The Environment and Asatru - Links

The Earth is our mother, called variously in our mythic lore Frigga, Nerthus, and Jord. As the most intelligent species on the planet, humans end up making many decisions for all the other forms of life that live here - so let us choose wisely.

Models underestimate the impact of global warming - Yes, the models used to predict the effects of climate change are inaccurate…they are not drastic enough.

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2007/may/science/ee_arcticice.html

Greenland ice melt speeds up - The trend is confirmed by satellites and by aircraft flyovers.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/02/MNG4VQ6A0B1.DTL&type=printable

Polar bears draw support from a record number of humans - Half a million Americans, twice the number who commented on the listing of any other species, asked the government to list polar bears under the Endangered Species Act..

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2007/070409.asp

Old-fashioned push mowers are making a comeback - I had one of these some years ago, and was pleased to find them easy to push and wonderfully quiet. There was never any trouble getting the thing to start, and you never had to add gas or oil.

https://www.reelin.com/

The Earth and Space Foundation sees the Earth “as an Oasis, cared for by a space-faring society.” The idea here is that space exploration is not in conflict with protecting our planet’s environment.

http://www.earthandspace.org/mission.htm

Freedom and Asatru - Links

Our Western traditions of freedom under law derive overwhelmingly from the culture of Northern Europe. (Both words, "freedom" and "law," have Teutonic roots.) It is our task to maintain this gift from our ancestors. In Asatru, freedom is a religious issue!

“Real ID” now part of the immigration bill - That’s right, it hasn’t gone away. The provision for a national identification card in the United States, so long anathema to the spirit of America, has been embedded in the immigration legislation now being debated in Congress. Oh, and while you’re at it, take a look at how this will affect gun ownership!

http://www.unrealid.com/what.html

No “Real ID,” no job…and no gun - Here’s more on what we can expect if “Real ID” is imposed upon the American people. Interestingly, this report is not from conservatives but from the progressive/left end of the spectrum. The old categories continue to break down.

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2007/06/home_security_a.html

Freedom in a surveillance state - Did you know that thousands of peaceful protestors in New York were fingerprinted by the police earlier this year?

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=22430

Our People and Our Culture - Links

We are a people - Germanic people, part of the Greater Family of European peoples, following the ways of our ancestors.

Only when we realize we are a river will we stop drowning in puddles.

Viking Graves to be reopened - The bodies from the burials containing the Oseburg and Gokstad ships will be reopened and the remains studied (They had been reburied after the ships were recovered). In other words, having robbed the dead of their possessions, they are now going to dig them up and subject them to further indignity! This may be justified if proper religious rites are performed, but there was no evidence that Norwegian Asatruar would be consulted.

http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1826974.ece

Pennsylvania high-schoolers build Viking sled, boat - The sled is now part of the collection of the Swedish American Museum Center in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago, and the boat can be seen in the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-sledjun19,1,731254.story?coll=chi-news-hed

By 2011, most U.S. births will be minority - The European-descended percentage of the American population continues to plummet, heading toward an estimated 30% to 15% by 2100.

http://vdare.com/rubenstein/070524_nd.htm

European-American health note: Sunscreen labeling may be dangerously misleading - Celts and Scandinavians are the most vulnerable to skin cancer caused by overexposure to the sun’s rays. One in eight sunscreens is inadequate, so check the label!

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Dermatology/SkinCancer/tb/5982

AFA Winter Nights 2007

For the last two years, the Asatru Folk Assembly has hosted its annual Winter Nights gathering at beautiful Mendocino Woodlands, on the California coast. This year we’re moving inland to Nevada City, located in the historic “Gold Country” of the Sierra foothills!

The event is scheduled for October 19-21. As always, we will focus on issues relevant to the furtherance of Asatru, the advancement of the AFA and the development of our personal spirituality through blot and sumbel. Winter Nights is, of course, family friendly.

AFA members and supporters are invited to be with us. More details to come!

Colonel Mosby on Valhalla

The image of Valhalla, the warrior paradise envisioned in the Nordic lore, continues to capture the imagination. Many years after the end of the War Between the States, Colonel John B. Mosby made the following remarks at a reunion of his command:

Modern skepticism has destroyed one of the most beautiful creations of the Epic ages - the belief that the spirits of the dead warrior meet daily in the halls of Valhalla, and there around the festive board recount the deeds they did in the other world. For this evening, at least, let us adopt the ancient superstition, if superstition it be. It may seem presumptuous in me, but a man who belonged to my command may be forgiven for thinking that in that assembly of heroes - when the feast of the wild boar is spread - Smith and Turner, Montjoy and Glascock, Fox and Whitescarver and their companions will not be unnoted in the mighty throng.

There is something about Valhalla - a paradise earned by blood and duty, not granted by God - that appeals to the better instincts in our breasts. I remember very clearly how, as a small child, I argued that the Arthur and Lancelot and the other knights must surely be in Heaven; after all, they were brave warriors, and noble in their bearing. I also recall my mother’s discomfort at explaining to me that Heaven was not necessarily for the bold or noble, but for the “good.”

Personally, I would rather be in the company of brave and noble souls rather than “good” ones!