Ukranian performer cuts down cross in supporting Pussy Riot

 Ukranian Inna Shevchenko of Femen destroys wooden cross with a chainsaw in protest of Pussy Riot on trial:

Russian, Once an "atheist" country...

Remember when, all you fellow baby boomers, during the cold war/ duck and cover/ 1950s pinko commie era, when we were warned about those godless, heathen, atheist Russian commies?

Russia, the big bad evil empire and the worst thing about Russia, the very worst, we were told, was its atheism.

Today's news has brought us two stories that contradict any atheistic beliefs. Three women: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich,  sentenced to a two year prison sentence for offending the Church, and a 100 year ban on pro-gay parades, speech, etc.

Of course, Pussy Riot's protest on the church steps pissed off Putin and that's why they were sentenced. Church followers are just thrown into the mix for added support for the Putin cause. It isn't really about religion; it's about politics. It's about control.

The anti-gay edict: totalitarian governments, not promoting religion, well again, it's about control. I wonder if (while trying not to be cliche)  an already fringe group, often a majority of thinkers and creative individuals are considered a danger to the powers that be. No one wants that. Religion has nothing to do with it; it's about control. Maintaining power. Maintaining control.

Women Of Esoterica: BBC News - Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism

BBC News - Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism: Disturbing and disappointing news. Three members of Pussy Riot --- Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, --- have been sentenced to two years in prison for their performance.BBC News - Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism

The headline reads "...jailed for ... hooliganism" but the judge added that their "hooliganism" "crudely undermined social order."

Scary that anyone can be jailed for political protest that conflicts with the rule of the land. Equally frightening is the fact that one can be jailed for "offending" religions. In Pussy Riot's case, their protest was seen as "hooliganism" but not just; as the judge said, "...the act had been one of blasphemy, not politics."

The women have international supporters, including musicians like Madonna and Paul McCartney. But there are plenty of religious fanatics who think justice has been served:

One, Igor Kim, told the BBC News website from Moscow: "Shouting and screaming and spreading hate in Church is unacceptable and is contrary with Christian ethics."


Hardly need to point out the obvious that sending people to prison for three years for expressing their opinions is not "Christian ethics."

The Madonna and the Whore, and, Evading Pussy

I found this AP item interesting for what it couldn't bring itself to say: pussy. Associated Press | The Register-Guard | Eugene, Oregon Not at first anyway,

Madonna, as in pop culture icon, and whore, as in, that's what Madonna is. Those words can be uttered. But pussy, that might be offensive!

The item is about a tweet from a "Russian deputy premier" that condemned Madonna (the performer, not the Madonna) for supporting, as the AP release put it "...the jailed members of a Russian punk band..."
That "Russian punk band" is called PUSSY RIOT. Say it. PUSSY. As in: vagina. Twat. And so on.

The parallels to the Madonna and the whore iconography are obvious. A woman -- Madonna -- takes on the persona of the Madonna/whore mythic cliche. And she dares to support other whores, who themselves dared perform -- in your face, bourgeois! -- anti-Madonna sentiments. Actually, Pussy Riot prayed to Mary: ""Virgin Mary, drive Putin away!" they evoked. Further insult to the Madonna, these "whores" take back names and labels and own it. Pussy Riot.

Parked in the seventh paragraph, the name of the group: Pussy Riot, is written. Pussy Riot appears again in the ninth paragraph. 7 and 9, two powerful numbers in esoteric tradition, not to mention three, the number of members on trial. The three members of Pussy Riot have been in jail for five months and are accused of acts that amount to religious hate crimes. The women face up to three years in prison.

Madonna -- the musician, not the BVM -- is once again about symbols. (Remember her recent swastika provocation in France.) From the AP item:

Madonna, who performed in Moscow and St. Petersburg as part of her world tour, expressed her support for Pussy Riot at Tuesday's concert in Moscow, saying she'd "pray for them." She then turned her bare back, with "Pussy Riot" written on it and donned a ski mask similar to those worn by the band.

Pussy Riot has international support, including of course from fellow musicians. Here's just one link I found while surfing.

Update on Pussy Riot Trial: Russia prosecutors seek three years' jail

BBC News - Pussy Riot: Russia prosecutors seek three years' jail Pussy Riot, three women performance artists, are on trial for insulting the church. For their "crime" church leaders are demanding the young women be imprisoned:

Feelings about the case within Russian society, where the Orthodox Church has enjoyed a revival since the collapse of the atheistic USSR, have been mixed.
'Abuse of God'

"The actions of the accomplices clearly show religious hatred and enmity," state prosecutor Alexei Nikiforov said in closing arguments.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has said the act amounted to blasphemy.

"Using swear words in a church is an abuse of God."

He said the women had "set themselves up against the Orthodox Christian world".

Given the "severity" of the crime, he argued, the "requisite punishment must be a real deprivation of freedom".

UFO Digest: Vatican Official Declares Extraterrestrial Contact Is Real

Wasn't I just posting about this awhile back? :)Vatican Official Declares Extraterrestrial Contact Is Real

Pussy Riot's cathedral performance

Brief clip of Pussy Riot's performance. See post below for more. BBC News - Pussy Riot's cathedral performance

BBC News - Pussy Riot trial: Putin urges leniency for Russia punks

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Mariya Alekhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich have been in jail since February, when they were arrested after storming the pulpit of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

 The punk trio danced in the Orthodox church while wearing garish colours and masks, chanting "Mother Mary, drive Putin away".

BBC News - Pussy Riot trial: Putin urges leniency for Russia punks

They're on trial. They're facing 7 years in prison for pissing off the Orthodox Church.

Lucha Libre Patron Saint, Folk Art

In Mexico, lucha libre -- the masked wrestlers -- recently had a celebration to honor their patron saint of their profession. That patron saint is the Virgin of Guadalupe, or Our Lady of Guadalupe. BBC News - Lucha libre wrestlers pay homage to their patron saint

Lucas Lorenzo, artist. From Sacred Art Pilgrim.

I found the Sacred Art Pilgrim site on Mexican folk art. Artist Lucas Lorenzo, along with family members, are "panel painters" -- painting on Masonite. (When I started painting decades ago I couldn't afford canvas but did have access to a lot of Masonite, which I used for painting surfaces. Both sides: the rough or back side had a texture that was oddly interesting to paint on.)

I wrote about Lucha Libre -- a topic I am curious about but really know very little of -- some time back for Tim Binnall's site. Seeing the Virgin; Tricksters Take it to the People, and Fun with Lucha Libre's Esoteric Side.

Contact with Extraterrestrial Life Imminent? What about God? - International - Catholic Online

A bit of synchronicity; the other day I submitted my article to UFO Magazine which was about the Vatican and its acceptance of alien life. Here's an interesting article on the topic. (Hat tip to UFO Disclosure Countdown for link.)Contact with Extraterrestrial Life Imminent? What about God? - International - Catholic Online

The Pope, Castro and ET: Jorge Martin on C2C Tonight

Tonight's Coast to Coast host is George Knapp, with guest Jorge Martin. Martin will discuss the Vatican and ET. Here's an article by Martin on Castro's thoughts of an alien presence, and what the Vatican thought in regards to the Pope's visit in 1998.Jorge Martin - Enigmas del Milenio / English version

BBC News - France's National Front to sue Madonna over Le Pen swastika

BBC News - France's National Front to sue Madonna over Le Pen swastika

France's far-right National Front is to sue Madonna after an image at the US singer's Paris concert showed party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika imposed on her face.

National Front vice-president Florian Philippot said the party could not accept "such an odious comparison".

The image, in a video accompanying the song Nobody Knows Me, was followed by another resembling Adolf Hitler.

Home of the Order of the Blessed Saint Scully the Enigmatic

St. Scully. Indeed.

OBSSE Abbey: Home of the Order of the Blessed Saint Scully the Enigmatic

Debunker Faces Arrest for Debunking Watery Jesus

(This story dates back to March of this year.) Debunker and member of the Indian Rationalist Association Sanal Edamaruku faces arrest for his participation in doing what skeptibunkies do. He says he explained/exposed the watery seeping Jesus in Our Lady of Velankanni Church, in Mumbai.

India has laws against insulting religions and  "...deliberately hurting religious feelings and attempting malicious acts intended to outrage the religious sentiments of any class or community,” according to the Slate article.  On the surface Edamaruku is doing what's expected of debunkers, but I suspect there is a cultural and historical context at the root of his actions. (Italics mine):

What do you fear might happen to you?
If it comes to a trial, I have nothing to fear. I would welcome the opportunity to throw some light on the role that the Catholic Church played and is still playing today here in India. The possibility of arrest is threatening, however.

The religious zealotry, dogmatism and fanaticism Edamaruku fights is ironically mirrored by his own version of same:

Do you have any regrets about intervening? Why would one not intervene when somebody gives gullible people sewage to drink? But my reason is broader. The promotion of superstition and belief in paranormal phenomena dulls people's minds and establishes dangerous misconceptions about reality in our society. Such efforts have to be countered.

Edamaruku refused to back off and in fact, got quite contentious with critics. While India has the anti-insult to religions law, it also has this, according to Stephen Law.

Clause (h) of Article 51-A of Constitution of India states that : ‘It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and spirit of inquiry and reform.’

Vatican astronomer offers to baptize ET | Openminds.tv

There's a great quote in the following statement; one I'm going to use for the blog header: "Any entity - no matter how many tentacles it has -- has a soul." On the surface, wonderfully silly and superstituious. But it's also very Buddha nature my Yoda minded friend. Do all things have a soul or just "entities" and what determines an "entity?" Are animals entities in the Catholic church -- if so, then they have souls. And so on we go:

Vatican astronomer offers to baptize ET | Openminds.tv: A Vatican astronomer has offered to baptize any extraterrestrials that might come in contact with Earth.

The Simpsons: alien character

Extraterrestrials may have souls, and Guy Consolmagno, a planetary scientist at the Vatican observatory, says he would baptize an ET if it asked him to. In an interview with The Guardian, Consolmagno explained, “Any entity – no matter how many tentacles it has – has a soul.”