Mother Sinead O'Connor, Now A Priest, Returns To Singing

Irish singer Sinead O'Connor says that after two years of retirement, she is returning to music - but not the pop scene. "I want to at least aim my records at a more spiritualized market," she told Irish music magazine Hotpress.

O'Connor, best known for her song "Nothing Compares 2 U" and for shredding a picture of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live," announced her retirement two years ago. She said she wanted to concentrate on raising her children. She also disclosed she was battling a fatigue illness called fibromyalgia.

In 1999, O'Connor was ordained as a priest in the Latin Tridentine Church by a rebel bishop. She then adopted the name Mother Bernadette Mary.

Now, she says her music would have religious qualities. "Religious songs with bad words, that's the best way I could describe it," she said. "I've been thinking for years the religious area of music has a huge gap in it. Needs a bit of punky filling."

O'Connor says that the Vatican should be delighted that her ordination to the priesthood (not recognized by Rome) is likely to bring young people back to the Church.

O'Connor celebrates mass both in English and Latin.

The 38-year-old singer said she was already working on material for three different records and would perform in the next few months at a special appearance in Belfast, Ireland.

O'Connor's third son, Shane, was born last March.

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Violence and Mistreatment of Women and Religious Repression Leads Respected Rights Organization To Ask U.S. To Restrict Travel To Saudi Arabia

A religious freedom organization is urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to impose travel and other restrictions on Saudi Arabia within the next month because of severe freedom of religion violations in the kingdom.

Having last year designated Saudi Arabia a "country of particular concern" because of its abuses, the State Department is required by March 15 to take specific steps, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) told Rice in a letter this week.

The commission, a body set up under the International Religious Freedom Act, says Saudi Arabia strictly prohibits all public religious expression other than those that follow the government's interpretation of Islam.

Violations include torture, cruel and degrading treatment, detention without charge, coercive measures aimed at women, and the wide jurisdiction of the religious police.

The kingdom also is accused of funding or otherwise supporting the spreading abroad of an ideology of hatred, intolerance and violence.

For four consecutive years, the USCIRF urged the State Department to add Saudi Arabia to the list of "countries of particular concern" (CPCs),but it was only last September that former Secretary of State Colin Powell did so.

The government is empowered to take a range of actions against CPCs, but has in past years done no more than invoke already-existing sanctions against those on the list, including China, Iran, Burma, North Korea and Sudan.

The USCIRF has been critical of this inaction, and in her letter to Rice, commission chair Preeta Bansal again raised what she called "this failure in U.S. foreign policy."

With the U.S. relying on pre-existing sanctions, there was little incentive for CPC governments to improve their behavior, she said. Failure to take further action suggested to the violators that Washington could or would do nothing more.

Saudi Arabia is one of three newcomers to the CPC list, the others being Vietnam and Eritrea.

Bansal said their designation last September provides Rice with the opportunity to take specific measures against them, as no pre-existing sanctions are in place against the trio.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, the commission recommended that the U.S. identify Saudi government officials responsible for severe violations and not allow them entry into the country. It should also bar officials who propagated around the world "an ideology that explicitly promotes hate, intolerance, and human rights violations."

The government should also issue a demarche (warning), urging Riyadh to stop funding or other support for literature or other activity promoting hate, intolerance, and human rights violations, "including the distribution of such materials in the United States and elsewhere outside of Saudi Arabia."

Further, the U.S. should not issue licenses to export "dual-use" items - materials that could be used for both military and civilian purposes -- to any Saudi government agency responsible for severe abuses, it recommended.

Last year, shackles, leg-irons "and other items that could be used to perpetrate human rights violations" were among goods exported from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia.

"As world events of the past several years have confirmed, ensuring that governments respect freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief both advances our strategic interests and is a vital component of securing broader freedoms," Bansal said.

'Don't use waiver'

Saudi Arabia is considered a key Mideast ally of the U.S., and successive administrations have avoided direct criticism.

Since the religious freedom act was passed in 1999, the USCIRF has been calling for the kingdom to be named a CPC.

But although the State Department itself asserted that freedom of religion "does not exist" in Saudi Arabia - one of the harshest assessments in its annual global evaluation - neither former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright nor Powell complied, until 2004.

The actions would represent "a public acknowledgement that the extent and nature of violations of freedom of religion or belief in Saudi Arabia will have a measurable impact on the Saudi-U.S. bilateral relationship."

Saudi support for the global propagation of an ideology that promotes hatred and violence undermined U.S. interests, it said.

Thanks to CNSNews.com, Patrick Goodenough, International Editor. Gratefully reprinted for academic, research, and educational purposes.

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Bob Marley Anniversary Spotlights Rasta Religion

Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley would have been 60 this Sunday. Legions of fans descended on Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa for a month-long celebration marking the anniversary of the singer-poet's birth.
The festivities are being held in the African country due to its association with the Rastafarian religion, which Marley followed.
The celebration kicked off Tuesday with the opening of art and photo exhibitions and a symposium on African history based on themes in Marley's songs, which include such classics as "No Woman No Cry" and "I Shot the Sheriff."
Marley, who died at the age of 36 of brain cancer in 1981, is considered by many to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Most critics agree that no other musician has single-handedly held such sway over a music genre the way Marley did with reggae.
"He was a master poet for the ages," said Roger Steffens, a reggae historian based in Los Angeles. "Marley is still responsible for 50 percent of all reggae music sold in the United States. That would be like Elvis selling 50 percent of rock and roll. It's just not going to happen."
Bob Marley also helped popularize Rastafarianism, which venerates the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. Selassie, who was deposed in 1974 and died in 1975 (many people believe he was murdered), is hailed by Rastafarians as an incarnation of God.
Street Preachers
Bob Marley, who was born Robert Nesta Marley, grew up dirt poor on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica.
Much of his music aims to lift up the impoverished and powerless, and anthems like "Get Up Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff" carry a strong antiauthoritarian streak.
At a young age Marley fell in with the Rastafarians—known as the blackheart men among the Kingston residents who feared them. The Rastas then were a group of street preachers who taught the Bible and smoked marijuana.
Although its roots go back to the early 1900s, Rastafarianism takes its name from Ras (Prince or Duke) Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie's name until he was crowned emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. The faith predicted that a new king with the power of God would rise out of Africa.
When Ras Tafari was crowned "His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie the First, King of Kings, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, Emperor of Ethiopia," the Rastafarians considered their prophecy fulfilled.
Haile Selassie was uncomfortable with the Rastafarians' belief in his divinity and often denied that he was God. Yet when he was invited in 1966 by the Jamaican government to Jamaica to denounce that he was God, he is said to have told the movement's spiritual leaders there, "I am who you say I am."
I and I
Once his career took off, "Marley became the prime exponent of Rastafari throughout the world," Steffens said.
Followers of the faith believe that Ras Tafari remains a living messiah. He will lead the world's peoples of African descent into a promised land of full emancipation and divine justice, according to Rastafarian belief.
At the heart of the faith is the Rastafarians' belief that the smoking of cannabis (including marijuana and hashish) enjoys biblical sanction and aids meditation and spiritual awakening. The wearing of dreadlocks—hair that is matted into ropelike strands—is also closely associated with the movement.
One of its tenets, "I and I," is a complex term that refers to the oneness of Jah (God) and every human. According to the faith, God is in all of us, and we are in fact one people.
But the Rastafarian leaders have long been divided. While some say Haile Selassie is God incarnate, others believe he is the reincarnation of Jesus. Some say he is a metaphor for God, yet others see him strictly as a man worthy of respect.
Bob Marley himself wrestled with the faith.
"He would call the proclaimed leaders of Rastafari," Steffens said. "Marley would say, 'Everywhere I go in the world today, people ask me to explain the doctrine. If you guys can't come to any general conclusion among yourselves, how am I supposed to put this idea forth to the world?'"
Spiritual Resting Place
Many of Bob Marley's songs had an African connection. "Exodus" and "Redemption Song," for example, decried racism and the European colonization of Africa, and celebrated freedom from oppression.
Rita Marley, Bob's wife, calls Africa her husband's "spiritual resting place." She has said she wishes to exhume her husband's remains, now interred in Jamaica. She wants to rebury him in Shashemene, a Rastafarian community 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of the Ethiopian capital. The community is located on land that Haile Selassie gave the movement in 1948.
Hundreds of Rastafarians still live in Shashemene.
But many people have dismissed the reburial plan as a publicity stunt.
"Bob never, ever expressed a desire to be buried anywhere, because Rasta does not acknowledge the existence of death," Steffens said. "I do think he was looking at Africa in the future, but come on, his whole life was about Jamaica. Everything he did and everything he wrote was about Jamaica or directed to the Jamaican people."
Indeed this year is the first time the annual celebration of Bob Marley's birthday is taking place outside his native Jamaica.

Thanks to Stefan Lovgren, National Geographic News. Gratefully reprinted for academic, research, and educational purposes.

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Thailand In An Uproar Victoria's Secret for New Buddha Swimsuit -- As If Recovering From the Tusnami Isn't Enough To Keep People Busy

Victoria's Secret -- the American company known for its racy lingerie -- may have gone too far with its new Buddah bikini.



The swimsuit has angered government officials and clergy in this mainly country, who plan to ask the company to suspend worldwide sales of the offending item and are considering banning its import into Thailand.



The swimsuit, with pictures of a seated Buddha on the breast areas of the halter, ``is a major insult to Buddhism,'' said Gen. Amnuay Phetsiri, the deputy chief of the national police of Thailand.



Victoria's Secret does not have any outlets in Thailand, and no local company imports its products.



Amnuay, the deputy police chief, however, said police are looking at the legality of preventing the import of the swimsuit by businesses and individuals.



Thailand's Foreign Ministry has also asked its embassy in the United States to appeal to Victoria's Secret to immediately halt sales of the swimsuit, said the ministry spokesman, Sihasak Phuangketkeow.



The swimsuit has also raised the ire of the Office of National Buddhism, which said it would file a complaint to the Foreign Ministry.



``Lord Buddha is the most respected figure in Buddhism. Although the company is free to do this, it should think of our feelings,'' said Udom Charoen, the director of the Office of National Buddhism, a state body for promoting and preserving the religion.



The suit also features an image of Boddhisatava, a Chinese goddess figure from Buddhism's Mahayana sect, in the lower part of the halter.



Although Thailand is a largely tolerant society, Thais do not take kindly to inappropriate portrayal of Buddha and their king, a highly respected and loved figure.



Two years ago, a newspaper advertisement by a Thai-themed restaurant in the United States spoofed the Thai king, touching off a storm of protest in Thailand. The restaurant owner later removed the advertisement.





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White-supremacy record label closes after owner is accused of being HISPANIC!!

If you're a white supremacist, you canNOT be black...or of Spanish origin, apparently. Panzerfaust, a rather prominent St. Paul, MN-based white-supremacy record label has closed shop over questions of the owner's race.

"They are out of business," said Minnesota Gang Strike Force investigator Dan Michener.

Byron Calvert, 33, who was Panzerfaust's spokesman and public face, accuses his former business partner, Anthony Pierpont, 38, of having a Hispanic mother. In word and in deed, white supremacists constantly demonstrate that their philosophy is the dumbest theory ever conconted.

"I told Anthony that he had no choice but to walk away from (Panzerfaust) before this became public," Calvert says on a Web site linked from the now-defunct Panzerfaust site.

Pierpont was arrested in his South St. Paul home back on Nov. 30, 2004, on suspicion of felony possession of a small amount of a substance believed to be cocaine. That incident led to a schism between Pierpont and Calvert.

Calvert, also known as Bryant Cecchini, and several friends stood outside his South St. Paul duplex on Friday afternoon. Other than confirming he is no longer involved with Panzerfaust Records, Calvert refused to answer questions. He also would not talk about the whereabouts of Pierpont, whose case is pending in the Dakota County court system.

"It's all over," said Joe Roy, chief investigator for the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks white supremacist activities across the country. The center's Web site has posted a copy of Pierpont's birth certificate, which shows his Mexico-born mother was named Maria Marcola del Prado. Pierpont could not be reached for comment.

Panzerfaust, previously considered the nation's largest skinhead record label, created controversy in September when Calvert announced plans to distribute 100,000 copies of a "pro-white sampler CD" to teenagers across the country.

Calvert's plan was to spread Panzerfaust's anti-ethnic message to teens through music, and the label sold the CDs to supporters at a discounted rate of $15 per 100 copies. In an interview with the St. Paul Pioneer Press at the time, Calvert said, "Our target audience is 50 million white kids who have never heard of us."

Pierpont's racial heritage has long been a subject of speculation in white-power circles. The Southern Poverty Law Center's Web site refers to him as "The Well-Tanned Skinhead," and reports others within the movement have questioned his race as early as 1995.

Until recently, Calvert adamantly denied the rumors, but now has used the Internet to demand Pierpont "take a DNA test to clear up any doubt. He refuses to do so." Now that Panzerfaust has closed, other white-supremacy groups will attempt to gain control of a total market estimated by Roy at $1 million per year.

"There will be a scramble for that business," Roy said. "It's more than just CDs - it's T-shirts, belt buckles and other merchandise." But such infighting is fairly common in the white-supremacist movement. Reading online message boards discussing Panzerfaust's demise, Roy said, is "like watching a bunch of children calling each other names."

Thanks to Knight Ridder correspondent Brian Bonner, who contributed to this report.
Also, the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" online. Gratefully reprinted for academic, research, and educational purposes.

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Author Says That Imitating Christ's Habits -- Especially The Fun Ones -- Can Give Us A Happy Life

Some habits are hard to break, but author Jay Dennis believes that through Jesus Christ, individuals have the power to overcome bad habits and begin new “Jesus habits.”

Dennis’ new book, “The Jesus Habits, Exercising the Spiritual Disciplines of Jesus,” offers what the author says are practical ways to implement the spiritual disciplines of Jesus into any Christian life.

Dennis's approach is from the Christian right but the "hints for happy living" that he's gleaned from the gospels may be on interest to any form of Christian, or even non-Chrisitian searcher.

“The idea for this book began when the Lord placed upon my heart to begin reading the gospels and observe what Jesus did, not just what he taught,” Dennis wrote in the introduction to the book, released by Broadman & Holman, the trade book division of LifeWay Christian Resources (which is owned by the Southern Baptist Convention).

“I went back and noticed how many times I had written the word ‘habit’ beside something Jesus did,” said Dennis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lakeland, Fla. “Looking back, I found 31 identifiable habits of Jesus.”

The 31 behaviors examined in the book are observable patterns in the life of Jesus, the consummate example of successful living.

“The good news for you and me is that each of those habits can be copied; they can be put to practice in our daily lives,” he said.

The book prompts readers to study the habits each day for 31 days.

“One will catch a glimpse of how Jesus exercised these disciplines, and practically each person can incorporate them at work, school, home or anywhere,” Dennis said. “Jesus told us that He had left an example and that we should follow in His steps.”

“I simply feel that the Jesus example in the practical disciplines of life should be held up as the standard of excellent living,” Dennis said. “Even those who aren’t Christians are fascinated with Jesus.

“[Jesus’] life arguably affected history and continues to do so. Mel Gibson’s movie, ‘The Passion of The Christ,’ showed us how interested the world is in this Person named Jesus. It is important for people to know that Jesus demonstrated, as a lifestyle, these positive habits.”

Dennis examines Jesus’ spiritual disciplines such as prayer, worship, fasting, obedience and fellowship in the book. He also explores other habits in detail, such as confrontation, acting like a man, esteeming women and kindness.

Of the 31 habits, Dennis said he identified most with the habit of having fun.

“Often Jesus is pictured as solemn and sad,” Dennis said. “There were certainly times when that was the case, but I believe He enjoyed life, not just endured it. He loved to laugh. Perhaps that’s why He loved to be around children. Research has shown that children laugh approximately 400 times a day, and adults average 15 laughs a day.”

The Jesus Habits explains that Jesus loved to go into people’s homes and enjoy the fellowship of others.

“He performed His first miracle at a celebrative wedding,” Dennis said. “Jesus also incorporated humor into His teachings. The world would be more attracted to Jesus if His followers would learn to lighten up a little, laugh at themselves, laugh with others and not take themselves so seriously.”
--30--
“The Jesus Habits” can be purchased at LifeWay Christian Stores or online at www.lifewaystores.com.

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Australian Catholic Church Divided Over Priestly Celibacy--Calls For End to Celibacy in USA, and Ordination of Woman Priests

Australia's Catholic Church is embroiled in a debate over whether the church should drop its insistence on celibacy for clergymen. A leading priests' association argues that doing away with the requirement could reverse a serious decline in numbers.

The National Council of Priests (NCP), an organization representing about half of Australia's 1,650 Catholic clergy, including more than 40 bishops, has written to the Vatican's Synod of Bishops, urging that marriage no longer prevent a priest from being ordained.

It also asked that the church reinstate ordained priests who had left the church to marry.

NCP chairman Fr. Hal Ranger wrote in the letter to the Vatican that many Anglican/Episcopal priests who had converted to Catholicism in recent years, and who were married at the time, were permitted by the church to serve as ordained priests despite being married.

Noting that the church welcomed such men and their families, Ranger asked that the Vatican synod "earnestly and seriously consider extending this opportunity to other married men."

In the U.S., a Cleveland, Ohio-based Catholic "reform" group called FutureChurch -- which is running a petition calling for an end to obligatory celibacy -- called the Australian move a "prophetic action" and predicted it would "certainly energize our base."

"God's people need both celibate and married vocations, both male and female deacons and priests if we are to minister well," said FutureChurch executive director Christine Schenk.

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Dalai Lama's offices in Nepal are shuttered by the government

Nepal has ordered the closure of the local office of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and a welfare centre that helped refugees fleeing Tibet, saying they did not have a licence to operate, officials said.

Tibetans who have been running the offices in Kathmandu for over four decades said the Nepali government had acted under pressure from Beijing, which has in the past accused these establishments of anti-China activities.

Nepal, home to more than 20,000 Tibetan refugees who left the Himalayan region after the Dalai Lama fled in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, considers Tibet a part of China.

"We don't recognise the Dalai Lama nor his representative office in Nepal," a Nepali foreign Ministry official said.

Both the offices were asked to close for failure to fulfil local laws that require any office to register with the government.

"The local administration served a notice on them to close because they were not registered," the official said.

One of the world's poorest countries, Nepal does not allow Tibetan refugees to organise any political activity that could jeopardise its ties with Beijing, a key aid donor and a major trading partner.

"I believe the closing down of the Dalai Lama's office is under pressure from China," Wangchuk Tsering, the representative of the Dalai Lama in Nepal, said.

US based Human Rights Watch urged Kathmandu to allow the Tibetan Refugee Welfare Office to reopen and continue assisting thousands of Tibetans who still flee their homeland and arrive in Nepal every year.

Many Tibetans risked their lives fleeing over the Himalayas and often suffered from frostbite and other life-threatening medical conditions, the rights watchdog said.

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