wizard & paradox

These big boys are not indigenous to the UK and came via bananas from the Canaries!

Most Spiders run when cornered this bad boy has a go!

A Yuga (Devanāgari: युग) in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga (or Krita Yuga), the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga and finally the Kali Yuga, which are equated with the Roman Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron Ages respectively by E. Burgess. According to Indian astronomy,[who?] the world is created, destroyed and recreated every 4,320,000 years (Maha Yuga. The cycles are said to repeat like the seasons, waxing and waning within a greater time-cycle of the creation and destruction of the universe. Like Summer, Spring, Winter and Autumn, each yuga involves stages or gradual changes which the earth and the consciousness of mankind goes through as a whole. A complete yuga cycle from a high Golden Age of enlightenment to a Dark Age and back again is said to be caused by the solar system's motion around a central sun.

In Puranic Hindu tradition, the world goes through a continuous cycle of epochs. These so called epochs are not psychological; they are astrometrical. Each ascending phase of the cycle from the Kali Yuga to Satya Yuga is followed by a descending phase of equal length back to the Kali Yuga, then another ascending phase which begins it again.. Alternatively, it is sometimes supposed that at the end of the descending Kali Yuga, the world will return to the Satya Yuga and begin a new decline.

The descent from Satya to Kali is associated with a progressive deterioration of Dharma (righteousness) manifested as a decrease in both the length of human life and the quality of human moral standards. In the Vishnu Purana, for example, the Kali yuga is described thus:

"In the Kali Yuga, there will be numerous rulers vying with each other. They will have no character. Violence, falsehood and wickedness will be the order of the day. Piety and good nature will dwindle slowly... Passion and lust will be the only attraction between the sexes. Women will be the objects of sensual pleasure. Dishonest will be the bottom line of subsistence. Learned people will be ridiculed and put to shame; the word of the wealthy person will be the only law."

Ascending and descending ages based on descriptions from Sri Yukteswar.

Hindu units of time on a logarithmic scale.

The traditional virtues accorded the highest value in the four epochs are:

1. Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga: dhyana (meditation). In the highest yuga, the great majority of people can experience spirituality by direct intuitive realization of truth. The veil between the material and the transcendent realms becomes almost transparent. According to Natya Shastra, there are no Natya performances in the Krita Yuga because it is a period free from any kind of unhappiness or misery. Satya Yuga is also called the Golden Age.
2. Treta Yuga: yajna (sacrifice). The Treta Yuga is the mental age. Mental power is harnessed and men are in power. There are inventions that dissolve the illusion of time (inventions are characteristic of both Dvapara and Treta yugas). Clairvoyance and telepathy are common skills.
3. Dvapara Yuga: archana (worship). In the Dvapara Yuga, science flourishes, people experience the spiritual in terms of subtle energies and rational choices, inventions are abundant, particularly those that dissolve the illusion of distance (between people and between things), and power is mostly in the hands of women. The end of this age (in the descending phase) is associated with the death of Krishna, and the events described in the Mahabharata.
4. Kali Yuga: daana (alms). In the lowest epoch, Kali Yuga, most people are aware only of the physical aspects of existence. The predominant emphasis of living is material survival, and power is mostly in the hands of men.

Temples , wars, and writing are hallmarks of Dvapara and Kali yugas. In the higher ages (Treta and Satya), writing is unnecessary because people communicate directly by thought. Temples are unnecessary because people feel the omnipresence of God. Wars are rare but they do occur - one such war is described in the Ramayana.

The Hindu texts[citation needed]say the four yugas equal 4,320,000 years, or a mahayuga. 1,000 mahayugas or 4.32 billion years equal one kalpa. The traditional[citation needed] timescale of the yugas is as follows:

1. Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga - 1,728,000 years
2. Treta Yuga - 1,296,000 years
3. Dvapara Yuga - 864,000 years x 108 - 93,312,000 good working distance to sun from earth
4. Kali Yuga - 432,000 years - also radius of sun in miles

Above numerical values are astrological/metrological and nothing to do with periods of time
[edit] 25920 zodiac years / 24000 yuga years = 1.08!

Hence, Hindu scripture says[citation needed] the length of the yugas maintain a 4,3,2,1 ratio to each other, with the Krita or Satya lasting 4000 years (plus a 400 year transition in and out) for a total of 4800 years, the Treta equals 3000 years (plus a 300 year transition in and out) for a total of 3600 years, the Dwapara last 2000 years (plus a 200 year transition in and out) for a total of 2400 years and the Kali 1000 years (plus a 100 year transition in and out) for a total of 1200 years.

All the epochs together equal 12,000 years (or divine years) in the ascending phase and 12,000 years in the descending phase. One complete cycle is said to be equal to and celestially observed as one precession of the equinox, according to Sri Yukteswar (see below). This four yugas consists of 10 parts of 432,000 years i.e 4,320,000 years . The Krita Yuga lasts for 4 parts; the name has the same consonants T and R of the word Chatur (four). The Treta Yuga consists of Tri (three) parts as it is apparent in the name 'Treta'. The Dvapara Yuga lasts for Dva (two) parts as it is apparent in the name 'Dvapara'. The Kali Yuga lasts for Eka (one) part; the consonant K appears in the name Kali.

Upon conclusion of seventy-one circuits of this cycle, there is a period equally long during which the world is inundated; then the cycle begins again

The cycle of yugas

An alternative view of the yuga cycle and time scale was taught by the 19th/20th-century Indian yogi Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, guru of Paramahansa Yogananda.

In his book, The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar explained that the descending phase of Satya Yuga lasts 4800 years, the Treta Yuga 3600 years, Dwapara Yuga 2400 years, and the Kali Yuga 1200 years. The ascending phase of the Kali Yuga then begins, also lasting 1200 years. The ascending phase of the Kali Yuga began in September of 499 AD. Since September 1699, we have been in the ascending phase of the Dwapara Yuga, according to Sri Yukteswar.

In The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar wrote that the traditional or long count view is based on a misunderstanding. He says that at the end of the last descending Dvapara Yuga (about 700 BC), "Maharaja Yudhisthira, noticing the appearance of the dark Kali Yuga, made over his throne to his grandson [and]...together with all of his wise men...retired to the Himalaya Mountains... Thus there was none in the court...who could understand the principle of correctly accounting the ages of the several Yugas."

According to Sri Yukteswar, nobody wanted to announce the bad news of the beginning of the ascending Kali Yuga, so they kept adding years to the Dvapara date (at that time 2400 Dvapara) only retitling the epoch to Kali. As the Kali began to ascend again, scholars of the time recognized that there was a mistake in the date (then being called 3600+ Kali, even their texts said Kali had only 1200 years). "By way of reconciliation, they fancied that 1200 years, the real age of Kali, were not the ordinary years of our earth, but were so many daiva (or deva) years ("years of the gods", consisting of 12 daiva months of 30 daiva days each, with each daiva day being equal to one ordinary solar year of our earth. Hence according to these men 1200 years of Kali Yuga must be equal to 432,000 years of our earth."

Sri Yukteswar explained that just as the cycle of day and night is caused by a celestial motion (the earth spinning on its axis in relation to the sun), and just as the cycle of the seasons are caused by a celestial motion (the earth with tilted axis orbiting the sun) so too is the yuga cycle (seen as the precession of the equinox), caused by a celestial motion. He explained this celestial motion as the movement of the whole solar system around another star. As our sun moves through this orbit, it takes the solar system (and earth) closer to and then further from a point in space known as the "grand centre" also called 'Vishnunabhi', which is the seat of the creative power, 'Brahma', [which]...regulates...the mental virtue of the internal world." He implied that it is the proximity of the earth and sun to this grand centre that determines which season of man or yuga it is.

Fake sick notes sold on internet

Anyone caught using fake sick notes will be "pursued vigorously"

Fake sick notes are being sold on the internet for £25 each.

The documents on the website www.doctorsnotestore.com come on NHS headed paper and bear real doctors' names, but are completely false.

A site disclaimer says they are for "novelty" purposes only, but it also offers a money-back guarantee if they fail to get you out of work or school.

The NHS fraud squad said anyone using fake notes was open to prosecution and would be "pursued vigorously".

A spokesman said: "Selling sick notes is not illegal so a person could type one up and sell it without being prosecuted.

Choose from doctors at medical centres in London , Manchester , Birmingham , Glasgow - or any other area

Website: www.doctorsnotestore.com

"It only becomes illegal when you receive a payment or advantage, for instance paid time off work, because of its use.

"We take fraud against the NHS very seriously and anyone caught using these fraudulent documents will be pursued vigorously."

The website advertises a guaranteed delivery time of 48 hours and an authentic NHS stamp - and is offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

Alongside the GP's name, the false certificate contains an illness of the buyer's choice.

The site also says: "Choose from doctors at medical centres in London , Manchester , Birmingham , Glasgow - or any other area."

Condemned

It says it has been making fake professional documents for the UK , New Zealand , Europe and worldwide for 11 years.

False medical certificates, school notes, solicitors' letters and holiday insurance claims are also advertised.

A spokesman from the British Medical Association said: "The deliberate abuse of the sick certification system is to be condemned.

“One positive step employers can take to avoid fraud is to strengthen working relationships with doctors.

"This will also help them take positive action to support employees with genuine long-term health problems.”

I completely agree with you the Paradox is solved via this fuzzy logic.
If suffering is caused by desire and then end of desire is the end of suffering then can we not cease suffering not by, "squashing or eliminating", as is generally taught but by accepting the desire and if required Fulfilling it.
This way the desire is ceased and the suffering ended. Of course this only would apply under, "if it harms none do as thou wilt"!

When every one in the world became conscious of the beauty of the beautiful it turned to evil; they became conscious of the goodness of the good and ceased to be good. Thus not-being and being arise the one from the other. So also do the difficult and the easy; the long and the short; the high and the low; sounds and voices; the preceding and the following.

Therefore the Holy man abides by non-attachment in his affairs, and practices a doctrine which cannot be imparted by speech. He attends to everything in its turn and declines nothing; produces without claiming; acts without dwelling thereon; completes his purposes without resting in them. Inasmuch as he does this he loses nothing.

A lotus pond will serve as an illustration of the difference between the holy sages and the younger members of the race. Covered with broad green leaves and brilliant blooms, it irresistibly attracts child-souls. They wade into the water, sink in the slime, and desperately struggle for the fragile petals; but the sages, their elder brethren, remain quietly on the bank,

Always alert to aid any who require assistance, content to admire, content to enjoy, without desiring to possess; yet actually owning the flowers more truly than the struggling crowd in the slimy pond. We are feeblest when we are grasping.

"The Master said, 'Those who are without virtue, cannot abide long either in a condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment.'"—Confucian Analects.

"To dwell in the wide house of the world, to stand in the correct seat of the world, and to walk in the great path of the world; when he obtains his desire for office, to practice his principles for the good of the people; and when that desire is disappointed, to practice them alone; to be above the power of riches and honors to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from principle, and of power and force to make bend—these characteristics constitute the great man."—Mencius.

No ticket, no refund and the festival rocks on without you

After an unofficial agency's high-profile failure, Kate Hughes sees how to reduce the risks of booking online for sell-out events

Sunday, 24 August 2008
People who booked for last week's V Festival through SOS Master Tickets missed the party

People who booked for last week's V Festival through SOS Master Tickets missed the party

It's a music lover's worst nightmare. You have paid out hundreds of pounds to a third party for your spot at a sell-out event. But your tickets never arrive, or you arrive at the venue only to be told your tickets are fake and are turned away.

This was the fate of thousands of SOS Master Tickets' customers last week when the unofficial distributor left V Festival revellers and George Michael fans, among others, with no ticket, no money and, crucially, no comeback. The company's phones have been disconnected, and its website is unavailable. Trading Standards is now investigating.

Buying your tickets for sell-out music or sports events from unofficial sources may seem like your only way in, but you are taking a risk, as Jonathan Maclean-Lambie, 36, from Glasgow found out. He lost £200 when he booked for this year's Leeds music festival through SOS Master Tickets.

"You dream of going to these events, which can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities," says Mr Maclean-Lambie. "Tickets for big events sell out so quickly, it feels like you have little choice but to go to third parties. You save up, sometimes thousands of pounds, and then lose it all on a site that looked fine. People are not aware that things can go wrong.

"It won't stop me going to events in future," he continues, "but I'll be going through official distributors in future. I'm just happy the company is under investigation and that nobody else will be paying money for nothing."

The operator has every right to refuse you entry to a private event if you do not have a valid ticket or pass as determined by the event or venue manager. A receipt for payment without the ticket won't cut it either.

You won't make it to the concert or match if you find yourself without a bona fide ticket, but you may have a chance to get your money back, especially if you used a credit card to make the purchase. Jemma Smith, a spokeswoman for Apacs, the UK payments association, says: "If you have bought something with a card, it is always worth talking to the relevant bank or company."

Regardless of whether the problem was due to fraud or the company going bust, anyone making a credit card purchase worth more than £100 in person or online should be protected under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which makes credit card providers and suppliers equally liable if it all goes wrong.

"This means that if you paid by credit card, you can apply to your bank for a refund on the money if the goods or services do not turn up," says Ms Smith. "Debit cards with the Visa symbol also give you this protection."

But be warned that you give up this right when you use websites that make purchases in cash on your behalf after you pay them by card, because this is legally a cash transaction. The most notable of these is PayPal, which is the main method of payment on eBay. However, PayPal does offer its own dispute resolution service to mediate between buyers and sellers.

What's more, if you buy a ticket through an auction site bear in mind that it is not responsible for the quality of the item. EBay, for example, states that where the seller is a private individual, the goods must be "as described". The goods are not legally required to be of "satisfactory quality" or "fit for purpose".

If in doubt, check on the official website for the festival in question. If you still wish to go through a third party online, at least look for a secure website with the prefix "https" and for a UK-registered business address. This means that the company will be regulated by the Trading Standards Institute.

To avoid a third party seeing any payment card details you enter online, make sure there is a small lock symbol on screen at the checkout phase of your purchase. This shows that your connection to the seller's server is secure and cannot be viewed by other site users.

As for unofficial ticket touts outside the event, stay far away from them. The ticket may be real – even if you have to pay much more than the face value for it – but if it turns out to be a fake you will never see your money again.

Another risk in buying from a tout is that the organiser may have asked the original purchaser to register their name and bring some form of ID with them to the event. If you turn up at the gate with a ticket registered in someone else's name, you may not be allowed in.

The Tao which can be expressed is not the unchanging Tao; the name which can be named is not the unchanging name.

The nameless is the beginning of the Heaven Earth; the mother of all things is the nameable.

Thus, while the eternal not-being leads towards the fathomless, the eternal being conducts to the boundary. Although these two 5 have been differently named they come from the same.

As the same they may be described as the abysmal. The abyss of the abysmal is the gate of all mystery.

That aspect of God which is hidden in eternity, without bounds, without limits, without beginning, must be distinguished from that side of God which is expressed in nature and in man. The one, apparently subjective, certainly unknowable; the other, a self-manifestation, or a going forth, the commencement of our knowledge, as of our being.

"No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." Whether "the only begotten Son" be identified with an historical person or not, the conception is necessary to any thought of God. Without a self-revelation, the Eternal Presence remains unknown. Hence the Indian has his avatars, the Christian his incarnation.

Lao Tzu is strictly logical when he ascribes the origin of all phenomena to the manifesting Deity, rather than to the Undifferentiated One, which being changeless could not create.

Says Herbert Spencer: "The antithesis of subject and object, never to be transcended while consciousness lasts, renders impossible all knowledge of the Ultimate Reality in which subject and object are united."

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmanent

It was 1958 when the first protesters marched to London to raise awareness over Nuclear Policy.

And the needed a symbol.

Their detractors said it was the foot print of an chicken as they were cowards.

In actuallity the symbol was simply the combination of two semaphore symbols.

^ = C for Campaign and I = Disarmanent.

Dear friends,

In just over 18 months, the Avaaz community has grown to an amazing 3.3 million people from every country of the world, an average growth of over 40,000 people per week! Working in 13 languages, Avaaz members have taken almost 8 million actions, donated over 2.5 million Euro ($3.5 million), and told 30 million friends about Avaaz campaigns. A wonderful new source of global community and democracy is being created, and we've started to win real victories to close the gap between the world we have and the world we want.

We've built a simple report back page to make sure that everyone can stay up to date with most of the campaigns and their results, visit it anytime at the link below:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

Campaign Update -- May-July 2008
In just the last 3 months, Avaaz members helped to get the first global treaty banning cluster bombs, ran an ad campaign that reached 1 million Israelis arguing for a Gaza ceasefire to ease the humanitarian crisis there (the ceasefire is now in place, and holding!), and helped to build a large wave of criticism of leaders at the G8 summit who failed to take effective action on climate change. After President Al Bashir of Sudan was indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide in Darfur, Bashir urged personally newspaper editors not to carry an Avaaz member-funded ad campaign calling for his arrest.

Below is a quick summary of campaigning developments on Israel and Palestine, the food crisis, Zimbabwe, climate change, China, Tibet, and the Olympics, Darfur, cluster bombs, and more. On all of these issues, much more remains to be done -- but we have contributed in powerful ways. Congratulations and tremendous thanks to everyone who has helped make all this possible!

China, Tibet, and the Olympics
More than 175,000 Avaaz members have joined a global handshake chain -- launched by the Dalai Lama, carried through London by a 2000-person chain of Avaaz members to the Chinese Embassy, and then racing around the world online. A positive symbol of constructive dialogue, the handshake now heads to the Olympics themselves, through dozens of Avaaz members attending as spectators and a media blitz.

To amplify the handshake's message, Avaaz members have funded ads in Chinese publications from Hong Kong to California, launched a Chinese-language Avaaz sister site, hired "mobile and walking billboards" in New York's and London's Chinatowns -- among a host of other tactics. You can still join the global handshake here before it lands in Beijing at this link.

Zimbabwe
More than 400,000 Avaaz members, including tens of thousands in Africa, have taken action to support democracy and human rights in Zimbabwe. This past weekend, South African trade unionists marched to a regional summit in Johannesburg with Zimbabwean refugees and civil society groups carrying a sea of red cards for Mugabe -- and holding banners representing the more than 75,000 virtual red cards sent by Avaaz members last week. Avaaz members have contacted governments around the world, urging non-recognition of Mugabe's regime; funded ad campaigns globally and throughout Southern Africa; and even flown a 280-sq-metre banner over the United Nations to press South Africa's Mbeki to push harder in his role as mediator between Mugabe and the opposition MDC. The summit is over, but our campaign for the end of the Mugabe era is not.

Israel and Palestine
215,000 Avaaz members, including citizens of both Israel and Palestine, have driven Avaaz campaigning for a just two-state peace in the Middle East -- and, this year, for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. A major print-and-online advertising campaign for the ceasefire reached more than 1 million Israelis this June. Within a week, a truce was signed -- encouraging the Avaaz community to play an ongoing role, large and small, in helping to resolve this conflict.

G8 and climate change
More than 250,000 Avaaz members urged the G8 leaders to adopt firm targets to cut climate emissions by the year 2020, signing a petition that was hand-delivered to G8 chair Japan's prime minister. During the summit negotiations, however, the US, Canada, and Japan refused 2020 targets -- so Avaaz called them out in a satirical full-page, full-color ad in the global Financial Times drawing on the Japanese "Hello Kitty" cartoon. The ad, funded with small donations from 2,000 Avaaz members worldwide, sparked coverage in media outlets from the New York Times to the Nikkei Business Daily. Coverage of reactions from Avaaz and other groups ensured that Canada's Stephen Harper and other leaders couldn't spin their way out of accountability for blocking progress on this urgent issue -- and with climate change a key issue in coming elections, hopes for change (and our campaigning plans) are growing.

Food crisis
Responding to a video appeal for international support from the Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone, 342,197 Avaaz members signed petitions urging governments to take action on the food crisis. In May, Avaaz staff hand-delivered their message to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon at an emergency food summit in Rome. Moon, in turn, used the petition with the press and global leaders to build his urgent case for action on food prices and practices. As the food crisis deepens, we are redoubling our efforts in support of the hungry, marginalised and poverty-stricken.

Darfur
To counter Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir's claim that the International Criminal Court is a "Western Crusade," Avaaz launched a major Arabic-media ad campaign. More than 4500 Avaaz members from 80 countries donated funding to run the ads throughout the region, which put Bush and Bashir together as opponents of the Court, throughout the region. Bashir, infuriated, read that one newspaper had rejected the ad -- and personally invited its editor to visit Sudan and accept his thanks. The dust-up has created a splash in Arab media. Our campaigning will continue until the genocide ends and al-Bashir is brought to justice.

Other highlights
When a 120-country summit to ban cluster bombs was at risk of failure, more than 160,000 Avaaz members emailed world leaders to urge a strong treaty free of loopholes and delays. The campaign made waves with negotiators inside the conference and headlines in Finland and the International Herald Tribune -- and a firm treaty was agreed in the final days.
Avaaz members raised over $2 million in aid after the Burma cyclone, channeled directly to those at greatest need through monks and aid workers inside the country.
As the UN launched a closed process to choose its new UN Human Rights Commissioner, Avaaz placed a mock job advertisement in The Economist. The ad, and a companion blog, helped bring transparency to the appointment and public voices to global governance.
It can seem as though every week brings a new crisis or international emergency. As human beings, we have a responsibility to our brothers and sisters, no matter where they are in the world. But it is inspiring to know that none of us is alone -- that there are millions around the world sharing our concerns and joining with us to take action when it matters most.

Avaaz is based on a simple idea: that global public opinion should shape global decision-making. When we take action, we may not win every battle -- but together, over time, we can change the field on which the battles are fought. We are already making a difference, and our voices are growing stronger. This is only the beginning.

Warmly,

Ricken, Ben, Brett, Paul, Graziela, Pascal, Iain, Veronique, and Milena -- the Avaaz team

PS: For more information, or to leave a comment, you can always to go this page: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

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Hi just been had for over £200!
I gave the nod without being present or checking my self for the purchase of a 3 day Leeds festival pass as a gift to a nephew!
By rights I should of smelled a rattus rattius! The tickets were sold out on the day of first availability, yet I was told that the site SOS MASTER TICKET could deliver next day.
Please note that this site is not the same as Ticket Master who are reputable.
The nephew phoned today as he had not received his tickets, the phone number provided for the site is bogus I.e a SIT Tone.
There is no formal U.K. address and it appears that the transaction was taken immediately and exchanged to euros.
I know now that somebody in Spain is behind this scam.
On a search engine which if I had been present would of been completed prior to any transaction it is clear that I am not the only sucker.
Folks have been ripped off for numerous £££! Sometimes monies being removed more than once. The site even has sold tickets for Madonna tickets for gigs that never existed!

My nephew is gutted, (not as much as me)!
It is a moot point whether the money can be recovered by the bank as the payment was via visa debit, (credit cards having more protection).

Needless to say the card is now cancelled just in case!

The infuriating thing is that SOS MASTER TICKET is still there operating and others will be had.

I doubt the police can do much as the site is not geographic to the U.K. However it makes sense to check via a search engine to see if a site has customer feedback.

Not rocking in Leeds this year!

My lodestone is like a double pyramid a good piece can be difficult to find in the UK.

My interest in this tool arode when reading that Faraday used to keep a piece in his pocket when making public speeches and addressing the Royal Society, of course magnetism was all the buzz in his day.

"De Magnete" spells it "loadstone", (translation).

What if no lodestones existed? The Chinese would certainly not have invented the magnetic compass. Magnetism would have been discovered much later, and one wonders how. Lacking the compass, the great voyages of discovery could hardly have taken place--Columbus, De Gama, Magellan and the rest. The history of the world might have been quite different!

Lightning, from the Langmuir Lab
Dr. Peter Wasilewski, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, believes he has the answer.

First, he showed, not all magnetite can become a lodestone: a certain composition and crystal structure are required. But even then, just resting a few million years in the Earth's magnetic field would produce no magnetization.

For that, a strong magnetic field must be applied. The application may be very brief--as when a computer disk or video tape passes by the recording head--but the strength of the magnetic field must exceed a certain minimum.

Dr. Wasilewski believes that is what happens when a chunk of the appropriate ore is struck by lightning. Lightning is a discharge of cloud electricity, a large electric current lasting just a fraction of a second, but during that time it produces a strong transient magnetic field.

The idea was tested at a unique facility of the New Mexico Institute of Technology, the Langmuir laboratory. That lab, a center of lightning studies, was built on top of South Baldy Mountain near Soccorro, New Mexico, the location of frequent lightning strikes. By placing mineral samples where lightning would hit them, Dr. Wasilewski turned magnetite with appropriate crystalline structure into lodestones.

William Gilbert had a clue to this process, but not surprisingly, he missed its significance. In "De Magnete" he cited the following passage from a book published in Italy:

"A druggist of Mantua showed me a piece of iron entirely changed into a magnet, drawing another piece of iron in such a way that it could be compared to a loadstone. Now this piece of iron, when it had for a long time held up a brick ornament on the top of the tower of St. Augustine in Rimini, had been at length bent by the force of the winds, and remained so for a period of ten years. When the monks wished to bend it back to its former shape, and had handed it over to a blacksmith, a surgeon named Maestro Giulio Caesare discovered that it was like a magnet and attracted iron. "

In hindsight we would guess that the church tower had been hit by lightning, which magnetized the iron. Gilbert however attributed it to long-term exposure to the Earth's magnetism, "by the turning of its extremities towards the poles for so long a time."

Magnetization by Heat-Working
Gilbert also observed that iron could acquire magnetic properties as a result of being heat-worked by a blacksmith:

"For as when a babe is brought forth into the light from its mother's womb, and acquires respiration and certain animal activities.... so that piece of iron ... while it is returning also from its heated condition to its former temperature, it is imbued with a certain verticity in accord with its position."

"Verticity" here means magnetization. The observation is quite accurate: above a certain temperature ("Curie point"), iron loses all its magnetism; then, when it is cooled back past that temperature, it "captures" the magnetism existing in its surroundings, due to the poles of the Earth. Its "verticity" is nowhere as strong as the one produced by a stroke of lighning. Still, as Gilbert observed, in a long iron rod that magnetism was channeled to the ends, where it could be noted.

Magnetism "captured" by hot material that cools down in the presence of the Earth's magnetic influence has played an important role in the more recent discovery of plate tectonics, discussed in a later section of this web site. A similar cooling process may also be responsible for the patchy magnetization observed on the surfaces of Mars and the Moon.

Cernunnos the horned god of the wild, ferility and seen as the consort of the goddess.
Here from the Guldestrup Bronze Cauldron.
Surrounded by nature and posed note the posture of the legs and the spiral of the horns indicating magikal energy. in the hand a golden torc and the serpent of wisdom.

You Know I just want to bullet this dude! what a

Hopes are slipping away for a deal to resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis. Yesterday, Robert Mugabe announced plans to ignore the ongoing negotiations with the opposition MDC party, form a sham "Government of National Unity" with a breakaway opposition faction, and open parliament next week.

This weekend, when Southern Africa's 15 leaders, including Mugabe, meet at a major summit in Johannesburg, they will look out upon a sea of red. Thousands of Southern African trade unionists and other citizens will march to the summit waving red cards -- the football penalty symbol for expulsion -- and call for Mugabe to go. The organisers have appealed to Avaaz for international support, and will carry signs at the march representing the "red cards" sent by Avaaz members.

The region's powerful trade unions have threatened that unless Southern African leaders take action now, they will refuse to handle goods coming to or from Zimbabwe and will squeeze Mugabe out. A massive march this weekend backed by 100,000 supporters from around the world will be a overwhelming signal to Southern African leaders that they must act now before the crisis becomes even more desperate -- to announce that the Mbeki-led negotiations have failed, and to launch a new and fairer negotiating process immediately. Click below to send a red card, and pass this message along to friends and family!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/red_card_for_mugabe

Four and a half months have passed since the people of Zimbabwe voted for Morgan Tsvangirai and the Movement for Democratic Change on 29 March. Hyperinflation has exploded to an unimaginable 40,000,000%, and millions now face starvation. The EU, US, and UK have pledged a $1.9bn financial aid package to stabilise Zimbabwe's economy, feed the hungry and combat hyperinflation -- but only if Mugabe is removed.

Meanwhile, distribution of food aid by local and international humanitarian agencies has been prohibited by Mugabe's government. Torture camps remain in operation, political violence continues in some rural provinces, and 12 opposition MPs languish in jail on trumped-up charges. The Mbeki-led talks are collapsing, as Mugabe and his military high command insist on retaining control.

The people of Zimbabwe need strong allies willing to take bold action. Already, more than 300,000 Avaaz members -- including tens of thousands in Africa -- have signed petitions, donated funds, and written to their leaders in global campaigns for democracy and justice. After Avaaz flew a 280-square-metre banner over an Mbeki-chaired United Nations meeting, South Africa finally called for the release of elections results. In April, trade unions and civil society groups including Avaaz led a successful campaign to block a Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe. Now, as the crisis accelerates, our voices matter more than ever -- we can send an electronic wave of red cards to Johannesburg and bolster the efforts of on-the-ground advocates pressing for change.

Join the global outcry now, and then pass this message along!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/red_card_for_mugabe

With hope,

Ben, Alice, Ricken, Brett, Paul, Iain, Pascal, Graziela, Veronique, and Milena -- the Avaaz.org team

PS: For a report on Avaaz's campaigning so far, see:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

PSS: Here are links to sources for this alert:

"Zimbabwe: Mugabe set to keep power amid rumours of breakaway deal" - The Guardian, 14 August 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/14/zimbabwe

Information on the march - COSATU / SW Radio Africa
http://swradioafrica.com/pages/marchagainst130808.htm

"South Africa: Unions Bid to Halt Zimbabwe Arms Ship" - Business Day (Johannesburg), 22 April 2008
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804220109.html

"No arms for Zimbabwe" - Avaaz campaign
http://www.avaaz.org/en/no_arms_for_zimbabwe

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!

Dear friends,

Russian troops have begun an invasion of Georgia, tens of thousands of civilian lives are at risk. Click below to support the call for a ceasefire:

The conflict in Georgia is spinning out of control. Russian troops have moved deep inside the country in what looks not far short of full-scale invasion, and tens of thousands of civilians are in danger, with many becoming refugees overnight.

Diplomats are scrambling to find a solution, and the European Union has proposed a ceasefire and withdrawal of all forces to their previous positions. China has also called for an "Olympic Truce", an ancient tradition that asks all countries to cease hostilities during the Olympic Games.

A humbled Georgia has agreed to the ceasefire, now French and Finnish foreign ministers are bringing the proposal to Moscow. In the next 48 hours, a massive global public outcry would show Russian and Georgian leaders that the world wants a ceasefire, and continuing the invasion would seriously damage Russia's international reputation. Click below to sign our emergency petition and then forward this email to your friends and family. We'll publicize the petition in the media and deliver it to the UN Security Council and Russian government:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/georgia_ceasefire_now

Russia and Georgia have a long history of tensions, but the recent hostilities were sparked over a small region called South Ossetia, which is seeking separation from Georgia. For years South Ossetia has had de facto autonomy, but after clashes between Ossete militia and Georgian troops, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili ordered the army to occupy the small province. The Russian army immediately responded by driving the Georgian army out, bombing targets, attacking towns and taking control of large swathes of territory deep within Georgia.

History teaches us that small wars easily spark larger ones. Saakashvili has applied to join NATO, angering Russian Prime Minister Putin, who may be using the invasion to forcibly remove the Georgian leader from power. If Russia tries to remove a democratically elected President by force, the conflict could escalate dangerously, as Georgia is a close ally of the United States. The Georgian and South Ossetian people could become victims of a great global contest for power in the oil rich region.

Wars get more vicious and harder to end the longer they last. The best time to stop this one is right now -- let's act now, and help make a ceasefire the first step in a peaceful, negotiated solution to the root causes of conflict in this troubled region.

With hope,

Ricken, Iain, Veronique, Graziela, Brett, Paul, Pascal, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

PS - here are some links for more information on this conflict, and a link to learn more about Avaaz campaigns:

For more information about Avaaz campaigns:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/report_back_2

For more background on the conflict in Georgia:
International Crisis Group: “War in Georgia” --
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5623&l=1
BBC: “Georgia-Russia Conflict” -- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/europe/2008/georgia_russia_conflict/default.stm
Financial Times: “Russia is forfeiting its world standing” --
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/90c9bd3c-6805-11dd-8d3b-0000779fd18c.html

The European Union proposes a ceasefire:
Moscow Times: “Europe takes lead in bid to resolve conflict” --
http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/369718.htm
IHT: “ Europe taking a diplomatic approach to Caucasus conflict” --
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/11/europe/diplo.php

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ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Click here to learn more about our largest campaigns.

Don't forget to check out our Facebook and Myspace and Bebo pages!

Crystals & The Esoteric
There is a once man who lives within the prism multiverse of the ultra-violet sapphire of wisdom...
He reads from the pages of the red book and quotes CJ Jung saying, "I am an orphan alone; never less I am found everywhere. I am one yet opposed to myself. I am youth and the old man at the same time. I have none neither father or mother for I had to fetched out of the deep like a fish, or fell like a white stone from the heavens. In woods and mountains I roam, I am in the innermost souls of men. I am mortal for everyone, yet I am no touched by the cycle of aeons".

So listen to these words for herein lies some truth and wisdom, I may be young but I have sucked on the teat of a wise man...
Crystals

Associated with the ,"New Age Movement", and under critical attack on occasion,
Crystals are known for their healing and occult abilities. This interest is not new to humanity. Throughout history crystals have been used as talismans and a focus for Clear-sight, Clear-hearing, and in Trance Meditation.

Anciently Crystals and gems were signs of wealth. In tales such as , "King Solomon's Mines", it is said that their was much hardship and death along the quest to find these gems, this was justified the true discovery of the treasure. A treasure that renders the finders rich forever after. They have struggled through to the crystalline truth. The gems change our consciousness.

Within such stones snatches of possible futures can be seen, or glamourous desires found, transcendental knowledge can be sought. Note the Brahman Seer and his, "Hollow", stone.

Our cultures have been lost, our respect and understanding for the earth and its inhabitants diminished. Left brain thinking has reduced and rationalised other cultures as primitive, savage, and backwards. During the past Aeon man has turned away from spiritual awareness, natural healing and holistic living. This has disturbed our race mentally, emotionally and physically.

We may have gained a technological revolution full of scientific wonders but also terrifying destructive capabilities. So now in propaganda and promoted fear many are disillusioned with our so called civilised society and are looking back to their own and others philosophic points of view. We cannot turn the clocks back, yet we can attempt to find a balance between the technological and the spiritual.

I claim not that Crystals are a complete Magickal Solution, yet they are a powerful catalyst which can enable us to find this balance, a balance not just within our self's but in the way we perceive the world.

What are these Crystals?

Formed in the earths crust some 40,000,000 years ago, they have an regular geometric form, spontaneously generated and self replicating in a stable fashion. Crystals exemplify natures apparent power of self organisation, which includes the physical evolution of life on earth.

Glasgow scientist, A. Cairns-Smith, may of involved a process of replication starting not with organic DNA but via inert matter. The developing pattern of crystals in clay beds do not only replicate innovative information but also give knowledge of the surrounding minerals, also if changed by environmental pressure they replicate that change too. This may explain Sheldrakes theory of formative causation.

Quartz Crystals in particular were always thought to hold special power. Occultist Dr Joannes Dee the original 007, and modern users of crystals claim to have communicated with entities, to of induced trance healing and scry the future, including other levels and dimensions of reality. In 1845 Baron Von - Richenbach announced that physics perceive an energy emitted by crystals and magnets. His findings were and are being replicated now, at the time they were dismissed by skeptical materialists.

The amount of quartz found in prehistoric megaliths suggests ancient knowledge of the mechano-electric properties of crystals that is found in many forms in all types of rock used in standing stones. It is associated with the tingling sensation felt by those dowsing or passing megalithic sites.

Piezo Electricity - an electrical charge applied to quartz changes its shape or curvature. Compression produces an electrical charge across its faces. Pressure applied fast and hard, ( as by a hammer), can generate several thousand volts. Charging a pressurised crystal causes an oscillation that can produce a regular flow of electronic and mechanical pulses. Wherever we go science has harnessed the crystal.. In T.V.S. wrist watches and the silicon chip, yet ignoring the possibility that it changes consciousness.

Soviet researchers in the 1960's suggested that the earth is a giant crystal. The article was published in the journal of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. According to the theory a crystalline lattice provided an matrix of cosmic energy may have formed the original structure of our planet. More exciting still is the fact that this structure can still be seen from space... In twelve pentagonal slabs covering the surface of the globe. The Soviets overlaid the resulting dodecahedron with twenty equilateral triangles and claim that the entire geometric structure influences or has influenced such diverse phenomena as magnetic anomalies, earth faults, mineral and oil deposits, bird migrations, cyclone centers, solar radiation and even the position of early civilisations.

The late Aldous Huxley dismissed the common argument that some stones were valuable simply because they were rare. he pointed out some much rarer substances that have no appeal at all. Having himself ingested the Psychedelic Drug Mescaline, (which heightens the senses), and after experiencing vivid visions said, "Precious stones are precious because they remind us of the glittering inner vistas of inner worlds, pregnant with light and colour." Crystals even common place ones like a snow flake or ice have essentially the same effect. To look upon a field covered with a blanket of fresh snow is literally an act of magick.

Shamanic cultures as far apart as the Tingit Inuits and the Amazon Conbo all consider quartz crystals to have a special power. Shamanic theory holds that reality has an inner and a outer aspect. Shamans are people who travel such inner worlds to receive and gain knowledge for the whole community. They say that such explorations show the thing we perceive as physical such as a tree to have an inner, spiritual aspect the form of a man, shaped this way as we are humans, and also something more an oddly shaped stone or pillar of mist a ball of light, power and soul.

The quartz crystal is unique. Their inner and outer aspects are identical. The only known structures on our planer to exhibit this characteristic. And in this it makes them ideal for the working of magick.

Yet we must always be wary of abuse of all things - The Crystal we may keep in the palm of our hand, and a world in turn holds us and in turn the universe holds the world. In this all things become one and nuit.

Every living thing past present and future, the individual cell, atom and neutrino contains all we are The God and The Goddess both.

The Crystal can remembers all of this and more, the need for life to evolve.

_____________________________________________________________________
Exercises:
There are many uses for crystals in spell working, ritual and magickal practice - some are:
Storing and Transmitting
Concentration and Visualisation
Increase of Will and Attuning to the Sub-Conscious
Mind Passive and Active Meditation
Relaxation Grounding and being Centered
Banishing - Unwanted thoughts and feelings
Programming Clear Quartz with a colour for spell work, a table of correspondences would be a good project on this forum!
Thought form , Symbol or Specific Intention good for Invocation
Mantras, Chants and Affirmations - Crystal Running and Dance
Using Crystal to Transmit Energy to another Person Healing
Dream Recall, Guidance and Healing
Inner Guides

Clear Quartz aside some more useful ones are:

Amethyst an excellent receiver - Spirit, Justice, Creativity
Aquamarine an excellent tuner - Happiness and Clarity
Carnelian other Earth Stones- Self and grounding Current Conditions
Rose Quartz an excellent Transmitter - Health, Prosperity and I know a spell for Lunacy!
Tourmaline an excellent Amplifier - Power, Activity Spell Release
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Wizard & Paradox
I Tego Arcana Dei

I have been in many shapes,
Before I attained a congenial form.
I have been a narrow blade of a sword.
(I will believe it when it appears.)
I have been a drop in the air.
I have been a shining Star.
I have been a word in a book.
I have been a book originally.
I have been a light in a lantern.
A year and a half.
I have been a bridge for passing over
Three-score rivers.
I have journeyed as an eagle.
I have been a boat on the sea.
I have been a director in battle.
I have been the string of a child's swaddling clout.
I have been a sword in the hand.
I have been a shield in the fight.
I have been the string of a harp,
Enchanted for a year
In the foam of water.
I have been a poker in the fire.
I have been a tree in a covert.
There is nothing in which I have not been.
I have fought, though small,
In the Battle of Goddeu Brig,
Before the Ruler of Britain,
Abounding in fleets.
Indifferent bards pretend,
They pretend a monstrous beast,
With a hundred heads,
And a grievous combat
At the root of the tongue.
And another fight there is
At the back of the head.
A toad having on his thighs
A hundred claws,
A spotted crested snake,
For punishing in their flesh
A hundred souls on account of their sins.
I was in Caer efynedd,
Thither were hastening grasses and trees.
Wayfarers perceive them,
Warriors are astonished
At a renewal of the conflicts
Such as Gwydion made.
There is calling on Heaven,
And on Christ that he would effect
Their deliverance,
The all-powerful Lord.
If the Lord had answered,
Through charms and magic skill,
Assume the forms of the principal trees,
With you in array
Restrain the people
Inexperienced in battle.
When the trees were enchanted
There was hope for the trees,
That they should frustrate the intention
Of the surrounding fires....
Better are three in unison,
And enjoying themselves in, a circle,
And one of them relating
The story of the deluge,
And of the cross of Christ,
And of the Day of judgement near at hand.
The alder-trees in the first line,
They made the commencement.
Willow and quicken tree,
They were slow in their array.
The plum is a tree
Not beloved of men;
The medlar of a like nature,
Over coming severe toil.
The bean bearing in its shade
And army of phantoms.
The raspberry makes
Not the best of food.
In shelter live,
The privet and the woodbine,
And the ivy in its season.
Great is the gorse in battle.
The cherry-tree had been reproached.
The birch, though very magnanimous,
Was late in arraying himself;
It was not through cowardice,
But on account of his great size.
The appearance of the ...
Is that of a foreigner and a savage.
The pine-tree in the court,
Strong in battle,
By me greatly exalted
In the presence of kings,
The elm-trees are his subjects.
He turns not aside the measure of a foot,
But strikes right in the middle,
And at the farthest end.
The hazel is the judge,
His berries are thy dowry.
The privet is blessed.
Strong chiefs in war
And the ... and the mulberry.
Prosperous the beech-tree.
The holly dark green,
He was very courageous:
Defended with spikes on every side,
Wounding the hands.
The long-enduring poplars
Very much broken in fight.
The plundered fern;
The brooms with their offspring:
The furze was not well behaved
Until he was tamed
The heath was giving consolation,
Comforting the people -
The black cherry-tree was pursuing.
The oak-tree swiftly moving,
Before him tremble heaven and earth,
Stout doorkeeper against the foe
Is his name in all lands.
The corn-cockle bound together,
Was given to be burnt.
Others were rejected
On account of the holes made
By great violence
In the field of battle.
Very wrathful the ...
Cruel the gloomy ash.
Bashful the chestnut-tree,
Retreating from happiness.
There shall be a black darkness,
There shall be a shaking of the mountain,