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Monday, February 28, 2011
British gap year student falls to his death from French ski resort chalet roof | Mail Online
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Vatican confirms report of sexual abuse and rape of nuns by priests in 23 countries - Europe, World - The Independent
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Psychology of the Occult
Broad definition of the term "occult"
"Occult", in this article, refers to a number of schools of thought and forms of practice, healing and education that have existed in Europe and the Western world at large during the past three millennia. Common to these is their rejection by current beta science and the hidden, secret or supernatural nature of their topics.
Key words to further clarify this are gnosticism, mysticism, hermetism, alchemy, esoterism, magic, astrology, numerology, other forms of divination, spiritism, the paranormal, psychic powers, parapsychology, forms of psychotherapy, forms of personality testing, pseudo-science, homeopathy, other forms of alternative healing and so on.
The attraction of the occult
Occultism, often dormant, has had a number of revivals over the centuries, the latest being the present New Age wave. Even though hard science rejects most of it, and skeptics reject virtually all of it, people remain attracted. This suggests it satisfies certain human needs that are not met in mainstream society and religion. The following core ideas, here in general terms, appear to be responsible for this attraction:
1. The world as we know it is bad and unreal; Hidden behind it is a good and real world, that we may get to know after we die, or by doing certain exercises and studies, and that contains knowledge of all there is, was and will be;
2. Individual growth is possible through a succession of grades, in areas unknown in regular society, and this is one's true task or goal in life;
3. The individual must be seen as a whole and not reduced to its material parts.
Most forms of the occult have elaborated on at least one of these ideas. A closer look at each follows.
The world is bad
The vital question is: Why and how did people get this idea?
Occult theory tends to be generated by a class of individuals who could be characterized as: Thinkers, philosophers, theoretical scientists, mystics, hermits. In other words, highly intelligent, introverted, not at ease in the regular social world (Extraverted occultists exist too but are more inclined toward the practical side, like ritual magic; They design the rituals rather than thinking up the theory).
Such people - the occult theorists thus characterized - share the experience that almost all others are less intelligent, sincere, conscientious and moral than they are. Therefore, they indeed live in a bad world by their own standards. They have good reason to hope and wish a better world is possible. This is the origin of the central idea of the occult: The world we live in is bad, and a good and real one is hidden somewhere.
The precise contents of most occult theory is incorrect and not relevant here. The general method for generating and spreading occult theory is as follows:
You make up something that is inconsistent with the known laws of nature. You know it is not true because you are the one who made it up. You know that if you tell it to others and mention you made it up they too will know it is not true. So you give it credibility by claiming it was passed on to you by a higher authority, like God, the Devil, angels, the White Masters, the astral light, the spirit of a deceased whose dead is surrounded by mystery, etcetera. Perhaps at some point you start believing it yourself; Perhaps you were even hallucinating to begin with and have believed it from the start on. In no case is it true. But if you play your cards right, your followers will keep believing it for centuries.
So, while the original idea is attractive, the usual occult elaborations do not satisfy those of us who think clearly and rationally because we see they are made up, not real, false. They only work for the suggestible and uncritical. It is tempting to think of a new interpretation that would satisfy those who demand truth and realness instead of mere "feelgood" stuff, but that lies outside the scope of this article.
Individual growth
The type of person described above - the occult theorist - will often find that regular society does not offer appropriate ways to develop his talents and satisfy his need for growth and insight, and note that others of lesser ability receive more recognition than they deserve. This frustration is the origin of the systems for individual growth offered by occult organizations. If desire for growth is not met in mainstream society, it will find other ways, just like the water of a blocked river will seek an alternative path to the sea.
These systems generally aim to bring the student closer to the hidden real world, and reward advancement by awarding grades in a succession of levels, whereby the highest grades are, of course, only attained and held by those who do not reside in the world known to us any more. The contents of such systems can broadly be divided like this:
* Theoretical courses in the various branches of esoteric knowledge: gnosticism, hermetism, astrology, numerology, and very many more;
* Practical courses in ritual magic, astral travel, healing, meditation and so on;
* Forms of psychotherapy.
Again, the actual contents will disappoint the rational skeptical thinker nowadays, and only make the suggestible and uncritical feel good. Still the attraction remains, and actually increases in our days as science is more and more discovering that important human faculties have a biological basis and are largely fixed throughout adult life. This shutting off of ever more areas of potential self-improvement - intelligence, personality... it is dawning to ever more people we can't change those in ourselves, except for the worse - promotes the search for ways of individual growth that are possible and real.
The individual must be seen as a whole
This is the most recent of the occult ideas, because it is, as it were, the shadow cast by modern medical science. Originally there was no distinction between scientific and alternative medicine, as medicine on the whole was primitive. After micro-organisms were discovered as a cause of illness, the pharmaceutical industry and scientific medicine developed, dividing the world of healing into scientific and alternative branches.
The scientific branch is reductionist, rational and materialistic, analyzing the patient into its chemical, physical, observable, measurable parts. It focuses on the parts that are relevant with regard to the illness, and does not waste time by looking at the rest of the patient. From the occult viewpoint, these material parts belong to the unreal bad world and are therefore irrelevant. Alternative healing avoids scientific reductionism and calls itself "wholistic" in contrast.
The line between scientific and alternative healing is still being drawn as we speak. Much of the earlier twentieth century psychology and psychiatry bordered on the occult, and is now being pushed into the realm of the alternative by hard-line skeptics (For instance, the psycho-analytical schools). This unmasking of parts of the "soft" sciences as pseudo-science will likely go on over the next decades.
Still, people keep going to alternative healers because the wholistic approach makes them feel better, even knowing their methods are less effective than the scientific ones. The wholistic approach is attractive even in the absence of measurable effect on illness. Clearly, many go to a doctor, alternative or not, out of a need for attention rather than being physically ill. The unlucky ones who do have a serious illness and only go alternative end up dying unpleasantly. So in a sense alternative medicine does work; It is a fatal cure for stupidity!
Conclusion
The occult derives its attraction from a few central ideas that remain relevant to the present day and will likely gain power as science advances. The elaborations on these ideas proposed over the centuries are unsatisfactory as they are fictitious, not true, lacking critical inquiry. An interpretation that is real, correct, in accordance with the laws of nature and thus truly satisfying the corresponding human needs, is still due.
From: http://www.paulcooijmans.com/psychology/occult.html
Minneapolis man convicted of killing roommate while they smoked crack | StarTribune.com
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BBC News - Three found dead in one hour in three Lancashire towns
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Man 'raped two-year-old girl at Sea World and saved pictures on his phone' | Mail Online
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Saturday, February 26, 2011
Le Mummie di Urbania
La Chiesa dei Morti, The Church of the Dead, is located in Urbania in Italy. Inside lies the Cemetery of the Mummies, which was built in 1833. This cemetery is famous for its strange phenomenon of natural mummification. According to specialists, the process is caused by a particular mold that has absorbed moisture from the corpses leading to the complete desiccation of the bodies.
Quote Unquote: Aleister Crowley
There is no god but man.
1. Man has the right to live by his own law—
to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will:
to play as he will:
to rest as he will:
to die when and how he will.
2. Man has the right to eat what he will:
to drink what he will:
to dwell where he will:
to move as he will on the face of the earth.
3. Man has the right to think what he will:
to speak what he will:
to write what he will:
to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will:
to dress as he will.
4. Man has the right to love as he will:—
"take your fill and will of love as ye will,
when, where, and with whom ye will."
5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights.
Aleister Crowley
In Satan's Name - Documentary
TV documentary about controversial satanic ritual abuse / recovered-memory / multiple personality disorder and the undergroud worldwide satanic network conspirators herding everybody back to church.
Jane Williams: Christians should stand up for their beliefs - Telegraph
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Haydor Khan has been cleared of rape after climbing into the wrong bed | Mail Online
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El Cerrito robbery suspects call 911 after running out of gas - San Jose Mercury News
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Man who threatened 'South Park' creators gets 25 years in prison - CNN.com
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Friday, February 25, 2011
160-year-old poetry book covered in human skin of murderer George Cudmore | Mail Online
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Charges initiated against Pope for crimes against humanity - The Irish Times - Wed, Feb 23, 2011
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William Melchert-Dinkel 'aided British man's suicide online in hunt for vulnerable victims' | Mail Online
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Wife's rage boils over at accused spouse - News - The Buffalo News
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NOLA.com : Harvey woman accused of killing 2-year-old grandson allegedly stomped on child's back
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16-year-old girl 'covered in blood' after slash horror at Brooklyn McDonald's
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Bodies of woman and two children discovered in house | Mail Online
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Killer Gets Death In Beheading Murder - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
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Medical examiner: Woman under bed was dead for a week | detnews.com | The Detroit News
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BBC News - Girl's death in Inverness hospital grounds 'suspicious'
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
MLive.com : UPDATE: Mother was sleeping when pit bull attacked napping baby; police say no signs of negligence
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cleveland : Driver dies when truck cab falls 200 feet from I-480 bridge
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hunt under way after eight swans are found shot dead | Mail Online
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BBC News - Battered body of woman, 86, found in Bromley by police
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Universities in Texas 'to allow students to carry guns on campus' - Telegraph
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BBC News - Clydebank man cut boy's penis with plastic loyalty card
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Ontario Murder-Suicide: Ontario Woman Kills Son, Then Self - ktla.com
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Gang of four slashed teacher's face after he taught other religions to Muslim girls | Mail Online
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Jade South, 15, crushed to death by somersaulting horse in riding accident | Mail Online
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Quote Unquote: Friedrich Nietzsche
In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.
Is life not a thousand times too short for us to bore ourselves?
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.
The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
Two great European narcotics, alcohol and Christianity.
You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.
Friedrich Nietzsche
How Wings Are Attached To The Backs Of Angels
Craig Welch takes viewers inside a surreal, meticulously crafted world to meet a mysterious protagonist and his otherworldly visitor.
In this surreal exposition, we meet a man, obsessed with control. His intricate gadgets manipulate yet insulate, as his science dissects and reduces. How exactly are wings attached to the back of angels? In this invented world drained of emotion, where everything goes through the motions, he is brushed by indefinite longings. Whether he can transcend his obsessions and fears is the heart of the matter. A film without words.
Directed by : Craig Welch. Produced in 1996
In this surreal exposition, we meet a man, obsessed with control. His intricate gadgets manipulate yet insulate, as his science dissects and reduces. How exactly are wings attached to the back of angels? In this invented world drained of emotion, where everything goes through the motions, he is brushed by indefinite longings. Whether he can transcend his obsessions and fears is the heart of the matter. A film without words.
Directed by : Craig Welch. Produced in 1996
Man shot dead for eating popcorn too loudly during Black Swan - Telegraph
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Hackers warn Westboro Church: Stop now or else - Tech Talk - CBS News
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Bears' Duerson shot himself; brain to be studied - Chicago Breaking Sports
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Sunday, February 20, 2011
Pensioner mauled to death by rottweilers who then turned on and attacked their owner | Mail Online
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Ohio executes neo-Nazi who killed 3 at college | AP Nation / World - The News Tribune
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Picture of Heinrich Himmler taken moments after his suicide to go on sale | Mail Online
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Man Says He'll Remove Giant Illuminated Cross From Lawn - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh
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Prosecutor: Playful fight ended in murder | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com
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Child Killed In Apartment Fire - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston
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4 Accused Of Gang Rape Of Girl, 11 - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston
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Man Accused Of Torturing, Mutilating Wife - Houston News Story - KPRC Houston
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
BBC News - Girl, four, found dead and mother injured in Bury house
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Friday, February 18, 2011
Burglar dialled 999 when shot with air rifle after breaking into family home | Mail Online
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Inmate Caught With 30 Items in Anus | Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota | WTSP.com 10 News
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Pet ferret eats seven fingers off of baby boy | Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota | WTSP.com 10 News
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Jesus in Chair: Mission Viejo Couple Find Image of Jesus in Chair - ktla.com
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Victim forced to eat chunk of his own ear in savage attack - National News, Frontpage - Independent.ie
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Judge sets $1 million bond in child abuse case - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com
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Thursday, February 17, 2011
Screwdriver attack: Cannabis user who stabbed millionaire's wife facing life in prison | Mail Online
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Cops: Teen kills fish to eliminate ‘witnesses’ — Arlington Heights news, photos and events — TribLocal.com
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South Dakota Moves To Legalize Killing Abortion Providers | Mother Jones
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Flint Public School District is in mourning after kindergarten teacher collapsed in class and died : News : ConnectMidMichigan.com
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Stepfather Cory Byrd Charged In 4-Year-Old's Marc Bookal Murder - WPIX
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Philly.com : Confession: Boy bludgeoned sleeping mom over PlayStation
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tura Satana: Amazonian star of Russ Meyer’s cult classic film ‘Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!’ - Obituaries, News - The Independent
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St. Valentine's Skull located in Roma, Italy | Atlas Obscura | Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
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Rebecca Wills, 16, slashed 41 times in unprovoked scalpel attack on dog walk | Mail Online
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Missing mother Marie Stewart found stabbed to death in home garage | Mail Online
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US businessman Harold Landry 'stabs wife 23 times over Facebook affair' | Mail Online
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Children beaten and starved in Australia's 'house of horrors' - Telegraph
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Father repeatedly raped teenage daughter so she could have baby for his infertile girlfriend | Mail Online
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Father, 61, accused of stabbing to death boy, 8, and girl, 10, in flat | Mail Online
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Man killed friend in row over mis-spelt text message | Mail Online
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San Diego nightclub accident: 25 hurt as taxi hits crowd outside San Diego nightclub - latimes.com
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Monday, February 14, 2011
Leicester police probe murder suicide after couple and two children found dead | Mail Online
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Chemist 'killed her husband with radioactive poison to avoid going through a divorce' | Mail Online
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9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Deputy: Drinking may have led to dragging death
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Teenager Shoots, Kills Himself in Montana Vista After Struggle With Sheriff Deputy | KTSM News Channel 9
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
German man 'forced stepdaughter to have eight children with him' - Telegraph
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Ex-lover shows up at Queens pharmacy with flowers, fatally shoots mother-of-two in head, kills self
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Villagers outraged after police order them not to protect garden sheds | Mail Online
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Hidden camera shows beatings and religious segregation inside Muslim faith schools | Mail Online
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Massachusetts man charged with having sex with 13-year-old girl he ¿married¿ in online computer game | Mail Online
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Saturday, February 12, 2011
'Cut price' contract killer who bungled two hits and then shot dead innocent bystander admits murder | Mail Online
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Harry's Occult Shop located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US | Atlas Obscura | Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
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British man escapes Alps balloon crash only to fall to his death - Telegraph
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How much more can a mother bear? After two suicides, third child lost to 'legal high' | Mail Online
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Friday, February 11, 2011
Killer dentist drugged lover so they could sleep together without her feeling Christian guilt | Mail Online
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Tree surgeon Adam Baldock killed in chainsaw accident | Mail Online
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
'I can't go on without him': Bodybuilding bride-to-be, 32, hangs herself two days after mystery bug kills fiance | Mail Online
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Sudden Adult Death Syndrome: Jemma Benjaminl, 18, shares first kiss then dies | Mail Online
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Mother stabs daughter, 5, with carving knife after 'sudden' mental breakdown | Mail Online
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
BBC News - Teenager saved brother's life night before killing him
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Teenage daughters murdered antiques dealer father in row over money | Mail Online
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British woman, 20, dies after flying to America for illegal buttock-enhancement surgery | Mail Online
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Judge blasts ladette culture after Amy Leigh Smith, 17, blinds mother with stiletto | Mail Online
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El Paso Teens Killed In Juarez Had Gone There To Party, Friend Says - News Story - KVIA El Paso
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Father 'kept daughter as Cinderella-slave during 11 years of abuse' | Mail Online
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Man dismembered mother with a saw, put her in freezer, family says | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
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Monday, February 7, 2011
Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore found dead in hotel room | Mail Online
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Youngstown News, UPDATED: Two arrested after early-morning shooting near YSU
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Sunday, February 6, 2011
Man jailed for booting friend's head like rugby ball - Yahoo!Xtra News
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Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Capuchin Crypt of Palermo
The Capuchin Crypt of Palermo | Italy
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BBC News - Daughter, partner guilty of father murder in Old Colwyn
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The Pope is an organ donor but his body parts cannot be donated - Telegraph
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Homeowner Jack Crawford shoots teens who attempted home invasion | Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Sarasota | WTSP.com 10 News
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Friday, February 4, 2011
Parents watch son die in car wreck after 999 operator forgot to call firefighters | Mail Online
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'Death by GPS' in desert - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
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Thug accused of masterminding sexting slay consoled victim's grieving mother at funeral
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Police: Man who commited suicide with shotgun in car buried under snow for nearly a week
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
Five adults 'took over street in Welsh village to set up sick child sex cult' | Mail Online
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Facial Reconstruction, Nazis, and Siberia: The story of Mikhail Gerasimov
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Ariana Bardhaj, 4, killed after father's sat nav caused a car accident | Mail Online
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Barman pushed lover 50ft to her death from top of car park and said she jumped | Mail Online
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Elderly couple commits suicide together in Upper East Side, police say
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Teenager Daniel Thompson Graham stabbed dead after birthday party in London | Mail Online
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Gruesome accident takes life of man struck by L train in Brooklyn
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