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Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!

Hamlet:  And therefore as a stranger give it welcome.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

   — Shakespeare,
       Hamlet

 
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The Complete Book of the Unexplained is a gripping anthology of the world's most mystifying conundrums.

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The Weird 100


"TAKE A WALK ON THE WEIRD SIDE"


Sure, everyone's had the occasional odd experience — the car keys vanishing from your kitchen table, déjà vu, the case of the disappearing beer.

Most of them can be explained away. (The dog took your keys; you really have been here before; your roommate drank the beer.)

But what about the true enigmas, the puzzles of science and the universe that can't be so easily dismissed?


Questions such as:
  • "Who built the baffling monuments on Easter Island?"

  • "Did the 'lost' city of Atlantis ever really exist?"

  • "What is behind the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle?"


In this fascinating compendium, Stephen Spignesi presents one hundred of the strangest, most mystifying riddles on earth including: angels and zombies, near-death experiences, crop circles, poltergeists, auras and halos, Nostradamus's predictions, possession and exorcism, The Philadelphia Experiment, reincarnation and past-life regression, Stonehenge, time travel, legendary beasts and mythological creatures, and more!

Filled with dramatic photos and drawings, as well as "pro" and "con" evidence from believers and skeptics alike, THE WEIRD 100 explores the unbelievable while proving that life is a lot more interesting — and infinitely weirder — than we ever imagined.
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     The Weird 100
     [Adapted]


Telling the Truth (About Santa, Etc. ...)

Most western parents feel guilty about Santa Claus. When the time comes to face the question about whether Santa 'really' exists, they feel like slayers of children's innocence or exploiters of their credulity, or both. In cultures without Santa, other mythical gift-bearers generate similar family crises.

One mother I know cheerfully admitted that the whole story was hokum and forfeited her children's trust for the rest of her life. A father of my acquaintance tried to stress the poetic truth of the tale and faced an embarrassing interrogation about his hocus-pocus with Santa suits, Christmas stockings and half-eaten mince pies. Another said, 'It's true about Santa the way it's true in the book that Long John Silver was a pirate.' 'So it's not true,' his little boy replied. An academic couple, after discussing it thoroughly between themselves, decided to tell their children, 'It's true that Santa brings you your presents in the same way that we speak of the wind hurrying or the sun smiling.' The little boy and girl, who concluded that the sun and wind exist and that Santa does not, never forgave them for this evasion.

A schoolmaster who taught my own children and had a very pious little girl tried saying that the Santa story was a parable: 'You don't suppose,' he said, 'that the things Jesus told in the parables actually happened, do you?' The child ceased to be pious. Fellow-Catholics gave me rival advice. 'Tell your boys,' one said, 'that the Santa story is an attempt to express the divine love that is reflected in parents' love for their children.' I felt this was good doctrine but that there was no place for Santa in it. 'Of course Santa exists,' the other asserted. 'He's Saint Nicholas, mediating for children.' I was prepared to admit this but felt that it tended to make the image of the gift-bearer pagan and abominable - which, I suppose, it is. I still feel the Santa tale is more than just another of the falsehoods we invent to manipulate our victims but I have not yet found the sense in which it is true or a way of expressing it which exactly fits the facts.

-- Thomas Dunne, Truth - A History and a Guide for the Perplexed (1997)


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1.0   Prolog

This web article presents/records the stream of Economic News — usually BAD economic news — that has been the news diet for many since June 2007 or so ...

The following sampling of news pertain mostly to (and affect) Singapore — and other parts of Asia as well.


2.0   News

Here are the 'Economic News' ...

SINGAPORE

With the economy looking less shaky over the last six months [circa Q3-2009 & Q4-2009], there has been a sharp upswing in optimism among employers ....

[...]

Though some analysts remain watchful as to whether the high unemployment rate in the American and European economies will put a dampener on the nascent recovery, others say ... companies' burgeoning confidence [reflects] ... the stability of the recovery.

[...]

Such optimism was not "ephemeral or unjustified", according to Nanyang Technological University economist Choy Keen Meng.

"It is likely that robust consumption and to a lesser degree, investment, in Asia and particularly China, is contributing to an increase in final demand," he said.

[...]

   — Title: "The optimism gets real"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Employers' caution giving way to confidence,
             as orders grow: Hudson survey"
        By: Lin Yanqin
        Newspaper: Today, January 22, 2010


SINGAPORE

In a sure sign that the economic recovery has taken hold here [in Singapore], the first three months of the year [2010] could see the biggest jump in job recruitment in more than a decade.

[...]

The surge in hiring is in anticipation of a rebound in customer orders in the coming months ....

[...]

[But] Ho Geok Choo, chief executive officer of Human Capital Singapore ... cautioned that there are still "pockets of jobless recovery. Many companies are just staying tight, preferring to be more cautious. I am not sure whether the sudden increase in recruitment numbers signifies permanent employment or employees are put on contract to better weather the economic cycles in some industries."

[...]

   — Title: "Hiring may see biggest jump in a decade"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Higher starting pay and bigger bonuses,
             also on the cards, Hudson report shows"
        By: Chuang Peck Ming
        Newspaper: The Business Times [BT] , January 22, 2010

SINGAPORE's poorest 20 per cent were hit twice as hard by inflation than better off households during the first half of the year [2009], new Government figures show.

[...]

Largely because of rising food and housing prices, the low-income group experienced inflation at 1.6 per cent in the six months to June [2009], compared to 0.7 per cent for the middle 60 per cent and 0.9 per cent for the top 20 per cent of households..

[...]

   — Column: "Prime News"
        Title: "Inflation hits poorest 20% twice as hard"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "This group was affected most by food and housing prices
             in first six months"
        By: Joyce Teo
        Newspaper: The Straits Times [ST] , August 25, 2009

"Economy of Ideas"

(Paul Romer, Stanford Univ)

[SINGAPORE]

Singapore's small population means that it will remain export-reliant, Tony Tan, deputy chairman of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), said in response to a question posed at the Economic Society of Singapore Annual Dinner last night [Thursday, August 6, 2009].

This means Singapore must increase its exports, Dr Tan said, by seeking new markets, launching new products and services, and — what he thinks holds "the brightest potential" — developing an economy of new ideas.

[...]

Discussing ways to raise exports, Dr Tan broached the possibility of developing Singapore into an "economy of ideas". Producing wholly new innovations would be very different from the cost-effective production Singapore's economy is currently based on.

He cited economist Paul Romer of Stanford University, who has suggested that "the world is moving from an economy of products and services to an economy of ideas".

[...]

   — Column: "Top Stories"
        Title: "Economy of ideas to raise exports: Tony Tan"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "S'pore must foster innovation,
             R&D and entrepreneurship"
        By: Teh shi Ning
        Newspaper: The Business Times (BT), August 7, 2009


[...]

Dr. [Tony] Tan, deputy chairman and executive director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), said that Singapore ... cannot balance fewer [lower?] exports with increased domestic demand.

"With just over four million people, domestic consumption can only form a small part of Singapore's economic growth," he said. "Exports by both multinational corporations [MNCs] and local firms will therefore remain the major driver for Singapore's economic growth."

But the old order is under threat. Singapore's traditional key markets of the United States and Europe are weakened and may remain anaemic for years to come.

Other Asian exporters face similar problems and need to re-orient "from depending largely on exports to a more balanced model that is dependent as much on domestic consumption as on export growth", said Dr Tan, who is also chairman of Singapore Press Holdings.

Nations across Asia have already begun to build up infrastructure and social safety nets to get their domestic consumers to spend more, although he noted that the rebalancing process will not be easy.

But Singapore, limited by its size, cannot do the same and must instead improve its current export model ...

... [In] this improved model ... new markets will be increasingly important. "Emerging economies are expected to account for more than half of the world's GDP growth over the next decade," he said. ...

However, he warned that "increasing demand from emerging markets will not compensate for declining demand in the developed markets".

So Singapore will have to create new products and services, more sophisticated, and higher in value-added to make its exports stand out to the developed world.

[...]

... most vital, stressed Dr Tan, will be the country's ability to come up with new ideas, because they lead to the creation of new industries and more resource-efficient products and services.

Citing notable Stanford economist Paul Romer, Dr Tan said, "The world is moving from an economy of products and services to an economy of ideas."

[...]

   — Column: "Prime News"
        Title: "Wanted: New ideas, new markets, new products"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Singapore can no longer depend on demand
             from US and Europe to thrive"
        By: Robin Chan
        Newspaper: The Straits Times (ST), August 7, 2009


For a country with nearly 5 million people, there's no running away from depending on exports for economic growth. But what Singapore sells overseas should not only be the traditional goods and services — it should also look into selling the next big thing: Ideas.

Dr Tony Tan, national czar for research, yesterday [Thursday, August 6, 2009] offered his take on how Singapore's economy can continue thriving in the post-financial crisis world, where the weakened consumer from developed markets will not be able to support Asia's largely export-reliant countries.

"In addition to new markets and new products and services, the brightest potential for increasing our exports could be in the area of new ideas," Dr Tan said, taking a leaf from the "New Growth Theory" crafted in the 1980s by Mr Paul Romer, currently senior fellow in the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

"Ideas are the result of technological progress intermixed with a sufficient number of bright creative talent, but working under a consistent framework of rules, including intellectual property rules, to produce economically valuable innovations."

[...]

   — Column: "Economic Strategy"
        Title: "S'pore must sell ideas"
        By: Christie Loh, Deputy Business Editor
        Newspaper: Today, August 7, 2009

Seagate's decision to lay off 2,000 workers at its hard-disk plant is a stark reminder to Singaporeans that "we must not be prematurely optimistic" about an economic recovery, said Manpower Minister Gam Kim Yong yesterday [Wednesday, August 5, 2009].

[...]

   — Part / Section: "B / HOME"
        Title: "Seagate layoffs 'a reality check for S'poreans'"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Challenges still lie ahead despite signs of economic recovery:
             Gan Kim Yong"
        By: Kor Kian Beng
        Newspaper: The Straits Times (ST), August 6, 2009


[...]

... Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong told reporters: "This Seagate announcement is also a stark reminder to all of us that the economic challenges are still there. We must not be prematurely optimistic."

[...]

   — Title: "Help for [2,000] laid-off Seagate workers"
        Newspaper: Today, August 6, 2009

Seeing all the negative reports in newspapers and on television has left me somewhat depressed. When I take the train, there is hardly a smile to be seen on the faces of commuters. Many who are working now also fear that they will lose their jobs should the crisis bite deeper in the next few months.

[...]

Making early plans to snatch that elusive job seems to be the focus of many Singaporeans now. Job stability and confidence remain very low and some friends tell me they go to work daily with the fear of being retrenched. Most job fairs are jam-packed with those who have been retrenched or who are on the brink, desperate to land any job just to survive.

Some factories, I heard, have no work. Their workers simply sit around idle all day. How long can the bosses keep their workers in such a state? The thought of going to work with nothing to do is demoralising.

[...]

   — Column: "I Say" [Letters to Editor]
        Title: "Your Friend, Your Lifeline"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Contacts are your best bet for a helping hand after retrenchment"
        Letter by: Gilbert Goh
        Newspaper: Today, March 9, 2009

What a difference a year makes. Last May [i.e., May 2008], Asia seemed to be in an enviable position, with its economies continuing to boom, even as the United States was becoming mired in recession. At that time, many analysts argued that this situation would continue, since Asia would "decouple" from the West.

Things turned out quite differently. Instead of decoupling, some of Asia's key economies, including Japan, are experiencing recessions more severe than those at the epicenter of the crisis.

[...]

[So, from now on, we should be wary of people who tell you what you want to hear — especially if they are making $$$money$$$, or $$$mammon$$$, from YOU, all the while catering to your delusions and helping you to preen your already humongous ego! Remember: "You cannot serve both God and Mammon/Money", said Jesus the Christ more than 2,000 years ago; now, that's a 'smart cookie' of a God! -- Paul Quek]



   — Title: "Export model won't be paying some dividend"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Increasingly, Asia will have to develop
            its own autonomous sources of demand
        Author:  Kalpana Kochhar
        Source: The Business Times (BT), May 7, 2009

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economic rebound next year [2010] will be stronger than it forecast in April [2009] as the financial system stabilises and the pace of contractions from the US to Japan moderates.

The Washington-based lender said in a revised forecast released yesterday [July 8, 2009] that the world economy will expand 2.5 per cent in 2010, compared with its April [2009] projection of 1.9 per cent growth.

A contraction this year [2009] will be 1.4 per cent, worse than an April [2009] forecast for a 1.3 per cent drop, the IMF said.

[...]

   — Title: "Global economic recovery will be stronger than first forecast, says IMF"
        Motherlode / Original Source: BLOOMBERG
        Source: The New Zealand Herald, July 10, 2009

        www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10583487

Anyone searching for clues on when the global economy will get back on its feet is receiving increasingly negative signals from the stock markets ....

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) yesterday [March 9, 2009] hit a fresh six-year low, as it plunged 3.7 per cent to close below 1,500 points for the first time since July 2003.

As if standing on sinking [quick] sand, the index has been finishing lower and lower over recent months. It was just last month [February 2009] that the STI closed under 1,600, a level not seen since September 2003.

AmFraser analyst Najeeb Jarhom said the stock market was typically a "barometer" of how the real economy will fare in the next six to nine months - and that may well be the length of time it will take for economic conditions to improve, he said.

Market sentiment was jittery, no thanks to last Friday's [March 6, 2009's] worse-than-expected data on the United States jobless. In Singapore, many companies reported disappointing fourth-quarter [Q4] earning results, analysts said.

"A host of data from the US suggest that the global economy is still very weak. If you look at the US unemployment figures - shockingly high," said Bank Julius Baer analyst Nicole Sze.

[...]

The trading scene could get bloodier in coming months. The next support level to be breached may be at 1,200 points, according to several analysts including Ms Sze and CIMB-GK Research economist Song Seng Wun.

[...]

   — Column: "STI Plunges 3.7%"
        Title: "Back to July 2003 levels" (Adapted slightly)
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Next support level to be breached could be it 1,200 points, say analysts"
        Article by: Esther Fung
        Newspaper: Today, March 10, 2009

[...]

Markets are getting ahead of themselves in betting that the worst global recession since World War II is over. ...

Analysts are pinning their hopes on stimulus packages, such as China's four trillion yuan (S$866.7 billion) ... We have seen too many false bottoms in the last year [2008] to trust markets.

   — Title: "Summers, Geithner silenced as IMF loses grip"
        Quote: "Will having a pile of money to tap, with few conditions, encourage
            bad behaviour? Asian governments need to enforce
            a clear set of guidelines and surveillance practices"
        Author:  William Pesek Jr
        Source: The Business Times, May 7, 2009


Bourses across Asia fell sharply yesterday, as investors received a rude wake-up call in the form of poor United States retail sales data for last month [April 2009].

[...]

   — Page: "Money Markets"
        Column: "Bulls and Bears"
        Title: "Weak US retail data spooks Asian markets"
        Sub-title / Tagline: "Sharp price falls stun traders
            who expected the rally to last longer"
        Author:  Goh Eng Yeow
        Source: The Straits Times (ST), May 15, 2009

[...]

Some green shoots may have appeared in the [Singapore] economy but we are not out of the woods. ...

[...]

   — Column: "Employment Guidelines"
        Title: "Slow recovery prompts review"
        Author:  Pearl Forss
        Source: Today, May 18, 2009


... psychological lift ... [arising from] happy talk about "green shoots" has given the equity and other asset markets [a recent lift] ....

[...]

... The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said yesterday [Thursday, May 21, 2009] the worst was probably over, but added it was too early to say if Singapore has begun to rebound. "There are green shoots, no doubt, but there are also some brown weeds," said MTI Second Permanent Secretary Ravi Menon.

[...]

THE GREEN SHOOTS

[...]

The net job loss in the first quarter [Q1 2009] was 1,000, according to the MTI's latest economic survey, which noted that the resident umemployment rate in the first quarter was 4.8 per cent, below the peak in previous recessions.

Other "green shoots" include improved business expectations for companies in the manufacturing and service sectors [but surely not in the travel-tourist sector???] compared to three months ago, said the MTI.

[...]

The MTI added that there have been "no new major" systemic risk to the world economy apart from the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak since its last revision.

THE BROWN WEEDS

But some experts have cautioned against excessive optimism over "green shoots".

Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew said the recent stock market rally was not warranted.

"The market has gone ahead of itself. We are mindful that the worst is possibly behind us, but the recovery process is going to be slow and sluggish," he said.

OCBC economist Selena Ling said: "What we have now is a disconnect between financial and equity markets that want to believe in green shoots. But some of the hard data, like United States retail sales, still suggest the economy is more in the 'brown weeds' territory."

Meanwhile, major economies such as Japan and the Eurozone appear to remain weak. However, mixed signals are also an indicator of a trough, said Forecast Singapore economist Vishnu Varathan.

"They usually precede a recovery, but they don't give any indication of when it will come and in what shape it will be," he said.

Sidebar: CONFIDENCE DOWN

Consumer confidence here had plunged to a record low in the past six months [November 2008 - April 2009].

It fell 12 index points from 92 to 80, Singapore's third consecutive decline from its all-time high of 114 recorded in late 2007, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among 25,420 Internet users in 50 countries.

The survey also showed that Singaporeans are now second among global consumers, after the Arabs, who are most concerned about their job security, rather than the economy — some 49 per cent compared with just 26 per cent six months ago.

   — Title: "Singapore's GDP: Green shoots or brown weeds?"
        Author:  Esther Fung
        Source: Today, May 22, 2009

Recovery? What Recovery?

Don't tell me that the economy is getting better, or has even hit rock bottom. My faith in an imminent recovery deserted me on May 5 [2009], when one of our customers, Salyer American Foods, based in Monterey, Calif., suddenly fell into receivership. There had been little to no indication that the company was so close to financial ruin. As it turns out, the company's lenders say Salyer owes them over $34 million, a debt equal to almost half its sales. A company attorney told local media that tight credit markets and the economic recession had pushed Salyer over the edge. If the receiver doesn't find some way to revive the company's fortunes, our bag manufacturing company stands to lose nearly $1.5 million in revenue, about 2 percent of our $60 million in sales.

On the same day my customer fell into receivership [May 5, 2009], Fed chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee that he believed the economy was in the process of bottoming out and "would turn up later this year". He's not alone in his optimism. Over the past two weeks or so, it has become a cottage industry among economists and the media to spot the first "green shoots" of a recovery. Certainly [green] shoots there may be. The stock market has rebounded smartly over the past two months, as has consumer confidence. Pending home sales have ticked up, while unemployment claims are easing. And many economists insist a manufacturing revival is in the wings because inventories have fallen so low that restocking must begin soon.

But I haven't found many small-business owners ready to jump on the recovery bandwagon, and for good reason. We're still experiencing the "bottoming out" phase and worry that another bottom remains below this one. Call us pessimists, but we're not sure the green shoots aren't just [brown] weeds.

[...]

   — Title: "Recovery? What Recovery?"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Why entrepreneurs aren't so optimistic about the economy."
        Author:  Kevin Kelly
        Source: Newsweek, May 7, 2009

        www.newsweek.com/id/196007

[BRUSSELS]

Antwerp port, Europe's second biggest, will see a recovery in cargo volumes at the beginning of 2010 at the earliest, its chief executive said on Wednesday [July 8, 2009].

"I cannot really see any signs that the slowdown is bottoming out. I would not expect a recovery before 2010," chief executive Eddy Bruyninckx told Reuters in an interview.

[...]

   — Title: "Antwerp port sees no recovery before 2010: CEO"
        Motherlode / Original Source: Reuters
        Source: The Business Times (BT), July 10, 2009

Singapore
Stock prices have tumbled to their lowest levels since 2003. On the property front, asset writedowns and land bank provisions have begun. The job market is facing its worse crisis in years. And the global financial market and system remain in meltdown mode.

[...]

It is generally recognized that movement in asset prices is symptomatic of the prevailing economic condition. But it would be quite a stretch to conclude that the new-found resilience in club membership prices is indicative of a potential bottoming out in the underlying economic fundamentals and financial markets.

Rather, as some membership brokers suggest, what we could now be seeing is the eye of the hurricane. That eerily quiet and calm moment before the second wave hits.

The first wave came when the people got their pink slips between October and December last year. Many were from the financial sector, and a significant number were expatriates who were forced to return home.

... looking ahead, the indicators are that the economic and financial circumstances can only get worse before getting better. ...

[...]

... Property prices, which have been relatively resilient so far, could soon collapse, according to many analysts.

In short, the ''other shoe" could drop anytime in the coming months. ...


   — Title: "Prices of golf club membership holding steady - for now"
        Article by: Ven Sreenivasan
        Newspaper: BT Weekend, Sat/Sun, March 7-8, 2009

There exist a few parallel leading indicators in the Singapore residential market. Both the stock index and level of unsold inventory are found to precede all major turning points in residential prices.

... the stock index is a key leading indicator of the Hong Kong and Singapore office market rental trends. ... changes in office vacancy direction will precede all major turning points in these two markets.

[...]

Similar to the office market, the Straits Times Index (STI) is also a key leading indicator of the Urban Renewal Authority's (URA) Non-landed Residential Price Index trend.

The STI [had been] observed [to] lead the URA Non-landed Residential Price Index by one to four quarters since 1993. ...

[...]

... Our [DTZ Asia Forecasting] assessment indicates that the probability of a full recovery by end of this year remains low.

... Singapore residential market has a higher chance of bottoming by the middle of next year and stage a gradual recovery from there onwards.

Both the Hong Kong and Singapore office markets had a lower probability of recovering by the end of next year compared with the residential markets.

   — Column: "DTZ Research Forecast"
       Title: "Full recovery remains low"
        Subtitle / Tagline: "Home market has just a 5.8% probability of recovering
             by end-Dec [2009]"
        Source: Today, April 23, 2009

[...]

... The investment agency [Temasek Holdings] had actually bought an initial US$5-billion ([S]$7.4-billion) stake in investment banking giant Merrill Lynch in Dec 2007 and added another US$1 billion last July [July 2008] to become Merrill's single largest shareholder with a 13.7 per cent stake. Following the purchase of Merrill by BofA, Temasek's stake was converted into 189 million shares of BofA or a 3 per cent stake.

Obviously, Temasek didn't think much of the long term future of BofA and hence its disposal of those shares at a whopping loss of between US$2.8 billion and US$4.7 billion, depending on when the BofA shares were sold. BofA shares traded between US$2.53 and US$14.81 in the first quarter of this year [Q1 2009].

[...]

   — Column: "Monday Blues"
        Title: "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR 'LONG-TERM' VIEW"
        Author:  Conrad Raj
        Subtitle / Tagline: Temasek ought to clear the air on sale of BofA stake
             and investment in ABC Learning
        Source: Today, May 18, 2009


3.0   Epilog

This web article, for the time being, comprises some Economic News ...
Try out the following really cool Google Custom Search Box:

Cheers!

Paul Quek
Webmeister
Woodlands, Singapore

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What the Mysteries-of-the-World (MOTW) Website is about ...



In general, we are a website about the Mysteries of the Universe (where 'World' = 'Universe') ... and the term 'Mysteries of the Universe', of course, encompasses the more staid and serious scientific Mysteries about the Cosmos, aka Universe, including such mysterious topics as Supernovas, Black Holes, Red Dwarfs, Pulsars, Neutron Stars, and Galactic Superclusters, Clusters and Groups ....

For the more sensationalised Mysteries, we are thus also a site that examines the Mysteries surrounding the controversial and perennially-interesting Roswell Incident, UFOs, Aliens, Anti-gravity Propulsion Systems and the like ...

We also deal with

  • Strange & Elusive Creatures — which we may also called Cryptic Creatures, or Cryptozoological Creatures (or, simply, "Cryptids") — such as the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and Bigfoot in the USA (so that on this site, you will eventually find a comprehensive Index of all so-called Cryptids);

  • Puzzling Places — also known as (aka) Phenomenal Places — such as the Bermuda Triangle (aka Devil's Triangle) off the coast of Florida where many or several planes and ships have mysteriously and completely disappeared (there will be an Index of such Puzzling, or Phenomenal, Places);

  • Alluring Artifacts — aka Alluring Artwork or Curious Artifacts & Artwork — such as the Baghdad Battery and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa (aka the 'Magdalene'??? — maybe!) (there will be an Index of such Alluring, or Curious, Artifacts & Artwork);

  • Monstrous (and/or Mystifying, and/or Mysterious, and/or Marvellous) Monoliths, Megaliths and Monuments such as Stonehenge in England; Ancient Pyramids & Ziggurats in Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia, and Latin America; and the Sphinx in Egypt (there will be an Index of such Strange Stonework, Mindbending Metalwork & Wonderful-Wondrous Woodwork); and

  • Spellbinding Bible and Jesus Mysteries & Codes (e.g., Da Vinci Code and the 'Magdalene') as well as other Strange Religious Mysteries and Mystery Religions (there simply will be a humongous Index of such Religious Mysteries, due to the human race's predilection for, and pre-occupation with, the Divine, the Spiritual and the Transcendental);

and so on and so forth (other examples of Indexes/Indices will become available) ...

Along the way, we will examine unusual topics such as

  • Eastern Mysteries (e.g., Zen & Its Mysteries; Death Touch; Shaolin Kung Fu),

  • Love/Sex Mysteries (e.g., Mystery of Love; Sex Appeal Mystery), and even

  • Intriguing Individuals (such as Quetzalcoatl; King Arthur; Prester John; Robin Hood aka Robin of Loxley; Jack the Ripper; Hitler; even Yahushua/Yesua Marshiach aka Iesous Christos aka Jesus the Christ) ...

And, we will also explore to the full the meanings of such terms as

  • 'Bogosity',

  • 'Unexplained Mysteries',

  • 'Unsolved Mysteries', etc ...

This includes an examination of the various terms associated with what I call 'The Fringe' — 

  • 'Fringe Science',

  • 'Pseudo-science',

  • 'Weird Science',

  • 'Bad Science',

  • various pseudo- or alternative fields (e.g., pseudo-history; alternative archaeology; alternative geology; Creationism; Intelligent Design), and

  • 'Conspiracy Theories' (e.g., 911; Lincoln Assassination; JFK Assassination),

  • 'Urban Legends or Urban Myths' (e.g., "crocodile in the sewers"), and the like.

Eventually, this site will grow to such an extent that it really will become an all-inclusive and comprehensive Index of these and other Mysteries of the World ... proceeding from the Index Page, to every other webpage and every 'web article' ...

As we are still an evolving site (and blog), our current system of arranging the Index of Mysteries (as it were) is a tentative one ... ultimately, we will achieve an Index (or system of pointers) that can bring you, the reader-cum-viewer, to each and every known Mystery, either directly or via various cross-referencings ... The Science of the Librarian will come in handy here, I am sure!

To re-iterate: this site will eventually become an all-inclusive and comprehensive Index of Mysteries ... such an Index cannot be build up in a day, even with an army of eager beavers at work ... so that the Index will be growing, day after day, week after week ... Wish us luck and pray for us for God's blessing on this project.

Caveats to Mysteries Explorers, Investigators & Students ...



In this web site, our aim is to see whether we are any nearer to understanding the 'Mysteries', and even perhaps to see whether we are close to 'solving' them or reaching some other kind of closure.

Please note that, although I am not a scientist, I am quite Science-grounded so that this site is also Science-grounded ... and I embrace such ideas as are embodied in:

  1. Occam's Razor, or the principle of parsimony — to look for the simpler explanation or solution.

    The following brief note from Louise B. Young's The Unfinished Universe (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1986) is rather interesting and pertinent:

    ... it sometimes happens that the same set of facts can be explained in two or more different ways; when this happens the simplest explanation is preferred. A principle known as "Ockham's razor" (proposed by William of Ockham in the fourteenth century) says that it is unsound to set up more than one hypothesis to explain a phenomenon when one will suffice. And this principle has been respected throughout scientific history. The significance and elegance of a scientific theory are measured by its simplicity and the degree to which it makes sense out of what appeared to be unrelated and disorderly facts.

  2. the cautionary exhortation of the Nobel-prize winning physicist Dr. Richard Feynman — that the easiest person to fool is ourselves, and that we should be aware that we do not get caught up in 'cargo cult' sciences and practices (of the advertising people, politicians, educationalists, sociological sciences, especially);

  3. the admonition of CSI (previously CSICOP) founders Dr. Carl Sagan and Professor Marcello Truzzi, to any investigator and explorer and student — that "Extraordinary claims require or demand extraordinary evidence (or proof)"; and

  4. the mind- and eye-opening presentations and writings of Dr. Michael Shermer, Executive Director of the Skeptics Society and Publisher of the Skeptics Magazine — e.g., how our "cognitive bias" (which could be inborn-innate, learnt, and even suggested to us by another person) make us believe in "strange things" or "weird ideas", such that these bias affect what we think we 'see' or 'hear' or 'perceive', especially when we fool ourselves in seeking and seeing familiar patterns such as faces, figures and pyramids on Mars ... or the Madonna on bread buns and glass fronts and tree barks ... or the Loch Ness 'monster' and plesiosaurs and so-called 'paranormal creatures' or 'cryptids (cryptozoological creatures)' and also UFOs and ETs/Aliens in vague photos and videos (usually at someone's suggestion) ... or even hearing the word 'Satan' and 'Hell' in reverse-playing music or songs (and this recognition can dramatically increase after someone's suggestion of the keywords to listen out for)!

    However, note the following caution from Dr. David Noel Friedman (who is described as a "Dead Sea Scrolls Scholar for Over 50 Years") and Dr. Pam Fox Kuhlken in their book What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter? (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdman's Publishing Company, 2007):

    Two favorite mantras of mine are "Be skeptical", which you have to be if you're a scholar, and "Be especially skeptical of the skeptics", because skepticism is too easy a position to assume. If someone routinely says of every new discovery, "It's a fake", then they dismiss it and it's over for them. They never have to change their minds or consider new ideas. The fact is, every new discovery may open a door we didn't even know was there.

    I'll tell you something about spotting fakes, though. The fact that we have found something we haven't seen before or don't understand doesn't necessarily indicate a forgery. On the contrary, if it's a fake, we would expect it to conform very precisely to authentic material that has already been found. Otherwise it wouldn't convince anyone. Who would take a chance like that? And the argument that fakes turn out to be clumsy is self-defeating, because that would mean that a fake attempts to be exposed, when it actually intends to elude detection.

More Caveats ...



It's incredible the things that people believes in ... such as Cryptozoology, with its collection of impossible-to-find 'cryptids' (aka 'paranormal' creatures), prominent examples of which are Bigfoot or Sasquatch , the Loch Ness Monster, Skunky, and Chupacabra.

"Penn & Teller [Bullshit!] - Cryptozoology" (Excerpt)

And, of course ... as an intelligent and non-gullible person, you should not believe in such nonsense, unless there is proof!

Extraordinary claims must be accompanied by extraordinary evidence or proof. But so far, no such evidence or proof has been offered that would satisfy anyone whose explorations are reality-based or whose investigations are truth-based ... such reality- and truth-based explorations-investigations are conducted by the mainstream scientists (like the late Nobel-prize winning physicist and all-round maverick, prankster and amateur bongo player, Dr. Richard Feynman) as well as by the professional skeptics (such as the famous and much-sought after speaker who is also the Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, Dr. Michael Shermer).

It is so easy to fool ourselves — many of us are surprised to learn that the easiest person to fool is often ourselves! — as Dr. Feynman warned us when he gave a lecture about Science, especially that bogus variety that he called "cargo cult science".

We also tend to see what we want to see or we believe what we want to believe — as Dr. Shermer observes and cautions in his writings and many presentations in conferences and appearances on TV. "Cognitive bias" and/or "perceptual errors" are terms that Dr. Shermer uses to refer to the matter.

Besides errors of cognition, there is also a tendency to interpret many things according to our affective bias, meaning an emotive state which is engendered by being easily influenced emotionally by events ... And we should be aware that we also may be plagued with 'selective memory' to boot, so that we interpret events out of the time sequence in order to fit our beliefs, prejudices and interpretations of the events ...

Unknowingly, many people suffer from both cognitive and affective biasnesses — I happen to know a few of them in the real world, but these people don't seem to live in the real world ...

For example, while declaring themselves as members of 'the church' or 'the true church' or 'the universal church' or some such nomenclatural claptrap

— which means a situation of 'rituals without relationship' with God; where they practise or embrace non-Biblical 'traditions' and ideas, including pagan ideas such as the Winter Solstice festival known as Christmas, or such as the Spring Equinox-related festival known as Easter, or such as the 'Good Friday' which can't obviously be true because the Gospels say that the Messiah rose on Sunday morning after having declared he will be dead for 3 days and 3 nights and it will be nothing less than the sign of Jonah who also was in the belly of the marine beastie for the same duration ... etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. ... especially as many of these traditions and ideas are explained in extra-Bible sources and appear nowhere in the 'canonical' books; or they believe in such nonsense as "Perpetual Virginity", and they break the Second of the Ten Commandments with their crucifixes, crosses, statues, stained glasses, and pictures, etc.; in other words, they've got their religion, which is simply equal to 'form without power'; —
they still secretly [sheesh ... mustn't let the priest or deacon know about it!] consult the I-Ching book as well as Feng Shui 'masters' (or other equally esoteric texts or so-called 'authorities' or 'gurus') when going about their lives, e.g., when buying properties/real-estate, or decorating or renovating their homes, or making investment decisions, or planning some trip or journey!

And they use traditional or alternative or folk medicine when sick or unwell ... unless the illness is really something major or life-threatening, in which case, suddenly Western medicine, or surgery, or therapy, seems to be the Real Deal ... or Real Thing!

It's so sad to see such delusions and gullibility operating in their lives!

They really need to get a handle on their lives — they really need to "get a real, scientific life"!

They are so proud that they are so 'open-minded', being able to visit this or that shrine or temple or place of worship, etc., etc., etc., ... showing respect to idols of stone and metal and wood. Actually, their minds are so 'open' that they haven't got any to speak of or to use!

As Penn & Teller would say, it's all unadulterated BULLSHIT ... and, perhaps, horseshit as well!

Let's look for the simpler explanation rather than the dramatic or sensational, and often, impossible, explanation — applying with care the principle of parsimony (where less is often better), or Occam's Razor.

Remember: a possibility does not equal to a reality! Many things are 'possible'; they have a tiny chance or probability of occurring, but they usually do not happen or cannot happen at all.

Finally, if you want to see if you are delusional, biased, prejudiced, gullible, and totally ungrounded in reality or Science, then check out whether you have fallen into the trap that I call 'The Fringe'.

This website is predicated on the basis of the following categorization of the Sciences ...

Four Categories of Science

By Stanton T. Friedman (Former Nuclear Physicist)

Some people have insisted that if I can't provide a piece of a [flying] saucer or an alien body, there is nothing to support my claims. I was quite surprised during my last visit with Carl Sagan in December 1992, when he claimed that the essence of the scientific method was reproducibility. In actuality, as I wrote Sagan later on, there are at least four different kinds of science:

  1. [Category-1 Science]  Yes, there is a lot of excellent science done by people who set up an experiment in which they can control all the variables and equipment. They make measurements and then publish their results, after peer review, and describe their equipment, instruments, and activity in detail so that others can duplicate the work and, presumably, come to the same conclusions. Such science can be very satisfying, and certainly can contribute to the advancement of knowledge. However, it is not the only kind of science.

  2. [Category-2 Science]  A second kind of science involves situations in which one cannot control all the variables, but can predict some. For example, I cannot prove that on occasion the moon comes directly between the sun and the Earth and casts a shadow of darkness on the Earth, because I cannot control the positions of the Earth, moon, or sun. What can be done is predicting the times when such eclipses will happen and being ready to make observations when they occur. Hopefully the weather where I have my instruments will allow me to make lots of measurements.

  3. [Category-3 Science]  A third kind of science involves events that can neither be predicted nor controlled, but one can be ready to make measurements if something does happen. For example, an array of seismographs can be established to allow measurements to be made at several locations in the event of an earthquake. When I was at the University of Chicago, a block of nuclear emulsion was attached to a large balloon that would be released when a radiation detector indicated that a solar storm had occurred (something we could neither produce nor predict). Somebody would rush to Stagg Field and release the balloon. When the balloon was retrieved, the emulsion would be carefully examined to measure the number, direction, velocity, and mass characteristics of particles unleashed by the sun.

  4. [Category-4 Science]  Finally, there is a fourth kind of science, still using the rules to attack difficult problems. These are the events that involve intelligence, such as airplane crashes, murders, rapes, and automobile accidents. We do not know when or where they will occur, but we do know they will. In a typical year more than 40,000 Americans will be killed in automobile accidents. We don't know where or when, so rarely are TV cameras whirling when these events take place. But we can, after the fact, collect and evaluate evidence. We can determine if the driver had high levels of alcohol in his or her blood, whether the brakes failed, whether the visibility was poor, where a skid started, and so on. Observations of strange phenomena in the sky come under this last category.

In all the category-4 events, we must obtain as much testimony from witnesses as possible. Some testimony is worth more than other testimony, perhaps because of the duration of observation, the nearness of the witnesses to the event, the specialized training of the observer, the availability of corroborative evidence such as videos and still photos, or the consistency of evidence when there is testimony from more than one witness. Our entire legal system is based on testimony — rarely is there conclusive proof such as DNA matching. Judges and juries must decide, with appropriate cross-examination, who is telling the truth. In some states, testimony from one witness can lead to the death penalty for the accused.

We should take note of the fact that even instrument data is dependent on testimony from the observer of the instruments, and on appropriate calibration and validation under standardized circumstances. Also, our courts place limits on requirements for testimony, such as that against one spouse by the other. Furthermore, there are rules about hearsay testimony, and rules regarding legal evidence are complex and detailed.

When it comes to flying saucers, we must remember that the reason most sightings can be determined to be relatively conventional phenomena, often seen under unusual circumstances, is that most people are relatively good observers. The problem comes with the interpretation of what was observed. People watching the sky late at night may get excited about a very bright light that moved very slowly. Checking on the position of the planets at that time may reveal that that light was Venus, because we have good information as to the angle of observation, the direction of the light from the observer, the relatively slow rate of motion, the location of Venus at that time, and so on. On three occasions, when living in Southern California, I was called by people who described an unusual object moving rapidly. I tried to make sure that I analyzed their observations, such as, what time was it? In what direction were you looking? In what direction did it seem to be moving? Was there any sound? What was its apparent size, say, as compared to the moon (just covered by an aspirin held at arm's length)?

Two of the people wanted to tell me that the object was just over the next hill. I stressed that this was an interpretation, because even huge objects far away can seem to be small objects nearby. In all three cases, I felt that what was being described sounded similar to a rocket launched down the California Coast when the sun had gone down, but while the object was high enough to still be in sunlight. I had seen such a spectacular case once myself. I checked, in all three cases, with Vandenberg Air Force Base, which launches many rockets down the U.S. West Coast. Indeed, there had been a launch at the right time in each case. One case was especially intriguing, because several witnesses were looking out across the ocean from a beach area and described the thing they saw as similar to a string of popcorn. It turned out to be the launch of a special weather satellite with extra solid boosters being dropped off multiple times.

The people were good observers. To say the least, it would be irrational to say that people are good observers when their input allows us to identify the object being observed, and yet poor observers if we can't identify the UFO as something conventional.

   — Stanton T. Friedman (Nuclear Physicist)
        Flying Saucers and Science
        Subtitle — A Scientist Investigates the Mysteries of UFOs: Interstellar Travel, Crashes,
           and Government Cover-Ups

        (Chapter 1 - "The Case for the ET Origin of Flying Saucers")
        (Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2008)

Stanton T. Friedman (Nuclear Physicist) - Flying Saucers and Science - for www.mysteries-of-the-world.com

Nine Points to Note

  1. Recently, we added a simple blog so that you would be apprised of the latest changes to the Mysteries of the World Website. To get the updates automatically, CLICK HERE to subscribe to our RSS (you will get a new window or 'tab'). Thanks and cheers!
  2. Warning to the unthinking (and to the control freaks and power junkies) ... You probably won't like the following 'thinking' observation ... But it's an important part of any exploration, investigation, study, etc. of the Mysteries of the World ...

    SEVEN DOORS TO SEVEN ROOMS OF THOUGHT

    1. Accept the statement of Eminent Authority with­out basis, without question.
    2. Disagree with the statement without basis, out of general contrariness.
    3. Perhaps the statement is true, but what if it isn't? How then to account for the phenomenon?
    4. How much of the statement rationalizes to suit man's purpose that he and his shall be ascendant at the centre of things?
    5. What if the minor should become major, the recessive dominant, the obscure prevalent?
    6. What if the statement were reversible, that which is considered effect is really cause?
    7. What if the natural law perceived in one field also operates unperceived in all other phases of science? What if there be only one natural law manifesting itself, as yet, to us in many facets because we cannot apperceive the whole, of which we have gained only the most elementary glimpses, with which we can cope only at the crudest level?

    And are those still other doors, yet undefined, on down the corridor?

     — Mark Clifton
        Eight Keys to Eden
        (London, UK: Pan Books, 1962)

    Eight Keys to Eden -- Kindle e-book:
    CLICK HERE or CLICK HERE

  3. This website — Mysteries of the World Website — aims for simplicity when examining the Mysteries ... Here is a TED talk about the topic of Simplicity (note:- TED = Technology, Entertainment, Design -- check this out: The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED) ...

  4. Please do not assume or conclude that, just because I present many views (in the form of textual notes, pictures/stills, and audio and video clips) — as well as many advertisements, some by me and some automatically by Google Adsense and Amazon — on this website, it does not mean that I am in agreement with or that I believe in the views and/or ads offered-proferred ... That would be displaying such a parochial and provincial attitude, towards this website and towards me as well!

    As an ex-military officer, I assure you that I am in the habit of reading, viewing and digesting lots of stuff that I don't necessarily believe in ... We call all the stuff we read, view and digest, 'military intelligence' ... The same applies with 'business intelligence' in the business world, of course.

    Our aim, as usual, is to find out what others (including our friends, enemies, competitors, suppliers, strategic partners, business partners, etc.) believe in. In order to do that effectively, we have to 'get out of the way', so to speak — we have to remove our humongous ego! — else we will never ever really have gotten started in our journey of exploration and discovery of the Mysteries of the World.

    Furthermore, similarly and additionally, as a "Charismatic Christian", there are lots of stuff presented in this website that I do not believe in ... which had even led some to label me as "Fundamentalist"!

    ... Whatever!

    Matthew 7

    1Judge not, that ye be not judged.

    2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

    3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

    4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

    5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

       — Jesus the Christ
            (Yahoshua ha Mashiach; Yeshua/Yesua; Ieosus; Joshua),
            "Sermon on the Mount"

    If you want to hear the NIV — specifically, from The Visual Bible: Matthew (1993) — please click the audio player below:



    In short, in this website, I present many things that, I am hopeful, would be of interest to a student, explorer and investigator of the Mysteries of the World ... but this doesn't mean that I believe in any of the stuff presented.

    ... Got it?

    ... Right!

  5. Here is a purpose that I am wholeheartedly in agreement with ...

    [Mysteries, Monsters, Mutants, Myths, Miracles & Much More ...]

    Our purpose ... is to describe the rich variety of anomalous, unexplained, sometimes totally bizarre phenomena that people have experienced in all times and places and that are still occurring today. ... the nature of the world and of our existence are quite different from that which we were taught at school. The reality is far more interesting, humorous and expansive than any religious or rational, scientific world-view can possibly accommodate.

    It is not our intention here to dispute anyone's beliefs or theories — but we should like to point out their limitations. There are things that happen in this world - and have occurred throughout the whole of human experience - for which there has never been a lasting explanation. Explanations are temporary products, coming and going in response to fashions. Meanwhile, the happenings they are supposed to explain carry on as mysteriously as ever.

       — John Michell and Bob Rickard
            The Rough Guide to Unexplained Phenomena (Rough Guide Reference)
             (New York, NY: Rough Guides Ltd, 2007)

  6. Here is a sentiment that I am wholeheartedly in agreement with ...
    As I sit down to redo this book for an American audience, what rises before me is last night's dream: I'm in a broad and beautiful land among many trees. It's night. I look up at a huge old tree that's dark against the starry sky in its detail of twig and branch. There is room enough here for all of us, I realize, here in this big, intricately textured park. But I see that some want to cut down the trees and level it out, so huge throngs of people can gather to gaze up at the sun's glare. I watch dark twigs fingering the remote, untouchable stars. A voice speaks: "Don't turn this into a Copernican Garden."

    Waking up, I remember that I went to sleep wondering how to put this book together. And I take "Copernican Garden" to mean a parking lot vista where masses gather to honor the bright sun of traditional science with its old rules as the center of the universe.

    So I will not cut down the trees and level this book out. It is between you and me [or you and I], a conversation as we stroll along in a moonlit fractal garden past webby connections of thought that merge to patterned insight. Here hidden delights nestle in scaling patterns of self-similar but never quite repeating beauty. Here the tree of life hold stars in its branches. No matter how huge, this garden stays human-sized because we have a place in it, you and I. No need to cut down the connective forest and level things out for that bright Sol [sun] of left-brain logic whose daytime dazzle — so close and glaring — can blind us to the myriad constellations beyond.

    [...]

       — Katya Walter, Tao of Chaos
            Sub-title: Merging East and West
            (1994, 1996)

  7. Here is an observation (adapted) made in the Acknowledgement page of a book ...
    It takes many minds to produce a book [including an e-book, of course]. Although most authors [especially of non-fiction books and articles] would prefer not to admit this fact, fundamentally they are merely 'synthesisers' of accumulated knowledge.

    The process of synthesising may unveil a new reality map, or paradigm, which, in due course, will be used by future pioneers to unveil further paradigms.

    This principle was summed up by Sir Isaac Newton when he remarked: "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants".

    [...]

       — Christian von Nidda, Our Secret Planet
            (2005)

  8. Here is an observation about UFO-Aliens cover-up or conspiracy that may be of general interest, although some readers would not agree with the observation (e.g., they may say that some whistleblowers, such as Bob Lazar on the Roswell-type flying saucers in secret Area-51 labs, have already come forward) ...
    If any long-term coherent cover up of UFO information does exist, however, then it must operate at all levels of government and the media. It must encompass all the relevant written materials, from the briefest handwritten note in government files to entries in squadron log books to letters in the personal papers of members of the Establishment. Hundreds of politicians, service personnel, police officers, clerks and officials, over half a century, would be required to excise any reference to the reality of UFOs from official documents and the media. The number of people who would have taken part in this cover up would be vast, yet not one person has broken ranks to 'blow the whistle' on the greatest story ever told. Meantime, millions of dollars are being spent every day on space probes and radio telescopes that are searching for evidence of alien life. Would there be any reason for a conspiracy of silence if that evidence already existed?

       — Dr David Clarke and Andy Roberts, Out of the Shadows
            (2002)

  9. Even though I am a "Charismatic Christian", the views presented herewith, in this Mysteries of the World Website, will NOT be colored by this fact of being a Charismatic Christian. Rather, where and when I find it necessary (and usually, I would NOT find it necessary, since I find it tiresome to repeat myself, again and again and again ..., ad infinitum ..., but if I should find it necessary to repeat myself), I will then state what my Charismatic Christian beliefs lead me to believe in — even though I am aware that my own Charismatic Christian beliefs may or may not be the same as, or in accord with, those beliefs of others who also may want to regard themselves as Charismatic Christians (nb/note well: there appears to be so many varieties of Charismatic Christian beliefs, including from those who are simultaneously of the traditional-historical denominations — such as the Roman Catholics, with their purgatories, mortal and venial sins, and their Mother this and Mother that. Shudder! Shudder! Shudder!).

    Thus, for example, I do not necessarily "believe" in "ghosts", even as I (will later) examine the entire gamut of so-called "paranormal events or phenomena", especially of those with a psychic bent (truly, these are bent!, as in less-than-straight, aka "crooked", thinking variety). Many so-called "ghosts" are probably some form of "fallen angels" or "demons" of the Biblical kind, masquerading as either gods, demons, spirits, ghosts, or even "angels of light" (when they are obviously "fallen" and are "angels of darkness", or "sons of darkness" as used in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e. The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness).

    Anyway, the author of 1 John, gave us a simple test against any "spirit" to see whether that spirit is of light (God; Christ/Son of God; Holy Spirit of God/Comforter/Advocate/Paraclete/The One; Jehovah/Yahveh/Yahweh/God the Father) or of darkness (Satan, Lucifer, the Devil; the Anti-Christ; the False Prophet; the Beast):

    2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

       — First Epistle of John
            (1 John 4:2-3; New International Version/NIV)
            (Note: many Catholics like NIV and dislike KJV! Tough!)

    Whatever the case may be about "ghosts" and other "apparitions", in this website, I have stated that we will be truth-based and science-based. Despite this, definitely, I will not be ashamed of being a Charismatic Christian or of God's Word:
    If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Spoken by Jesus and recorded in Luke 9:26; NIV)

    If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels. (Spoken by Jesus and recorded in Mark 8:38; NIV)

    I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans; Romans 1:16; NIV)

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We will, of course, come to a conclusion (eventually!) about each 'Mystery' ... even if that conclusion may eventually turn out to be 'as yet unresolved' or 'unexplained to our satisfaction'.







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