News Notes
Zip Dobyns
Stories about asteroids or comets hitting earth have been popping up in numerous publications lately. The April 13, 1996 issue of Science News mentioned that a count of the craters on the far side of the Moon, the side facing away from Earth, suggests that it has about twice as many craters as had been estimated previously. If true, this suggests that Earth's vicinity may have lots more asteroids and comets than previously suspected, and they could be a major threat to earth.
The August 1996 issue of Earth magazine has an article on asteroid impacts and what we can do about them. Increasing numbers of astronomers are now scanning the sky, specifically looking for asteroids and/or comets which cross the Earth's orbit, and an increasing number are being found. If one is spotted in advance which is calculated to be on a collision course with the Earth, we could blow it up before it arrives, but unless the pieces are deflected, several pieces hitting Earth might do as much damage as a single bigger chunk. The recent crash of the pieces of Shoemaker-Levy into Jupiter showed such a scenario. A better defense would “nudge” the approaching object into an orbit which would miss the Earth.
There were several interesting articles in this August 1996 issue of Earth magazine, including one on the erupting volcanoes in New Guinea and a key to predicting earthquakes in some areas where faults “creep” (make small, frequent movements). I was especially intrigued by a research project in Hawaii which offers several potential benefits to coastal regions in tropical climates. The OTEC project brings cold water from the depths of the ocean and warm water from near the surface and uses them to generate electricity, to achieve cheap air conditioning without the chemicals which pollute the atmosphere, and to grow spectacular temperate climate crops which would normally not survive in the tropics. The primary researcher, John Craven, has been working on the project for about 20 years with minimal funding—about $300 million during the whole period in contrast to about $400 million per year which the U.S. has been spending on nuclear fusion research. Craven left the project in 1990 to provide information on it to less-developed countries. He is currently advising energy developers in Haiti, Malta, the Cape Verde Islands, and a group of South Pacific islands. The U.S. still runs a welfare state for the big companies who promote nuclear energy which makes more money for them.
Speaking of the big companies, Mother Jones magazine put out a special issue featuring the nicotine network and the Republicans, including Bob Dole. Most readers will already know that Jesse Helms, the senator from the tobacco growing state of North Carolina, is an ardent defender of tobacco. They may not be aware that several other top Republicans also “belong” to the tobacco lobby. Mother Jones writes about “The big three.” “House Majority Whip Tom DeLay uses a tobacco-funded operative from a firm called Ramhurst Corp. to run his political fundraising organization. Ramhurst has also hired the son of Majority Leader Dick Armey as a contractor. Last August, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was feted at a “Salute to Newt” banquet that netted $100,000 apiece from the chairmen of Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, and Brown & Williamson.” Big Tobacco's contributions to the Republican Party went from $546,224 in “soft” donations in 1993 to $2.4 million in 1995. Soft donations which are given to political parties or foundations, etc., are not counted in the totals which limit what can be accepted by individuals. Several of Robert Dole's past and present advisors, fund-raisers, and pollsters are lobbyists for tobacco companies. The article names their names and their connections, too many to list here, but anyone who wants details can buy the special issue or look for it in a library.
From time to time I have mentioned an investment newsletter which I get for its non-investment information that is never covered in the mainline press. For many months, Strategic Investment has been publishing claims that Vincent Foster was murdered rather than being a suicide. They have also claimed that Tim McVeigh was a minor player in the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995. The June 19, 1996 issue claims that two ordinary citizens, Glenn and Katy Wilburn of Oklahoma City who lost two grandchildren in the bombing, did their own investigation and they believe that the federal government had prior knowledge of the bombing plan but bungled their handling of it. The Wilburns have taped over 300 hours of eye witness testimony and believe that the FBI has refused to pursue and arrest as many as seven suspects seen near the crime scene with McVeigh. The Wilburns believe they know the identity of all the men involved, including an undercover agent who worked with McVeigh. The U.S. federal informant is said to be a German citizen named Andreas Strassmeir who penetrated the circle that organized the bombing and warned the authorities about the impending bomb blast. Others have pointed out that although the ATF had an office in the building which was destroyed, none of their operatives was there at the time, implying that they knew better than to be there. Three people from the circle that know the whole story are said to have already disappeared. IF this hits the major media and is substantiated, even the current uproar over the FBI files which found their way into the White House would be a minor flap.
In the midst of the turmoil and tragedy in the world, at least some of the major media are providing some encouraging stories. The June 24, 1996 issue of Time Magazine has a really fine article on Faith and Healing. They point out what anyone who reads The Mutable Dilemma already knows, that our emotions play a major role in our health. They describe a variety of research on prayer influencing health, including one recent project by Dr. Elizabeth Targ which tested the ability of a faith healer to help AIDS patients in another state. The study was a properly scientific double-blind one. The Time article comments that “western medicine has spent the past 100 years trying to rid itself of remnants of mysticism. Targ's own field, psychiatry, couldn't be more hostile to spirituality: Sigmund Freud dismissed religious mysticism as 'infantile helplessness' and 'regression to primary narcissism.'“
The article still pays lip-service to materialism, describing brain action as the cause of the positive healing effects of meditation and prayer. They don't discuss how the brain of a “healer” in a different state can affect the brain of an ill person who does not know that she is praying for him. The results of a small poll of 1004 adult Americans claim that 82% believe in the power of personal prayer, 77% agree that praying for someone else can help cure their illness, and 73% think that God sometimes intervenes to cure people who have a serious illness. Two personal stories of former agnostics who acquired faith are included; one of them an M.D. who was cured of a theoretically incurable cancer. An overview of the beliefs and work of Deepak Chopra is also included, calling him “Emperor of the Soul.” He is described as synthesizing four varieties of “new healers;” physicians who go beyond traditional medicine, spiritual teachers from the western and from the eastern belief systems, and psychic mediums.
The July/August issue of the Yoga Journal has an interview with Dr. Larry Dossey on prayer as good medicine. Naturally, in this magazine, the article goes beyond materialism. Dossey talks about “non-local” consciousness, the ability of the mind to transcend time and space. Dossey emphasizes the danger of even so-called alternative therapists putting all their faith in their specific “remedy,” whether an herb or acupuncture or homeopathy or whatever. Dossey says “Whether you're a doctor writing a prescription for a pill or an alternative and complementary therapist using homeopathy, your consciousness, your intentionality, your positive thoughts and emotions and prayers get into that therapeutic mix whether you know it or not.” P. 65 He speaks strongly against the denial of hope when doctors denounce spiritual faith as “false hope.” Hope heals and hopelessness kills.
One of the most encouraging bits of information in the article is Dossey's statement that the politicians have gotten the message that the bulk of the American population is in favor of alternative and complementary medicine, and they are trying to figure out ways to get ahead of the curve. One third of the medical schools in this country in the past two years have developed courses in alternative therapies, which is a dramatic turnaround. The budget of the Office of Alternative Medicine has tripled and Dossey says its current head is a very capable person. Even Newt Gingrich is said to be in favor of the new direction for medicine, and both of the Clintons are also positive. It is grassroots driven, and moving fast.
I can't remember which article said it, but someone pointed out that HMOs and insurance companies are managed by businessmen who are more focused on the bottom line than on philosophical materialism. Meditation and prayer cost a lot less than surgery.
The June 22, 1996 issue of Science News reports a study of open versus “closeted” homosexuals who were infected with the HIV virus. The men who took the most drastic steps to conceal their homosexuality received a diagnosis of AIDS from l.5 to 2 years sooner than the men who were relatively open. They also died markedly sooner. The researchers theorized that an inhibited personality style was responsible for the results. They took into account most of the other variables which might have produced these results: differences in age, disease progression at the start of the study, ensuing medical treatment, sexual practices, alcohol and illicit drug use, cigarette smoking, exercise, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and social support, and none of these accounted for the results. The researchers added that simply becoming more open about their homosexuality was not likely to be a solution and might intensify the problems since the basic personality would not be changed. Cole, the study director, suggested that psychological inhibition, characterized by sensitivity to social rejection, lies behind the tendency to develop a surplus of infectious ailments and to suffer more severe symptoms once an infection hits.
Astrologically, Cole's suggested inhibited personality is a lack of fire or blocked fire. Fire symbolizes our sense of self-confidence and self-esteem, which protects us from being overly vulnerable to the opinions of others. As has been said repeatedly, fire is the life essence, vitality, and recuperative power, a major part of the capacity for a healthy immune system.
Another article in the same issue of Science News reports the discovery of three “chemokines” secreted by the immune system which can suppress the HIV virus. Individuals who have had unprotected sex with HIV positive partners and hemophiliacs who have had transfusions of HIV infected blood but who did not become infected, have been found to have high levels of these chemokines—in my terms, enough fire to like themselves and their lives.
We will end with another of the wacky psychic publications which my friends send me from time to time. This was a new one to me from the Delphi Associates, issue number 27, volume 2. It gives predictions for 1996 as follows: Islamic terrorism will target national treasures in France like Versailles, the Louvre, the Arch De Triumph, Concorde Square and the Eiffel Tower. Seville and Barcelona in Spain will also be targeted, and Italy will have spectacular hostage situations and terrorist air disasters. This is supposed to be done by freedom fighters from Tunisia and Algeria. New York is also slated to be hit this year—either the Met, the Guggenheim, or the Museum of National History. Big earthquakes are predicted for northern California ((as usual. Zip’s comments in double parentheses. The April 18 quake previously predicted didn't happen. The May 20 one also didn't happen.)) The next time slot is late September through the second week in October. But the psychic author has postponed the magnitude 9, land-fracturing quakes to late 1997-8. Wyoming is bring prepared by God as a holy place. Mass migration is supposed to start flowing there and to Montana. ((A few people are leaving Montana to go to jail since the so-called Freemen gave up to the FBI.)) Spectacular UFO sightings are scheduled for N.Y., L.A., Reno, Chicago, Miami, and Seattle. They are to be filmed and shown on national media. ((Whoever this psychic is, he believes in the authenticity of the “alien autopsy” film, which most experts have pronounced fake, and he says more footage of a live alien is coming.)) A source from the Pleiades says that during the last 200 years about 100,000 humans have been taken to the Pleiades to be trained. They are to start coming back to earth this year to help restructure our crumbling civilization. According to the writer, the Great Pyramid dates the “Coming of the Kingdom of Heaven” to February 21, 1999.
((Note: at least one accurate prediction—heat waves and widespread fires including in Alaska. Also flooding predicted, which has happened but in different areas.))
Japan's economy is supposed to crumble ((it has been improving lately)) and record volcanoes are to erupt, the stock market to plunge in late September which will lead to the U.S. market also going down. But Japan is predicted to throw out U.S. troops and close U.S. bases and then their scientific innovation is to take off, including free energy devices.
The U.S. stock market was supposed to make a major readjustment of 500 points or more in late March or early April. ((It didn't happen.)) Then it is to plummet again in late October but rise to over 6000 in February 1997. Gold is to rise to $450 an ounce and briefly hit $500.
Yeltsin is supposed to be defeated and Zhirinovski gain power in Russia through the Duma rather than elections in June. ((In late June Yeltsin looks like winning over Zyuganov and Zhirinovski is nowhere.))
Between October 1996 and February 1997, the IRS is to cease to exist. The Federal Reserve is also to be dismantled or forced to take a new form in the same time frame. Pat Buchanan was predicted to win in New Hampshire and to win enough additional Republican primaries to get the nomination but then be cheated out of it by a mysterious group of wealthy men who would manage to give the nomination to Newt Gingrich. Bob Dole is supposed to be long gone. Newt's sister, Candace, is supposed to overdose on drugs and perhaps die. Bill Clinton's scandals are supposed to be minimal but war in Bosnia is to finish him as our troops are attacked by everyone, including the Bosnians. The last straw is to be a 2,000 point drop in the stock market around October 9, and Gingrich will be the next president.
There is more, but that is enough to show the accuracy of the Delphi Associates.
