(The estimated world population was
6,125,603,154 according to The
International Programs Center as of Jan 31, 2001 so you can do
your own calculation.) The upshot is, whether you use Clarke's figure or
update it, that we should be knee-deep in
ectoplasm. So, where are all the ghosts? Considering the huge
numbers involved even if we subscribe to the idea that ghosts only manifest
themselves after a violent or otherwise emotionally charged death there should
still be standing room only. Note that so far 80
is charitably assuming there is an element of truth in the concept of ghosts
and haunting. If abundance of dedicated websites were an indication of spooks'
existence then we are dealing with a real phenomenon - but then website
numbers are no indicator of veracity as Past
Views have illustrated.
Ghostly Profit
The subject of ghosts was glanced at before -
see Ghosts, UFOs, Boo-Boo and
80 thinks it is time to return and see how Dave
and Sharon at the Ghostweb are
doing with the ghost business - and a business it undoubtedly is. If you find
you have too much money (and of course we all know that feeling) why not throw
some away on unproven gobbledegook, questionable technology and thereby
advance the cause of rooking the gullible or untutored? You can even earn
qualifications such as Certified
Ghost Hunter or Certified
Paranormal Investigator.(Note
that both qualifications appear to assume the reality of the phenomena to be
investigated.) Certified by who, the more inquisitive among us may ask? Why by
Dave and Sharon, naturally - who are both holders of PhDs, Dave in Religion
and Sharon in Metaphysical Counselling. But who certifies the certifiers? (A
trip to Degree.Net may
furnish a clue.) Their web site has changed since 80
last called but is still well
laid out and full of the most incredible hokum including a claimed 7,500
ghost photos - some of which are available
for free (yippee). To view the full set you need to stump up $12
for a site passport
After a look at the free offerings it would seem that they may have
pitched the price a mite too high. A look at this
picture will show that photographic incompetence/ignorance rather than
ghosts are at work here. Even more risible is this
one 80 has achieved similar results
when hamfistedly loading film
but has yet to blame the supernatural. Also deeply unimpressive are what is
claimed to be "smoking
gun" proof of ectoplasmic
vortices . Using William
of Occam's reasoning I would suggest that rather than proof of
vortices these pictures show nothing
more than either a double exposure effect or lens flare. Nothing in any of
these pictures supports the contention that ghosts
exist but perhaps suggests that if Dave and Sharon are making a
living out of this stuff P
T Barnum's dictum is as relevant as ever. It is noted with little surprise
that links are thoughtfully provided
to a Bigfoot and a UFO
page.
Barmy Swami
A recent item in the news billed as the
greatest human gathering, was the Kumbh Mela, a religious
festival on the banks of the River Ganges. India is awash with swamis,
holy men, astrologers and other purveyors of what the uncharitable would call
bunkum and their attendance at Kumbh Mela is certainly nothing new. What the
21st century version has brought is a rash of the same old stuff but now given
a thin veneer of terms and buzzwords borrowed from Western physics. (Similar
in fashion to the line The Natural
Law Party peddles) Another modern innovation is the use of the
internet. One Gokul Prasad Agarwal pushes his
ideas dressed up with some scientific sounding phrases. "Theory of
Everything" is a particular favorite, possibly because as he uses it it
doesn't actually mean anything. At his Curefree
website he claims to be able to cure a whole raft of ailments - diabetes,
heart artry(sic) blockage, asthma, arthritis, migraine, cancer (all
kinds it seems - at least no distinction is made between the many types),
AIDS, Coma (again type unspecified), and
spondalities (sic). Apparently "Any
disease can be cured by correction in Charging/ Burning/ Fusing system of the
body through Negative/Positive
and cross charging systems." (No, reading it twice doesn't help
comprehension any) The main ingredient of these cures is "Amrit
Jal" which is described as "zero
viscocity(sic) water".
All of this would be mildly amusing except that there is a worrying chance
that someone with a serious illness would eschew conventional treatment in
favor of this nonsense and suffer for it, possibly fatally.
Bony Electrodes
In search of further enlightenment 80
looked for the principle behind Gokul Prasad Agarwal's self styled "Science
of
Creativity"
and "Theory of Everything". (These are
referred to as SOC and TOE. Perhaps more appropriate would be
Curious Rationale of All Phenomena.) It would appear that, "the
entire universe is a game of fire". Slightly less opaque is "
What is that
which is burning within a creature by which creature gets certain optimum body temperature
and why this temperature varies from creature to creature, if the temperature
of a creature varies from his optimum temperature, illness appears."
So if you are too hot or too cold you could be ill - not much to object to
there but hardly a shattering revelation. Further pearls of wisdom are "blood
is 'Liquid Fire'" and bones are "'Electrodes'
inside the body". For those of you simplistic enough to think
teeth evolved to masticate food the statement "Why
do we feel irritated while joining our upper teeth against the lower
teeth. Why the teeth are the by products of negative and positive
charging systems of the body and tongue is charging part in the body."
takes some swallowing, with or without chewing. But the showstopper is this
" What is the use of two
nipples in the male
chest and how coronary ailments can be cured through these two nipples without
operation." Sadly 80 could find no
more on this intriguing subject but the mind boggles.
Beyond Belief
Perhaps 80 is
lacking in the will to believe and where best to check this out than at Belief.net
a sort of catch-all faith site catering to a wide range of belief systems.
Unlike many places in the world such as Nigeria or Indonesia where religious
adherents are busy killing and maiming other religious adherents of a
different persuasion at Belief.net they all coexist in a sort of warm,
spiritual, New Agey sort of glow. Highlights are a quiz to test your knowledge
of angels or a series of help pages such as Ask
the Rabbi or Ask
the Lama. The Angel
Therapy section by Doreen Virtue (I kid you not) has an area where
you can post your own experiences of angels - one such post deserves quoting
.....
"I think, that
Michael Jackson is a real Angel. I do believe that he was sent from god to
protect and care for children."
This is certainly an unusual view of Jackson and
one, I would hazard, that is not widely shared. Doreen Virtue by the way,
"is a psychotherapist who works with
the angelic realm. A clairvoyant since childhood, Doreen teaches people
practical ways to work with heaven
to heal their lives." She also has a PhD but we are not told if
she got it where Dave and Sharon got theirs.
Spiritual Flunker
Buoyed up by the the warm, fuzzy glow from
Belief.net 80 decided to take the "What's
Your Spiritual Type?" questionnaire. At the end a range of
scores is given...........
25 - 29 Hardcore Skeptic --
but interested or you wouldn't be here!
30 - 39 Spiritual Dabbler -- Open to spiritual matters but
far from impressed
40 - 49 Active Spiritual Seeker – Spiritual but turned off
by organized religion
50 - 59 Spiritual Straddler – One foot in traditional
religion, one foot in free-form spirituality
60 - 69 Old-fashioned Seeker -- Happy with my religion but
searching for the right expression of it
70 - 79 Questioning Believer – You have doubts about the
particulars but not the Big Stuff
80 - 89 Confident Believer – You have little doubt
you’ve found the right path
90 - 100 Candidate for Clergy
........and the score for 80? Not enough to
register on the scale at a measly 21. Oh dear...........
Some time ago 80
was asked why most of the websites reviewed were in the US - the answer was
that the US did not have a monopoly on loonies but that they were just better
documented. Above we have had India's contribution and now here is England's
entry from one David Icke.
He first came to public attention as a soccer player and then middling TV
sports reporter but this was soon eclipsed by a Damascene type transformation
and he began to hear voices. Like many others before him he felt called to a
higher purpose and also like many others does not seem to be averse to earning
a buck or two from his revelations. Certainly highly flattering comments were
made about him by a spirit figure which he repeats for the reader's
enlightenment.
"He is a
healer who is here to heal the earth and he will be world famous. He will face
enormous opposition, but we will
always be there to protect him. He is still a child spiritually, but
he will be given the spiritual riches. Sometimes he will say things
and wonder where they came from. " Icke is not alone in his
wonderment.
He certainly seems to plowing the same old
paranormal furrow with vague predictions "In
20 years there will be a different kind of flying machine, very
different from the aircraft of today. Time will have no meaning. Where you
want to be, you will be." and
"There will be great earthquakes. These will come as a warning to the
human race. They will occur in places that have never experienced them. Taking
oil from the seabed is destabilising the inner earth. The centre of the earth
will move and the
poles will change. The sea spirits will rise and stop men taking oil."
Lizard Lineage
But recently he has a taken a new tack that is
worth a closer look. It is what he calls The
Reptilian Connection. He claims through inspired researches to have
discovered that an ancient race of reptiles cross- bred with humans and this
bloodline continues to this day. And who are these secret reptiles
manipulating our world ?
"The
Rothschilds, Rockefellers, the British royal family, and the ruling political
and economic families of the US and the
rest of the world come from these SAME bloodlines. This is why the so
called Eastern Establishment families of the United States interbreed with
each other as obsessively as the European royal and "noble" families
have always done. And similar families across the world. It is not because of
snobbery, it is to hold as best they can a genetic structure - the reptilian-mammalian
DNA combination which allows them to 'shape-shift'"
(An unkind thought occurs that given the
physical attributes of many of these special families it is likely that
aesthetic criteria are fairly low down on the shape-shifting priorities.)
Oh, and this bloodline also includes US presidential dynasty in the
making, the Bush family. (Dubya - a reptile - surely not?) For those of you
that remember the TV sci-fi
series "V" some of this will sound a little familiar, and in
fact Icke acknowledges the show as one of his sources. The rest of his
theories cover old ground such as Satanic Ritual abuse, Illuminati, vampires,
water fluoridation, and even 80's old favorite
the MK mind control program.(see Mind Control in Chemtrails
Cydonuts Loons). I leave the last word to David Icke himself........
"Indeed, if
you do your job well enough, the people will laugh at the truth, call it
insane, and ridicule anyone who promotes it."
(Thanks to Eric Krieg. Check out his web
pages and take a look at phACT
- both highly recommended)
