14
Dear readers,
This issue does not contain its usual horoscopes, as our in-house divination whiz spent the better part of the month in the States, engaging in (from what she reports) quite lucrative speculation about the results of the 'mid-term elections'.
From what we could understand of what seems an unnecessarily convoluted electoral and governmental process, halfway between major elections, the American muggles have 'mid-terms', where they vote on the representation of half of the seats in 'Congress', and a large betting market has risen up around the results. As such, Madam Adela has been dividing her time between rorting the system [Ed: her words, not ours], and guest lecturing in divination at Salem University.
We can assure you that next month's issue will have horoscopes as usual, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
However, muggle politics in the United States do indeed influence the wizarding world of the Americas. Over the past few months, portions of the muggle population have been protesting against the killing of Mike Brown, an unarmed (in wizarding language, without a wand) African American teenager in the city of Ferguson, Missouri. Protests have focused not only on the fact that the killing was indicative of the broader militarization and brutality of the police force, but that African American young men are statistically 21% more likely to be killed innocently by a police officer.
News from Across the Pond
This has led the Magical American community to protest the ability of US Aurors to use unforgivable curses in their 'protection' of the US magical community. Here in the UK, muggle police officers do not carry lethal weapons, nor are aurors authorized to use unforgivables. Back in the United States, witches and wizards have not only marched alongside their muggle counterparts, but they’ve also organized their own magical protests against the unjust liberties that their aurors have been exercising.
Should you be interested in hearing more about magical USA, follow @TheAmericanSeer or @MagicalCongress on Twitter. If you want to find out about protests for Ferguson near you, search the Ferguson National Response Network on Facebook.com.