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- Apocalypse Prophecy, Conjecture and Ambiguity
- Fortean / Alternative News: Airborne Prion Concerns, Himalayan Viagra and Microsoft Patenting 'Biological Trojans'
- Paranormal / Spiritual News: Haunted Fordham University, Celebrity Ghost Stories and Media Links
| Apocalypse Prophecy, Conjecture and Ambiguity Posted: 16 Jan 2011 02:39 PM PST  The world will not end on December 21, 2012 as some interpret the Mayan prophecies. One of the important discoveries from the Yucatan ruins is that the Maya had several calendars. One is known as the Long Count calendar, which is reset to day 0 every 1,872,000 days, a period known as The Great Circle. The next reset date, by some calculations, is December 21, 2012. Obviously, this calendar is of no interest to the Maya any longer, since their civilization collapsed over a thousand years ago. (Though there are people today who are the descendants of the Maya and the culture lives on through them) Nevertheless, this date is of enormous interest to certain doomsday prophets and New Age astrologers, such as Carl Johan Calleman, who are spreading the good news either that the Maya knew the date when the world would end or they knew the date when a New Age of Transformation would begin. In Charles Gallenkamp's book Maya: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization, on December 21, 2012, there will be an "alignment between the galactic and solar planes." The winter solstice sun will "conjunct the Milky Way." This is supposed to open up some sort of "cosmic sky portal."
Astrologer John Major Jenkins explains the chart: If we make a standard horoscope chart for December 21st, 2012 A.D., nothing very unusual appears. In this way I was led astray in my search until Linda Schele provided a clue in the recent book Maya Cosmos. Probably the most exciting breakthrough in this book is her identification of the astronomical meaning of the Mayan Sacred Tree. Drawing from an impressive amount of iconographic evidence, and generously sharing the process by which she arrived at her discovery, the Sacred Tree is found to be none other than the crossing point of the ecliptic with the band of the Milky Way. Indeed, the Milky Way seems to have played an important role in Mayan imagery. For example, an incised bone from 8th century Tikal depicts a long sinking canoe containing various deities. This is a picture of the night sky and the canoe is the Milky Way, sinking below the horizon as the night progresses, and carrying with it deities representing the nearby constellations. The incredible Mayan site of Palenque is filled with Sacred Tree motifs and references to astronomical events. In their book [A] Forest of Kings, Schele and Freidel suggested that the Sacred Tree referred to the ecliptic. Apparently that was only part of the picture, for the Sacred Tree that [the Mayan king] Pacal ascends in death is more than just the ecliptic, it is the sacred doorway to the underworld. The crossing point of Milky Way and ecliptic is this doorway and represents the sacred source and origin. [Apparently, Jenkins is interpreting Pacal's sarcophagus, which depicts the Sacred Tree emerging from what has been called an umbilical cord] While it is true that the sun conjuncts the Sacred Tree on December 3rd in the year 755 A.D., over the centuries precession has caused the conjunction date to approach the winter solstice. So, how close are we to perfect conjunction today? Exactly when might we expect the winter solstice sun to conjunct the crossing point of Galactic Equator and ecliptic - the Mayan Sacred Tree? Any astronomer will tell you that, presently, the Milky Way crosses the ecliptic through the constellation of Sagittarius and this area is rich in nebulae and high density objects. In fact, where the Milky Way crosses the ecliptic in Sagittarius also happens to be the direction of the Galactic Center. Most astronomers will likely tell you that an alignment between our sun and any particular point in the Milky Way will just bring another day in paradise here on planet Earth. In any case, Jenkins is not alone in his interpretation of the mysterious Maya Long Count calendar. A Guatemalan anthropologist and student of Maya history and calendars, Carlos Barrios, has a similar interpretation: The Mayan Calendars comprehension of time, seasons, and cycles has proven itself to be vast and sophisticated. The Maya understand 17 different calendars, some of them charting time accurately over a span of more than ten million years. The calendar that has steadily drawn global attention since 1987 is called the Tzolk'in or Cholq'ij. Devised ages ago and based on the cycle of the Pleiades, it is still held as sacred. With the indigenous calendars, native people have kept track of important turning points in history. For example, the daykeepers who study the calendars identified an important day in the year One Reed, Ce Acatal, as it was called by the Mexicans. That was the day when an important ancestor was prophesied to return, "coming like a butterfly." In the western calendar, the One Reed date correlates to Easter Sunday, April 21, 1519 the day that Hernando Cortez and his fleet of 11 Spanish galleons arrived from the East at what is today called Vera Cruz, Mexico. When the Spanish ships came toward shore, native people were waiting and watching to see how it would go. The billowing sails of the ships did indeed remind the scouts of butterflies skimming the ocean surface. It will be the start of a new era resulting from and signified by the solar meridian crossing the galactic equator, and the earth aligning itself with the center of the galaxy. At sunrise on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years the Sun rises to conjunct the intersection of the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic. This cosmic cross is considered to be an embodiment of the Sacred Tree, The Tree of Life, a tree remembered in all the world's spiritual traditions. Some observers say this alignment with the heart of the galaxy in 2012 will open a channel for cosmic energy to flow through the earth, cleansing it and all that dwells upon it, raising all to a higher level of vibration. - 'Steep Uphill Climb to 2012: Messages from the Mayan Milieu' - Steven McFadden So according to these interpretations we can expect a transformation and good vibrations as a result of a cosmic energy flow. The sounds fantastic to me...maybe we'll receive a few answers to some long ago asked questions as well. However, the facts indicate that the Maya kings and nobles focused more on short-term projects like enriching themselves, building monuments and remaining in power than in predicting the dawning of a new age of good vibrations long after their civilization had collapsed. Nevertheless, let's look at the prophecies:  The Mayan Prophecies of 2012 An Apocalypse (Greek: "lifting of the veil" or "revelation") is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception. "Both the Hopis and Mayans recognize that we are approaching the end of a World Age... In both cases, however, the Hopi and Mayan elders do not prophesy that everything will come to an end. Rather, this is a time of transition from one World Age into another. The message they give concerns our making a choice of how we enter the future ahead. Our moving through with either resistance or acceptance will determine whether the transition will happen with cataclysmic changes or gradual peace and tranquility. The same theme can be found reflected in the prophecies of many other Native American visionaries from Black Elk to Sun Bear." — Joseph Robert Jochmans "The person with no previous exposure to the Mayan Calendar will usually initially be surprised by the fact that some people today take such an interest in an ancient calendar. After all, human history has seen a high number of different calendars. Is not then the Mayan calendar just a very specialized subject of interest only to specialists or history buffs? "Why would the world today need another calendar than the Gregorian or Muslim that are currently in use, and why should this be the Mayan calendar?" some may ask. Well, to begin with most people probably have a much too limited view of the importance of the Mayan civilization, and Native American traditions generally. In fact, at their height in the 5th to 9th centuries AD, the Mayan cities would be among the largest in the world and developed the most advanced mathematics and astronomy of their day. And so, even if the Native American civilizations hardly survived the later contact with the Europeans they were and are the carriers of a significant and irreplaceable part of the global human consciousness. When we talk about the Mayan Calendar something profoundly different is also meant than just a system to mark off the passage of time. The Mayan Calendar is above all a prophetic calendar that may help us understand the past and foresee the future. It is a calendar of the Ages that describes how the progression of Heavens and Underworlds condition the human consciousness and thus the frames for our thoughts and actions within a given Age. The Mayan Calendar provides an exact schedule for the Cosmic Plan and the unfolding of all things that come into existence. There is now ample empirical evidence for this, something that shines new light on the age old questions of mankind. Things do exist for a reason. The reason is that they fit into the divine cosmic plan. For those that seriously engage in a study of the Mayan Calendar this soon becomes evident and the former materialist world view loses all relevance. The Mayan Calendar is a gateway to the worlds of consciousness which the majority of humanity has been blinded to through the use of false or delusory calendars. Since everything that exists is an aspect of consciousness, and the Mayan Calendar describes the evolution of consciousness in all of its aspects, no stone is left unturned for the serious student of the Mayan Calendar. All of science is affected, all of religion is affected, all of life is affected. We are here for a reason. Time is no longer equated with money, but with spirit. Time is inspiration! My own view is that this is the last chance that human beings will have to truly align themselves with the cosmic plan. It is now or never and if you do not think that the Conscious Convergence has something to do with you you probably have not studied the Mayan calendar seriously enough. Hence, there can be no proxies for your participation in the transformation of the world as the calendar comes to an end." - Carl Johan Calleman Ph.D **********  The Prophecies of the Hopi People Their prophecies are not written in obscure, archaic language, hidden away in dusty tomes. The Hopi Elders have passed these warnings to subsequent generations through word of mouth and with reference to ancient rock drawings and tablets, keeping track of those that have been fulfilled and paying close attention to warning signs. The following prophecies, probably the only portion shared with whites at the time, has been reproduced many times and is usually the first glimpse of Hopi Prophecy that one encounters when researching the subject. Emergence to the Fifth World "The end of all Hopi ceremonialism will come when a Kachina removes his mask during a dance in the plaza before uninitiated children. For a while there will be no more ceremonies, no more faith. Then Oraibi will be rejuvenated with its faith and ceremonies, marking the start of a new cycle of Hopi life. "World War III will be started by those peoples who first revealed the light (the divine wisdom or intelligence) in the other old countries (India, China, Islamic Nations, Africa). The United States will be destroyed, land and people, by atomic bombs and radioactivity. Only the Hopis and their homeland will be preserved as an oasis to which refugees will flee. Bomb shelters are a fallacy. "It is only materialistic people who seek to make shelters. Those who are at peace in their hearts already are in the great shelter of life. There is no shelter for evil. Those who take no part in the making of world division by ideology are ready to resume life in another world, be they Black, White, Red, or Yellow race. They are all one, brothers. "The war will be 'a spiritual conflict with material matters. Material matters will be destroyed by spiritual beings who will remain to create one world and one nation under one power, that of the Creator.' "That time is not far off. It will come when the Saquasohuh (Blue Star) Kachina dances in the plaza and removes his mask. He represents a blue star, far off and yet invisible, which will make its appearance soon. [Some Hopi spokespersons suggest that Hale-Bopp is the Blue Star.] The time is foretold by a song sung during the Wuwuchim ceremony. It was sung in 1914 just before World War I, and again in 1940 before World War II, describing the disunity, corruption, and hatred contaminating Hopi rituals, which were followed by the same evils spreading over the world. This same song was sung in 1961 during the Wuwuchim ceremony. "The Emergence to the future Fifth World has begun. It is being made by the humble people of little nations, tribes, and racial minorities. 'You can read this in the earth itself. Plant forms from previous worlds are beginning to spring up as seeds. This could start a new study of botany if people were wise enough to read them. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in the sky as stars. The same kinds of seeds are being planted in our hearts. All these are the same, depending how you look at them. That is what makes the Emergence to the next, Fifth World.' "These comprise the nine most important prophecies of the Hopis, connected with the creation of the nine worlds: the three previous worlds on which we lived, the present Fourth World, the three future worlds we have yet to experience, and the world of Taiowa, the Creator, and his nephew, Sotuknang." - from 'The Book of the Hopi' by Frank Waters "The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left. "This is the First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder. (Guns?) "This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Covered wagons?) "This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. (Longhorn cattle?) "This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (Railroad tracks?) "This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web. (Power / telephone lines or the internet?) "This is the Sixth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Concrete roads and their mirage-producing effects?) "This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil spills?) "This is the Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom. (Hippies?) "And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease. "These are the Signs that great destruction is here: The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle people in other lands -- those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as the white man has made in the deserts not far from here. Those who stay and live in the places of the Hopi shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon, very soon afterward, Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in our hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World." Sources: 'The Hopi Survival Kit' - Thomas E. Mails & Chief Dan Evehema 'Native American Prophecies' - Scott Peterson 'The Book of the Hopi' - Frank Waters 'Parallels Between the Hopi and the Sumerian Cultures' - Robert Morningsky 'The Hopi Story: Teachings, History, and Prophecies of the Hopi People' as told by Dan Katchongva, Sun Clan Click for video **********  Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus as he is popularly called, was born in France in 1503. He was a kind of pharmacist and a healer and around 1550 he developed an interest in the occult sciences and started writing almanacs. He became famous for these and many people used to come to him for horoscopes and psychic advice. Later he started summarizing his prophecies and writing them in quatrains which is a four lines poetic para in French. He compiled about a thousand of these undated quatrains into a book called "The Prophecies". Nostradamus wrote in a cryptic style and his quatrains need interpretation. Many have found that most of these predictions have been accurate and his prophecies are highly regarded by astrologers and in many occult circles. You must keep in mind that Nostradamus predictions are never clear cut and he writes symbolically and hence different people interpret these symbols in various ways. Although this is the case, many of his predictions have been interpreted correctly regarding the second world war, Hitler and so on. This makes 2012 Nostradamus predictions even more interesting to read as most people feel that they can be highly accurate. According to these interpretations, Nostradamus predicted massive destruction and havoc brought about by a comet. It is not clear whether this comet will strike the earth or will pass very close to our planet, causing massive earthquakes and other cataclysmic occurrences. But many interpreters of his quatrains are united on the opinion that it will be a comet which will come somewhere in December 2012. One of the quatrains says – "King of terror shall come from the sky. He will bring to life the King of Mongols." This line has been interpreted that after the coming of the comet China will gain prominence and might start attacking countries to gain supremacy. Nostradamus also gives an indication of the fate of certain nations. "The Huge dog will howl at night, when the great pontiff will change lands". The great dog is taken to be the United Kingdom by many interpreters, and the line suggests its destruction. The pontiff is taken to be the pope and hence Rome too will be destroyed. Click for video  The Book of the Revelation opens with the announcement of its title, and with a benediction on those who give diligent heed to its solemn prophetic utterances: 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: 2 who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. Biblical scholars believe that around 90 CE the Book of Revelation was written, the only apocalypse in the New Testament and the "last book of the Bible..."the least read and most difficult." Revelation has had tremendous influence on our culture and history, not only motivating millions of believers but contributing vivid images and phrases to popular culture, from the "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" to the "mark of the beast." Of course, it's meaning is open to interpretation...just like all of the doomsday scenarios and predictions. In my opinion, on a collective scale, we are experiencing a time period in which all that has been unconscious may become conscious. All that has been hidden may begin to be revealed. We live in rare and precarious times...astounding, fragile and mysterious. We are each drops in this sea of humanity, small pieces of the physical and psychic collective. We need to remember our unity by facing our shared challenges. The crises we will face must bring us together to inspire our constructive creativity. There is no way out of the future, only a way through. By finding genuine compassion each other, we access genuine wisdom...Lon       | ||
| Posted: 16 Jan 2011 10:30 AM PST  Airborne Prions: Neurodegenerative Pathogen Concerns wired - When sprayed into the air, prions that cause mad cow and other neurodegenerative diseases may be in one of their most lethal forms. A new study has revealed one short exposure to sprayed prions can be 100 percent lethal in mice. While the discovery doesn't present any foreseeable public health threat, it comes as a surprise to scientists who study prion-based diseases and calls existing safety rules for laboratories and slaughterhouses into question. "Common knowledge is that prions aren't airborne, and can't cause infection that way," said neuropathologist Adriano Aguzzi of University Hospital Zurich, co-author of a study appearing today in PLoS Pathogens. "We were totally surprised and also a bit frightened at how efficient [airborne infections] were." Most infectious diseases are spread by bacteria or viruses, which use genes to copy themselves. But prions are a third form of disease discovered in 1982, and they're made only of misfolded proteins. The molecules resemble regular proteins found in the brain cells and other nervous tissues, but their abnormal shape converts healthy proteins into long fibrils that ultimately kill cells. Like a chain reaction, fibrils create more prions until the host dies from destroyed brain and nervous tissue. All prion infections are 100 percent fatal, and symptoms appear suddenly months or years after infection. "Prions are like an enemy within, the alien in some B-movie that transforms people to an evil version," said prion biologist Edward Hoover of Colorado State University, who was not involved in the study. "The immune system doesn't see them coming." Five known human prion diseases exist, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, as well as six non-human diseases, including scrapie, chronic wasting disease and mad cow disease (which sometimes jumps to humans through contaminated meat). Although prions infect only one to two people per million in the United States each year, as much as 15 percent of deer in some Colorado populations carry chronic wasting disease. Such diseases spread via infected body fluids and tissue, yet only inconclusive evidence on airborne transmission existed until now. To see if airborne prions could cause infection in mammals, Aguzzi and his team exposed several small groups of mice to different concentrations and exposure times of aerosolized prions that cause scrapie. All mice except one group, which was exposed to a very light concentration of prions, got infected and died about 150 to 200 days after exposure. When it came to a lethal dose, the researchers also found that prion concentration didn't matter as much as exposure time. A group of four mice exposed for one minute to a light dose of prion-infected fluid, for example, died from scrapie in about 200 days. Other forms of prion exposure typically require high concentrations of them to do anything, so Aguzzi said the lethality wasn't what he expected. Roughly 100,000 times more prions, for example, are required to cause an infection through the mouth compared to brain-to-brain contamination. "That's part of the reason why we don't see more cases of prion diseases," Aguzzi said. Because the incidence of prion disease is so low among humans — and continues to remain low — it's unlikely airborne forms are a significant threat to most people. "I think this study is interesting and comprehensive, but my big question is this: Where do prions exist in aerosolized form?" said prion biologist Anthony Kincaid of Creighton University, who also was not involved in the research. "People who remove brains or spinal chords often use bone saws, so those might make infected tissue airborne. Otherwise I'm not sure." Slaughterhouse environments may also be a concern, Kincaid added, but the jury is out until further research is done. Until then, he agreed with Aguzzi and Hoover that laboratory protocols are worth revising. "My real hope in studying prions is apply what I learn to much more common but similar diseases, such as Alzheimer's," Aguzzi said. "Knowing why aggregated proteins damage neurons will allow us to understand how they affect brain function." NOTE: Here is a list of prion infectious diseases...Lon
Return of the Black Art: Nigerian witches, wizards go public, hold retreat compassnewspaper - Wonders shall never end, even as Christians say that the termination of the world is near, very near indeed. Last week, the media was agog with reports that an "association" of witches and wizards held a press conference! And its supposed members told some politicians of the misfortune awaiting them in the on-going political contests in the country. Not that the warnings were bad in themselves, but many a Nigerian were baffled at the source they were emanating from. "Drop your presidential ambition, witches, wizards warn Atiku", a headline of a newspaper had flashed of the witches' warning in one of the reports. The report continued: "The contest for the nation's coveted seat, particularly the emergence of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has gone from the terrestial to the celestial realm. "The outcome, if the warning of the Witches and Wizards Association of Nigeria (WITZAN) is anything to go by, might have been predetermined on the spiritual plane. "In a statement signed by the National Coordinator of the association, Dr Okhue Iboi, WITZAN told former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to withdraw from the battle to clinch the presidential ticket of the PDP or face humiliation that will spell doom for his political career. "Giving this warning in Lagos, Iboi said the collective body of witches and wizards had resolved that Atiku should quit the race or risk being disgraced out of politics. "While saying that the warning to Atiku was based on revelations given to the witches and wizards in Nigeria at the end of a three-day retreat they held in Ofosu in Edo State, he said, "we are not politicians. Witches and wizards are a group of patriotic Nigerian citizens who wanted the best for this nation. During our three-day retreat in Ofosu, it was revealed to us that Atiku's days of relevance in Nigeria politics are numbered. "It was revealed to us in our crystal ball that Atiku was going nowhere........." Responding to the report, a reader had shouted "wonder shall never cease, Nigeria is a country of anything goes." The reader would later argue that the principle of freedom of expression and association as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution is being assaulted. "What a shameless publicity," the reader further blurted. Apart from this reader, many others that read the report reacted in awe. Why the shocked responses? It may be queried. It's common knowledge that as powerful and terrific as many people regard those who practise witchcraft to be, they never dared, in the past, come to the open and do a pride of that power because of the evil meaning people attached to it. Besides, the two major religions of the world- Christianity and Islam- strongly condemn it and those who practise it. Also, the laws of virtually all the countries of the world are against it. Witchcraft, in various societies, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. Historically, it was widely believed that witchcraft involved the use of these powers to inflict harm upon members of a community or their property. Since the mid 20th century, the term witchcraft has sometimes been used to distinguish between bad witchcraft and good witchcraft, with the latter often involving healing. The concept of witchcraft as harmful is normally treated as a cultural belief and a means of explaining human misfortune by blaming it either on a supernatural entity or a known person in the community Beliefs in witchcraft, and resulting witch-hunts, are both found in many cultures worldwide, today mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, and historically notably in early modern Europe of the 14th to 18th century, where witchcraft came to be seen as a large diabolical conspiracy against Christianity, and accusations of witchcraft led to large-scale witch-hunts, especially in Germanic Europe. It has also come to be regarded by some people as a suppressed pagan religion and was popular in the 19th and 20th centuries. Probably, according to historians, the most obvious characteristic of a witch was the ability to cast a spell, a "spell" being the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a magical action. A spell could consist of a set of words, a formula or verse, or a ritual action, or any combination of these. Spells traditionally were cast by many methods, such as by the inscription of runes or sigils on an object to give it magical powers; by the immolation or binding of a wax or clay image (poppet) of a person to affect him or her magically; by the recitation of incantations; by the performance of physical rituals; by the employment of magical herbs as amulets or potions; by gazing at mirrors, swords or other specula (scrying) for purposes of divination; and by many other means. However, there are several references to witchcraft in the Bible that strongly condemn such practices. For example, Deuteronomy 18:11-12 condemns anyone who "..casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you" (NIV). Exodus 22:18 states "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," while Leviticus 20:27 says "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them" (KJV). In the Holy Scripture, the strong condemnations of such practices do not seem to be based so much upon the supposition of fraud as upon the abomination of the magic in itself. The word "witch" in Exodus is a translation of the Hebrew word "kashaph," which comes from the root meaning "to whisper." The word as used in Exodus probably thus meant "one who whispers a spell." In context, the Exodus passage probably was intended to urge Jews to adhere to their own religious practices and not those of surrounding tribes. In 420 BC Saint Augustine of Hippo, an influential theologian in the early Christian Church, argued in the early 400s that God alone could suspend the normal laws of the universe. In his view, neither Satan nor witches had supernatural powers or were capable of effectively invoking magic of any sort. It was the "error of the pagans" to believe in "some other divine power than the one God." Of course, if witches are indeed powerless, the Church need not overly concern itself with their spells or other attempts at mischief. The late medieval Church accepted St. Augustine's view, and hence felt little need to bother itself with tracking down witches or investigating allegations of witchcraft. In 1208, Pope Innocent III opened an attack on Cathar heretics who believed in a world in which God and Satan, both having supernatural powers, were at war. The Church attempted to discredit the Cathar belief by spreading stories that the heretics actually worshiped their evil deity in person. Propagandists for the Church depicted Cathars kissing the anus of Satan in a ceremonial show of loyalty to him. As a result of the Church's sustained attacks, the public's understanding of Satan moved from that of a mischievous spoiler to a deeply sinister force. In spite of condemnation by major religions, modern practices identified by their practitioners as "witchcraft" have arisen in the twentieth century, generally portrayed as revivals of pre-Christian European magic and spirituality. They thus fall within the broad category of Neopaganism (new paganism). The first groups of neopagan witchcraft to publicly appear in the 1950s and 1960s were Gerald Gardner's Wicca and Roy Bowers' Clan of Tubal Cain. They operated as initiatory secret societies. More recently a movement to recreate pre-Christian traditions has taken shape, including such practices as Divination, Seid and various forms of Shamanism. Here in Nigeria, attempt at presenting witchcraft as not evil has led to dreaded societies of some of the practioners of the art renaming themselves to reflect the mood and spirit of the present time. That's why the Ogboni Confraternity in the South-West has now changed to the Reformed Ogboni Confraternity. And unlike before, the confraternity can now be identified by known addresses and members can meet to public knowledge. Some people believe that not everything about witchcraft is evil and that it can in many situations benefit mankind. Supporting this view, Madeleine Bunting of the The Guardian, London wrote: "The danger is that the aggression and hostility to magic/witchcraft in all its forms.. deters engagement with the really interesting questions that have emerged recently in the science/[necromancy] debate. The durability and near universality of [witchcraft] is one of the most enduring conundrums of evolutionary thinking... Does spell-casting still have an important role in human wellbeing? ... If sorcery declines, what gaps does it leave in the functioning of individuals and social groups?" Other religions on witchcraft Judaism: Jewish law views the practice of witchcraft as being laden with idolatry and/or necromancy; both being serious theological and practical offenses in Judaism. Although Maimonides vigorously denied the efficacy of all methods of witchcraft, and claimed that the Biblical prohibitions regarding it were precisely to wean the Israelites from practices related to idolatry, according to Traditional Judaism, it is acknowledged that while magic exists, it is forbidden to practice it on the basis that it usually involves the worship of other gods. However, some of the Rabbis practiced "magic" themselves. For instance, Rabbah created a person and sent him to Rabbi Zera, and Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaia studied every Sabbath evening together and created a small calf to eat (Sanhedrin 65b). In these cases, the "magic" was seen more as divine miracles (i.e., coming from God rather than pagan gods) than as witchcraft. Judaism does make it clear that Jews shall not try to learn about the ways of witches (Deuteronomy/Devarim 18: 9–10) and that witches are to be put to death. (Exodus/Shemot 22:17). Judaism's most famous reference to a medium is undoubtedly the Witch of Endor whom Saul consults, as recounted in the First Book of Samuel, chapter 28. Islam: Divination and magic in Islam include a wide range of practices, including black magic, warding off the evil eye, the production of amulets and other magical equipment, conjuring, casting lots, astrology, and physiognomy. Muslims do commonly believe in magic (Sihr) and explicitly forbid its practice. Sihr translates from Arabic as sorcery or black magic. The best known reference to magic in Islam is the Surah Al-Falaq (meaning dawn or daybreak), which is known as a prayer to Allah to ward off black magic says: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn From the mischief of created things; From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads; From the mischief of those who practise secret arts; And from the mischief of the envious one as he practises envy. (Quran 113:1–5). ********** New Yorkers paying $800 an ounce for worms that promise sexual prowess nypost - It's a stiff price to pay for a fungus-encrusted silkworm. But New Yorkers are gladly shelling out $800 an ounce for these dried dead bodies -- and the sexual prowess they promise. The vile virility remedy known as "Himalayan Viagra" works a little differently from the blue pill. There's no immediate reaction, but sprinkle them on your corn flakes every morning and users swear it'll make your bedsprings bounce. The wonder drug -- called "yarsagumba" or "dong chong xia cao" -- can also be brewed into an anti-impotence tea. The insects come from the highlands of Nepal, where they are attacked by a beige fungus, cordyceps sinensis, that kills and entombs them. "It's like the ultimate invasion of the body snatchers," said Thomas Leung, owner of Kamwo, a Chinese herbal pharmacy on Grand Street. Hoping to resurrect their love lives, older men are blowing wads of cash on the creepy caterpillar cocktails. "It would cost you about $200 per serving," Leung said. Leung remembers the ingredient selling for a mere $6.50 decades ago, but the price has rocketed to half the price of gold in recent years. "It's hard to come by, and the demand for it is very high because of there's a lot of hype," he said. The infected worms are picked by peasants during the summer in isolated villages along the Annapurna trail. Schools shut down for the lucrative picking season so children can join the hunt for the expensive aphrodisiac. But where there's sex and money, violence can't be far behind. Competition for the cash crop between remote mountain towns has turned bloody, with mobs murdering poachers. In June 2009, a mob of 65 villagers from the Menang clan in Nar bludgeoned seven poachers from a neighboring Gorkha tribe. The Nar men -- one from each household -- first slew two rivals with primitive tools and tossed their bodies into a crevasse. Then the gang ripped another five encroachers to pieces and cold-heartedly discarded them. Next month a verdict is expected to come down for 35 men charged in the crime. Leung believes local interest in the mystical worm is based more on folklore than on serious Eastern medicine. The sweet-tasting substance is commonly used in formulas to treat chronic asthma and is a centuries-old remedy for lung and kidney health, he said. "The kidneys are responsible for sexual and reproductive functions, so people kind of stretch that and say, 'Well if you consume this, you'll have that,' " he said. "Very few people who sell this are going to tell you that, because they want to keep the hype up," he added. Leung said the ingredient is peddled in cheaper supplements and the fungus has been synthetically duplicated. But he's no snake-oil salesman. "People always ask, 'Is it really that good?' " he said. "And I say, 'It's not $800 good.'" ********** Gaza: Hamas 'Witch Hunts' ansamed - Hamas leaders are committed to a systematic ''witch hunt'' and 150 women were arrested in 2010 in Gaza for having made recourse to witchcraft of some sort. During a symposium held in recent days in Gaza, it was stated that in the eyes of Hamas, the activities of these women represent a real social danger, also because they risk ''breaking up families,'' causing divorce and frittering away of money. Sometimes their activities also have criminal repercussions. One awareness campaign against ''the witches'' was launched using large posters in mosques, universities and public offices frequented by women. The issue emerged again in August last year when a 62-year-old woman, Jabryieh Abu Ghanas, considered to be active in the field of ''witchcraft'' and the production of ''voodoo dolls'', was shot dead in a street in the centre of Gaza. This murder caused great alarm in the Palestinian human rights defence organisations al-Mezan and Pchr-Gaza. It seems however that for now Hamas are not using an iron hand in regard to the women suspected of witchcraft. They are forced to sign an undertaking to abandon their practices, consider incompatible with Islam, for good. It seems this measure has been sufficient and to date there is no news of any ''witch'' being imprisoned by Hamas. ********** Microsoft is patenting 'biological trojans' to infect the human body "In its just-published patent application for Adapting Parasites to Combat Disease, Microsoft lays out plans to unleash 'altered parasitic organisms' on humans, including mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, bed bugs, leeches, pinworms, tapeworms, hookworms, heart worms, roundworms, lice (head, body, and pubic), and the like. 'Irradiated mosquitoes can be used to deliver damaged Plasmodium to individuals,' explains Microsoft. 'Instead of contracting malaria, an individual receiving the damaged Plasmodium develops an immune response that renders the individual resistant to contracting malaria.' Don't worry about runaway breeding, advises Microsoft — 'a termination feature [that] can include programmed death' makes this impossible. As David Spade might say, I liked this movie the first time I saw it — when it was called Jurassic Park." ********** Woman calls 911 when Facebook took too long to remove her nude photo WLSAM - A Portage, Ind., woman scrambled to get her nude self-portrait photograph off the Internet. Angelica Nicholson thought Facebook wasn't responding fast enough to her request on Thursday, so she called police, telling them she was 17, a minor, trying to make it happen faster. Instead, she got arrested after police found out she was 18. Nicholson told police she took the photo in front of a mirror and allowed a male acquaintance to send it to his phone. Then, a Gary, Ind., woman who is dating the man posted Nicholson's nude photo on her own Facebook page. That started a series of angry text messages between the two women. Nicholson contacted Facebook staff in an attempt to have the picture removed, then called police because she didn't think it was happening fast enough. An officer learned Nicholson's actual age through Bureau of Motor Vehicle records, while typing up the incident report. Nicholson was arrested for false reporting and is being held in jail awaiting a $500 cash bond. NOTE: I just wonder how much weirdness that occurs on Facebook never goes public? Lon     | ||
| Paranormal / Spiritual News: Haunted Fordham University, Celebrity Ghost Stories and Media Links Posted: 16 Jan 2011 09:37 AM PST  ghosteyes - The Fordham University in Bronx, New York is a century and a half old college, certainly old enough to have developed a few ghost stories. Fordham University is not, however, believed to be the origin of the paranormal activity here. The haunting of Fordham University dates back much farther than the facility's existence. Fordham University was built in 1841 atop the site of several other much older buildings, The Rose Hill Manor House for one; home of Scotsman Robert Watts who made his fortune as a New York merchant. Adjacent to the Rose Hill Manor was a medical facility. Like all hospitals in those days, the mortality rate was high, the stench of medicinal fluids all but unbearable. If the design of Fordham University, with its castle-like structure and gothic overtones, weren't enough to inspire Hollywood to produce a multitude of macabre films, the campus has plenty of its own haunting legends that date back as long as the college has been standing. The most significant phenomena occur in Keating Hall. When you enter the first floor, there is a massive lobby with a seating area, the walls lined with century old relics of the early days of Fordham University. In those days, Jesuits made up the student body. Throughout the years, people have felt uneasy here as if being watched from the shadows. There are often cold spots reported here as well. The haunting of Keating Hall continues on the third floor where an icy hand has been known to grab shoulders. Those who suffer the fate only to turn to find no one there. Students in the auditorium have reported a crashing sound from the rear stairwell, famous for its cold spots, but upon rushing to the scene there is no sign of anyone in the area except for a chair found toppled over at the end of the steps. In the 'Blue Room', a ghost reportedly manifests itself. Keating Hall's Martyrs Court also claims to be the home of an apparition; a young blonde woman who appears in the shower room. She does not interact or respond to anyone, moving not an inch, but staring straight ahead until she finally disappears into thin air. A male ghost also appears in the halls here, walking along aimlessly, but as soon as someone steps into the hall to see who walked by, the ghost vanishes. The basement of this area is alleged to be the old hospital's morgue, and home to the most cryptic of all Fordham University ghost haunts. It is now a small library of sorts, with several shelves of books and a comfortable seating area. One night during the 1970's, a security guard was making his rounds. After a long night, his feet hurt badly, so he took a seat, removed his shoes and relaxed for a few moments. Suddenly he heard the door slam closed. Knowing he was alone, the guard became unsettled, but it wasn't until the chairs began moving, slamming up against the wall, that he jumped up and ran screaming from the building. He did not even bother to grab his shoes, and is rumored to have never returned to Fordham University again. The university's Finlay Hall was for many years a medical school where students commonly dissected human cadavers. These studies have since discontinued, taken over by other subjects, but the students who reside here aren't so sure the history has dissolved with the classes. In the deep of night, several have awoken to an icy clenched hand over their throats. Hughes Hall of Fordham University is haunted by a little boy who's been seen traipsing the upper floors. A construction worker had a tragic accident in O'Hare Hall many years back and is said to continue hammering away at the walls in the wee hours of the night. A ghost appears in the balcony of Collins Auditorium, where the actors on stage have been frightened by disembodied whispers. The relentless history of the site leads one to believe that the potential for a haunting at Fordham University is certainly plausible. For the thousands of students who have lived there, especially those who've had personal experiences, there is no doubt that Fordham University is haunted. --------- Fordham's Hauntings: Further Accounts Bronx - Fordham University - Fordham is built on two things- the old Rose Hill manor, and an old hospital that were taken down in the late 1830's for construction of the campus. there are still tunnels that connect a lot of the buildings on campus. so in the hospital (Keating hall was the morgue), and Finlay hall was the crematorium. Finlay now has classes held in it. Late 1970's: a security guard was on his break in the basement lounge of Finlay, when the doors closed themselves and the chairs started to bang themselves against the wall. he got up and the hell out of there and quit his job on the spot. Bronx - Fordham University - Hughes Hall - Hauntings are reported to happen all over the campus. In Hughes Hall students report locked doors swinging open and there is a young boy who has been known to appear in rooms in the late hours of the night. Bronx - Fordham University - Collins Auditorium - Student and faculty had reportedly seen a man walking around on the balconies above the stage itself. Strange whispers are heard and cold sensations are frequently felt by young Fordham thespians. The building is just one of countless haunted places on the campus, which include Martyrs Court, Teirney Hall, Millenium Hall, Hughs Hall, Lombardi Center, Coffey Feild, Dwane Library, Keating Hall, and Freeman Hall. - If you have any additional information of any of these locations, please email Haunted Places Bronx - Fordham University - Finlay Hall - was used long ago as the medical school. There was reportedly a morgue in the basement. Residents have been awoken numerous times by unseen hands grabbing at their throat. Bronx - Fordham University - Martyr's Court - a large dormitory on the campus. Residents have reported seeing a young, blond-haired girl standing in the shower, behind the curtain, staring straight ahead. The dean's response when they wanted to move was "It's March. This sort of thing happens all the time, and worse, so just try to turn the other cheek." They also report seeing a man walking by their rooms, in the direction of a wall at the end of the hall. When they would go out to see who it was, he'd be gone, also hear children's laughter in the walls of their apartment. Bronx - Fordham University - O?Hare Hall - A worker was killed during the construction of the building.It has been rumored that he still roams the halls, banging on walls as if he was still working on the building. Bronx - Fordham University - Queen?s Court Dorm - the 'most haunted' building on campus. this happened summer 2003, a lot of the other Fordham stories are standard ghost stories heard at all colleges, but this one is pretty unique: During the summer, Residence Assistants have to stay in dorm buildings for the end of the summer to fix everything up. There are usually 5 RA's and an RD (residence director) in a building. Here's what happened: RA's have to fill out RCR's (room condition reports) for every room so they know who to bill for any damage done. on one floor, every time they went into any room, the mattresses on both beds in the dorm room would be up against the wall. there were only 6 people in the entire building, so they figured someone was just messing around with them. one night one of the RA's went up to a room, put a mattress down, locked the door, and left. he came back an hour later and it was up. when he was in bed that night, about 2:30, he got a knock on his door. he answered it, and it was a priest, one of the Jesuits (the order of priests that run Fordham, also most known for exorcisms, the priest in the exorcist was a Fordham Jesuit). The priest said something along the lines of "someone must be praying pretty hard for you to have me up here this early . . anyway, it usually stays in one room down at the end of the hall, but it got out. I took care of it so you have nothing to worry about now." the RA kid thanked the priest, and went back to bed. the next day he went to the head nun of the campus, and thanked her for sending the priest over to queens at that hour of the morning, she said she never did. he described the father to her, she said she had never seen such a priest. he described the priest to several other Jesuits on campus, but none of them knew who he was . . . this is why this story is so great - a ghost priest performed an exorcism. - February 2004 update/correction: The previous story about the 2003 summer haunting of Queen's Court took place on the first floor of the building's St. Robert's wing, an all male floor. But there's more to the events that happened...in early November 2003, when the hall was full of 20-some residents, all of the lighting- main AND emergency, suddenly went out one night. The lights were out- inexplicably- for almost the entire day. By the time night fell, the floor was pitch black. During the day, the fire alarm lights flashed several times but only in the Robert's first hallway- nowhere else in the building. The creepiest part was that night, when the two residents who live in "the room" that had the problem with mattress flipping earlier in the summer got locked in. The second roommate had come in and didn't even shut the door all the way- suddenly it was shut and locked, and they couldn't open it up. No one could get the door open. Finally, locksmiths had to be brought in- in the middle of the night, keep in mind- to climb in through the windows, and literally take the door apart, until it suddenly fell off its hinges. ----------  Administration Building: There is a constant scent of cigar smoke in the halls that some students attribute to ghosts. Collins Auditorium: Located above the stage, both student and faculty believe they have seen the ghost of a man who walks around the balconies. Students claim to experience cold sensations when in the auditorium, as well as odd whispers. Finlay Hall: In the past, this building served as a medical school, but today, residents dwell on the premises with some reporting the feeling of someone grabbing at their throat in the middle of the night. Hughes Hall: During the wee hours of the night, some students claim the ghost of a young boy who appears in the rooms visits them. Locked doors have also swung open on their own in Hughes Hall. O'Hare Hall: During the construction of the building, a worker lost his life. There is a rumor that his ghost still wanders about the halls – banging on the walls as if he was still working on the building. Martyr's Court: Known as one of the larger dormitories on campus, Martyr's Court has at least two ghosts haunting the grounds. First, residents have come in contact with a young girl with blond hair who has been seen standing behind the curtains of the shower. She always seems to be staring straight ahead. Another ghost is that of a man who has been reported to walk by the rooms of residents, heading towards a wall located at the end of the hall. When attempting to investigate his identity, he has vanished before curious students had a chance. In the apartments, some students claim to hear the laughter of children in their walls. Keating Hall: Keating Hall has a reputation for strange occurrences. While the building is not original to the campus, it is believed that it was constructed over the morgue tunnels during the 1930s. At first, the basement served as the original cafeteria, but with the construction of the new cafeteria, it was transformed in a congressional library with plans for a student center. During the late 1970s, a security quit his job when he experienced the unexplainable closing of doors and chairs banging against the wall. As for the first floor, an area with chairs and historical items on display is a popular gathering spot between classes. However, when taking a seat, some students are met with a feeling that they are being watched. Sometimes, unexplainable shadows are detected and cold spots are felt – even during hot weather. Rumors state that it is the spirits of Jesuits of the past trapped in the building. On the third floor, some people have reported being touched on the shoulder by spirits or seeing apparitions. Venture to the staircase located above the auditorium and you may encounter unexplainable cold spots. One person reported seeing a chair tumble down the stair when no one else was in the vicinity. ********** Whoa! Joey Lawrence haunted by Pfister Hotel ghost avclub - For reasons probably too depressing to contemplate, "ghost hunting" is big business these days. Countless television series dedicated to this dopey phenomenon currently litter the basic-cable airwaves, giving nominally skilled, middle-aged men with access to night-vision video cameras and cargo vans an exciting new career path. Here in Milwaukee, our very own paranormal investigators should be working around the clock, especially if Biography's Celebrity Ghost Stories is to be believed. (And who wouldn't believe a show called Celebrity Ghost Stories?) On a recent episode, none other than former Blossom heartthrob Joey Lawrence recounts a terrifying visit to Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel. It seems Lawrence, joined by his wife and infant daughter, found himself in town during a 2006 national tour of Dancing With The Stars. While nodding off in one of the Pfister's "old," "quaint," and "not comfy or warm" rooms, the onetime Gimme A Break! moppet was awoken twice by the sounds and lights from his daughter's toys. Later, the room's bathroom light inexplicably turned on. Of course, Lawrence concludes that this low-level carnage could only have been the work of the restless undead. To quote Ghostbusters' Dr. Peter Venkman, when faced with a "supernatural" stack of books: "You're right, no human being would stack books like this." Lawrence goes on to explain that after seeking answers from the staff the next morning, he was regaled with a spooky tale involving the hotel founder's son, a murdered bride, and an elevator shaft. (For the record, Charles Pfister had no children.) As he was checking out, Lawrence claims he made one last visit to the room and witnessed parts of the air conditioning unit fly through the air, scaring him "you-know-what-less." Whether these damages were subsequently taken out of Lawrence's deposit is never revealed. Throughout the segment, Lawrence goes a bit overboard in describing the "spookiness" of the Pfister, and Biography's Unsolved Mysteries-esque re-enactment makes it seem like an Overlook Hotel stocked exclusively by creepy old dudes in top hats. (Lawrence says the staff were dressed "like they were out of the game Clue.") Still, reports of strange goings-on inside the swank downtown hotel are nothing new. This is, however, the first time a former Tiger Beat centerfold turned early-'90s R&B sensation has encountered any trouble. What's next? Brian Austin Green tussling with the ghost of a pissed-off bellhop? Though the supernatural typically falls outside the range of The A.V. Club's expertise, we do like to employ Occam's razor when it comes to such matters. So, take your pick: Either the malevolent ghost of a murdered bride haunts the room of the Pfister Hotel, finally solving the previously unsolvable mystery of life after death, or Joey Lawrence forgot to turn off some of his kid's toys. ********** THIS WEEK'S PARANORMAL / SPIRITUAL LINKS 'Kung fu' spritualist in exorcism bid Carl Jung didn't hide his interest in the occult Are ghosts haunting Hallowell City Hall? On the trail of hotel spooks Nothing to fear Indian shaman 'poisons women in witchcraft test' Psychic to be buried alive Axed, but the spirit lives on Helena: Story of a Texas ghost town Spectres haunt hospital's abandoned halls Ghost filming scares off city of Savannah The Spirits of the Dead Visit Our Dreams: A Story Send us an email   New Items - Strickler's Celebrity Autographs  ANOMALIST BOOKS Works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog  The 'C' Influence Actualizing Esoteric Discussion   "The latest news from beyond the mainstream" Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast! Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format!  Spirit Rescue International Providing no-cost professional spiritual help, personal support and guidance Take the first step towards genuine peace of mind JOIN US ON FACEBOOK Phantoms & Monsters Wiki A NETWORK OF INVESTIGATORS, ENTHUSIASTS AND THOSE SEEKING THE TRUTH THROUGH PARANORMAL EDUCATION AND DISCUSSION  Astral Perceptions - Discussion of interterrestrial and multidimensional phenomena including conversations on the proficiency of remote viewing SUPPLY BASE Buy alternative supplies and gifts CLICK HERE!       |
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