Smorgasbord
10
Thursday, April 30, 1998
© Copyright 1998 by NewHeavenNewEarth
smorgasbord
(smor-gos-bord) n.
A buffet meal featuring a varied number of dishes.
Another NHNE publication --
albeit more loosely knit than most
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Total NHNE Mailing List:
Last Mailing: 1040
This Mailing: 1048
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"Life is a great big canvass,
and you should throw all the paint on it you can."
---Danny Kaye
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CONTENTS:
NEWS WATCH:
Mass Extinction Underway
1 In 8 Plants Threatened
Invasive Weeds Threaten Eco System
Koko's "Interspecies Chat"
Stonehenge of the Sahara
Stone Circle Building Camp
Drought Behind "Lost Colony"
Ottoman Empire Archives on Net
Supercomputer Simulates Birth of Universe
Leonid Meteor Shower
US Military to Exploit Space
Predicting Earthquakes from Space
A Vaccine Against Tooth Decay
Medicine Fourth Largest Killer
Bad Hearts Healed with Genetics
UFOs: Just the Facts
Groom Lake Gathering
Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism
The Positive Bible
Shamans Asked Fight Fires
And Then the Rains Came
MAJOR INTERNET RESOURCES:
Scorecard Community Center
NASA Search Engine
Real-time Satellite Weather Images
Top 100 Websites
Another Millennium Events Calendar
JESUS WATCH:
Shroud of Turin Displayed
LETTERS:
About the Power of Gratitude
On Our "Hit List"
A Different Twist
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
Instant Enlightenment is Wishful Thinking
GURU WATCH:
Crimes of the Soul
THE LIGHTER SIDE:
"It's Tough Leading a Spiritual Life"
Astrological Light Bulbs
CREDITS, MISSION STATEMENT
& FINANCIAL SUPPORT INFORMATION
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This issue of Smorgasbord is sponsored by:
THE DOLPHIN CIRCLE
The Dolphin Circle is committed to enhancing awareness of the cetacean world
on all levels. We offer individuals the opportunity to meet dolphins in their
natural environment to experience first-hand the playful, compassionate, and
healing nature of these magnificent beings.
WWW: http://www.premier1.net/~iamdavid/
eMail: iamdavid@premier1.net
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WILD EARTH ANIMAL ESSENCES
In the tradition of flower essences, these natural remedies support and nurture
you with the wisdom and power of wild animals. These 16 essences are similar
to Bach flower remedies but contain the energy of a particular species of animal
(Dolphin, Bear, Wolf, etc). These animal essences are powerful, transformative,
shamanic tools -- visit the website to learn about these remarkable remedies
and to read testimonials from around the world about their effectiveness.
WWW: http://www.animalessence.com/
eMail: daniel@esinet.net
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Would you like to sponsor an NHNE publication? Send an email message to "nhne@nhne.com" and
write "Send Sponsor Info" in the SUBJECT field of your letter.
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NEWS WATCH:
MASS EXTINCTION UNDERWAY
(Source: WASHINGTON POST, Joby Warrick, 4/21/98, Thanks to NHNE SwiftWing Reporter
Sherri Anderson for tracking down this article)
A majority of the nation's biologists are convinced that a "mass extinction" of
plants and animals is underway that poses a major threat to humans in the next
century, yet most Americans are only dimly aware of the problem, a poll says.
The rapid disappearance of species was ranked as one of the planet's gravest
environmental worries, surpassing pollution, global warming and the thinning
of the ozone layer, according to the survey of 400 scientists commissioned
by New York's AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. The poll's release comes
on the heels of a groundbreaking study of plant diversity that concluded at
least one in eight known plant species is threatened with extinction. Although
scientists are divided over the specific numbers, many believe that the rate
of loss is greater now than at any time in history -- including extinctions
related to meteor collisions.
Nearly seven out of 10 of the biologists polled said they believed
a "mass
extinction" was underway, and an equal number predicted that up to one-fifth
of all living species could disappear within 30 years. Nearly all attributed
the losses to human activity, especially the destruction of plant and animal
habitats.
Among the dissenters, some argue that there is not yet enough data
to support the view that a mass extinction is occurring. Many of
the estimates of species
loss are extrapolations based on the global destruction of rain forests and
other rich habitats. Among non-scientists, meanwhile, the subject appears to
have made relatively little impression. Sixty percent of the laymen polled
professed little or no familiarity with the concept of biological diversity,
and barely half ranked species loss as a "major threat."
The scientists interviewed in the Louis Harris poll were members of the Washington-based
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, a professional society of more than
5,000 scientists.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/
1998-04/21/055l-042198-idx.html
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1 IN 8 PLANTS THREATENED
(Source: REUTERS, 4/8/98)
At least one out of every eight plant species worldwide is threatened with
extinction, scientists say, urging action to protect "the building blocks" of
our food and medicine. THE WORLD CONSERVATION UNION'S Red List of Threatened
Plants listed 33,798 species, or 12.5 percent of the 270,000 known species
of vascular plants, as threatened. The list was the result of 20 years of work
by botanists and conservationists worldwide. "The message... should be distressing
to all," said Robert Fri, Director of the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION'S NATIONAL
MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.
http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/980409/news/stories/plants_2.html
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INVASIVE WEEDS THREATEN ECO SYSTEM
(Source: EUREKALERT, 4/28/98)
Accidentally and on purpose, America is sowing seeds -- literal seeds -- of
destruction. These are the conclusions of a soon-to-be-published book examining
weeds in the United States. "The invasion of noxious weeds has created a level
of destruction to America's environment and economy that is matched only by
the damage caused by floods, earthquakes, wildfire, hurricanes and mudslides," U.S.
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt said. "This is truly an explosion in
slow motion by opportunistic alien species with few if any natural enemies."
A multi-agency committee on invasive weeds found that the march of
non-native plants across the American landscape is so pervasive that
the unique differences
of regional plant communities are blurring. Their report, "Invasive Plants:
Changing the Landscape of America," is a systematic attempt, involving 17 partner
agencies, to define the seriousness of the problem. The report will be available
for public distribution this summer. Invasive non-native plants, the book says,
are now considered by some experts to be the second-most important threat to
native species, behind habitat destruction.
Over the past decade, the report says, devastating impacts from invasive species
have been reported on every continent except Antarctica. In the United States,
introduced invasive plants comprise from 8 to 47 percent of the total flora
of most states, a figure especially alarming considering a recent report from
the INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE documenting that 1 in
8 plant species is globally threatened with extinction.
Invasive plants are those that have been introduced into an environment in
which they did not evolve. Consequently, the invaders usually have no natural
enemies to limit their reproduction, and thus easily spread, often unchecked.
In addition, aggressive non-native species often deal a harsh blow to rare
species -- about two-thirds of all endangered species are threatened by non-native
species, the report said. As the native plant species decline, the animals
that depend on them for food and habitat may also be jeopardized.
The report's authors blame the increase and spread of invasive plants
on an increasing human population that has led to greater disturbance
of the land,
increased demand for food and fiber, overuse of public land for recreation
and commercial purposes, increased international travel and globalization of
world trade. The problem is compounded, the report adds, because "many introduced
plants appear innocuous when first introduced; these plants then adapt, and,
in the absence of their co-evolved predators, explode in their new environment."
http://biology.usgs.gov/pr/newsrelease/1998/4-27.html
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KOKO'S "INTERSPECIES CHAT"
(Source: CNN ONLINE, 4/28/98)
As many as 20,000 people logged in to chat with Koko the gorilla who answered
questions in what was called the first ever "interspecies chat" on the Internet.
Dr. Francine Patterson, Koko's tutor and translator, signed questions to the
26-year-old gorilla who has studied American Sign Language for 25 years and
is said to understand some 2,000 words of spoken English and 1,000 signs. When
asked if she had a kitten or a dog, Koko signed dog. Human chatters had questions
ranging from the meaning of life to her views of the new version of King Kong.
The 300-pound Koko seemed unimpressed by the event and ended the online chat
with the simple command, "Lights off. Good."
http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9804/27/
koko.chat/index.html
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STONEHENGE OF THE SAHARA
(Source: ABC NEWS, Kenneth Chang, 4/1/98)
At first glance, the stones look just like stones sticking out of the sand.
A more careful look at how and when those rocks were laid down in this now-arid
corner of the Sahara Desert shows they are much more than that. Possibly 7,000-years-old,
this site called Nabta in southern Egypt might have been the world's first
astronomy monument, predating England's Stonehenge by two millennia. The coordinated
work required to build such structures hints the nomadic cattle herders of
the Sahara had evolved an advanced social structure. It also suggests that
perhaps this desert society spurred the simple farmers of the Nile Valley to
the heights of the pharaohs and early Egyptian civilization.
Not much is known about who lived around Nabta. Archaeologists aren't
even sure where they came from or where they went. But they left
their tracesbones
of hares and gazelle they hunted, the cattle they herded, ruins of homes and
wells. About 200 miles to the west, archaeologists have found stone fragments
the nomads used to harvest grass seeds. The Egyptian stone complex is spread
over a kidney-shape area 1.8 miles by three-quarters of a mile. It includes
10 monolith slabs, some 9 feet high, 30 rock-lined ovals, and a "calendar circle" of
stones. Other features of the site are even more intriguing. The archaeologists
found nine circular mounds, each under a pile of 40 to 50 rocks weighing up
to 200 to 300 pounds apiece. They thought these might be the tombs of kings
or other important personages.
http://www.abcnews.com/sections/science/
DailyNews/ancient0401.html
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STONE CIRCLE BUILDING CAMP
May 22-31, 1998
A group of stone circle builders are planning to build a full-sized Stone Circle
at a beautiful site in Surrey, England. Their intent is to build a new, fully
aligned and working stone circle on the land, using as tools only that equipment
available to the Ancients (wood, rope and stone), and the power of focused
minds. The stones will weigh on average 5 to 6 tons each and their tops will
stand about 6 to 7 feet above ground level. While living simply outdoors under
the heavens and the shadow of a grove of giant redwood trees, the group will
be erecting the stones using a variety of "alternative" methods, hinted at
in the legends about Merlin, Stonehenge, the Tibetans, and in so many other
cultures around the world.
For further details please contact:
Ivan or Julie
5, Cleeve Park Road
Downend, Bristol BS16 6DW, UK
Phone: 0117 985 1488 (+44-117-985-1488)
Mobile: 0385 518949
eMail: 113475.2664@compuserve.com
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DROUGHT BEHIND "LOST COLONY"
(Source: EUREKALERT, 4/23/98)
The worst droughts of the past 800 years likely played a major role in the
mysterious disappearance of Roanoke Island's "Lost Colony" and in the "starving
time" endured by colonists at Jamestown, researchers from THE COLLEGE OF WILLIAM & MARY
and THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS have concluded after studying growth rings of
ancient trees in the Tidewater area. The findings were just published in the
current issue of SCIENCE journal.
The Roanoke Island settlement was established in 1587 but settlers
soon mysteriously disappeared, leaving only the enigmatic word "Croatoan" carved on a tree. More
is known about the hardships at Jamestown, which was founded in 1607 but nearly
failed during the period from 1609 to 1610 -- historically known as "the starving
time". The Jamestown drought decimated corn crops on which the colonists depended
and aggravated tense relations with the native Powhatan Indians. Researchers
speculate that when the Indians could not supply food to the colonists as promised,
hard feelings followed and conflict erupted. The dates of at least two Anglo-Indian
wars correlate perfectly with the droughts.
Drought also affected the quality of the colony's critical water
supply. "Poor
water quality is another factor implicated in the ill health suffered at Jamestown,
and water quality at Jamestown is poorest during drought," said the Science
article. During the drought, many people starved, and some of the Jamestown
colonists eventually resorted to cannibalism. Citing a staggering death toll
that nearly forced abandonment of the colony, the SCIENCE article notes that "only
38 of the 104 original settlers were still alive after the first year at Jamestown,
and 4,800 out of the 6,000 settlers sent to Jamestown between 1607 and 1625
died during this extraordinary period."
"Only multidisciplinary research could lead to such exciting discoveries as these," researchers
added. "History, archaeology or climatology alone could not have reached these
conclusions, but a combination of the disciplines enabled us to discover these
significant patterns."
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/WM-DrTragJames.html
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OTTOMAN EMPIRE ARCHIVES ON NET
(Source: REUTERS, 3/12/98)
Plans are afoot for 600 years of previously hard-to-reach Ottoman history to
become available on the Internet, Turkish officials said. "A computer automation
project to scan all the archives and translate them into a digital environment
is being finalized," Necati Aktas, deputy head of state archives, told REUTERS.
Over 1,000 researchers from around the world apply for permission each year
to use the archived material, much of which is poorly stored in mice-infested
warehouses. The archives hold over 150 million documents belonging to the Ottoman
era, ranging from military reports to economic and political correspondence.
The earliest date back to 1300. At its height in the 17th Century, the Ottoman
Empire commanded much of the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa, venturing
as far into Europe as the walls of Vienna. The empire collapsed at the end
of World War One after a lengthy decline. Turkey is now a republic. Asked if
certain areas of the archives, such as those covering controversial Armenian
relations, would be classified, Aktas said: "The Ottoman state has gone down
in history, it can have no secrets." Christian Armenia says over 1.5 million
Armenians were massacred by Turks in 1915 by order of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey
says the figure is grossly exaggerated.
http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/980312/
news/stories/archives_1.html
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SUPERCOMPUTER SIMULATES BIRTH OF UNIVERSE
(Source: EUREKALERT, 4/21/98)
Physicists at COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY have constructed one of the world's fastest
supercomputers, one that can perform 400 billion calculations per second to
simulate the three-trillion-degree conditions that existed at the birth of
the universe. The supercomputer, dubbed QCDSP, is the latest in a series of
relatively inexpensive parallel supercomputers now in use at universities around
the world that have been built at Columbia. The Columbia machine's vast computing
power, which with others of its generation offers a 30-fold improvement over
the previous generation of supercomputers, is needed to simulate the interactions
between quarks and gluons... which scientists believe existed at the time of
the Big Bang, perhaps 10 billion years ago.
http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/CU-SuComUniv.html
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LEONID METEOR SHOWER
(Source: CNN ONLINE, 4/28/98)
The Leonid meteor should provide a spectacular celestial light show this year,
but the debris could damage or destroy the satellites that help provide Earth's
worldwide communications, navigation and weather forecasting. The meteor shower
occurs yearly in November, but this year astronomers say the storm will be
the strongest since 1966. At that time, only about 100 satellites were orbiting
the Earth. Now there are nearly 500. None of the tiny particles of Leonid is
expected to strike the Earth's surface.
http://cnn.com/TECH/space/9804/27/
leonid.meteor/index.html
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US MILITARY TO EXPLOIT SPACE
(Source: AIR FORCE NEWS SERVICE, 3/18/98)
Gen. Howell M. Estes III, Commander-in-Chief of U.S. SPACE COMMAND, urged Congress
to continue funding space programs critical to fulfilling "the promise of space." He
also urged Congress to promote public awareness of space's vital importance
to Americans' security, economic prosperity and quality of life. The general,
also commander of AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND, said his top priorities are improving
space support to U.S. fighting forces today, and protecting the nation's interests
and investments in space tomorrow. A comprehensive long-range plan scheduled
to be completed in early April will provide a gameplan for meeting key space
needs by 2020 by: Fully integrating space forces with land, sea and air forces;
Assuring U.S. and allied access to, and freedom to operate in, space -- and
denying the same to an adversary when required; Applying precision force from,
and through, space; Leveraging civil, commercial, and international space systems
to cost-effectively augment military systems.
http://exosci.com/news/45.html
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PREDICTING EARTHQUAKES FROM SPACE
(Source: LOS ANGELES TIMES, 4/9/98, Thanks to Einiyah ben-Elyon for forwarding
this story to NHNE)
A Russian scientist says he has come up with a way to predict earthquakes from
outer space that could provide a warning as much as three hours in advance
of major quakes. The method of forecasting proposed by physics professor Arkady
Galper is based on the discovery that electromagnetic waves emanating from
Earth just before a big temblor appear to change the behavior of particles
in the radiation belt that rings the planet.
Galper, Director of the Institute of Space Physics at the MOSCOW
ENGINEERING & PHYSICS
INSTITUTE, said three groups of Russian scientists have corroborated his results.
But no major scientific papers have been published on his earthquake forecasting
idea and it has not been subjected to the scrutiny of peer review that is standard
in the United States. Indeed, several U.S. earthquake experts queried about
Galper's work were deeply skeptical, saying that there was little evidence
to support it or any other prediction theory.
Although many researchers over the years have proposed various techniques
to predict earthquakes, none have worked in practice. In 1988, U.S.
experts predicted
a major quake in Parkfield on the San Andreas fault, based on the best available
geophysical and seismic data. Seismologists recently celebrated the 10th anniversary
of that prediction, with still no sign of the temblor they had forecast. "Most
scientists would say that earthquake prediction is a very long way off, if
not impossible," said Thomas Henyey, Director of the SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE
CENTER. Henyey called the Russian prediction theory "implausible." Galper acknowledged
that, so far, his method of prediction is largely theoretical and would require
the launch of at least three satellites and the creation of a ground-based
network that could rapidly process data from space. To establish an earthquake
warning system for the entire planet would require a large network of satellites.
But Galper said it would be possible to cover the region where 90% of quakes
occur -- and where most of the world's population lives -- with three satellites.
When a satellite detected a bulge in the belt, the information would immediately
be routed to a geostationary communications satellite that would feed the information
to stations on the ground. There, the data would be rapidly processed to estimate
the location of the epicenter within an area of 60 square miles. The affected
region would be notified and the public would have as much as three hours to
prepare for the quake.
Galper is not the only scientist intrigued by the earthquake prediction possibilities
posed by low-frequency electrical signals that may precede a temblor. Solid-state
physicist Panayiotis Varotsos at the UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS in Greece has been
trying for a decade to predict quakes by detecting small electrical signals
from stressed rocks. In California, geophysicist Stephen K. Park at UC RIVERSIDE
also has been monitoring what may prove to be electrical precursors to earthquakes.
Neither scientist so far has been able to persuade other researchers that the
technique can predict earthquakes. Galper said his idea of a space-based earthquake
prediction center has not gone anywhere in part because Russia has no money
for such projects. Building and launching three satellites could easily eat
up much of Russia's paltry budget for its space program. But findings such
as Galper's conceivably could help boost support in the United States for the
huge investment required to launch and operate space stations. Galper's team
is designing a more sophisticated magnetic spectrometer that he hopes will
be placed aboard the 15-nation International Space Station that will be launched
in segments beginning this year.
http://www.latimes.com/en/sbin/iawrapper?
NS-search-set=/352eb/aaaa0013t2eb6af&
NS-doc-offset=0&NS-adv-search=0&
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A VACCINE AGAINST TOOTH DECAY
(Source: REUTERS, 4/28/98)
British scientists say they had developed a safe, effective and painless vaccine
to prevent tooth decay. It is a plant-based vaccine that is painted on teeth
and produces antibodies that prevent harmful bacteria from sticking to teeth
and causing cavities. Dr. Julian Ma and Professor Tom Lehner led the team of
researchers at GUYS HOSPITAL dental school in London that produced the vaccine
by genetically modifying tobacco plants to carry antibodies to Streptococcus
mutans, which causes 95 percent of tooth decay. The tasteless, colorless vaccine
was successfully tested on people during a four-month trial. "This is the first
plant-derived vaccine from genetically modified plants to ever go into human
clinical trials," said Ma. PLANET BIOTECHNOLOGY, a California-based company
that is developing the technology with GUY'S HOSPITAL, are planning larger
clinical trials this summer.
http://www.foxnews.com/news/wires2/0428/n_rt_0428_77.sml
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MEDICINE FOURTH-LARGEST KILLER
(Source: REUTERS, 4/15/98)
A new medical study is warning that a major cause of death of patients in U.S.
hospitals is adverse reaction to medicines. Researchers at the UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO estimate that between 76,000 and 137,000 such deaths take place annually.
That means that adverse drug reactions could be the fourth leading cause of
death of Americans behind heart disease, cancer and stroke. The study says
the deaths were not due to improperly administered drugs. The study included
patients admitted to hospitals with drug reactions and those whose reactions
occurred after they were admitted. It is published in THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.
http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/980415/
news/stories/drugs_2.html
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BAD HEARTS HEALED WITH GENETICS
(Source: CNN ONLINE, 3/17/98)
In an animal experiment using pigs and mice, a group of researchers have found
that genetically engineered cells can be injected into cardiac muscle to replace
tissue killed by a heart attack. The project, in which mouse heart cells were
placed into the damaged heart of a pig, gives hope that the procedure may be
used to grow and replace heart muscle in humans, says Dr. William C. Claycomb
of the LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER. He emphasizes, however, that
the work is "in a very early experimental stage."
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9803/16/heart.cells.ap/
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UFOS: JUST THE FACTS
(Source: Chuck Lakin, 4/10/98)
Created by SKY CREATIVE MEDIA GROUP of Phoenix, Arizona, a new CD presents
thousands of pages of documents, dozens of articles, hundreds of photographs,
maneuverable QuickTime VRs, as well as other video and audio evidence from
which users can judge for themselves whether or not UFOs actually exist. "UFOs:
Just the Facts" was designed to meet the information needs of libraries, schools,
individuals, as well as UFO "buffs," who want a realistic, up-to-date, and
balanced presentation of the available evidence and differing viewpoints on
the existence of UFOs. The interactive CD has an on-disc bibliography of nearly
500 sources, an archive of more than 1,500 pages of documentation, and access
to a secured area of the website www. ufofacts.com. UFOs: Just the Facts runs
on computers with MAC, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1 operating systems. The CD-ROM
(ISBN 1-890298-46-8) is available for $39.95 ($3.50 S&H) which includes
website access and free technical support via a toll-free number. The CD can
be found at Media Center stores or ordered directly from the publisher:
SKY CREATIVE MEDIA GROUP
2432 W. Peoria Ave., Suite 1262
Phoenix, AZ 85029
Phone: 1 (888) UFO-FILE (888-836-3453)
WWW: http://www.ufofacts.com
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GROOM LAKE GATHERING
(Source: EXOSCIENCE, David Watanabe, 3/28/98)
The People's Rally at AREA 51 will take place on Saturday, June 6, 1998, right
at the restricted boundary line on Groom Lake Road (in Lincoln County, Nevada).
Crowds of anywhere from 400 to 800 people at the site are expected for the
event. This will be the first time that a large number of citizens will assemble
right next to AREA 51, the base that officially "doesn't exist".
This will be a legal, public assembly and will take place on legal,
public land. The event is intended to be a spontaneous, peaceful
gathering of concerned
citizens. There will be speakers at the Rally to address several key issues.
One of the purposes of the gathering will be to bring to the attention of the
news media once again the continuing plight of former Groom Lake workers who
are still suffering from illnesses caused by long-term exposure to highly toxic
chemicals without their knowledge while working at AREA 51, the base that officially "doesn't
exist". The former workers and their families' plea is not so much to seek
for monetary compensation as to seek for cures to the diseases.
According to Norio Hayakawa, founder of a group called the CIVILIAN
INTELLIGENCE NETWORK (which he describes as a citizens' watchdog
group on government oversight),
the government has in the past several years concocted, disseminated and manipulated
popular theories linking AREA 51 with "extraterrestrial" UFOs and "alien" technology
in order to discredit any serious scrutiny of this multi-billion dollar facility
and its programs, some of which may be in gross violation of environmental
statutes. Hayakawa also speculates that some of the weapons systems research
and development at the site not only far exceeds the bounds of national defense
interests but also may serve to promote and accelerate certain "globalist elitist" agendas.
There will be a special news conference in Rachel, Nevada (approximately
21 miles north of the "secret base"), the day before the event. The
news conference will take place at 12 noon. The main event on Saturday,
June 6, 1998 will take
place, beginning at 6 a.m., right at the restricted boundary line.
For maps and directions:
http://www.eagle-net.org/groomwatch/maps.htm
For information on what may be taking place at AREA 51:
http://www.parascope.com/nb/articles/area51expanding_aol.htm
For general information:
Norio Hayakawa
CIVILIAN INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS
P.O. BOX 599
GARDENA , CA 90248
Phone: (310) 784-7705
eMail: GroomWatch@aol.com
WWW: http://www.eagle-net.org/groomwatch/
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF APOCALYPTICISM
(Source: AP, EARTH-CHANGES WEEKLY, 4/19/98, Thanks to NHNE SwiftWing Reporter
Sherri Anderson for tracking down the host website)
An international team of religious scholars has assembled to provide
a history & analysis
of end times in the Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism. The three volumes will
include more than 40 lengthy essays discussing thousands of years of biblical & secular
perspectives. The 1500-page encyclopedia, to be published this summer, will
include topics such as Jesus & Mohammad as apocalyptic prophets, the Dead
Sea Scrolls, Jewish mysticism, notions of the Antichrist and images of the
apocalypse in modern popular culture, from rock music & films to politics
and the environment. Scholars from the U.S., Italy, France, Spain, Israel,
and other nations contributed essays. The three books are in chronological
overview: the first looks at the origins of apocalypticism in Judaism & Christianity;
the second, in Western history & culture; the final one deals with the
modern period.
http://www.continuum-books.com/reldir7.htm
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THE POSITIVE BIBLE
(Source: Kenneth Winston Caine, 2/16/98)
Tired of all the back-stabbing, name-calling, treacherous, vengeful, violent,
selfish, mean-spirited, un-godly activity that fills the pages of one of planet
Earth's most holy books, The Holy Bible? Then you might want to try to the
latest, perhaps most radical revision of the Good Book ever attempted. Called, "The
Positive Bible," all the negative stuff has been chopped out. "The Positive
Bible," says Kenneth Winston Caine, the new and improved Good Book's editor, "is
simply every uplifting, encouraging, empowering, inspiring, helpful verse,
from Genesis to Revelation. Just the good stuff, and nothing else." "This," he
says, "is an inspirational Bible, an introductory Bible, a twenty-first century
Bible, a sound-bite Bible. It's a Bible for the bible-phobic. It's a Bible
for the New Age." Whereas the original version of The Holy Bible spans approximately
1,600 pages, The Positive Bible is a mere 300 pages long -- including a 50-page
self-help index and guide to the scriptures for 250 everyday life challenges.
The book presents the Bible verses as easy-to-read, plain-English poetry, using
the most popular modern translations such as the "New International Version," "New
King James Version," "Revised Standard Version" and "The Living Bible."
For more information:
SPIRIT MEDICINE COMMUNICATIONS
P.O. Box 752
Emmaus, PA 18049-0752
Phone: (610) 967-8310
eMail: Ken@PositiveBible.com
WWW: http://www.PositiveBible.com
------------
SHAMANS ASKED TO HELP FIGHT FIRES
(Source: REUTERS, 3/29/98)
Brazil called in two shamans today to help fight the fires that have raged
through the Amazon rainforest for two months. An official at the government's
INDIAN FOUNDATION said the shamans would conduct a ritual to repel the smoke
and if possible, bring on rain. Firefighters say only heavy rains can douse
the fires which have burned out of control in northern Roraima state and destroyed
a vast area of highland savannah and virgin rainforest. The state government
declared an emergency in January but its appeals for help from the federal
government went largely ignored until this month, when the press and environmental
pressure groups drew attention to the scope of the disaster.
http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/980329/
news/stories/fires_1.html
------------
AND THEN THE RAINS CAME
(Source: REUTERS, 4/1//98, Thanks to Patrick Miller for forwarding NHNE this
followup article)
Rain has put out virtually all the fires raging in the savannah and
jungles of Brazil's northern Amazon, the BRAZILIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
COMPANY (Embrapa)
said. "We're out of the crisis phase," said Evaristo de Miranda, an environmental
researcher at Embrapa. "It's a divine coincidence. Most of the rain fell on
the areas with most fires."
Fires set by subsistence farmers and fueled by a drought linked to the El Nino
weather phenomenon have raged for more than two months in Roraima, ravaging
an area the size of Lebanon, according to an official estimate. While much
of the area affected is savannah, where the vegetation recovers quickly after
fire, flames have also advanced into the more fragile rainforest, including
the huge reservation of the primitive Yanomami Indians.
In Boa Vista, people celebrated as the smoke which has hung over the region
for weeks was washed away. Television newscasts showed firemen dancing in puddles
while two Indian shamans, who Monday night performed a traditional rain-conjuring
ritual, smiled for the cameras in the downpour. Many residents have attributed
the rain to the medicine men.
"All the planes in the world would not have been able to match what the heavens
dumped on Roraima over the last two days," de Miranda said. But de Miranda said
there was also a scientific explanation. Rains often follow the passage of the
sun directly over the equator and that phenomenon, marking the start of sub-equatorial
spring, occurred on March 20, he said.
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MAJOR INTERNET RESOURCES:
SCORECARD COMMUNITY CENTER
http://www.scorecard.org/
The ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND has created the website from hell for companies
that are quietly polluting the United States. Simply visit their "Scorecard
Community Center" Website, type in your area code, and find out:
-- What manufacturing plants are polluting your community
-- How close those polluters are located to your home, school, and workplace
-- Which toxic chemicals are being released in the largest amounts in your
community's air and water
-- How your community compares to other community's in the United States
And if all of that isn't enough to cause polluting companies to break out in
a cold sweat, the Scorecard Community Center also helps you send faxes to polluters,
email to government representatives and get in touch with others in your area
who share similar concerns.
------------
NASA SEARCH ENGINE
http://www.nasa.gov/search/index.html
This new NASA search engine allows you to easily search through hundreds of
thousands of documents published on NASA websites.
------------
REAL-TIME SATELLITE WEATHER IMAGES
(Source: NASA/MARSHALL SCIENCE, 3/26/98)
Weather around the globe and around your block is on call, around the clock,
via the Internet from a NASA-university research center. The site includes
an interactive viewer that lets you zoom in on the region of your choice (http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/).
Major land features are visible when the atmosphere is clear. When it's cloudy,
you can see major weather formations from above the cloud tops.The site also
allows you to animate satellite views at low-resolution as well as provide
image sequences on-demand at your point of interest.
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/newhome/
headlines/essd26mar98_1.htm
------------
TOP 100 WEBSITES
Ever wondered what the most heavily-trafficked websites on the Internet are?
Wonder no more. 100hot.com tracks not only the top 100 websites on the Internet,
but also the most heavily trafficked websites in assorted categories.
http://100hot.com/
------------
ANOTHER MILLENNIUM EVENTS CALENDAR
(Source: MILLENNIUM INSTITUTE NEWSLETTER, April, 1998)
The Year 2000 and Millennium Events Section of the MILLENNIUM INSTITUTE Website
is chock-full of descriptions and links to plans being made around the world
in anticipation of the new millennium. At last count nearly 40 countries have
one or more points of contact for plans.
http://www.igc.apc.org/millennium/events/
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JESUS WATCH:
SHROUD OF TURIN DISPLAYED
[The following excerpts come from "A Report on the Opening of the 1998 Shroud
Exhibition" by Emanuela & Maurizio Marinelli that is presently posted on
The Shroud of Turin Website <www.shroud.com>]
On Wednesday, April 15, at 5.29 a.m., the Shroud of Turin was secretly transferred
to the temporary sacristy of the Turin Cathedral, from a secret place, in the
presence of Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin. There, the textile
expert Mrs. Mechtild Flury-Lemberg and Sister Maria Clara worked for about
three days to stitch the Shroud on a white cloth and a thick flannel after
having removed the old blue satin border.
On the evening of Friday, April 17, the Shroud was inserted in its
new case... The cost of 800 millions liras to produce the case was
sponsored by "Italgas." The
case weighs three tons and is formed of two 5 mm bulletproof steel plates separated
by a thin inner tube, while the inside part is of stainless steel. The Shroud
is covered by a special glass, 7 cm thick, bulletproof and UV protected. Inside
the case there is a mixture of inert gas (argon) and steam; the quantity of
oxygen is continuously controlled since it mustn't exceed 0.010.1%. The temperature
is controlled at around 18C.
On Saturday morning, April 18, the first visitors were allowed: Cardinal Saldarini,
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy and her daughter Elisabetta, who was viewing
the Shroud for the first time. At 9:00 a.m., more than 800 qualified journalists
from all over the world were allowed to see the Shroud. At 11 a.m., a press
conference was called for the opening of the exhibition. Because of the great
number of journalists, it was organized outside, in the courtyard of the seminary
on XX Settembre street... At 4 p.m. the solemn Mass for the opening of the
exhibition was celebrated by Cardinal Saldarini with many Piedmontese Bishops.
[Editor's Note: Those who've registered to see the Shroud of Turin in person,
begin their approach to one of Christianity's most sacred artifacts by winding
their way through gardens, tents, walkways, bookstores, and various kinds of
Shroud-related photographs and displays. The Shroud of Turin Website contains
a series of maps and photographs that detail this mini-pilgrimage.]
Finally one arrives at the left door of the Cathedral. At this point one can
choose among three different platforms at various levels that allow viewing
the Shroud from different heights. Flash photography is not allowed, however
the lighting is perfect. The dominant violet color of the vestments gives something
of a funeral or Lent sensation. The painting showing the Guarini Chapel as
it looked before the 1997 fire, placed over the steel shield that separates
the Cathedral from the rest of the Chapel, produces a beautiful scene behind
the Shroud case. Viewers are permitted to stand before the Shroud for about
2 or 3 minutes, not more, then go out through the right door. No more than
4,000 persons per hour will be admitted.
http://www.shroud.com/expos.htm#april18
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LETTERS:
ABOUT THE POWER OF GRATITUDE (4/16/98)
I had a bit of a judgmental reaction to your recent article about SARAH BAN
BREATHNACH. Over several decades there have been a series of books that say
if you follow your bliss, think positive, visualize abundance, feel loving,
practice forgiveness -- etc. -- things will go rather well for you in the regular
world.
This is the latest pop installment of a religious theme that goes back centuries:
A person's outward success is a reflection of their inner spiritual condition.
When wealth was inherited the theme took the form of the Divine Right of Kings:
You should accept the King because someone could only be King because God intended
him to be. Similar ideas are applied to the Pope and the Dali Lama.
With the industrial revolution in England and the new possibility of wealth
being earned, rather than inherited, we got the Protestant Ethnic and the Spirit
of Capitalism (Max Weber's book): God rewards good works, rather an bestows
divine grace. Therefore the wealthy and successful have good religious character,
and the poor and economically unsuccessful are disreputable, lazy, spiritually
inferior people. A version of this theme is part of the current scapegoating
of America's needy and poor.
With the coming of psychotherapy among the relatively well-off economically,
we got maximums equating success in relationships, happiness, right livelihood
with good spiritual character.
Given the mandate of NINE -- searching for the truth objectively
-- I think you should question this general theme. Surely the evidence
is at best uneven
in its favor. I very much like the unconventional saying of Hazrat Inyat Khan
in this regard: He said something like, "Some souls can succeed in life by
acting morally; some souls can not."
My personal suspicion is that there is no simple direct relationship between
success in worldly life, and the degree to which one is aligned with one's
inner spiritual purpose. This is one of the painful imponderables that tests
our faith and turns us towards intuition.
---Howard Schwartz
------------
ON OUR "HIT LIST"
What struck me most about the article was one woman's attempt to follow spirit
and the various trials she passed through on her way to success. Encouraging
all of us to be more grateful probably doesn't hurt, but I certainly agree
with you that simplistic formulas for success aren't what they are cracked
up to be. The topic you outlined it is definitely on our "hit list" of things
to seriously explore.
---David Sunfellow
------------
A DIFFERENT TWIST
My husband and I have given [making a list of what you are grateful for] a
different twist. Both of us are bad about journaling... so here's what we now
do. Every evening at dinner, we give thanks for our food and say 5 things each
that we are grateful for that happened that day. It works!
---Sherri Anderson, Russiaville, Indiana
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
INSTANT ENLIGHTENMENT IS WISHFUL THINKING
[The following excerpts come from Solstice Shift, by David Spangler, portions
of which appear in the current issue of VENTURE INWARD (May/June 1998), a magazine
published by the ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH & ENLIGHTENMENT. Spangler is a
philosopher, writer, educator, and well-known figure in the planetary transformation
movement. His newest books include, Everyday Miracles and A Pilgrim in Aquarius.]
"I have found a tendency in New Age thinking to imagine that some great shift
or transformation is going to happen, and that because of it we will all wake
up one morning to discover that we have a new consciousness and are living in
a new world.
"This is a tempting image. It is like getting something for nothing -- like winning
the lottery, for example -- and we all can appreciate the attractiveness of such
an occurrence. Yet, in this process, something is lost. There are connections
that are not made... consciousness is impoverished through lack of participation.
If humanity is entering a new world and a new consciousness, if a transformative
shift is truly going on, then... we must be awake to it and be part of it; we
cannot just wake up one morning with a new face and a new identity. We would
not know how we got there, and it would be just a surface event; an outer change
but not necessarily an inner one. We might be in a new world but we wouldn't
know how to inhabit it.
"My own inner contacts have stressed over the years that humanity is going through
a time of transition, but that the nature of this transition is different from
others which it has experienced in the past... Put simply, the fundamental nature
of the transition is not the emergence of a new world but the emergence of a
new spiritual and incarnational maturity. It is the emergence, not of new powers
of awareness necessarily, but of new depths of responsibility, integrity, accountability,
and connectedness."
"The thrust of the 'new' energies active within the Earth at the present time
is toward enhancing the experience of personal freedom on the one and the experience
of being part of a larger wholeness and having a responsibility to that larger
wholeness on the other... by its very nature, we cannot embody or understand [this
new energy] except by consciously working through the tension between self
and the other and learning to participate in cocreative relationships."
"For this reason, the new world is not something that can just happen for (or
to) us. We cannot be magically transported from where we are to a better place.
We must forge the path ourselves, for in knowing how we arrived in that better
place and what we had to go through to get there, we will have developed the
knowledge, the wisdom, and the maturity to know how to sustain it.
"It is not uncommon for individuals to have experiences of sudden, spontaneous
enlightenment; it is much more rare, however, for that experience to last. Nearly
everyone I have talked to who has had an experience of suddenly entering a higher
consciousness has told me how it faded after a few days, leaving him or her with
a feeling of emptiness and longing. This is because something in that person's
life was attuned enough or strong enough to empower a breakthrough but not integrated,
attuned, or strong enough to sustain the new level of complexity and energy once
it had been touched. To make such a new level permanent, one needs to live out
its elements in everyday life, to anchor its qualities within oneself through
choices, actions, and attentiveness. This can take time and work.
"Within this context, I believe we need to be careful when we talk about 'shifts'
in the earth's vibrations or new 'energies' coming into the world. It is very
easy for this kind of language to become quite abstract and meaningless while
still engendering a feeling that something is going to happen that will bring
the New Age about without our needing to do anything. I have had people in New
Age gatherings come up to me and say with much excitement, 'A shift in the planet's
energies is going to happen this coming solstice!' or some equivalent statement
with the same happy anticipation as if they had said, 'Christ is appearing next
month and all the world will be transformed.'
"The problem with such an attitude is twofold: it can be disempowering because
it leads us to look outside ourselves for something or someone else to do our
work for us, and it is not a precise enough statement to mean anything. After
all, what does a 'shift' mean? What is shifting? How is it shifting? How will
that affect us? What are the new 'energies' that a 'shift' might bring? How are
they propagated throughout the world? How do they work? What impact will they
have? These are all important questions to at least consider if we are to use
such language with precision and with the hope that it actually will have concrete
meaning that will be useful to us in making choices and taking actions."
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GURU WATCH:
CRIMES OF THE SOUL
[The following quotes come from "Crimes of the Soul," an article by Jill
Neimark that appears in the April, 1998 issue of PSYCHOLOGY TODAY. Along with
discussing the psychology of guru/devotee relationships, the article also takes
a look at some of today's most well-known religious leaders and gurus: Andrew
Cohen, Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, L. Ron Hubbard, G.I. Gurdjieff, Sai Baba, Swami
Muktananda, Amrit Desai, David Koresh, Jim Jones, the Dalai Lama, to name a few.]
"The cost of adoration is, oddly enough, isolation. Kramer and Alstad [authors
of The Guru Papers] note that Gurus are deprived of real relational intimacy,
and thus try to fill the need for genuine closeness with more and more followers:
'The role of guru is a gradual entrapment. Power is seductive, and they don't
realize what they're giving up -- humanity, a normal life of horizontal rather
than vertical relationship. When people succumb to the temptation to be a guru,
they are often destroyed as human beings."
"One of the deeper ironies of a life committed to a spiritual teacher is that,
though you may flee ten thousand attachments, you end up surrendering your entire
existence to a single man or woman."
"The guru-disciple relationship is by nature unhealthy, believes psychologist
Rachel Brier, who has worked with over a dozen former devotees of Kripaklu's
Desai. 'When a relationship is based on the idealization of one and the submission
of another, the system invites abuse. Disciples believe that the guru is godlike,
and the disciple is lost without the wisdom, knowledge, and love of the guru.
It is an emotionally fused relationship in which each needs the other to exist.
There are no healthy boundaries, no checks and balances, no real other.'"
"In their native cultures, shamans are looked upon as ordinary people who happen
to heal others. They milk cows, plant corn, and also perform healings. But when
a shaman comes to America... he's often idolized as a saint and guru. 'To come
from a culture where they are respected but net revered,' says John Perkins,
the Founder of the DREAM CHANGE COALITION, 'and to be suddenly idolized is difficult
for them. A lot of women throw themselves at these men sexually. And because
shamans tend to consider sex as an ecstatic experience that opens the door to
other realities, it's a very confusing issue.'"
"Something happens to that venerable, ancient tradition of teacher and seeker
when it hits our shores. It mutates. There's simply too intoxicating a liquor
of freedom and power here to keep it intact."
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"IT'S TOUGH LEADING A SPIRITUAL LIFE"
(Thanks to Susan Dubin for forwarding this New Age journal entry to NHNE)
I was having an out of body experience one day so I grounded myself
and got centered with the help of my spirit guides and almost astral
traveled anyway,
but the phone rang. I sensed the negative vibrations so I threw the I-Ching
and checked my numerology chart and nearly had a primal, but my energy was
too blocked, so I did some bioenergetics and self parenting, took some flower
essence and ate an organic oat bran ginseng muffin, but my inner child wasn't
feeling nurtured yet so I had a Rice Dream Frozen Pie too, but that made me
hyper so I did the relaxation response while listening to my subliminal tapes,
but I was feeling depersonalized so I did some polarity work, foot reflexology
and past life regression, then rebirthed myself and called Moon Beam, the bodyworker,
to make an appointment for a Shiatsu, Reike, Rolfing, Feldenkreis, Swedish,
Japanese deep tissue massage, but she flaked out and never returned my call,
so I decided to energize my crystals and do some positive imagery because all
my visualization techniques and affirmations made my space feel invaded, so
to get empowered, I got a psychic reading from Mother HeartLove around the
issue of my assertiveness so I could feel my radiance and have some energy
for my psycho-calisthenics and inversion swing before my harmonic brain-wave
synergy session, which made me more focused for my actualization seminar, holistic
healing class and dreamworkshop, so I'd be more clear for my Gestalt behavioral
cognitive transpersonal Rechian Jungian Freudian Ericksonian session at the
hot springs but my aura was weak for my trance-channeling group so I fasted
until noon to recharge my chakras and I sensed my intuition was high and my
cycle was focused, so I turned on my ion generator to open up for my neural-linguistic
programming session, but I needed to have my pyramid recharged before my guided
synchronicity meditation, so I got some cranio-sacral therapy, which aligned
me for the fire walk, which was between my tarot card reading and my sensory
deprivation tank appointment, but after all that I felt what I truly needed
was a meaningful relationship to mirror myself so I went to my personal shaman,
and then to my guru, but they were no help, so instead I went to the Intensive
Whole Life Earth Rebirth Cosmic Expo Symposium Workshop to find someone who
really knew what was going on, but that didn't work either, so I locked myself
in a calcium-coated Orgone Box and went to sleep so I could "get it" in the
dream state.
---Author Unknown
------------
ASTROLOGICAL LIGHT BULBS
(Thanks to Sue Potter for forwarding this to NHNE)
How many members of your sign does it take to change a light bulb?
ARIES: Just one. You want to make something of it?
TAURUS: One, but just *try* to convince them that the burned-out bulb is useless
and should be thrown away.
GEMINI: Two, but the job never gets done -- they just keep arguing about who
is supposed to do it and how it's supposed to be done!
CANCER: Just one. But it takes a therapist three years to help them through
the grief process.
LEO: Leos don't change light bulbs, although sometimes their agent will get
a Virgo in to do the job for them while they're out.
VIRGO: Approximately 1.00000000 with an error of +/- 1 millionth.
LIBRA: Er, two. Or maybe one. No, on second thought, make that two. Is that
OK with you?
SCORPIO: That information is strictly secret and shared only with the Enlightened
Ones in the Star Chamber of the Ancient Hierarchical Order.
SAGITTARIUS: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives
ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burnt-out light bulb?
CAPRICORN: I don't waste my time with these childish jokes.
AQUARIUS: Well, you have to remember that everything is energy, so...
PISCES: Light bulb? What light bulb?
---Author Unknown
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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.
Founder,
Publisher & Editor: David Sunfellow
News Director: James Gregory
SwiftWing Reporters & Researchers:
Sherry Stultz, Sherri Anderson
NHNE & NewEarthNet WebMaster: Noel Fray
Director of Accounting & Fund Raising: Diane (Di) Ayers
NHNE is a proud member of
the NewEarthNet Planetary Transformation Network:
http://nen.sedona.net/members.html ------------
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
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