Belchertown, MA - In 1972, carpenter, farmer, poet and political activist Eric L. Walgren, known at the time as “Eric the Rat,” transferred ownership of his house at 140 Gulf Road here to the Universal Life Church of Belchertown, a pagan church he had founded two years earlier.

Religion or tax dodge? (more…)

Judge Elena Simionescu was accused of being a witch and of creating an atmosphere of conflict during her term as a president of the court in Vatra Dornei, a small town in eastern Romania.

She was alleged to have performed rituals involving splashing water, mud and “other liquids”, as well as salt and pepper, on fellow judges’ desks in what some saw as an attempt to bewitch them. The case raises unsettling questions about the outlook of some within the judicial system of one of the newest members of the European Union. (more…)

Greece - Excavation work at a site in a northern Athens suburb, where sections of an ancient Greek theater were discovered on Thursday, should prove whether the structure is the fabled ancient theater of Acharnae, archaeologists said yesterday.

Modern Menidi, where the remains of the 4th century BC theater were found by construction workers, is believed to have been built upon the ancient village of Acharnae, the largest of a string of settlements outside Athens, according to chief excavator Maria Platonos-Yiota. (more…)

Siem Reap , Cambodia — Built by a mighty ninth -century Khmer king, the soaring temple of Phnom Bakheng stands atop the highest peak of ancient Angkor. With a sweeping view that takes in Angkor Wat — the world’s largest religious structure — the monks stationed here were probably among the first to glimpse the approaching Siamese troops who snuffed out this city’s centuries-long domination of much of Southeast Asia.

So perhaps it is not surprising that more than 500 years later, Phnom Bakheng has become the ideal perch from which to watch another assault on Angkor — by marauding armies of tourists. (more…)