'Spy' used voodoo to shield general from Taliban, court hears

A British Army translator accused of spying for Iran was a voodoo priest who used black magic to protect the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan from the Taliban, a court heard.

Interpreter Daniel James (left) used voodoo black magic to protect Gen Richards Photo: AP
Iranian-born Daniel James, 45, who was the personal interpreter to General David Richards, told the Old Bailey that he used pictures, dust, candles and seashells to cast spells protect his boss.
He also said he did Tarot card readings for other personnel at the Allied HQ in Kabul to predict the future.

Related Articles
Salsa dancing spy Daniel James guilty of spying for Iran
Salsa dancing Army interpreter guilty
'Spy' translator Daniel James took photos of Tony Blair on Afghan trip
General Sir David Richards is new head of British Army
British Army officer arrested over military secrets leak

James is alleged to have passed on secret information about Allied troop movements to the Iranians - who then passed it on to the Taliban.
Giving evidence, James swore on the Bible but said he embraced all religions before telling the court how he converted to Voodoo while on his yearly trips to Cuba to research salsa in 2003.

Halloween Facts: Costumes, History, Urban Legends, More

Halloween's origins date back more than 2,000 years. On what we consider November 1, Europe's Celtic peoples celebrated their New Year's Day, called Samhain (SAH-win).
The night before Samhain—what we know as Halloween—spirits were thought to walk the Earth as they traveled to the afterlife. Fairies, demons, and other creatures were also said to be abroad.
Celtic Costumes
In addition to sacrificing animals to the gods and gathering around bonfires, Celts often wore costumes—probably animal skins—to confuse spirits, perhaps to avoid being possessed, according to the American Folklife Center at the U.S. Library of Congress.
By wearing masks or blackening their faces, Celts are also thought to have impersonated dead ancestors.

Next Holiday: Mabon/Fall Equinox September 22, 2009

Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon’s novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring one quarter of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents midautumn, autumn’s height. It is also the autumnal equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft. Recently, some Pagan groups have begun calling the holiday by the Welsh name ‘Mabon’, although there seems little historical justification for doing so.

Dog Domestication Likely Began in Africa

Modern humans originated in Africa, and now it looks like man's best friend first emerged there too.

An extensive genetic study on the ancestry of African village dogs points to a Eurasian -- possibly North African -- origin for the domestication of dogs.

Prior research concluded that dogs likely originated in East Asia. However, this latest study, the most thorough investigation ever on the ancestry of African village dogs, indicates otherwise.

"Village" dogs are local, semi-feral dogs that cluster around human settlements in much of the world.

"I think our results cast some doubt on the hypothesis of an East Asian origin for dog domestication that was put forward based on previous mitochondrial DNA genetic research," lead author Adam Boyko told Discovery News.

Bigfoot creature photographed in Sierra National Forest

The Bigfoot creature may have been captured on a remote trail camera placed in the Sierra National Forest, based on photography evidence released by Sanger Paranormal Society.

Investigator Jeffrey Gonzalez said Tuesday night that multiple cameras were put in place in this remote area on Memorial Day weekend, and retreived on June 7, 2009.

Gonzalez said they did not immediately see the evidence, but upon closer inspection, noticed what appears to be the Bigfoot creature.

Gonzalez said a group returned to the site to review the exact capture spot after many theories surfaced once the original image was released in early July.

Chicago Bar Phantom Photograph

"My husband and I traveled to Chicago to see my sister graduate from college," says Brittany. "The night of graduation, we took her and her boyfriend out for some celebratory drinks. We spent most of the night in what I understand to be an old building, at a champagne bar called Pops For Champagne. In the photo, my husband and my sister's boyfriend were posing for a picture. We were all seated, there were no mirrors or glass of any kind near us. Lots of people were walking past our table, but when we reviewed our photos on the ride home, we could not get over what the figure behind the two boys. Why is it see-through when even the scenery behind it is opaque? If it was a person walking quickly, why is it transparent and not blurry? And what the heck kind of outfit is it wearing? It looks like a space suit."

This is a very curious photo indeed and I've had a hard time trying to figure it out. But let's take it point by point:

* The photo was obviously taken with a flash since the two fellows are brightly lit. We can even see the hard shadow of the guy with the glasses on the phantom in the background.
* The fact that the phantom caught the shadow indicates that it was really there -- a physcial object.
* We can even see a reflection of the yellowish phantom in the glass being held by the guy with the glasses, again indicating that it's really there.
* So why is the phantom figure transparent? A flash should have captured even a moving object still in the split second the light flashed and the camera shutter clicked. But in some cases, if the flash and shutter are slightly out of sync (which they could be for objects in the background, because the camera is focused on the guys in the foreground), those moving objects can get the transparent look seen here. In fact, if you zoom in on the guy in the black jacket seated at the bar, you can see that his head is blurred from movement and that his face is somewhat transparent. So this camera-flash anomaly can result in some apparent transparency, but I think the phantom object must have been moving pretty quickly to yield this amount of transparency.

So, yes, the photographic anomaly could have caused the transparency on the object, but we still have the question: What the heck is that thing!? I can make out the arms and bend in the elbows, but where's its head? And what is it wearing? It seems to be a one-piece outfit of some kind. To me, that's the most baffling aspect of this photo.

Any other ideas out there?

Hex Education!

On Sunday, August 9th, Christian and Lori will have an open forum for callers with questions about Witchcraft and magic. (no readings, please!). They'll also be dishing about a little of this n' that.

Occult Crime: A Law Enforcement Primer

This is the electronic version of the precedent-setting report concerning "occult crime" in the United States of America. At the time of its commission, several American communities had been plagued with "mass hysteria" among small groups of people (almost exclusively Fundamentalist Christians) who believed that Satanists and other "occultists" were among them, kidnapping children, burning and looting businesses, and terrorizing their victims in secret midnight "Satanic" rituals. Many of these communities were ravaged with hatred and fear; many innocent people were sent to prison with little or no valid evidence against them other than the words of little children who claimed to be victims, and yet were later found to be lying or confused (deliberately or not) by their "therapists."

During this "Modern Salem Witch Trial" period, law enforcement was caught in the middle: confused, fearful, ignorant citizens demanded that law enforcement "Do something!" about the murder and mayhem they believed was occurring secretly around them; law enforcement was rendered powerless to investigate (let alone "stop") the alleged crimes, as there was no evidence such crimes were occurring (let alone by Satanists or other "Occultists"). This made the bewildered citizens more fearful, distrustful, angry, and frustrated. Many proponents of the belief that mass murder was being committed by "Occultists" even went so far as to insist that law enforcement officers were not just protecting the perpetrators, but were actively engaging in the mass murder themselves. It did not ease these citizens' fear that the majority of experts in the field who denounced and debunked the belief in wide-spread "Occult Crime" were themselves law enforcement officers--- thus fueling the belief in the "conspiracy" and "cover-up."