Saturday, December 31, 2011
2012 : End of the World or Beginning of a New One?
By Ranbir Singh
(CHAKRA) Apocalypse is big business. There is nothing like a disaster film to get the cinema ticket sales increased and it does not even need to be in 3D. Disease, war, carnage, anything that makes our pleasant surroundings fall apart seems to get us addicted. It is as if we are not just confronting our worst fears but wanting to live them. So its not surprising that as 2012 draws close it also creates a paranoia revolving around a widespread belief based on a Mayan prophecy that predicts the final end of the world .
David Icke is doing very well as he draws in the crowds who listen avidly to how the alien lizard race of Illumunati rule the planet. Doomsday cults abound. Sometimes we encounter this world of messianic soothsayers as it impinges into our reality. The classic case in point would be Jehovah’s Witnesses who always start the monologue with how bad the world is and in order to be saved one needs to repent and accept their point of view before it is too late. In fact for this cult then end of the world has always been too late as their previous prophecies about the world ending have never materialised otherwise of course you would not be reading this.
Other Christian sects are not as fussy about blood transfusions but are equally glad to take direct debits, cash and all types of credit cards. After all as film directors have always known, there is nothing like a good apocalypse to get the money rolling in. But just in case this is not quite the End Time as predicted in the Book of Revelation, such splendid specimens of humanity such as Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn need to keep their multi-billion dollar business empires afloat complete with private jets and designer suits as they leech off their desperate, lonely and naïve subjects.
It is often hard to see whether pictures of starving and diseased Third World children are better at keeping Christian fundamentalist televangelists on fat cat CEO salaries during a time of economic decline than the constant messages of impending doom which never seem to negatively impact the healthy bulging wallets of designer preachers such as Benny Hinn. That is why along with the messages of the world ending in the next five minutes the Jehovah’s Witnesses and an assortment of other such dogmatic cults soon try and wipe as much from your savings as doorstep vacuum cleaner salesmen forcing over priced consumer goods down the unsuspecting throats of anyone unfortunate enough to encounter such human debris.
[Click here to read full article]
(CHAKRA) Apocalypse is big business. There is nothing like a disaster film to get the cinema ticket sales increased and it does not even need to be in 3D. Disease, war, carnage, anything that makes our pleasant surroundings fall apart seems to get us addicted. It is as if we are not just confronting our worst fears but wanting to live them. So its not surprising that as 2012 draws close it also creates a paranoia revolving around a widespread belief based on a Mayan prophecy that predicts the final end of the world .
David Icke is doing very well as he draws in the crowds who listen avidly to how the alien lizard race of Illumunati rule the planet. Doomsday cults abound. Sometimes we encounter this world of messianic soothsayers as it impinges into our reality. The classic case in point would be Jehovah’s Witnesses who always start the monologue with how bad the world is and in order to be saved one needs to repent and accept their point of view before it is too late. In fact for this cult then end of the world has always been too late as their previous prophecies about the world ending have never materialised otherwise of course you would not be reading this.
Other Christian sects are not as fussy about blood transfusions but are equally glad to take direct debits, cash and all types of credit cards. After all as film directors have always known, there is nothing like a good apocalypse to get the money rolling in. But just in case this is not quite the End Time as predicted in the Book of Revelation, such splendid specimens of humanity such as Pat Robertson and Benny Hinn need to keep their multi-billion dollar business empires afloat complete with private jets and designer suits as they leech off their desperate, lonely and naïve subjects.
It is often hard to see whether pictures of starving and diseased Third World children are better at keeping Christian fundamentalist televangelists on fat cat CEO salaries during a time of economic decline than the constant messages of impending doom which never seem to negatively impact the healthy bulging wallets of designer preachers such as Benny Hinn. That is why along with the messages of the world ending in the next five minutes the Jehovah’s Witnesses and an assortment of other such dogmatic cults soon try and wipe as much from your savings as doorstep vacuum cleaner salesmen forcing over priced consumer goods down the unsuspecting throats of anyone unfortunate enough to encounter such human debris.
[Click here to read full article]
Friday, December 30, 2011
Unexplained" Mysteries of 2011 and into 2012
As we head inexorably toward 2012, we decided to look back at some of the strangest mysteries of this past year, and some of the mysteries that remain with us as we enter the new year.
5 "Unexplained" Mysteries Solved in 2011
The Jerusalem UFO Video
Just a few weeks into 2011 a stunning UFO video circulated around the world. On Jan. 28, a mysterious glowing light hovered high above the Dome of the Rock, an ancient Islamic shrine in Jerusalem.
It was touted as possibly the best video ever taken of an extraterrestrial spacecraft -- made all the more apparently authentic because it was captured by at least two other people at the same time, from different angles. When the videos appeared on YouTube UFO interest was whipped into a frenzy; as Ian O’Neill noted, "The news headlines read: "Holy Smoke -- UFO in Jerusalem," "Dome of the Rock Jerusalem light all proof UFO fans need that aliens exist" and "Credible? Jerusalem UFO footage captured from multiple viewpoints."
Skeptical analyses soon suggested that the video had been faked, but true believers insisted that the videos were legitimate. Finally in March even MUFON, an organization dedicated to proving extraterrestrial visitation, joined the skeptics in branding the whole thing a hoax. Eventually even most diehard UFO believers grudgingly acknowledged that it had been faked.
The Mysterious Magnetic Boy
While the Internet was still abuzz with chatter about the Jerusalem UFO, another weird mystery emerged in February, from the country of Serbia. A seven-year-old boy named Bogdan made international news for his (apparently) paranormal ability to be "magnetic."
According to MSNBC and The Daily Mail, household objects such as spoons, knives, and forks stuck to his skin with almost supernatural ease. Even stranger, other things stuck to him too, such as small plates and small flat glass objects. It was quite an unexplained mystery -- until it was pointed out that whatever made the items to stick Bogdan's bare skin, it was not magnetism, since many of the times were non-metallic. The mysterious ability was in fact due to simple skin friction.
[Click here to read full article]
5 "Unexplained" Mysteries Solved in 2011
The Jerusalem UFO Video
Just a few weeks into 2011 a stunning UFO video circulated around the world. On Jan. 28, a mysterious glowing light hovered high above the Dome of the Rock, an ancient Islamic shrine in Jerusalem.
It was touted as possibly the best video ever taken of an extraterrestrial spacecraft -- made all the more apparently authentic because it was captured by at least two other people at the same time, from different angles. When the videos appeared on YouTube UFO interest was whipped into a frenzy; as Ian O’Neill noted, "The news headlines read: "Holy Smoke -- UFO in Jerusalem," "Dome of the Rock Jerusalem light all proof UFO fans need that aliens exist" and "Credible? Jerusalem UFO footage captured from multiple viewpoints."
Skeptical analyses soon suggested that the video had been faked, but true believers insisted that the videos were legitimate. Finally in March even MUFON, an organization dedicated to proving extraterrestrial visitation, joined the skeptics in branding the whole thing a hoax. Eventually even most diehard UFO believers grudgingly acknowledged that it had been faked.
The Mysterious Magnetic Boy
While the Internet was still abuzz with chatter about the Jerusalem UFO, another weird mystery emerged in February, from the country of Serbia. A seven-year-old boy named Bogdan made international news for his (apparently) paranormal ability to be "magnetic."
According to MSNBC and The Daily Mail, household objects such as spoons, knives, and forks stuck to his skin with almost supernatural ease. Even stranger, other things stuck to him too, such as small plates and small flat glass objects. It was quite an unexplained mystery -- until it was pointed out that whatever made the items to stick Bogdan's bare skin, it was not magnetism, since many of the times were non-metallic. The mysterious ability was in fact due to simple skin friction.
[Click here to read full article]
5 things you should know about 2012
by Christine Delsol
People have been forecasting the end of the world since … well, probably since the beginning of the world. In the past five years or so, the ancient Maya have been saddled with responsibility for one of the most enduring doomsday watches of all time.
Trying to determine how 2012 — specifically, Dec. 21, 2012 — turned into a worldwide doomsday watch is a thankless pursuit, although the 2009 movie "2012" can claim a hefty share of the credit. Neither a great nor an awful disaster movie — anything starring John Cusak at least earns the price of admission — but that's all it is. Put it in the same category as "Independence Day" or "The Day After Tomorrow," and move on.
Though this latest version of apocalypse has been tied to the ancient Maya calendar, one of the few certainties of the doomsday phenomenon is that contemporary Maya aren't cowering in anticipation of cataclysmic solar storms, magnetic pole reversal, earthquakes, monster tidal waves, colliding galaxies, alien invasion or the end of civilization. That alone should be reason for healthy skepticism.
The problem with disproving such Chicken-Little theories — which also happens to be the problem with proving them — is that concrete evidence is scarce. Like all myths, this one has some basis in fact. And, as with all myths, pseudo-scientists and New Age soothsayers have contorted the few actual facts to fit what they want to believe. Doomsday heralds, for the most part, have little or no grounding in Maya history, culture or archaeology. Even a quick look at scientifically supportable facts should be enough to deter anyone from remodeling that Cold War-era underground bunker.
1. The Maya were, and are, humans. They are not mystical seers, supernatural beings or aliens. In his fascinating and informative book, "The Order of Days," David Stuart theorizes that such notions are a holdover from the discovery of the Maya's fantastic cities in the 19th century, when a brash, young United States was eradicating its own natives. According to Stuart, the belief was mere "Indians" simply could not have reached the heights of art, writing, language, mathematics, architecture and astronomy displayed in these cities; their accomplishments were attributed instead to Phoenicians, Israelites, Scandinavians or even people from the lost continent of Atlantis. Stuart, professor of Mesoamerican art and writing at the University of Texas, is one of the world's foremost Maya scholars. He asserts that the view of the Maya as so exotic as to be alien, and the readiness to grasp at this milestone in the dimly understood ancient Maya calendar, says more about contemporary culture than it does about the Maya or their cosmology.
2. 2012 is not the end of the Maya calendar. It is the flipping of a page, numerically significant in the way the new millennium was to us (remember the millennium frenzy?). The Long Count calendar is a complex mathematical creation that fell from use with the waning of the Classic Maya period (about 250-900 A.D.). In simple terms, the basic unit was the 360-day tun, approximating a solar year; "ages" of 20 tuns made up k'atuns, each possessing its own characteristics and prophecies. A bak'tun was made up of 20 k'atuns, or 400 tuns (about 395 years). December 2012 coincides with the end of one 5,125-year cycle, made up of 13 bak'tuns, of the Long Count calendar. The exact date is a matter of debate, but Dec. 21 has the edge because it coincides with the equinox. In Maya cosmology, the turn of the 13th bak'tun was a numerical recurrence. They believed an earlier long cycle ended before their time, unblemished by mass destruction; completion of this one was not an end of anything, but a continuation of many future repetitions.
3. Ancient Maya prophecies were more self-fulfilling than predictive. The story of Moctezuma's fall to Cortez, believing him to be the prophesied return of the god Quetzalcoatl, is famous. More obscure but equally fascinating is the fall of the Itza, last holdouts of the ancient Maya world, to Spanish forces almost two centuries later, in 1697. After abandoning Chichen Itza in the 1400s, they ruled a vast, remote region in northern Guatemala, where for decades the Spanish feared to tread. After several exploratory missions, a party led by Fray Andres de Avendaño, an avid student of Mayan and the Maya calendar, arrived. Avendaño was well aware that Itza prophecies foretold the beginning of a new age, the "8 Ahaw," that would bring great religious changes. Thus armed, the Spaniards easily "converted" the Itza. In fact, Maya notions of prophecy actually appear to be based on their cyclical system of time, giving rise to the belief that certain events were predestined based on historical experience within familiar recurring patterns.
4. Only one Maya reference to 2012 survives. Most of what we know about Maya prophecies comes from historical texts that shamans and priests hid from the pagan-busting Spanish. The Books of Chilam Balam, a collection of the most important manuscripts, describe historical k'atuns. K'atun periods folded upon one another, and "prophecies" were based on analysis of what came before during correlating periods. Most surviving stone inscriptions from the Classic period describe coronations, military victories and other current events. Not one predicts the future, though some give room for extrapolation — a tablet from Palenque, for example, tells of the crowning of a god several thousand years from now. The only words we have from the Maya about the end of the 13th bak'tun come from the tiny ruin of Tortuguero in Tabasco, on a stone slab called Monument 6; its fragments now reside in the Carlos Pellicer Regional Anthropology Museum in Villahermosa, due to reopen on December 21. An account of events in the life of a king named Bahlam Ajaw in the early 7th century ends with, "In two days, nine-score days, three years, eight score years, and three times four hundred years, the 13th bak'tun will end, and 4 Ahaw, 3 K'ank'in will happen." The last few glyphs, which might or might not have indicated the significance of this date, are obscured. That's it … the words around which the entire 2012 mythology has grown.
5. "No authentic Maya text foretells the end of the world in 2012, or of any destructive happening in connection with the turn of the 13th bak'tun." This quotation from Stuart is about as unequivocal as you can get. The date is a milestone in the ancient calendar structure, of course — a momentous anniversary of the mythological beginning of the full Long Count calendar in 3114 B.C. — and the number 13 was central to Maya cosmology. Undoubtedly they expected events of great import to occur, but we have no way to know what those might have been. But we do have inscriptions that refer to future events to come after the current cycle end, which argues convincingly against the end of the world as a Maya concept.
[Click here to read full article]
People have been forecasting the end of the world since … well, probably since the beginning of the world. In the past five years or so, the ancient Maya have been saddled with responsibility for one of the most enduring doomsday watches of all time.
Trying to determine how 2012 — specifically, Dec. 21, 2012 — turned into a worldwide doomsday watch is a thankless pursuit, although the 2009 movie "2012" can claim a hefty share of the credit. Neither a great nor an awful disaster movie — anything starring John Cusak at least earns the price of admission — but that's all it is. Put it in the same category as "Independence Day" or "The Day After Tomorrow," and move on.
Though this latest version of apocalypse has been tied to the ancient Maya calendar, one of the few certainties of the doomsday phenomenon is that contemporary Maya aren't cowering in anticipation of cataclysmic solar storms, magnetic pole reversal, earthquakes, monster tidal waves, colliding galaxies, alien invasion or the end of civilization. That alone should be reason for healthy skepticism.
The problem with disproving such Chicken-Little theories — which also happens to be the problem with proving them — is that concrete evidence is scarce. Like all myths, this one has some basis in fact. And, as with all myths, pseudo-scientists and New Age soothsayers have contorted the few actual facts to fit what they want to believe. Doomsday heralds, for the most part, have little or no grounding in Maya history, culture or archaeology. Even a quick look at scientifically supportable facts should be enough to deter anyone from remodeling that Cold War-era underground bunker.
1. The Maya were, and are, humans. They are not mystical seers, supernatural beings or aliens. In his fascinating and informative book, "The Order of Days," David Stuart theorizes that such notions are a holdover from the discovery of the Maya's fantastic cities in the 19th century, when a brash, young United States was eradicating its own natives. According to Stuart, the belief was mere "Indians" simply could not have reached the heights of art, writing, language, mathematics, architecture and astronomy displayed in these cities; their accomplishments were attributed instead to Phoenicians, Israelites, Scandinavians or even people from the lost continent of Atlantis. Stuart, professor of Mesoamerican art and writing at the University of Texas, is one of the world's foremost Maya scholars. He asserts that the view of the Maya as so exotic as to be alien, and the readiness to grasp at this milestone in the dimly understood ancient Maya calendar, says more about contemporary culture than it does about the Maya or their cosmology.
2. 2012 is not the end of the Maya calendar. It is the flipping of a page, numerically significant in the way the new millennium was to us (remember the millennium frenzy?). The Long Count calendar is a complex mathematical creation that fell from use with the waning of the Classic Maya period (about 250-900 A.D.). In simple terms, the basic unit was the 360-day tun, approximating a solar year; "ages" of 20 tuns made up k'atuns, each possessing its own characteristics and prophecies. A bak'tun was made up of 20 k'atuns, or 400 tuns (about 395 years). December 2012 coincides with the end of one 5,125-year cycle, made up of 13 bak'tuns, of the Long Count calendar. The exact date is a matter of debate, but Dec. 21 has the edge because it coincides with the equinox. In Maya cosmology, the turn of the 13th bak'tun was a numerical recurrence. They believed an earlier long cycle ended before their time, unblemished by mass destruction; completion of this one was not an end of anything, but a continuation of many future repetitions.
3. Ancient Maya prophecies were more self-fulfilling than predictive. The story of Moctezuma's fall to Cortez, believing him to be the prophesied return of the god Quetzalcoatl, is famous. More obscure but equally fascinating is the fall of the Itza, last holdouts of the ancient Maya world, to Spanish forces almost two centuries later, in 1697. After abandoning Chichen Itza in the 1400s, they ruled a vast, remote region in northern Guatemala, where for decades the Spanish feared to tread. After several exploratory missions, a party led by Fray Andres de Avendaño, an avid student of Mayan and the Maya calendar, arrived. Avendaño was well aware that Itza prophecies foretold the beginning of a new age, the "8 Ahaw," that would bring great religious changes. Thus armed, the Spaniards easily "converted" the Itza. In fact, Maya notions of prophecy actually appear to be based on their cyclical system of time, giving rise to the belief that certain events were predestined based on historical experience within familiar recurring patterns.
4. Only one Maya reference to 2012 survives. Most of what we know about Maya prophecies comes from historical texts that shamans and priests hid from the pagan-busting Spanish. The Books of Chilam Balam, a collection of the most important manuscripts, describe historical k'atuns. K'atun periods folded upon one another, and "prophecies" were based on analysis of what came before during correlating periods. Most surviving stone inscriptions from the Classic period describe coronations, military victories and other current events. Not one predicts the future, though some give room for extrapolation — a tablet from Palenque, for example, tells of the crowning of a god several thousand years from now. The only words we have from the Maya about the end of the 13th bak'tun come from the tiny ruin of Tortuguero in Tabasco, on a stone slab called Monument 6; its fragments now reside in the Carlos Pellicer Regional Anthropology Museum in Villahermosa, due to reopen on December 21. An account of events in the life of a king named Bahlam Ajaw in the early 7th century ends with, "In two days, nine-score days, three years, eight score years, and three times four hundred years, the 13th bak'tun will end, and 4 Ahaw, 3 K'ank'in will happen." The last few glyphs, which might or might not have indicated the significance of this date, are obscured. That's it … the words around which the entire 2012 mythology has grown.
5. "No authentic Maya text foretells the end of the world in 2012, or of any destructive happening in connection with the turn of the 13th bak'tun." This quotation from Stuart is about as unequivocal as you can get. The date is a milestone in the ancient calendar structure, of course — a momentous anniversary of the mythological beginning of the full Long Count calendar in 3114 B.C. — and the number 13 was central to Maya cosmology. Undoubtedly they expected events of great import to occur, but we have no way to know what those might have been. But we do have inscriptions that refer to future events to come after the current cycle end, which argues convincingly against the end of the world as a Maya concept.
[Click here to read full article]
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Does the Sadahurip Mountain in Garut, West Java hide a pyramid?
Archaeologists are looking at Sadahurip Mountain in Garut, West Java. The great mystery awaits to be unveiled: is it true that the mountain contains a huge pyramid of which size is more superior to Giza Pyramid in Egypt? In Bosnia, six years ago in 2005, a hill named Visocica gained fame.
An archaeology enthusiast and businessman, Semir Osmanagic, found unusual appearance on the shape of the 213-meter high hill in April 2005.
A series of excavations were carried out to further answer the assumption. He claimed that a number of covert rock incriptions were spotted. Final excavation brought to light that the pyramid located in the hill was larger that the Giza.
Archaeologists were against the finding. However, Osmanagic was not hesitant. "They're just jealous," he told LiveScience. "They have taught students that the ancient Bosnians were cavemen. And out of a sudden, a complex man-made structure is found."
Is the finding in Garut inspired by the similar discovery in Bosnia?
Member of Ancient Catastrophic Disaster Team, Iwan Sumule, said no to the posit.
"The Garut pyramid was found by chance as the team looked into faults and the annals of past earthquakes," he told VIVAnews.
Iwan said earthquakes are considered recurring events with periodic time, including volcanoes.
"It is believed that the extinct human civilization was due to past disasters like earthquakes and volcano eruptions."
[Click here to read full article]
An archaeology enthusiast and businessman, Semir Osmanagic, found unusual appearance on the shape of the 213-meter high hill in April 2005.
A series of excavations were carried out to further answer the assumption. He claimed that a number of covert rock incriptions were spotted. Final excavation brought to light that the pyramid located in the hill was larger that the Giza.
Archaeologists were against the finding. However, Osmanagic was not hesitant. "They're just jealous," he told LiveScience. "They have taught students that the ancient Bosnians were cavemen. And out of a sudden, a complex man-made structure is found."
Is the finding in Garut inspired by the similar discovery in Bosnia?
Member of Ancient Catastrophic Disaster Team, Iwan Sumule, said no to the posit.
"The Garut pyramid was found by chance as the team looked into faults and the annals of past earthquakes," he told VIVAnews.
Iwan said earthquakes are considered recurring events with periodic time, including volcanoes.
"It is believed that the extinct human civilization was due to past disasters like earthquakes and volcano eruptions."
[Click here to read full article]
Best of the Paranormal in Singapore 2011
Here, we take a look at the most puzzling paranormal events to happen in Singapore in 2011.
1. January - Mysterious white liquid which flows into Bishan Park canal
It is still unknown what this white liquid could be, and this incident has since died off.
[Mysterious white liquid which flows into Bishan Park canal]
2. February - Made-in-Singapore invisibility cloak
[Made-in-Singapore invisibility cloak]
3. March - Recounting the Pontianak (Part 1 and 2)
[Recounting the Pontianak (Part 1)]
[Recounting the Pontianak (Part 2)]
4. April - Grave find spooks residents
[Grave find spooks residents]
5. May - Jurong Crocodile Rumor
[Jurong Crocodile Rumor]
6. June - Is Ngee Ann City haunted?
[Is Ngee Ann City haunted?]
7. July - Singapore Court House Haunting
[Singapore Court House Haunting]
8. August - Man 'possessed' in hair salon
[Man 'possessed' in hair salon]
9. September - Mother, Son Found Dead in Singapore's Bedok Reservoir
[Mother, Son Found Dead in Singapore's Bedok Reservoir]
10. October - Girls spot 'female ghost' -- in the heart of town on Orchard Road
[Girls spot 'female ghost' -- in the heart of town on Orchard Road]
11. November - Is Bedok Reservoir cursed with bad Feng Shui?
[Is Bedok Reservoir cursed with bad Feng Shui?]
12. December - Man who lost money in casino said he saw Kumantongs in casino
[Man who lost money in casino said he saw Kumantongs in casino]
1. January - Mysterious white liquid which flows into Bishan Park canal
It is still unknown what this white liquid could be, and this incident has since died off.
[Mysterious white liquid which flows into Bishan Park canal]
2. February - Made-in-Singapore invisibility cloak
[Made-in-Singapore invisibility cloak]
3. March - Recounting the Pontianak (Part 1 and 2)
[Recounting the Pontianak (Part 1)]
[Recounting the Pontianak (Part 2)]
4. April - Grave find spooks residents
[Grave find spooks residents]
5. May - Jurong Crocodile Rumor
[Jurong Crocodile Rumor]
6. June - Is Ngee Ann City haunted?
[Is Ngee Ann City haunted?]
7. July - Singapore Court House Haunting
[Singapore Court House Haunting]
8. August - Man 'possessed' in hair salon
[Man 'possessed' in hair salon]
9. September - Mother, Son Found Dead in Singapore's Bedok Reservoir
[Mother, Son Found Dead in Singapore's Bedok Reservoir]
10. October - Girls spot 'female ghost' -- in the heart of town on Orchard Road
[Girls spot 'female ghost' -- in the heart of town on Orchard Road]
11. November - Is Bedok Reservoir cursed with bad Feng Shui?
[Is Bedok Reservoir cursed with bad Feng Shui?]
12. December - Man who lost money in casino said he saw Kumantongs in casino
[Man who lost money in casino said he saw Kumantongs in casino]
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
How Does NORAD 'Track' Santa?
For more than 50 years, NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command — has used its high-tech missile-tracking systems to track Santa's progress during his annual Christmas Eve flight around the world. For a 24-hour period, about 1,200 military volunteers take shifts manning the command center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado; they monitor radar screens and field calls from excited 7-year-olds who ask for updates on Santa's location.
They also update Kris Kringle's progress on the Google Earth map on the NORAD Tracks Santa website, as well as the Facebook page and the Twitter feed. For the first time this year, people can even keep constant tabs on Santa's sleigh by downloading the NORAD Tracks Santa iPhone and Android apps. In other words, the program is a big deal, and it get bigger every Christmas.
"We don't plan it, he does," Lewis said. "We just monitor his travels with our ground-based radar, satellites, fighter aircraft, and, of course, the Santa Cams — he passes over certain cities, and based on the track we're projecting, we've got cameras set up." The NORAD team monitors a radar system called the North Warning System, which consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America, for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole. "Rudolph's nose puts off quite the heat signature," Lewis told Life's Little Mysteries. The Christmas program isn't so out of the ordinary for the men and women of NORAD: "365 days a year we track possible threats to the homeland. So tracking Santa as an airborne object fits into our mission set," he said.
Through his experience as a Santa Tracker, Lewis was able to offer a bit of insight into an age-old question: How Santa manages to make it all the way around the world, sort through all the gifts for the good boys and girls and get home before dawn. "Santa has this way of transcending time. We've estimated that he travels at the speed of starlight," Lewis said
[Click here to read full article]
The best of paranormal news in 2011
In this list, we take a look back at some of the most bizzare and interesting paranormal news in year 2011.
1. January - Crop circles found in Yogya rice field
This bizarre case was reported in January and it was the first ever instance of crop circle activity in Indonesia. In fact, crop circle activities are uncommon in the Asian region; they tend to occur more often in Europe and the US.
[Crop circles found in Yogya rice field ]
2. February - UFO mystery over Jerusalem
A series of videos taken by a tourist in Jerusalem appears to depict Unidentified Flying Objects.
Some reports which surfaced later alleged that these videos were a hoax.
[UFO mystery over Jerusalem]
3. March - Kayakers snap best-ever photo of ‘Loch Ness Monster’
These kayakers claim to have the best ever photo evidence of the Loch Ness Monster, but do bear in mind that the world famous "Surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster taken in 1934 was later proven to be a hoax.
[Kayakers snap best-ever photo of ‘Loch Ness Monster’]
4. April - 'Poltergeist' caught on camera
This incredible video surfaced in April, seemingly depicting poltergeist activity in a bedroom.
The owners claim to be haunted by a poltergeist and thus decided to set up hidden cameras to record evidence.
['Poltergeist' caught on camera]
5. May - Incredible story of how man survives being hit by lightning TWICE in remarkable CCTV footage
This incredible story came out in May in the UK. The odds of being struck by lightning twice is around 1 in 360,000,000,000 which works out to be 1 in 360 billion.
The person in the video not only got struck twice, but survived twice. Imagine the odds of that!
[Incredible story of how man survives being hit by lightning TWICE in remarkable CCTV footage]
6. June - Bid to stop children taking 'live fish' asthma cure
This crazy story came from India in June, where a series of event culminated in parents making their children swallow live fish as a cure for asthma.
This has no medical basis at all in and is probably either a hoax or just a case of mass hysteria.
[Bid to stop children taking 'live fish' asthma cure]
7. July - Easter Island: Fountain of Youth Discovered?
Has the elusive and legendary Fountain of Youth being discovered? And on Easter Island, of all places.
[Easter Island: Fountain of Youth Discovered?]
8. August - ‘Grease devil’ haunts Sri Lankan women
The 'Grease Devil' mentioned in this story is strikingly similar to the myths surrounding the 'Orang Minyak', or 'Oily Man' in Malaysia.
Some say they are actually humans practising black magic, while others claim of them to be devils or ghosts.
[‘Grease devil’ haunts Sri Lankan women]
9. September - Scientists’ ‘Mind Reading Device’ Matches YouTube Videos to MRI Scans
This amazing story came from news reports that scientists have managed to create a device, which takes MRI scans from the subject and then match the patterns to actual images.
It will seem like mind reading will not be considered as hocus-pocus soon, but as actual science.
[Scientists’ ‘Mind Reading Device’ Matches YouTube Videos to MRI Scans]
10. October - Ritual held to enable Jobs to be reincarnated
Tech visionary Steve Jobs of Apple Inc, passed away in October. Some of his loyal followers actually held a ritual in Malaysia to enable him to be reincarnated, so that the world can witness his ingenuity again.
[Ritual held to enable Jobs to be reincarnated]
11. November - What is wrong with Bedok Reservoir?
After a series of deaths and accidents occuring in Bedok Reservoir over 6 months, team Asia Paranormal made a trip down to investigate.
[What is wrong with Bedok Reservoir?]
12. December - Saudi woman beheaded for ‘practicing witchcraft’
This crazy story came from Saudi Arabia. We supposedly live in modern times now, but such practices stem from the Middle Ages.
[Saudi woman beheaded for ‘practicing witchcraft’]
1. January - Crop circles found in Yogya rice field
This bizarre case was reported in January and it was the first ever instance of crop circle activity in Indonesia. In fact, crop circle activities are uncommon in the Asian region; they tend to occur more often in Europe and the US.
[Crop circles found in Yogya rice field ]
2. February - UFO mystery over Jerusalem
A series of videos taken by a tourist in Jerusalem appears to depict Unidentified Flying Objects.
Some reports which surfaced later alleged that these videos were a hoax.
[UFO mystery over Jerusalem]
3. March - Kayakers snap best-ever photo of ‘Loch Ness Monster’
These kayakers claim to have the best ever photo evidence of the Loch Ness Monster, but do bear in mind that the world famous "Surgeon's photograph" of the Loch Ness Monster taken in 1934 was later proven to be a hoax.
[Kayakers snap best-ever photo of ‘Loch Ness Monster’]
4. April - 'Poltergeist' caught on camera
This incredible video surfaced in April, seemingly depicting poltergeist activity in a bedroom.
The owners claim to be haunted by a poltergeist and thus decided to set up hidden cameras to record evidence.
['Poltergeist' caught on camera]
5. May - Incredible story of how man survives being hit by lightning TWICE in remarkable CCTV footage
This incredible story came out in May in the UK. The odds of being struck by lightning twice is around 1 in 360,000,000,000 which works out to be 1 in 360 billion.
The person in the video not only got struck twice, but survived twice. Imagine the odds of that!
[Incredible story of how man survives being hit by lightning TWICE in remarkable CCTV footage]
6. June - Bid to stop children taking 'live fish' asthma cure
This crazy story came from India in June, where a series of event culminated in parents making their children swallow live fish as a cure for asthma.
This has no medical basis at all in and is probably either a hoax or just a case of mass hysteria.
[Bid to stop children taking 'live fish' asthma cure]
7. July - Easter Island: Fountain of Youth Discovered?
Has the elusive and legendary Fountain of Youth being discovered? And on Easter Island, of all places.
[Easter Island: Fountain of Youth Discovered?]
8. August - ‘Grease devil’ haunts Sri Lankan women
The 'Grease Devil' mentioned in this story is strikingly similar to the myths surrounding the 'Orang Minyak', or 'Oily Man' in Malaysia.
Some say they are actually humans practising black magic, while others claim of them to be devils or ghosts.
[‘Grease devil’ haunts Sri Lankan women]
9. September - Scientists’ ‘Mind Reading Device’ Matches YouTube Videos to MRI Scans
This amazing story came from news reports that scientists have managed to create a device, which takes MRI scans from the subject and then match the patterns to actual images.
It will seem like mind reading will not be considered as hocus-pocus soon, but as actual science.
[Scientists’ ‘Mind Reading Device’ Matches YouTube Videos to MRI Scans]
10. October - Ritual held to enable Jobs to be reincarnated
Tech visionary Steve Jobs of Apple Inc, passed away in October. Some of his loyal followers actually held a ritual in Malaysia to enable him to be reincarnated, so that the world can witness his ingenuity again.
[Ritual held to enable Jobs to be reincarnated]
11. November - What is wrong with Bedok Reservoir?
After a series of deaths and accidents occuring in Bedok Reservoir over 6 months, team Asia Paranormal made a trip down to investigate.
[What is wrong with Bedok Reservoir?]
12. December - Saudi woman beheaded for ‘practicing witchcraft’
This crazy story came from Saudi Arabia. We supposedly live in modern times now, but such practices stem from the Middle Ages.
[Saudi woman beheaded for ‘practicing witchcraft’]
What the 2012 Prophecy Is Really About
by Jack Canfield
The media is currently reporting about the end of the Mayan Calendar and Nostradamus' prophecies about the end of the world, slated to occur on Dec. 21, 2012. There is a lot of doom and gloom associated with this date, and much of it is based on absolute conjecture unrelated to any hard facts of any kind.
I recently learned that the actual Mayan prophecies connected to the end of their calendar are positive predictions and not negative at all. I believe this time what we are experiencing is an essential evolutionary process, or what my friend Barbara Marx Hubbard identifies as the birthing pains necessary for our evolution. I believe that my own life purpose is related to bringing to you and others the positive potential of 2012 for ALL of us to create a better world.
I have written a new book called "The Golden Motorcycle Gang." The premise of the book is taken from actual events in my life. My life has been dedicated to inspiring and motivating others to live their highest vision of their ideal life and offering transformational trainings that help people succeed in all aspects of their lives. However, a very important moment in my life was a vision I had when I was still in graduate school of seeing myself along with others as members of a special gang of golden motorcycle riders speeding through space encountering a planet in distress. That planet, of course, was earth.
In the 40 years since I had that original "golden motorcycle gang" vision I have only shared the story with my closest friends and colleagues. One of the people I told the story to, over dinner in Santa Barbara a decade ago, was Bill Gladstone. In the years since, every time I saw Bill he would ask me if I had the time to write the story down to share in a book. Bill saw in the story of the Golden Motorcycle Gang an even larger purpose than I had seen myself. I was busy living my life, authoring, co-authoring and overseeing hundreds of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" titles, creating an amazing network of transformational leaders and conducting my Success Principles workshops and trainings throughout the world.
I now see how all of those activities are actually linked to my higher purpose of connecting millions of people to the dynamic opportunity that 2012 represents for changing the direction of so many negative current trends, from global warming to economic collapse, religious wars, terrorism, poverty, inequality and intolerance.
These are serious world problems, and they will not go away on their own. However, with awareness and united focus from each of us we can and I predict will solve the majority of these problems and solve them within the next 20 to 30 years. If we do not get to the bottom of these problems NOW, there may be no 2112. A hundred years may seem like a long time, but when we consider that our children and grandchildren are the ones to deal with those future dates, clearly this is the time for us to wake up.
Barbara Marx Hubbard, an evolutionary futurist who plays a major role in the book, believes she is here to present to the world five questions. You may discover your own higher life purpose within these questions:
Do you remember the original plan?
What she is asking is... are you aware there's some destiny unfolding that you're a part of? A lot of people will tell you they are.
Do you have any memory of having volunteered to come to Earth at this particular time?
I am clear that I volunteered to come down here. I think a lot of people did. I read "Life Before Life" by Dr. Helen Wambach, in which she reported administering 2000 questionnaires and a series of interviews with people who had, under hypnosis, direct memory of choosing to be born, what gender to be, what race to be, and what kind of parents they wanted to have -- all coming in with a clear purpose. They had all met with a board of advisors if you will -- guides who helped them clarify their purpose so that when they came down, they could fulfill it.
The third question is, if so, do you remember your contract?
Do you remember what you agreed to do? For example, I agreed to help bring about a world that was more peaceful and harmonious and where people were living their highest vision rather than living their lowest vision out of fear.
What do you do best in the world that only YOU can do?
What we're all being called to do right now is to authentically be ourselves. Ask yourself, what is it that I do that's unique to me?
My wife, for example (I call her "a day maker") makes people's days. She leaves a message on your cell phone and it makes your day. She walks into the salon to get her hair done and everybody walks out of there happier because she was there. That's her purpose.
What are you supposed to do now, and what tools and resources do you need to do it?
We really have to tune in every day and say, what am I to do now? Today? This period of life? This month? This cycle? This season? And then go and find the tools, the resources and the people to be able to do that work. We need to all be supporting each other in that.
I sincerely hope you will seize this opportunity to be part of the collective, positive social movement that is changing the world. Together we can create a new world that most of us only dream about. That dream is now a reality, and we are all parts of the new whole that is forming; collectively members of something great, and we all can play a part in this momentous time in our history.
[Click here to read full article]
The media is currently reporting about the end of the Mayan Calendar and Nostradamus' prophecies about the end of the world, slated to occur on Dec. 21, 2012. There is a lot of doom and gloom associated with this date, and much of it is based on absolute conjecture unrelated to any hard facts of any kind.
I recently learned that the actual Mayan prophecies connected to the end of their calendar are positive predictions and not negative at all. I believe this time what we are experiencing is an essential evolutionary process, or what my friend Barbara Marx Hubbard identifies as the birthing pains necessary for our evolution. I believe that my own life purpose is related to bringing to you and others the positive potential of 2012 for ALL of us to create a better world.
I have written a new book called "The Golden Motorcycle Gang." The premise of the book is taken from actual events in my life. My life has been dedicated to inspiring and motivating others to live their highest vision of their ideal life and offering transformational trainings that help people succeed in all aspects of their lives. However, a very important moment in my life was a vision I had when I was still in graduate school of seeing myself along with others as members of a special gang of golden motorcycle riders speeding through space encountering a planet in distress. That planet, of course, was earth.
In the 40 years since I had that original "golden motorcycle gang" vision I have only shared the story with my closest friends and colleagues. One of the people I told the story to, over dinner in Santa Barbara a decade ago, was Bill Gladstone. In the years since, every time I saw Bill he would ask me if I had the time to write the story down to share in a book. Bill saw in the story of the Golden Motorcycle Gang an even larger purpose than I had seen myself. I was busy living my life, authoring, co-authoring and overseeing hundreds of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" titles, creating an amazing network of transformational leaders and conducting my Success Principles workshops and trainings throughout the world.
I now see how all of those activities are actually linked to my higher purpose of connecting millions of people to the dynamic opportunity that 2012 represents for changing the direction of so many negative current trends, from global warming to economic collapse, religious wars, terrorism, poverty, inequality and intolerance.
These are serious world problems, and they will not go away on their own. However, with awareness and united focus from each of us we can and I predict will solve the majority of these problems and solve them within the next 20 to 30 years. If we do not get to the bottom of these problems NOW, there may be no 2112. A hundred years may seem like a long time, but when we consider that our children and grandchildren are the ones to deal with those future dates, clearly this is the time for us to wake up.
Barbara Marx Hubbard, an evolutionary futurist who plays a major role in the book, believes she is here to present to the world five questions. You may discover your own higher life purpose within these questions:
Do you remember the original plan?
What she is asking is... are you aware there's some destiny unfolding that you're a part of? A lot of people will tell you they are.
Do you have any memory of having volunteered to come to Earth at this particular time?
I am clear that I volunteered to come down here. I think a lot of people did. I read "Life Before Life" by Dr. Helen Wambach, in which she reported administering 2000 questionnaires and a series of interviews with people who had, under hypnosis, direct memory of choosing to be born, what gender to be, what race to be, and what kind of parents they wanted to have -- all coming in with a clear purpose. They had all met with a board of advisors if you will -- guides who helped them clarify their purpose so that when they came down, they could fulfill it.
The third question is, if so, do you remember your contract?
Do you remember what you agreed to do? For example, I agreed to help bring about a world that was more peaceful and harmonious and where people were living their highest vision rather than living their lowest vision out of fear.
What do you do best in the world that only YOU can do?
What we're all being called to do right now is to authentically be ourselves. Ask yourself, what is it that I do that's unique to me?
My wife, for example (I call her "a day maker") makes people's days. She leaves a message on your cell phone and it makes your day. She walks into the salon to get her hair done and everybody walks out of there happier because she was there. That's her purpose.
What are you supposed to do now, and what tools and resources do you need to do it?
We really have to tune in every day and say, what am I to do now? Today? This period of life? This month? This cycle? This season? And then go and find the tools, the resources and the people to be able to do that work. We need to all be supporting each other in that.
I sincerely hope you will seize this opportunity to be part of the collective, positive social movement that is changing the world. Together we can create a new world that most of us only dream about. That dream is now a reality, and we are all parts of the new whole that is forming; collectively members of something great, and we all can play a part in this momentous time in our history.
[Click here to read full article]
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Human spit build-up could cause bridge collapse
The Howrah Bridge in the Indian city of Kolkata is at risk of collapsing because the steel at its base is being corroded by human saliva.
Pedestrians who have been chewing betel leaf, areca nut and slaked lime have been spitting on the bridge's steel hangers, causing them to weaken.
The red stains left by the paan mixture - a mild stimulant chewed throughout India - are caked around the metal casings of the bridge.
Authorities say the paan-laced spit has reduced the thickness of the bridge's hangers from six millimetres to three millimetres.
In an attempt to save the bridge, port engineers have come up with the idea of covering the steel with fibreglass.
Several years ago authorities were forced to begin regular clean up of bird droppings which were also corroding the bridge.
It has also been damaged before from a number of car and boat accidents.
The cantilever suspension bridge opened in 1943 and spans more than 450 metres across the Hooghly River.
It is thought to be the busiest of its kind in the world, with more than 100,000 vehicles crossing a day and more than 150,000 pedestrians pounding its walkways daily.
[Click here to read full article]
Pedestrians who have been chewing betel leaf, areca nut and slaked lime have been spitting on the bridge's steel hangers, causing them to weaken.
The red stains left by the paan mixture - a mild stimulant chewed throughout India - are caked around the metal casings of the bridge.
Authorities say the paan-laced spit has reduced the thickness of the bridge's hangers from six millimetres to three millimetres.
In an attempt to save the bridge, port engineers have come up with the idea of covering the steel with fibreglass.
Several years ago authorities were forced to begin regular clean up of bird droppings which were also corroding the bridge.
It has also been damaged before from a number of car and boat accidents.
The cantilever suspension bridge opened in 1943 and spans more than 450 metres across the Hooghly River.
It is thought to be the busiest of its kind in the world, with more than 100,000 vehicles crossing a day and more than 150,000 pedestrians pounding its walkways daily.
[Click here to read full article]
Turkish in Medieval Cambodia?
An incredibly busy day today – exams are drawing near – and so Beach is going to put up a cheat post with apologies, using an extract sent in by a reader. This appeared a couple of weeks ago and was pasted under a previous post on Amazons. However, Beachcombing is not interested, at least for present purposes, in the same thing as his correspondent: female fighting and fighters. His mouth though dropped open when the question of the queen’s language in the extract below came up. So much so that he has spent a lazy few minutes, in an otherwise frenetic day, looking into this question and has got nowhere.
On the second day after our arrival at the port of Kailukari the princess summoned the captain, officers and merchants to a banquet she had prepared for them, according to her custom…. When I greeted the princess she said to me in Turkish, ‘How are you? Are you well?’ She seated me near her…She asked me from which country I came. I said ‘From India’. She said: ‘The pepper country?’ I said yes. She asked about that country and events there and I answered her. She said ‘I must invade it and take possession of it. Its wealth and its soldiers please me.’ I said to her ‘do so….
Some basic background. This text appears in the fourteenth century Travels of Ibn Battutah. Ibn Battutah is a generally and demonstrably truthful correspondent, though there are some concerns about later additions to his original. Kailukari, the port where the queen dwells, is a bit of a mystery. But it is certainly to the east of India. Cambodia is one of the solutions given though there is no need to be so exact. It appears that this was a nation in contact with India and also a nation that was not of the faith (i.e. Islam). Let’s keep it generic and just think of the south-east Asia.
[Click here to read full article]
On the second day after our arrival at the port of Kailukari the princess summoned the captain, officers and merchants to a banquet she had prepared for them, according to her custom…. When I greeted the princess she said to me in Turkish, ‘How are you? Are you well?’ She seated me near her…She asked me from which country I came. I said ‘From India’. She said: ‘The pepper country?’ I said yes. She asked about that country and events there and I answered her. She said ‘I must invade it and take possession of it. Its wealth and its soldiers please me.’ I said to her ‘do so….
Some basic background. This text appears in the fourteenth century Travels of Ibn Battutah. Ibn Battutah is a generally and demonstrably truthful correspondent, though there are some concerns about later additions to his original. Kailukari, the port where the queen dwells, is a bit of a mystery. But it is certainly to the east of India. Cambodia is one of the solutions given though there is no need to be so exact. It appears that this was a nation in contact with India and also a nation that was not of the faith (i.e. Islam). Let’s keep it generic and just think of the south-east Asia.
[Click here to read full article]
Monday, December 26, 2011
It's Official: Stonehenge Stones Were Moved 160 Miles
Dave Mosher
for National Geographic News
Some of the volcanic bluestones in the inner ring of Stonehenge officially match an outcrop in Wales that's 160 miles (257 kilometers) from the world-famous site, geologists announced this week. (See Wales pictures.)
The discovery leaves two big ideas standing about how the massive pieces of the monument arrived at Salisbury Plain: entirely by human hand, or partly by glacier.
As it looks today, 5,000-year-old Stonehenge has an outer ring of 20- to 30-ton sandstone blocks and an inner ring and horseshoe of 3- to 5-ton volcanic bluestone blocks. (See Stonehenge pictures.)
The monument's larger outer blocks, called the Sarsen stones, were likely quarried some 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 kilometers) away in what's now England, where sandstone is a common material.
The origin of the bluestones, however, has weighed heavy on the hearts of archaeologists. Rocks resembling the material under a microscope haven't been found anywhere relatively near Stonehenge—at least until now.
Pinpointing the stones' origins is crucial to understanding how so many heavy hunks of rock made their way to the open plain where Stonehenge now stands.
"There's no way of explaining how these stones were transported without knowing where they came from," said study co-author Robert Ixer of the University of Leicester in the U.K.
[Click here to read full article]
for National Geographic News
Some of the volcanic bluestones in the inner ring of Stonehenge officially match an outcrop in Wales that's 160 miles (257 kilometers) from the world-famous site, geologists announced this week. (See Wales pictures.)
The discovery leaves two big ideas standing about how the massive pieces of the monument arrived at Salisbury Plain: entirely by human hand, or partly by glacier.
As it looks today, 5,000-year-old Stonehenge has an outer ring of 20- to 30-ton sandstone blocks and an inner ring and horseshoe of 3- to 5-ton volcanic bluestone blocks. (See Stonehenge pictures.)
The monument's larger outer blocks, called the Sarsen stones, were likely quarried some 20 to 30 miles (32 to 48 kilometers) away in what's now England, where sandstone is a common material.
The origin of the bluestones, however, has weighed heavy on the hearts of archaeologists. Rocks resembling the material under a microscope haven't been found anywhere relatively near Stonehenge—at least until now.
Pinpointing the stones' origins is crucial to understanding how so many heavy hunks of rock made their way to the open plain where Stonehenge now stands.
"There's no way of explaining how these stones were transported without knowing where they came from," said study co-author Robert Ixer of the University of Leicester in the U.K.
[Click here to read full article]
Mischievous Ghosts Bring Prosperity in Japan
By Chris Capps
There are few cultures quite so interested in ghosts as Japan. According to stories from the Iwate prefecture and Japanese lore, ghosts or Yurei are divided into categories that each hold a special place in the society and the minds of the people. And while many of the ghosts are terrifying and even dangerous, the legendary Zashiki warashi are said to be the mischievous ghosts of children who play pranks around the house and must be fed every day. Why do so many want them? They are also said to be the bringers of incredible fortune.
The Zashiki-Warashi is generally seen as a small child of about five or six years of age with a red face. Older houses, particularly if they have been kept in good repair are the general places you may find them if you are lucky. And those who live in a home with a Zashiki Warashi must maintain it by constantly feeding it and entertaining it. For when the ghost becomes bored with its new home it will soon depart. And after that the house and its occupants will soon suffer a great misfortune or generally just start to lose sight of their ability to maintain their affairs. There are guide books on the matter, movies, and even songs on how to keep a Zashiki Warashi. Sometimes special individuals were used who could see these ghosts and brought from far away to confirm the presence of one or to help maintain its presence.
Perhaps the most famous case of these interesting and unique spirits is the Ryokufuso which was destroyed in a fire in October of 2009. This famous Zashiki-Warashi has been said to be wandering now, looking for a new residence to live in and give prosperity to.
Of course the Zashiki-Warashi is only one of the many different types of ghosts seen in Japan in folklore. The most mysterious thing about the being is how it changes its mind about things like where it lives. In the west we generally think of ghosts as beings that take up residence and then are "removed" with the assistance of a psychic or other forms of communication with it. We don't usually think of ghosts as things that must be maintained and preserved lest they lose their interest in continuing to haunt. And that doesn't even begin to take into account the amount of mischief these entities are said to have. The ghosts are supposed to be some of the biggest tricksters ever to walk the Earth. But the cost of their pranks never seems to outweigh the benefit of the good luck and prosperity they bring to the house.
Different cultures have far different ways to deal with ghosts and other legends. From the way we look at the paranormal, it looks like sometimes the true mystery may not be where they come from or what they're doing here, but what we will do when we meet them.
[Click here to read full article]
There are few cultures quite so interested in ghosts as Japan. According to stories from the Iwate prefecture and Japanese lore, ghosts or Yurei are divided into categories that each hold a special place in the society and the minds of the people. And while many of the ghosts are terrifying and even dangerous, the legendary Zashiki warashi are said to be the mischievous ghosts of children who play pranks around the house and must be fed every day. Why do so many want them? They are also said to be the bringers of incredible fortune.
The Zashiki-Warashi is generally seen as a small child of about five or six years of age with a red face. Older houses, particularly if they have been kept in good repair are the general places you may find them if you are lucky. And those who live in a home with a Zashiki Warashi must maintain it by constantly feeding it and entertaining it. For when the ghost becomes bored with its new home it will soon depart. And after that the house and its occupants will soon suffer a great misfortune or generally just start to lose sight of their ability to maintain their affairs. There are guide books on the matter, movies, and even songs on how to keep a Zashiki Warashi. Sometimes special individuals were used who could see these ghosts and brought from far away to confirm the presence of one or to help maintain its presence.
Perhaps the most famous case of these interesting and unique spirits is the Ryokufuso which was destroyed in a fire in October of 2009. This famous Zashiki-Warashi has been said to be wandering now, looking for a new residence to live in and give prosperity to.
Of course the Zashiki-Warashi is only one of the many different types of ghosts seen in Japan in folklore. The most mysterious thing about the being is how it changes its mind about things like where it lives. In the west we generally think of ghosts as beings that take up residence and then are "removed" with the assistance of a psychic or other forms of communication with it. We don't usually think of ghosts as things that must be maintained and preserved lest they lose their interest in continuing to haunt. And that doesn't even begin to take into account the amount of mischief these entities are said to have. The ghosts are supposed to be some of the biggest tricksters ever to walk the Earth. But the cost of their pranks never seems to outweigh the benefit of the good luck and prosperity they bring to the house.
Different cultures have far different ways to deal with ghosts and other legends. From the way we look at the paranormal, it looks like sometimes the true mystery may not be where they come from or what they're doing here, but what we will do when we meet them.
[Click here to read full article]
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Would You Believe Jesus had a Chinese Brother name Hong Xiu Quan ( 洪秀全 ) ?
The Bible
In the bible, God send his son down to earth as a human and this child's name is known as Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus was send to sacrifice himself by using his own blood to wash away our sins. It was through Jesus that we, the foolish mortals came to learn of god and his love
In the Bible, Jesus, was the Son of God but to the Muslims in their Quran (Koran) , Jesus was only but just a mere prophet, a human only and definitely not the son of god. Conflicts But the conflicts in the statement does not ends there! This is another that much of us has left out. God has another son! One which he had send during the times of the Romans which was mentioned earlier as Lord Jesus Christ but god had made his plan to send down his second son down several years later down to China during the era of China's Qing Dynasty
Hong Xiu Quan ( 洪秀全 )
This man was none other than Hong XiuQuan whose lifespan was from 1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864. It was god's plan , his destiny to fulfil his mission in China which was to establish a Heavenly Kingdom in China and this Kingdom did ever once established itself in China. It was known as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom which lasted between 1851–1864.
XiuQuan was born in a Hakka Family in Canton Province. Since Young he had great pressures from his family member where his studies is of concerned. He had made a total of 4 attempts in the civil service examinations and he failed all. During his 3rd attempt, he had suffered a very serious nervous breakdown. Upon his recovery, he had numerous mystical visions which he could not comprehend and set him into serious thoughts of what his dreams was about His Dreams In his dream first dream, there was an old man who complained to him about men worshipping demons rather than him. In his second dream, he saw Confucius being punished for his faithlessness, after which he repented.
In his third dream, he dreamt of angels carrying him to heaven, where he met a man in a black dragon robe with a long golden beard who gave him a sword and a magic seal, and told him to purge China of demons.
He came to know and learn about the bible and after his fourth attempt in the civil service examination, He had became a Christan. It was then that he had already by then understood and comprehend what was his dreams about. It had mean that God the Heavenly Father, whom he identified with Shangdi from Chinese tradition, wanted him to rid the world of demon worship. According to his friends and family, after this episode he had became authoritative, solemn and taller in height as compared to past
Proofs that Santa Exists
Santa begins his long night aboard a sleigh NASA's shuttle has carried into an orbit 300 kilometres high, just 100 kilometres below the space station.
That altitude lets the reindeer really move, says Yau, because there's almost no air to slow them down. Of course, everyone has oxygen masks and protective suits.
The sleigh travels at 28,000 kilometres an hour, the same as many orbiting satellites, which works out to 23 times the speed of sound. That may explain why some children report hearing reindeer bells on Christmas Eve. It's really sonic booms.
That speed whips Santa around the Earth every 90 minutes, from the North Pole to the South and then back again as the world revolves beneath.
But Santa delivers only during the first half of the orbit because it's late morning on the other side of the globe as he heads back to the North Pole.
Based on eight reindeer, the scientist calculated the sleigh had to be a minimum 10 metres wide. To keep it stable in flight meant a height of 10 metres.
That's a cross-section of 100 square metres so dividing that into 23,500 cubic metres means the sleigh has to be 235 metres long.
Not so simple is getting the presents down to each child's house from a platform whizzing along 300 kilometres above the Earth.
"That's the tricky part," Yau agrees. He figures St. Nick has some special slingshot apparatus. "But it's unknown to science," the researcher admits.
[Click here to read full article]
There is a new Three Letter Spook Agency in town. Theses guys are above the NSA and the NRO and literally 'above everyone'. They also have a sneaky way of keeping their full name a Three Letter Agency.
The NGA National Geospatial-Inteligence Agency or "SPACE SPOOKS"
Well you KNOW it had to happen right?
As for the Santa, his Sled and Deliver System... my myriad contacts have told me that Santa has the assistance of the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)
Here is the documented PROOF:
Press Release
Santa Turns to National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for Help
BETHESDA, Md.—This holiday season, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has extended its expertise to one very special customer -- Santa Claus.
After being overwhelmed by a growing world demand, Santa approached NGA earlier this year and asked for help to streamline his Christmas Eve deliveries. “I need routes that will let me move around the world quickly and efficiently,” he said.
NGA combined satellite imagery with its map and chart making expertise to develop a digital navigation system that solved Santa’s problem. Called NGA TOY DELIVERY SYSTEM X-100, this specialized geospatial-intelligence product was specifically formatted to let Santa create quick and easy routes around the globe.
Santa installed a new satellite downlink and computer system to handle the NGA data. “I can really scoot around the world using this new navigation system,” Santa said. “The time I can save by taking the best routes will let me reach everyone on my list.”
NGA is honored that the number one world traveler would ask for our assistance. To view the NGA TOY DELIVERY SYSTEM X-100 and see how it is used by its revered customer, please go to [url]www.nga.mil[/url].
NGA is a Department of Defense combat support agency and a member of the National Intelligence Community. Its mission is to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of our national security. Geospatial intelligence is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., NGA has major facilities in the greater Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Mo., areas with NGA support teams worldwide
Now surely the government would not lie to us about such an important matter? They had a video last year showing the system I hope they bring it back. If they do I will post it. But this is official government documentation that not only is Santa REAL, but that the government is assisting him with the latest high tech space capabilities that we haven't even been told about yet
[Click here to read full article]
That altitude lets the reindeer really move, says Yau, because there's almost no air to slow them down. Of course, everyone has oxygen masks and protective suits.
The sleigh travels at 28,000 kilometres an hour, the same as many orbiting satellites, which works out to 23 times the speed of sound. That may explain why some children report hearing reindeer bells on Christmas Eve. It's really sonic booms.
That speed whips Santa around the Earth every 90 minutes, from the North Pole to the South and then back again as the world revolves beneath.
But Santa delivers only during the first half of the orbit because it's late morning on the other side of the globe as he heads back to the North Pole.
Based on eight reindeer, the scientist calculated the sleigh had to be a minimum 10 metres wide. To keep it stable in flight meant a height of 10 metres.
That's a cross-section of 100 square metres so dividing that into 23,500 cubic metres means the sleigh has to be 235 metres long.
Not so simple is getting the presents down to each child's house from a platform whizzing along 300 kilometres above the Earth.
"That's the tricky part," Yau agrees. He figures St. Nick has some special slingshot apparatus. "But it's unknown to science," the researcher admits.
[Click here to read full article]
There is a new Three Letter Spook Agency in town. Theses guys are above the NSA and the NRO and literally 'above everyone'. They also have a sneaky way of keeping their full name a Three Letter Agency.
The NGA National Geospatial-Inteligence Agency or "SPACE SPOOKS"
Well you KNOW it had to happen right?
As for the Santa, his Sled and Deliver System... my myriad contacts have told me that Santa has the assistance of the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)
Here is the documented PROOF:
Press Release
Santa Turns to National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for Help
BETHESDA, Md.—This holiday season, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has extended its expertise to one very special customer -- Santa Claus.
After being overwhelmed by a growing world demand, Santa approached NGA earlier this year and asked for help to streamline his Christmas Eve deliveries. “I need routes that will let me move around the world quickly and efficiently,” he said.
NGA combined satellite imagery with its map and chart making expertise to develop a digital navigation system that solved Santa’s problem. Called NGA TOY DELIVERY SYSTEM X-100, this specialized geospatial-intelligence product was specifically formatted to let Santa create quick and easy routes around the globe.
Santa installed a new satellite downlink and computer system to handle the NGA data. “I can really scoot around the world using this new navigation system,” Santa said. “The time I can save by taking the best routes will let me reach everyone on my list.”
NGA is honored that the number one world traveler would ask for our assistance. To view the NGA TOY DELIVERY SYSTEM X-100 and see how it is used by its revered customer, please go to [url]www.nga.mil[/url].
NGA is a Department of Defense combat support agency and a member of the National Intelligence Community. Its mission is to provide timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of our national security. Geospatial intelligence is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., NGA has major facilities in the greater Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, Mo., areas with NGA support teams worldwide
Now surely the government would not lie to us about such an important matter? They had a video last year showing the system I hope they bring it back. If they do I will post it. But this is official government documentation that not only is Santa REAL, but that the government is assisting him with the latest high tech space capabilities that we haven't even been told about yet
[Click here to read full article]
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Baby’s death shocks parents
By Davinci S. Maru
THE death of a ten-day-old baby in Sitio Magay, Barangay Tangke, Talisay City yesterday dawn baffled authorities, including a church official.
But the family of John Edison Malacay believed a paranormal creature was responsible for their loved one’s death.
Plan your Sinulog week ahead and find out what's in store for Sinulog 2012.
The newborn was seen by his parents with blood oozing from his mouth and nose. His navel also swelled up with marks that looked like it had been drained.
Visit
The discovery of John Edison’s condition came after his grandfather, Virgil Abarquez, visited their house past 5 a.m.
To his surprise, Virgil saw bloodstains in the kitchen area and immediately called Kimberly, the baby’s 18-year-old mother.
“Naa lage’y lama sa dugo diri sa lamesa?” he asked.
Virgil only made a stopover at his daughter’s house on his way to gofishing.
Kimberly woke up to hear her father’s voice and went into the kitchen.
She also noticed the red marks scattered on the floor, which she suspected was done by rats.
“Basin mga ilaga rana nga nag-away,” she answered.
When Kimberly went back to the bed to check her son, she saw blood marks on John Edison’s face.
The baby was placed at the center of the bed where his parents slept by his side.
John Edison was rushed to the Talisay City District Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.
John Edison was described to be a healthy baby and had a fair complexion. He was supposed to be baptized in January during the celebration of a fiesta in their area.
Kimberly, in an interview, said she and her husband didn’t notice any noise or movement in their house or at the rooftop at that time.
However, one of Kimberly’s aunts who lived nearby saw bloodstains on their rooftop.
Neighbors reportedly noticed sounds from a bird locally known as “kikik.”
The baby’s family and neighbors suspected someone that transforms into a supernatural form was responsible for John Edison’s death.
[Click here to read full article]
THE death of a ten-day-old baby in Sitio Magay, Barangay Tangke, Talisay City yesterday dawn baffled authorities, including a church official.
But the family of John Edison Malacay believed a paranormal creature was responsible for their loved one’s death.
Plan your Sinulog week ahead and find out what's in store for Sinulog 2012.
The newborn was seen by his parents with blood oozing from his mouth and nose. His navel also swelled up with marks that looked like it had been drained.
Visit
The discovery of John Edison’s condition came after his grandfather, Virgil Abarquez, visited their house past 5 a.m.
To his surprise, Virgil saw bloodstains in the kitchen area and immediately called Kimberly, the baby’s 18-year-old mother.
“Naa lage’y lama sa dugo diri sa lamesa?” he asked.
Virgil only made a stopover at his daughter’s house on his way to gofishing.
Kimberly woke up to hear her father’s voice and went into the kitchen.
She also noticed the red marks scattered on the floor, which she suspected was done by rats.
“Basin mga ilaga rana nga nag-away,” she answered.
When Kimberly went back to the bed to check her son, she saw blood marks on John Edison’s face.
The baby was placed at the center of the bed where his parents slept by his side.
John Edison was rushed to the Talisay City District Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival.
John Edison was described to be a healthy baby and had a fair complexion. He was supposed to be baptized in January during the celebration of a fiesta in their area.
Kimberly, in an interview, said she and her husband didn’t notice any noise or movement in their house or at the rooftop at that time.
However, one of Kimberly’s aunts who lived nearby saw bloodstains on their rooftop.
Neighbors reportedly noticed sounds from a bird locally known as “kikik.”
The baby’s family and neighbors suspected someone that transforms into a supernatural form was responsible for John Edison’s death.
[Click here to read full article]
Does Santa Exist?
How could he possibly visit New York and New Zealand on the same day? Or Paris, Texas and Paris, France?
And how could he eat that many cookies and drink that much milk? Wouldn't some of the milk be nasty by the time he got there, especially sitting next to the fireplace? The mere thought of room-temperature milk makes me throw up a little.
On a more local scale, I wondered how I could see him at the "Bon Marche" on the same day that my buddy sat on his lap at "Frederick and Nelson."
Could he be in two places at once?
I didn't think so, but it turned out I was wrong about that
When I moved in with the future Mrs. Fallihee in 2005, she set up a table with several Christmas pictures. Sitting side-by-side, in identical frames, were photos of both me and her sitting on Santa's lap.
I was born in Portland, Oregon, while my wife was raised in Mobile, Alabama, 2,766 miles away (thank you Google Maps).
The pictures had been up for a few days, mostly unnoticed by me, which is typical. Then one day I glanced at the nicely framed photos and was struck by something mysterious, magical, and seemingly impossible.
It was the same Santa was in both pictures.
Santa Claus, defying all known rules of logic and physics, does in fact visit every child in the world, or at least in Mobile and Portland. The proof is in the schnozzle.
[Click here to read full article]
And how could he eat that many cookies and drink that much milk? Wouldn't some of the milk be nasty by the time he got there, especially sitting next to the fireplace? The mere thought of room-temperature milk makes me throw up a little.
On a more local scale, I wondered how I could see him at the "Bon Marche" on the same day that my buddy sat on his lap at "Frederick and Nelson."
Could he be in two places at once?
I didn't think so, but it turned out I was wrong about that
When I moved in with the future Mrs. Fallihee in 2005, she set up a table with several Christmas pictures. Sitting side-by-side, in identical frames, were photos of both me and her sitting on Santa's lap.
I was born in Portland, Oregon, while my wife was raised in Mobile, Alabama, 2,766 miles away (thank you Google Maps).
The pictures had been up for a few days, mostly unnoticed by me, which is typical. Then one day I glanced at the nicely framed photos and was struck by something mysterious, magical, and seemingly impossible.
It was the same Santa was in both pictures.
Santa Claus, defying all known rules of logic and physics, does in fact visit every child in the world, or at least in Mobile and Portland. The proof is in the schnozzle.
[Click here to read full article]
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Disturbing Side Effects of UFO Sightings
Often included in UFO reports are suggestions that the craft may have temporarily taken control of the senses and/or impulses of an individual witnessing them. The mysterious objects are often reported as strange, but even stranger is how people often react to them. Are these witnesses being controlled directly by some unknown entity? And what are some of the creepier reports where people were affected in this way?
One of the most bone chilling reports of a UFO encounter came in the form of a MUFON report last year of an event that happened decades before, now a footnote on the year's UFO events and little more in retrospect than a single eyewitness account from Texas. And yet it was the fact that a child, upon seeing several strange creatures outside of his house was beckoned to open the door to let the mystery creatures in the house even though they were a complete mystery to him and even seemed a bit terrifying with their massive black eyes and long thin hands. How is it that these compulsions to cooperate with a paranormal experience happen? Why do people feel compulsions to act the way they do to facilitate these mysterious incidents? And is there a common thread reported that indicates when something strange is taking place?
[Click here to read full article]
One of the most bone chilling reports of a UFO encounter came in the form of a MUFON report last year of an event that happened decades before, now a footnote on the year's UFO events and little more in retrospect than a single eyewitness account from Texas. And yet it was the fact that a child, upon seeing several strange creatures outside of his house was beckoned to open the door to let the mystery creatures in the house even though they were a complete mystery to him and even seemed a bit terrifying with their massive black eyes and long thin hands. How is it that these compulsions to cooperate with a paranormal experience happen? Why do people feel compulsions to act the way they do to facilitate these mysterious incidents? And is there a common thread reported that indicates when something strange is taking place?
[Click here to read full article]
5 ways to Proof Santa Claus?
by Oregon Chang
During our Childhood days most of us believe in Santa but does he really exists? As we all enter into adulthood he becomes only a myth or fairytale. However there are 5 suggested ways to proof if he really does exists according to Thomistic
Out of fun you may want to try it.
1)
The first and most manifest way is that taken from Christmas trees. It is certain and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are Christmas trees. Now no pine tree becomes a Christmas tree unless it is trimmed. Now to be trimmed means to receive ornaments from another. But this cannot go on to infinity in the trimming of Christmas trees. One must come to some first untrimmed trimmer; and this everyone understands to be Santa Claus.
2)
The second way is from the nature of Christmas gifts. We see that in the world that Christmas gifts are given and received. Whoever, then, gives Christmas gifts either receives them from another or makes them in his workshop. If, however, no one makes Christmas gifts in his workshop, they are not given nor received. Therefore it is necessary to posit some first giver of Christmas gifts, who everyone calls Santa Claus.
3)
The third way is taken from plastic images resembling Santa Claus. At all stores we see things of plastic that represent Santa Claus. These things are of such a quality that they are representations according to Santa himself or according to other images of him. But, it is not possible to proceed to infinity in images. Therefore, it is necessary to posit something which is resembling Santa Claus and hence Santa Claus exists.
4)
The fourth way is taken from the grades which are found in Christmas spirit. Indeed, in this world, among men there are some of more and some of less Christmas spirit. But "more" and "less" is said of diverse things according as they resemble in their diverse ways something which is the "maximum." Therefore there must be something which has the most Christmas spirit, and this we call Santa Claus.
5)
The fifth way is taken from the behavior of children. When Christmas day approaches, we see from their being good always or frequently that children, who lack understanding, are moved because of an end. But children would not be good because of the Nativity of Christ unless there were someone who strengthened them so that they were good. And this someone is known by all to be Santa Claus.
Happy Trying and Merry Christmas!
Ho Ho Ho!
From the Master Oregon Chang and the Team of Asia Paranormal
[Click here to read full article]
During our Childhood days most of us believe in Santa but does he really exists? As we all enter into adulthood he becomes only a myth or fairytale. However there are 5 suggested ways to proof if he really does exists according to Thomistic
Out of fun you may want to try it.
1)
The first and most manifest way is that taken from Christmas trees. It is certain and evident to our senses, that in the world some things are Christmas trees. Now no pine tree becomes a Christmas tree unless it is trimmed. Now to be trimmed means to receive ornaments from another. But this cannot go on to infinity in the trimming of Christmas trees. One must come to some first untrimmed trimmer; and this everyone understands to be Santa Claus.
2)
The second way is from the nature of Christmas gifts. We see that in the world that Christmas gifts are given and received. Whoever, then, gives Christmas gifts either receives them from another or makes them in his workshop. If, however, no one makes Christmas gifts in his workshop, they are not given nor received. Therefore it is necessary to posit some first giver of Christmas gifts, who everyone calls Santa Claus.
3)
The third way is taken from plastic images resembling Santa Claus. At all stores we see things of plastic that represent Santa Claus. These things are of such a quality that they are representations according to Santa himself or according to other images of him. But, it is not possible to proceed to infinity in images. Therefore, it is necessary to posit something which is resembling Santa Claus and hence Santa Claus exists.
4)
The fourth way is taken from the grades which are found in Christmas spirit. Indeed, in this world, among men there are some of more and some of less Christmas spirit. But "more" and "less" is said of diverse things according as they resemble in their diverse ways something which is the "maximum." Therefore there must be something which has the most Christmas spirit, and this we call Santa Claus.
5)
The fifth way is taken from the behavior of children. When Christmas day approaches, we see from their being good always or frequently that children, who lack understanding, are moved because of an end. But children would not be good because of the Nativity of Christ unless there were someone who strengthened them so that they were good. And this someone is known by all to be Santa Claus.
Happy Trying and Merry Christmas!
Ho Ho Ho!
From the Master Oregon Chang and the Team of Asia Paranormal
[Click here to read full article]
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Orang Bunian – our neighbours in the supernatural world
By Susan Tam
A mother-to-be was in labour. Her midwife was urging her to "push" hard, hoping the newborn would be delivered smoothly.
But, there was no baby. Only the mother's placenta appeared. No child was born. What happened? Where did the baby go?
"In a case like this, the baby is most probably taken by the Bunian community," Malay animism expert associate professor Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan explained in an interview with Yahoo! Malaysia.
No medical or scientific reason can explain this incident. But, if you believe in the supernatural world, you're might speculate this: The midwife attending to the delivery could have had spiritual powers and might have struck a deal with the Orang Bunian to offer the newborn in return for material gains or fulfilment of other requests.
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia psychiatry department doctor, Ruzanna Zamzam said she has encountered such a case before.
The patient was a 43-year-old woman, named as S.U., who claimed to be four months pregnant. S.U had undergone all the necessary ultrasound scans and successfully recorded images of a female foetus in her womb. Her heavy figure made it difficult to judge her pregnancy, but, a few days before her due date, she claimed to have experienced a spiritual event. She was visited by the lady who was preparing her delivery. Subsequently, a man told her that she had lost her baby.
S.U then sought a medical check up, and this time the ultrasound revealed a non-pregnant uterus.
[Click here to read full article]
A mother-to-be was in labour. Her midwife was urging her to "push" hard, hoping the newborn would be delivered smoothly.
But, there was no baby. Only the mother's placenta appeared. No child was born. What happened? Where did the baby go?
"In a case like this, the baby is most probably taken by the Bunian community," Malay animism expert associate professor Datuk Zainal Abidin Borhan explained in an interview with Yahoo! Malaysia.
No medical or scientific reason can explain this incident. But, if you believe in the supernatural world, you're might speculate this: The midwife attending to the delivery could have had spiritual powers and might have struck a deal with the Orang Bunian to offer the newborn in return for material gains or fulfilment of other requests.
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia psychiatry department doctor, Ruzanna Zamzam said she has encountered such a case before.
The patient was a 43-year-old woman, named as S.U., who claimed to be four months pregnant. S.U had undergone all the necessary ultrasound scans and successfully recorded images of a female foetus in her womb. Her heavy figure made it difficult to judge her pregnancy, but, a few days before her due date, she claimed to have experienced a spiritual event. She was visited by the lady who was preparing her delivery. Subsequently, a man told her that she had lost her baby.
S.U then sought a medical check up, and this time the ultrasound revealed a non-pregnant uterus.
[Click here to read full article]
The killer badgers of Basra
BASRA, Iraq — Nazariya al-Muwamara, they call it in Arabic: the conspiracy theory. As they go, this one is a gem.
Take a Western army wearing out its welcome in the ancient land of Mesopotamia. Add a large, sharp-toothed creature halfway between a bear and the Hound of the Baskervilles. Simmer in the 120-degree Fahrenheit (49-Celsius) temperatures of summer and sprinkle with provincial Iraqi newspapers eager to fill newsprint gaps left by vacationing government officials.
The result? Many residents of the southern city of Basra have convinced themselves that the British Army has loosed savage cattle-eating badgers onto its unsuspecting populace as a final gesture of ill intent before it departs the city later this summer.
Throw in, for good measure, the fervent belief that British soldiers have planted snake eggs in waterways and unleashed bomb-sniffing dogs purposefully infected with rabies.
All three stories have been manufactured by Iraq's tireless rumor mill, the only machine here seemingly capable of functioning day and night without need of electricity or generators.
Iran has gotten in on the act as well, claiming that Western forces have been fitting Iraqi squirrels with miniaturized surveillance devices and sending them scurrying across the border to spy.
"In recent weeks, intelligence operatives have arrested 14 squirrels within Iran's borders," IRNA, the Iranian state-sponsored news agency, reported. "The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services."
As for the badgers, the distinction between reality and fiction has been somewhat blurred by the fact that some of the animals do actually live around Basra. That much is verifiable. But many of the deeds and intent ascribed to the creatures are not.
One Basra farmer claimed the beasts attacked his cattle. Panic spread, with other reports of one killing humans.
The alarm was heightened by the rapid circulation of a cellphone video showing one fearsomely clawed animal captured and surrounded by nervous villagers, who invoked the name of Shia Islam's first and most-revered imam: "What's that? Help us, Ali!"
The British were soon blamed, perhaps aided by the unfortunate coincidence that one of the British Army units serving in the city center is named Badger Squadron.
The reality, Iraqi officials point out, is that the badger, named Kirta or Gariri in Arabic, has been a native of the marshland area around Basra for decades. Less commonly seen after Saddam Hussein drained the marshes, it has reappeared as the wetlands returned.
"Old people know of the Girta, but the younger generations are not as aware of these animals," said Mushtaq Abdul-Aziz of Basra's Health Department.
Major Mike Shearer, a British military spokesman in Basra, rebutted all animal-related allegations with an admirably straight face: "Of course we categorically deny that we have released badgers into Basra. "It flies in the face of what we are primarily here to do, which is to set conditions that will enable the Iraqi security forces to have self-determination in their own security matters, which of course sets the conditions for good governance."
A spokeswoman for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office was somewhat more succinct in denying the rumor. "Don't be silly," she said, after sighing.
At the British headquarters, commanders have weightier matters to consider. On senior officers' desks sit copies of Carl von Clausewitz's 1832 treatise "On War" and David Galula's colonial-era French manual "Counterinsurgency Warfare." Neither is definitive on the deployment of baby-eating monsters or surveillance squirrels.
Asked whether coalition forces were ever likely to have been as welcome in Iraq as pre-war optimists hoped, one senior British officer shook his head wearily. "It would have been difficult, given the conspiracy mindset," he said. "Just look at the badgers."
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Indian girl cries tears of stone
We’ve heard about tears of blood before but there has recently been a new case which was reported in India whereby a seven year old girl is crying tears of stones. Kura Nitya is said to cry ranging from 12 to 25 stones daily and although she says that it is not painful, she however has swollen eyes just before the tears falls off.
Physicians remain perplex as to what exactly is causing these tears since the girl is perfectly healthy and does not represent any form of eye infection. His grandfather, Gopal Reddy, explains that the tears started two weeks back and initially they attributed this strange phenomenon to God’s miracle. They prayed for the child’s well being and for the tears to stop but in the end they resorted to medical advice.
However, despite consulting many eye specialists, none of them have so far come up with an answer for this strange and one of a kind phenomenon. The stony tears are being kept for future analysis whereby perhaps an answer can be found to these strange tears.
[Click here to read full article]
Physicians remain perplex as to what exactly is causing these tears since the girl is perfectly healthy and does not represent any form of eye infection. His grandfather, Gopal Reddy, explains that the tears started two weeks back and initially they attributed this strange phenomenon to God’s miracle. They prayed for the child’s well being and for the tears to stop but in the end they resorted to medical advice.
However, despite consulting many eye specialists, none of them have so far come up with an answer for this strange and one of a kind phenomenon. The stony tears are being kept for future analysis whereby perhaps an answer can be found to these strange tears.
[Click here to read full article]
'End Of The World Not In 2012' According To Decoded Mayan Tablet
Good news, everyone! The end of the world won't take place in 2012. Hooray!
Sven Gronemeyer of Australia's La Trobe University says that his interpretation of certain hieroglyphs indicate that though 21 December 2012 is an important date for the ancient Mayan people, it won't necessarily be apocalyptic.
"The date acquired a symbolic value because it is seen as a reflection of the day of creation," Gronemeyer said whilst at an archaeological site in Palenque, Mexico. "It is the passage of a god and not necessarily a great leap for humanity."
His research shows that 21/12/2012 heralds the arrival of the Mayan god of creation and war, Bolon Yokte, 5,125 years after Mayan Long Count calendar began back in 3113 B.C.
His reappearance on earth is meant to indicate a new era on the planet, but not a destructive one.
Decoding the stone tablet in question - originally found at Tortuguero in the Mexican province of Tabasco - was especially difficult for Gronemeyer as it's 1,300 years old - and had a crack right through the middle of it.
This is the latest attempt by a group of Mayan archaeology experts to dismiss the popular belief that 2012 will be the end of all time, a rumour perpetuated by internet forums and cinema-goers who somehow genuinely believe in Roland Emmerich's disaster movie, 2012.
[Click here to read full article]
Sven Gronemeyer of Australia's La Trobe University says that his interpretation of certain hieroglyphs indicate that though 21 December 2012 is an important date for the ancient Mayan people, it won't necessarily be apocalyptic.
"The date acquired a symbolic value because it is seen as a reflection of the day of creation," Gronemeyer said whilst at an archaeological site in Palenque, Mexico. "It is the passage of a god and not necessarily a great leap for humanity."
His research shows that 21/12/2012 heralds the arrival of the Mayan god of creation and war, Bolon Yokte, 5,125 years after Mayan Long Count calendar began back in 3113 B.C.
His reappearance on earth is meant to indicate a new era on the planet, but not a destructive one.
Decoding the stone tablet in question - originally found at Tortuguero in the Mexican province of Tabasco - was especially difficult for Gronemeyer as it's 1,300 years old - and had a crack right through the middle of it.
This is the latest attempt by a group of Mayan archaeology experts to dismiss the popular belief that 2012 will be the end of all time, a rumour perpetuated by internet forums and cinema-goers who somehow genuinely believe in Roland Emmerich's disaster movie, 2012.
[Click here to read full article]
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
10 of the weirdest phobias
Source: Phantom and Monsters Blog
A phobia is an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people. According to the American Psychological Association, phobias are one of the most common mental disorders, affecting over 11% of men and women in the world. They can extremely diminish an individual’s social, economic, and personal life. Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders. There are thousands of debilitating disorders in the world, including:
1. Nyctophobia - The Fear of the Dark
Nyctophobia is a disabling disease characterized by a frenzied fear of the darkness. The phobia is generally related to children, but many adults experience it. It is extremely disruptive and incapacitating in adults and almost always leads to hospitalization. Patients experience an uncontrollable fear triggered by the mind’s perception of what could happen and is waiting in the dark. It seems to be based around mental-recall of past horrifying events. There is little known about the pathological background and emotional aspects of nyctophobia. However, scary movies, television shows, and ghost stories can manifest the phobia in children.
Patients suffer from various physical, emotional, and mental reactions to the phobia, including chest pain, discomfort, choking, smothering sensations, vertigo, and feelings of unreality, sweating, and shaking. Individuals suffering from nyctophobia have a hard time sleeping. Psychotherapy is one way to treat the disorder, while other methods include desensitization and exposure to the panic stimulant.
2. Spectrophobia - The Fear of Spectres or Ghosts
Spectrophobia is a specific phobia that involves an intense fear of ghosts and aspirations known as specters. Most adults will admit to being a bit afraid of ghosts, but people with spectrophobia feel that ghosts and specters are powerful black magic phantoms who can steal souls and even lives. Like most phobias, people who suffer from spectrophobia usually have experienced some sort of mental or physical trauma in their life.
This experience then becomes associated with specters, ghosts, or apparitions. The symptoms of this phobia can range from a mild uncomfortable feeling to full blown anxiety or panic attacks. It is a rare disorder that is usually self-diagnosed, as the individual realizes the fear is interfering with their ability to function. Some treatments include traditional talk therapy, self-help techniques, exposure therapy, support groups, and various relaxation techniques.
3. Homichlophobia - The Fear of Fog
Homichlophobia is an exaggerated or irrational fear of fog. This disorder causes extreme panic in all patients. Individuals will take extreme avoidance measures towards fog, locating themselves in geographical areas that don’t receive much precipitation. They have extreme imaginations and create horrible visions surrounding the mist and fog. One commonly reported symptom is tunnel vision and crazy feelings of dread.
It is a widespread phobia and has been reported in over 67 countries. This condition is treated with various cognitive development techniques. Direct exposure has been tested and performed extremely well in helping these patients cope. People suffering from homichlophobia greatly benefit from behavioral therapy.
4. Caligynephobia - The Fear of Beautiful Women
Caligynephobia is a form of gynophobia, which is the fear of all women. However, caligynephobia is directed towards good looking females. It can be an extremely disruptive social phobia, depending on the level of damage. The symptoms include rapid breathing, shortness of breath, irregular heart beat, nausea, sweating, panic attacks, and feelings of dread.
There can also be individualized specific responses to this phobia. Caligynephobia can manifest itself in adolescent children, adult men, and women, but is most often viewed in men. Some common approaches to treating the disorder are systematic desensitization and cognitive behavioral therapies.
5. Chorophobia - The Fear of Dancing
Chorophobia is defined as the irrational fear of dancing. It is often times based around the individual’s unwillingness to become aroused or excited. This phobia surrounds social problems, such as the fear of embarrassment or large crowds. Symptoms include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, panic, and avoidance of places where dancing would take place. The disorder can become disabling.
The real problem ensues when the individual is forced into a dancing situation. A good treatment method is personal therapy and some people use hypnosis. Many sufferers take to hiring a personal trainer to improve their dancing skills.
6. Ablutophobia - The Fear of Washing, Bathing, or Cleaning
Ablutophobia is a phobia that results in a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of washing yourself. It is most commonly found in women and children. Most patients don't fear water, just when there is intent to clean. It is important to note that many children dislike baths, so ablutophobia is generally not diagnosed in children unless it persists for more than six months.
Like all phobias, ablutophobia is often linked to a traumatic past event. It can be serious, as a lack of hygiene can lead to social displacement and disease. It is a situational specific phobia and common treatment methods are exposure and various cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
7. Anglophobia - The Fear of the England or the English Culture
Anglophobia is a phobia that includes the fear of the English. The term is also inaccurately used to discriminate against English people. Anglophobia is a true disorder that has historic routes. A 2005 study by Hussain and Millar of the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow found that the condition has decreased in prevalence since the introduction of devolution.
Having an English friend or direct contact with the English greatly reduces the chances of suffering from Anglophobia. Anglophobia has existed in Wales since the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535–1542 was passed by the Parliament of England, which annexed Wales to the Kingdom of England. It is a rare phobia, however in August 2008 a pipefitter based in Dublin was awarded €20,000 for receiving abuse and discrimination because he was English.
8.
Dendrophobia - The Fear of Trees
Dendrophobia is a very common phobia surrounding the fear of trees or the forest. One of the most complicated factors when dealing with dendrophobia is that the patients often times don’t reveal the disorder, in fear of ridicule and joking. Individuals with this phobia become occupied with the thought that a "dead fear" is linked to the dense trees. They might feel trapped or experience a sense of strangulation.
Dendrophobia causes anxiety and intense panic attacks. Avoiding trees can often be a difficult task. Some other symptoms of the disorder are rapid breathing, shortness of breath, sweating, irregular heartbeat, nausea, sweating, and strong feelings of dread. Many documented cases have patients referring to forests and tree land as “the darkness” and “evil.” It is a disabling phobia that can be treated with exposure programs, talk therapy, medication, and other cognitive behavioral therapies.
9. Cypridophobia - The Fear of Prostitutes or Venereal Disease
Cypridophobia is an irrational fear of venereal disease. The phobia has been around for generations and the name originates from Cyprus and is a Greek word for Venus. It surrounds the fear of gaining a deadly venereal disease. It is a serious disorder and the patients often experience feelings of panic, terror, dread, rapid heart beat, trembling, anxiety, and can become ill and often faint. The phobia helps fuel bipolar personalities.
Patients often suffer from sleep disorders and depression as the phobia expands and greatly damages social behavior. Cypridophobia can often lead to a complete withdrawal from sexual intercourse and isolation from the opposite sex. It is a serious disorder that is commonly seen all over the world.
10. Methyphobia - The Fear of Alcohol
Methyphobia is an intense and irrational fear of alcohol. People suffering from this phobia fear the consequences of alcohol consumption and in many instances they avoid everyone who drinks. They will also avoid any situation where alcohol is present, including weddings, holidays, and family gatherings. Methyphobia can directly lead to many social disorders. People suffering from this phobia often times have experienced a real life trauma related to alcohol consumption. It could be parental abuse, personal damage, or many other causes. There is a wide spectrum of symptoms when dealing with methyphobia.
Some individuals might lightly perspire and feel uncomfortable around alcohol, while others might have serious anxiety and panic attacks. Some other symptoms include dry mouth, numbness, dizziness, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feeling out of control, trapped, or utter doom. The disorder is usually self diagnosed and can be treated with various behavioral and cognitive therapy techniques. Basically, helping to teach the patient that they don’t have to drink alcohol, but others are allowed.
Some pictures and text in this article are granted permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; and as such are reproduced in this article.
A phobia is an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or people. According to the American Psychological Association, phobias are one of the most common mental disorders, affecting over 11% of men and women in the world. They can extremely diminish an individual’s social, economic, and personal life. Phobias are the most common form of anxiety disorders. There are thousands of debilitating disorders in the world, including:
1. Nyctophobia - The Fear of the Dark
Nyctophobia is a disabling disease characterized by a frenzied fear of the darkness. The phobia is generally related to children, but many adults experience it. It is extremely disruptive and incapacitating in adults and almost always leads to hospitalization. Patients experience an uncontrollable fear triggered by the mind’s perception of what could happen and is waiting in the dark. It seems to be based around mental-recall of past horrifying events. There is little known about the pathological background and emotional aspects of nyctophobia. However, scary movies, television shows, and ghost stories can manifest the phobia in children.
Patients suffer from various physical, emotional, and mental reactions to the phobia, including chest pain, discomfort, choking, smothering sensations, vertigo, and feelings of unreality, sweating, and shaking. Individuals suffering from nyctophobia have a hard time sleeping. Psychotherapy is one way to treat the disorder, while other methods include desensitization and exposure to the panic stimulant.
2. Spectrophobia - The Fear of Spectres or Ghosts
Spectrophobia is a specific phobia that involves an intense fear of ghosts and aspirations known as specters. Most adults will admit to being a bit afraid of ghosts, but people with spectrophobia feel that ghosts and specters are powerful black magic phantoms who can steal souls and even lives. Like most phobias, people who suffer from spectrophobia usually have experienced some sort of mental or physical trauma in their life.
This experience then becomes associated with specters, ghosts, or apparitions. The symptoms of this phobia can range from a mild uncomfortable feeling to full blown anxiety or panic attacks. It is a rare disorder that is usually self-diagnosed, as the individual realizes the fear is interfering with their ability to function. Some treatments include traditional talk therapy, self-help techniques, exposure therapy, support groups, and various relaxation techniques.
3. Homichlophobia - The Fear of Fog
Homichlophobia is an exaggerated or irrational fear of fog. This disorder causes extreme panic in all patients. Individuals will take extreme avoidance measures towards fog, locating themselves in geographical areas that don’t receive much precipitation. They have extreme imaginations and create horrible visions surrounding the mist and fog. One commonly reported symptom is tunnel vision and crazy feelings of dread.
It is a widespread phobia and has been reported in over 67 countries. This condition is treated with various cognitive development techniques. Direct exposure has been tested and performed extremely well in helping these patients cope. People suffering from homichlophobia greatly benefit from behavioral therapy.
4. Caligynephobia - The Fear of Beautiful Women
Caligynephobia is a form of gynophobia, which is the fear of all women. However, caligynephobia is directed towards good looking females. It can be an extremely disruptive social phobia, depending on the level of damage. The symptoms include rapid breathing, shortness of breath, irregular heart beat, nausea, sweating, panic attacks, and feelings of dread.
There can also be individualized specific responses to this phobia. Caligynephobia can manifest itself in adolescent children, adult men, and women, but is most often viewed in men. Some common approaches to treating the disorder are systematic desensitization and cognitive behavioral therapies.
5. Chorophobia - The Fear of Dancing
Chorophobia is defined as the irrational fear of dancing. It is often times based around the individual’s unwillingness to become aroused or excited. This phobia surrounds social problems, such as the fear of embarrassment or large crowds. Symptoms include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, panic, and avoidance of places where dancing would take place. The disorder can become disabling.
The real problem ensues when the individual is forced into a dancing situation. A good treatment method is personal therapy and some people use hypnosis. Many sufferers take to hiring a personal trainer to improve their dancing skills.
6. Ablutophobia - The Fear of Washing, Bathing, or Cleaning
Ablutophobia is a phobia that results in a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of washing yourself. It is most commonly found in women and children. Most patients don't fear water, just when there is intent to clean. It is important to note that many children dislike baths, so ablutophobia is generally not diagnosed in children unless it persists for more than six months.
Like all phobias, ablutophobia is often linked to a traumatic past event. It can be serious, as a lack of hygiene can lead to social displacement and disease. It is a situational specific phobia and common treatment methods are exposure and various cognitive behavioral therapy techniques.
7. Anglophobia - The Fear of the England or the English Culture
Anglophobia is a phobia that includes the fear of the English. The term is also inaccurately used to discriminate against English people. Anglophobia is a true disorder that has historic routes. A 2005 study by Hussain and Millar of the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow found that the condition has decreased in prevalence since the introduction of devolution.
Having an English friend or direct contact with the English greatly reduces the chances of suffering from Anglophobia. Anglophobia has existed in Wales since the Laws in Wales Acts of 1535–1542 was passed by the Parliament of England, which annexed Wales to the Kingdom of England. It is a rare phobia, however in August 2008 a pipefitter based in Dublin was awarded €20,000 for receiving abuse and discrimination because he was English.
8.
Dendrophobia - The Fear of Trees
Dendrophobia is a very common phobia surrounding the fear of trees or the forest. One of the most complicated factors when dealing with dendrophobia is that the patients often times don’t reveal the disorder, in fear of ridicule and joking. Individuals with this phobia become occupied with the thought that a "dead fear" is linked to the dense trees. They might feel trapped or experience a sense of strangulation.
Dendrophobia causes anxiety and intense panic attacks. Avoiding trees can often be a difficult task. Some other symptoms of the disorder are rapid breathing, shortness of breath, sweating, irregular heartbeat, nausea, sweating, and strong feelings of dread. Many documented cases have patients referring to forests and tree land as “the darkness” and “evil.” It is a disabling phobia that can be treated with exposure programs, talk therapy, medication, and other cognitive behavioral therapies.
9. Cypridophobia - The Fear of Prostitutes or Venereal Disease
Cypridophobia is an irrational fear of venereal disease. The phobia has been around for generations and the name originates from Cyprus and is a Greek word for Venus. It surrounds the fear of gaining a deadly venereal disease. It is a serious disorder and the patients often experience feelings of panic, terror, dread, rapid heart beat, trembling, anxiety, and can become ill and often faint. The phobia helps fuel bipolar personalities.
Patients often suffer from sleep disorders and depression as the phobia expands and greatly damages social behavior. Cypridophobia can often lead to a complete withdrawal from sexual intercourse and isolation from the opposite sex. It is a serious disorder that is commonly seen all over the world.
10. Methyphobia - The Fear of Alcohol
Methyphobia is an intense and irrational fear of alcohol. People suffering from this phobia fear the consequences of alcohol consumption and in many instances they avoid everyone who drinks. They will also avoid any situation where alcohol is present, including weddings, holidays, and family gatherings. Methyphobia can directly lead to many social disorders. People suffering from this phobia often times have experienced a real life trauma related to alcohol consumption. It could be parental abuse, personal damage, or many other causes. There is a wide spectrum of symptoms when dealing with methyphobia.
Some individuals might lightly perspire and feel uncomfortable around alcohol, while others might have serious anxiety and panic attacks. Some other symptoms include dry mouth, numbness, dizziness, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feeling out of control, trapped, or utter doom. The disorder is usually self diagnosed and can be treated with various behavioral and cognitive therapy techniques. Basically, helping to teach the patient that they don’t have to drink alcohol, but others are allowed.
Some pictures and text in this article are granted permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; and as such are reproduced in this article.
Mexico acknowledges 2nd reference in Mayan fragments to 2012, downplays ‘prophecies’
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s archaeology institute downplays theories that the ancient Mayas predicted some sort of apocalypse would occur in 2012, but on Thursday it acknowledged that a second reference to the date exists on a carved fragment found at a southern Mexico ruin site.
Most experts had cited only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan glyphs, a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
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But the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that there is in fact another apparent reference to the date at the nearby Comalcalco ruin. The inscription is on the carved or molded face of a brick. Comalcalco is unusual among Mayan temples in that it was constructed of bricks.
Arturo Mendez, a spokesman for the institute, said the fragment of inscription had been discovered years ago and has been subject to thorough study. It is not on display and is being kept in storage at the institute.
The “Comalcalco Brick,” as the second fragment is known, has been discussed by experts in some online forums. Many still doubt that it is a definite reference to Dec. 21, 2012 or Dec. 23, 2012, the dates cited by proponents of the theory as the possible end of the world.
[Click here to read full article]
Most experts had cited only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan glyphs, a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
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Corrections?
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But the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that there is in fact another apparent reference to the date at the nearby Comalcalco ruin. The inscription is on the carved or molded face of a brick. Comalcalco is unusual among Mayan temples in that it was constructed of bricks.
Arturo Mendez, a spokesman for the institute, said the fragment of inscription had been discovered years ago and has been subject to thorough study. It is not on display and is being kept in storage at the institute.
The “Comalcalco Brick,” as the second fragment is known, has been discussed by experts in some online forums. Many still doubt that it is a definite reference to Dec. 21, 2012 or Dec. 23, 2012, the dates cited by proponents of the theory as the possible end of the world.
[Click here to read full article]
Monday, December 19, 2011
Could hackers develop a 'computer virus' to infect the human mind?
By ROB WAUGH
The field of 'synthetic biology' is in its infancy. We can 'tweak' the genetics of life forms - but billionaire entrepreneur Craig Venter only created 'artificial life' for the first time last year, christening his life form 'Synthia'.
But experts working within the field believe that our expertise is out-accelerating natural evolution by a factor of millions of years - and some warn that synthetic biology could spin out of control.
It could lead, says Andrew Hessel of Singularity University, on Nasa's research campus, to a world where hackers could engineer viruses or bacteria to control human minds.
Hessel believes that genetic engineering is the next frontier of computing.
'This is one of the most powerful technologies in the world,' says Hessel 'Synthetic biology - the writing of life.'
'I advocate that cells are living computers and DNA is a programming language.'
'I want to see life programmed and used to solve global challenges so that humanity can achieve a sustainable relationship within the biosphere,' he says.It's growing fast. It will grow faster than computer technologies.'
He predicts a world where we can 'print' DNA, and even 'decode' it. But he warned, in a speech at technology conference TXM, that viruses and bacteria send chemicals into human brains - and could be used to influence, or even 'control' their host.
[Click here to read full article]
The field of 'synthetic biology' is in its infancy. We can 'tweak' the genetics of life forms - but billionaire entrepreneur Craig Venter only created 'artificial life' for the first time last year, christening his life form 'Synthia'.
But experts working within the field believe that our expertise is out-accelerating natural evolution by a factor of millions of years - and some warn that synthetic biology could spin out of control.
It could lead, says Andrew Hessel of Singularity University, on Nasa's research campus, to a world where hackers could engineer viruses or bacteria to control human minds.
Hessel believes that genetic engineering is the next frontier of computing.
'This is one of the most powerful technologies in the world,' says Hessel 'Synthetic biology - the writing of life.'
'I advocate that cells are living computers and DNA is a programming language.'
'I want to see life programmed and used to solve global challenges so that humanity can achieve a sustainable relationship within the biosphere,' he says.It's growing fast. It will grow faster than computer technologies.'
He predicts a world where we can 'print' DNA, and even 'decode' it. But he warned, in a speech at technology conference TXM, that viruses and bacteria send chemicals into human brains - and could be used to influence, or even 'control' their host.
[Click here to read full article]
The Dragon that will Bring World's End
It is in the Bible that states something about the DRAGON that will cause the world to end !
Europeans in the past according to the ancient Legends, Myths & Fairytale spoke of several Kings, Lords, & Knights etc.. had it physically, literally and verbally interpreted as the real dragon and hence resulted in a series of dragon slaying at one point of time with the aim and hopes that if all the dragons are slain, the world will be saved. However, there is more than to meets the eye. it is not so simple.
As we proceed into the modern era between the 20 & 21 century, much Western Nations ( the Oceania nations, European Continent, and American Continent) grew in fear of CHINA !
This is because the DRAGON is a very symbolic icon which represents China. China is a DRAGON !
As a results of such, Much Christ believers had the interpretations into thinking that the DRAGON in the BIBLE refers to CHINA ! this had caused a certain group of people into hoping, praying and trying what they can to prevent the RISE of this DRAGON ! This DRAGON which has already been awaken must never RISE and SOAR !
But However again, there is once again just perhaps another misinterpretation.
This DRAGON actually has 10 horns and 7 heads ! This Dragon refers to Lucifer the Devil, Satan ! who is also referred to as the serpent , the fallen angel and the beast !
This would be the Dragon who will disguise himself as god to deceive us humans into worshiping him. Those who receives his mark on the right hand or forehead will receive the complete wrath of God !
More info can be found in the link below:
[Click here to read full article]
Sunday, December 18, 2011
6 Signs That You Might Be Psychic
By Stephen Wagner, About.com Guide
If you've always suspected that you have extrasensory perception, here are six signs that you indeed might be psychic
THOSE WHO HAVE made a lifetime of the study of psychic phenomena suspect that most, if not all of us are psychic to one degree or another. I'm sure most of us can point to events in our lives that indicate instances of telepathy (communication of thoughts) or precognition (knowing what is going to happen). Perhaps it's only happened once or a few times.
Perhaps, however, it happens to you quite frequently. Can you then be considered truly, strongly psychic? Here are six signs to look for.
1. You know the phone is going to ring and who is calling
We have all experienced this phenomenon, and when it happens once in awhile we can chalk it up to coincidence. Or perhaps there are people who call you regularly at expected times. Those instances we can dismiss.
But have you ever sensed a phone call from someone totally unexpected - perhaps someone you haven't heard from in years? Then the phone rings and it is that person! This could be an indication of the psychic phenomenon known as precognition - knowing something before it happens. And if this kind of thing happens on a fairly regular basis, you might be psychic.
2. You know your child, or someone else very close to you, is in trouble
We all worry about the safety our loved ones, especially when they are separated from us. Quite naturally, parents carry a deep concern about their children when they are at school, off with other children, or away on a trip. But we temper this worry or concern (or try to) with reason and an acknowledgment that our loved ones cannot always be under our supervision.
There have been many cases, however, in which a parent knows that her child has been injured or is in trouble. This is no ordinary worry. The feeling is so intense and persistent that the parent is compelled to check on the child - and sure enough, there has been an accident. Such a psychic connection has been documented between parent and child, spouses and partners, siblings and, of course, twins. If you have had such as experience, you might be psychic.
3. You know a place before you go to it
Perhaps you have had the experience or going to a person's house that you've never been to before, yet everything about it is familiar. This can happen when house shopping, too. You know exactly where every room is, what it looks like, and how it is decorated. You may even have knowledge of tiny details, such as chipped paint or unusual light fixtures. Yet you know you have never been there before.
It could be that you have been to the place before and have forgotten. Or perhaps this is a case of déjà vu - that eerie feeling that we've done or seen an exact thing before. But déjà vu is usually a fleeting feeling about a brief exchange of words, gestures or sights. It is rarely prolonged or vividly detailed. (See the book The Déjà Vu Enigma by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman.) So if you have this knowing about a place you never been to before, you might be psychic.
4. You have prophetic dreams
We all dream, and we all have a variety of dreams about people we know, famous people, and even perhaps things that are going on in the world. So it stands to reason that just by chance we will have a dream about someone or something that later comes to pass (to one degree or another) in real life.
But do you often have dreams about yourself, friends and family, or even world events that soon come to pass in detail in real life? Prophetic dreams like this are reportedly often different than normal dreams. They are more lucid, vivid, detailed, and compelling. If so, you should write down these dreams right after you have them because you don't want to forget them, and you want to have a record of them – and they can be evidence that you might be psychic.
5. You can sense or know something about an object (or person) just by touching it
Have you ever picked up an object that didn't belong to you and you were overcome with a knowledge about that object – it's history and who it belonged to? Likewise, have you shook the hand of a new acquaintance and instantly known all about them – where they're from, what they do and what they are like?
It could be that you are just a highly perceptive person who can deduce information about an object or person just by looking at them and touching them. But if you are able to provide many accurate details about these things that you would otherwise have no possible way of knowing, you might have the rare kind of extrasensory perception known as psychometry – and you might be psychic.
6. You regularly tell your friends what is going to happen to them – and it does
Do you have a habit of telling friends and family about specific experiences they are going to have? Do you sometimes warn them ahead of time about dangers or circumstances that would not be in their best interest? Are you right more often than not?
Because we know our friends and family well, it certainly is logical to assume that we can sometimes predict was might happen to them – both good and bad. This is simply because we know their personalities, their habits and even some of their plans and we can make reasonable guesses. This is not what we're talking about. We're talking about strong feelings that you have – that seem to come out of nowhere and are not based on anything you know about the person – about something that is about to happen to them. It's a powerful feeling and you are compelled to tell them about it, even warn them if necessary. If those events come to pass, you might be psychic.
[Click here to read full article]
If you've always suspected that you have extrasensory perception, here are six signs that you indeed might be psychic
THOSE WHO HAVE made a lifetime of the study of psychic phenomena suspect that most, if not all of us are psychic to one degree or another. I'm sure most of us can point to events in our lives that indicate instances of telepathy (communication of thoughts) or precognition (knowing what is going to happen). Perhaps it's only happened once or a few times.
Perhaps, however, it happens to you quite frequently. Can you then be considered truly, strongly psychic? Here are six signs to look for.
1. You know the phone is going to ring and who is calling
We have all experienced this phenomenon, and when it happens once in awhile we can chalk it up to coincidence. Or perhaps there are people who call you regularly at expected times. Those instances we can dismiss.
But have you ever sensed a phone call from someone totally unexpected - perhaps someone you haven't heard from in years? Then the phone rings and it is that person! This could be an indication of the psychic phenomenon known as precognition - knowing something before it happens. And if this kind of thing happens on a fairly regular basis, you might be psychic.
2. You know your child, or someone else very close to you, is in trouble
We all worry about the safety our loved ones, especially when they are separated from us. Quite naturally, parents carry a deep concern about their children when they are at school, off with other children, or away on a trip. But we temper this worry or concern (or try to) with reason and an acknowledgment that our loved ones cannot always be under our supervision.
There have been many cases, however, in which a parent knows that her child has been injured or is in trouble. This is no ordinary worry. The feeling is so intense and persistent that the parent is compelled to check on the child - and sure enough, there has been an accident. Such a psychic connection has been documented between parent and child, spouses and partners, siblings and, of course, twins. If you have had such as experience, you might be psychic.
3. You know a place before you go to it
Perhaps you have had the experience or going to a person's house that you've never been to before, yet everything about it is familiar. This can happen when house shopping, too. You know exactly where every room is, what it looks like, and how it is decorated. You may even have knowledge of tiny details, such as chipped paint or unusual light fixtures. Yet you know you have never been there before.
It could be that you have been to the place before and have forgotten. Or perhaps this is a case of déjà vu - that eerie feeling that we've done or seen an exact thing before. But déjà vu is usually a fleeting feeling about a brief exchange of words, gestures or sights. It is rarely prolonged or vividly detailed. (See the book The Déjà Vu Enigma by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman.) So if you have this knowing about a place you never been to before, you might be psychic.
4. You have prophetic dreams
We all dream, and we all have a variety of dreams about people we know, famous people, and even perhaps things that are going on in the world. So it stands to reason that just by chance we will have a dream about someone or something that later comes to pass (to one degree or another) in real life.
But do you often have dreams about yourself, friends and family, or even world events that soon come to pass in detail in real life? Prophetic dreams like this are reportedly often different than normal dreams. They are more lucid, vivid, detailed, and compelling. If so, you should write down these dreams right after you have them because you don't want to forget them, and you want to have a record of them – and they can be evidence that you might be psychic.
5. You can sense or know something about an object (or person) just by touching it
Have you ever picked up an object that didn't belong to you and you were overcome with a knowledge about that object – it's history and who it belonged to? Likewise, have you shook the hand of a new acquaintance and instantly known all about them – where they're from, what they do and what they are like?
It could be that you are just a highly perceptive person who can deduce information about an object or person just by looking at them and touching them. But if you are able to provide many accurate details about these things that you would otherwise have no possible way of knowing, you might have the rare kind of extrasensory perception known as psychometry – and you might be psychic.
6. You regularly tell your friends what is going to happen to them – and it does
Do you have a habit of telling friends and family about specific experiences they are going to have? Do you sometimes warn them ahead of time about dangers or circumstances that would not be in their best interest? Are you right more often than not?
Because we know our friends and family well, it certainly is logical to assume that we can sometimes predict was might happen to them – both good and bad. This is simply because we know their personalities, their habits and even some of their plans and we can make reasonable guesses. This is not what we're talking about. We're talking about strong feelings that you have – that seem to come out of nowhere and are not based on anything you know about the person – about something that is about to happen to them. It's a powerful feeling and you are compelled to tell them about it, even warn them if necessary. If those events come to pass, you might be psychic.
[Click here to read full article]
9 explanations to The 2012 December 21 prophecies
There are much speculations about world's end in the year of 2012 December 21. So let's us examine them and try the understand
This is a list of the most popular end of the world speculations:
1) The Mayan Calendar
2) Celestial Alignments
3) Suntelia Aion
4) Solar Cycles - Solar Max 2012
5) Crystal Skull Theory
6) Time Wave: Zero Point Novelty Theory
7) Native American Prophecies (Cherokee Calendar Prophecy & Hopi Prophecy)
8) Kali Yuga (Hindu Prophecy)
9) 2012 Transit of Venus
Everything about the events of December 21, 2012 is up for conjecture, personal interpretation and consist of a long timeline of theories that make sense to those who present them. What is true and what is false will be determined on, or before, that date.
Consciousness is shifting on all levels, which cannot be denied. Spiritually this is a movement into higher consciousness. To examine the accelerating physical Earth changes and consciousness of humanity, recognizing and healing its issues, is to understand this evolutionary process and what is occurring. There are many factors linked to December 21, 2012 returning to light, from which the human biogenetic emerged.
The best barometer for you, is your own intuition, which will allow you to sense great changes within and without. Dreams and meditation will also guide this part of your journey
[Click here to read full article]
This is a list of the most popular end of the world speculations:
1) The Mayan Calendar
2) Celestial Alignments
3) Suntelia Aion
4) Solar Cycles - Solar Max 2012
5) Crystal Skull Theory
6) Time Wave: Zero Point Novelty Theory
7) Native American Prophecies (Cherokee Calendar Prophecy & Hopi Prophecy)
8) Kali Yuga (Hindu Prophecy)
9) 2012 Transit of Venus
Everything about the events of December 21, 2012 is up for conjecture, personal interpretation and consist of a long timeline of theories that make sense to those who present them. What is true and what is false will be determined on, or before, that date.
Consciousness is shifting on all levels, which cannot be denied. Spiritually this is a movement into higher consciousness. To examine the accelerating physical Earth changes and consciousness of humanity, recognizing and healing its issues, is to understand this evolutionary process and what is occurring. There are many factors linked to December 21, 2012 returning to light, from which the human biogenetic emerged.
The best barometer for you, is your own intuition, which will allow you to sense great changes within and without. Dreams and meditation will also guide this part of your journey
[Click here to read full article]