Tag Archives: Cnn

Rick Sanchez Apologizes After Labeling Obama the ‘Cotton-Picking President’

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

CNN’s Rick Sanchez quickly apologized on his Rick’s List program on Monday after inadvertently labeling Barack Obama the ” cotton-picking president of the United States .” Sanchez used the racially-tinged term in response to the President recently addressing the significant percentage of American population who believe he is Muslim or was born outside the U.S. The anchor raised President Obama’s recent comment about his birth certificate with correspondent Jessica Yellin 21 minutes into the 3 pm Eastern hour. Yellin explained that “this is the first time he’s talked about it since the polls showing how many Americans believe him to be Muslim came out” and that “you get the sense that he’s been sort of through this. He wants to set the record straight, but he really does seem to accept that he’s not going to convince everyone, and he’s not going to spend a lot of time and energy on something that’s not going to change.” Sanchez replied to Yellin full of frustration: ” I’m just sitting here just shaking my head. He is the cotton-picking president of the United States! ” He continued with another slighter gaffe: ” If the president of the United States doesn’t have enough of a bully pulpit to convince people of a lie- that a lie is a lie, I should say, then- you know, where are we? What kind of planet are we living on? What the hell is going on here? ” To her credit, the CNN correspondent brought up the many people on the left who refused to believe Obama’s predecessor: “The assumption is there are a certain number of people that just don’t buy it. You know, there are people who didn’t think George Bush was telling the truth. You know, there are all those bumper stickers that said, ‘George W. Bush is a liar.’ ” Even with this, Sanchez continued with his frustration: “Here’s the point. I can understand 5%. I can maybe understand 10%. I can maybe understand 15%. We’re talking about- what was the latest number? A third of the American people or more?” Moments later, after taking a commercial break, Sanchez came back with an apology, crediting his Twitter followers for spotting his error: SANCHEZ: This is great. This is what works about having a conversation with my viewers throughout this newscast, because you know that I’m here on Twitter and I read what you write during the commercial breaks. And many of you are pointing out a fault that I just- a faux pas that I just made, and I want to apologize for it, because I obviously didn’t mean any disrespect or anything when I said that . But I was having that conversation with Jessica Yellin, and I think I said something to the effect- it’s so frustrating that people are lying about the president of the United States, that people are saying these things and it seems like he is defenseless to try and deal with it- although this weekend, the President came out and defended himself . And we had a very ample conversation about what it is that the President did, what he didn’t do, what his detractors say about him and what he can or can’t do. In the middle of that conversation, at one point, I said, why can’t the president of the United States seem to figure this out? After all, he is the cotton-picking president of the United States. Well, soon after I said that, I started getting some Tweets from some of you, saying, you just said ‘cotton-picking president of the United States’ about the first black president of the United States? Without even realizing it? I’ve was just saying ‘cotton picking’ because it’s a term that I’ve used because I grew up in the South. It’s a point that’s often used to illustrate frustration- not in any way shown to use- used to show any kind of disrespect. However, I apologize nonetheless for using it, in case it was taken by anyone as an act of disrespect . So, there you go. And, by the way, thank you! I got about ten Tweets right away from people on Twitter saying- hey, be careful using comments like that. So I do, and I apologize for it. This isn’t the first time Sanchez had to apologize for something he said on the air. On October 16, 2009, the CNN anchor gave an on-air apology for running an unconfirmed quote attributed to Rush Limbaugh earlier that week . As for other on-air gaffes, just during the course of 2010, Sanchez wasn’t sure who was protesting at the annual March for Life , misidentified the Galapagos Islands as Hawaii , “joked” that it was “too cold” in Iceland “to have a volcano there,” and incorrectly guessed that the Nixon/Kennedy debate took place in 1962 . The transcript of the relevant portion of the segment from Monday’s Rick’s List: SANCHEZ: Take us now through what is being described as the President becoming defensive this weekend in that interview with NBC. I mean, not only did he talk about- look, what do I have to do? Go around with my birth certificate on my fore- pinned to my forehead, to get people to stop believing that I’m a Muslim? JESSICA YELLIN: Right- SANCHEZ: And then he also addressed the Glenn Beck rally- YELLIN: Right. SANCHEZ: This group of people who got together for Glenn Beck up in Washington. What did he say about that? YELLIN: Well, first of all, on the Muslim question, this is the first time he’s talked about it since the polls showing how many Americans believe him to be Muslim came out. And so, these are the first comments from him. He is right. It came up a lot during the campaign. I was covering him and there were endless e-mails voters were getting from- you know, a friend who was e-mailing something that another friend had sent, saying that he’s Muslim, and people would come up to me and ask me about it on the trail. So you get the sense that he’s been sort of through this. He wants to set the record straight, but he really does seem to accept that he’s not going to convince everyone, and he’s not going to spend a lot of time and energy on something that’s not going to change- SANCHEZ: But that- you know that- YELLIN: There’s a certain amount of the American public that’s going to believe- go ahead. SANCHEZ: I’m just sitting here just shaking my head. He is the cotton-picking president of the United States- YELLIN: Right- SANCHEZ: If the president of the United States doesn’t have enough of a bully pulpit to convince people of a lie- that a lie is a lie, I should say, then- you know, where are we? What kind of planet are we living on? What the hell is going on here? YELLIN: Well, there will be a certain, I suppose- the assumption is there are a certain number of people that just don’t buy it. You know, there are people who didn’t think George Bush was telling the truth. You know, there are all those bumper stickers that said, ‘George W. Bush is a liar.’ SANCHEZ: Yeah. YELLIN: So maybe there’s a certain amount of the population- they accept- that just, you’re never going to reach them and that’s how it is. SANCHEZ: But- you know, but- but here’s the point. I can understand 5%. I can maybe understand 10%. I can maybe understand 15%. We’re talking about- what was the latest number? A third of the American people or more? YELLIN: I think- there’s- it depends who you ask. I think our polling had 18%. Look, we keep reporting- he keeps saying, it’s something that you’ve got to just sort of accept at some point is, and move on. We tell the facts. We’ll continue to tell the facts like they are. SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah. Well and- look, it’s- as much as it is our job, it’s also the White House’s job, right? I mean- I guess it comes down to this question, and this is just a matter, I suppose, of common sense that people can figure out. I don’t know. I’ve never been the president of the United States. (Yellin laughs) I know what it’s like to be lied about. People lie about me every single day, and it just comes with being a public figure. But if I was the president of the United States and someone was just making a bald-faced lie like that one about me, would my impetus be to have a news conference to stand on top of the highest mountain, as my Mom and Dad always used to say, and just tell the truth? And it’s frustrating- as Americans, as we look at all of these things, whether it’s a lie about a Republican or a Democrat or whoever the heck this is going on about, it’s difficult to look at it and say what a shame that it can’t be remedied, that it can’t be fixed. You get my drift? YELLIN: I do. I do. You know, they blame us for talking about it so much. So go figure. (laughs)

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Rick Sanchez Apologizes After Labeling Obama the ‘Cotton-Picking President’

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Shock at CNN: Banks Doing More than Obama for Homeowners

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

To the surprise of CNNMoney.com’s Tami Luhby, the market is doing something more efficiently than a government program . While this isn’t news to many, at CNN, it’s a revelation. It seems “banks are doing nearly twice as many modifications under their own foreclosure prevention initiatives than under the Obama administration’s signature Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP,” Luhbi wrote in her Aug. 30 article. Banks made 644,000 “proprietary permanent modifications” in the first half of 2010, almost twice the 332,000 under HAMP. Loan modifications are an alternative to foreclosures, in which the debtors usually receive “interest rate and principal reductions.” The HAMP program, according to Luhby, “lowers monthly payments to 31% of pre-tax income.” Luhby’s surprise stems from her assertion that: “Banks have long come under fire not doing enough to help troubled homeowners, particularly when the mortgage crisis started spinning out of control in 2007. Many loan servicers initially addressed the problem by tacking on the missed payments, which only increased strapped homeowners’ monthly burden.” So banks were at fault for operating on the creditor-debtor model that has existed almost since there’s been money: a creditor provides a loan expecting repayment plus (reasonable) interest; a debtor repays according to a set schedule, and failure to pay brings penalties or foreclosure. However, market conditions changed and banks have changed with them. As Luhby wrote, “Banks have realized that foreclosing on home after home after home may not be in anyone’s best interest – least of all their own.”  But banks aren’t off CNN’s hook, since they still are trying to get the most favorable terms for the business that they can. “Before homeowners rejoice, they should take a close look at the terms of their bank modification offers, consumer advocates say. Many may not be as good as HAMP, which lowers monthly payments to 31% of pre-tax income.” Luhby had no trouble finding mortgagee to complain about a proprietary modification. Ida Ward, an Atlanta middle school teacher, had her monthly payment cut nearly in half in a HAMP trial modification. When she received her permanent modification from Chase, the reduction was about half as much as under HAMP. “‘These banks should be ashamed of the terms that they are giving to borrowers,’ said Ward, who said she had no choice but to accept the offer. ‘The loan modification process is flawed and deceptive to borrowers.’” No mention in the article of the “flawed and deceptive” loan origination process that put borrowers in homes they couldn’t afford, or the shame of borrowers who can’t meet the terms they agreed to when they contracted with the bank.

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Cruise Ship is Stuck in the Arctic Ocean | The Canadian Coast Guard Is Helping

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Canada aids cruise ship stuck in the Arctic Ocean By the CNN Wire Staff August 29, 2010 10:39 p.m. EDT The crew of the Clipper Adventurer was unable to dislodge it during high tide. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * The Canadian coast guard is ferrying passengers from the ship * The are being taken to a small town on the shore of the Arctic Ocean * Some 128 passengers and roughly 69 crew members are thought to be on board * The ship ran aground an unmapped rock on Friday (CNN) — The Canadian coast guard began ferrying passengers on Sunday from a cruise ship that ran aground an unmapped rock. Officials aboard the Clipper Adventurer reported their troubles on Friday. The crew failed to dislodge the ship during high tide on Saturday, while Sunday, a coast guard icebreaker arrived to transport the people on board to land. No one of the estimated 128 passengers and 69 crew members were hurt or injured, said Theresa Nichols, a spokeswoman with the Canadian coast guard. “They are in the midst of completing the operation of ferrying the passengers off,” she said. “That operation should be just about finished.” The passengers are being taken to Kugluktuk, a small town on the shore of the Arctic Ocean, where accommodations have been arranged by the cruise ship company, said Nichols. They are then expected to fly to the Canadian city of Edmonton. The grounded vessel is stable, but rests with a slight list, according to the company that operates the cruise ship, Adventure Canada. “Weather remains favourable as passengers continue to enjoy onboard programming and hospitality,” the company said in a statement. added by: EthicalVegan

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Howard Kurtz Smacks Down Bill Press for Comparing Glenn Beck to Al Qaeda

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Howard Kurtz on Sunday smacked down liberal talk radio host Bill Press for saying the Park Service allowing Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” event at the Lincoln Memorial was like “granting al Qaeda permission to hold a rally on September 11th at Ground Zero.” Towards the end of the opening segment of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Kurtz surprisingly brought up last Friday’s disgraceful editing job by ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Beck himself said was like something Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels would have done. When finished with this admonishment, Kurtz went right after Press who was seated directly in front of him (transcript follows with commentary, video pending):  HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: All right. I want to talk about that, but first I want to play this clip that we didn’t have earlier. This is the “Good Morning America” piece that Beck specifically criticized. Let’s take a quick look at it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BECK: Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. (END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Glenn Beck is no Martin Luther King. (END VIDEO CLIP) KURTZ: Here’s what Beck actually said: “Whites don’t own the founding fathers. Whites don’t own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King.” Was that deceptively edited? JANE HALL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION: Well, I think that it should have had the context. I mean, you cannot accuse one side of not including context and not including the context — KURTZ: Somebody makes a statement involving both races — HALL: If somebody says two things, you’ve got to say two things. KURTZ: — and you just show one, I think that was deceptive. I applaud Kurtz for bringing this up. However, maybe he could have put a finer point on this issue if he reminded his guests and viewers of the recent furor involving the editing of former USDA official Shirley Sherrod’s NAACP speech. After all, what ABC and Shipman did Friday was actually far more reprehensible as it was intentionally done and aired on national television. By contrast, Andrew Breitbart wasn’t the person who did the editing of the Sherrod video which was posted at a website reaching far fewer viewers than “Good Morning America.” But Kurtz wasn’t finished, for he next set his sights on Press for what the liberal talker  said and wrote  in June:   KURTZ: You, Bill Press, said that for the Park Service to allow this rally was like “granting al Qaeda permission to hold a rally on September 11th at Ground Zero,” Isn’t that way over the top? BILL PRESS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think the rally was a stick in the eye to any — KURTZ: I don’t know. But answer my question. You wrote a book about toxic talk. PRESS: No, I said it and I’ll stand by it because — KURTZ: You’re invoking a terrorist analogy for a talk show host. Why is that not over the top? PRESS: No, what I’m comparing are sacred places. We have very few of them in this country. To me, the Lincoln Memorial I think for all Americans is one of our sacred places. Again, it should not be politicized, in my opinion, at Ground Zero. KURTZ: I’m talking about your language, your language in bringing al Qaeda into it. Why is that appropriate? PRESS: I think it is just as outrageous to have the people who offended — I mean, who carried those attacks out at Ground Zero on 9/11, to give them that sacred site, to give a political huckster the Lincoln Memorial, yes. (CROSSTALK) HALL: I think it points to the dilemma, because the left hasn’t known how to respond. And so now we are getting more response from the people. MATT LEWIS, BLOGGER: But this is the toxicity of politics in our nation, where good folks like Bill, who are liberal, believe the conservatives, their political adversaries, not enemies, are worse than terrorists. KURTZ: I’ve got to go, but let me ask you before we — PRESS: That is not true, by the way. KURTZ: All right. Denial registered. Nice job, Howie. We on the right would love to see you tear into hypocritical liberals far more often.

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Mysterious empty yacht washes up on Florida beach – CNN.com

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

http://usahitman.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/70-Dubai-beached-3.jpg The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a possible missing boater after an empty yacht mysteriously washed ashore near Madeira Beach in Florida. The search was suspended Wednesday night, Coast Guard officials said. The empty 48-foot boat washed up on the beach about 1 p.m. Wednesday, triggering a police investigation and a Coast Guard rescue mission. The Coast Guard sent out two rescue vessels and a helicopter but was not able to locate anybody. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the vessel is registered to the federal government, CNN-affiliate WFTS reported. Also when the ship came ashore the engine was still running and lights were on, witnesses told the affiliate. The sight shocked some. “We do not see something like this often. I have lived here since 1958 I have never seen a boat this size beached like this,” Rob Klingel told the affiliate. Danita Gainey who lives in Redington Beach which is near Madeira Beach, said the sight gave her a bad feeling. “I do not know what to say. I can't explain it. I don't want to say anything bad. It's hard to say anything good when you see something like that,” Gainey said. Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff's office are investigating the incident and trying to track down the owner of the boat. added by: toyotabedzrock

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Live Two-Month-Old Tiger Cub Found Hidden in Suitcase at Thailand Airport

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Live tiger cub found in suitcase at Thai airport By the CNN Wire Staff August 27, 2010 12:36 p.m. EDT This two-month old tiger cub was found stuffed in a woman's luggage at Bangkok's international airport. STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Authorities are trying to determine where the tiger came from * Trade monitoring network says a baggage scan sparked airport workers' suspicions * The tiger cub is two months old Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — A live tiger cub hidden in a suitcase filled with stuffed toys was spotted as it went through a luggage X-ray at a major Thai airport, a wildlife trade monitoring network said. Staff at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport contacted authorities after a baggage scan showed an item resembling a real cat in a passenger's over-sized bag, the non-profit organization TRAFFIC said Thursday. Investigators found a sedated, two-month-old tiger cub when they opened the bag for inspection. Officials are trying to determine where the cub came from and whether it was caught in the wild or bred in captivity, TRAFFIC said. Authorities found the tiger Sunday in a suitcase belonging to a 31-year-old Thai national, who was scheduled to board a flight for Iran, the organization said. Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC's deputy regional director for Southeast Asia, praised authorities for discovering the smuggling attempt, but said the case showed a need for more monitoring and tougher punishments. “If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand,” Shepherd said. “Only sustained pressure on wildlife traffickers and serious penalties can change that.” added by: EthicalVegan

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Try Religion Today

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Boy, have i got a deal for you. added by: Stoneyroad

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CNN Joins Media Speculation on NYC Stabbing’s Connection to Mosque Debate

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

CNN’s Deborah Feyerick joined the media guessing game as to the motivation behind the stabbing of Muslim taxicab driver in New York City, emphasizing the possibility it may have been ” connected to this big Ground Zero controversy, where we’re hearing so much anti-Muslim sentiment .” Feyerick raised this hypothesis during reports on Thursday’s Rick’s List and The Situation Room. The correspondent’s first report on the attack aired 12 minutes into the 4 pm Eastern hour of Rick’s List. Anchor Rick Sanchez played a clip from victim Ahmed Sharif’s press conference on Thursday before introducing Feyerick. She began by stating that when “Michael Enright, the suspect, was arrested, he had numerous journals and notebooks on him, all of them filled with writings, some of it completely illegible. That is now with authorities, all of that being vetted and looked through to see whether, in fact, there was anything indicating that he had undergone some sort of a mental or emotional change.” Feyerick did mention that Enright “ironically…was a volunteer working for a non-profit organization that promotes peace,” but didn’t mentioned that the organization, Intersections International, actually supports the planned mosque near Ground Zero . She continued with the speculation over the possible motivation of the attack, including the “anti-Muslim” charge: FEYERICK: So, there are two very, very different pieces of the puzzle that investigators are now trying to figure out. Was this simply a crime that occurred because of some emotional stress, like PTSD, or i s it connected to this big Ground Zero controversy, where we’re hearing so much anti-Muslim sentiment? Was that the trigger? The CNN correspondent gave a more thorough report on the stabbing over two and a half hours later during the bottom half of the 6 pm Eastern hour of The Situation Room. Feyerick interviewed a representative from Intersections International, whose affiliation was identified on-screen, but again didn’t explicitly mention the organization by name or its support for the planned mosque. She twice raised the possibility of “anti-Islamic sentiment” during this second report: FEYERICK: The executive director of your group said- quote, ‘The transformative experience an impressionable mind can have in five short weeks- there are intense emotions surrounding that.’ Did anyone see a change in him? JOSEPH WARD, INTERSECTIONS INTERNATIONAL: Michael has been a responsible volunteer for our organization, and he was very consistent in that, in the whole year that we worked with him. FEYERICK (voice-over): Enright volunteered for a non-profit group promoting peace between different races and religions . He helped soldiers deal with the trauma of returning home. But what caused Enright to snap? The death of a soldier he met, maybe- or, perhaps, growing anti-Islamic sentiment fueled by controversy over the proposed Islamic center and mosque? Maybe it was something else entirely. Sharif says Enright asked if he was Muslim, seconds before allegedly shouting, “Salaam aleikum [Arabic for, ‘Peace be upon you’]- consider this a checkpoint,’ then stabbing the defenseless cab driver. AHMED SHARIF: Of course, it was for my religion. FEYERICK: Prosecutors have charged the attack as a hate crime, but are investigating what caused Enright to allegedly snap. FEYERICK (live): Now, investigators are looking into a number of personal journals that Enright was carrying when he was arrested after this assault. They also say that inside his backpack was an empty bottle of Scotch. He was intoxicated when he was arrested. Now, as for Enright’s attorney, we placed some calls to him- we are waiting to hear back. He does face a long sentence if convicted of this hate crime, and that’s what this is being charged as. Suzanne? MALVEAUX: And Deborah, is- does anybody say that he snapped? Is he saying that, or his attorneys, or- where is that coming from? FEYERICK: It seems so out of character- what he did; why he did it; this, sort of, mounting need or desire. So it’s unclear whether he saw something when he was- you know, in the theater of war, or- there’s so much, sort of, anti-Islamic sentiment now because of this mosque- a lot of authorities are saying it’s- people have to be very, very careful, because it’s the kind of hate speech that could lead people to do things. So they’re really monitoring very closely whether there is a rise in hate crimes, and this is considered a hate crime. Just over a month earlier, on July 21, Feyerick actually conducted a hardball interview of mosque developer Sharif el-Gamel, where she asked, “Why not have a prayer space for Buddhists or Jews or Christians…why must it be Muslim?” When el-Gamel initially replied, “There are Jewish community centers all over the country,” the correspondent interrupted, “But the Jews didn’t take down two towers.” The developer continued that “there are YMCA’s all over the country,” but she gave a similar reply: “But the Christians didn’t take down two towers.”

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Sykes Has No Remorse for 2009 Limbaugh Attack: ‘He’s Just a Big Bully’

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

It was a performance that even liberal bomb-thrower Keith Olbermann said was over the top immediately after the fact – the May 2009 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which Wanda Sykes took some harsh digs at conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh.   However over a year later, the comedienne shows no remorse for her remarks about Limbaugh. She appeared on the Aug. 25 broadcast of CNN’s “Larry King Live” and revisited the occasion, which she said she hoped Limbaugh’s “kidneys failed” since he wanted President Barack Obama to fail, even though that part of her attack on Limbaugh was conspicuously missing from the CNN highlight reel.  Nonetheless, King asked her if she went too far, and Sykes said no. KING: You think you went a little too far there? SYKES: Not at all. Not at all. KING: There’s no connect here, right, between here and you, right? SYKES: Probably not. It might be a little speed bump, you know, just a little one. Sykes went on to explain she did get a little pushback from Limbaugh supporters. But, she also made some judgments about Limbaugh – claiming that his brand of conservatism had little to with what was best for society. Instead she said it was all a self-serving measure, taking advantage of “poor people” to hold on to his own wealth. “I did get a nasty note,” Sykes said. “But, you know, who cares, you know? Who cares? You know, here’s the problem: Rush Limbaugh is a filthy rich guy. And he’s playing on the emotions of poor people. He’s telling poor people that, hey, you know, Obama’s going to take this, take that away from you. And really he’s just worried about his own pockets. That’s it. He’s just a big bully. I don’t think I went too far at all.” Sykes’ brief run at late-night talk ended recently. Back in May, FOX canceled her Saturday night show , “The Wanda Sykes Show,” after it struggled in the ratings. However, she has been nominated for two Emmys for her HBO stand up “I’ma Be Me.”

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Children Being Abused and Killed as Witches

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

By Christian Purefoy, CNN August 25, 2010 5:09 p.m. EDT Photo: Godswill was abandoned by his mom after being called a witch Watch more about the extent of Nigeria's child witch scandal on CNN International's Connect The World this week at 2000 GMT _____ PART ONE… Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria (CNN) — Just after midnight, the pastor seized a woman's forehead with his large hand and she fell screaming and writhing on the ground. “Fire! Fire! Fire!” shouted the worshippers, raising their hands in the air. Pastor Celestine Effiong's congregants are being delivered from what they firmly believe to be witchcraft. And in the darkness of the city and the villages beyond, similar shouts and screams echo from makeshift church to makeshift church. “I have been delivered from witches and wizards today!” exclaimed one exhausted-looking woman. Pastors in southeast Nigeria claim illness and poverty are caused by witches who bring terrible misfortune to those around them. And those denounced as witches must be cleansed through deliverance or cast out. As daylight breaks, and we travel out to the rural villages it becomes apparent the most vulnerable to this stigmatization of witchcraft are children. A crowd gathered around two brothers and their sister. Tears streamed down their mother's face as she cast out her children from the family, accusing them of causing the premature deaths of two of their siblings with black magic. I was beaten by the prophet in the church. –Samuel, 15, now homeless “I am afraid. They are witches and they can kill me as well,” she sobbed. Taking his time to talk to the mother, Sam Ikpe-Itauma, an imposing man wearing a “Child's Rights & Rehabilitation Network” t-shirt, has come to try to rescue the three children. “If we are not here there's a possibility of them being thrown into the river, buried alive or stabbed to death,” Sam said. He tries to persuade their mother and a crowd of villagers that the three children are not witches – but no one believes him. And so, putting the children in his white pick-up, he drives away to his orphanage and safety. Sam runs Child's Rights & Rehabilitation Network, or CRARN — an orphanage that supports nearly 200 children. All of them were accused of witchcraft and cast out by their families, often after being tortured. The orphanage provides security, healthcare, nutrition and counseling. Godwin's story is typical. As he sat next to the quiet 5-year-old, Sam said that after Godwin's mother died, the church pastor told his family that “Godwin is responsible.” From his own investigation, questioning Godwin and talking with neighbors, Sam said that when a relative asked Godwin if he was a witch, “he said no and was beaten and made the confession that he actually killed the mother.” Sam said Godwin was locked up with his mother's corpse every night for three weeks with little food or water before a neighbor contacted Sam, who was able to rescue him. Witches and wizards, they started getting afraid. I never gave them rest. –Pastor Helen Ukpabio Other children at his orphanage bear the scars of being beaten, attacked with boiling water, and cuts from machetes. But these children are the ones lucky to be alive. “A child witch is said to be a witch when that child possessed with certain spiritual spells capable of making that child transform into cat, snake, vipers, insects, any other animal and that child is capable of wreaking havoc like killing of people, bringing diseases, misfortune into the family,” Sam said. “When a child is accused of being a witch — that child is hated absolutely by everybody surrounding him so such children are sent out of the home… But unfortunately such children do not always live long. A lot of them, they're either killed, abandoned by the parents, tortured in the church or trafficked out of the city.” Sam doesn't believe in witchcraft and is trying to raise awareness in local communities now gripped by hysteria. Belief in witchcraft is rooted in centuries of tradition, but it's only in the last 10 years, that it has become associated with child abuse, he said. “It's a social crisis,” he added. “Poverty propels this child witch phenomenon and poverty is a twin sister to ignorance. “Most vulnerable children come from single parents, divorced parents, dysfunctional families.” But the orphanage has very little space for more children. Overstretched finances mean he can barely pay a skeleton staff of four people, as well as feed the children. Instead, many children are left to roam the streets. “My parents sent me out of the house — said I'm a witch,” said Samuel, a 15-year-old who has lived on the streets for five years after a local pastor blamed him for unexpected deaths in the family. “I was beaten by the prophet in the church,” he said in a quiet voice. Samuel lives in an abandoned building with 10 other children accused of witchcraft. A local group, 'Stepping Stones Nigeria,' which is dedicated to helping street children, visits them. “Religious leaders capitalize on the ignorance of some parents in the villages just to make some money off them,” said Lucky Inyang, project coordinator for 'Stepping Stones Nigeria'. “They can say your child is a witch and if you bring the child to the church we can deliver the child but eventually they don't deliver the children… The parents go back to the pastor and say, 'why is it you have not been able to deliver the child' and the pastor says 'Oh – this one has gone past deliverance – they've eaten too much flesh so you have to throw the child out.'” CONTINUED… added by: EthicalVegan

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