Author: Brian Carnell

Wren’s Nest — Excellent Wiccan News Blog

Like everything else religious, I am equally repulsed and fascinated by all things Wicca. My wife recently pointed me to Wren’s Nest which is basically a blog devoted to highlighting news stories related to Wicca.

For example, I didn’t see anyone else link to this story that the ASPCA a couple years ago finally dropped its nonsensical recommendation that animal shelters not allow adoption of black cats around Halloween, and that shelters around the country are starting to get the message and drop such bans. As the article notes, not only are there no statistics backing up claims that people would adopt black cats just to torture or kill them for God(dess)-knows-what, if you want to find a black cat it’s not that hard to find one on the streets in most parts of the country.

My Podzilla Arrives

The other day on E-Bay, I saw a pretty good deal for a Roadwired Podzilla bag to go along with the Roadwired MegaMedia Computer Bag I bought a few months ago and couldn’t resist. It arrived a few days ago and, just like the Media Bag, is simply a gadget freak’s dream come true.

The Podzilla was actually even smaller than I thought it would be — significantly smaller than the smallish camera bag I had been using — but once you open all the pockets, etc. it’s just amazing how much you can cram in a 9.25″ X 9″ X 6.5″ bag.

The other day I took it along with me on a business trip. I was easily able to bring along in this single bag my digital camera, digital camcorder, PDA, cellphone, GameBoy Advance SP, batteries, blank mini-DV tapes, half a dozen flash memory cards of various flavors, and still had a few empty pockets.

Gun Crazy Great Britain?

I absolutely love the headline on this story from The Observer from October 5,

Police fear they are losing control of gun-crazy Britain

Now wait a minute — starting in 1998 Great Britain banned the private ownership of handguns and forced everyone who had registered a handgun to turn their weapons over to the state.

And yet, according to The Observer, gun crime has doubled since the Labour Party came to power.

Apparently, as best I can tell, criminals aren’t abiding by the law and are obtaining weapons illegally — imagine that. The nerve of some people.

Not to worry, though, the government apparently has a plan. They’re talking about mandatory minimums for illegal possession of a gun. I’m sure that will accomplish what the ban on guns hasn’t.

Source:

Police fear they are losing control of gun-crazy Britain. Tony Thompson, The Observer, October 5, 2003.

Friends of Animals Condemns Chiron Bombing

While many animal rights activists and groups were cheering the bombs set off at Chiron Corp. in August, Friends of Animals did quickly issue a press release condemning both that bombing specifically and extremist actions in general.

Friends of Animals’ said,

On Saturday the 30th of August, an obscure group called the Revolutionary Cells claimed responsibility for the two small explosive devices that went off early Thursday morning at the Chiron Corp. buildings in Emeryville, reportedly in protest against the firms’ relationship with animal research group Huntingdon Life Sciences. The blasts did not injure anyone, but a handful of Chiron employees were reportedly in the building.

“Vandalism, arson, explosives, and threats have no place in a movement for animal rights,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals.

“Such irresponsible acts are unacceptable in any movement for the betterment of society, and we categorically denounce them.”

. . .

“Clearly there is a tremendous social value in informing the public about the detriments of cross-species transplantation and other biotech research using animals, and in bringing the urgent and multi-layered ethical problems into the open,” said Priscilla Feral. “But this can only be done by education. It cannot be done through acts of intimidation or the endangerment of works.”

Unfortunately Friends of Animals was apparently in the minority of animal rights opinion about the Chiron bombing (it was the only group, to my knowledge, that bothered to issue a condemnation of the attack).

Source:

Friends of Animals condemns Friday’s pipe bomb attack in the city of Emeryville, California. Friends of Animals, August 2003.

Seventeen year-old British Activist Sentenced

This Is Hertfordshire reported that on September 12 a seventeen year old animal rights activist plead guilty to nine charges related to throwing tea and tea bags at medical researchers as they drove past the National Institute for Medical Research.

According to This is Hertfordshire, the young woman has regularly stood outside the NIMR building for the pat two years as part of an ongoing protest against animal research.

On August 5 she was arrested for throwing tea at a researcher who was riding by on a bicycle and threw a tea bag onto the windshield of a car being driven by another researcher. She was arrested and charged with criminal damage, assault, interfering with motor vehicles, aggravated trespass and harassment, and causing alarm and distress.

The young woman received a nine month probation period, has to write letters of apology to the cyclist and driver, and must pay 30 pound compensation to the cyclist as well as court costs.

Source:

Animal rights activist, 17, brews up trouble. Sophie Kummer, This Is Hertfordshire, September 16, 2003.

Barbecuing Under the Billboard to Protest PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently paid for a billboard in Idaho Falls, Idaho, picturing a child eating a hamburger with the copy “Feeding kids meat is child abuse.”

An Idaho radio station decided to protest the billboard by holding a barbecue beneath it. According to KIDK 3, several dozen people gathered under the billboard for a “meat fest barbecue to protest PETA.”

Sources:

People gather to protest a PETA billboard. Joly Thomas, KIDK 3, September 17, 2003.

Idaho falls radio station plans PETA protest. Associated Press, September 15, 2003.