this is a random attack and think the victims knew their killer.

'At this time we can confirm we are trying to trace a man in connection with this incident.

'Another woman and a girl were in the property at the time of the incident and they have now been taken to a place of safety.

'Officers will look to speak with them later today.

'This is an ongoing investigation and at this time there is nothing more we can say, but will look to provide updates as soon as possible.'

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338212/Man-questioned-double-axe-murder-mother-son.html

Jesus returns May 21,2011. No word on Mohammed.

Posted by admin on December 5, 2010

I remember my first apocalypse. It was way back in 1975, when the Jehovah’s Witnesses said it was all going to end. Then there was the Harmonic Convergence of 1987, the Ussher prophesy of ’97, and who could forget Y2K? Good times.

Of course, most people are now looking forward to 2012 when the whole world will go to Hell in a blaze of earthquakes, solar flares, and aliens. Not to be outdone, though, a Christian group called We Can Know are saying that The Late-Great JC will be coming back on May 21, 2011. And they’ve got billboards, bumper stickers, a radio show, and a website to prove it.

I gotta admit, it’s nice to have something to look forward to between now and 2012. It was getting to be a long drag there, and an apocalypse-before-the apocalypse is just what we needed to break up the long wait.

Still, it’s a few months away. While this gives me plenty of time to have my Beer-and-Holy Water franchise up and running before the Hell fires get going, the wait is likely a long one for the We Can Know folks. To kill time, I suggest they spend their last months on Earth becoming more familiar with their bible, and what it has to say about the exact date of Jesus’ return. I suggest they start with the following passage, from the Gospel of Mark:

“No man knows the day and the hour, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.” ~Mark 13:32

From: http://heathensguide.com/12/05/jesus-returns-may-212011-no-word-on-mohammed/

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Deer Mutilation Postcards Sent To Jail

Posted: 10:02 am EST December 9, 2010
Updated: 5:50 am EST December 10, 2010


GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Two cousins were charged in connection with graphic postcards that were mailed to a Gwinnett County Jail inmate.

Four postcards were sent to the jail, containing images of the mutilation and killing of an 8-month-old deer, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Stacey Bourbonnais said in a news release. Pictures showed the deer being led on a leash, mutilated and decapitated.

Bourbonnais said 42-year-old Lawrenceville resident Stanley Hugh Ivy mailed the postcards. She said on each postcard, Ivy described how he stabbed and choked the animal to death, calling himself a “predator.”

Deputies intercepted the postcard and launched an investigation with the Department of Natural Resources, Bourbonnais said.

On Wednesday, deputies approached Ivy as he met with his probation officer, Bourbonnais said. She said Ivy admitted to sending the cards, but not to hurting the deer.

Ivy told deputies that his cousin, Orvie Crawford, 39, hurt the deer, and they both ate it afterward, Bourbonnais said. Ivy said they could ask Crawford about the incident in person, because he was sitting in a truck outside, Bourbonnais said.

Deputies said they found Crawford in the truck, along with methamphetamine and a .45-caliber handgun sitting on the seat beside him.

Ivy was charged with various offenses including animal cruelty and felon in possession of a firearm. He was being held at the Gwinnett County Jail without bond.

Crawford was charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony. He was jailed and released on $11,400 bond. The DNR is pursuing additional charges against him in Newton County, where he said the incident occurred.

From: http://www.wsbtv.com/news/26076315/detail.html

SC teen sets himself on fire at high school, dies

The Associated Press
Friday, December 10, 2010; 4:26 PM


NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Authorities say a South Carolina high school student doused himself in flammable liquid and set himself on fire, killing him.

Academic Magnet High School officials told WCSC-TV that a team of 45 grief counselors were on campus Friday to help students cope with the teen's death.

Authorities say 16-year-old Aaron Williams doused his clothes with a flammable liquid Wednesday morning and ran toward the school's doors. Dozens of teachers and students saw him on fire. Williams died a day later from the burns.

Classmates say Williams was known around school as the "Boom Box Kid" because he carried around a large, portable stereo like the kind that were popular in the 1980s.

From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/10/AR2010121004721.html

Woman's daughter charged with abuse and neglect

'Worst case I've ever seen'

By David MacDougall
Wednesday, December 8, 2010


ST. GEORGE -- A 98-year-old woman who died Tuesday was being neglected by her primary caregiver, her 60-year-old daughter, police said.

Police were summoned by EMS workers to the East George Street home of Anne Copeland about 6:20 p.m. Monday. The elderly woman was lying in a soiled bed, said St. George Police Lt. Eric Bonnette, commander of the detective division. She had numerous sores, he said.

The house was unheated and filthy, with animal droppings and odors throughout, he said.

"It was cold, but a window in her room was open to let out the smell of the rotting flesh," Bonnette said. Several of her bed sores were open and one on her hip was so bad it had matted to the bedding.

Bonnette said he thinks Copeland had not been turned in bed for more than a week.

"I've been in law enforcement for 17 years and I've been an investigator for about half of that time," Bonnette said. "I investigate a lot of elder abuse cases when I was with the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office. This is the worst case I've ever seen."

There were seven dogs and several cats in the house. There also was a parrot, whose mimicry gave Bonnette a chill when he heard it.

"The parrot was mimicking, 'Help me. Help me.' Then he would laugh," Bonnette said.

"We think he was mimicking the mother when he said, 'Help me. Help me,' and mimicking the daughter when he laughed."

Authorities contacted animal control to remove the animals, Bonnette said.

Copeland was taken by EMS on Monday night to Colleton Medical Center, where she died about 10:50 a.m. Tuesday, Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet said.

The Coroner's Office is investigating her death and an autopsy was planned for today, Nisbet said. The cause of her death has not been determined.

Police arrested Copeland's daughter, Gloria Park Clark of 209 E. George St. and charged her with abuse and neglect resulting in death of a vulnerable adult, Bonnette said. She is scheduled to have a bond hearing today in St. George.

Police had been called to the house in October for a report of elder abuse, Bonnette said. The patrol division investigated the situation at the time and no further action was taken, he said.

From: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/dec/08/worst-case-ive-ever-seen/

Sunday, December 5, 2010

m.guardian.co.uk
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Monday, November 29, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Woman, 85, Attacked By Leaf Rakers - Detroit Local News Story - WDIV Detroit
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Boy in PNG 'gang-raped' by 10 women - World - NZ Herald Mobile
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Ingrid Pitt - Telegraph
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Autopsy: Teenager found in Fabens shot self 9 times - El Paso Times
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Double murderer put girl's body in washing machine - National - NZ Herald Mobile
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Mother, Three Kids Killed in Tallahassee, Fla., Home - ABC News
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Girl arrested for 'Facebook footage of Koran burning at school' | Mail Online
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Asian gang raped girls as young as 12 after picking them up on streets for sex | Mail Online
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Man attacked fiancee after she dumped him by text message | Glasgow and West | STV News
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

MISANTHROPIA gone...?

For 2 weeks... Will be posting via blogger-android; links only.... J.A.C

The human race is dying beyond it's means...

Castle Frankenstein

Birthplace of an eccentric alchemist and possible inspiration for the fictional reanimator of monsters


Johann Konrad Dippel was rumored to create potions, perform electrical therapies, and partake in gruesome experiments involving stolen body parts from the graveyard. Born in the Castle Frankenstein in 1673, it’s disputed whether or not he was the inspiration for Mary Shelley’s mad scientist of the same name, who did some cadaver experiments of his own.

What is sure about Dippel is his colorful career as an alchemist. He attached his name to Dippel’s Animal Oil, which he discovered from the destructive distillation of animal parts and claimed as a universal medicine. The animal oil came at the end of a wave of popularity for Iatrochemistry, which had moved alchemy from the search for creating gold to finding new medicines. The unpleasant taste and smell, as well as the progression of medicine, made Dippel's oil fall into disrepute by the end of the 18th century.

Dippel later helped set up a laboratory in Berlin for making gold and, at one point, he ended up in prison on a Danish island for seven years due to political activities. In 1734, he finally had a stroke and died at the Castle Wittgenstein near Berleburg, although his friends claimed he was poisoned. By his own hand or that of another, it is unclear.

The Castle Frankenstein is now in ruins, with only two towers, a restaurant and a chapel remaining. However, the perhaps mythical connection to Mary Shelley’s novel "Frankenstein" keeps it a popular destination, especially for Halloween. A popular annual party was started there by American soldiers stationed near the castle in World War II.

Until it was deactivated in 2008, the US Army's 233rd Base Support Battalion in Darmstadt conducted an annual Frankenstein Castle run which finished at the tower. The castle was featured in an episode of "Ghost Hunters International" which aired in February of 2008.

From: http://atlasobscura.com/place/castle-frankenstein

Dog gets elaborate church blessing

A Shih Tzu puppy called Sheridan has been "christened" in a lavish church cermony while wearing a specially made silk shawl.

By Robert Mendick 11:00PM GMT 20 Nov 2010


No dog could have a better start to life. For in what must be the most lavish ceremony of its kind, Sheridan, the Shih Tzu puppy, was 'christened' in church, wearing a specially made silk shawl as his six tearful godparents looked on.

The dog was chauffeur-driven to church in a Jaguar and, after the ceremony, taken to a hotel where his health was toasted by 75 guests drinking pink champagne.

For his part, Sheridan ate melon as starter followed by butterfly chicken and a sherry trifle to finish. An official photographer recorded the event for posterity.

The extravagant bash, which cost about £1,000, is likely to be met in equal measure with both howls of derision (from traditionalists) and cries of joy (from dog lovers).

Sheridan's owner Russell Smith, a former wedding planner turned funeral director, wanted the church blessing and naming ceremony to reflect his devotion to his new dog. No expense was subsequently spared.

"It cost me more than £1,000 but it was worth every penny," said Mr Smith, 49. "I rented a chauffeur driven, cream Jaguar. We decked the church in flowers. Sheridan wore a silk shawl I had specially made for him.

"It was a beautiful cold, clear morning. the bells were ringing in the church, which was absolutely full. I cried my heart out. It was a very emotional service. The vicar, who is a big dog lover and has bearded collies of his own, was fantastic."

While vicars have been known to stage unusual blessing ceremonies for pets, farm equipment and even laptop computers, Sheridan's ceremony is believed to be among the most lavish ever staged for a single dog.

Mr Smith picked three godmothers and three godfathers to watch over the puppy, which had enjoyed a special makeover the day so he could look his best.

Mr Smith's other dog Smartie, another Shih Tzu aged 14, was at his side at the church in the village of Lazonby in Cumbria.

The local vicar, the Reverend David Fowler, blessed the dog in church but refused to actually christen the animal there.

Instead the dog, its owner, vicar and guests retreated to a local hotel where the vicar placed his hands on the dog's head and declared the puppy be called Sheridan Smith.

"I just wanted him officially mine," said Mr Smith. "When we got back to the hotel, Sheridan started with melon while Smartie tucked into leek and potato soup. Sheridan likes his food."

From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8148567/Dog-gets-elaborate-church-blessing.html

Ugly Betty actor arrested after 'killing his mother with a Samurai sword'

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:24 PM on 23rd November 2010


An actor who starred in hit show Ugly Betty has been arrested after allegedly killing his mother with a samurai sword.

Michael L Brea was taken into custody after being tasered by police at an apartment in Brooklyn.

A neighbour claimed the 31-year-old had taken his mother hostage and could be heard shouting passages from the Bible.


He claimed the actor had been shouting 'repent. repent,' before stabbing his mother Yannick, 51, with the sword.

There have been claims that she was found decapitated.

Neighbour Bernard Bren claimed he woke up when he heard screaming.

'It sounded like a lady's voice and after a while I just didn't the woman's voice again,' he said.

Brea, who appeared in one episode of Ugly Betty, is currently at Kings County Hospital.

He will undergo a psychiatric assessment before police decide whether to charge him.

Brea is a Haitian-American actor who was a dancer in film Step Up 3D.

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1332375/Ugly-Betty-actor-arrested-killing-mother-Samurai-sword.html

Intruder found dead in Stratford home's bathtub

Intruder found dead in Stratford home's bathtub - Connecticut Post
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Saturday, November 20, 2010

2 accused in cursed money scam extradited to Chicago

October 14, 2010 3:05 PM

A mother and daughter accused of stealing more than $100,000 by leading victims to believe their money was cursed were back in court today after being extradited from Arizona to face theft charges.

Laura Santini, 62, and her daughter, Rosann, 36, were arrested earlier this summer after fleeing to Arizona after allegedly stealing $62,000 from a Park Ridge woman and another $45,000 from a South Holland couple.

The pair worked out of a home on Chicago's Far Northwest Side, billing themselves as fortune tellers and psychic healers, according to a criminal complaint unveiled at a bond hearing for the women this morning. They both face felony theft and theft by deception charges.

Authorities said the South Holland couple began visiting the pair in 2005 after the husband responded to a flier advertising their services that was left on the windshield of his car. Over several years, the Santinis allegedly gleaned detailed information about the couple's financial condition, and convinced them that their money was the source of demonic energy. They claimed they would cleanse the cash and then return it to the couple.

When the victims balked, the Santinis warned "that something bad would happen to them and their children, including the death of their children, if they did not give them the money for cleansing," prosecutors said in court.

Authorities said the couple cashed out their life savings of $45,000 in 2007 and turned it over to the pair, but when they asked for their money back, they were repeatedly told that the cleansing process was not complete. In August 2008, the husband went to visit them again, only to discover that the home was up for rent and that the Santinis had fled the area.

The second victim first met with the Santinis in February 2007 and turned over her life savings of $62,000 in cash after she too was told that her money needed to cleansed at the Indiana shrine to remove demonic energy in her life before she or her children suffered harm, according to the complaint. In January 2009, after the Santini's repeatedly rebuffed her request that the money be returned, the woman discovered that the women had vanished.

The two were indicted earlier this year and warrants were issued for their arrest. They were caught in Scottsdale, Ariz., in July, and were extradited to Chicago last week. This morning, Cook County Judge Dennis J. Porter set bail at $100,000 for each woman.

Chicago Police Det. Milorad Sofrenovic said both victims were hard working, educated people who were caught in a moment of weakness due to personal problems. The crimes often go unreported because the victims are too embarrassed to admit they were duped, he said.

"When people do things like this and keep getting away with it, they become more emboldened," said Sofrenovic, an Area 5 property crimes detective who investigated the Santinis and specializes in probing similar scams.

From: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/10/2-accused-in-cursed-money-scam-extradited-to-chicago.html

Grown men writhing on the floor like snakes. Screams so loud the neighbours complain. The Mail investigates the unnerving world of the 21st century exorcists

By Jane Fryer
Last updated at 2:25 AM on 20th November 2010


Peter Lloyd’s entire body is shaking. His eyes roll back, his hands flap about like a couple of trapped birds and he lets out a gentle groaning sound. Two inches from his juddering face, a man in dark woolly jumper and smart corduroys is yelling at him. Or, ­perhaps more accurately, at something inside him.

‘Get out. Get out evil spirit and go to the pit,’ shouts Pastor Vincent. ‘GO TO THE PIT! Cowardly spirit, I sever you from Peter. Now GET OUT!’

And, with that, he peels back Peter’s right eyelid, glares into his glazed eye, jabs him hard in the stomach, bashes him on the head with a ­leatherbound copy of the Bible and starts shouting again.

‘Holy spirit, I ask for the full judgment of God to smite that evil spirit. Smite it. SMITE IT. Repeat after me, Peter: “In the name of Jesus, I break every curse before my father in Heaven.”

‘Now face me cowardly spirit and tell me your name. TELL ME YOUR NAME.’
Pastor Vincent is carrying out an ­exorcism or ‘inner healing and spirit deliverance’, as he likes to call it.

‘This is spirit warfare — exorcism ­literally means the expelling of evil ­spirits,’ he had told me three hours ­earlier, as he daubed Peter’s ­forehead in extra virgin olive oil, checked we’d turned our phones off and locked the door to a draughty office in St Paul’s Trust community centre in Margate.

‘Most people who come to me have been everywhere, tried everything and nothing has worked, but I get results.’

Until five years ago, Pastor Vincent ten Bouwhuis, who is originally from Holland, ran a small business ­refurbishing hotels.

But then he was born again, attended a five-week training course at the ­Spiritual Freedom Church at Phoenix, Arizona, launched his online Vincent Ministries and now conducts more than 100 ‘spirit ­deliverances’ a year.

He is one of thousands of ­charismatic modern-day exorcists who conduct exorcisms every day in the UK in return for offerings or donations (‘people are generous but, then again, their lives improve enormously’).

They advertise on the internet and in the Yellow Pages and are on ­Facebook and Twitter. Many, ­including Pastor Vincent, even offer online ­training courses — ‘it’s very good value at £50 a month’ — where aspiring ­exorcists can learn the ropes.

‘There’s been a massive rise in demand lately, so I’ve been incredibly busy,’ he says.

And it’s not just Pastor Vincent who’s busy.

Demand for exorcisms has shot up over recent decades. Just last week, more than a hundred Roman Catholic bishops and priests gathered in ­Baltimore, U.S., to discuss the ­staggering demand — and the ­shortage of priests properly qualified to carry them out.

As one Catholic priest puts it: ‘More people are dabbling in the occult, but then they get tangled and confused and come to us to unravel it all.’

Because, surprising though it seems, every Church of England and ­Catholic ­diocese still has at least one ­bishop-appointed exorcist upon whom parishioners can call in a ­paranormal emergency.

They don’t advertise their services — Catholic exorcists are forbidden to talk about their activities — but are busy behind the scenes to address ­paranormal ­referrals from parishioners, members of the police, the medical ­profession and the Samaritans.

Although their work mostly consists of offering reassurance, occasionally, they still conduct formal exorcisms.

They also operate under a strict set of guidelines and must have ­demonstrated themselves to be an ­exceptionally holy person.

‘It is a specialism that has always been regarded with an enormous sense of reverence and awe,’ says one priest, who cannot be named. ‘We’re talking about the salvation of a human soul here, not something casual.’

So why on earth did Peter Lloyd (who claims to be possessed by the spirit of his eight-year-old self) opt for someone like Pastor Vincent?

‘They had already prayed for me at church, but nothing really ­happened,’ says Peter. ‘So I found him on the ­internet and here I am.’

‘They come to me because I get results,’ says Pastor Vincent. ‘Or at least the Lord does, working through me. We go a lot deeper than the Church and we find every tiny hook that an evil spirit could have looped itself around.

‘Of course, it can get noisy. Some ­people vomit, some scream in a loud voice and some manifest on the floor like a snake, which can be dramatic — but it works.’

The Reverend Tom Willis is also an exorcist — but a rather more ­traditional one.

For 50 years, he has worked in the York diocese of the Church of ­England as a ­Minister of Deliverance (the church’s preferred term for an ­exorcist — although he claims he was once ­mistaken for the chaplain of a ­maternity hospital) and, until his retirement in 1996, he was the ­Archbishop of York’s special adviser on the occult.

Today he assists the Church, trains clerics in his art and is still called out at least twice a week to help with some type of ­paranormal ­disturbance or other.

‘I’m busier than ever — even the police call up for my help,’ he says. ‘No one wants to know about it, but it’s a fact we have to deal with.’

Reverend Willis has lost count of the number of times he has slipped silently, usually at night, into haunted houses, factories, hotels, DSS offices, doctors’ surgeries and police stations to exercise his duties in ‘the hidden ministry of the Church’.

And he’s seen an awful lot of ­inexplicable phenomena.

There was the time he was thrown to the floor by a massive bolt of power — ‘my head was whiplashed and my elbows and knees knocked together and every muscle tightened’.

And the flying objects — ‘video ­recorders, shampoo bottles, ­ornaments travelling through brick walls and doors opening and ­slamming shut. And ­sometimes I get a zig-zaggy feeling around my edges — a bit like an electric current — and lots of ­people shouting: “It’s behind you! It’s in the corner!”’

But he insists that actual demonic possessions are very, very rare.
‘In 50 years, I’ve only seen it for real three or four times — and, usually, it’s mental illness.

‘Anyone who claims they are ­possessed very rarely is. You don’t get possessed just walking to the ­supermarket — you have to have ­dabbled strongly with the occult and called evil in.’

The process by which the Church proves possession is strictly defined.

Until all criteria — an aversion to ­religious objects, speaking a language the person has never learned and ­demonstrating a supernatural power, such as extraordinary strength — are met, an exorcism cannot be approved.

Which begs the question: why does Pastor Vincent perform so many ­exorcisms? And where do all the demons come from?

‘Drug abuse, rejection, sexual abuse . . . there’s also a spirit behind homo­sexuality,’ he adds. ‘A good friend of mine was homosexual, he came to the Lord and now he’s ­married with a family.’

(Peter, the man I watched him ­exorcise, falls into several ­categories — he was a regular LSD and cocaine user, was rejected by his father as a child and had witnessed sexual abuse.)

Of course, many people would feel rather startled at homosexuality being mentioned in the same breath as demonic possession, but Trevor ­Newport — the head of a church called Life Changing Ministries and the man who performed Channel 4’s ­controversial ‘live’ exorcism in 2005 — has even more extreme views. He includes reading horoscopes, ­performing yoga, Harry Potter and practising martial arts as ­­demon-inviting activities.

‘I’ve even had to cast things out of my own children,’ he says. ‘They were generational things — you know, if your ancestors have been involved in witchcraft, it can still have effects on you, that sort of thing.’ Trevor is a born-again ­Christian who jets around the world casting demons out of ­people, ­talking at ­international conferences, giving seminars and raising money.

‘I pray for money all the time. My offerings are good — I get thousands all the time. I got £3,000 just this week from donations. And I only ever fly first or business class.

‘I’m very successful, but it’s tiring. I’ve had people charge at me with knives and women shouting in men’s voices. There’s often a physical ­manifestation when the spirit leaves — it might be a cough or a scream or an unnatural yawn. It’s an incredibly rewarding and interesting job and I love being able to help people.’

Perhaps not surprisingly, the rise of so-called ‘internet exorcists’ has caused some concern.

‘Some of these people decide to be a pastor, do a quick course in America, set up their own church and they’re off,’ says the unnamed priest.

‘I wouldn’t condemn them out of hand, but the danger is that they have no one they need to account to.

‘And if money’s involved, the whole thing can go quite bad quite quickly. Some of these other churches can jump in rather over-enthusiastically.’

The default position of the Church of England and the Catholic church towards those seeking to be ­exorcised is a healthy scepticism.

‘If someone comes in and says they’re possessed or they’re having visions of Our Lady, it’s safest to be sceptical and work back from that position,’ says the priest.

So how can you distinguish between p ossession and medical illnesses?

According to Pastor Vincent, he can help with both. ‘A lot of the trouble is ­disassociated identity,’ he says. ‘It is a ­fragmentation of the mind and things can only ­happen if you let God in.’

Trevor Newport is a bit clearer: ‘God shows me if someone needs medical help and if someone needs ­deliverance.

‘I can see it. I know when ­something is not demonic and just mental.’

One thing the old and new wave can agree on is how ridiculously busy they are. ‘This is a ­massive social problem that, due to image, marketing and people’s shyness is not recognised,’ says Rev Willis.

Apparently, it has been building up for half a century. Demonic ­possession and hauntings exploded in number following the repeal of the Witchcraft Bill in 1951 (for ­hundreds of years it had been illegal in Britain to consult a fortune-teller).

Such was the Vatican’s concern that, in 2000, it issued a new manual for exorcism rituals (replacing the 1614 version) encouraging priests to work with doctors to distinguish between demonic influence and mental illness.

And, just three years ago, the Pope ordered his bishops to set up ­‘exorcism squads’ — priests trained on special courses to tackle the rise of Satanism.

'I pray for money all the time. My offerings are good — I get thousands all the time. I got £3,000 just this week from donations. And I only ever fly first or business class.
Indeed, if you tap the word ­‘exorcist’ into the internet, you’ll find pages and pages of ­people ­offering ‘deliverance ministry’, ‘spirit release’ and all sorts — but not one mention of the Church.

As the Rev Willis puts it: ‘It’s not something we offer on Sunday mornings with coffee and biscuits, but it has always been part of the healing ministry of the church ­commanded by Jesus.

‘And it always will be.’

Back in the chilly office in Margate and after nearly three hours of shouting and groaning — and a complaint from the meeting room next door about all the noise — Peter and Pasteur Vincent are reaching a climax.
‘Get out. Get out. GET OUT!’

Finally, a grey-faced Peter ­collapses into his chair in tears. He looks utterly spent and broken, but insists he feels some sort of relief.
‘I feel like something has shifted. I don’t know what, but it feels ­better,’ says Peter.

‘Of course he does,’ adds Pasteur Vincent.

‘Praise be to God. Alleluia! ­Alleluia! Alleluia!’

Peter Lloyd’s name has been changed.

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1331405/21st-Century-exorcists-The-Mail-investigates-unnerving-world.html

Woman jailed for attacking friend with Buddha statue

NZPA
November 18, 2010, 3:02 pm


A Manawatu woman has been jailed for 6-1/2 years for attacking a friend and smashing her skull in with a 5kg Buddha statue.

Fiona Jane Jordin, 44, was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday for the attack on Otaki nurse Kerry Cumming, the Manawatu Standard reported.

Ms Cumming had gone to Australia to work and had asked Jordin and her partner to mind her house in Otaki.

In November last year Ms Cumming returned unannounced to find her house a "pigsty", her possessions sold and thousands of dollars worth of bills in her name, she said.

Jordin said Ms Cumming had attacked her so she retaliated in self defence, but the jury rejected this claim and found Jordin guilty, in September, of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm.

The attack involved the Buddha statue and a glass vase.

Ms Cumming flew from Australia to read her victim impact statement to the court last week.

"My head had to get put back together like a jigsaw puzzle, along with my face, and multiple other wounds on my body," she said.

Ms Cumming proved wrong doctors, who said she would never be able to function on her own, but her left eyelid does not blink or close, she is deaf in one ear and she cannot sleep on her left side as the metal plates in her head cause piercing pain.

She also has permanent vertigo, which causes her to feel nauseous when she bends down or reaches for something.

She also suffers from fatigue, permanent short-term memory loss and a speech impediment.

Judge Les Atkins did not impose a minimum non-parole period on Jordin, which means she could be out of prison after serving one third of her sentence.

From: http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/8344210/woman-jailed-for-attacking-friend-with-buddha-statue/

Man on drug rampage leaves stabbed lamb, maimed father, burnt farm and severed penis in his wake

A Bulgarian has racked up a lengthy list of drug-induced felonies after being given drugs that were promised to ‘guarantee a good time.’

Christopher Hooton - 15th November, 2010


On a slow day in Bulgaria Angel Atanasov decided to take some drugs with a friend.

What followed was a drug-addled rampage of immense proportions.

The following statement by a police spokesman details a comprehensive list of the man’s crazed trail of destruction:

‘First he cut-off a piece of his penis, and when his father came to help him he sliced off his father's ear.

After penis-severing, ear-slicing man: Top 5 bizarre injuries

‘He then ran into the road partially naked and bleeding, where he jumped into a car owned by a young woman who was unloading the trunk and drove off.

‘He went through a red light and crashed into a motorcycle before leaping out of the car and running to a nearby farm where he tried to batter down the door.

‘When that failed he ran down the back of the house and tried to set fire to a haystack.’

The statement continues:

‘He then stabbed a lamb to death before stripping off his remaining clothes and stealing an axe which he then ran off with completely naked.

‘When police closed in, he climbed up a high-voltage cable and was blasted with several thousand volts.’

It would seem this put an end to Atanasov’s rampage as he was arrested soon after.

Atanasov was said to have been taking drugs with a friend in Pazardzhik, a city in the southeast of the capital Sofia, because they were bored.

He is now fighting for his life in intensive care.

From: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/847267-man-on-drug-rampage-leaves-stabbed-lamb-maimed-father-burnt-farm-and-severed-penis-in-his-wake

Man jailed for murder of girlfriend's toddler

Gary Alcock attacked 15-month-old child after her crying interrupted his computer game

Helen Carter guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18 November 2010 17.06 GMT


A man was jailed for life today for the murder of his girlfriend's toddler, whom he viciously attacked after her crying interrupted him playing on his Xbox computer game.

Jurors at Manchester crown court were told that Violet Mullen's mother, Claire Flanagan, put her "desperate need for a man in her life" ahead of her 15-month-old daughter's welfare. In the three weeks leading up to her death at the hands of Gary Alcock, Violet was punched, slapped and pinched, before he delivered a fatal blow to her stomach which tore her internal organs.

The judge told Alcock, 28, that he must serve at least 21 years before he would be eligible for parole.

Violet's 22-year-old mother was cleared of murder, but convicted of causing or allowing her daughter's death by ignoring the obvious signs of abuse. She was jailed for five years.

For the first year of her daughter's life, Flanagan ensured her needs were met. But this changed when she met Alcock and he moved in to her house in Oldham. The court was told she ignored the signs of abuse and only confronted him an hour before Violet collapsed and died.

In January, an ambulance was called to their home following the fatal beating. Violet was found to have 38 bruises on her body.

Judge Clement Goldstone QC told Flanagan: "You could have sought medical help, you could have involved social services, you could have asked him to leave, but any of those options would have put at risk your relationship, which you, at the time, priced far more highly than your relationship and love for Violet."

He said she blatantly ignored the significant risk of more violence to Violet. "As a mother you failed her miserably. That is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life."

The judge described Alcock as a manipulative individual who had used violence in relationships to achieve control. "Yours was a truly horrific and cruel crime of murder in which you have shown absolutely no remorse or shame," he said.

Alcock was known to social services and had contacted a family centre for parenting advice. When an outreach worker visited the home, it was noted that Alcock ignored Violet while playing computer games. He has a previous conviction for assaulting a former girlfriend and had been seen to hit children.

A postmortem examination concluded that Violet died from internal bleeding after suffering 35 separate injuries – including multiple bruises, rib fractures and brain damage – that were comparable to injuries sustained in a car crash.

The judge said that in the three weeks before Violet's death, Alcock subjected her to repeated violence. "You fractured two of her ribs either by squeezing or gripping her so tight that they snapped.

"You caused injuries to her brain, face, arms and legs with a combination of punches, slaps and, bordering on the sadistic, pinches.

"This was the way you chose to cope with a demanding little girl who demanded your attention and interrupted your time-consuming hobby of playing computer games."

The judge said the blow to Violet's stomach was delivered with such force that it tore her internal organs. Alcock then put her in her cot and waited for Flanagan to return home.

Flanagan had ignored bloodstains on her daughter's clothing, in her cot and on her bedroom walls. She did nothing, even though the child reacted whenever Alcock entered a room.

A health visitor described Flanagan as a caring mum who desperately wanted to be loved. Her childhood and teenage years had been marred by physical abuse and neglect, turbulent stints in care homes from the age of 10 and street prostitution.

Outside court, the senior investigating officer, Vinny Chadwick, said: "The pathologist's report made some disturbing conclusions about how much Violet suffered before her death. Alcock was supposed to care for her, but he abused his position and caused her death.

"We are pleased that justice has been done for taking away a completely innocent life and our thoughts remain with Violet's family as they continue to come to terms with her death."

From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/18/man-jailed-murder-girlfriends-toddler

Teenage Love Triangle Turns Deadly

Cyberspace Feud Between Two Girls Culminates in Lethal Confrontation

By MARC DORIAN
Nov. 18, 2010




It's the familiar tale of a love triangle but with contemporary complications: Two teenage girls, each jealous of the other's relationship with the same boy, lash out at one another through cell phones and the Internet -- a feud that, though largely played out in cyberspace, resulted in a deadly face-to-face confrontation.


One of the girls, Sarah Ludemann, grew up in a working class neighborhood in Pinellas Park, Fla. She was considered a late bloomer when it came to boys, until, when at age 17, she walked into a Chick Filet restaurant where Josh Camacho worked.

"He poked his head out the back 'cause he was working in the back and he just kind of winked at her," Ludemann's friend, Amber Lee Ayala, said. "She wanted to know him."

Camacho paid attention to Ludemann and called her pretty, but pictures on her cell phone showed Camacho had a dangerous, edgy side: He could be seen flexing his muscles, waving a gun and boasting his name tattooed across his back.

From the get-go, Ludemann's parents weren't impressed.

"There was always something about him that kept you thinking, was he good, was he bad?" said her mother, Gay Ludemann.

It turns out they had reason to worry. Camacho was dating another girl, Rachel Wade, at the same time.

At 19, Wade, who also grew up Pinellas Park, was more independent than Sarah. She had a job, her own apartment and more experience with boys. But she, too, friends said, was attracted to Camacho for his "bad boy" ways.

Camacho kept his two girlfriends in the dark about each other as the family and friends of both girls began to see them change -- they were acting and dressing differently. Camacho insisted they wear long pants, despite Florida's oppressive heat, to keep other guys from looking at their legs. He even told the girls which friends they could be with and when.

"I would see her, and she didn't look like Sarah. She didn't dress like Sarah," said Danielle Eyermann, another friend of Ludemann's. "Even parts of her didn't act like Sarah anymore."

Ludemann's parents grew even more concerned when they noticed bruises on their daughter. They said she told them the marks just came from "play fighting."

Wade's friend Lindsey Atticks said Wade told her that Camacho had threatened her with a gun.

"He held the gun out and said, 'You will never leave me, you will never leave me,'" Atticks said.

'My Man, Not Yours'

"If he said something to Rachel, that's what she had to do," said Stephanie Pilver, another friend of Wade's. "He is very controlling, and I think to a point she felt like maybe that's what she deserved. ? Maybe she should be with him because maybe he is doing that to her, and it's her fault that he is treating her like that."

It didn't take long before Wade and Ludemann found out about each other. Camacho brushed it off, calling them "friends with benefits."

Both girls' friends urged them to end their relationships with Camacho, but they didn't listen. Ludemann lost 30 pounds and was losing herself in Camacho, friends said.

"She couldn't help it. She wasn't willing to let him go," Ayala said.

The tipping point came when Ludemann posted a picture on the social networking site MySpace. It was of herself and Camacho on a trip to New York. Wade was devastated.

It was "obviously to make sure Rachel saw them," Atticks said. "[Sarah Ludemann] messaged her and said, "Oh, how do you like my new pictures? That's with my man, not yours."

Angry and dejected, Wade used MySpace to lash out at Camacho.

"I deserve so much better," she wrote on her page.

But the message prompted a taunting post from Ludemann, who wrote, "You think you can find better?"

Enraged, Wade dialed Ludemann's cell phone, leaving an angry, profanity-laced message. Listen to the voicemail here.

The taunting went back and forth for months on MySpace, text messages and voice mail. The technology made it all too easy to lash out, but it also made it worse.

It was Ludemann who first took the feud offline and started to harass Wade at work. Pilver said Ludemann and her friends would visit the restaurant Wade worked at so they could trip her while she was carrying beer or complain that she spit in their food.

Camacho seemed to enjoy the two women vying for his affection. He even encouraged them to go to battle for him.

"Josh would say, Well, if you want to be with me, then you'll fight with her for me," Atticks said.

On April 14, 2009, the wheels for a face-off were set in motion. Camacho sent a text message to Wade, asking to see her that night. But soon after, he sent another message, canceling the get-together. Wade suspected Ludemann was the reason.

The Fight

Wade "called me and she was bawling," Atticks said. "She told me, 'I think Josh is with Sarah. I am so upset. He ditched me again for her." Shortly after dark, according to Wade's friends, Ludemann pulled up outside Wade's apartment, honked the horn and drove off.

In fear, Wade called an ex-boyfriend, Javier Laboy, who invited her to seek refuge at his home.

As Wade hurried out of her apartment, she paused in the kitchen for a moment and made a fateful decision: She grabbed a steak knife.

"She was afraid that they were gonna, you know, show up (again) and ... she had no way to defend herself," Laboy said.

On the way to Laboy's, witnesses said Wade took a detour to spy on Camacho. And from her car, she allegedly sent a text to Camacho, saying, "Now I know why you're not talking to me because you have her."

Camacho texted back, 'That's right. I don't like you no more."

Wade left to find comfort at Laboy's house. Ludemann, on a tip, found out where Wade was, and decided to confront her face to face. She raced off in her minivan toward Laboy's.

"We hear a car screeching around the corner. If she would've gone any faster she would've tipped that van," Laboy said. "By the time we realized what was going on, Sarah had already jumped out of the car, grabbed Rachel's hair. She was punching. Rachel's arms were flying everywhere."

After seconds, Wade and Ludemann separated. Ludemann, bleeding from a gaping wound, staggered back toward her minivan and collapsed. Wade calmly walked back toward Laboy's house, tossing the knife onto a neighbor's roof.

Wade had "such a blank look on her face," Laboy said. "It didn't look like she was there with us."

When police arrived, Ludemann was lying on the ground with barely a pulse. When her parents and Camacho arrived at the scene, she was surrounded by paramedics.

Her father, Charlie Ludemann, confronted Wade, whom he said he saw sitting at the scene, smoking a cigarette.

"I said, Rachel, why -- you stupid bitch, you couldn't fight with your hands. And Sarah's layin' there in a puddle of blood," he said.

Wade, he said, didn't answer.

The doctors struggled to save Sarah Ludemann, but her wound was too massive. At 2:29 a.m., the teenager was pronounced dead.

On Trial for Murder

Ludemann's parents went to see their daughter as doctors worked to revive her, but Camacho, they said, stayed in the waiting room.

"I said to Josh, "I gotta go see Sarah. You ought to come," Charlie Ludemann said. "[He said] 'No, I can't see her like that.' And I told him, 'You're the reason she's like that.' And then I left."

Camacho was banned from the funeral.

Police arrested Rachel Wade for the murder of Ludemann soon after her death. This past July, at age 20, Wade went on trial.

Camacho was among 12 witnesses to testify. He conceded that Ludemann and Wade had fought over him but said little else otherwise.

"There was this young ? petite man that would come into court wearing a coat and tie, but he certainly was somebody who wanted to be tough, wanted to be the puppet master and tell these girls what to do and how to do it," said Wade's defense attorney, Jay Hebert.

Wade was the last to testify. The teenager told the court that she was just trying to defend herself.

Prosecutors weren't buying it: They played a threatening voice mail message that Wade had left for Ludemann. Wade said, "Now your ass is mine, and I am guaranteeing you I am going to f--king murder you. I am letting you know that now ... you're a f**king fat bitch, and I am going to f**king kill you, I swear on my life."

Wade told the court that Ludemann had also threatened her.

"Nobody really ever approaches people anymore and just talks to them," Wade said.

"So everybody goes out there and takes a knife and stabs people in the heart," prosecutor Lisset Hanewicz replied. "That is what happens?"

The jury needed only 2½ hours to reach a verdict. They found Wade guilty of second degree murder. She was later sentenced to 27 years in prison, where she remains today.

Wade told "20/20" that she now talks to Ludemann, asking for her forgiveness.

"I wish that we could have sat down and talked," she said, "and that I wish that, you know, both of us could have been smart enough to just walk away and to realize we deserve better."

From: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/teenage-love-triangle-turns-deadly/story?id=12152881&page=1