The Best of
The NHNE News Brief
A Special Double-Length Edition

Friday, October 3, 1997

"A thought-provoking exploration
of the extraordinary times in which we live."

Millennium Countdown:
820 days until January 1, 2000

Total Subscribers:
This week: 868
Last week: 858

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CONTENTS:
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INTRODUCTION:

Blowing Our Own Horn

QUOTABLES:

The Blind Man at the Gate

NEWS WATCH:

Photon Belt to Arrive This Weekend!
Aliens a No-Show in Tel Aviv
Personal Survival Vehicle
Thieves Steal Sacred Dinosaur Footprints
Psychics Outnumber Priests in France
"Thou Shalt Not Profit from Nun Bun"
Small is Beautiful

THE LIGHTER SIDE:

Japanese Health Hazards
The Perils of Inappropriate Technology
Robo-Roach
Scientists Create Glowing Mice
Hard Rock Kills
Giant Vacuum Sucks Up Prairie Dogs
A Nest Egg for the Future
Praying Pays

COMMENTS FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE:

This is the Galactic Confederation

TRUTH WATCH:

Mutant Message Debunked
Nessie's Fake Photo
Bigfoot Film a Hoax
The Myth of the Photon Belt
Penthouse Magazine Falls for Fake "Alien"
Mayan Calendar Misconception
The Hundredth Monkey Revisited
Randi on Nostradamus

SCALLION WATCH:

Scallion & NHNE on TV

CROP CIRCLE WATCH:

Say It Ain't So!
Crop Circle Experts Denounce Hoaxing Claims

MILLENNIUM MADNESS:

Waiting for the Messiah
Witnesses Revise End-time Expectations
The Jerusalem Syndrome

PROPHECY WATCH:

Predictions: Past & Present
The End of the World as Reported By...

GREAT STORIES WE COULDN'T SQUEEZE IN:

Important Stories with Followups
Other Great Stories

NHNE STAFF
ABOUT NHNE & HOW TO JOIN US

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INTRODUCTION:
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BLOWING OUR OWN HORN

This special two-part edition of the NHNE News Brief has been designed to blow our own horn a little. It contains a sampling of some of the best stories we have published in the three year, 79 issue history of our popular News Brief.

Our News Brief is only one aspect of our work. We've also published a host of Special Reports on such topics as The Great Pyramid & the Sphinx, Gordon-Michael Scallion, A Course in Miracles, the Pathwork Guide Lectures of Eva Pierrakos, Discernment & the Spiritual Path, Jean Houston, Remote Viewing, Global Upheaval, and Heaven's Gate, conducted exclusive interviews with Colin Andrews (CROP CIRCLES PHENOMENA RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL), Joyce Murphy (BEYOND BOUNDARIES), and Ted Daniels (MILLENNIUM WATCH INSTITUTE), inaugurated the coveted NHNE Toby Award -- and handed them out to Colin Andrews, Michael Lindemann (CNI NEWS) and Barrie M. Schwortz (Shroud of Turin website), and published six issues of Wind & Wings. We've also produced a 90-minute video on NHNE that featured a tour of Sedona, a sacred hike, and a three-part TV Special on Gordon Michael Scallion, including extra footage not shown on air; revised and updated our popular Earth Changes Composite Map; fired off 22 Fast-breaking News Flashes, and been featured on two television specials (one in the United States, and one in Europe).

In other words, we've been busy!

If you would like to keep it coming (and keep us going), you can support our work by switching your long-distance phone service -- a very small price to pay considering our long-distance rates are cheaper than AT&T, SPRINT, and MCI (write us at "nhneexcel@sedona.net" for information). If you are unable, or unwilling to switch your long-distance phone service to support NHNE, then how about a donation? Checks or money orders can be send to:

NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ, USA 86339

We also accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express. Credit card donations can be called in to our toll-free number 1 (888) 293-1833, or sent to us via email "nhne@nhne.com."

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QUOTABLES:
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THE BLIND MAN AT THE GATE

Long ago, I remember a blind beggar sat each day beside the gate on the east side of the wall of the city of Jerusalem. For years he made that place his daily residence.

So clever were his ears that he had learned the sounds of those who walked along the way. He could detect the man of wealth by his step, by the sound of his voice, even by the sound made by the texture of his clothes and shoes. By cleverness of the ear he could discern the Roman from the Jew; in fact, he could identify, with little difficulty, a man of almost any nation.

By sound alone did he discern what he considered to be the worth of men. Those who dragged their feet or who let their sandals flap too much as they walked; those whose clothes were of insufficient crispness or weight (indicative of lack of wealth), he ignored, and did not even bother to raise his cup and ask for alms.

One day footsteps were heard along the hillside and upward to the gate -- familiar footsteps, but of little importance to the beggar. By the sound of their feet and the timbre of their voices he recognized the walk of two fishermen from Galilee.

Beside the fishermen as they passed by was the voice of a man he recognized as being from Nazareth. If I might know the beggar's thoughts at the time, they were, "Ah, a man from Nazareth. Perhaps he has a family of the class of workers or carpenters, perhaps a maker of roofs. These fisherman, this laborer, would have no coins for me. Better to save my voice than to waste on them a forlorn hope of alms." These were the words within his mind and heart.

The fishermen were Simon and Andrew. The Nazarene was a man called Jesus.

The beggar remained blind throughout his years; the slyness of his ear had stolen away the very opportunity that his eyes might see. Had his heart been prepared in love, he should at least have spoken. Or had he even asked, unknowing, sight might have been received. Yet, so it is that often men allow the greatest opportunity to walk by them. In blindness, they hear its footsteps, but they judge its cadence by the ear of wisdom and fascination in things of the world.

Who was the blind man at the gate? I am. It has taken me nigh two millennia to begin to hear anew. And still, my eyes do not see...

---From a psychic reading given by Ray Stanford

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NEWS WATCH:
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PHOTON BELT TO ARRIVE THIS WEEKEND!
(News Brief 40, Friday, December 13, 1996)

Break out your raincoat, cans of beans, spare batteries, and TV GUIDE -- the Photon Belt arrives this weekend, according to Sheldon Nidle who appeared this week on the Art Bell Show. Nidle warns that during the three days of darkness that accompany the event, it will be important to stay indoors. He cautions not to look outside or open the door for any reason, no matter what you hear. To prepare for the event, Nidle recommends having an emergency supply of water on hand and covering the windows. In a related story, the FARSIGHT INSTITUTE website has been promising for weeks that "we are unraveling an amazing story through our remote viewing. On Sunday, December 8, 1996, we will introduce you to a group of beings that are making plans to admit humanity into the Galactic Federation." Apparently nothing dramatic happened on December 8, and the website has no other new information about the Galactic Federation. In NEWS BRIEF 37, NHNE investigated accounts of the approaching Null Zone and Photon Belt and determined that there was no scientific basis for such claims. (JG)

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ALIENS A NO-SHOW IN TEL AVIV
(News Brief 44, Friday, January 10, 1997)

Thousands of Israelis crowded Tel Aviv beaches January 6, to watch for extraterrestrials whose arrival was predicted by Israeli psychic Helinor Harar. As the theme music from the TV show, "The X-Files" resounded from loudspeakers, she shouted: "Israel will be the center for UFO landings." TV crews had set up cameras in hopes of filming the visitors, but the only object Harar spotted was a plane about to land at Ben-Gurion airport. Harar, who predicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upset election victory, later told ISRAEL TV she had a new date for a landing -- Valentine's Day. She also ventured another prediction: "Until [alien spacecraft] fly over Hebron, there will be no agreement," in reference to a troop pullout from the West Bank city currently being negotiated by Israel and the Palestinians. (JG)

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PERSONAL SURVIVAL VEHICLE
(News Brief 28, Friday, September 13, 1996)

One of the potential implications of crustal slippage on a global scale is a wall of water 300 feet high sweeping continents at velocities exceeding 100 mph. It would carry away every living thing on the surface and solid objects weighing less than several hundred thousand tons. How can anyone survive such a disaster? In ancient times, individuals built wooden flotation capsules (arks). "POLESHIFT.COM" offers the modern counterpart -- Personal Survival Vehicles (PSV's) that are capable of riding out "The Wave" and providing life support for an extended period of time. Each PSV would carriy from 2 to 5 passengers, food for up to one year, tools, instruments, and portable computers. Each PSV might also carry with it the sum total of the scientific, technical and literary knowledge of mankind. A seminar to explore the feasibility of such devices is scheduled for November 30 thru December 1 at the HYATT REGENCY O'HARE in Chicago. For more information, check out their website: http://www.poleshift.com/ (JG)

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THIEVES STEAL SACRED DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS
(News Brief 33, Friday, October 25, 1996)

The only known set of fossilized Stegosaurus footprints have been stolen from the Outback, angering aborigines. Aborigines believe the prints belong to a mythical creature from their "Dream Time" and were part of a "song line" of sites used in their ceremonies, said anthropologist Patrick Sullivan. "It's a very sacred thing to me," said Joseph Roe, aboriginal custodian of the footprints for the past eight years near Broome, on the country's remote northwest coast. "Whoever has taken them has placed themselves in great danger," he said. "They might get sick... or I might get sick." The offense is punishable by death under aboriginal law. "If [the thief] comes to face me," he said, "I will put a spear through him." It appeared power tools were used to remove the prints from the rock. The stegosaurus was ten-foot-tall herbivore with a double row of spikes along its back that lived 130 million years ago. (JG)

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PSYCHICS OUTNUMBER PRIESTS IN FRANCE
(News Brief 17, Friday, June 21, 1996)

France's self-image as both the home of rational thought and "eldest daughter of the Roman Catholic Church" has been severely dented by statistics showing the country now contains more psychics and clairvoyants than priests. Last year's tax returns show that more than 50,000 people made money from faith-healing, predicting the future, astrology or similar practices, while 35,000 were men of the cloth. Almost one-fifth of the French population (10 million), have consulted a clairvoyant and the paranormal business has an estimated annual turnover in France of more than 1 billion francs. (JG)

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"THOU SHALT NOT PROFIT FROM NUN BUN"
(News Brief 63, Friday, May 30, 1997)

In a personally-signed letter from Calcutta, India, Mother Teresa recently asked BONGO JAVA to stop merchandising its now-famous "nun bun." The cinnamon bun bearing the likeness of Mother Teresa was discovered in October of last year in the Nashville coffeehouse (News Brief 58). A flood of 'Nun Bun" merchandising quickly followed. "My legal counsel," she writes "has written asking you to stop, and now I am personally asking you to stop." The bun is on display at the coffeehouse, which also sells T-shirts, prayer cards and mugs with the bun's image. Coffeehouse owner Bob Bernstein said he has no plans to stop marketing the nun bun; his only concession was to remove Mother Teresa's name from the merchandise. Said Bernstein: "If it were sacrilege, we'd stop. But it's not. It makes people laugh; it makes people think about ultimate things. You know, if it is her image on the bun, then it really is a miracle." (JG)

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SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
(News Brief 8 , May 31,1995)

An explosion in numbers is not the only thing worrying scientists who study humanity's effect on planet Earth. They are also starting to worry about an explosion in size. According to Thomas Samaras, the author of a new book called "The Truth About Your Height," if humans continue to grow at the remarkable rate they have in the past century -- averaging an inch a generation -- there will be dire ecological consequences. If the US population grows a projected 20 percent taller in the next 150 years, Samaras predicts: Energy demands (on everything from refrigerators to houses) will increase by 50%; An additional 180 million acres will be needed to grow food; Three billion tons of carbon dioxide will be released into the atmosphere. Samaras suggests that we might be able to avoid these dire consequences by turning our "tall is beautiful" culture into one that celebrates shorter, more compact bodies. He also suggests putting children (and adults for that matter) on a REAL diet for a small planet -- a low fat, reduced calorie diet designed to keep growth in check. According to Samaras, the ideal human being should be about five feet five, 110 pounds. Samaras himself is a towering five foot ten, five inches taller than his ideal. (DS)

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THE LIGHTER SIDE:
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JAPANESE HEALTH HAZARDS
(News Brief 7 , March 13,1995)

Polite Japanese risk death by bowing. At least 24 Tokyo residents have died in the last five years while bowing to each other. Five fell under trains after head butts, seven died in curbside and escalator collisions, and many more have been injured in revolving doors. As a result, the city has had to introduce safe "Greetings Zones." (DS)

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THE PERILS OF INAPPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
(News Brief 22, Friday, July 26, 1996)

The Arizona Highway Patrol came upon a pile of smoldering metal embedded high on a cliff above a curve in a deserted highway. The wreckage resembled the site of an airplane crash, but further examination revealed it was the remains of a 1967 Chevy Imapla. It seems that someone had gotten hold of a JATO unit (Jet Assisted Take Off), a solid-fuel rocket used to provide an extra boost to heavy military transport planes taking off from short runways. The person had bolted the unit to his car and driven out to a long, straight stretch of road in the desert. A section of scorched and melted asphalt about four miles from the crash site marked the spot where the operator ignited the JATO. The unit would have reached maximum thrust within 5 seconds, powering the Chevy to a speed in excess of 350 mph and continuing at full power for an additional 20-25 seconds. Solid-fuel rockets don't have an 'off' switch -- once started, they burn at full thrust until all the fuel is gone. The automobile remained on the straight highway for about 2.5 miles (15-20 seconds) until it reached a banked curve. The driver applied and completely melted the brakes, leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface and blowing the tires. At this point the vehicle became airborne for an additional 1.4 miles before impacting the cliff at a height of 125 feet, leaving a blackened crater three feet deep. Someone evidently watched too many Road Runner cartoons... or perhaps not enough. (JG)

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ROBO-ROACH
(News Brief 46, Friday, January 31, 1997)

Researchers at TOKYO UNIVERSITY have succeeded in surgically implanting a cockroach with a micro-robotic backpack which allows them to control its movements. You may ask what possible value a radio-controlled cockroach may have. "Insects can do many things that people can't," explains Assistant Professor Isao Shimoyama, head of the Bio-Robot Research Team. "The potential applications of this work for mankind could be immense." Within a few years, Shimoyama says, electronically-controlled insects carrying mini-cameras or other sensory devices could be used for a variety of sensitive missions -- like crawling through earthquake rubble to search for victims, or slipping under doors on espionage surveillance. But not just any roach will do -- researchers use only the American cockroach (Perplaneta Americana) because it is bigger and hardier than most other species. They equip these roaches with hi-tech backpacks containing tiny microprocessor and electrode sets and with a remote control, send signals to the backpacks. The pulsing electrodes make the roach turn left or right, scamper forward or spring backward. The placement of the electrodes is still very inexact and sometimes the roaches zig when they are supposed to zag or just run around aimlessly. And technology aside, Robo-roach is still, after all, a roach. "They are not very nice insects," confesses Swiss researcher Raphael Holzer, part of the TOKYO UNIVERSITY team. "But they look nicer when you remove their wings and put a little circuit on their backs." The Japanese government has deemed the research credible enough to award Shimoyama's team $5 million to continue the work. (JG)

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SCIENTISTS CREATE GLOWING MICE
(News Brief 66, Friday, June 20, 1997)

Glowing green mice were created recently in a laboratory at OSAKA UNIVERSITY after Japanese geneticists injected mouse embryos with the DNA of bioluminescent North American jellyfish. Under ultraviolet light, their bodies appear a gleaming green. "We have developed the technology to make specific cells glow as markers, so the effects of research can be observed without killing the animals and opening them up," said Dr. Shuichi Yamada, a member of the team. Yamada said the green mice will be able to pass on their unique characteristic to offspring for five generations. At the moment, the researchers say they have no intention of marketing the mice as glow-in-the-dark pets. (JG)

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HARD ROCK KILLS
(News Brief 77, Friday, September 12, 1997)

David Merrell, a high school student in Suffolk, Virginia won first prize in the state science fair for his science project to determine the effect of music on lab mice. He created a maze that mice took about 10 minutes to negotiate. Then Merrell played classical music to one group of mice and rock music to another for 10 hours a day. After three weeks, the mice exposed to the classical music made it though the maze in 90 seconds. The rock music group took 30 minutes. Merrell added, "I had to cut my science project short because all the hard rock mice killed each other. None of the classical music mice did that." (JG)

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GIANT VACUUM SUCKS UP PRAIRIE DOGS
(News Brief 29, Friday, September 27, 1996)

In a triumph of rodent-control technology, Gay Balfour has invented a machine that vacuums up prairie dogs. Called "Dog-Gone," this Rube Goldberg-like contraption was put together based upon details that he received in a dream. The machine is essentially a truck previously used for cleaning out sewer lines and manholes coupled with four-inch hoses from a local industrial supply store. The operation is simple: stick the working end of the hose down a chuck hole and fire up the vacuum cleaner. The furry little critters are sucked up at 300 mph, hurtle through the plastic hose, and shoot out like cannonballs into a foam rubber-lined tank on the back of the truck -- a little dazed at first, but scampering around almost immediately. Prairie dogs eat crops, damage irrigation systems, and their holes are a hazard to livestock and farm machinery. Depending on the job, Balfour relocates, exterminates, or sells the prairie dogs for pets. He has also shipped them as feed to federal breeding programs of endangered species such as the black-footed ferret which preys on prairie dogs for food. Animal rights activists are ambivalent about Dog-Gone -- they are pleased Balfour's method captures prairie dogs alive, but would prefer that extermination was not an option. (JG)

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A NEST EGG FOR THE FUTURE
(News Brief 33, Friday, October 25, 1996)

Now for those who would rather not start life at the bottom again, PROMETH, an investment company based in Liechtenstein, has a special reincarnation investment program whereby you can leave a nest egg (minimum $130,000) for your next incarnation. You have to claim your money within 23 years of your death, and, of course, know the secret passwords. (JG)

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PRAYING PAYS
(News Brief 33, Friday, October 25, 1996)

During a trip to Stockholm, a Spanish businessman and devout Roman Catholic stopped to pray at a church, which was empty except for a coffin. Eduardo Sierra knelt down and prayed for the deceased for 20 minutes, and then signed the condolence book after he saw a note saying those who prayed for the dead man should enter their name and address. He would be the only person to do so. Several weeks later he got a call from the Swedish capital, informing him he was a millionaire. It seems that Jens Svenson, the man he had prayed for, was a 73-year-old real estate dealer with no close relatives. He had specified in his will that "whoever prays for my soul gets all my belongings." (JG)

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COMMENTS FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE:
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(From News Brief 38, Friday, November 29, 1996)

We receive information from all kinds of folks, dealing with all kinds of topics. Some of the news and comments we receive are supportive and inspiring, some are abrasive and irritating, and some are, well, from somewhere else...

THIS IS THE GALACTIC CONFEDERATION
(Excerpts from a New Age Newsletter)

This is the Galactic Confederation. We are here to announce the opening of a new dimensional portal which will take place on November eleventh this year (1996). Planet Earth is approaching initial phase of its mutation into a body of light. In winter 1995/96 it began to change its position from the old into the new ley line grid system. As a result of this planetary activation, the following things will be achieved: Galactic light code 11:11:83 will be anchored. This light code will align etheric planetary axis and grid system with the Galactic central sun. Thus planet Earth will begin its Ascension into fifth dimensional Oneness. New planetary grid system will be sealed. Thus its vibration will be high enough to accept the heightened energies of the Photon Belt, which will arrive immediately after this planetary activation and will begin to mutate planet Earth into its light body.

Mass landings are now set to occur during a 38-day window that will last from November 10, till December 17, 1996. The order to start the landings will come from the Archangel in charge, Lord Zandriel. After the initial calming music is played, there will be a display of crossed shooting stars in the heavens and one's guardian angels will appear in your minds to reassure you of what is about to happen. The landings will happen very quickly. 15.5 million ships descending and landing will be a spectacular sight, especially when it occurs in about four hours. Everyone is assigned a counselor, and everyone will be told to prepare for shift to full-consciousness. Many people could still fall into denial and become hysterical, but for the most part, people will know that a profound event is unfolding and will just wait and see what develops.

The Hale-Bopp Comet will be arriving in the Earth's atmosphere in April 1997 and its gases will produce toxic air pollution that will effect many people. It has been on this route for many eons of light years. It is very powerful. Its intelligence comes from its energy source. You can liken it to an energy that has gone wild in the cosmos that will cause some to perish, if there is a direct hit on Earth. Its function is not intended to hurt Earth, but Earth is in its path. We on this side are working to deter it from this path. Its course will be known more directly within a few months of your Earth time.

The U.S. government will agree to allow spaceships and beings to land here on Earth for all to see openly within six months. All events are part of the Universal Master Plan. Many lightworkers are needed to keep the focus on Love and Divine Light for this master plan to work for the good of the Universal Consciousness.

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TRUTH WATCH:
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MUTANT MESSAGE DEBUNKED
By David Sunfellow
(News Brief 14, Friday, May 31, 1996)

You may remember reading about Marlo Morgan's magical adventures in her best-selling book, MUTANT MESSAGE DOWN UNDER. Morgan, a white, middle-aged American woman, claimed that she was working in Australia as a part-time holistic health-care worker when she received an invitation to attend a ceremony with Aborigine elders who wished to honor her work on behalf of wayward Aboriginal youth. The next thing she knew, she found herself on a 4-month, 1400-mile walkabout with a mystical tribe of miracle-working Aborigines.

While the story itself was fascinating enough to create a rabid following in many New Age circles (and make Morgan a lot of money selling books, appearing on television shows, speaking on the New Age lecture circuit, and pondering multi-million dollar movie deals), there were simply too many holes in her story to keep her ship afloat. She tried (see News Brief 1, October 22, 1994, for details), but a growing chorus of outraged Aboriginal elders, along with a host of tenacious reporters, publishers and government officials finally prevailed. In an emotional hour-long phone call, Morgan admitted that her work was a complete fiction and apologized to group of eight Aboriginal elders. The elders said they would not ask for compensation from Morgan, but they did seek to stop her story from doing further cultural damage by its untruths. There are also reports that a group of Aboriginal elders met with officials from UNITED ARTISTS in an attempt to stop the Hollywood studio from turning Morgan's book into a movie.

No news on what the studio decided to do, but Morgan's book is alive and well. To date, the book has made over $1.8 million and has been published in 11 different languages.

[For a longer report on the Mutant Message controversy, see "Mutant Message" in News Brief 1, Saturday, October 22, 1994]

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NESSIE'S FAKE PHOTO
(News Brief 1, Saturday, October 22, 1994)

Remember that legendary picture of the Loch Ness Monster that surfaced in 1934 -- the one with the long snake-like head poking out of the water? Well, it looks like it is a fake. Or so says the September 1994 issue of OMNI MAGAZINE.

According to OMNI, The Loch Ness Project in Scotland recently received a detailed confession that says the famous Loch Ness Monster photo is, after all, a forgery. The confession comes from Christian Spurling, who admitted his role in the hoax before his death last November at the age of 90. OMNI reports that Spurling said he built the model for the famous photograph using the keel of a toy submarine on which he had fitted a sea serpent's neck and head made of plastic wood. Spurling claimed the hoax was master-minded by his stepfather, Marmaduke Wetherell, a filmmaker hired by the Daily Mail to hunt for Nessie in 1933.

Spurling, Wetherell, and two others that Spurling said were involved in the hoax, are all deceased now. (DS)

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BIGFOOT FILM A HOAX
(News Brief 15, Friday, June 7, 1996)

In 1967, a man named Roger Patterson claimed he had filmed a Bigfoot. Patterson's film created a sensation when it first came out and went on to become the most famous and well-known Bigfoot films of all time. Numerous experts, unable to explain the creature's peculiar gait, concluded it probably wasn't a human in a costume. Now, however, a person has come forward who claims to have helped fabricate the film.

Harry Kemball, Director and Screenwriter at Golden Eagle Productions told THE 'X' CHRONICLES researchers that he was at the CanWest 16 mm Film Editing Room in 1967 when Roger Patterson and his friends fabricated the hoax.

One of Kemball's extra-tall buddies played the role of Bigfoot. According to Kemball, they all laughed and joked about the rental of the gorilla costume and the construction of the big feet. Patterson and his crew chose muddy ground so that the footprints would expand.

The film crew shot the scene on 16mm Kodak EF High Speed Color Positive film stock and then force-processed the film in so-called "Hot Soup" to enlarge the film grain to add to the sense of mystery. A shaky camera zoom with the right amount of "out of focus" completed the deception.

Kemball states, "This creature does not and never has existed." The 'X' CHRONICLES is in possession of a signed statement by Kemball attesting to the facts stated here.

This development comes at a time when interest in Bigfoot is at an all-time high. Visits to the three main World Wide Web Bigfoot sites have increased dramatically. One of the big three, THE BIGFOOT RESEARCH PROJECT, can be reached at: http://www.teleport .com/~tbrp. Their hotline (1-800-BIG-FOOT) rings constantly and, although it's accessible only in the Bigfoot-prone Northwest, the four-person project staff fielded about 4,000 calls last month alone. (JG)

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THE MYTH OF THE PHOTON BELT
By James Gregory
(News Brief 37, Friday, November 22, 1996)

The Photon Belt is reportedly a band of intense photon (light) energy that is on a collision course with Earth. When it gets here, things are predicted to change dramatically. There are reports of five days of darkness, no more electricity, mass UFO landings, photon energy conversion devices, psychic abilities for all humans, transformation of our human bodies, and much more. The Photon Belt has been predicted to arrive by the end of 1996.

The legend of the Photon Belt began with a satellite in 1961 detecting what came to be known as the Photon Belt encircling the Pleiades star cluster. Our Sun was said to orbit this system every 24,000 years, during which time we alternated between the dark and the light of the PHOTON BELT. It seems when our planet enters the light of the PHOTON BELT, all beings on Earth are be transformed. The Photon Belt is also supposed to be preceded by an electromagnetic null zone completely lacking in electromagnetic fields.

The Photon Belt was first mentioned in an article published in 1981 in the AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL UFO RESEARCH SOCIETY MAGAZINE. According to people at the research society, who are somewhat embarrassed to discuss the matter, the article was co-authored by a young university student and a woman who tended to write sensational articles.

There is no evidence of a satellite in 1961 carrying the instruments capable of detecting something like a Photon Belt around Pleiades. Nor have subsequent satellites and probes, with their more sophisticated instrumentation, ever detected anything of that nature. One would think that as a minimum, the null zone should have certainly shown up in sky surveys of cosmic microwaves carried on in recent years. This background radiation is remarkable because it is so evenly distributed over the entire sky. There are no gaps. The electromagnetic null zone does not exist.

The Pleiades is an open cluster of approximately 100 stars in the constellation of Taurus the Bull with an average age estimated at 78 million years. These are very young stars, much younger than our own Sun, which is estimated to be 5 billion years old. They have not yet moved away from the interstellar gas cloud, or nebula, from which they formed. Remnants of this nebula can readily be seen in photographs of the group. It has been suggested that this misty nebulosity, shining with the light of the stars within, is what has given rise to the myth of the Photon Belt.

Our Sun is not part of the Pleiades system and neither does it orbit the Pleiades. The Pleiades are approximately 408 light years from our solar system. A quick calculation shows that if our Sun were in this orbit, then its orbital velocity would have to be over 32,000 Km/sec. If this were true, this velocity would be apparent, as the constellations would change quite dramatically in the course of a single lifetime.

It is the conclusion of this reporter that the concept of the Photon Belt has absolutely no basis in fact. This mythology seems to be based on a heady mixture of pseudoscience, channeled messages from alleged space entities, biblical prophecy, ignorance, and a general disregard for the scientific method.

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PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE FALLS FOR FAKE "ALIEN"
(News Brief 24, Friday, August 16, 1996)

This month's PENTHOUSE MAGAZINE features something extra, in addition to the usual cleavage. Bold red letters on the cover promise the "World's First Authentic Photographs" of a real live alien. According a report from UPI, PENTHOUSE's flamboyant publisher Bob Guccione may have paid as much as $200,000 for the photos.

Alongside his proclivity for nude women, Guccione harbors an outspoken and obviously genuine interest in the prospect of human-alien contact. He seems convinced of a government sponsored UFO coverup. He invested considerable resources into "PROJECT OPEN BOOK," the short-lived UFO research effort undertaken by his "other" magazine, OMNI. And there can be no doubt that, in publishing "The Alien" in the latest PENTHOUSE, he thought he was on to the story of the decade, if not the millennium.

The text accompanying the PENTHOUSE alien photos shows just how strongly Guccione believed his own story. The following excerpts are from the article written by Keith Ferrell:

"Bob Guccione doesn't give up. And he doesn't get scared. 'The three extraordinary images published here may well be the most important pictures in the history of photography,' says Guccione, the editor and publisher of Penthouse. 'A photograph of Jesus Christ might be a comparable story to the first real photo of an extraterrestrial,' Guccione says. 'Otherwise, there's nothing that compares to this.'"

Unfortunately for Bob, filmmaker Paul Davids, executive producer and co-author of the made-for-TV film "Roswell," has recently disclosed that the alien in the photos is one of the models made for his film -- which now resides in the INTERNATIONAL UFO MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTER in Roswell, New Mexico. "There's not even one chance in a billion-trillion," he said, "that it's anything other than the prop we loaned to the Roswell museum. Every detail matches."

To add another layer to the drama, a few days after the world-wide television premier of Ray Santilli's "Alien Autopsy" last summer, a tabloid newspaper in Hong Kong printed photographs of what it claimed was a "real" alien. These photos quickly spread across the Internet. Although they looked more "real" than Santilli's alien, it has now been definitely established that they do NOT represent a genuine alien. They too appear to be shots of the "Roswell" movie prop.

You can compare the PENTHOUSE "alien" with photos of Paul Davids' movie model by visiting the INTERNATIONAL UFO MUSEUM Web address: http://web2.airmail.net/yogi/museum.html. Allowing for differences in camera angle and lighting, it is easy to see that they are one and the same. (JG)

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MAYAN CALENDAR MISCONCEPTION
(News Brief 48, Friday, February 14, 1997)

Some New Age Millennialists are claiming that the world will end in 2012 because they are under the impression that the ancient Mayan Calendar signals the end to the fourth creation of the cosmos at that time. What they don't realize is that archeologists have now deciphered Mayan texts showing that on the crucial date, the universal order will be reinforced, not destroyed. According to Linda Schele, a Mayan expert at the UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS at Austin, the Mayan calendar actually extends well into the 50th Century. (JG)

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THE HUNDREDTH MONKEY REVISITED
(News Brief 56, Friday, April 11, 1997)

Most people are familiar with the story of "The Hundredth Monkey." Lyall Watson first told it in "Lifetide," but its most widely-known version is in the book "The Hundredth Monkey" by Ken Keyes. For those of you who don't know it, the story goes like this: The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. One of their favorite foods was the sweet potato. In 1952, an 18-month-old female named Imo on the island of Koshima found she could solve the annoying problem of sand on her potatoes by washing them before eating them. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way from her and they taught their mothers. Before the eyes of the scientists, this cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys, and by 1958 all of the young monkeys on the island had learned to wash sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. In the autumn of 1958, a critical number of Koshima monkeys, estimated at 99, were washing sweet potatoes, and on the day that the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes, something startling took place -- the habit of washing sweet potatoes jumped over the sea and instantly colonies of monkeys on other islands and on the mainland began washing their sweet potatoes as well!

Elaine Myers, a writer living in Washington State and a regular contributer to IN CONTEXT MAGAZINE, found the premise -- that an ideological breakthrough occurs when enough individuals in a population adopt a new idea or behavior allowing this new awareness to be communicated directly from mind to mind without the connection of external experience -- to be very appealing and believable. The concept of Jung's collective unconscious, and the biologists' morphogenetic fields offer parallel stories that help strengthen this strand of our imaginations. The more widespread these fields are, the greater their influence on the physical level of reality. We sometimes refer to the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon (HMP) when we need supporting evidence of the possibility of an optimistic scenario for the future, such as a future based on peace instead of war -- if enough of us would just think the right thoughts.

However, when Myers went back to the original research cited by Watson, she did not find the same story that he tells. Where he claims to have had to improvise details, the reports are quite precise, and they do not support the "ideological breakthrough" phenomenon. At first, she was disappointed; but as she delved deeper into the research, she found a growing appreciation for the lessons the real story of these monkeys have for us.

Up until 1958, Keyes' description follows the research quite closely, although not all the young monkeys in the troop learned to wash the potatoes. By March, 1958, 15 of the 19 young monkeys (aged two to seven years) and 2 of the 11 adults were washing sweet potatoes. Up to this time, the propagation of the innovative behavior was on an individual basis, along family lines and playmate relationships. Most of the young monkeys began to wash their potatoes when they were one to two and a half years old. Males older than 4 years, who had little contact with the young monkeys, did not acquire the behavior.

By 1959, sweet potato washing was no longer a new behavior to the group. Monkeys that had acquired the behavior as juveniles were growing up and having their own babies. This new generation of babies learned sweet potato washing behavior through the normal cultural pattern of the young imitating their mothers. By January 1962, almost all the monkeys on Koshima Island, except those adults born before 1950, were observed to be washing their sweet potatoes. If an individual monkey had not started to wash sweet potatoes by the time he was an adult, he was unlikely to learn it later, regardless of how widespread it became among the younger members of the troop.

In the original reports, there was no mention of the group passing a critical threshold that resulted in the idea being imparted to the entire troop. The older monkeys remained steadfastly ignorant of the new behavior. Likewise, there was no mention of widespread sweet potato washing in other monkey troops. There was mention of occasional sweet potato washing by individual monkeys in other troops, but Myers thinks there are other simpler explanations for such occurrences -- if there was an Imo in one troop, there could be Imo-like monkeys in other troops.

Instead of an example of the spontaneous transmission of ideas, Myers thinks the story of the Japanese monkeys is a good example of the propagation of a paradigm shift, as in Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." Truly innovative points of view tend to come from those on the edge between youth and adulthood. The older generation continues to cling to the world view they grew up with. The new idea does not become universal until the older generation withdraws from power, and a younger generation matures within the new point of view. It is also an example of the way that simple innovations can lead to extensive cultural change. By using water in connection with their food, the Koshima monkeys began to exploit the sea as a resource in their environment. Sweet potato washing led to wheat washing, and then to bathing behavior and swimming, and the utilization of sea plants and animals for food.

What does this say about morphogenetic fields and the collective unconscious? Not very much. There may well be a "critical mass" required to shift a new behavior from a fragile personal idiosyncrasy to being a well-established alternative, but creating a new alternative does not automatically displace older alternatives. It just provides more choices. What the research does suggest, however, is that positive ideas are not sufficient by themselves to change the world. We still need direct communication between individuals, we need to translate our ideas into action, and we need to recognize the freedom of choice of those who choose alternatives different from our own. (JG)

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RANDI ON NOSTRADAMUS
(News Brief 58, Friday, April 25, 1997)

One of the most renowned and still-popular champions of disaster is Nostradamus, born Michel de Notredame in Provence, France in 1503. He took on the Latin version of his name when he published his major opus, "Centuries," which consisted of almost 1,000 quatrains (four-line verses of poetry). According to debunker, skeptic, and sometimes magician, James Randi, Nostradamus' writing was social and political commentary on the events of his time, rather than obscure prophecies about the future.

Before dissecting one of Nostradamus' more popular quatrains, it is important to have a little background on the times in which he lived. It was the era of the Holy Inquisition, when the Catholic Church was burning heretics. While Nostradamus was nominally Catholic, it was by force -- only two generations earlier, the Notredames had been the Gassonets, a Jewish family that had converted to Catholicism under pressure. Letters recently discovered in the BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE in Paris reveal that Nostradamus was actually a closet Luthern, something that would have had him burned at the stake if he had been found out, thus the need to disguise the biting satire of his commentaries.

Randi chose to analyze Quatrain 51 of Century II, one of the Top Ten presented as positive evidence of Nostradamus' prophetic ability. Translated literally from the original French, it reads:

"The blood of the just shall be wanting in London,
Burnt by thunderbolts of twenty three the Six(es),
The ancient dame shall fall from (her) high place,
Of the same sect many shall be killed."

Nostrademians believe that the seer was writing about the Great Fire of London, 111 years in the future. They point to "three the six" as referring to the date of the event, 1666. They also say that the "ancient dame" was St. Paul's Cathedral, known as the "Old Lady," which was destroyed in the fire along with many other churches, thus validating the line, "of the same sect many shall be killed." Other fans postulate that "Old Lady" referred to a statue of the Virgin Mary standing atop the church which toppled during the fire.

Randi counters that St. Paul's Cathedral was never called the "Old Lady," and a detailed illustration of the pre-fire cathedral shows that it had no external statues. Instead, Randi claims that the "Old Lady" refers to Catholic Queen Mary 1, who began executing prominent Protestant heretics in London on January 23, 1555. 300 of these unfortunates were burned at the stake in groups of six, and out of "mercy," bags of gunpowder were tied to their bodies to hasten their passage. Mary died three years later, sickly and quite insane. Randi claims the following is a more accurate translation of the quatrain:

"The blood of the innocent will be an error in London,
Burned by thunderbolts, of twenty-three, the six(es),
The senile lady will lose her high position,
Many more of the same sect will be slain."

One modern "interpreter" of Nostradamus is John Hogue, who published his book, "Nostradamus and the Millennium" in 1987. In the first edition, Hogue claimed that Nostradamus specified four antichrists, one being the Ayatolah Khomeini who would lead an invading army of one million all the way to Egypt. By the time Hogue had released his fourth printing of his book in 1991, references to Khomeini, who had since died without fulfilling Nostrademus' mission for him, had been replaced by Saddam Hussein. All four editions, as Randi gleefully points out, show a portrait of Nostradamus holding a telescope, an instrument that in his lifetime had yet been invented. (JG)

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SCALLION WATCH:
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SCALLION & NHNE ON TV
By James Gregory
(News Brief 31, Friday, October 11, 1996)

Wednesday, October 2nd was a red letter day for NewHeavenNewEarth. On that day, a TV crew came to Sedona from Austin, Texas for the sole purpose of interviewing NHNE Founder and Publisher, David Sunfellow. Sunfellow was interviewed as part of a special report on Gordon-Michael Scallion for KHOU-TV in Houston, Texas, a subsidiary of BELO CORPORATION, a CBS affiliate.

The reporter was Jim Moore, a Bureau Chief with the station. He had been given the assignment to put together the first ever investigative report on Scallion. Scallion has been featured by the media many times before, but up to now the attention has been more entertainment than investigative journalism, using such effects as eerie lighting to make Scallion out to be some sort of prophet of doom.

The first part of the TV report will deal with Scallion -- the man and his predictions. The second will focus on Scallion's "Future Map of the World" with special emphasis on California. Sunfellow was approached because NHNE is the only organization Moore knew of that has been seriously tracking Scallion's predictions. Since November 1994, NHNE has published three of Sunfellow's Special Reports on Scallion, including a stinging assessment in February 1996 of Scallion's "hits & misses" for 1995. The NHNE News Brief has also carried regular updates on Scallion's work and prophecies.

While Sunfellow stressed that he is sympathetic with Scallion's overall theme of planetary transformation, he also insisted that Scallion's predictions require critical examination. According to Sunfellow, "If we ever hope to understand the true nature of the dramatic changes presently unfolding in our world, then we need to seriously track predictions like those being made by Scallion. And if we discover that the Emperor has no clothes -- or only a few clothes -- we've got to say so. Our time is too precious to waste believing things that aren't true."

Some of the points Sunfellow made in the hour-long interview include:

-- A host of other psychics, chief among them, Edgar Cayce, were making cataclysmic predictions similar to Scallion's long before Scallion was. Geologically, these predictions often include: massive chunks of the western part of America being dumped into the ocean; the Great Lakes draining into the Gulf of Mexico and the central part of America becoming a huge waterway; New York City being destroyed and much of the Eastern seaboard submerged; new land rising in various parts of the world, especially off the east coast of America; Europe being instantaneously buried under a thick layer of polar ice and/or suffering wide-spread geological upheavals; Japan vanishing completely beneath the ocean; and, finally, a pole shift that would send mountains of water rampaging across the planet.

-- While both Scallion, and other psychics, have accurately predicted minor geological disturbances, the vast majority of their geological predictions -- both large and small -- haven't happened.

-- Scallion's time lines for global disaster have been repeatedly re-drawn, as were many of the time lines of the psychics before him.

-- The geological disasters predicted by Cayce, Scallion, and many other cataclysmic-psychics all converge on or near the year 2000. Most of these sources indicate that major earthquakes would be dramatically increasing worldwide as the planet raced toward its climactic death/rebirth. Instead, major earthquakes around the world are BELOW normal annual averages -- and have been for many years.

-- Assuming Scallion and others are truly seeing visions and accurately reporting them, then their visions of worldwide cataclysmic events are probably dealing with upheavals that are not primarily geological. However, a tidal wave of extraordinary events bare witness to the fact that something remarkable is, indeed, happening on our planet. These events include: planetary-wide pollution, holes in the ozone layer, widespread deforestation, the ongoing extinction of species around the world, increasingly erratic weather patterns, global warming, melting polar ice caps, the threat of nuclear war and/or nuclear reactor accidents, planetary-wide social and political unrest, the rise of a global communications network, stunning scientific breakthroughs, increasing numbers of paranormal events such as crop circles, Marian sightings, near-death experiences, abductions, and UFO sightings, and last, but not least, the growing preoccupation of the mass media with all of these events.

-- While the world, as a whole, is unlikely to experience the kind of planetary-wide geological disasters Scallion and others have predicted, the various geological hot spots Scallion and others have pinpointed (such as California and Japan) could end up experiencing major disasters, especially since scientists have also predicted many of these areas are due for major upheavals. Calamities in these sensitive areas could potentially lead to a collapse of current economic, political and social systems.

Sunfellow plans to write a more in-depth report for NHNE subscribers on what he said during his interview with Moore. A complete copy of Sunfellow's review of Scallion's predictions for 1995 is available in the database section of the NHNE website at: http://www.nhne.com/scallion95review.html

Moore's report will also include a profile on Antonio Carducci, a 78-year-old man who moved from his luxury condo in Miami to the hill country of Texas in order to prepare for the earth changes predicted by Scallion. He invested his life savings in building a survival compound equipped with geodesic domes, electric generators, fuel caches, and 30 tons of canned food.

To round out the report, Moore travelled to Mammoth Mountain, California. In the 1980s, Scallion had predicted the mountain near the California/Nevada border would be the scene of "unprecedented" volcanic activity. It may be no coincidence that Mammoth Mountain has recently been behaving peculiarly with incessant low-level seismic activity and a peculiar release of cold carbon dioxide gas from the ground that has killed acres of vegetation, a phenomenon that seismologists on the scene are calling "unprecedented."

Although first and foremost a political reporter, this is not the first time that Moore has been called on to investigate the paranormal. In 1993, he was given the assignment to produce a five-part series on UFOs as the companion piece for the two-part "Intruders" special. During his six months of researching the subject, he travelled 30,000 miles interviewing such experts as Ed Walters (Gulf Breeze Conference), Dr. John Mack (abduction authority), David Jacobs (UFO abduction specialist and author of "A Secret Life"), and Budd Hopkins (professionally acclaimed sculptor, best-selling author, and UFO abduction researcher).

Why is Moore given these difficult and sensitive assignments? Because, as he explains, "I am the biggest skeptic at the station." He goes on, "My fascination is with how things will wash out after the new millennium begins. If none of the things many people expect come to pass, I wonder what attitudes will be like? Even though I am skeptical, when I am working on a story, I avoid drawing any general conclusions. My role is to report, not to judge."

Moore's special report will be in three parts, each about five minutes long. It will first air on KHOU-TV in Houston in late October or early November, then be passed on to the other BELO subsidiaries and finally to CBS. We will forward details concerning the air date and time as soon as they are available.

[See "KHOU-TV's 'PROPHET OF DOOM'" from News Brief 36, Friday, November 15, 1996, for a followup to this article.]

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CROP CIRCLE WATCH:
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SAY IT AIN'T SO!
(News Brief 37, Friday, November 22, 1996)

As reported in NHNE NEWS BRIEF 35, this has been a banner year for crop circles, especially the 915-foot-long, 149-circle Julia Set that occurred July 7 near Stonehenge and the 1,000-foot, 194-circle Triple Julia Set found later in the same month on the slopes of Windham Hill.

By mid-August, Julia Set images adorned websites, posters and T-shirts across Europe and America. Believers in the paranormal genesis of crop circles waxed triumphant. Here at last were formations so vast and intricate that they simply couldn't be human creations. Noted researcher Colin Andrews expressed the sentiments of many when he said at several public conferences in September and October, "If these Julia Sets can be proven to be made by humans, then we can all pack our bags and go home."

Thus it is with some trepidation that Michael Lindemann, Editor of CNI NEWS, reported an interview he had on October 27, 1996 with Rod Dickinson, a member of group of British "circle artists" who deliberately create large formations in the grain fields in the dead of night. While preferring anonymity, Dickinson and company have still laid claim to a large number of impressive crop glyphs found in England over the past ten or more years.

Dickinson claims that the famed Stonehenge Julia Set was not of paranormal origin, and that he knows the people who made it -- and how. He says the creators used a design that for the first three-quarters of its arc followed a Fibonacci Series and in the last quarter became a circular arc. He went on, "You start with the large central circle, which is placed right next to a tram line. You have to have a large central area already flattened down from which you can measure out diameters to other parts of the formation. After making the first circle, they measured out a work line for the rest of the formation. This is how the spiral was made, drawing portions of the arc from different center points inside that first circle, using a tape measure. You keep moving the center point around that first circle, and lengthen the tape for each new part of the arc. You make the work line by just stepping down the grain with your feet. All the centers of all the main circles in the formation are along that line."

When it was pointed out to him that the Stonehenge Julia Set had appeared in broad daylight in a span of 45 minutes, he countered, "That isn't true. It was made the previous night, by three people, in about two and three-quarter hours." As to the fact that it is next to a busy highway, he explains, "If you went there, you'd see how the field slopes down and away from the road. Going by in a car, you couldn't see it." And as far as air traffic, he adds, "Lots of [pilots] just didn't see it, and the rest didn't think to report it, until that doctor reported it in the evening. I know this can happen, because I've made quite a few big formations and then waited for a day, even several days, before they're discovered."

When asked about the fact that crops are commonly layered and laid down in alternating directions, he answered, "These are just artifacts of the process. If we're working from the center of a circle outward, for example, the crop splays out and tends to forms spiral layers." He continues, "The best circle-making tool is a board about three feet long with rope handles. Depending on how you angle it -- straight ahead or turned left or right -- you can get the crop to go down in different ways. That impresses the researchers a lot."

Dickinson says that the same people who made the Stonehenge Julia Set also made the Triple Julia. While Dickinson doesn't claim that all of the drop circles in England are hoaxes, he did say, "I can definitely account for most of the major pictograms [in England] from 1991 on. I made several dozen of them myself. I think all the big pictograms were made by people."

"The Circle Makers" even have their own website: (www.geocities.com/SoHo/3671/index.html). And there seems to be no limit to their ingenuity -- according to information on the website, these "artists" sometimes even dowse the fields they work in to make sure their formations are aligned with dowsable earth energies. (JG)

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CROP CIRCLE EXPERTS DENOUNCE HOAXING CLAIMS
(News Brief 38, Friday, November 29, 1996)

In their November 16 edition, CNI NEWS published an interview of alleged crop-circle "artist" Rod Dickinson by Editor, Michael Lindemann. In the article, Dickinson claimed that most of the large crop circles in England in the last 10 years have been hoaxed, including this year's fabulous Julia Set and Triple Julia Set. To no one's surprise, the article aroused more vehement feedback than any other story ever published by CNI NEWS.

The main complaints against Dickinson's story can be summarized as follows:

-- The stated construction time of two and three-quarters hours was not long enough for three people to create the Stonehenge Julia Set.

-- The claim that it was made during the night and went unnoticed for the entire following day, even by a pilot flying overhead, is unreasonable.

-- The claim that the alleged "artists" do not want publicity is absurd. They delight in notoriety -- they just don't want to get caught.

-- In this instance, as in many others, the hoax is claimed but no real evidence is offered.

Here are excerpts of letters to CNI NEWS from three well-known crop circle researchers:

..........

"What Dickinson said about the pilot flying over Stonehenge without seeing the Julia Set is ludicrous. I've flown over Stonehenge numerous times and unless you are drunk or unconscious, you could not help but see it. The formation is bigger than Stonehenge! [From the air] you can spot even a small formation from miles away, never mind one as large as the Julia Set. We interviewed all the guards at Stonehenge who were there during that day and not one of them saw the Julia Set all day long. On average, 6,000 tourists visit Stonehenge every day of the summer. None of them saw a thing either. When we visited Stonehenge we didn't have much trouble seeing it from there.

"The fact that there are what appear to be construction lines in many formations is nothing new. We've seen these since at least 1989. What Dickinson didn't tell you is that these lines do not make sense. They vary in width from a few inches to as much as a foot or more. They do not usually follow a smooth curve but instead, meander quite a bit. But most strange of all, they lie not only under the fallen crop as you would expect but also on top at times. Back in 1991, Michael Chorost wrote a lengthy article on these lines. He concluded, as have many others since, that these lines could not have been laid out first but rather appear to be part of the step-by-step construction process.

"In 1992, a number of the more vocal hoaxers put their money where their mouths were and participated in a public hoaxing contest. All teams were given 4 1/2 hours to make an identical pattern which measured a whopping 56 feet by 21 feet! The results were impressive, but keep in mind that the Julia Formation is in the neighbourhood of 300 feet by 500 feet and the Windmill Hill formation is 1000 feet in diameter!

"I could go on and on but defending the facts over and over is very tiring. We have put in thousands of hours and spent tens of thousands of dollars of our own money on this research. There are over a hundred people involved in these investigations, including several Ph.D. scientists, and we have compiled volumes of facts to support our contention that we are dealing with a mystery. It's really discouraging when all one person like Dickinson has to do is say, 'I know who did it,' and everyone goes oogly-eyed."

---Chad Deetken [Deetken is one of Canada's leading crop circle researchers.]

..........

"I was one the of the first people into the Stonehenge 'Julia Set' formation. I visited it several times through the season and surveyed certain specific parts. I have done geometric and numerological studies on it, as well as studies of its interior architecture and construction sequence. Think about the claim that the hoaxers made the Julia Set in 2 hours and 45 minutes. There were 151 circles. The simplest arithmetic will show that this spectral team allowed a little over 65 seconds per circle, with no time for setting out. Nobody who has been inside a crop circle could believe that. This claim is made even more outrageous when the quality and variety of the individual circles is considered. This was an exemplar of crop circle lay. The swirling, coiling, twisting of the crop was different in almost every one of the circles. The centres were marked by nests, coils, doughnuts and tufts. I doubt that a team, even in daylight, could reproduce the complexity and precision of a single circle in eight hours. They would never use a three-foot board to achieve these effects."

---Michael Glickman [Glickman is a well-known full-time Crop Circle researcher and lecturer.]

..........

"Hoaxers need naive croppies. They sit back, say a few convincing-sounding things, (but give truly lousy explanations for layered stems, etc.) and let fools and the easily-impressed get suckered in. I have made some circles [as an experiment, and] I can tell you that to do a clean, crisp, well-designed set of circles, lines, and bars is damned hard. Crescents, multiple grape-shot, etc. are so hard that I doubt a team of surveyors using radios and helicopters could do them well. At night, using no light, not being seen, in short time -- totally impossible."

---Eric Beckjord [Beckjord has researched crop circles for many years.]

For the record, even after being bombarded by letters like the ones quoted above, Lindemann held his ground and refused to retract his original article. In his words, "For the record, let us state that if we had not believed Dickinson's claims MIGHT be true, we would not have printed the story; and nothing we have heard since would dissuade us from running it again." (JG, DS)

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MILLENNIUM MADNESS:
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WAITING FOR THE MESSIAH
(News Brief 4, Friday, January 6, 1995)

The December 19, 1994 issue of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT ran a cover story on end-time prophecies and modern-day scholarship. Here are a few highlights from that article:

-- As the year 2000 approaches, a multitude of end-time predictions, self-proclaimed prophets and doomsday organizations are appearing everywhere, both inside the folds of traditional Christianity, and outside. Some of these latter-day people and organizations are not only zealous, but dangerous, as in the case of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, and the Solar Temple in Switzerland and Canada.

-- Although much smaller in scale, another end-time craze swept the European world when the year 1000 approached. According to a book by Henri Focillion called, THE YEAR 1000, the cultural and artistic activity in European monasteries nearly came to a halt as the year 999 came to an end. One legend claims on midnight, January 1, 1000, the entire country of Iceland converted to Christianity -- mostly out of apocalyptic anxiety.

-- Throughout the ages various would-be prophets have stepped forward with specific dates concerning when, exactly, the end of the world and the Second Coming of Christ would take place:

Basing his predictions on the dimensions of Noah's Ark, Hippolytus of Rome (A.D. 170-235) predicted A.D. 500 would be the day Christ returned to earth.

In 1840, Baptist Bible teacher William Miller gave a series of FOUR bogus dates for Christ's return. Many of his followers dressed in white robes and waited on a hillside for the Lord to take them away. When Christ failed to show up at the appointed hour (or hours, in Miller's case), some of Miller's disciples left, while others remained behind and started the SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.

Harold Camping, who currently presides over a network of 39 Christian radio stations and 14 shortwave transmitters (THE FAMILY RADIO, INC.), proclaimed the world began with Adam in 11013 B.C. and was scheduled to end September, 1994. His book, "1994?", which sold 70,000 copies, predicted that skies would darken at midday and graves would fly open as the dead joined the living to face God's fiery judgment. Camping, who's network will make some $12 million this year, claims that he is delighted his prediction didn't come true. Why? Because he has many friends and family members who are "not yet saved."

-- Contrary to popular and traditional beliefs that the book of Revelation and other Old Testament prophecies were written with our particular time period in mind, many modern scholars (both liberals and conservatives) believe that these scriptures dealt with events that took place during the time they were written. Many scholars believe, for instance, that the Anti-Christ in the Book of Revelation was a description of Nero, the murderous Roman Emperor.

-- One prophecy that figures prominently in many end-time scenarios is the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple. The Temple which was first destroyed by the Babylonians over 2,500 years ago was rebuilt and then destroyed again 656 years later by the Romans. Now, The Dome of The Rock Mosque, the site believed by Moslems to be where Mohammed ascended to heaven, stands directly atop the old site. While many Jews stress that they have no plans to displace the mosque (which certainly would ignite a holy war), a small group of Jews believe that if proper preparations are made, a miracle will occur that will enable the Temple to be built again. In preparation for just such a miracle, they have begun replicating many of the items contained in the original Temple. Meanwhile, other Jews have started gathering the names of all Jews descended from Aaron, the priestly brother of Moses, so they can be pressed into service if and when Solomon's Temple is rebuilt.

And what do Americans as a whole think about all of this? A poll conducted by U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT found that 59% of the American public believes the world will come to an end sometime in the near future. 60% believe that there will be a final judgment day. 49% believe there will be an Anti-Christ. 44% believe the battle of Armageddon will take place. And 44% believe there will be a rapture of some kind. (DS)

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WITNESSES REVISE END-TIME EXPECTATIONS
(News Brief 13, Saturday, January 6, 1996)

Okay, you start a movement based on the expectation that Jesus will be returning to Earth any minute. In fact, you are so sure Christ is ready to return that you predict the exact day of His appearance and gather your followers atop a hill to await His triumphant return. When He fails to show up the first time, you come up with another date, and then another -- FOUR DIFFERENT DATES IN ALL, all of which fail to produce the Messiah. If you are an average end-time organization your credibility is shot and you probably go up in flames. If, on the other hand, you happen to be THE JEHOVAH WITNESSES, then you take it on the chin, and adapt; you dig in for the long haul and stop trying to predict when Christ will return.

In the early days of the movement, most Witnesses weren't particularly interested in saving money, starting careers, or making burial plans. They believed that Christ would come in their lifetime and acted accordingly. But now that the Witnesses have publicly declared in their flagship magazine, THE WATCHTOWER, that "no one knows the day and the hour" of Christ's return, they are beginning to concentrate on making their time here on Earth more productive -- and comfortable. Case in point: The church recently completed building a 670-acre educational center in rural New York state that includes 624 apartments, garages for up to 800 cars, and a dining facility that accommodates 1,600 people in one sitting.

So far, the radical about-face shift in philosophical orientation has produced no noticeable decline in the organization, which numbers 5.1 million world wide. But outsiders may not know what kind of trouble the new shift has produced inside the church, because the Witnesses rarely air their differences with outsiders. (DS)

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THE JERUSALEM SYNDROME
(News Brief 8, May 31,1995)

Jerusalem, which is one of the most important spiritual centers in the world, is also home to a peculiar psychological disorder. Each year, dozens of tourists end up believing that they are the Savior, or some other biblical figure, that have been given a special message by God. Called THE JERUSALEM SYNDROME, the psychological disorder mostly afflicts people from North America (usually America) and Western Europe. Cases are apparently split equally between Christians and Jews. Muslim tourists have managed to escape the disorder -- so far, anyway.

Psychiatrists working at Kafar Shaul, a psychiatric hospital in Jerusalem that treats people afflicted with this disorder, indicate that most of these people have a history of mental problems. In addition, they sometimes treat two or three messiahs at the same time. "But they don't fight about it," says Moshe Kalian, a psychologist at Kafar Shaul. "They are so sure that they are each the one and that the others will be revealed sooner or later as frauds."

The hospital's job is not to cure these patients, but rather, to simply calm the wouldbe messiahs down so they can be returned home. And, so far, there have been few escapes. One notable exception was an escape by a man who claimed to be Samson. A Canadian by birth, the burly tourist ripped the metal grille off a ward window and got as far as a local bus station before he was spotted by a hospital staff member and returned, without incident. (DS)

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PROPHECY WATCH:
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PREDICTIONS: PAST & PRESENT
(News Brief 45, Friday, January 24, 1997)

The value of predictions is questionable -- they are easy to make, hard to track... and may come back to haunt you. However, we thought you would be interested in what 752 average Americans see in their future and compare their vision to what some famous people in the past predicted for this century just finishing up.

This recent poll was conducted by PRINCETON UNIVERSITY for NEWSWEEK; only the predictions that show agreement by at least half of those polled are included:

-- 74 percent say the gap between rich and poor will become wider in the U.S., and 73 percent say the gap between rich and poor will widen around the world.

-- 64 percent say they will have less leisure time than they have now.

-- 54 percent say books will still be popular 100 years from now, while 51 percent say that in the next century there be something good on TV.

-- In the next 100 years, 88 percent say humans will again travel to the Moon; 64 percent think humans will walk on Mars; and 55 percent think there will be some humans living someplace other than Earth.

-- 68 percent see the Republican and Democratic parties still in existence in the next century.

-- 63 percent feel that Communism will still be alive and well.

-- 72 percent think that a cure for cancer will be found, and 70 percent see a cure for AIDS coming.

-- 69 percent don't think that there will be an end to world hunger.

-- 70 percent think that human organs for transplant will be manufactured in laboratories.

-- 54 percent see global warming becoming a serious problem.

To balance the above, here are some predictions about the 20th Century by people who should have known better:

-- "Man will not fly for 50 years." Orville Wright, aviation pioneer, 1901

-- "My imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea." H.G. Wells, author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," 1901

-- "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French military strategist, 1911

-- "The horse is here to stay -- the automobile is only a fad." Advice given by the President of MICHIGAN SAVINGS BANK to Horace Rackham, lawyer of Henry Ford

-- "Germany is unable to wage war." David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister, 1934

-- "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Charles Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, 1899

-- "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" Harry Warner, WARNER BROTHERS, 1927

-- "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." Kenneth Olsen, President and Founder of DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP., 1977

-- Nobody now fears that a Japanese fleet could deal an unexpected blow on our Pacific possessions. Radio makes surprise impossible." Josephus Daniels, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, 1922

-- "What use could this company make of an electrical toy [telephone]?" William Orton, President of WESTERN UNION

-- "Computers in the future may perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons." POPULAR MECHANICS, 1949

-- "[Man will never reach the Moon] regardless of all future scientific advances." Dr. Lee de Forest, a father of radio, 1967

-- "The election of Hoover should result in continued prosperity for 1929." Roger Babson, financial statistician

-- "Radio has no future." Lord Kelvin, Scottish physicist, 1897

-- "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, YALE UNIVERSITY, 1929

-- "[Concerning television], people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night." Darryl F. Zanuck, 20TH CENTURY FOX, 1946 (JG)

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THE END OF THE WORLD AS REPORTED BY...
(News Brief 33, Friday, October 25, 1996)

Sooner or later, the earth will be no more. When the end of the world arrives, how will the media report it? Some hypothetical headlines:

-- USA TODAY: "We're Dead"

-- THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: "DOW JONES Plummets as World Ends"

-- NATIONAL INQUIRER: "OJ and Nicole Together Again"

-- PLAYBOY: "Girls of the Apocalypse"

-- MICROSOFT SYSTEMS JOURNAL: "APPLE Loses Market Share"

-- SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: "Game Over"

-- WIRED: "The Last New Thing"

-- ROLLING STONE: "The Grateful Dead Reunion Tour"

-- READERS DIGEST: "'Bye"

-- DISCOVER: "Will the Extinction of All Life Affect the Way We View the Cosmos?"

-- TV GUIDE: "Death & Damnation: Nielsen Ratings Soar!"

-- LADIES HOME JOURNAL: "Lose 10 Lbs by Judgment Day!"

-- AMERICA ONLINE: "System temporarily down. Try calling back in 15 minutes."

-- INC. MAGAZINE: "10 Ways You Can Profit from the Apocalypse"

-- MICROSOFT WEB SITE: "If you didn't experience the rapture, try downloading software patch RAPT777.EXE."

-- NHNE NEWS BRIEF: "Just remember, you read it here first!"

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GREAT STORIES WE COULDN'T SQUEEZE IN:
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IMPORTANT STORIES WITH FOLLOW-UPS:
(Numbers marked with * are especially informative)

The Shroud of Turin:
News Briefs 1*, 15, 16, 55*, 57, 58, 61*, 63*

Gordon-Michael Scallion:
News Briefs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6*, 7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11, 12*, 13*, 14*, 20*, 24, 28, 30, 31*, 34, 36*, 39*, 41, 44*, 48*, 73, 76

Dannion Brinkley:
News Briefs 1*, 2*, 7*, 8, 9*, 47*, 77, 78, 79

Near-Death Experiences:
"A Mass Awakening," News Brief 2*
"Parting Visions," News Brief 4*
"The Four Stages of Life After Death," News Brief 77

Dreams & Dream Work:
"An Introduction To Dream Work," News Brief 3*
"Dreamwork Goes Mainstream," News Brief 10
"Dreams of Destiny," News Brief 12*
"How to Direct Your Dreams," News Brief 13*
"Dreams Same Around World," News Brief 28
"DreamTime," News Brief 60

Hale-Bopp Comet:
News Brief 10*, 14, 37*, 38*, 39*, 40*, 41, 44*, 45*, 47*, 48, 54*, 55*, 57, 58

Oliver's Castle Crop Circle Hoax:
News Brief 25, 27*, 29*, 30, 34*, 35, 45*, 47*, 61, 64*, 74*

Ray Santilli's "Roswell Autopsy" film:
News Brief 10*, 12*, 24, 44*, 47*, 49*, 51*, 53

OTHER IMPORTANT STORIES:

"Twelve Any Time, Any Place Survival Tips," News Brief 5
"Dealing With Death," News Brief 9
"50 Years Later: A Tribute To Edgar Cayce," News Brief 11
"Lecture By Colin Andrews," News Brief 14
"Skewed News," News Brief 17
"Manna From Heaven," News Brief 22
"Direct Line With The Beyond," News Brief 23
"Global Geological Changes Unlikely," News Brief 31
"Bone Wars," News Brief 33
"Pole Shift Torpedoed By Author," News Brief 36
"Interview With David Schleicher,
Lowell Observatory Astronomer," News Brief 38
"What Is God?," News Brief 41
"Tabloid Psychic Predictions," News Brief 43
"Rhythms In History," News Brief 45
"Otto Comes To Sedona," News Brief 50
"Dutch Evangelists Meet Sedona New Agers," News Brief 50
"High-Tech Origins Challenged - Again," News Brief 51
"Seeds Of Peace Take Root," News Brief 71

All of our News Briefs are posted on our award-winning website:
http://www.nhne.com/dbnewsbriefs.html

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NHNE STAFF:
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Founder & Publisher:
David Sunfellow (DS)

Editor-in-Chief:
James Gregory (JG)

SwiftWing Reporters:
Gail Rossi (GR)
Joya Pope (JP)
Palden Jenkins (PJ)
Kathleen-Blake Frankel (KBF)
Robert Perry (RP)
Steve Haag (SH)
Chris Czech (CC)
Mark Nijenhuis (MN)
Suzanne DeSutter (SDS)

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NHNE MISSION STATEMENT, CREDITS & CONTACT INFORMATION

The mission of NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE) is to answer humankind's oldest, most perplexing questions: Who are we? Where are we from? What is the origin and purpose of life? Instead of relying on ancient or contemporary wisdom, or the knowledge of isolated experts, we are building a global network of seekers from all walks of life, from all parts of the world, lay people and professionals alike, that can pool talents, experience, and resources to unravel life's great mysteries.

We also believe that our planet is passing through a time of profound change and are seeking to create a global community of like-minded people that can safely pass through whatever changes may come our way and help give birth to a new way of life on our planet.

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NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
a 501(c)3 non-profit organization
P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ USA 86339

eMail: nhne@nhne.com
NHNE Website: http://www.nhne.com/
Phone: (928) 282-6120
Fax: (815) 346-1492

NHNE News Brief Archive