Archive for March, 2010
Father of Dead Soldier Ordered to Pay Up
31, Mar 2010An update to our “God Hates Dead Soldiers” post. As reported in various news outlets, the family of dead Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder has been ordered to pay $16,510 in legal fees to Fred Phelps. Interestingly, the case, which is to be heard by the Supreme Court, centers not on Phelp’s First Amendment rights, [...]
- By: Kim
- In: Death + the Law|Death Ethics
- Tags: free speech, protests, soldiers, Westboro Baptist Church
Terri Schiavo Five Years On
31, Mar 20105 Years After Schiavo, Few Make End-Of-Life Plans Matt Sedensky, Associated Press (March 30, 2010) Five years ago today, Terri Schiavo died in Florida. March 31, 2005. I can’t believe that five years have already elapsed, in part because I was in the middle of finishing my Ph.D. dissertation on the dead body and also [...]
- By: John
- In: Death + the Law|Death Ethics
- Tags: bioethics, religion
Kevorkian Revisited
31, Mar 2010Independent Minds: Dr. Jack Kevorkian (Listen to the audio) Heard an interesting public radio broadcast this evening. It’s a series titled “Independent Minds” and tonight’s profile featured Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The show illuminates, through interviews, audio clips and sound bites, the life of the controversial “Dr. Death” and attempts to separate and dissect the man [...]
Washing the Dead for Jewish Funerals
30, Mar 2010Jewish Burial Practices Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, PBS (February 6th, 2004) Last week on the Death Reference Desk I wrote about American Muslims washing the dead body before a funeral. A friend from graduate school, Jakki, saw the post and sent me a fantastic PBS segment on the Jewish tradition of washing the dead. Jakki [...]
- By: John
- In: Burial|Funeral Industry
- Tags: anthropology, funeral homes, religion
Elephants? No. Leashed Dogs? Check.
27, Mar 2010No Camels, Er, Unleashed Dogs Allowed in Cemetery Katie Mercer, The Province (March 25, 2010) This is normally the sort of story I’d tweet, but after my columbaria tour one sweltering Vancouver Saturday, I have a soft spot in my heart for Mountain View Cemetery. In an effort to get visitors to actually read (and [...]
- By: Meg Holle
- In: Cemeteries|Death + Humor|Funeral Industry
- Tags: lecture, marketing