~ III ~

with Draconis Blackthorne

Wednesday April 14 8:34 AM ET

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's highest court upheld Tuesday the death sentence on a witch doctor and two other Malaysians for murdering and dismembering a politician.
Maznah Ismail, better known by her alias Mona Fandey, and her husband and their assistant were convicted in 1995 of murdering Mazlan Idris during a black magic ritual.
``There is no reasonable doubt that the appellants have committed the offence as charged,'' the Bernama news agency quoted Chief Justice of the Federal Court Mohamed Eusoff Chin as saying.
Police found Mazlan's body chopped into 18 pieces and buried in his house in the interior of the central state of Pahang in July 1993.
A Pahang court sentenced the trio to death by hanging, the mandatory sentence for murder. As a last resort, they could ask for a royal pardon.
Prosecutors said the couple and their assistant killed Mazlan as they wanted to steal the politician's money and other valuables.

The inside track on this summer's biggest fright fest. 'Twister' director Jan de Bont reveals it's what you won't see in 'The Haunting' that will truly scare you
by Liane Bonin

With Jan de Bont, the director of ''Twister'' and ''Speed,'' at the helm of this summer's big-screen ghost story ''The Haunting'' (opening July 23), action fans are already bracing themselves for a spooky-effects extravaganza. Not so fast, effects freaks. According to de Bont, viewers will have to use a little imagination this time around. ''Effects are definitely not the emphasis,'' the 55-year-old director tells EW Online. ''The things you don't see in this movie are just as scary as the things you do see.'' The scary things that you don't see in this remake of 1963's ''The Haunting of Hill House'' come courtesy of an invisible spirit determined to control a group of paranormal-activities experts (including Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones) who visit a haunted mansion. De Bont, who drew on his worst fears of things that go bump in the dark, opted to play on audiences' fear of the unknown instead of giving the ghost human form. ''The movie's about all the things that scare you when you hear a knock at the door or see a shadow and it's only a squirrel,'' he explains. ''It's about how fear influences your thoughts.'' While de Bont won't spill too many details of how stars Neeson, Zeta-Jones, Lili Taylor, and Owen Wilson are terrorized, he does say that there's one creepy sequence in which a bedroom ''comes alive,'' much to the horror of one visitor.
EW Online's recent visit to the set revealed that, even if audiences won't be able to catch sight of the movie's bad guy, there will still be plenty of eye candy to savor. The elaborate scenery features walls overflowing with mounted animal heads and glass-encased bugs, a double spiral staircase (brace yourselves for an action scene in which the contraption collapses), and ominous paintings of a very unhappy previous owner. Vicious gargoyles, writhing garden statuary, and a library fit for Vincent Price are also a part of the floor plan. Built in a former airplane museum, the enormous set is impressive enough for de Bont to consider it ''the biggest star in the movie, and the most expensive one.'' Sounds good, but he may not want to tell that to Neeson.

Friday April 2 7:29 AM ET

Filipinos Crucified in Ritual

By DAVID THURBER Associated Press Writer

SAN PEDRO CUTUD, Philippines (AP) - At least 10 Filipinos were nailed to crosses in a farming village north of Manila today and scores of others flogged themselves as they walked shirtless and barefoot in annual Good Friday rites of penitence.
Hundreds of tourists and journalists flocked to San Pedro Cutud village to watch the Easter week celebrations in Asia's only predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
The first to be nailed was Herosito Sangalang, who winced as his cross was lifted to a vertical position, where he remained for 12 minutes under a scorching sun.
It was the 13th nailing for the 43-year-old smoked-fish store owner, who vowed to go through the annual ritual 15 times after his mother was cured of tuberculosis.
Next on the cross was Bob Velez, a 59-year-old ball boy for the Pampanga Dragons, the champion Philippine regional basketball team.
Velez, wearing a long wig and a crown of barbed wire and tattoos of Jesus Christ on both arms, said it was his 17th crucifixion and his last after seeking a cure for his sick son.
``I've fulfilled my obligation,'' he said.
The 10 men who acted as Jesus Christ grimaced and gritted their teeth as four-inch nails were driven through their palms.
One man, who acted as a Roman centurion, said Sangalang suffered more pain than usual because one nail hit a bone in his hand.
Stainless steel nails soaked in alcohol are used in the re-enactments of Jesus' crucifixion. In the more than 40 years that the ritual has been held in the village, no serious injuries have been reported.
Vendors selling food and soft drinks lined the road leading to the field, adding to the party-like atmosphere.
San Pedro Cutud village chief Zoilo Castro Jr. said he would maintain a ban against crucifixion of foreigners after it was discovered that a Japanese man nailed to a cross two years ago was actually an actor being secretly filmed for a scene in a Japanese pornographic video.
Filipinos traditionally observe Lent with fasting and acts of repentance. In many communities, scores of bloody penitents, including children, observe Good Friday by walking barefoot, beating their bare backs with ropes and pieces of wood.
The Roman Catholic Church officially frowns on the rituals but does not attempt to stop them.

Three Tried For Satanist Murder

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Three young Finns went on trial Wednesday charged with the gruesome murder of a friend during a Satanist ritual.
Prosecutors said two men in their twenties and a 17-year-old girl were accused of torturing and killing the 23-year-old man and using his body parts in a ritual that allegedly involved cannibalism and necrophilia.
After the charges were read out, the court closed the trial to the public and sealed some documents related to the case for 40 years.
Police said the case was Finland's first ever murder linked to Satanism. The three accused face life in prison if convicted.

Wednesday March 17 4:14 PM ET / Drag 'nuns' draw Catholic ire in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco has had it with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
The ``order'' of drag performance artists who, clad in nun's habits and vibrant face-paint, have shocked and amused the city for 20 years is being damned by Catholic leaders for planning to stage a public celebration of their troupe's anniversary on Easter Sunday.
Archdiocese spokesman Maurice Healy said Wednesday allowing a group that ``mocks the Catholic Church'' to close a public street on the holiest day of the Christian year was just as reprehensible as ``allowing a group of neo-Nazis to close a city street for the celebration on the Jewish Feast of Passover.''
``In terms of offensiveness, it's very similar,'' he told Reuters.
Troupe member ``Sister MaryMaye Himm'' responded angrily, telling the San Francisco Chronicle the April 4 celebration in the largely gay Castro District would go on as planned.
``We're really appalled at the insensitivity of comparing us to neo-Nazis, which totally invalidates the Jewish struggle against the Nazis,'' he said.
``The comparison is offensive not only to myself but to Jewish people everywhere, and the Catholic Church should be ashamed for promoting such an absurdity.''
The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have long been a part of the San Francisco landscape, appearing at benefits and protests in their black habits, outrageous makeup and often on roller skates.
The satirical and sometimes raunchy Sisters this month secured approval from the city Board of Supervisors to close Castro Street for a block party on April 4 to celebrate their 20 years of fund-raising for AIDS and other causes.
In an editorial last week in the archdiocese's official newspaper, Catholic San Francisco, Healy said the prospect of turning over a public street to the Sisters on Easter Sunday was ``extraordinarily insensitive.''
``This group has garnered a reputation for outrageous behavior by mocking religious life, ridicule of Catholic institutions and profane references to sacred liturgies,'' he wrote.
While several openly gay members of the Board of Supervisors have declared they will not be swayed from their support of the Sisters, Healy said he believed a groundswell of Catholic outrage would force the celebration to be rescheduled.
``We are at a point in which a major constituency has said 'this is offensive to us, and we're asking you to change it,''' Healy told Reuters. ``There are legitimate and real grounds for us to be offended, and for us to say please do not hold this event on the holiest day of the year.''
Reuters/Variety

The Cloven Hoof Issue #130 / The LaVey Memorial Issue

I just received the newest issue of The Cloven Hoof #130: The LaVey Memorial Issue. It is truly a beautiful piece of work. Sheer artistry. Literarily & Artistically. I believe the one word, dare I say it?....that best describes it is "Sacred". Contained therein, are never-before seen, & impressive photographs of the Doctor, as well as essay inclusions from notable figures in The Infernal Empire, giving the Devil His due, & explaining the influence The Black Pope has had in their diverse lives. Satanic Warlocks & Witches alike.
The more I read, the more the Black Flame roared within Me, providing inspiration to continue the diabolic work LaVey has pioneered. I Am proud to be a member of The Church of Satan, as I have acknowledged My allegiance to the Dark Forces that forged Me, & granting credit to the man that attained the bravery to form a religion in Our collective name ----- Satanists. We who walk the Left-Hand Path with Power, Wisdom, & Grace.
LaVey has been as a "Devil-Father" to Me, ever since I heard about there being a "Satanic Bible" in existence, ironically brought to My attention by a xian sheep who was trying to pass his propaganda over onto Me at a Christian School I was attending. I absorbed the philosophy whole-heartedly, reading it in about two night's time.
I acquired this text at a B. Dalton Bookseller. I perused it wild-eyed, & quickly thereafter purchased it. I'll never forget the look on the teller's face as she scanned it through. It was a temporary thrill that would be only a preface to all the gawkings I would receive as time went on. It reminds Me of that scene in "Speak of the Devil" when Togare's "voice" aptly described the fawning sheeple as, "what a tray of fish!" Indeed. A rotten bunch for sure.
Soon thereafter, I would purchase The Satanic Rituals, "Companion to The Satanic Bible", & eventually the other works followed as they were made available. And each & every time, was that ubiquitous glare of horror from tellers that such a thing existed. Very much the same way the Doctor became enthralled by Might Is Right, so I was with TSB.
I sat down at My desk, alone in My room, extinguishing all outside noise, turned on My study lamp, & began a journey that would take Me into the deepest recesses of Myself, bringing forth that daemon within, conjured in fierce plumes of blackest flame. Leviathan was awakened. Cthulhu met the stars.

III/XV/XXXIV ~ Los Angeles, CA
Marilyn Manson suffered a hurt ankle this past Sunday, which cut the show short. Here is the Reuters report:
Tuesday March 16 5:50 AM ET
Rock hits nadir with Hole, Manson combo
Marilyn Manson; Hole (Forum; 14,927 capacity; $35)
By Troy J. Augusto
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Anticipated as an evening of high drama, this pairing of the most antagonistic and self-absorbed characters in all of pop music ultimately crashed and burned.
First, Hole chose to end its involvement in the two-week-old U.S. tour, which was supposed to run through the spring, with Sunday's Forum show, and second, an injury to Marilyn Manson 35 minutes into the gig has led to the postponement of at least three concerts.
Hole presented its music with more vigor and authority than in many of the band's past L.A. gigs, as the members worked hard to win over a partisan crowd of mostly male Manson supporters. ``You'll get your burning crosses,'' singer Courtney Love told the crowd, referring to one of Manson's stage stunts.
Indeed, a cross made of video screens bearing the band's name was set on fire following a sinister cover of the Eurythmics' ``Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).'' It elicited howls of pleasure from the young audience.
Manson, barely dressed in a see-through black nylon bodysuit, wandered about the stage on stilts during ``Mechanical Animals,'' the title track from his latest Interscope album. Perhaps he should have stayed on the stilts: on the next song, ``Rock Is Dead,'' Manson jumped from a side platform, appeared to trip over a piece of equipment and landed hard on the floor, where he remained in a fetal position while his bandmates finished the song.
An announcement of ``technical difficulties'' was made after about five minutes of darkness and silence; it was followed with, ``We will be unable to continue with the show due to a major injury to our artist,'' revealed later to be a sprained ankle. Shows this week in San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix, which supposedly were going to take place with only Manson and opener Monster Magnet on the bill, have now been postponed. The show was punctuated by the usual Love comments as she took aim at the media (repeatedly and cryptically urging the crowd to ``stop reading magazines'') and Manson, whose music she dismissed. ``I just don't want to deal,'' she said as a way to explain her band's exit from the tour.
Presented by Universal Concerts/Bill Silva/KROQ. Bands: (MM) Manson, Twiggy Ramirez, Ginger Fish, John 5, Pogo; (H) Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson, Melissa Auf de Mar, Patty Schemel. Reviewed March 14, 1999.
Reuters/Variety

A Church Shooting Down South
A guman opened fire on eight people during a church service, killing six. Among the victims, the shooter's girlfriend & child. Before being shot, the child reportedly uttered "da-da'.

Georgia
A man holding himself hostage by taping a loaded shotgun to his chin, drove around in a field, & demanded to speak with late night radio show host Art Bell about some conspiracy theory that he had.
After a few unsuccessful hours of negotiation, Police finally threw a flash-bang grenade into the cab of the man's truck, stunning him enough to tackle him, & make the arrest.
No one knows why the man didn't just call in, instead of creating a public spectacle & nuisance. For attention, it is speculated. The incident was shown on the Fox show "Cops".

Sean Sellers Executed
Oklahoma / February 4th, XXXIV

Ex-devil-worshipping metalhead Sean Sellers, convicted of the murder of his parents in 1985 c.e., was given a lethal introvenous dose today. Sellers was a product of the satanic hysteria of the 80's, & after his incarceration, became a "born-again" Christian, writing letters to would-be devil-worshippers like himself, warning them of the "evils" of Satan's influence.
Sellers, frocked in a black Halloween cape & black underwear, walked into his parents' bedroom & released several shots into their sleeping bodies, this, after having "worshipped" at his altar, & asking demons to enter & possess him.
A few months prior, he had gone to a Circle K convenience store with a friend, where he had shot a clerk because he was refused liquor
Sellers appeared on Geraldo Rivera's 1988 "Exposing Satan's Underground", a 2-hour sensationalistic paranoia-tapper feeding the satanophobic frenzy. Besides being a murderer, he was known for being the youngest inmate in Oklahoma's prison history.
It was reported that his last words were, "Here I come, Father... I'm coming home. Let's do it... Let's get it on." Upon his deathbed, he sang a tune to his invisible friend "Jesus" as he lapsed into eternal darkness.

• More information here: Execution of Sean Sellers.

Reply-To:
emergenz@egroups.com
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 98 16:35:19 -0500
From: melina
To: "emergenz list"
Subject: [EmergenZ] First new #Darwin Awards candidate

Already, the first candidate for the 1999 Darwin Awards is circulating on the Net. The Darwin Awards are annually bestowed upon (the remains of) individuals who have given their all in an effort to improve our gene pool. The Darwin Awards applaud those who have made the ultimate sacrifice of killing themselves by the most extraordinarily stupid means. The Awards commemorate those who find innovatively moronic ways of killing themselves, thereby helping to eliminate undesirable weaknesses from the human gene pool. And so, without further ado, the first candidate for '99:

MAN DIES IN FREAK ACCIDENT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Nov. 13) -- A 39-year-old Charlottesville man died Thursday in a freak accident involving his washing machine. According to police reports, Samuel Randolph Strickson was doing laundry when he tried to speed up the process. Strickson apparently tried to stuff approximately 50 pounds of laundry into his washing machine by climbing on top of the washer and attempting to force the clothing into the basin. Strickson then apparently accidentally kicked the washing machine's ON button. When the machine turned on, Strickson lost his balance and both feet went down into the machine, where they got stuck. The machine started its cycle, and Strickson, unable to free himself, started thrashing around as the machine's agitator went into gear. Strickson's head banged against a nearby shelf in the laundry room, knocking over a bottle of bleach, which poured over Strickson's face, blinding him. Forensic reports say Strickson apparently also swallowed some of the bleach. He then vomited, but was still unable to free himself. Strickson's dog, then apparently came into the laundry room. At about the same time, according to police, a large box of baking soda fell from the shelf, startling the dog, who then urinated.

Urine, like vinegar, is acidic, and the chemical reaction between the urine and the baking soda resulted in "a small explosion," according to police reports. The dog, however, escaped unharmed. Strickson remained stuck in the washing machine, which eventually went into its high-speed spin cycle, spinning Strickson around at about 70 miles per hour, according to forensic experts. Strickson's head then smashed against a steel beam behind the washing machine, immediately killing him. A neighbor heard the commotion and called 911, but Strickson was pronounced dead at the scene.