Odd News - 16th century diagrams detail world’s first ever nose jobs

From bioscholar.com

Cosmetic surgery is a modern luxury for celebrities like Heidi Montag and Joan Rivers.

But an auctioned book has revealed details of the world’s first ever nose jobs done in the 16th century.

The surgery – known as rhinoplasty – is considered a modern phenomenon but this book shows it was used over 400 years ago.

The incredibly rare work, titled ‘De Curtorum Chirurgia Per Insitionem’ – meaning ‘The Surgery of Defects by Implantations’- was published in 1597, and was written by Gaspare Tagliacozzi, professor or surgery and anatomy at the University of Bologna.

It describes operations carried out to repair faces that had been wounded in battle.

The tome is written in Latin and illustrated with diagrams of the process in which the patient”s nose was attached to a flap of skin from his upper arm.

In one diagram, a patient is seen in bed with his forearm attached to his head and a flap of skin from his bicep region stuck onto his nose.

He stayed like that for about three weeks until the skin from his arm had attached itself properly.

After a further two weeks the bit of skin was shaped so it resembled a nose and the process was complete.

The book was sold for a whopping 11,000 pounds to a modern-day plastic surgeon.

“It’s a wonderful and rare book. The typography, illustrations and book design are of a fantastically high standard that would put most modern publishers to shame,” said Chris Albury from Dominic Winter auction house, which sold the book at its saleroom in Cirecester.

“What is strange is that the techniques and ideas in the book were clearly well-thought of at the time and yet all was so quickly forgotten following Tagliacozzi”s death,” he added.

“This might have been because it was not approved by the religious authorities at the time who might have considered him interfering with God”s work,” said Albury.

“We knew the book was extremely rare with copies hardly ever coming to auction so we were prepared for a battle between dealers and collectors,” he added.

Though the book was the first to document any kind of cosmetic surgery, there is no evidence of any other such operations until the late 18th century when similar treatments were recorded. (ANI)

Note: Michael Jackson would have thought this story interesting probably if he was still with us
and saw it. -Rob

Interesting Bigfoot Encounters and Sightings from the BFRO and TBRC

From bfro.net

BFRO Report # 28545 (Class A)

Man tells of the strange occurrences and his sighting as a teenager near Buckhart

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YEAR: 1976-1977

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Sangamon County

LOCATION DETAILS: North of Buckhart on Young Road.

NEAREST TOWN: Rochester

NEAREST ROAD: Country Road 4

OBSERVED: [ Note: The first names of the witnesses has been changed. ]

Preface:

This information is based on witnessed facts, and is as close to the events as I can recall. I am blessed with a near photographic memory. First is some background that seems to perhaps relate to the main focus, and as I think it is relevant, I will start thus.

1976 – 1st Encounter – Vocals Heard

The year as close as I can recall was 1976, the year before graduation from Rochester High. It was the fall, shortly after return to classes, but before the autumn chill had set in. On a date that goes forgotten, myself, Tom, and John, (both grew up in houses outside of Rochester in the unincorporated “Buckhart”, Illinois), decided we were going to fish some ponds that were formed by overflow from the Sangamon river in the Buckhart area. I cannot say exactly were they were now, other than from memory, I recalled that if you were to drive to Buckhart and then turn immediately left onto a blacktop, it would come to a river bridge over the river, and a large sandbar there, then continue on north to eventually meet the Mechanicsburg blacktop. The ponds were found by taking a very narrow unpaved dirt track to the left before the bridge, and then off again through fields until it came to a dead end along the river and ponds fringed with large stands of tall trees. It was perhaps a mile distant from the bridge. We knew the farmer, who farmed most of the bottoms in the area from our associations at church, and who had given us permission to fish and access the area.

On the day of interest, we needed fresh bait, and decided to follow some other less used field perimeter tracks to a place where we could get near the river in the shade to look for earthworms. We started out walking through the very dense weeds and underbrush, until finally we opened into that area where the overhead tree canopy makes less light available to the denser weeds, and lots of open flood plain is available to dig for fresh worms. From this place, you can traverse the river bank fairly well, and the trees and weeds you have passed through make a green wall that hides you from view of the parked vehicle and fields beyond.

We went about digging in various places finding good bait. At some point, perhaps a half hour into our self occupied digging, Tom decided to go exploring farther down by himself, leaving John and myself more or less digging together. Another half hour or so, and I had a pretty good bucket of worms when I felt a strange sensation that I was being watched. I remember having the feeling, and dismissing it, and not saying a word about it when John and I came across a large pile of earth on the river bank. It was out of the ordinary, and actually, looked exactly the size and shape of earth if you were to lay down and cover over a body with soil. We both saw it and both decided no way were we going to dig into it! We joked about how silly to even think about it, and bent to the digging. I got the feeling again of being watched and remember carefully looking around out of the corner of my eyes, to see any movement in the weeds or trees. It was approximately 4:30 in the afternoon when we started, so the daylight was beginning to cast longer shadows as the sun got lower. I didn’t see anything but the feeling kept nagging at me, and I more or less lost interest in the worm hunt. At some point shortly there after, an interesting thing occurred. It has never happened to me the same way since.

John and I were hunkered down on one knee, turning over small spades of earth, when he stopped, and I stopped, and without any communication between us he looked me straight in the eye, and we both turned and looked into the trees and weeds at the exact same time. We never heard a thing. At that instant, we both realized that we had both sensed something, and our minds were reaching that primitive level when you should decide quickly fight or flight. He said to me, “We need to get out of here now”. I agreed, and before I could say anything about finding Tom, the need for his search was over as he almost ran into us as he came looking pale and said, “I don’t know what that was, but we are out of here right now!” We didn’t run, but we made haste following our path back out through the weeds and trees, to the waiting pickup truck! When we got to the truck we all kind of laughed and joked the tension away and all talked quietly about the heebee jeebee way we had felt. Then we heard something I had never heard before that hastened our departure. We all heard it. The sound as close as I could come to describing would be a woman screaming in undulating pain and terror, but it really didn’t have a human quality to the sound. We did not stay to investigate, as it was either very very loud, or the proximity was very very close. We loaded up and spun tires on dirt and cornstalks as we got out of that place.

We talked about arming ourselves with rifles etc and returning, but soon school and the fall and winter set in , and we passed on that and never went back to that place again. This set up the next segment of the history of the area.

1977 – 2nd Encounter – Vocals Heard

You may recall that I had gotten a rust orange Jeep CJ 5 between my junior and senior year at Rochester, and along with Sarah and Mary, who had her dads old CJ2A, we did a lot of exploring the various wooded trails all around the area. (The tales of creepy river bottoms made for some memorable make out sessions with Mary, LOL)

I had never forgotten about the river drama of the year before, but decided that we were all just acting childish, and that the scream was probably a Lynx cat, who do cry like women, even though I don’t really know what the possibilities of such species was along the river if any! That goes unproven to this day.

One fall evening, myself and Steve were out four wheeling about, and went down the blacktop to the Buckhart river bridge. For no apparent reason, we met and passed a Sangamon Sheriff’s car going the other way. He went down about a quarter mile and I saw his brake lights and he did a u-turn, so I knew he was going to do a stop on me. We had no reason to fear anything, but for kicks we decided to cross the bridge and continue as he sped to catch up. It was just getting true dark outside.

Just down about a quarter mile I knew of a dirt cut, now a very muddy rutted path through the fields along an oil well tank right of way, and turned into it just as the patrol car crossed the bridge in time to see me heading down the path. He never turned on his overhead lights, so we decided to continue. It was four wheel drive needed, muddy wet and rutted. He would not have made it fifty feet.

Passing the oil storage tanks, the path got overgrown, and continued until it came to a fairly steep hill. You don’t really see these bluffs above the river from the blacktop but it is probably at least a hundred feet higher than the fields below, and took the Jeeps transmission into low range to climb it with the mud. At the top of the hill, the path continued on into a dark stand of timber but as we had not explored that before, I backed the Jeep around and parked it so we could see back to the blacktop, about a mile away. I had turned the lights off before climbing the hill, so I don’t think the patrol car even knew how far in we were. We could see him sitting there on the road, parked, and probably waiting for us to come back out. We shut off the engine and sat there watching him in the dark while a very light misty rain started. We made small talk about how long he would wait when after a few minutes, he must have gotten a call for real police work and we watched him drive off. Thinking perhaps he was trying a ruse to get us to come back out, we decided to wait at least a half hour, and barring another squad showing up, we would just hangout and shoot the bull until then. That’s when Steve heard it.

I was talking about chicks, and remember Steve very seriously saying to me, “Dan, turn off the radio a sec.” I shrugged my shoulders and did so, asking him what? He looked in the rear view mirror, and said to me, “Did you hear that?” I hadn’t heard anything but the radio. He kept looking in the side rear view mirror, and it was totally dark behind us, so I told him that he wasn’t going to see anything back there. Keep in mind my Jeep was a soft top. Steve looked at me, and said, “I know I heard something back there, and I don’t like it.” About that time, in the quiet and the misty rain, with small cooling clinking sounds from the engine as it sat, I heard it too. It was on the edge of my hearing. That kind of sound where you turn your head a little, not sure of what but definitely hearing and trying to fathom the sound for identification. “Now you hear it don’t you” I remember him saying as He held onto the door handle like he wanted to make sure somehow it couldn’t be opened. It sounded very low frequency, almost a wet guttural rolling sound. Perhaps like a deeper wet rolling purr. Although not like any house cat I have heard, but that is as close as I could get to describing it. We could feel the vibration of the sound as it got distinctly louder as it seemed to get slowly closer. I remember saying that I had enough of this, and Steve agreed and I fired up the Jeep and turned on the lights and hauled ass down the hill. We didn’t see a thing but mud, corn, and weeds until we got to the blacktop. We got to the river bridge and I pulled over. Steve and I discussed what the hell, and decided that we would come back in the daylight and reconnoiter the area.

1977 – 3rd Encounter – Sighting

Several weeks later on a clear sunny Saturday, we followed that path in the Jeep back to the top of the hill. There was a very old path through the trees, perhaps from some early hardwood logging, or maybe a shortcut for farm purposes at one time, but it was easy to tell that my Jeep was the first vehicle to travel up there in a long time. The path meandered around and more or less dead ended in two places, forming as it were a large Y in configuration.

We got out and walked and searched and could find no signs of anything out of the ordinary. Eventually we discussed the incident of the sounds with Tom, and Mike, who really wanted to tag along, and so a return nighttime trip was planned.

This is where it gets to the thick of it. On that night, I was driving my Jeep, with Steve up front, and Mike and Tom in the back of the CJ5. We went back down that muddy rutted path to the top of the hill, and then drove way back to the dead end of the path that forked to the left. We had to cross a smaller fallen log, in low range to get back to that point, but it had a wide open area about a hundred feet in diameter that made a good place to turn the Jeep around so it was pointing in the right direction.

We got up into place and shut off the engine and sat quietly taking in the sounds of the night, and letting ourselves adjust. An hour or so and Mike more or less thought we were yanking his chain and began to make jokes etc, as we passed the time. It was a typical fall night, with light misty rain and humidity. Steve got everyone very quiet and we listened close. That’s when we decided that someone or thing was circling our position very quietly. A twig would crunch. Then slowly another, some distance away. This went on in total darkness for an hour. Finally, the circling of our position seemed to return to its starting point behind the Jeep at an undetermined distance. Tom had a large six volt lantern flashlight in the rear seat.

If you remember Jeep soft tops, you will note that the back window area is huge, and is basically a top to bottom, and side to side clear acrylic sheet. Mine was a little scratched up from scraping winter frost, but you could still see out of it fairly well. While Steve and I sat and pondered if our ears had played tricks and we were hearing what we wanted to hear, Tom got very quietly terrified in the back seat. I ignored his first request to start the Jeep and leave because it was not normal for him to be so quiet, but then I remembered how he was pale and reacted the year before at the river bottom when we were looking for bait. He got our attention. Steve asked him, “What is going on?” and Tom said very somberly, “There is something behind us, watching, and we need to leave now.” I looked at Steve, and Mike kind of snickered while Tom had the light more or less shining through the window lighting up the area behind us. I was whispering to Steve, about if he had heard the same sounds as before, when Mike, said, “Oh no” and got absolutely scared. Real scared, I am making a joke of it scared. Tom began to whimper some and pulled on my shoulder and made it clear he wanted to leave RIGHT NOW! I and Steve were still not sure if they were pulling our leg, when I asked Tom why, and he said “LOOK” and just pointed the light over his shoulder without looking. I and Steve saw it. I know that Mike and Tom had already seen it.

My memory is this. As I looked over Tom’s shoulder into the trees directly behind the Jeep, a large, tall, (figure of a man standing is about as high as the Jeep top when a normal suspended Jeep, and this was a foot or more taller) seemingly dark matted brown colored species of something bipedal ducked slowly behind a tree. I had a very fleeting glimpse of red reflected eyes, meaning man or predator. The fact it ducked slowly behind the tree is what suggested other than animal intelligence, and is what spurred me to start the ignition and high tail it out of there! Tom would claim it followed us in the trees at a distance as we left, but I can not confirm that. We never went back there again. It is important to note, that whatever it was, person or not a person, it could have done us harm easily, and chose not too. Perhaps it was curious as well.

OTHER WITNESSES: 4 witnesses

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Damp & cool

ENVIRONMENT: River, woods & brush

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by telephone. Because of the length of time since the encounter I was unable to speak with the other witnesses.

In summary:

- The animal's height was seven feet.
- The animal's hair was dark brown.
- The body was very muscular.
- Witness unable to determine weight.

From texasbigfoot.org

Strange noises heard at night outside window and tracks found.

Report# 04080008

Occurred June 20, 1979

(Submitted February 23, 2004)

Witness Observation

It was late June or early July in, I believe 1979. I was invited to stay with some former neighbors and their nephew on their farm. They had just had a house put on their farm and their nephew was visiting from Dallas for a couple of weeks. I thought it was great that I was going to get to spend some time on my neighbor�s farm for a couple of weeks. I loved hunting, fishing and roaming the woods. The farm consisted of about 80 acres and woods surrounded the entire area with a couple of ponds and two abandoned houses (shacks) in the woods. An electric barbed wire fence surrounded the farm to keep the cows in, and their yard was also surrounded by a 2�-foot high electric fence to keep them away from the house. It was pretty hot at that time of year and they didn�t have their air conditioners working yet, so we had to sleep with the windows opened. The neighbors nephew and I were sleeping in the same room in twin beds with windows behind and a little to the side of each bed. At around 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning the nephew and I were awakened by a deep loud raspy breathing outside the window. It continued for at least 3 to 5 minutes, but at the time seemed like an eternity. I believe that the uninvited visitor was watching me sleep. This was the most terrifying moment of my life still to this day. I was paralyzed with fear and did not want to move or breath. I managed to force myself to slowly inch my way to the side of the bed away from the window. I did not want the intruder to notice me moving. Once I was to the side of the bed I was trapped by the sheets. The Mrs. always tucked the sheets in neatly and tightly at the feet and sides of the bed. I did my best not to move my head and breathed as shallow as I possibly could, as I was too scared to move. I kept trying to see what it was by looking out the side of my eyes but I couldn�t see anything. I was so terrified that this thing was going to break through the screen. After a few of minutes my body was starting to ache from being so tense. At that point the mantle clock on the other side of the house chimed and almost gave me a heart attack, but also frightened this thing away. That clock seemed so loud. I felt like that clock saved my life. I didn�t hear anything, no footsteps or anything else; it was like it just wasn�t there anymore. At this time I asked the nephew want he thought it was. He didn�t have any idea. About 30 seconds later I began to hear a night bird chirping and the neighbor�s 6 to 7 month old German Shepherd crawl out from under the house. As soon as I heard regular noises outside I jumped up and look outside, but saw nothing. I know nobody was playing a joke because I could hear my old neighbors snoring in the other room. The next morning the nephew and I briefly discussed the incident, but I could tell he didn�t really want to talk about it. This was also the last time I have had contact with him.

At that time I was interested in Bigfoot, but had no idea they were in this part of the country. Their house was a wooden framed house and the windows were at least five and half feet off the ground. The dog was a pretty good-sized hyperactive German Shepherd puppy that normally barked at people and chased animals. I know that he was hiding from whatever it was outside. He was chained up outside my window, and the chain was just long enough for him to go under the house several feet instead of having a doghouse. If any animal wanted to get him they could have easily either crawled under the house or just pulled the chain holding him. When he came out from under the house I could hear its back rubbing on the bottom edge of the house. I don�t know what it could have been other than Bigfoot. As a side note: I�m a very heavy sleeper and I snore very loud. I�ve even woken myself on several occasions. I believe my snoring may have attracted Bigfoot that night.

Sounds

Yes, deep and raspy breathing. I can hardy duplicate it because it was so loud and it hurts to try because of the raspy sound

Time and Conditions

2:00 am - Nighttime

Investigator's Comments

Charles DeVore

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, in 1979.

I interviewed the witness at length on 25 February 2004. He had no additional information to add to his well detailed report. The location was on Jolly Naiper Road approximately 1/2 to 3/4 mile south of Cross Lake and 1/4 mile west of Page Bayou. That area was sparsly populated back in 1979 but is quite developed now.

I am assigning Classification 3b to the report because the witness claimed to have found corroborating tracks and unusual tree damage near the tracks.

Note: The first bigfoot report is from bfro.net's report database and the 2nd one
is from the tbrc's report database. Both reports are very interesting.
 
Thanks and credit goes to the bfro and tbrc and their dedicated field researchers.
 
-Rob

Sea Serpent Off Boston

From Loren Coleman's site Cryptomundo

Lowell Sun


Lowell, Massachusetts

May 25, 1931

SEA SERPENT

OFF BOSTON

BOSTON, May 25 (AP) – Captain Roy Marden of the Gloucester fishing schooner

Catherine Burke reported today that he sighted a sea serpent 20 miles east

of Boston lightship on May 18 as his vessel moved out to Georges Banks.

The monster was described by Captain Marden as about 50 feet in length, with

a head resembling that of a horse, a black smooth body and a tail like that

of a shark. It moved at a speed of about seven miles an hour, he said.

Thanks to Jerome Clark.

Note: This is an interesting but brief account of a sighting of an unknown marine animal
or fish near Boston from 1931 but is an interesting story and report nonetheless.

Thanks and credit goes to Loren Coleman and his site Cryptomundo as well as Jerome Clark
for this reporting this story.

Is this Windermere's mysterious Bownessie monster?

From lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

By Kate Proctor »

Reporter

A KAYAKER believes he may have caught Windermere’s mystery monster ‘Bownessie’ on camera.

This atmospheric photograph, captured by IT graduate Tom Pickles, 24, reveals a strange humped shape gliding through the still waters of the lake.

Tom said he thought it was a dog at first but soon realised it was the size of three cars.

He and fellow kayaker Sarah Harrington, 23, were so frightened, they raced back to the safety of the shore.

This is believed to be the eighth sighting in the past five years of the mysterious hump-backed creature.

The pair, who work for an IT firm in Shrewsbury, were staying at Fallbarrow Hall, Bowness, as part of a team-building residential training course.

They had paddled 300m out onto the lake near Belle Isle when they spotted a mysterious creature the size of three cars gliding across the lake.

“It was petrifying, we paddled back to the shore straight away,” said Mr Pickles.

“At first I thought it was a dog and then saw it was much bigger and moving really quickly at about 10mph.

"Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast.

“I could tell it was much bigger underneath from the huge shadow around it. "Its skin was like a seal’s but its shape was completely abnormal, not like any animal I’ve ever seen before.”

They watched it for about 20 seconds before it plunged out of sight.

Ms Harrington said: “It was like an enormous snake.

"It freaked us all out but it wasn’t until we saw the picture that we thought we’d seen something out of this world.

"All I could think was that I had to get off the lake.”

Mr Pickles’s picture perfectly matches the description of an earlier sighting from the shores of Wray Castle in 2006 by journalism lecturer Steve Burnip.

For the rest of this story please go here: lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Thanks.

Note: I suspect this is a big fish of some sort or as of yet unidentified marine animal.
-Rob

LOST DOGMAN FOOTAGE

Hundreds hunt for Bigfoot

By David Freeze

For the Salisbury Post

Michael Greene of Salisbury has attracted a lot of attention in his hunt for Bigfoot.

More than 300 people joined Greene and about 10 staff members of the Animal Planet cable-TV channel at the Eldorado Outpost on N.C. 109 near Troy and began a search for signs of the mysterious, perhaps mythical, creature on Saturday.

Green was glad to see the crowd.

“Five years ago, I joined the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO). I was just tired of doing this myself, a little discouraged, and had no one to talk to and share my hobby,” Greene said.

Greene’s interest in Bigfoot began when was working toward a master’s in behavioral psychology. He wrote a thesis on group hysteria, and one of the subjects he studied was Bigfoot.

He came to believe that Bigfoot was possibly a real entity, so the reading and investigation began.

Greene, a lifelong public servant who worked in several government agencies, convinced the Animal Planet crew to stop in the Troy area on their way to filming a series on Bigfoot sightings. The film crew will continue on to Florida, Georgia, Oregon and Washington state.

A six-show series is planned to air on Animal Planet this fall.

Greene, now 69 and retired, moved with his wife to Salisbury two years ago. They wanted to be near family and to investigate Bigfoot sightings in the area. North Carolina is a hotbed for sightings, according to BFRO investigators who attended Saturday.

John Pate, Tommy Poland and Olaf Seamen all told of the excitement of the hunt. Seamen drove six hours to join the search in the Uwharries, and he usually spends 10 weekends a year on the hunt.

“The more you look at something, the more the book opens up,” Pate said.

While some see the hunt as pure entertainment, the BFRO researchers say the subject is no longer the stuff of fantasy. BFRO now boasts scientists and university researchers.

David Pardue says he has pictures of his own sighting of a family of four Bigfoots. He claims to also possess evidence of territory marking by the creature. Pardue says that Bigfoot often twists a small tree, first one way and then another, laying it down to signify its territory. He says that Bigfoot can change his eyes to red, and makes an audible sound known to the investigators.

Since Bigfoot, aka Sasquatch, is nocturnal, most of the serious hunting is done at night.

“I have had very little sleep for a week. The Animal Planet crew stayed out all week till nearly 5 a.m.,” Greene said.

For the rest of the story please go here: http://www.salisburypost.com

Note: Another fruitless search for bigfoot that could have been used to find
a missing person. What a shame.

-Rob

Happy Valentine's Day - Outkast

The Complicated Connection Between Religion and the Paranormal

From http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Don't expect Hollywood to give up the ghosts.

The parade of paranormal entertainment filling American screens -- from the movie Paranormal Activity 2 to television shows such as Ghost Hunters, Psychic Investigators and Paranormal State -- is meeting an intense interest in otherworldly experiences, new research shows.

More than two-thirds of Americans have paranormal beliefs, sociologists Christopher Bader and F. Carson Mencken of Baylor University and Joseph Baker of East Tennessee State University report in their new book Paranormal America from New York University Press.

And the interest is only expected to increase, scholars say, with the growth of immigrant populations more open to paranormal beliefs.

Not everyone is interested. Those with no religious beliefs, Jewish people and the most committed Christians are among the least likely to believe in UFOs or psychics or Bigfoot.

But a generation of spiritual seekers are opening their minds and bank accounts to beliefs, practices and experiences that are not recognized by science and not associated with mainstream religion.

Whether it is a study showing nearly half of Americans believe extraterrestrials absolutely or probably exist, or ghost-hunting groups and documentary producers rushing to find the latest "haunted" house, interest in paranormal phenomena has entered the mainstream.

"What we can say with certainty is that we live in a paranormal America," write Bader, Mencken and Baker. "Put another way, the paranormal is normal."

Men hunt, women gather in New Age

In the 1980s, the actress Shirley MacLaine was ridiculed for discussing her interest in channeling, reincarnation and UFOs in her book Out on a Limb. But research indicates she may have been less a wacky outcast and more representative of the population than the image ingrained by late-night comics suggested.

The average American holds slightly more than two paranormal beliefs, report Bader, Mencken and Baker.

"Statistically, those who report a paranormal belief are not the oddballs," the researchers said.

But there are major differences in the types of people who gravitate toward different paranormal phenomena. Bigfoot conventions are almost all-male outings, while psychic affairs attract a largely female audience.

The 2005 Baylor Religion Survey found that women are twice as likely as men to believe in astrology, that people can communicate with the dead (a big reason Medium lasted for seven TV seasons) and that at least some psychics can foresee the future. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to believe in UFOs.

"Women tend to want to improve themselves, to become better people," said Bader, who is also a director of the Association for Religion Data Archives. "Men tend to want to go out and capture something, to prove it's real."

In reviewing the research, other findings reported by Bader, Mencken and Baker include:

• Belief in Bigfoot, ghosts, psychic abilities and other paranormal phenomena declines noticeably with increases in age and income.

• Unmarried and cohabiting individuals are far more likely to embrace the paranormal. Asked whether they have had any of five paranormal experiences from witnessing a UFO to contacting spirits, the typical unmarried respondent claimed close to two experience, while the average married respondent had no paranormal experiences.

• Republicans are "significantly less interested" in the paranormal than Democrats or independents.

Overall, the researchers said, conventional lifestyles and stakes in conformity are strong predictors of paranormal beliefs, with highly unconventional people the most likely to turn to otherworldly possibilities beyond the realm of traditional religion.

Spiritual and paranormal

There are conflicting theories about the relationship between religion and the paranormal. Among them are the idea those outside mainstream religion would be more likely to embrace the paranormal as a substitute set of beliefs. Another theory holds that religious individuals, already open to transcendent ideas, would also be more likely to hold paranormal beliefs.

What Bader, Mencken and Baker find in their research is that both individuals with no religious beliefs and the most committed individuals -- those who attend services weekly -- are among the least likely to hold paranormal beliefs. Those who believe the Bible is the literal word of God are also highly unlikely to hold paranormal beliefs.

It is in the middle, among people who have an interest in religion but who are not regular attenders, that there is greater belief in the paranormal. Belief in paranormal topics is at its highest level among people with more liberal views of the Bible, researchers said.

What does all this mean for the future?

The researchers say the aging of America's population and projected gains in income likely will reduce belief in some aspects of the paranormal, but the increase in immigration and the tailoring off of conservative religious growth is expected to lead to increased interest.

Going out on their own limb, the researchers predict that by 2050 nearly three-quarters of Americans will report at least one paranormal belief.

Be prepared, and forewarned: Paranormal Activity 3 is coming

David Briggs writes the Ahead of the Trend column for the Association of Religion Data Archives.

Follow David Briggs on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ReligionData

Note: I have read the book Paranormal America (2010).

Very interesting read that I recommend to anyone that's interested in
the paranormal, supernatural, cryptozoology, religion, psychology and/or sociology ;)

-Rob

Linkin Park - Wisdom, Justice and Love + Iridescent (lyrics)

UFO's over Utah!!

Cash Register Racists

Some people are cash register racists i.e. certain people at the checkout line in various stores I go to avoid people that are minority's and working at the checkout line it seems like... Just an observation. An example would be an anti Semite avoiding a Jewish person who works at the cash register and vice versa. Or a white person avoiding a black cashier. The same thing apply's to all people who are racist.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley defends city response to storm

From http://news.yahoo.com

By Mary Wisniewski Mary Wisniewski – Thu Feb 3, 5:21 pm ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley on Thursday defended the city's response to an historic blizzard that left hundreds of motorists stranded on the city's busy highway along Lake Michigan.

"It was a crisis," Daley told a press conference, his first public appearance since the blizzard hit Tuesday. "They (city officials) did a very, very good job," he said.

Some 900 vehicles were stranded on Lake Shore Drive Tuesday night when an accident involving a bus halted northbound traffic.

Rescue efforts were hampered by blowing snow and waist-high drifts. Some people were in their cars until early Wednesday, though no serious injuries were reported. Thursday, the road reopened, but many motorists were still trying to find their cars, towed to various locations.

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who is running for mayor, criticized the city's response and called for a review of the incident. Citing advance warnings that there could be flooding off the lake, some critics said the city should have closed the highway in advance of the storm.

City officials said they chose to keep the lakeside highway open because it is a main thoroughfare and if it had been closed, cars would have been clogging other city streets.

Asked about the criticism, Daley made a reference to "Monday morning quarterbacks." Daley, who sometimes displays temper when his decisions are questioned, seemed calm, and even cheerful. He leaves office this spring after 22 years.

Asked why he was missing from news conferences during the blizzard, Daley said he was confident in his aides. "They speak for me," Daley said.

Rotimi Olateju, 35, a Chicago cab driver, said he agreed with the city's decision to leave the Drive open at the start of the storm. He said motorists should have gone home earlier, as he had.

"They heard the radio, they knew this was coming," Olateju said. "Human beings always complain." He said people should feel lucky to be alive. "Every day above the ground is a good day."

(Editing by Greg McCune)

From http://news.yahoo.com

Chicago digging out of near record blizzard



By Mary Wisniewski Mary Wisniewski – Wed Feb 2, 4:44 pm ET


CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago, a city that usually sneers at winter, was brought to a near standstill on Wednesday by a blizzard with the third highest snowfall in the city's history.

Chicago public schools, which hadn't closed since 1999, were shut on Wednesday and officials were trying to decide whether to close them Thursday. Courts were closed. Five suburban commuter rail lines were down.

Lake Shore Drive, the city's main north-south thoroughfare, was shut down and littered with over 200 abandoned cars. Side streets were impassable, and even plowed arterial streets and highways were eerily empty.

"This is pretty unbelievable," said John Paczesny, 48, a maintenance worker at a Chicago church. He was out with a snowblower clearing a path Wednesday morning, snow clinging to his mustache and eyebrows.

"I was around in '67 but this is really crazy," he said.

The highest snowfall on record in Chicago was in January 1967, with 23 inches, followed by January 1999 with 21.6 inches. The 2011 blizzard's total was 20.2 inches at O'Hare Airport as of 12 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The sun came out in the afternoon.

Paczesny, who is also a suburban firefighter, helped emergency workers deliver a baby in an ambulance Tuesday night -- a snow plow had to proceed the ambulance to the hospital.

People spotted on the street have been either emergency workers, snow shovelers, or curiosity seekers taking pictures.

On northbound Lake Shore Drive last night, accidents involving a Chicago Transit Authority bus and other cars stopped traffic on the northbound lanes, stranding about 900 cars on their way home.

STRANDED

Rescue efforts were hampered by blowing snow and waist-high drifts. Some people were in their cars until early this morning, though no serious injuries were reported.

Some of those stranded complained help did not come fast enough. Responding to questions at a news conference as to whether Lake Shore Drive should have been closed before rush hour, Mayor Richard M. Daley's chief of staff, Ray Orozco, said Wednesday that keeping the drive open was not a mistake.

He said the decision was made, despite the risk of high winds off the lake, to allow a way home.

Some saw the snow as an opportunity. Gonzalo Mejia, 57, was out with two friends shoveling walks for $40 a house. "There's crisis -- there's no jobs," Mejia said. "You've got to get out into the street and get some work."

At Union Station, Victoria Clark pulled a small suitcase and sipped a McDonald's coffee after a long night of travel. She boarded at train in Alton Tuesday afternoon around 4, expecting to arrive in Chicago before 9 p.m. Instead, the train arrived at 3 a.m., and her husband was unable to pick her up because of a pile of snow on their Oak Park garage, she said.

She was waiting for her son to get off duty as a Chicago firefighter and give her a ride.

Despite the delay, she praised train personnel. "Attitude under these circumstances is 99 percent of survival," Clark said.

The city's airports stayed open, but airlines canceled a total of 2,600 flights at O'Hare and Midway Wednesday, said city department of aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride.

Bruce Yeager, 44, an architect who planned to work from home Wednesday, was shoveling two-foot drifts off his sidewalk. He said he planned to shovel again in a couple of hours -- a half an inch of snow fell just in the time it took to talk to him.

"The part that's going to be great is when it gets really cold and it turns to rock," Yeager said, with a resigned grin.

Forecasters say the temperature will drop below zero Wednesday night.

Paczesny predicted the city would not be back to normal for two or three days, because of the difficulty of moving the snow.

"You've got to have a place to put it," Paczesny said. "We already have seven to eight-foot piles in the parking lot."

High winds brought huge waves crashing onto the Chicago shoreline from Lake Michigan. One man apparently walking along the lakefront drowned when he was either blown or fell into the lake, according to fire officials.

(Additional reporting by Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Note: yesterday Alsip police are on 124th street issuing a command from their police car with lights on and a wierd sound to remove all cars from the street or they will be towed b/c of the snow and snowplows coming thorugh! I thought their was a hostage situation. It scared me! Back to playing Fallout 3...

The snow is waist deep in Chicago and the suburbs and in some places like Alsip where I live at chest level almost! Good thing we got the snow plows running and plowing the streets. Whew! Also an army of good citizens including adults and children are roaming the streets where I live helping other people shovel the snow. I'll pitch in as well I guess. And off I go... ;)

-Rob

Kayaker, 64, completes marathon paddle across Atlantic

From http://www.grindtv.com

Kayaker, 64, completes marathon paddle across AtlanticBy: Pete Thomas, GrindTV.com


Aleksander Doba, sapped of strength but nonetheless jubilant, paddled ashore in northeast Brazil on Wednesday afternoon, completing a transatlantic kayaking expedition that lasted almost 99 days and spanned 3,320 miles.

It's believed to have been the longest-ever solo-kayaking voyage, in terms of time spent at sea. He spent Wednesday afternoon and evening being checked by doctors and sleeping. On Thursday the 64-year-old Polish adventurer, thickly bearded and disheveled but appearing remarkably fit, told a small gathering in the remote fishing community of Acaraú, that after a little more rest he'd like to climb back in and paddle to the United States.

Doba left last Oct. 26 from Dakar in west Africa, aboard a customized 23-foot sea kayak, which is only only 39 inches wide. This was his home for 98 days and 20 hours.

Three others have kayaked across the Atlantic: Franz Romer in 1928; Hannes Lindemann in 1956, and Peter Bray in 2001. But none of those expeditions was directly from continent to continent (they utilized offshore islands), and none of those paddlers was a senior citizen.

"He's 64 years old! The physical challenge would have broken men half his age," Jeff Moag, editor of Canoe & Kayak magazine, said of Doba. "The amount of will power it took him to keep going is amazing. To any of us who have done a long paddling expedition, it's humbling."

Canoe & Kayak followed the odyssey from the outset. It was plagued almost from start to finish by storminess and unfavorable currents. The paddler, whose excursion was plotted via a global satellite positioning unit, covered 680 miles in a straight line before conditions began to work relentlessly against him.

In early January his son, Chez Doba, emailed Canoe & Kayak's Conor Mihell and stated to the reporter: "After going in circles for over a month, being stormed on almost every day, being accompanied by barracuda and sharks, who wouldn't be tired?"

Doba's vessel has a small forward compartment in which he napped when conditions allowed. His desalination unit stopped functioning automatically on Jan. 11, making it difficult to obtain drinking water; since then he relied largely on gathering rainwater. His meager freeze-dried food supply was supplemented occasionally with fresh fish. At times he had to maneuver over waves measuring 20-plus feet.

Doba, an expert whitewater kayaker, carried a satellite phone and Tweeted sporadically. One of his early Tweets: "Since the beginning I see a lot of sharks. Often they surface, but sometimes they stay a few meters underwater. I can only splash, no swimming!"

His journey was close to the equator where, he informed his followers, "It's extremely hot. I sleep about 2-3 hours per night. During the day it's impossible."

Doba, who speaks almost no English, also relayed messages to his son, which were posted on his blog. On Monday, as a powerful south wind shoved him off-track to the northwest and threatened to delay landing, this was posted on his blog: "I'm very tired. I dream to finally finish, wherever it will be. I'm afraid that the south winds push me so I have to paddle for many days. No! I want dry land as soon as possible."

It turned out to be a two-day delay, 50 miles beyond where he had hoped to land. Those two days, Doba assured, were like an eternity.

Stuff They Don't Want You To Know- Dyatlov Pass

Dyatlov Pass Incident - The Mystery and Investigation

This mystery has always fascinated me...

From http://www.aquiziam.com/

Dyatlov Pass Accident

Part 1

During the night of the 1st of February 1959 a team of nine experienced cross country skiers abandoned their tent in the Russian Ural Mountains and fled to a nearby forrest. They were in such a hurry that they were only partially clothed and cut though the sides of their tent to save time. The temperature outside was minus 15 degrees. Within hours they were all dead. Rescuers recovered their bodies at two seperate times and discovered that whle some had frozen to death others had sustained injuries. Reports have made claims of high levels of radiation, strange lights in the sky, missing body parts, strange orange skin tones and even the possiblity of UFO involvement. Now Aquiziam seeks to understand the truth about what really happened.

AN OVERVIEW

In brief, the rescuers and later investigators discovered that during the night, and for an unknown reason, the ski-team had apparently ripped or cut open their tent from the inside and fled from it into the snow in temperatures of approximately -15 to -18 degrees Celsius where there was a cross wind of approximately 10 – 15 kilometres per hour (20 – 30 knots). While not as cold as the -30 degrees often reported these were still very harsh conditions and survival would be limited to between three to eight hours depending on whether those involved could keep moving. At least five of the team had fewer cloths on than would have been expected and some may even have been barefooted. Within six to eight hours every member of the ski-team was dead.

The corpses were discovered at various distances from the camp site and showed little immediate outward sign of injury but on investigation it was discovered that two victims had a fractured skull (one severe), two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue. In addition, two of the victims' clothes were discovered to contain trace levels of radiation. Russian investigators finally closed the case stating only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. Again, this is a mistranslation that has added to the misunderstanding. In actual fact the correct term is “Force Majeure” and is an expression that is simply used to describe something significant that cannot be easily explained. It is also often reported that after the event the area, now loosely known as Dyatlov Pass, was immediately sealed off by the authorities and access forbidden for at least three years. Again, this implies much more than actually happened. The area was restricted but only to amateur ski-sports enthusiasts and only for reasons of safety.

This is a little known mystery and truly deserves much more attention as it is well documented and was formally investigated. Once much of the “exaggeration” and “journalistic hype” has been explained it is possible to understand that there is only really one incredible mystery and it is this. Why did nine people flee from their tent in conditions that were almost certain to result in their deaths?

Later in this review we will examine the allegedly bizarre evidence and accusations and provide some answers. With the assistance of some of the actual original investigators the Aquiziam team has done its best to piece together the story from the information available – some of it in Russian. This is what seems to have happened…

PURPOSE OF THE TRIP

According to Dr Vladimir B. group ski activities of this type were fairly common although each had their own somewhat different purpose. In his experience of Russia at the time the usual reasons were Sporting, Sightseeing (Aesthetic Appreciation) Social and Exploratory. The various teams would be made of people with varying degrees of appreciation for these interests. In the case of the Dyatlov Team their focus was on the Sporting Challenge of trip and in particular they aspired to undertake an excursion of the highest level of difficulty (complexity).

It is often stated that the purpose of this particular trip was to reach the mountain “Gora Otorten” but, in fact, the proposed route was much further. After Otorten the team planned to travel 100 kilometres southwards along the main ridge of the Ural Mountains up to Ojkachahl Peak. From this point they intended to follow the (Northern) Toshemka river thus passing 100 miles to east of the town of Vishay (Vizhaj). Today, with the availability of advanced equipment such a route would only be considered “average” in difficulty but in 1959 is was one of the hardest that could be undertaken.

As more becomes clear it seems that Igor Dyatlov had intended this trip as "training" for a future expidition possibly to the the sub polar or even polar / Artic regions. According to B. E. Slobtsova formal training did not exist at this time for such ventures and depended on experience gained during trips such as the Dyatlov team were undertaking.

THE SKI TEAM

The Dyatlov ski team was made up of eight men and two women who, except for Alexander Zolotarev, were mostly students or graduates from the Ural Polytechnic Institute located in Ekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, and now renamed the Yeltsin Ural State Technical University. Georgyi Krivonischenko, Rustem Slobodin, and Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel were engineers. Igor Dyatlov and Zinaida Kolmogorova were students of the Radio Faculty, Lyudmila Dubinina and Yuri Yudin were studying Economics, Yuri Doroshenko was studying Power Economics and Alexander Kolevatov was a student of the Geo-Technical Faculty.

Alexander Zolotarev was a ski / tour instructor (a professional travel guide) and wanted to go together with Dyatlov’s team to add performance points to his degree and so achieve promotion to the rank of “Master” or Expert instructor. This was and still is the practice in Russia.

Zolotarev did not know the other team members but was recommended by friends of the team from the sports club. He was accepted into the team and according to the diaries he co-operated and worked well with all of them. It is worth noting that Sports Associations were common at this time as was the willingness for people, who shared an interest such as skiing, to cooperate with each other where possible.

For more of the article go here Dyatlov Pass Part 1
Part 2

Dyatlov Pass - Theories

The mystery of Dyatlov’s Pass is to understand what really happened that night. The Russian authorities’ may-or-may not know themselves. The available evidence may-or-may not be wholly accurate and our review of various versions of events – some in Russian – has already suggested some timeline and factual anomalies. Given this, the theories presented below have been based on what people believe they know. We don't often become sentimental about the things that we write about but this case is different. These people experienced something horrific and then died and no one really knows why. This is one mystery that deserves to be solved. As the X-files used to say - The truth is out there - so would someone please own up! You're too old now to get into any real trouble.

The route taken by the fleeing ski team. The landscape picture was taken by the 2004 expedition while the semi-transparent black and white image was from the original investigation in 1959 and has been used to show the location of the tent.

The Official Statement from the Russian Authorities

As there was no evidence of a guilty party the reasons for the actions of the ski-team and their subsequent injuries is unknown. All that can be said is that they were the victims of a “Compelling Force”.

Even until today the authorities have failed to clarify what they meant by this statement. Were they referring to a physical force capable of inflicting the injuries, such as a shockwave, or were they referring to a mental compulsion – or perhaps both?

The discovery of the ski teams tent

The notorious pine tree were the group first stopped and built a fire

The ripped / cut tent. Did they really have to leave it so fast?

The Fear of Avalanche Theory

When the ski-team set up their last camp the slopes of Kholat-Syakhl (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead) they chose a spot that has surprised both rescuers and investigators. It was highly exposed and possibly in the path of a small avalanche should it occur. However, it was a good place from which to start the following day’s journey. As experienced skiers and hikers it is likely that the team was concerned about where they were camping. Maybe they saw the risk as low and worth taking or were just too tired to relocate. The theory suggests that regardless of their misgivings they stayed where they were. However, as night fell and the wind rose these misgivings may have turned to nervousness and finally fear. Perhaps there were arguments and disagreements about what they should do. Then, to increase their anxiety, they could periodically here faint roaring and rumbling noises above the wind. Was this the sound of rocks and snow sliding down far mountains? Still, they had no choice but to stay where they were and prepared to sleep.

Suddenly they notice a far off roar of noise that grows quickly loader. In their minds they can see the snow ice and rubble sweeping towards them. The noise now becomes very loud and they panic. Perhaps someone screams “Avalanche!” Desperate to escape and with no time for fastened tent flaps, they slash through the canvas and as a group run to the nearest forest. All around them the roaring grows louder until they can hear nothing else. Finally, the sound fades away as they reach the shelter of a giant pine tree. In their confused and exhausted state they look back up the hill and imagine their campsite buried under the snow. They are relieved to be alive but also realise they’re in desperate trouble. Quickly they gather what firewood they can in the dark and build a fire. The team don’t realise that there has not been an avalanche at all. The sound that they had heard was the jet engine and “after burner” of a low flying Mig21 (Mig21f prototype) jet fighter or fighters (possibly a Sukhoi Su-9) on a night training mission above them. It was these same jets and their engines that had been seen by another group many miles away and had been recorded as moving orange lights. (Please note that the noise created does actually sound like an avalanche. It is higher pitched than its USA counterparts with a distinctive rattle.)

For a while the group remains together but as their situation deteriorates they urgently discuss what to do. The wind is literally killing them. Slobodin climbs a tree to see if he can make out the camp. On the way down he slips and receives a minor skull-fracture. In desperation, Dyatlov decides to head back for the camp and see if he can access their supplies. He and two others (Zinaida Kolmogorova & Rustem Slobodin) set off but never make it. They die one-by-one of hypothermia.

Under the pine tree the others wait, perhaps they shout out to Dyatlov but hear nothing. They remain under the pine and while they do so both Georgyi Krivonischenko & Yuri Doroshenko die from hypothermia. Dubinina hates herself for what she does but she still removes Krivonischenko’s trousers to wrap around her freezing feet. This action suggests that at this time she was not as yet severely injured.

When Igor Dyatlov fails to return they assume that the camp site is gone and that Dyatlov is dead. They make the decision to move into the forest – possibly in search of a pine cave to shelter in. They abandon their dead comrades and march 75m metres into and along the forest. Fate is against them and suddenly the ground gives way and they fall into a ravine. Three of them sustain serious impact injuries. Dubinina and Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel die almost instantly. Alexander Kolevatov takes Dubinina’s hat and coat and tries to keep Alexander Zolotarev warm but cold and exhaustion quickly claims the lives of the remaining two survivors.

The rescuers found the campsite on 26 February 1959 and quickly discovered the first five bodies. It took a further three months to find the remaining four in the snow filled ravine. Apparently radiation was identified on the cloths of some of the victims but this may well have been from work they did at the polytechnic and thus nothing to do with the strange deaths.

The lack of bruising and hard-impact contusions on the bodies may or may not be true. However, bruises and the like form far more slowly in colder temperatures and in the case of people frozen to death may not form at all. Finally, after two months in the frozen snow there would be considerable tissue damage that could disguise existing bruises.

Perhaps the most mysterious part of the incident was the discovery that Dubinina’s tongue had been ripped from her mouth. In this theory, the explanation is that her mouth may have been open and her tongue available to a scavenger, such as a fox, that would take what it could and leave.

The reason for the Russian secrecy can also be explained if they were actually testing new jet fighters in the area and were thus paranoid about high levels of security. Also, they in no way wanted to be associated with the deaths of nine good citizens.

For the strange orange tan and so called grey hair displayed by the victims this theory has no answer other than to say that it could be exaggeration, normal sunburn or even morticians at work.

Comment: This theory is a practical approach based on the evidence available. It takes all the key elements of the mystery and provides a cause-and-effect chain where the components do fit together in a plausible way. It’s not without problems though. Would the skiers really be fooled by a jet flying overhead? Once they reached the trees would they not have realised that there had been no avalanche and immediately return to their tents? How could three people sustain such crippling injuries by falling into a shallow ravine? Also ... a study of the photographs indicates that there was actually a very, very small chance of an avalanche.

Searchers using snow prods

Helicopters are brought in to search for the lost ski team

Finally the the bodies of Dyatlov Pass are discovered

The Mansi Natives Abduction Theory

This was the first theory to emerge but was quickly discredited by the Russian authorities. In this theory the skiers, who are inside their tents, are surprised by Mansi native intruders. The intruders cut open the sides of the tent and force the partially clothed skiers down the hill to the forest. It is the intruders that build a fire for skiers and force them to wait in the freezing cold. After a while two of the skiers die from hypothermia. Dyatlov and two companions make a run for the tents (perhaps to get the rifle?) but exhausted before they even start, they collapse on the way and die. The remaining survivors are forced to march into the woods and made to stand at the edge of a convenient ravine but not before they take what clothes they can from their fallen comrades. Nicolas Thibeaux-Brignollel is struck over the head with a weapon crushing his skull. Dubinina keeps shouting at the attackers to stop so they force her to the ground and kneel on her chest thus breaking her ribs they then rip out her tongue. Half dead, they throw her into the ravine. They attempt the same on Alexander Zolotarev but only succeed in breaking his ribs. Alexander Kolevatov doesn’t wait but jumps after them and tries to save his injured companions. The attackers leave them all for dead.

This was a theory apparently suggested at the time and dismissed. The reason for this was that according to the investigators there was no evidence of any other people in the vicinity. This is a dubious assessment as the whole area would have been walked over and examined by the rescuers before the investigation began. In addition, almost 23 days had passed before the discovery of the first set of victims. Snow and wind could have concealed many things during this time.

One proponent of the abduction theory suggests that the Russian authorities knew that the Mansi had been involved but covered this up so as to avoid yet another tribal and ethic issue. In short, they wanted to avoid internal unrest and possibly low-grade military fighting. There is a very good reason for doing this - oil. A little known fact about this case is that in 1957 and 1958 the Soviet Union was desperately seeking increased oil production and had secretly decided to exploit the rich reserves in the Khantia-Mansia region. In 1960, the year after the event, one of the biggest oil exploitation projects began in this district. It is easy now to see what motivation the Russian authorities would have to avoid internal conflict. In addition, now that the USSR has broken up it is clear that many of the components of the Soviet Union were not that friendly - Ukraine, Georgia, etc.

This theory discounts the orange lights, strange tans, grey hair and radiation as actually unrelated to the main event.

Comment: This theory has some considerable merit and is not dissimilar to actual recorded events where tourists have been abducted merely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, there is one major flaw in this theory. The victims do not appear to have been robbed and the campsite had clearly not been ransacked. Many of the items that the ski-team had with them would have been highly valuable by Mansi standards and would have almost certainly been taken. They were not. (Additional footnote: We have received a suggestion from a Russian reader of this article that has pointed out that to the Mansi (Vogul) code, killing intruders might have been acceptable, but robbing them would not."

For more of this very interesting and thought provoking article including
more theories, observations, pics, links, info, research into this incident, etc.
please go here: Dyatlov Pass Part 2

Thanks.

From Dyatlov Pass incident wikipedia

The Dyatlov Pass incident refers to an event that resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959. It happened on the east shoulder of the mountain Kholat Syakhl (Холат Сяхл) (a Mansi name, meaning Mountain of the Dead). The mountain pass where the incident occurred has since been named Dyatlov Pass (Перевал Дятлова) after the group's leader, Igor Dyatlov (Игорь Дятлов).

The lack of eyewitnesses and subsequent investigations into the hikers' deaths have inspired much speculation. Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue. According to sources, four of the victims' clothing contained substantial levels of radiation. There is no mention of this in contemporary documentation; it only appears in later documents. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. Access to the area was barred for skiers and other adventurers for three years after the incident. The chronology of the incident remains unclear due to the lack of survivors.

More info is on the above link from wiki.

Note: What do you think happened? I think it was a possible panic
or fear of an incoming avalanche for some reason that caused these
experienced hikers and explorers to panic and cut through their
tent running like mad off  and in great panic off into the cold
and frigid night in those mountains.

I also believe that because of their state of undress something sinister could
have been going on in that tent like though I think it's not that likely but still
probable. And what I mean by that statement is something of a sexual nature
that turned into something bad or far worse quite possibly involving the women
in the group Zinaida Kolmogorova (22) and Lyudmila Dubinina (21).

Possible rape perhaps? Intruders? Drugs and/or alcohol involved?

A prank gone horribly wrong?

Or something else?

The 2nd theory that was stated could also be quite possible.

Something happened in those woods that night.

But what?

Only the 9 people that died know..

And they ain't telling.

For now anyway.

-Rob

Mother Kills Son And Daughter For Being 'Mouthy'

From http://www.huffingtonpost.com

TAMPA, Fla. — The woman who authorities say killed her teenage daughter and son because she was fed up with them talking back and being mouthy did not appear in court Saturday because she was being treated at a hospital for an unknown condition.

Authorities say Julie Powers Schenecker was taken to Tampa General Hospital shortly after midnight Saturday to be treated for a medical condition that existed before she was taken to jail. Hillsborough Sheriff's deputies – who oversee jail inmates – said they could not reveal Schenecker's medical condition, citing health care privacy laws. A jail spokesman said late Saturday that Schenecker was still at the hospital and that her first court appearance was pending.

An arrest affidavit said Schenecker shot her son twice in the head in the family car "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice. The report said Schenecker then drove to their upscale home and shot her daughter in the face inside the home.

Schenecker's mother called police Friday morning, and told them she was concerned after her daughter had sent an e-mail saying she was depressed. Officers found Schenecker drenched in blood on her back porch – and once they saw the teens, the scene was so troubling that a stress team was called to counsel the responding officers, a police spokeswoman said.

Calyx, the girl, was 16 and a cross country running star at her high school. The 13-year-old son, Beau, was in eighth grade.

Investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming," said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy. Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol. The arrest affidavit said the weapon was purchased five days earlier.

Schenecker's husband, Parker Schenecker, is a career Army officer attached to U.S. Central Command in Tampa. He was working in the Middle East when the shootings happened.

In 2008, the family moved to Tampa and bought a $448,000 home in a quiet, upscale suburban neighborhood. As the sun set Friday evening, residents walked by crime scene tape that sealed off the cul-de-sac that the Schenecker family lived on.

Neighbor Charanun Soodjinda said the Scheneckers "fit right in" when they arrived. The couple's two children often played in the cul-de-sac with other neighborhood kids, and Julie Schenecker seemed to be at home a lot.

Note: This is why we need better gun control and gun laws in the U.S.. In the UK where
guns are banned this never would have happened.

Please pray for them and all victims of violence.

Thanks.

-Rob

Federal Lawsuit Filed Against Evolution Because 'It Promotes the Religion of Atheism'

From http://www.goddiscussion.com/

A high school physics and chemistry teacher has filed a lawsuit in federal court against the The Blue Mountain School District in the Middle District of Pennsylvania for teaching evolution.


[UPDATE: Read the complaint.]

Tom Ritter claims that he isn't necessarily endorsing creationism or intelligent design, but says evolution is flawed because it promotes atheism … which he says is a religion (see the clever video at the end of this article about the Atheist Religion). And religion, according to Ritter, cannot be taught in the public schools.

In Ritter's words, here's his argument:

Evolution is Unscientific.

"The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity." — Richard Dawkins, famous Atheist

Biology studies organisms. It can also explain how organisms got that way, but studying organisms does not require explaining how they got that way, and the theory of evolution is bad science.

Evolutionists cannot demonstrate that three critical points are even possible, let alone that they actually happened:

(1) No one has demonstrated that life can be created from non-life. (Reports of artificial DNA do not alter this fact. Life is still required.)

(2) No one has demonstrated that a new "sexual species" can be created. (Since the definition of species is contested, for these purposes it is defined as an organism that can breed with its own kind and produce fertile offspring, but cannot breed with its ancestors.)

(3) Evolutionists theorize the human brain evolved from lower forms. Over 50 years into the age of computers, machines can crunch numbers far better and faster than humans, recognize and use language and tools, and beat us in chess. Yet science has yet to build even a rudimentary computer that can contemplate its own existence, the hallmark of the human brain. (Contemplating your existence is best understood as imagining what will remain after your death.) And no animal, no matter how "intelligent," can do this either.

Ask anyone who espouses evolution if these three points are not true.

If evolution is unscientific, why teach it? Because no Creator means no God. In other words, evolution taught without a possible alternative is Atheism.

Now Atheism rests on an article of faith (A strong belief that cannot be proven but is nonetheless believed).

Therefore Atheism is a religion.

And it is illegal to teach religion in the public schools.