Unleash the Hounds (link roundup)

[Here is our October version of Unleash the Hounds, a monthly article fearing links to stories outside of our collective communities.  If you enjoy this article and others like this, please consider donating to The Wild Hunt.  We have 13 days left to meet our goal, and you make it possible for us to continue. The Wild Hunt is your community news service. Donate today.]

NORTH DAKOTA — It was announced this week that a judge “dismissed the riot charges” against journalist Amy Goodman for covering the protest efforts to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. In September, the Democracy Now! producer was charged with criminal trespassing after reportedly filming “security guards working for the Dakota Access pipeline company using dogs and pepper spray to attack protesters.” At the time Goodman said, “This is an unacceptable violation of freedom of the press,” adding that she was just doing her job.

Goodman has been a very vocal proponent of free and independent news media. This particular story reached national news, as Goodman turned herself over to authorities risking jail time for her right to work as a journalist. However, on Oct. 17, District Judge John Grinsteiner rejected the charges on the basis that the state lacked “probable cause.” The ruling is being hailed as a victory for freedom of the press.

Goodman is quoted as saying, “It is a great honor to be here today. The judge’s decision to reject the State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson’s attempt to prosecute a journalist—in this case, me—is a great vindication of the First Amendment.” She then invited other media outlets to join her in North Dakota as she continues her working covering the pipeline protests.

In Other News

• Rolling Stone magazine recently reported on a triple murder within the furry community. The story went national and, as reported by the magazine, has this poorly-understood, private community worried about backlash. “The incident is causing concern among furries already sick of defending the scene from negative stereotypes,” writes Rolling Stone journalist Mary Emily O’Hara. “They worry that the tragedy will become a joke to the general public, like a 2014 chlorine gas attack at Midwest Furfest did, when MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski was unable to keep a straight face after she learned, on-camera, about furries.”
• The Gothamist reported that a woman found a cow tongue nailed to a tree in Bedford-Stuyvesant, an area of Brooklyn, New York.  According to the report, this is not the first time that cow tongues have been found around the area. The article’s interviewee linked the tongue to a “wicked spell.” While the journalist did speak to a professor of religion on the possible meanings or origins of the tongue and its uses in religious work or magic, no more concrete information was provided. Was it really a spell or simply a joke? At this point, there is only speculation and accusations.
• In an AJC investigative series, it was revealed that an Oklahoma psychiatrist has been accused of “spiritually manipulating” several of his female patients over a ten-year span. He allegedly “convinced [these women] that they had multiple personalities that could seize control of their bodies, that their mothers had given them over to witchcraft as babies, and that they were powerful witches.” After one victim committed suicide in 2003, the doctor reportedly told the police a similar story about witchcraft and the occult. The investigating officer at the time “didn’t know then what he had stumbled over” and never followed up. Since that point, other women have come forward now accusing the doctor of sexual manipulation and abuse. No Witchcraft practice was involved.
• Witchcraft is also being linked to a kidnapping trial in Dallas, Texas. According to reports, a “jar containing a dark-colored liquid” was found under the alleged kidnapper’s bed. In court, the investigator speculated that this bottle was a hex spell, and is quoted as saying, “If she had to put it in context, she told the judge, it was more than a lucky nickel but not as serious as voodoo.”
• Astrologers are currently fighting over Hillary Clinton’s exact birth time in an attempt to predict the election. As Christopher LaFond told The Wild Hunt in our own report on election astrology, “the time of day for Hillary Clinton’s birth is suspect,” making certain analyses difficult. The Washington Post dives into that debate.
• According to a recent Upworthy article, a local Baltimore school has replaced detention with meditation. As reported, “Instead of punishing disruptive kids or sending them to the principal’s office, the Baltimore school has something called the Mindful Moment Room instead.” The program was created and is sponsored by the Holistic Life Foundation. School officials have reportedly said that, since implementing the program, there have been no suspensions and the detention rate has dropped.

Arts and Leisure

• The New York Times published an article on Star Trek’s beloved character Spock and his “outsider role model.” As the article reports, “For years [Spock] was about the closest viewers could get to a multiracial role model on American TV.” His dual identity as both human and Vulcan is uniformly reported to be his most popular trait. Audiences identified strongly with this duality, and still do.

Witches, Witches, and more Witches…

• Bohemian.com, a site focused on California’s Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties, featured an article about the practice of modern Witchcraft in that region. “Many North Bay residents are carving pumpkins, scouring thrift stores in search of 1980s threads for Halloween costumes of their favorite Stranger Things characters, or building Dia de los Muertos altars to remember their beloved dead. Meanwhile, Preston and thousands of other witches are preparing for the Oct. 31 Pagan festival of Samhain. And, no, the festivities do not include eating babies.”
• For your enjoyment, here is a performance from the popular German dance troupe Wolfshäger Hexenbrut:

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