No more.
As you can see, I haven’t made a post to this website, or the PR Witch since July 2011.
Things have changed. Or at least, they’re changing for now anyhow. What I have decided to do is no longer run this website, or the PR Witch. Though I love writing, and being creative, I don’t think this is my avenue of choice any longer. I have been on the internet for years, probably longer than most of you. I have had countless websites, and written a lot of stuff. It’s just not what I want to be doing.
This is all happening as I get ready to get on yet another plane and move around the world again, where I await the next adventure in my life. I know a lot of you come here and enjoy what I have got to say, so I do really apologise to those people. Perhaps one day, I might return. Who knows? I very much doubt it. It is a good thing, because it means I have discovered what I do really love and plan to chase it. I plan to be successful at it too.
I can’t say for sure that this is the end of my writing career. But it definitely is the end of this website and others, and I thank everyone for the support, comments and love. See you in the future, and Goddess bless.
Liam
The Witch Wars explode – again?
It’s certainly been a long time since we’ve seen anything like this. Thanks to Mrs. B, author of Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom for this.
Pagans Against Plagiarism, a small Facebook group, has published some notes that have somehow originated from a group that is encouraging its members to attack members of Pagans Against Plagiarism online, and other Pagan Facebook groups. They have listed names, and have created links beside them. One of those names listed, is a minor according to US Law. I thought even myself was included on the list, but it was just a woman whom I share a last name with.
What is unclear at the moment is whether it really is a group of people who would call themselves Pagan, or if it is just a frustrated woman whose previously published book was withdrawn because it had been proven that a portion of the published material was effectively stolen. I don’t know at this point, as I’ve yet to find out more. Furthermore, the person instigating this stance is nicknamed Goblin Hunter, and the group Goblin Hunter runs is a closed group. With that, it should be noted that one cannot report this group since that is only available to members belonging to that group.
Yes, you read that right. Goblin Hunter. Just writing that reminds me of the absurdity of the situation. It’s been making the rounds on the Facebook groups, and there is a brilliant blogger who has been keeping up with this whole situation on Bustin’ Chops and has screenshots and a few posts that try to explain the people involved in the situation I am writing about.
When this sort of thing happens, I immediately hope that this does not leave the Pagan community because the mundane community already think some of us a bunch of idiots, so adding this would only incite more silliness.
Read more 
Don’t Judge Me! – The RavenWolf Debacle
Image via Wikipedia
Originally published at The Witches Voice Inc.
Listen up ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We are clearing out the community broom closet.
What bones and dusty old things are we pulling out today? The RavenWolf debacle!
Do you like her? Or does the sound of her name make your blood boil? Do you immediately think of Teen Witch? Or does it make you feel ashamed, because you secretly really like the woman? Do you hide your books from your fellow Pagan lovelies? Go on, be honest.
This particular issue seems to be one of the most controversial, because there is a lot of debate and opinion out there, and it really flairs people up. Just whisper the name and the forums explode into action, and people are jumping around like women in a department store that has marked everything down 80%. It incenses so many people, and has become a trendy bandwagon in the last few years and only the cool Pagans are allowed.
I bring it up because I think it is an issue of importance and it is a fascinating exercise on how we treat our own in our community. It is also an issue that really leaves a few of us on the blind side, not really sure what to do. People are afraid to talk about it too, lest someone judge them horribly.
I am one of those people; or, at least I was.
Keeping away from this issue for so long can be explained with a myriad of reasons. Primarily I was afraid that someone was to judge me if I ever spoke about the matter. I had this funny idea that fellow Pagans would think I am one of those Pagans, and they would somehow think less of me. I know I am not alone here.
Then one day I grew up, and saw the issue for what it really was.
What I saw was something within the Pagan community that needed to be addressed. Many may consider this issue minor. However like many other issues it is this that raises questions in our already fragile community, and paints a picture I do not think we were expecting.
I suggest you get your iPad out, and start taking notes. Read more
Amped up anti-war rhetoric, and calls to end the War on Drugs
Featured Image courtesy of Mexico in Focus - Sicilia in Ciudad Juárez
Javier Sicilia arrived in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and El Paso, Texas, on the 10th of June ending his second long-winded march against the deadly war that has already killed more than 40,000 people. Numbers were significantly less than the previous march, with some reports citing about three or four thousand people.
Already speaking of anti-war rhetoric previously, he amped it up at the beginning of the weekend and demanded that the US ends the Merida Initiate – The US plan that allows funds to assist in President Felipe Calderón’s war against the drug trafficking organisations (DTOs). The funds allow for training and equipment, and intelligence for Law Enforcement Agencies in Mexico.
“The United States must admit their responsibility in the violence in Mexico,” Sicilia speaks to his fellow protestors, part of a grassroots movement to end the violence that is enraging Mexico.
Sicilia asserts that the United States is the reason why Mexico is dealing with the current crisis, and demanded that obligation to end the crisis not only exists with the US Government, but also exists with its citizens, highlighting promotion of drug-use by some Hollywood celebrities.
Sicilia also endorsed the creation of a citizens inspired pact that calls for a radical change to Calderón’s current militarised drug policy. According to Sicilia, “We need to stop feeding violence and start feeding education and culture,” The pact calls for an increase in fighting corruption, impunity while instating a whole new drug policy that has human rights at its centre, as well as new social policies to draw youth away from recruiting cartels, and other DTOs.
Sicilia’s march also coincides with a report released by the Global Commission on Drug Policy demands an end to the current War on Drugs. Read more
Dude, You’re a Witch!
Image via Wikipedia
Originally published at The Witches Voice Inc.
This essay may offend those Male Witches who have piercings, crazy tattoos, dark clothing, and horrible hair, or those that partake in the Gothic subculture and/or those over the age of thirty.
I warned you.
We’re young, we’re cool, we’re out all weekends on almost every bender you can think of; there’s nothing funny about us, we’re just guys. Dudes. You see us on the street, in the clubs, the restaurants, the malls – we all look pretty normal, man. We’re builders, lawyers, and writers. I’m talking about guys like me. Guys like us. Witches. Male Witches.
We, like everyone else, have the same Pagan beliefs as everyone else [give or take a few]. We worship the Goddess and the God. We have our altar at home, in our apartments, the candles, the wands, the incense, the rituals, the drums, freaking our housemates and roommates out every so often. We even make our magickal circle look as elegant as yours.
The only exception however, is that we’re dudes.
We get given a lot of flak for being who we are, I’ll tell you right now.
That, and we’re under represented. Read more
The Good Egyptions head towards Juarez & El Paso
Javier, at the start of his latest march in Mexico City
MEXICO CITY – Javier Sicilia is heading to Ciudad Juárez, according to the El Paso Times. Sicilia, a renowned Mexican Poet and activist caught headlines when he led a massive protest against the violence and President Felipe Calderón’s military campaign after his son Juan was murdered in Cuernavaca, Morelos.
Previously we reported on the last march [here and here], and will continue to on an on-going basis as to keep you up-to-date, as much as possible.
The last march spurned out tens of thousands of people, though that number depends on what you read. The Los Angeles Times reports it at 90,000 culminated at La Plaza in Mexico City on March 8th, those numbers according to Mexico City Police but states that other sources doubles that figure.
Whatever the number, it is clear that Sicilia is now determined more than ever to make this a national priority. The latest march started as of today, and will head right through to the 11th, with major stops in Juárez and El Paso, Texas. He’s also looking beyond the violence too, an entire re-founding of the state, something he is calling a ‘peaceful revolution’. Read more
Analysis: Mexico – a failed state? No way Jose!
Mexico: A Failed State. Those words, the statement creates an uproar that sends the media into frenzy, because it sells. It raises questions, thoughts, complications. In the forums, the comments on news items relating to Mexico, some newspaper articles even; it’s everywhere, the prospect that Mexico is becoming a failed state. This was bought up in 2008 when global intelligence company, STRATFOR argued that this was, indeed happening, or at least nearing the status of a failed state. This subject has been tackled before, analysed down to every standing foot on the argument, and if one were to look for clarity, they would look for the Failed State Index released by Foreign Policy, and The Fund for Peace.
The latest one puts Mexico at #94, two up from 2010. 2009 put Mexico at #98. Generally speaking, this puts Mexico in the Warning Stage. If you take a look at the last few years, this doesn’t seem so bad. In 2005, it was #73. Fast forward to 2006 when Felipe Calderón is elected President of Mexico – though this doesn’t happen until the end of the year – and it’s put at #85. Jump into 2007 it rises further away from the red lines; #102. Calderón can’t be doing a bad job if it jumps further away from countries like North Korea, Sudan, and Russia to #105 in 2008. Calderón’s attack on the Drug Trafficking Organisations [DTOs] started in 2006, and it’s only in 2009 when it starts slipping back, albeit only a few places.
It must be considered that the Failed States Index currently ranks 177 countries which include most stable nations such as New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, and Canada in the sustainable box while placing the likes of the US and the UK in the moderate box. Therefore it must be made clear that this Failed State Index list does not compile a list of countries that are only considered failed states, but ranks all countries accordingly.
Taking a quick look at the early figures [from a report from The Fund for Peace], it still appears that Mexico is improving in many respects, though its showing its drug war blemishes. Its five core institutions are at a moderate level, Leadership, Military and Civil Service while the remaining two are weak, Policing and Judiciary. Even with the human rights organisations crying out, it still makes it into the moderate human rights box. However they are also appearing weak in State Legitimacy and Security. Overall, Mexico has been placed on a stable, but cautious pedestal.
Why does Mexico: a Failed State jump from time to time then? Read more
If Americans didn’t do coke – An analysis.
Monocle - a briefing on global affairs, business, culture and design
In the recent issue of the London-based print magazine the Monocle, an article was published that offered a hypothetical scenario:
What would happen if Americans stopped taking cocaine?
The article titled Not To Be Sniffed At written by Steven Bodzin, Mary Cuddehe, and Anastasia Moloney offers an analysis on the effect it would have if Americans stopped consuming cocaine, and commented on the Manufacturers, countries involved namely Mexico and Colombia, Drug Trafficking Organisations [DTOs], and the US/World Market.
While the actual scenario itself was quite insipid – “… the drug control office treats the country’s water supply with a chemical to make the very thought of the white stuff unpalatable.” – It offers a reasonably well-thought out, non-partisan approach and discussion on subsequent changes to drug war discourse, though does take a swing at US hegemony within Latin America.
According to the writers, cocaine use in the US market has dropped, citing statistics that state that it was the only recreational drug to have lost users in 2009, while the year arrests in connection to the drug were less than a quarter, though with little effect on Mexico. They assert that most drug users would switch to other drugs that could potentially be more harmful, therefore doubting any savings in the Law Enforcement and Health Sector. However it is added that some would benefit by switching to less harmful, addictive drugs. Read more
The Good Egyptians: Mexico’s Citizens Leading the Way
Featured Image Courtesy of CNN | Javier Sicilia
In Mexico City, on Thursday morning, an earthquake struck with a modest 5.8 on the Richter scale, causing no known injuries or damage.
This Sunday the 8th of May, there may well be another earthquake hitting the City – in the form of a massive March culminating in Mexico City that is expected to reach hundreds of thousands or protesters.
It began on Thursday in the City of Cuernavaca, Morelos, fifty miles from Mexico City where hundreds of frustrated Mexicans set out in a March, with slogans like “No Mas Sangre” [No more blood], “Ya Basta” [Enough] and “Ya Estamos Hasta La Madre” [We’ve had it up to here]. They set out in protest against President Felipe Calderon’s military campaign against Drug Trafficking Organisations, a war that has claimed the lives of almost 40,000 people.
Poet, and father to a slain son, Javier Sicilia leads the protest that ends in Mexico City’s Plaza, the Zocalo this Sunday, according to reports where it’s believed hundreds of thousands will amass, some who began the march in Cuernavaca with Sicilia, and those who have joined along the way.
Walking eighty kilometres [fifty miles] from the starting point – and in progress as this is written – it’s the culmination of Mexicans who believe that the military campaign Calderon started in 2006 is a failure to its citizens and its integrity, to a society that has become accustomed to seeing daily violence in normally safe areas, as well as beheadings, murders and most recently, mass graves.
Javier Sicilia led the march Thursday, with severe criticism of Calderon’s campaign, according to CNN. Read more
Bin Laden’s Legacy: A lesson for the Mexican Government?
Image via Wikipedia
As news broke out that Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, news stations across the US and the globe broke out in simultaneous fashion, declaring justice has been served, and we watched as thousands of Americans broke out in celebration of this moment, though with subsequent mixed emotion outside of the US. Bin Laden was shot – in an operation that has taken ten years and thousands of lives – that may well define the era of the Obama Administration, and win him a re-election.
However it also underpins an incredible phenomenon within America’s culture – though not exclusive; the idea that violence against one another in order to accomplish set Government Policy is the only viable solution while casualties, fatalities and trail of destruction are an accepted but necessary consequence.
In Mexico, President Felipe Calderon too reflects this phenomenon as he continues his military-led campaign on Drug Trafficking Organisations [DTO] because he doesn’t believe – or so it seems – that there is any other solution. His campaign is palpable, perhaps. He’s concerned about the destruction of Mexico, and the social fabric that has been undermined for many decades.
He’s also concerned about the cartels that are growing in power, structure, and influence. Ultimately we can assume that a man of his position – whether we may feel what he is doing is right or wrong – is only there because he’s a proud Mexican, and wants to do something for his country.
However, one must look at the trail of destruction and the loss of life to really see the bigger picture here, and to see if it has any viable function for Mexico in dealing with the DTOs. Read more
Analysis: Has Calderon signalled a shift in his Drug War Policy?
Image via Wikipedia
It may seem so.
As pressure mounts on President Felipe Calderon to contain the escalating crisis, it seems his Government has shifted direction in the way it views its military campaign. According to CNN, Mexican authorities have declared that its campaign against the cartels is not a war, but merely a complex strategy in order to take down organised crime, and that the intention of the campaign is to strengthen institutions, its own law and reduce the crime rate.
They have gone even further, and have proposed changes to the Mexican National Security Law – established in 2005 and passed in 2009 – which critics say will pave a path to a police state, allowing Military and Police Forces to use force deemed necessary to combat internal threats to national security that would not be held accountable for, in turn increasing the potential risk of criminalising protesters, and human rights activists. Critics say that the changes are too broad, and significantly increase the potential for human rights abuse, particularly with the Military who have already been condemned by multiple human rights organisations since President Calderon began the military campaign against the cartels in 2006.
In particular, Sylvia Longmire compares the proposed changes of the NSL to the United States Patriot Act, which alone has taken many concessions, due to lawsuits and criticism that the Act went too far. Like the Patriotic Act that was rushed through after 9/11, Longmire says the NSL gives greater powers to Law Enforcement Agencies, for intelligence-gathering purposes, and reduces restrictions on what Law Enforcement Agencies can deem a viable threat which reflect the concerns of many Mexicans, who fear that these changes currently being rushed through Congress will take away basic civil rights.
What’s happened within the Calderon Administration?
Read more
Travel Warnings to Mexico Expanded for US Citizens
Image via Wikipedia
In a sign of increasing chaos and uncertainty in Mexico, the US State Department has widened its already steady travel warning to US Citizens, emphasising a need on steering clear of certain areas, and to avoid driving at night. According to CNN, no state has been left untouched, and includes most regions of the country, including southern regions. Two states have been red flagged, Michoacán and Tamaulipas, the northern state that borders Texas.
Unfortunately, this may not be the last warning the State Department makes. In the last four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon began his war against the cartels, the violence has increased and spread as cartels fight each other for territory in their effort to export the lucrative drug to the United States. In places once seen as popular tourist spots, there has been an increase in violence, and more and more innocent people are being caught up on it. Read more
