Egypt has long been the source of countless conspiracies, ranging from ancient lost civilizations to extraterrestrial markers. The reason for this focus is likely because Egypt is the most romanticized ancient civilization, and also because it is home to the mystical Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving Wonder of the Ancient World. This article will describe some of the conspiracies surrounding the Sphinx and the Pyramid.

The Riddle of the Sphinx

Most of the conspiracy theories revolving around the Sphinx usually involve its age. The Sphinx is generally accepted to have been built along with the Pyramids of Giza around 2500 BC. It is even accepted that the face of the Sphinx bears the likeness of Khafre (Chephren), the Pharaoh during that time.

However, there was no written record from that era regarding the Sphinx or its construction. In addition, the human head of the Sphinx is small in relation to the rest of the body, indicating that the head bearing Pharaoh Khafre’s likeness could have been carved out of a larger lion’s head. These points led some researchers to believe that the Sphinx could have been built much earlier by a more ancient civilization, thus starting a whole host of conspiracy theories.

Geologist Dr. Robert Schoch and author John Anthony West made a case that the erosion marks on the Sphinx appears not to be made by wind or sand, but by water, such as falling rain. They used evidence of other structures in the Giza area to prove their point. If this were true, the construction of the Sphinx could then be dated back to at least 5000 BC, when the area still received substantial rainfall, in contrast to desert conditions later on.

In his official website, Director of the Giza Monuments Dr. Zahi Hawass provides various points suggesting that the evidence used in proving Dr. Schoch’s theory is flawed.

Adding to the conspiracies surrounding the age of the Sphinx, writers Graham Hancock and Robert Buvaul provide evidence in their book Message of the Sphinx that the creation of the Sphinx and Pyramids can be pushed back as far as 10,500 BC using astronomical data.

Secret of the Pyramids

The Pyramids of Giza have been the objects of many conspiracies over the years. Many people believe that the Pyramids are a link to an ancient lost civilization, and may still contain evidence to prove it. Many conspiracy theories regarding secret chambers and passageways within the pyramids exist to this day.

These conspiracy theories became even more widespread in 1993, when Dr. Zahi Hawass announced that the Great Pyramid of Khufu was to be closed to the public for a year. The reason given for the closure was to facilitate cleaning, conservation and restoration of the interior chambers in the Great Pyramid.

However, conspiracy theorists believe that the Egyptian authorities had uncovered evidence of a lost civilization in the Pyramid, and were secretly excavating it to reveal more information.

During the conservation process in 1993, robots were used to explore the small ventilation shafts leading from the "King’s Chamber" and the lower "Queen’s Chamber" in the Great Pyramid. An intriguing discovery was made: partway through the shafts of the "Queen’s Chamber" were "doors" with handles.

In order to prove the transparency of their work and debunk any conspiracies, Dr. Zahi Hawass decided to partner with National Geographic to explore beyond the "doors", and provide a live telecast of the exploration to the rest of the world.

After much publicity, the expedition commenced, with footage telecast live around the world. During the last minute of the show, a camera was sent in a hole made in the "door" of the shaft, revealing another "door" behind it. And that was when the show finished. Conspiracy theories started sprouting, asking the following questions: "What’s behind the 2nd door? Why did the show end so abruptly? What are they hiding from us?"

Steven maintains the informational website Wonders of Ancient Egypt at http://www.nekhebet.com . Do visit if you want to find out more about the wonders of Egypt such as the Pyramids and the Lighthouse; or mysteries such as mummifcation and conspiracy theories; or its religion and history.

What is the New Age Movement? It is similar to New Age Spirituality, but different enough to warrant its own definition. The New Age Movement is a belief that the human race is all one. It is not about equality nor diversity. It is the idea that your gender, age, religion, race, nor sexual orientation makes you better or worse then anyone else. The New Age Movement is moving away from the US against THEM mentality. It is inclusive, open, detached from labels, and above all else, it’s based in love not fear.

At our deepest level, there are only two motivators - love and fear. Fear breeds hate, anger, vengeance, greed, violence, selfishness, and alienates us from truly connecting with spirit and with each other. Love breeds compassion, understanding, forgiveness, charity, gentleness, partnership, and a sense of connectedness with spirit and with each other. One can focus on either motivator and see the logic behind it. Should you choose to see lack, poverty, and attacks towards your fellow man, it’s easy to become fearful. It is part of the survival of the fittest. Fight or flight saved many a caveman to live another day and to breed more like himself. One can also argue that to see the beauty and tenderness that humanity is known to share with each other that it is logical to love thy neighbor and to turn the other cheek. There will always be intelligent arguments for both sides. We as a species have evolved enough to make our own decisions as to which will govern us as individuals.

The New Age Movement proposes that as a collective people we are also able to make an educated enlightened decision as to whether we will be controlled by our fears or by our loves. Will we be a society of angry divided hateful individuals? Or will we be a global community of loving supportive people who honor each other’s right to choose their own path? Like all political, religious, and social movements there are zealots and extremists among the New Age Movement. In the same way that all Christians are not white supremacists and all Pagans are not Satan worshippers, all New Agers are not aging hippies sitting around getting stoned and playing with crystals. Those who endorse the New Age Movement are as diverse as any other group. Their one common belief is that love and true spirituality should lead us as a people, not fear and hatred of anything we deem as different from ourselves.

The New Age Movement embraces the teachings of Christ, the teachings of Buddha, the Native American teachings, the ancient Celtic Pagan teachings, and modern science’s latest findings and teachings. We are explorers trying to understand spirituality on a deeper nuts and bolts level. It is not enough to be told by our parents that one religion is right and all others are wrong. We have a desire to understand and to choose for ourselves what is or is not spiritual. The result is that many New Agers have found themselves holding an eclectic view of religion. Many Native Americans have blended the teaching of Christ within their own beliefs. Many Pagans can see how much they have in common with the Native American beliefs. It is not unusual for Catholics to feel a deep connection to the Buddhist teachings. Forgive me for omitting so many other religions and beliefs but I am simply giving broad examples for the sake of making a point. The New Age Movement was birthed from this exploration of each other’s beliefs. How can we hate someone so much like ourselves?

Christ did not teach blind hatred nor did he teach his followers to give their personal power away to the churches and governments. Only when the churches and governments took over his teachings did that all become part of being a ‘good Christian.’ He did not tell us to hate nor to judge. Bigotry and war is not Christ-like, nor Buddha-like, nor in keeping with the core teachings of any religion. All spiritual teachers taught the same message - love one another and do not harm each other nor the planet and the animals given to you. Take the politics out of religion and they all come down to the same wonderful teachings that have been trampled on by dogma, greed, and bigotry.

Most of America does not realize what a great event we have just experienced. This election was at its root a fight over fear and love. Which would govern us as a country? We are a country under attack. We are a country at war. It is only natural that people are afraid. One candidate ran his entire campaign on fear and hatred of others not like us. The other ran his campaign on love and fellowship. For us to come so close to winning during such a frightening time is marvelous! Were we not at war, I have no doubt that the American people would have chosen to be guided by a leader who chooses love and fellowship as his motivator rather then someone who teaches us to be afraid and to hate others. I have never been so proud or felt that the New Age Movement was so powerful as I do today.

Do not weep and worry about the next four years. Love has taken hold of this country and all will be well. We have covered so much ground towards our goals of tolerance, acceptance, and true spiritual brotherhood. During our great grandparents time, the Gays and Lesbians, the Pagans and Native Americans, the Women and Blacks never would have been allowed to even speak out. We are no longer a minority, those of us who believe that good still exists and that the country can be ruled by humanitarian principles instead of fear and egos ruling our governments. Fear is still strong, but love is finally voted as equal. Balance has been restored. All is well.

Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow’s Edge

About The Author

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow’s Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness.

To read more of her articles and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To download free previews of her books, go to www.SkyeThomas.com.

Skye@TomorrowsEdge.net

Russian porcelain is widely known and is often used as a traditional gift. The art of decorative painting on porcelain is handed down by craftsmen from generation to generation. Few of us, however, have asked ourselves what exactly is depicted on a Gzhel teapot or a Lomonosov porcelain cup. The blue color, glazed cobalt, has a long history.

Majolica made in Gzhel, 60 kilometers from Moscow, has traditionally been decorated with glazed cobalt.

Archeological excavations prove that the craft of pottery has existed in Gzhel since the beginning of the 14th century.

It is possible White and Blue undergalzed cobalt painting tehnology appeared at Gzhel due to invasion of Mongols. Blue and White China was well known product of Chinisean Yuan and Ming dynasties and Mongols could deliver examples of that china to Russia at 13-14th centuries.

In the second half of the 17th century, Afanasy Grebenshchikov, a merchant, built a manufacture where he made various kinds of majolica earthenware. For his ware, he used the famous white clay (Gzhel), as well as the experience of potters from Gzhel. Upon returning to their homes, the craftsmen began establishing their own majolica manufactures.

Traditionally, Gzhel porcelain has been decorated using flower motifs, the Gzhel Rose, for example, and fabulous creatures such as the Firebird. Gzhel porcelain often features octagonal shapes, shapes with eight radial points, shapes with twelve or six radial points, as well as a three-leaf clover.

What do these symbols represent?

The Firebird is a pagan, pre-Christian god of the ancient Slavs, the embodiment of the god of storms. In Slavic tales, this is a fairy bird that flies from another kingdom (a faraway land).

The Firebird is a very ancient pagan god that has survived only in traditional Russian folk tales.

The symbol of the Sumerian goddess Inanna (Ishtar) denotes ‘clear sky’, which was ruled by Zeus. The late Scythians traced their origins back to Zeus. His third wife, Hera, was a co-ruler of the sky. Her symbol was a duck (’sunny’ in Sumerian), a golden bird or Zhar bird (Russian name of the Firebird, deriving from the Scythian zar, gold).

It is assumed that the Firebird of the ancient Slavs came from the Zhar bird (Golden Bird) of the Scythians.

Flowers were the symbol of the sun among the ancient Slavs. Flowers were braided into the hair of girls during celebrations of the ancient festival dedicated to the god the Sun.

The bud of a flower symbolizes a possibility.

A flower in full bloom represents development and fruition.

The ancient Slavs often used ceramic jars for religious purposes, as well as calendars. This gave rise to the tradition of decorating tableware with octagons (ancient Slavs recognized eight parts of the world) and calendar symbols (the twelve months).

The three-leaf clover symbolized a part of the tree of life, procreation, and the connection between the ancestors and future generations. The symbol of the tree of life is very ancient and exists in the folklore of many peoples. D. Melchizedek wrote that this symbol includes all the formulas of the creation of the world - every single one of them.

Let us, however, return to the later historical period.

During the Middle Ages, cobalt glazed decoration enjoyed especial popularity.

Gzhel craftsmen like to say that there is no blue like the blue of their sky in Russia.

So, the idea came to them to transfer this blue onto white porcelain. The design is transferred to unfired majolica or porcelain. After it is fired at a very high temperature, the paint acquires its famous deep blue color and becomes glazed over by the process. The design is very durable. The colors and the glaze shimmer. It looks delicate and esthetically pleasing on white porcelain and porcelain with gold, and gives a delicate and elite character to the tableware.

In the beginning of the 18th century, porcelain was especially popular in the Russian Empire. It was valued more highly than gold. The French Imperial Plant was one of the main manufacturers of porcelain tableware. Porcelain items were manufactured for the court of the Bourbons, and blue was the traditional color for decoration, since it was the color of the coat of arms of the Bourbons.

Soon, Russia acquired this tradition - porcelain of that time was often decorated with blue and gold. Initially, this tradition was not as widespread, and the ‘ancestor’ of the modern, world-famous cobalt mesh of the Lomonosov Plant, the set that belonged to the Empress Elizabeth, known for her passion for porcelain, was pink. (Cups of this design are still being manufactured and are called pink mesh). Glazed cobalt, however, has become characteristic of Russian porcelain, due to the technology of its manufacture - the higher firing technology than that of the French porcelain.

Later, under the the influence of Empire, the style that Catherine the Great was especially fond of, many buildings in St. Petersburg and Moscow were decorated in blue and gold. Glazed cobalt decoration of porcelain items augmented by gold over glaze was especially popular at that time. These traditions may also be noted in the world - famous cobalt mesh, blue, flower motifs of glazed cobalt - an Empire - style tree of life, and gold over glaze that symbolizes the ancient Firebird.

Article provided by Lomonosov porcelain internet shop
http://www.rus-sell.com

In 1350 AD we were still quite a few centuries from settling at Plymouth. I have been luckily in that I have found adequate records back to 1200s in my family tree. But this is the time of the end of the inhabitants and Civilization of the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellers. Some stayed back we suppose, they are the Anastasi Indians. What else was going on in the world during this time? Well as the Indians were leaving there was another civilization flourishing in Thailand and the Thais people had built many city-states.

http://galileo.gits.net.th/www.thaimain.org/en/intro/history.html .

Of course in Italy and Europe they were dealing with the Bubonic Plague. Droughts can cause plagues;

http://www.huttoncommentaries.com/ECNews/SolarHeats/Pisces-AquarianHeatsDroughtsPlagues.htm

and so did the Indians fight over resources and simultaneously had to deal with plagues of the day. We know from El Nino that insects can catch a ride across the Pacific on the jet stream. Did issues such as this add to the problems along with fires, which forced hot air into the air above, ten thousand feet send it into the jet stream and across the ocean? With increased solar activity this is relatively possible and we already know that fires in Russia and China and a Volcano in the Pacific Rim could force debris and insects that would travel with the smoke across the globe. Also dust storms have recently had clouds, which have traveled, twice around the world. As well as the Gulf War sending smoke around the world and changing the atmospheric weather patterns. We know increased electromagnetic energy from solar activity could also cause changes in the ionosphere that changes weather for as many as five or more years. We have recently experienced all of this in the past tow decades.

Now we may not have realized it before, but now with GeoSats I through VII, we have learned more about he weather and its over all effect on our planet and the species and eco-systems in the land, air and sea. Now we know from fallen trees, which have fossilized an estimation of the weather back then. It appears that perhaps we may have accomplished a complete defense system to prevent a repeat of the former issues that mankind had to deal with. For instance air-conditioning, de-salting and the CDC. As far as fighting over resources and killing our fellow species members, apparently genetics has not moved as fast or advanced as much as the innovations which have propelled us to fight these issues. Now we seed the clouds, build barriers, sewer treatment plants, modify foods, use pesticides and fight pathogens, viruses and carefully discharge waste to prevent diseases. I must say if you stand back and look at how far we have come. It is quite impressive.

Now then we see the same signs of the past civilizations, their longevity and their goals. In modern time we saw Hitler proclaim the Third Reich to last some 1000 years. It is possible to create a culture that could accomplish this. It had been done before with the Chinese Dynasties, Egyptians, etc. If you look at England they are well on their way. We are young in the US, but we have really come a along way fast. Are we paying attention to the past and the cycles and flows? Are we kidding ourselves as to resources? Is the rest of the world kidding them selves? Places like Africa where a woman is not considered worthy in her culture unless she has no less than five children living. This is tough since the mortality rate is five to one living, therefore they need to have twenty kids to get five and yet there are not the natural resources or basic infrastructure to support all those children.

When I talk about Basic infrastructure, I mean such things as in sewer treatment plants, water supplies and food shelter and clothing, which are very inefficient in Africa. I suggest “Virus Hunters of The CDC” a great book to explain my point here. Are not paying attention to the most obvious challenges on living on the surface of a planet which is not only quite hostile, but also goes through cycles which make it difficult to habitat. In the US we have evolved our lifestyles and infrastructures to over come these cycles and trends. We are still caught off guard from linear decision making from time to time from politicians and short term thinking special interest groups pulling their strings using such form as a unit of trade or networked group of voters. However usually decisions, which are the worst for our future come from linear decisions which do not take into account the future or known cycles so that our most important projects take into account those issues we must face in future periods, some beyond our own naturals lives. Luckily our innovations have out paced our stupidity. And since free flow thought is still allowed for the most part and only stifled occasionally we all able to use the known cliché; Necessity is the mother of all inventions, to bail us out. This maybe true yet it makes no sense to drive towards a hypothetical point C, when the direct route to B from A is direct (this may not be a straight line).

I submit to you that the issues which have caused Indian Civilizations to fall are the same issues we see today as we attempt to feed more people, who use more resources and often waste that which they use. Growing populations are good for those cultures immersed in trade and using a common currency or unit of trade. We know that declining populations such as the mass exodus in the California bay area, due to miss management by Gray Davis will lead to an accelerated decay as maintenance of infrastructure will not be meeting the lessened flow of dollars in income from taxes. When we look at the zero growth rate of Japan we see a fate, which will befall many European Nations and eventually our population in the United States. The only way out of this is in the next 75 years we will need to change the currency to include payments or vouchers for helping the common good, since we will be over producing with less due to technology, robots and decreased consumption as populations get older.

If we look at Germany with 19% unemployment and taxes of over 70% you can see that free health care is not free at all, as a matter of fact it is nearly 5-6 times the cost as a free market provides such as in the US. With trade down in ancient civilization times as growers could only grow enough to eat and water resources ran out, starving armies grew like starving domestic dogs travel in packs where there is no animal control and they are hungry. Armies can rape and pillage and thus the spoils of war are a way to survive. When Anarchy exists due to a breaking down of civilization, you have turmoil. Which seems to be exactly what happened to the Indians, as we also saw in other times, when people signed up for armies because it meant they could eat if they fought.

When you compound droughts, fires which torch the fields of corn and wheat, which is used to feed your people and animals which bring you everything else with the destruction of wars from your own species. Then you either fight to live, or you die, or you give up and move away. This appears to be either all or part of the factors which led the Indians to leave such places as Mesa Verde:

http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.mesa-verde.2.html

or Canyon de Chelly;

http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_cdc_main.html

Why would you leave if you had adequate defense and plentiful water? You would not, and I believe in the end they had neither. Why would you leave paradise unless you had too? The Incas were obviously not stupid people.

I hope this helps you think about our direction as a nation and how we go about our business throughout the world. Civilization includes so many more things than just a nice grouping of buildings and a base of population.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly rewritten history. It’s been an exciting time, full of adventure and surprises. Around every corner there are new responses to questions we had already imagined answered. And of these breakthroughs, none shines as brightly as the impact of ancient Chinese inventions on modern life. As we explore ten of the greatest inventions and innovations of Ancient China, you may be surprised at their influence on recent technology.

1. Paper. Paper, as we know it, was invented in China around the year 105. After seeing earlier attempts made from silk, bamboo sticks and animal skins, Cai Lun came up with his own idea. After mixing mulberry bark, rags, wheat stalks and other stuff, a pulp formed. This pulp was pressed into sheets and dried, becoming a crude form of paper. Paper was such an important invention that the process of making it was a jealously guarded secret. The secret was safe until the seventh century when the art spread to India.

2. The Printing Press. Before Johann Gutenberg “invented” the printing press in the 1440’s, China created a type of printing press between 206 B.C. and A.D. 45. It was made using stone tablets to create a “rubbing” of famous Buddhist and Confucian texts. Next came block printing in the Sui Dynasty. In block printing, images and words were engraved on wooden boards, smeared with ink and pressed onto sheets of paper. Later, moveable type printing presses were introduced. According to the authors of Ancient Inventions, “By A.D. 1000, paged books in the modern style had replaced scrolls – a good 450 years ahead of Gutenberg.”

3. The First Book. Due to the early advent of the printing press, China also claims the first book. In 868, almost six hundred years before the Gutenberg Bible, the earliest known book was printed. By the end of the Tang dynasty, China had bookstores in almost every city.

4. Paper Money. While today you’d rather carry a lot of cash instead of coin, that hasn’t always been the case. The idea of paper currency was first attempted under Emperor Han Wu-Ti (140-87 B.C.) after war had drained the treasury. He issued treasury notes, worth and in exchange for 400,000 copper coins. Instead of paper, the Emperor used the skin of the white stag. But the creature was so rare that the idea soon lost appeal. In the early 800’s, the idea revived to deter highway robbers. In 812, the government was again printing money. By the year 1023, money had an expiration date and was already plagued by inflation and counterfeiting. Nearly six hundred years later paper money headed west, first printed in Sweden in 1601.

5. The Abacus. Well before Texas Instruments, the first calculator was in the works. The abacus dates from around the year 200 B.C. It is a very advanced tool with a simple design. Wood is crafted into a rectangular frame with rods running from base to top. About 2/3’s from the base, a divider crosses the frame, known as the counting bar. On each of the rods are beads. All of the beads above the counting bar equal five. Those below equal one. The rows of rods are read from right to left. The furthest bar to the right holds the one’s place, the next holds the ten’s place, then the hundred’s, and so on. While its design may sound complex, there are some Chinese today so skilled that they can solve difficult math problems faster than someone using a calculator!

6. The Decimal System. In the West, the decimal system appeared quite recently. Its first believed instance was in a Spanish manuscript dated around 976. But, the first true example goes back much further. In China, an inscription dated from the 13th century B.C., “547 days” was written as “five hundred plus four decades plus seven of days.” The Chinese likely created the decimal system because their language depended on characters (like pictures) instead of an alphabet. Each number had its own unique character. Without the decimal system, the Chinese would have had a terrible time memorizing all of these new characters. By using units of ones, tens, hundreds, etc., the Chinese saved time and trouble.

7. The Mechanical Clock. In the year 732, a Buddhist monk and mathematician invented the first mechanical clock. He named it “Water-Driven Spherical Bird’s-Eye-View Map of the Heavens.” Like earlier clocks, water gave it power, but machinery cased the movement. But, after a few years, corrosion and freezing temperatures took their toll. It wasn’t until 1090, when astronomer Su Sung designed his mechanical marvel “Cosmic Engine”, that a more dependable timepiece was made. Created for Emperor Ying Zong, this clock had a tower over 30 feet tall. It housed machinery that, among other things, caused wooden puppets to pop from one of five doors at regular intervals throughout the day. (Much like the modern idea of a Cuckoo clock.) The entire machine was powered by a giant waterwheel. This clock ran until 1126, when it was dismantled by the conquering Tartars and moved to Peking for another several years. The first clock reference in Western history was in 1335, in the church of St. Gothard in Milan.

8. The Planetarium. A planetarium is a big enclosed space that shows the stars and constellations on the inside. Orbitoscope was the name of the first projection planetarium. It was built in Basil in 1912 by Professor E. Hinderman. But, once again, China is the mother of this invention. The first planetarium is attributed to the design of an early emperor. As one source states, an astronomer named Jamaluddin created a planetarium during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), along with a perpetual calendar and other important astronomical devices.

9. The Earthquake Sensor. The earliest earthquake sensor was also an interesting piece of art. It was a bronze cylinder about 8 feet around, with 8 dragons perched above 8 open-mouthed frogs. In the mouth of each dragon rested a bronze ball. When an earthquake struck, a pendulum inside the cylinder would swing. It knocked the ball from the mouth of the dragon and down into the frog’s mouth. That frog’s back was then facing the direction of the center of the quake. Chang Heng invented it in A.D. 132 (during the Han Dynasty), almost 600 years before the first western sensor was made in France. Later, in 1939, Imamura Akitsune recreated the invention and actually proved it effective.

10. The Helicopter Rotor & Propeller. While the Ancient Chinese didn’t actually invent the helicopter, they were involved in its creation. In the 4th century A.D., they invented a toy called the “Bamboo Dragonfly”. You’ve probably seen them as prizes at local fairs or carnivals. It was a toy top, with a base like a pencil and a small helicopter-like blade at the end. The top was wrapped with a cord. When you pulled the cord, the blade would spin around and soar into the air. This toy was studied by Sir George Cayley in 1809 and played a role in the birth of modern aviation. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the first helicopter took flight.

It is sometimes a mind blowing thing to realize that what seemed to be modern ideas or inventions are much older than we’d imagined. And it’s likely that there are more inventions to be discovered. More historical changes to be made. In the conclusion of The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years, Jared Diamond summed it up well while referring to the changing view of history and its inventors, “So, forget those stories about genius inventors who perceived a need of society, solved it single-handedly, and thereby transformed the world. There has never been such a genius……..If Gutenberg hadn’t devised the better alloys and inks used in early printing, some other contemporary tinkerer with metals and oils would have done so……do give Gutenberg some of the credit—but not too much.”

Questions:

1. Choose one of the inventions mentioned. Explain how different the world would be if it hadn’t been invented.

2. Why do you think there was such a large space of time between the Eastern and Western dates of invention?

3. What are two other inventions that came from ancient China? Research and find out when the idea was introduced to Western culture.

Jennifer Gibbs is a successful freelance writer who lives in South Georgia with her husband and son. If you’re on the lookout for fresh, custom content for your website or publication, be sure to check out her website at, http://www.jennifergibbs.com!

Over the past few years we have been discussing many topics. Most of what is discussed here has to do with observations of the world we live in. We discuss how we might make that world better, what we are currently accomplishing as a people and also our suggestions to make it safer, with greater freedom and more efficient. We have typically made these suggestions from experience, studying market sectors, psychology, human nature, world events, nature, car washing, mother-nature, science, and the natural order and flow of things.

In these topics, categories and items you can find some thing on nearly every subject that affects your life or you have read in various media. Now then, we are going to show how all this fits very nicely into cycles, flows and how these cycles and flows all affect each other and therefore affect our daily lives in so many ways. If we wish to improve health, improve the human experience, living in a free and safe world, leaving no child behind, feeding the world, living in harmony and catapulting mankind into the future; then we will most definitely have to understand these flows. Then and only then when we put all this in perspective can we learn from our mistakes and break the cycle of repeating the failures in history made from leaders who are to quick to put a band aid on critical issues, which causes short term linear decision making, which is causing problems for the continued growth of the United States of America. And although these problems are a world wide issue, we will use examples here at home to justify our thoughts and premise that the answer to civilization, world peace and our place on this planet and in the Universe lies with in the process and flows of all we need. By doing this we can probably eliminate war amongst the human race. (over all, war is actually a small issue in that only 1% of the total people who have ever lived have died in one, although the term brings great emotion).

War is unproductive and it upsets the flow to have a continued cycle of violence and for mankind to keep repeating history. But to bring peace we must make sure the flows are in order to serve the species, few would debate that. The flows we speak of include about twenty items. Of these you will most likely be aware of the following: The Flow of Thought, The Flow of Water, The Flow of Energy, The Flow of Trade, The Flow of Transportation, The Flow of Growth, The Flow of Fuel, The Flow of Money, The Flow of People, The Flow of Traffic, The Flow of Information, The Flow of Communications, The Flow of Distribution, The Flow of Infrastructure, The Flow of Services, The Flow of Products, The Flow of Understanding, The Flow of Food and The Flow of Housing. All of these flows are 100% inter-related. All of these flows affect your life, lives of family members, countrymen and children of the world in a personal way. No decision should ever be made to help one of these flows, until it is determined how it might affect the other corresponding flows. Otherwise Chaos will be the result. Think like a think tank, understand the flows and where we are all headed as we are in this together.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

One of the northern derivatives of Hopewell of interest to a few scholars is the anomalous Effigy Mound culture of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. The remains attract attention because of the range of animal forms represented by the low effigy mounds. There are sometimes burials at the "vital" points - hips, head or heart area - of the animals, but there is only the simplest of grave goods.

{How these nature worship spiritual guide representations can be talked about as "anomalous" is beyond me. The Serpent Mound near Cincinnati is a key worldwide astrological figure. The Nazca Line effigies of animals are well known. The Dragon Project and other ley line and Gaian concepts of earth energy and center point location of the Mayan urban and pyramid complexes are definitely related. Stonehenge is recently shown connected to the Serpent Mound and certain astrological or astronomical observations are discussed in Ancient American magazine. Vortexes of energy are obvious in places like Sedona, Arizona. The Giza main pyramid is on such a vortex and some people talk about time warp effects there. But we must remember most archaeologists like their academic brethren the psychiatrists, don’t believe in psychic visions, soulful interpretations and other spiritual things that all early people on earth clearly knew very well.

What good is there in denial of what others did or used as central to their lives, even if ’science’ of this variety was right? They aren’t right anyway, but please ask this question of the scholars who are interpreting these important cultural artifacts. Why avoid the actual beliefs of the people? The reason to locate the burial in points where the energy is collected relates to the cult of the individual involved and their tribal guide, as well as to their sex and specific power ally. It is part of many less dramatic rituals such as the Star of David and the pentagram.}

Burials are either flexed or bundle types. The link with Hopewell is found in ceramics and in the interest in raptors and certain mammals. At one group, Sny-Magill (now a national monument in Iowa), Beaublein (1953) thought two mounds of the group to be Hopewellian in construction and content. McKern has reported several sites of the Effigy culture (McKern 1928; 1930), as well as the Wisconsin Hopewell - locally called the Trempealeau (McKern 1931). Jennings (1965a) and Rowe (1956) have attempted summaries of the Effigy culture. The sites often lie on ridges overlooking a stream valley. The mounds take about a dozen shapes: conical, biconical, oval, linear, panther, bear, bird (goose, raptor), deer, buffalo (?), turtle, lizard, wolf, or fox, and beaver. These are arranged in clusters or lines with no regularity as to the forms depicted; the linear and conical ones are mixed with the effigies. {Likely no relation to guides or spirits but rather to allow earth energy to build or flow in some manner enhancing or guarding the people. Their ancestral forefathers who are often dug up and moved in the Iroquois or eastern regions mimics practices carried on around the world. [There is a genetic energy and spiritual reality that psychology has shown to exist between family members separated at birth (Harvard) and especially ‘twins’ (Minnesota’s University).]} The groups may contain dozens of mounds…

In New York, Ritchie (1965) identifies Hopewell in the artifacts and mounds of the Squawkie Hill phase; earlier, he had incorporated this phase in his Point Peninsula culture series. Griffin (1964) also notes the Hopewellian content of the New York finds. Furthermore, he mentions the extension of dentate rocker stamping on pottery well beyond the appearance of other Hopewell traits and also comments on the blurring or fading of the Hopewell complex after about A.D. 250.

{It was almost completely gone by 500 AD. This is an important time in world history. The Ostrogothic disappearance from Italy that led to major fortifications in South America as discovered by Gene Savoy after this time when Jennings wrote this book might also have led to the end of the Hopewell cultural control. We know Roman statues were found in Mexico with a 99% archaeological certainty according to University of Calgary Professor Emeritus David Kelley. But few scholars have drawn any connection even with the huge forts in South America. Probably it is pure co-incidence. But when you know the Visigoths are Merovingian related and the people like Dagobert had a trepanned skull as well as other things we will lay before you later you might think it less a co-incidence. The influx of Keltic ‘Red-Heads’ from the Taklamakand Desert near the present Great Wall occurred at this time too, according to Prof. Covey of Wake Forest University, and Professor Joan Price of the American Archaeological Institute.}

This is about the time the southern derivatives began to appear and the cultures of the Middle West and East developed stronger regional differences, with many local sequences replacing the more uniform culture characteristic of Hopewell dominance. Even so, as in the widespread dentate pottery decoration, vestiges of Hopewell ancestry can be noted. In New York, for example, the development of late Point Peninsula into Owasco and even historic Iroquois can be tied through a few traits to Hopewell (Griffin 1964).

The Owasco culture of New York, accepted as being ancestral to the Iroquois, is dated at A.D. 1000 to 1300…. Farming tools included elk-scapula hoes, as well as two types of flint hoe. Food-storage pits are common in some sites.

Author of Diverse Druids
More of my work is available at World-Mysteries.com

What was the controversy all about?

In the 2004 Olympics, an all-star group of athletes from around the world gathered together to compete for titles in gymnastics. In the spirit of competition, there are always tensions between analysts and spokespersons about whether or not athletes deserve the medals they receive. Sometimes, judges are found to be at fault for the controversy, and other times the fiasco is trumped up by uneducated speculation. In this case, the Paul Hamm stir was due to an ancillary error.: the judges mistakenly set his rival’s starting score at 9.9 rather than 10.0. Many believe that it is this error that cost Yang Tae Young, the South Korean rival of Paul Hamm, the all-around gold medal in gymnastics.

Gymnastics judging is not a science.

This is proven again and again. There is no mathematical way of measuring gymnastics routines — in fact, gymnastics is perhaps one of the most subjective sports of all. No goals are involved, as in soccer - no hoops like in basketball; no bullseyes are involved, as in archery; one does not go for distance or height, as in pole vaulting or shot put. In gymnastics, an athlete is judged on form, scored on perfection. It is exceedingly difficult to do so accurately, as there are no vectors that can be calculated to see if someone grasps hold of the parallel bars incorrectly or lands with a wobble.

If you have ever been to a gymnastics competition, you probably understand that panels look at execution for their scoring: something that is full of twists and turns and is poorly executed will score lower than something that is simpler but perfectly executed. The criteria for measuring this aspect of gymnastics include stability and landings — whether or not he or she wavered in the element’s terminus, or held position for less than three seconds at the end of the routine, or took an extra step or stumbled. This does indeed lead to criticism of the judges’ abilities to do their job, and leads also to mistakes in scoring.

Why does Paul Hamm deserve gold?

Paul Hamm, like any other athlete, is and was not a part of the politics of the game. He was there to compete, and indeed, he was there to win. This is the goal of thousands of Olympic hopefuls around the world — to go to the games and to show their skill at the sport they love best. In all actuality, no athlete should have to deal with the things Paul Hamm was forced through. It is entirely understandable that he should refuse to give up his medal — the gold is certainly not tainted; it was his and his alone. The mistakes of the judges are not his to bear. He is an incredible gymnast, indeed.

Why does Yang Tae Young, his rival, not deserve gold?

Perhaps more convincing is the reason as to why Yang Tae Young, Paul Hamm’s Korean rival, does not deserve the gold medal so many have attributed to him. Firstly, the Korean gymnastics team’s representative was late in calling in a complaint, which made the investigation itself - and all the stress associated with it - completely invalid (Olympic rules state, that a protest needs to be made before the end of any full game, such as with the parallel bars, and the Koreans did not do so). Even then, the judges were suspended, and the probing took place. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, even if the judges gave Tae Young the extra .10 points warranted by the difficulty of his routine, he still would have scored lower than he did because of yet another ancillary error. After the tapes were reviewed, it was revealed that Tae Young accidentally made four holds on the bars rather than the allotted three, which would have resulted in a deduction of .2, still leaving him with a deficit of a tenth of a point.

The snafu regarding Paul Hamm’s gold medal - versus, of course, giving the medal up to the South Korean team - is regretable. There should have been no question that Hamm deserved his medal, and he certainly should not have had to deal with the problems around the world. Nor, indeed, did he deserve all of the ill press surrounding his name. The gold medal was well-earned. It certainly bears no tarnishing, and neither does his record.

By Murray Hughes
Gymnastics Secrets Revealed ”The book EVERY gymnastics parent should read”

http://www.gymnasticssecretsrevealed.com/gymnastics-articles/paul-hamm.htm

If your child is a gymnast and you enjoyed this article, you will definitely enjoy reading the zero cost, 5-day course Gymnastics Tips Course written especially for gymnastics parents. Go here now: Gymnastics and Paul Hamm

This is an entry from my three volume encyclopedia.

CRUSADES, CATHARS AND ‘COURTLY LOVE’: - One of the greatest legacies of the revitalization of the teachings of ‘brotherhood’ in the 13th century of the Troubadors was sexual and gender respect. The Cathar ‘dove’ and Peace were not destined to last, but the education of people could not be squelched. It can be argued that the world was a better place then: the Americas were still part of the ‘Brotherhood’ although the Mediterranean warlike cultures of misogynistic deviate men had a strong foothold. Many people there were willing to see a different course of action based more on nurturing female aspects of our psyche. The Templars surely fought to protect the Cathars and they shortly thereafter had to reconfigure as the Knights of Christ in Portugal. Around that time one of the ‘waves of Asians’ came out of the steppes and brought the Pax Tartaris. These waves are becoming as exposed as the ‘Sea Peoples/Hyksos’ theory and some limited Trojan War. Temujin or Genghis Khan was not as barbarian as the Europeans and Tarim’s recent pictures of ‘red-heads’ near the Great Wall in 1800 BC were in his Altaic region over a millenium before that. The history of the cultural evolution of man was benefited by the announcement of the modern man who is not our genetic blood and is much older (2x or more, If not a great deal more to tie in with the Flores Island seafarers of 800,000+ years where the Hobbit is now found.). Indeed the archaeological and genetic forensic as well as forensic tools, including linguistics blow the roof off the old ‘his’-story!

But the Cathars failed to re-institute the ‘Brotherhood’ and living love that Jesus actually taught. Temujin came a lot closer to making an ethical and safe place in the largest Empire of the ‘his’-torians. His progeny threw bodies infected with the Plague over the walls of Christian held trading centers on the Black Sea and the scourge became an important part of the oppression the Catholic Crusades were Inquisiting upon all people of Europe. The Treaty of Tordesillas later brought it to America to wipe out over 70 million within a hundred years: who is the barbarian? The noted authors and scientists of the Catholics like William of Rubruck detailed the quarantining methods and marmot origins of this ‘Black Death’ even before that. The truth is the Catholic leaders knew how this would assist in their feudal control and the ‘sins and demons’ ignorance which ultimately realized the ‘Dark Ages’ goal of reducing the knowledge of the masses to the point of complete slaves to their foul motives. The 70 million who had lived in North America before De Soto and Columbus (with his unusual fighting dogs) had kids who died during that hundred years too: so the total who died from biological warfare in the North American continent easily exceeds the 80 million who died in Europe. At this juncture the Flagellants were blaming the Jews for causing the ‘Plague’. That is true to some extent because the Jews built a religion that the Romans took over and the Saxons and many Roman equestrian farmers (De Medicis) are Jews..

PROPOSED TABLE OF TRUE HISTORY!:

* 3,500 BC - Unification of Egypt and establishment of an exclusive Amazon trading area by aristocratic elite and priest/warriors with an army of soldiers given various grades of weapons in metal to protect and defend their assets or trading empires.

- The ‘Brotherhood’ is co-opted from within but the people are promised great things and matrilineal royalty becomes the norm.

- Similar ‘elites’ do the same in China, and maybe even an overlord reporting to the Egyptian based enterprise of Memphis or Crete.

- A plethora of secrets exist in trade routes, maps, use of explosives for effects of a spiritual nature, ‘Lost Chord’ and technologies of building. The ‘Murrhine’ vases allow salt water to be potable but toxic build up leads to deaths of valuable sailors who begin to catch on and become pirates (Berbers and Basques).

- Pyramids designed and later constructed to explain the magnificence of many things to the people. Myths of all sorts of divination abound *2,000 BC - Families in places like Iberia of the Caspian Region which had a capital by the same name (now Tiflis) made alliances with - other regions of the world against the international ideals. This lead to factional fighting with Kelts (Amazons) fighting those who were more intermarried with Uighurs. The Silk Route was a haven for bandits and mixed breed non-aristocrats like the Phoenician Society of Pirates. The breakdown in egalitarian models and corporate ability to enforce trading monopolies was only partially due to weapon technology diffusion. It was more connected to the use of social engineering in the Temples that included prostitution (which the aristocrats later wanted for themselves (concubinage).

- Fractionalization of the former ‘Brotherhood’ was well along by the Hyksos intermarriage campaign. The House of Mallia in Crete was a prime mover in the aristocratic enterprise that may have its legacy in the Smyrna/Onassis and Sybaritic unproductive ideas of materialism. Where were the Mungo Man students and did such a human really have no genetic offspring who are alive today? *1,800 BC - Sardinia was a major base for guarding the wealth and elite who trained their children and priests in a manner that was most secret. The Nuraghi secret is still well kept to this day. It is more than irony and humor that the poisonous plant that led to the use of the words or phrase ‘Sardonic humor’.

- Scotland and the ‘Emerald Isles’ was a major haven for these elites and the more egalitarian among them who came there after the climatic and glacial effects were complete.

- Hierarchies of special interests allowed kings and nobles to ‘front’ for them and there were growing numbers of difficulties developing through what we call the ancient world or our ‘his’- story. That history was being managed and the Hyksos (means foreigners) kind of history and ethnic or national interests were accentuated with a Hegelian dialectic of setting one side against the other. Secret ‘mystery schools’ were organized and structured with different terms of focus like the Therapeutae or Pythagorean Brotherhood. The pre-existing groups like Sarmoung and Great White Brotherhood retained a smaller number of those who knew more of what was going on. Tuthmosis is said to have been the organizer of these plans for the esoteric knowledge. Wars began in earnest and were culminated in the Trojan War which lasted more than ten years even though Troy may have been a central location for the negotiations for that period of time. *1,200 BC - The end of the Trojan War which coincides with the archaeologic record of the destruction of the cities of Miletus and Jericho. It was not just in Troy but in 18 other theatres of operations including Arkansas.

- A four hundred year ‘Dark Ages’ developed as the trade once shared was curtailed and controlled by smaller groups of people with Greed as their primary motivation. Solomon and Hiram of Tyre are the best known of these.

*800 BC - The founding of Carthage and Etruria showed a group of people felt they could expand the trade and still control it and the people wouldn’t get out of control. Others were averse to this and conflicts in the elite led to a greater sense of futility among those who were becoming more indolent and the technologies and creative entrepreneurial were diminishing, among them but not among the Pirates and spin off organizations.

*540 BC - A thirty year period of re-adjustment ended with Rome being founded and Sardinia was no longer a clearing house for the collected enterprises of the Phoenicians or other elites which had varying agendas. The total destruction of Sybaris and the Battle of Alalia are significant to this period.

There are many reasons to continue this history but you will make your own judgement based on the facts as the book progresses. The big question about the Mungo Man has not been addressed by any authors partly because it is new archaeologic information. However, in the spirit of ‘mysterious possibility-thinking’ we should make a stab at what is the outcome of these modern humans who were so developed long before us.

There is a wealth of information in legends like the Vedic literature and The Chronicles of Akakor among many others that refer to a type of human who is different from us. They had blue white skin and different coloured eyes like Krishna and Noah. Did they teach the poor and ignorant ‘Homo Sapiens’? Were they the original developers of many fantastic technologies that leave us unexplainable evidence like the vitrified rocks? Who was Lhasa that Churchward ‘records’? Maybe all the spiritual mystics like Jesus and the Cathars were somehow related to the remnants of these people or those they taught and the ‘Dark Ages’ was an attempt by our leaders to eliminate these vestigial truths. A Cornell mathematician by the name of Richard Thompson has authored and co-authored excellent scholarship that would support these ‘possibilities’. We are sure that legends are proving to have more truth than myth in the archaeology that consistently disproves ‘his’-story. It would seem likely that even if couldn’t interbreed and produce offspring (At some point there is a good chance they developed genetic means to incorporate with us and leave no traces, just as we are able to clone and do similar things today.) we think they enjoyed sex with us.

This may explain the grottos where Sibylls and Oracles were known to hang out. It may explain the deep underground city in South America. The Vedic literature says they spent a lot of time in these places we know in all legends as the underworld. Can you think of what they might have done? Could they really have developed flying craft and the ability to work the kind of magic we can today? They had more time to do it! The Lupercal in Rome and the devotions to the grotto in all kinds of places may have been a different kind of sacrifice. There are some practices among the ‘mystery schools’ and even the ‘Skull & Bones’ Society of today that suggest they need certain ingredients of the human body and head. Maybe when de Vere (who wrote the foreword to Gardner’s recent Bible Narrative about Anunnaki or the Elohim, as well as his own book) isn’t kidding when he says we are ‘food for their table’.

Weird! Isn’t a good enough word for it! Crazed on power and deviate beyond imagination are just words that ridicule and achieve no feeling for the horror and obscenity of these practices. We have covered some of these matters in other places but we haven’t dared to really go into great detail. The UFO material or other things that aren’t just a cover for the ‘black ops’ and secret military operations, as they would have us believe, might have some roots in this ‘possibility’ too. What use would they have for our soul? It is so scary that Hubbard (Scientology’s) and his Body Thetans or Napoleon’s vision in the Pyramid might make sense along with Saunière’s words on his Rennes castle (’This Place is Terrible’). And yes there were large caverns and grottos that held some awesome things there, if this is true. The whole matter of secrecy and propaganda or politicians and their lies, would begin to make sense.

If Hindu and eastern philosophy (the largest number of humans) has these legends and beliefs, no wonder the Catholics wanted to control the knowledge and call it heretical. The witches were their consorts and had to be killed. It makes sense in a totally disgusting way. No! I’m sure all the Crusades were actually what they said they were. Forget you even read this ridiculous ’stuff’. John Adams and his ‘Dragons’ or the Sarkeny Rend Rosicrucians have more to tell us, and how did they ever infiltrate the Christian church? When you go down this road there is truly a "Terrible" conclusion. No wonder love is hard to find and life was worth sacrificing for all so many good souls in the Forum or trying to brave the oceans to get away from what our leaders were doing. Forget it ALL! But remember we have the future of our children to think about, even if we aren’t concerned about what really is the ‘greatest good’ for our ‘brothers’ and other life forms. Did I sense these ‘visions’ when I lived in Seth Adams’ old home near Boston? Who knows? I don’t. It was once an insane asylum and that is not irony either.

This kind of thinking also makes sense of the Nazis and other reprobates of history. Their interest in Rennes was more than prurient, perhaps even more than pecuniary, as some suggest. I’ve often told myself it can’t be this bad and yet I wonder. Why?! Why do we continue to do the things we do to each other and this awesome and beautiful earth? How could the Pyramids hold so much knowledge? Is it time to ask some questions and end the ‘black ops’ or secret agencies? JFK thought so, and we know what happened to both he and Khrushchev after they agreed to end the Cold War. I suppose it is true that history repeats itself and I know there aren’t enough good questions on the table, or even enough people who are capable of ‘thinking’.

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest ‘expert’ for World-Mysteries.com

‘Mr. Rhodes aspired to be the creator of one of those vast semi-religious, quasi-political associations which, like the Jesuits have played so large a part in the history of the world. To be more strictly accurate, he wished to found an Order … and while he lived, he dreamed of being both its Caesar and its Loyola.’ - W.T. Stead”

He did it because of what he saw and learned in the King’s Chamber - we blanche because we have to listen to these nauseating and transparent fluff artists like ‘Amazing’ Randi. Hawass is a spokesperson for Cayce who was a Mason like his father. The list goes on and on. Is there any better evidence of a total disregard for honest scholarship? It certainly is a confusing array of nefarious intent, as we see it. No we can’t possibly do justice to this monument and library in stone, left as a legacy by adepts who saw what man would become? Then they left these monuments so that modern man could see he isn’t so all-fired important. Time portal and energy vortex, energy plant, and connection of the World Mind with cosmic life: there is so much to address.

Dunn and Davidovits are not simpletons and they aren’t selling any particular ideology. We have given you a lot of names and books to follow if you want some answers.

Science is only now able to comprehend how much more there is to life and creativity or intelligent design. We look forward to seeing how long the fools on the hill can maintain their lofty perch.

Author of many books and activist against mind control and soul-grabbing.