 |
|
A fathom is 1,8 metres (6 feet). |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
'World's oldest man' dead at 138
Reads: 135 |
Posted by Thoth on Sunday, August 24, 2008 (CDT)
 An Indian reported to be the world's oldest man has died in the western city of Jaipur, his family said. Habib Miyan, who died Monday, claimed to be 138 years old and was listed as the country's oldest man in India's Limca Book of Records. But without a birth certificate giving formal proof of his age, Habib Miyan, who played clarinet in a maharaja's band before retiring 70 years ago, could not prove his longevity.
However, his pension book showed his birth date as May 20, 1879 — which would make him 129. The oldest living person according to the Guinness World Records is 115-year-old Edna Parker, who lives in an Indiana nursing home. Japanese woman Yone Minagawa died last year at 114.
Thousands of people thronged Habib Miyan's funeral on Tuesday in Jaipur, 340km from Jodhpur, following a bout of fever and dysentery, his niece Munni told AFP.
(Read More... Philosophy, wisdom & the human condition | Word Count: 570 | comments? | Score: 0) |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Prophets of doom always with us
Reads: 261 |
Posted by Thoth on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 (CDT)
 Ever since Thomas Malthus predicted mass starvation for our species more than 200 years ago, doomsday scenarios have come and gone with regularity. The 20th century was full of them. In 1910, it was feared the arrival of Halley's comet would bathe the world in a cloud of cyanide. There were publications announcing "End of the world, May 18." An enterprising company even sold "comet pills" to ward off the poison gas.
By 1950, TV evangelist Billy Graham had his own prediction for the end of the world. "We may have another year, maybe two years. Then I believe it is going to be over," he lamented. It actually was all over in 1978, for more than 900 followers of cult leader Jim Jones. They committed suicide, apparently in the belief a nuclear Armageddon was at hand.
Of course, all these predictions, and scores more like them, had one thing in common. They were wrong.
(Read More... Philosophy, wisdom & the human condition | Word Count: 794 | comments? | Score: 0) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Why the Paranormal is Normal
Reads: 184 |
Posted by Isis on Saturday, July 19, 2008 (CDT)
 In general, it's fair to say that the popular belief in the paranormal falls outside the official picture of reality. The official picture is grounded in science, rationalism, and materialism. It takes a definition of "natural," after all, before "supernatural" can exist. God was natural in the medieval world, and thus miracles, healings, apparitions of the Virgin Mary, stigmatics, and so on, were considered natural. At the moment, it doesn't matter how many people believe in the supernatural.
Until the official picture changes, astrology is bogus, astronomy is legitimate. Ghosts are bogus, apparitions of the Virgin Mary are -- well, that's the rub. Religious people are allowed to cling to a different model of reality, tolerated by the official gatekeepers but not believed in. This gives rise to the curious phenomenon of religious scientists, who manage to hold on to two totally conflicting worldviews at the same time.
Any of us can hold conflicting viewpoints at the same time -- it's called compartmentalization. If the various compartments are tight enough and separated by thick walls, a whole range of phenomena can be believed in without making them consistent. I can imagine a cell biologist who is Catholic, has seen a UFO, reads the astrology column in the newspaper, and hopes to go to Heaven when he dies. It would be far better, however, to promote a consistent worldview, one that allows the walls to come down so that official reality might open up to unofficial reality.
(Read More... Philosophy, wisdom & the human condition | Word Count: 706 | comments? | Score: 0) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
'The Secret' conspiracy
Reads: 581 |
Posted by Isis on Thursday, July 10, 2008 (CDT)
 Unless you know about The Secret, you are among the billions of people who have been kept in the dark by the greatest and most complete conspiracy since the beginning of time. "The leaders in the past who had The Secret wanted to keep the power and not share the power," writes Dr. Denis Waitley, a psychologist and "trainer in the field of mind potential," in the introduction to the bestselling book. "They kept people ignorant of The Secret. People went to work and did their job, they came home. They were on a treadmill with no power, because The Secret was kept to a few."
According to Waitley and the other peddlers of The Secret, great leaders throughout history have had knowledge of a certain mind-set that enabled them to achieve whatever they wanted. This secret was locked away for years -- but now it's out in the open again, available to anyone who buys the book or the DVD, or hey, why not both?
"People have used The Secret to manifest their perfect homes, life partners, cars, jobs, and promotions, with many accounts of businesses being transformed within days of applying The Secret," writes Rhonda Byrne in the book's foreword. "There have been heart-warming stories of stressed relationships involving children being restored to harmony. Some of the most magnificent stories we have received have come from children using The Secret to attract what they want, including high grades and friends."
(Read More... Philosophy, wisdom & the human condition | Word Count: 3075 | 1 comment | Score: 5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil
Reads: 215 |
Posted by Isis on Monday, June 02, 2008 (CDT)
 One of South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed on the border between Brazil and Peru. The Brazilian government says it took the images to prove the tribe exists and help protect its land. The pictures, taken from an aeroplane, show red-painted tribe members brandishing bows and arrows. More than half the world's 100 uncontacted tribes live in Brazil or Peru, Survival International says.
Stephen Corry, the director of the group - which supports tribal people around the world - said such tribes would "soon be made extinct" if their land was not protected. Survival International says that although this particular group is increasing in number, others in the area are at risk from illegal logging. The photos were taken during several flights over one of the most remote parts of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Acre region.
They show tribe members outside thatched huts, surrounded by the dense jungle, pointing bows and arrows up at the camera. "We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist," the group quoted Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Junior, an official in the Brazilian government's Indian affairs department, as saying.
(Read More... Philosophy, wisdom & the human condition | Word Count: 395 | comments? | Score: 0) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Media Library contains over 600 Paranormal Audio and Video Clips. Click here to view.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
