Someone pummeled and smothered 18-year-old Rayoung Kim in a bedroom of her home in a new suburban subdivision in Fairfax County. She fell unconscious and later died.

Fairfax police think the fatal injuries occurred in July 2008 during a Korean exorcism, in which a spiritual shaman and family members try to force evil spirits to leave a possessed person. …

After investigating the case for more than a year, Fairfax homicide detectives recently obtained search warrants to take DNA samples from Kim’s mother and brother, whom they suspect might have participated in the ancient Korean rite of kut, in which a shaman communicates with spirits.

This case resembles the death of Madeline Kara Neumann, who died of a treatable illness because her parents preferred to pray rather than allow her to get medical care. (They were recently convicted in separate trials, though their sentence is a laughable arrangement that does nothing to punish them.)

In the occidental world we often think only of the organized, Abrahamic faiths — particularly Christianity and Islam — as causing people harm. But the truth is that religious harm is not limited only to the occidental world or the Abrahamic faiths; it can and does happen even in oriental religions. This is something I’ve blogged about before but find that it bears repeating, since most people have the (erroneous) belief that oriental religions are incapable of causing anyone harm. If in fact Ms Kim turns out to have been killed by a shamanistic exorcism, it will only provide more evidence that the harm that can be caused by religious belief is ubiquitous in human societies.

Psychic ‘leads’ prompt murder inquiry

A police force has defended spending £20,000 investigating a man’s death after his ghost was said to have told psychics that gangsters had forced him to drink petrol and bleach.

Carlos Assaf, 32, a baker, was found dead at his flat in Lampeter, west Wales, after a row with his girlfriend, Louise Edwards, 23, on 30 March.

An inquest this week recorded a verdict of suicide after hearing there was no evidence of foul play. However the coroner, Peter Brunton, queried the murder inquiry held after mediums tipped off police, suggesting that the words “lion, a horse and a man called Tony Fox” were significant. “There was a great deal of communication between the mediums and the police,” he said. “A great deal of effort was expended in following these leads up.”

This “investigation” involved a lot of physically tracking down vague clues given by the “psychics.” They spent a lot of time — and therefore money — trailing vainly after some psychics’ gibberish. Nevertheless, they’re unrepentant about it:

A statement from Dyfed-Powys police said: “The revelations of the mystics were brought to our attention via the family and these were followed to reassure the family that the full circumstances of the death were as they appeared. Police have a responsibility to the deceased, their family and the public to investigate all deaths thoroughly.”

Sergeant Mark Webb told the inquest that officers began investigating links with “Tony Fox”. He said: “We received communications from friends and family of Mr Assaf involving spiritualist mediums. We interviewed the mediums and, having carried out an investigation, we found the information far from conclusive. We wanted to be absolutely satisfied there was no third party involved.”

Fortunately the Guardian found at least one person who admits that — perhaps — this should not have been done:

A police source said: “We are becoming a laughing stock. We went haring across the country looking for a lion, a horse and someone called Fox based on info from cranks. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a wild goose chase which cost at least £20,000 in time and resources.”

Way to go guys. Keep doing the laughable. At least in this case — unlike the one in Barrie, Ontario last year — no one was erroneously charged with anything, because of these psychics’ claims, and a mother and child weren’t separated over it. That still doesn’t mean these guys ought to get a “pass” on their poor judgement.

Hat tip: Skeptic’s Dictionary.

I don’t care if it’s “slacktivism” but this Facebook campaign is incredibly funny: launching DDOS attacks on God by simultaneous prayer

As you may already be aware, recently the Atheist Founation of Australia and the Global Atheist Convention websites were the target of a significant DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack, which began on Monday 19 October.

This is a call to all non-believers and advocates for freedom of speech to join us in a global co-ordinated minute of prayer with the aim of inundating God (in this context, the Christian god, God, as distinct from the Greek god, Zeus, the Egyptian god, Ra etc etc) with so many useless prayers that it causes his divineness to go offline as as result of our own DDOS (’Divine’ Denial of Service).

The prayer minute will be at exactly 8pm (Eastern Standard Time) and 9am (Greenwich Mean Time) on Sunday 8 November 2009.

If something really happens ’cause of this, I’ll be shocked.

Somali adulterer stoned to death

Islamists in southern Somalia have stoned a man to death for adultery but spared his pregnant girlfriend until she gives birth.

Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in front of a crowd of some 300 people in the port town of Merka.

An official from the al-Shabab group said the woman would be killed after she has had her baby.

Islamist groups run much of southern Somalia, while the UN-backed government only control parts of the capital.

Gee, that sounds all merciful and everything … but what kind of future will the baby have, as s/he grows up? Will s/he be “marked” for life as the product of adultery, and mistreated because of that? (I have no idea, I’m just asking the question.)

Naturally there are folks in Somalia who are trying to distance themselves from this:

Meanwhile, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has accused al-Shabab of spoiling the image of Islam by killing people and harassing women.

“Their actions have nothing to do with Islam,” said the moderate Islamist during a ceremony at which he nominated a new administration for the capital, Mogadishu.

Well, here’s a clue, President Ahmed: The reason this happened is because, for nearly two decades, the so-called “government” of Somalia (of which you are now the head) has been dithering around, unable and unwilling to control any of the factions trying to maintain control of their own pieces of the country. Instead of playing footsie with other warlords and looking to the UN to take care of it all for you — which, given its dismal track-record in creating stability, is not a good idea — maybe you should summon the courage and take measures to actually run your country? OK?

This is not an isolated incident in Somalia, as the BBC explains:

Last month, two men were stoned to death in the same town after being accused of spying.

A 13-year-old girl was stoned to death for adultery in the southern town of Kismayo last year.

Human rights groups said she had been raped.

Another man has also been punished in this way in the Lower Shabelle region.

Isn’t theocracy wonderful? Can you imagine what would happen if the Religious Rightists in the US got their way and this country became a theocracy? Oh wait, I don’t need to “imagine” it … its proponents have already shown what they want. And by all means, let’s continue ranting and wailing that only religion is capable of making people upright and moral. Yeah yeah, that worked out so well in this case, didn’t it? (Not!)

Hat tip: Skeptic’s Dictionary.

One of the leaders of a polygamist sect was convicted Thursday night of sexually assaulting an under-age girl whom the church elders had assigned to him as one of his nine wives.

A jury of seven men and five women deliberated 2 hours 20 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty in the first trial of a dozen members of the Yearning for Zion Ranch just outside this rural hamlet in West Texas.

The defendant, Raymond M. Jessop, 38, seemed unperturbed as Judge Barbara Walther of State District Court read the verdict. Mr. Jessop was immediately handcuffed and taken into custody by the Schleicher County sheriff. He smiled and nodded to several other men in his religious group, who sat grave-faced as he was led away.

The FLDS sect is no stranger to such accusations, and other members of this schismatic wing of Mormonism have been convicted of similar charges elsewhere:

Mr. Jessop is one of the most prominent members of a breakaway sect that has at least four other communities in Arizona and Utah. He is close to Warren S. Jeffs, the self-styled prophet and leader of the sect.

Mr. Jeffs has been convicted in Utah as an accomplice to rape, a charge related to his role in ordering the “spiritual marriage” of an under-age girl to one of his followers. He is in jail in Arizona awaiting trial on similar charges and has been charged in Texas with sexual assault and bigamy.

The FLDS are not connected with the main body of Mormons in the US, known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which gave up polygamy a century ago. The FLDS religious compulsion toward that practice may seem odd, but Mr Jessop’s defense is, perhaps, even stranger, as the Times explains:

[Jessop's attorney Mark] Stevens mounted a technical defense, arguing that the state could not prove the crime had taken place in Texas since the evidence it had was purely circumstantial. He did not present any witnesses.

“It’s dangerous when we start trying to convict people based on documents and we are not sure where those documents came from,” he said.

Uh, OK, counsel … whatever.

Backed by some of the most powerful members of the Senate, a little-noticed provision in the healthcare overhaul bill would require insurers to consider covering Christian Science prayer treatments as medical expenses.

The provision was inserted by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) with the support of Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry and the late Edward M. Kennedy, both of Massachusetts, home to the headquarters of the Church of Christ, Scientist.

The measure would put Christian Science prayer treatments — which substitute for or supplement medical treatments — on the same footing as clinical medicine. While not mentioning the church by name, it would prohibit discrimination against “religious and spiritual healthcare.”

That’s right folks. Prayer could be funded as a treatment (or rather, more accurately, as a substitute for treatment). Of course, Christian Scientists* are thrilled and have no idea why anyone would object:

Phil Davis, a senior Christian Science Church official, said prayer treatment was an effective alternative to conventional healthcare.

Of course, clinical studies of prayer as a medical treatment show it to be anything but “an effective alternative” … but hey, when you’re a religionist, little things like “facts” hardly ought to get in your way. The story goes on to point out other problems with this:

Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a group of atheists and agnostics that promotes separation of church and state, said the opportunity to receive payment for spiritual care could encourage other groups to seek similar status.

The problem is not solely limited to religion. It could be used to force the government to reimburse for any unproven treatment; all someone has to do is set themselves up as a religion (even if it isn’t really one), make the treatment — whatever it is — a basic tenet of the (phony) “faith,” and force the government to pay for it.

Nice going, Senator Hatch. Every kook and oddball with some goofy idea for a medical “treatment” is going to declare him- or herself the “prophet” of a new religion and force government to pay for it … based on your precedent.

Note: Despite the name of their church, there is nothing “scientific” about Christian Science. It is not a “science,” it’s a religion. Period.

Hat tip: Religion Dispatches blog.

At any rate, today he pontificated on how an apparent Planned Parenthood defector somehow “proves” that abortion is bad. Unfortunately, in doing so, Vicevich falls into the old rhetorical trap of an irrelevant appeal to authority (which is a fallacy in every sense of the word). Here’s his blog entry on the matter:

This is why we need this ultrasound so badly here in Connecticut.

Planned Parenthood has been a part of Abby Johnson’s life for the past eight years; that is until last month, when Abby resigned. Johnson said she realized she wanted to leave, after watching an ultrasound of an abortion procedure [emphasis in this quotation by Vicevich, is his own].

For Vicevich, looking at ultrasounds “proves” something. Unfortunately this is an illogical assumption. What looking at ultrasounds does, is not to “prove” anything in an objective way. Rather, it simply confirms — in a merely-emotional way — his own personal preconceptions.

One may wonder why having been a Planned Parenthood worker is “irrelevant” to the matter of abortion … because it certainly would appear that it’s relevant. But that’s all it is — an appearance only. What makes this an “irrelevant” appeal to authority, is that that having worked at Planned Parenthood does not grant Ms Johnson, or any other former Planned Parenthood worker, any real authority on whether abortion is right or wrong. Moral and ethical questions such as that are metaphysical in nature, and there is no such thing as a credential to decide metaphysics, because there is no final authority on the subject; no objective certification in that field; and no way to verify anything metaphysical. One may believe that a person carries such authority — for instance, Roman Catholics believe the Pope has the authority to make theological and doctrinal decisions (which are, by their very nature, all metaphysical) — but in the end, there are no objective credentials to back up these beliefs. (If there were, there would not — for example — be so many Christian denominations that refuse papal authority.)

Really, Ms Johnson’s belief that abortion is “bad,” is no more valid or relevant an authority on the subject than anyone else’s. Her belief, in the end, is nothing more than a subjective value judgement that she has made for herself. That’s all.

I’m sure Mr Vicevich, who once had a stellar career as a local TV business reporter before he turned into a raging Religious Rightist … is educated enough to know his claims are fallacious. That’s what makes him such a sad case, and an example of why (as the United Negro College Fund has often said), “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

The mayor of Rome, who would play a pivotal role in organizing the event, said the beatification of John Paul is expected to take place “at the latest” by 2010.

Speaking on a visit to Krakow, in the former Pope’s native Poland, Gianni Alemmano said: “These are internal decisions (for the Vatican) but it is expected to take place at the latest by next year.”

Vatican observers say the most likely date for the beatification would be April next year, on the fifth anniversary of the popular Pontiff’s death.

The article mentions that beatification is the next step for John Paul II in his rise to sainthood. It requires — among other things — a verified miracle associated with him.

In John Paul’s case, the miracle under consideration is said to have taken place when a French nun was cured of Parkinson’s disease.

And of course, we all know it’s not possible for a nun, or the Catholic hospitals that no doubt treated her, to be swayed to exaggerate her experience and her miraculous recovery. Oh no. That could never happen. (OK, enough sarcasm.) The Telegraph points out that John Paul II’s canonization case is being handled with what is — for the Vatican — unusual (if not unprecedented) speed:

The process leading to sainthood usually takes decades, but Pope Benedict XVI launched the beatification process for John Paul just two months after his predecessor’s death on April 5, 2005.

I suspect — but cannot prove — that the current Pope, Benedict XVI, would like to be able to canonize his mentor and guide, the man who essentially set him up as his successor, in the same way that John Paul II himself famously wanted to — and eventually did — canonize one of his own favorites, Mother Teresa. If this is the case — and again I don’t know it for sure, I can only guess it’s the case — then we have two Popes accelerating the canonization process to suit their own whims.

Hat tip: Holy Post blog (at Canada’s National Post)

An Iraqi man accused of running down his daughter in Arizona because she had become “too Westernized” is being held on two counts of aggravated assault, police said Saturday.

Police in Peoria, Arizona, say Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, struck his 20-year-old daughter, Noor Faleh Almaleki, and her friend Amal Edan Khalaf with the Jeep Laredo he was driving in a parking lot in Peoria on October 20.

Apparently he’d fled the country in an effort to avoid prosecution:

After the incident, Almaleki drove to Mexico and abandoned his vehicle in Nogales, Peoria police said.

He then made his way to Mexico City and boarded a plane to London, England. British authorities denied him entry into the country, and he was put on a plane back to the United States, police said.

I love how people like this are proud of committing violence in the name of their principles — whatever they are — but somehow don’t manage to be quite proud enough to allow themselves to be prosecuted for them. I could be mistaken, but that kind of behavior more closely resembles sniveling cowardice, than cultural pride.

Oh, and I love how a guy who ostensibly opposes “westernization” and “modernism,” chose to use a very modern and western-invented means of escaping justice … i.e. flying on an airplane.

Just saying.

The scare has moved on to new targets since then. Now the danger is sex offenders who will — the presumption goes — prey on visiting kids. CNN, among other media outlets, breathlessly reports:

During the week before Halloween each year, Lt. Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department in Georgia knocks on the doors of every registered sex offender in his jurisdiction.

Rose set out in his unmarked Dodge Charger Wednesday with a printout of 20 names to verify that the people on the list live where they say they live.

His mission brings him and members of his force to subdivisions, houses, hotels and and apartment buildings in this Atlanta bedroom community of about 85,000 people.

“We do this to give people a level of comfort so they know we’re keeping tabs on them,” said Rose, a former sex crimes detective with 34 years of police experience.

Gee, that’s so nice and comforting. The only trouble is, the whole thing is a crock! LiveScience reports, via Yahoo News:

Each year at Halloween, parents have concerns about trick-or-treating, and many believe that a danger far graver than chocolate overdose awaits their children in quiet neighborhoods: sex offenders.

This scare is fueled by alarmist news reports and police warnings. In many states, convicted sex offenders are required not to answer the door if trick-or-treaters come by, or to report to jail overnight. In many states including Texas and Arkansas offenders will be required to report to courthouses on Halloween evening for a mandatory counseling session. …

A new study shows that the public has little to fear from sex offenders on Halloween. The research, published in the September issue of Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, examined 67,307 non-family sex offenses reported to law enforcement in 30 states over nine years. …

“There does not appear to be a need for alarm concerning sexual abuse on these particular days,” the researchers state. “Halloween appears to be just another autumn day where rates of sex crimes against children are concerned.”

The bottom line is that resources and money are being wasted:

Not only is the hype and fear unwarranted, but the study also suggests extra taxpayer dollars spent monitoring sex offenders on Halloween are wasted. All the mandatory counseling sessions, increased police presence, and so on had no effect at all on the incidence of sexual abuse on Halloween.

It’s time to grow up and stop already with moral panics and the scare tactics. That goes for the police departments looking to ratchet up their overtime budgets, and reporters in the mass media who know better than to frighten people without good reason. OK?