News Notes

Zip Dobyns

Stories about asteroids or comets hitting earth have been
popping up in numerous publications lately. The April 13, 1996 issue of Science News mentioned that a count of the craters on the far side of the Moon,
the side facing away from Earth, suggests that it has about twice as many
craters as had been estimated previously. If true, this suggests that Earth's
vicinity may have lots more asteroids and comets than previously suspected, and
they could be a major threat to earth.

The August 1996 issue of Earth magazine has an
article on asteroid impacts and what we can do about them. Increasing numbers
of astronomers are now scanning the sky, specifically looking for asteroids
and/or comets which cross the Earth's orbit, and an increasing number are being
found. If one is spotted in advance which is calculated to be on a collision
course with the Earth, we could blow it up before it arrives, but unless the
pieces are deflected, several pieces hitting Earth might do as much damage as a
single bigger chunk. The recent crash of the pieces of Shoemaker-Levy into
Jupiter showed such a scenario. A better defense would “nudge” the approaching
object into an orbit which would miss the Earth.

There were several interesting articles in this August 1996
issue of Earth magazine, including one on the erupting volcanoes in New Guinea and a key to predicting earthquakes in some areas where faults “creep” (make
small, frequent movements). I was especially intrigued by a research project
in Hawaii which offers several potential benefits to coastal regions in
tropical climates. The OTEC project brings cold water from the depths of the
ocean and warm water from near the surface and uses them to generate
electricity, to achieve cheap air conditioning without the chemicals which
pollute the atmosphere, and to grow spectacular temperate climate crops which
would normally not survive in the tropics. The primary researcher, John
Craven, has been working on the project for about 20 years with minimal funding—about
$300 million during the whole period in contrast to about $400 million per year
which the U.S. has been spending on nuclear fusion research. Craven left the
project in 1990 to provide information on it to less-developed countries. He
is currently advising energy developers in Haiti, Malta, the Cape Verde Islands, and a group of South Pacific islands. The U.S. still runs a welfare state
for the big companies who promote nuclear energy which makes more money for
them.

Speaking of the big companies, Mother Jones magazine
put out a special issue featuring the nicotine network and the Republicans,
including Bob Dole. Most readers will already know that Jesse Helms, the
senator from the tobacco growing state of North Carolina, is an ardent defender
of tobacco. They may not be aware that several other top Republicans also
“belong” to the tobacco lobby. Mother Jones writes about “The big
three.” “House Majority Whip Tom DeLay uses a tobacco-funded operative from a
firm called Ramhurst Corp. to run his political fundraising organization.
Ramhurst has also hired the son of Majority Leader Dick Armey as a contractor.
Last August, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was feted at a “Salute to Newt”
banquet that netted $100,000 apiece from the chairmen of Philip Morris, R.J.
Reynolds, and Brown & Williamson.” Big Tobacco's contributions to the
Republican Party went from $546,224 in “soft” donations in 1993 to $2.4 million
in 1995. Soft donations which are given to political parties or foundations,
etc., are not counted in the totals which limit what can be accepted by
individuals. Several of Robert Dole's past and present advisors, fund-raisers,
and pollsters are lobbyists for tobacco companies. The article names their
names and their connections, too many to list here, but anyone who wants
details can buy the special issue or look for it in a library.

From time to time I have mentioned an investment newsletter
which I get for its non-investment information that is never covered in the
mainline press. For many months, Strategic Investment has been
publishing claims that Vincent Foster was murdered rather than being a
suicide. They have also claimed that Tim McVeigh was a minor player in the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995. The June 19, 1996 issue claims that two ordinary
citizens, Glenn and Katy Wilburn of Oklahoma City who lost two grandchildren in
the bombing, did their own investigation and they believe that the federal
government had prior knowledge of the bombing plan but bungled their handling
of it. The Wilburns have taped over 300 hours of eye witness testimony and
believe that the FBI has refused to pursue and arrest as many as seven suspects
seen near the crime scene with McVeigh. The Wilburns believe they know the
identity of all the men involved, including an undercover agent who worked with
McVeigh. The U.S. federal informant is said to be a German citizen named
Andreas Strassmeir who penetrated the circle that organized the bombing and
warned the authorities about the impending bomb blast. Others have pointed out
that although the ATF had an office in the building which was destroyed, none
of their operatives was there at the time, implying that they knew better than
to be there. Three people from the circle that know the whole story are said
to have already disappeared. IF this hits the major media and is
substantiated, even the current uproar over the FBI files which found their way
into the White House would be a minor flap.

In the midst of the turmoil and tragedy in the world, at least
some of the major media are providing some encouraging stories. The June 24, 1996 issue of Time Magazine has a really fine article on Faith and
Healing. They point out what anyone who reads The Mutable Dilemma
already knows, that our emotions play a major role in our health. They
describe a variety of research on prayer influencing health, including one
recent project by Dr. Elizabeth Targ which tested the ability of a faith healer
to help AIDS patients in another state. The study was a properly scientific
double-blind one. The Time article comments that “western medicine has
spent the past 100 years trying to rid itself of remnants of mysticism. Targ's
own field, psychiatry, couldn't be more hostile to spirituality: Sigmund Freud
dismissed religious mysticism as 'infantile helplessness' and 'regression to
primary narcissism.'“

The article still pays lip-service to materialism,
describing brain action as the cause of the positive healing effects of
meditation and prayer. They don't discuss how the brain of a “healer” in a
different state can affect the brain of an ill person who does not know that
she is praying for him. The results of a small poll of 1004 adult Americans
claim that 82% believe in the power of personal prayer, 77% agree that praying
for someone else can help cure their illness, and 73% think that God sometimes
intervenes to cure people who have a serious illness. Two personal stories of
former agnostics who acquired faith are included; one of them an M.D. who was
cured of a theoretically incurable cancer. An overview of the beliefs and work
of Deepak Chopra is also included, calling him “Emperor of the Soul.” He is
described as synthesizing four varieties of “new healers;” physicians who go
beyond traditional medicine, spiritual teachers from the western and from the
eastern belief systems, and psychic mediums.

The July/August issue of the Yoga Journal has an
interview with Dr. Larry Dossey on prayer as good medicine. Naturally, in this
magazine, the article goes beyond materialism. Dossey talks about “non-local”
consciousness, the ability of the mind to transcend time and space. Dossey
emphasizes the danger of even so-called alternative therapists putting all
their faith in their specific “remedy,” whether an herb or acupuncture or
homeopathy or whatever. Dossey says “Whether you're a doctor writing a
prescription for a pill or an alternative and complementary therapist using
homeopathy, your consciousness, your intentionality, your positive thoughts and
emotions and prayers get into that therapeutic mix whether you know it or
not.” P. 65 He speaks strongly against the denial of hope when doctors
denounce spiritual faith as “false hope.” Hope heals and hopelessness kills.

One of the most encouraging bits of information in the
article is Dossey's statement that the politicians have gotten the message that
the bulk of the American population is in favor of alternative and
complementary medicine, and they are trying to figure out ways to get ahead of
the curve. One third of the medical schools in this country in the past two
years have developed courses in alternative therapies, which is a dramatic
turnaround. The budget of the Office of Alternative Medicine has tripled and
Dossey says its current head is a very capable person. Even Newt Gingrich is
said to be in favor of the new direction for medicine, and both of the Clintons are also positive. It is grassroots driven, and moving fast.

I can't remember which article said it, but someone pointed
out that HMOs and insurance companies are managed by businessmen who are more
focused on the bottom line than on philosophical materialism. Meditation and
prayer cost a lot less than surgery.

The June 22, 1996 issue of Science News reports a
study of open versus “closeted” homosexuals who were infected with the HIV
virus. The men who took the most drastic steps to conceal their homosexuality
received a diagnosis of AIDS from l.5 to 2 years sooner than the men who were
relatively open. They also died markedly sooner. The researchers theorized
that an inhibited personality style was responsible for the results. They took
into account most of the other variables which might have produced these
results: differences in age, disease progression at the start of the study,
ensuing medical treatment, sexual practices, alcohol and illicit drug use,
cigarette smoking, exercise, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and social
support, and none of these accounted for the results. The researchers added
that simply becoming more open about their homosexuality was not likely to be a
solution and might intensify the problems since the basic personality would not
be changed. Cole, the study director, suggested that psychological inhibition,
characterized by sensitivity to social rejection, lies behind the tendency to
develop a surplus of infectious ailments and to suffer more severe symptoms
once an infection hits.

Astrologically, Cole's suggested inhibited personality is a
lack of fire or blocked fire. Fire symbolizes our sense of self-confidence and
self-esteem, which protects us from being overly vulnerable to the opinions of
others. As has been said repeatedly, fire is the life essence, vitality, and
recuperative power, a major part of the capacity for a healthy immune system.

Another article in the same issue of Science News
reports the discovery of three “chemokines” secreted by the immune system which
can suppress the HIV virus. Individuals who have had unprotected sex with HIV
positive partners and hemophiliacs who have had transfusions of HIV infected
blood but who did not become infected, have been found to have high levels of
these chemokines—in my terms, enough fire to like themselves and their lives.

We will end with another of the wacky psychic publications
which my friends send me from time to time. This was a new one to me from the
Delphi Associates, issue number 27, volume 2. It gives predictions for 1996 as
follows: Islamic terrorism will target national treasures in France like Versailles, the Louvre, the Arch De Triumph, Concorde Square and the Eiffel Tower. Seville and Barcelona in Spain will also be targeted, and Italy will have spectacular hostage situations and terrorist air disasters. This is supposed to be
done by freedom fighters from Tunisia and Algeria. New York is also slated to
be hit this year—either the Met, the Guggenheim, or the Museum of National History. Big earthquakes are predicted for northern California ((as usual. Zip’s
comments in double parentheses. The April 18 quake previously predicted didn't
happen. The May 20 one also didn't happen.)) The next time slot is late
September through the second week in October. But the psychic author has
postponed the magnitude 9, land-fracturing quakes to late 1997-8. Wyoming is bring prepared by God as a holy place. Mass migration is supposed to start
flowing there and to Montana. ((A few people are leaving Montana to go to jail
since the so-called Freemen gave up to the FBI.)) Spectacular UFO sightings
are scheduled for N.Y., L.A., Reno, Chicago, Miami, and Seattle. They are to
be filmed and shown on national media. ((Whoever this psychic is, he believes
in the authenticity of the “alien autopsy” film, which most experts have
pronounced fake, and he says more footage of a live alien is coming.)) A
source from the Pleiades says that during the last 200 years about 100,000
humans have been taken to the Pleiades to be trained. They are to start coming
back to earth this year to help restructure our crumbling civilization.
According to the writer, the Great Pyramid dates the “Coming of the Kingdom of Heaven” to February 21, 1999.

((Note: at least one accurate prediction—heat waves and
widespread fires including in Alaska. Also flooding predicted, which has
happened but in different areas.))

Japan's economy is supposed to crumble ((it has been
improving lately)) and record volcanoes are to erupt, the stock market to
plunge in late September which will lead to the U.S. market also going down.
But Japan is predicted to throw out U.S. troops and close U.S. bases and then their scientific innovation is to take off, including free energy devices.

The U.S. stock market was supposed to make a major
readjustment of 500 points or more in late March or early April. ((It didn't
happen.)) Then it is to plummet again in late October but rise to over 6000 in
February 1997. Gold is to rise to $450 an ounce and briefly hit $500.

Yeltsin is supposed to be defeated and Zhirinovski gain
power in Russia through the Duma rather than elections in June. ((In late June
Yeltsin looks like winning over Zyuganov and Zhirinovski is nowhere.))

Between October 1996 and February 1997, the IRS is to cease
to exist. The Federal Reserve is also to be dismantled or forced to take a new
form in the same time frame. Pat Buchanan was predicted to win in New Hampshire and to win enough additional Republican primaries to get the nomination but
then be cheated out of it by a mysterious group of wealthy men who would manage
to give the nomination to Newt Gingrich. Bob Dole is supposed to be long gone.
Newt's sister, Candace, is supposed to overdose on drugs and perhaps die.
Bill Clinton's scandals are supposed to be minimal but war in Bosnia is to finish him as our troops are attacked by everyone, including the Bosnians. The last
straw is to be a 2,000 point drop in the stock market around October 9, and
Gingrich will be the next president.

There is more, but that is enough to show the accuracy of
the Delphi Associates.