Pagan Centered Podcast

Blizzard on Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota)

There is a blizzard currently ongoing on the reservation. The reports are that power is out all over the reservation and that while the snow has stopped for the moment, there is a “ground blizzard”
with 60 mile per hour winds. John DuBray – from Allen – reports that the roads are blocked and they are not able to get through to people who need help. People on the rez who have 4 wheel drive can’t move right now but will at the first sign of a break in the weather. They will need gas money to get to the people who are stranded without food, water and heat.

I have contacted the Red Cross – they confirm that at present they are not able to move to provide help. They will start to mobilize at the first opportunity but will need the help of the people on the reservation to reach the elders and families who need help most urgently.
If you can help, please do so.

Love and peace,
Jeri Baker

For More Information Visit : One Spirit

below is a list of etiquette taken from Southern Native American Pow Wows It deals with the Southern style of powwow but is applicable to all powwows.

1. Bring your own seating when attending pow wows, because public seating is the exception rather than the rule. Lawn chairs are the most common way of solving this.

2. Do not sit on the benches around the arena. These benches are reserved for the dancers only. You may set up your chairs directly behind the benches, and it is usually good courtesy to ask the permission of the dancer whose bench you are sitting behind, as he/she might have family who are going to sit by him or her.
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3. Ask permission before taking pictures of dancers. Many people are sensitive about pictures, so it is always good to be on the safe side and ask.

4. Donate money to the Drum.This is done during a blanket dance, when a blanket will be laid out on the ground and a song or songs will be sung. It is customary to place a dollar bill (or more if you wish) on the blanket and dance the rest of that song, regardless of if you are dressed or not. If you don’t want to dance, you should ask a dancer to place the money on the drum for you. The drum has probably traveled a great distance to give you the beautiful songs you hear, and counts on this to help pay their expenses.

5. Always stand during special songs. This includes Grand Entry, Flag Songs, Veteran Songs, Memorial Songs, Prayer Songs, or any other song that the M.C. designates. It is also customary to remove any hats that you have on for the duration of that song.

6. Always listen to the M.C. He will give all of the information you need, as well as entertain you and keep you posted on news. Any questions you have can be answered by him.

7. Remember you are a guest. Have fun, ask questions and meet people. Everyone there is welcome!

For a list of terminology visit here

The National Audubon Society, an environmental group named after a German who painted birds, then killed and stuffed them, wants to close portions of the North Carolina outer banks to protect Plovers from mankind.

What is a Plover? A Plover is a cute little species of shorebird that is thriving in population and is nowhere near being endangered thanks to their ability to breed more prolifically than rabbits. Only one of these birds has died at the hands of mankind in recent memory, 3 years ago when one was run over by a car. Compare that to the hundreds that die when there’s an excessively high tide, the winds are strong or there’s a storm.

Whenever a Plover’s nest is discovered, a half mile stretch of beach is closed to avoid human interference, thus permitting this species to continue to thrive.

However, this is not enough for the environazis at The National Audubon Society. They want to close all of the beaches on Hatteras and Ocracoke island to ensure these birds don’t die as a result of human interference. Ignore the fact that nature kills more of these birds in a year than mankind has probably done since it was first inhabited.

The environazis of The National Audubon Society wish to obliterate the economy of this beautiful tourist attraction, punishing all the locals. This is the same type of “environMENTALists” that led to global food shortages and inflation thanks to “environmentally friendly” alternative fuels.

Stop these environazis before they destroy your town. Click here to Save Hatteras Island! Stop The National Audubon Society before they destroy your small town.

This originally came from Army.com but we were made aware of it by Pagan Troop Support:

OPSEC (Operational Security)

OPSEC, also known as Operational Security, is the principle that we, as Army wives and Army family members, should all abide by when talking about our soldiers. If you’ve been on any military related message board on the internet, you have more than likely seen a warning to be sure to practice OPSEC. This means protecting the information you know about your soldier and his unit.
Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:

- Your soldier’s exact location overseas

- Any information on troop movements – this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from theater (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.

- Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers – for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC

If your soldier is in a special operations unit, the OPSEC guidelines can be stricter. You may not be able to say he is deployed at all much less where he is. His unit and/or FRG should provide the OPSEC guidelines for these situations.

Always abide by the rules set forth by his unit. Just because it is on the news does not mean that you can talk about the issue. By talking about it, you are only verifying the information.

CORRECT:

My soldier is deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom

INCORRECT:

My soldier is in XYZ Unit and is stationed at ABC Camp in XXX city in Iraq.

Give only general locations IF his unit allows it. The above incorrect statement is entirely too much information.

INCORRECT: My soldier’s unit is returning from deployment and flying into XYZ Airport at 8pm next Thursday.

Never give dates or times for troop movements. Keep in mind that “next Thursday” is a date. This includes R&R dates as well as deployment and redeployment dates. Planes have been delayed for days or weeks because an excited family member made this information public.

INCORRECT: Please pray for my soldier. He called today and told me he is going out on a very dangerous mission tonight. They will be gone for three days and I’m very worried about him.

When our soldiers are in dangerous situations, it is natural to want to reach out to others. But the above statement puts your soldier and his unit in danger. You could have very well just alerted the enemy about their mission.

It is important to realize that putting together the bits and pieces needed to create the larger picture can be amazingly simple on the internet. Many mistakenly believe that if they don’t talk about it all at once, the information is safe. This is wrong and dangerous to assume.

The internet is a wonderful tool but in regards to our military, it is a very dangerous one as well. It takes only minutes of searching online to find enough pieces of information that could potentially endanger our soldiers.

DEPLOYMENT TICKERS

Many family members like to use deployment tickers to count down their soldier’s deployment. Never have a ticker that shows XX days until he returns. If you must have a ticker, then have one with the amount of time he has been gone. Although it is best to not have this type of ticker at all.

Finally, for your own personal safety, be very aware of what you are putting on the internet or saying in conversations in public. With the internet, it is not difficult to track down an address and phone number. Do not make yourself a target by letting the world know that your husband is deployed.

PERSEC

PERSEC is also known as personal security. Like OPSEC, this involves guarding the information that you know. Do not give out your soldier’s name along with rank. This includes blacking out his name tape and rank in pictures. If he is in a special operations unit, you should also black out any unit affiliation.

Be vague about your personal information as an Army wife or Army family member on the internet. This is plain common sense in just every day life – regardless of if your family member is in the military.

The old saying loose lips sink ships still holds true today. Keep your soldier, your family and his unit safe by keeping the information you know to yourself. You never know who is lurking and gathering information on message boards, myspace pages and profiles. Better safe than sorry

Reposted from http://www.army.com/articles/item/3305