http___hr.cassiopaea.org_2014_07_08_ratovi-posast-i-vjestice__1.xml
1.1 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.1 6.1 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 10.1 11.1 11.2 11.3 12.1 13.1 13.2 14.1 15.1 16.1 16.2 17.1 17.2 17.3 18.1 18.2 19.1 19.2 20.1 20.2 21.1 21.2 22.1 23.1 23.2 23.3 24.1 25.1 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 27.1 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 29.1 29.2 30.1 31.1 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 33.1 34.1 34.2 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 35.6 35.7 36.1 36.2 36.3 37.1 37.2 38.1 39.1 39.2 39.3 40.1 40.2 41.1 41.2 42.1 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 43.5 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 45.1 45.2 45.3 46.1 46.2 47.1 48.1 49.1 50.1 51.1 52.1 53.1 53.2 54.1 54.2 55.1 55.2 56.1 57.1 58.1 58.2 58.3 58.4 59.1 60.1 60.2 60.3 61.1 62.1 63.1 63.2 64.1 64.2 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 66.1 66.2 66.3 67.1 68.1 68.2 68.3 68.4 68.5 68.6 68.7 68.8 69.1 69.2 70.1 71.1 71.2 72.1 72.2 72.3 72.4 72.5 72.6 72.7 73.1 74.1 74.2 75.1 75.2 76.1 76.2 77.1 77.2 77.3 77.4 77.5 77.6 77.7 78.1 78.2 78.3 78.4 79.1 79.2 79.3 79.4 80.1 81.1 81.2 81.3 81.4 82.1 82.2 82.3 82.4 83.1 83.2 84.1 84.2 84.3 84.4 85.1 86.1 86.2 87.1 87.2 87.3 87.4 88.1 88.2 89.1 89.2 89.3 89.4 89.5 89.6 89.7 89.8 89.9 89.10 89.11 90.1 90.2 90.3 90.4 91.1 92.1 92.2 93.1 93.2 93.3 93.4 93.5 94.1 95.1 96.1 96.2 96.3 96.4 97.1 97.2 97.3 97.4 97.5 97.6 98.1 98.2 98.3 98.4 98.5 99.1 99.2 99.3 100.1 101.1 101.2 101.3 101.4 101.5 102.1 102.2 102.3 102.4 103.1 103.2 103.3 103.4 104.1 104.2 105.1 105.2 105.3 106.1 106.2 106.3 106.4 107.1 107.2 108.1 108.2 108.3 109.1 110.1 111.1 112.1 113.1 113.2 113.3 113.4 113.5 113.6 114.1 114.2 115.1 116.1 116.2 116.3 116.4 116.5 116.6 116.7 116.8 116.9 116.10 117.1 117.2 117.3 117.4 117.5 117.6 117.7 117.8 117.9 118.1 118.2 118.3 118.4 118.5 118.6 118.7 118.8 119.1 119.2 119.3 119.4 119.5 119.6 119.7 119.8 119.9 120.1 120.2 120.3 120.4 120.5 121.1 121.2 121.3 121.4 121.5 122.1 122.2 122.3 122.4 123.1 123.2 124.1 125.1 125.2 125.3 126.1 126.2 126.3 126.4 126.5 126.6 126.7 126.8 126.9 126.10 127.1 127.2 127.3 127.4 127.5 128.1 128.2 128.3 128.4 128.5 128.6 128.7 128.8 128.9 129.1 129.2 129.3 130.1 130.2 130.3 130.4 131.1 131.2 131.3 131.4 132.1 132.2 132.3 132.4 133.1 133.2 133.3 133.4 133.5 134.1 134.2 134.3 135.1 135.2 136.1 136.2 137.1 137.2 138.1 139.1 139.2 140.1 141.1 142.1
Wars, Pestilence and Witches It was a warm, clear afternoon in the capital. The bustle of metropolitan commerce and tourism filled the streets. Small sailing vessels dotted the sheltered waters within sight of the government buildings, riding on a soft southerly breeze. The Sun sparkled on the gentle swells and wakes, lending a luminous glow to the poppies and tulips nodding in the parks along the water’s edge. All was in order. But suddenly, the sky brightened as if with a second, more brilliant Sun. A second set of shadows appeared; at first long and faint, they shortened and sharpened rapidly. A strange hissing, humming sound seemed to come from everywhere at once. Thousands craned their necks and looked upwards, searching the sky for the new Sun. Above them a tremendous white fireball blossomed, like the unfolding of a vast paper flower, but now blindingly bright. For several seconds the fierce fireball dominated the sky, shaming the Sun. The sky burned white-hot, then slowly faded through yellow and orange to a glowering copper-red. The awful hissing ceased. The onlookers, blinded by the flash, burned by its searing heat, covered their eyes and cringed in terror. Occupants of offices and apartments rushed to their windows, searching the sky for the source of the brilliant flare that had lit their rooms. A great blanket of turbulent, coppery cloud filled half the sky overhead. For a dozen heartbeats the city was awestruck, numbed and silent. Then, without warning, a tremendous blast smote the city, knocking pedestrians to the ground. Shuttered doors and windows blew out; fences, walls, and roofs groaned and cracked. A shock wave raced across the city and its waterways, knocking sailboats flat in the water. A hot, sulfurous wind like an open door into hell, the breath of a cosmic ironmaker’s furnace, pressed downward from the sky, filled with the endless reverberation of invisible landslides. Then the hot breath slowed and paused; the normal breeze resumed with renewed vigor, and cool air blew across the city from the south. The sky overhead now faded to dark gray, then to a portentous black. A turbulent black cloud like a rumpled sheet seemed to descend from heaven. Fine black dust began to fall, slowly, gently, suspended and swirled by the breeze. For an hour or more the black dust fell, until, dissipated and dispersed by the breeze, the cloud faded from view. Many thought it was the end of the world… [Reconstruction of events in Constantinople, AD 472, “Rain of Iron and Ice” (1996) John S. Lewis, Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Co-director of the NASA/University of Arizona Space Engineering Research Center, and Commissioner of the Arizona State Space Commission. As I have continued to dig into this subject triggered by reading Victor Clube’s paper: The Hazard to Civilization from Fireballs and Comets, it sure appears that I have opened a can of worms. I can report two things at this point: 1) there is a lot of covert research going on about this subject; 2) Victor Clube, himself, seems to have disappeared. We’ve got some researchers digging on that right now and I’ll report back later. It could be the guy just retired, but for the moment, it does seem a bit mysterious considering the things he has written on the topic to hand. In any event, once you pull one worm out of the can, a whole bunch of others that are tangled up together come out too, and you start getting a bit discombobulated wondering which one you should pull on first! And the things you find out when you start on a subject like this! Amazing! I’ve got a stack of books and papers on my desk two feet high! Anyway, according to Dr. Lewis, whose fanciful scenario of what it might be like to witness an overhead cometary fragment explosion is quoted above, our Earth actually experiences these types of events rather often, even if somewhat irregularly. Explosions in the sky – some of them enormous – have, according to him and many other scientists, profoundly affected the history of humanity. Strangely, historians, as a group, don’t speak about such things. That is one of the things that is making this research so difficult. It’s not just a matter of going and reading a history book and the author saying something like: Well, in 325 AD Constantine was terrified by an overhead cometary explosion and decided to adopt Christianity as a consequence, and to make it the state religion. How did this affect history? The conversion of the Emperor to Christianity certainly couldn’t change the beliefs and practices of most of his subjects. But he could – and did – choose to grant favors and privileges to those whose faith he had accepted. He built churches for them, exempted the priesthood from civic duties and taxes, gave the bishops secular power over judicial affairs, and made them judges against whom there was no appeal. Sounds like a Fascist regime, eh? Early Christianity had very distinct and novel ideas that were grafted onto Judaism. Christianity retained and passed on in a virulent way, certain ideals of Judaism which have produced the foundation upon which our present culture is predicated. The main template of Christianity – received directly from Judaism – is that of SIN. The history of SIN from that point to now, is a story of its triumph. Awareness of the nature of SIN led to a growth industry in agencies and techniques for dealing with it. These agencies became centers of economic and military power, as they are today. Christianity – promoting the ideals of Judaism under a thin veneer of the “New Covenant” – changed the ways in which men and women interacted with one another. It changed the attitude to life’s one certainty: death. It changed the degree of freedom with which people could acceptably choose what to think and believe. Pagans had been intolerant of the Jews and Christians whose religions tolerated no gods but their own. The rising domination of Christianity created a much sharper conflict between religions, and religious intolerance became the norm, not the exception. Christianity also brought the open coercion of religious belief. You could even say that, by the modern definition of a cult as a group that uses manipulation and mind control to induce worship, Christianity is the Mother of all Cults – in service to the mysogynistic, fascist ideals of Judaism! The rising Christian heirarchy of the Dark Ages was quick to mobilize military forces against believers in other gods and most especially, against other Christians who promoted less Fascist systems of belief. This probably included the original Christians and the original teachings. The change of the Western world from Pagan to Christian effectively changed how people viewed themselves and their interactions with their reality. And we live today with the fruits of those changes: War Without End. Now, on what basis can we relate the ascendancy of Christianity to overhead cometary explosions? In a recent issue of New Scientist, (vol 178 issue 2400 – 21 June 2003, page 13) there is an article that reports on the discovery of a meteorite impact crater dating from the fourth or fifth century AD in the Apennines. The crater is now a “seasonal lake,” roughly circular with a diameter of between 115 and 140 meters, which has a pronounced raised rim and no inlet or outlet and is fed solely by rainfall. There are a dozen much smaller craters nearby, such as would be created when a meteorite with a diameter of some 10 meters shattered during entry into the atmosphere. A team led by the Swedish geologist Jens Ormo believes the crater was caused by a meteorite landing with a one-kiloton impact–equivalent to a very small nuclear blast–and producing shock waves, earthquakes and a mushroom cloud. Samples from the crater’s rim have been dated to the year 312 plus or minus 40 years, but small amounts of contamination with recent material could account for a date significantly later than 312. The legend of a falling star has been around in the Apennines since Roman times, but the event that it describes has been a mystery. Other accounts from the 4th century describe how barbarians stood at the gates of the Roman empire while a Christian movement threatened its stability from within. The emperor Constantine saw an amazing vision in the sky, converted to Christianity on the spot, and led his army to victory under the sign of the cross. But what did he see? Could the impact of a meteorite hitting the Italian Apennines have been the sign in the sky that encouraged the Emperor Constantine to invoke the Christian God in his decisive battle in 312 when he defeated his fellow Emperor Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge? This reminds us of the report of the historian Herodian who described the siege of Aquileia by Maximinus in the 230s during which operation the soldiers saw “the god Apollo” appearing “frequently” above the city and fighting for it. Herodian wasn’t certain whether the soldiers REALLY saw it, or whether they just invented it to explain their defeat. The standard explanation is, of course, that it was common for generals to claim “appearances” in order to give heart to their troops. But maybe, sometimes, they DID see something? This reminds me of something else: I recently read a news article about a fellow who had a meteorite come through the roof of his house while he was at work. His reaction was extremely interesting: he announced that this was a “sign from God” that he needed to go to church and renew his faith. What is up with that? Clube writes elsewhere: …[W]ithin these last few years, it has been found that there is a great swarm of cosmic debris circulating in a potentially dangerous orbit, exactly intersecting the Earth’s orbit in June (and November) every few thousand years. More surprisingly, perhaps, it has been found that the evidence for these facts was in the past deliberately concealed. When the orbits exactly intersect however, there is a greatly increased chance of penetrating the core of the swarm, a correspondingly enhanced flow of fireballs reaching the Earth, and a greatly raised perception that the end of the world is nigh. This perception is liable to arise at other times as well, whenever fresh debris is formed, but deep penetrations occurred during the fourth millennium BC, again during the first millennium BC, taking in at their close the time of Christ, and will likely take place yet again during the millennium to come. Christian religion began appropriately enough therefore, with an apocalyptic vision of the past, but in the aftermath of the last deep penetrations, once the apparent danger had passed, truth was converted to mythology in the hands of a revisionist church and such prior knowledge of the swarm as existed, which now comes to us through the works of Plato and others, was later systematically suppressed. Subsequently the Christian vision of a permanent peace on Earth was by no means universally accepted, and it was to undergo several stages of “enlightenment” before it culminated with our present secular version of history, to which science itself subscribes, perceiving little or no danger from the sky. The lack of danger is an illusion, however, and the long arm of an early Christian delusion still has its effect. The idea of a terrible sanction hanging over mankind is not, of course, new. Armageddon has been widely feared in the past and it was a common belief that it would arrive with the present millennium. During the last thousand years, moreover, it has usually been the reforming church that revived the fear. But such ideas, whenever they have arisen, have always met with fierce opposition. Sometimes the proponents of such ideas escape to new found new lands where in due course they meet opposition of a homegrown kind. In the United States for example, despite freedom of speech, old traditions of cosmic catastrophe have recurred from time to time, even in the present century, only to be confronted by Pavlovian outrage from authorities. That being the case, it is perhaps ironic that elections in the United States are generally held in November following the tradition of an ancient convocation of tribes at that time of the year, which probably had its roots in a real fear of world-end as the Earth coincided with the swarm. In Europe the millennium was finally dispensed with when an official “providential” view of the world was developed as a counter to ideas sustained during the Reformation. Indeed to hold anything like a contrary view at this time became something of a heresy and those who were given to rabble-rousing for fear of the millennium were roundly condemned. To the extent that a cosmic winter and Armageddon have aspects in common, therefore, authoritarian outrage is nothing new. Enlightenment, of course, builds on the providential view and treats the cosmos as a harmless backdrop to human affairs, a view of the world which Academe now often regards as its business to uphold and to which the counter-reformed Church and State are only too glad to subscribe. Indeed it appears that repeated cosmic stress – supernatural illuminations – have been deliberately programmed out of Christian theology and modern science, arguably the two most influential contributions of western civilization to the control and well-being of humanity. As a result, we have now come to think of global catastrophe, whether through nuclear war, ozone holes, the greenhouse effect of whatever, as a prospect originating purely with ourselves; and because of this, because we are faced with “authorities” who never look higher than the rooftops, the likely impact of the cosmos figures hardly at all in national plans. A great illusion of cosmic security thus envelops mankind, one that the “establishment” of Church, State and Academe do nothing to disturb. Persistence in such an illusion will do nothing to alleviate the next Dark Age when it arrives. But it is easily shattered: one simply has to look at the sky. The outrage, then, springs from a singularly myopic stance which may now place the human species a little higher than the ostrich, awaiting the fate of the dinosaur. [Clube, (1990)The Cosmic Winter] In Cosmic Turkey Shoot, we had a look at Victor Clube’s summary statement of conclusions based on his longer report entitled: Narrative Report on the Hazard to Civilization due to Fireballs and Comets which he wrote under the sponsorship of the US Air Force and Oxford Department of Physics. In the summary Clube writes: Every 5-10 generations or so, for about a generation, mankind is subject to an increased risk of global insult through another kind of cosmic agency. Every 5 to 10 generations? That’s a pretty shocking statement. If it is true, then why don’t we know about this? Why don’t historians know about it? Why don’t average people who learn history (one is told) in school, know about these things? I dug around a bit, following references from Clube, and found that there is, in fact, a group that is looking at these things, but I don’t think they are doing it to inform the general public, nor do they have the best interests of the public in mind. Have a look at the INSAP website and follow some of their links. Their first conference, attended by Clube and referenced obliquely in his report on the Hazards to Civilization, was held at the Mondo Migliore, under the sponsorship of the Vatican Observatory, Rocco di Papa, Italy, from 27 June – 2 July 1994. Their mandate reads: INSAP conferences explore the rich and diverse ways in which people of the past and present incorporate astronomical events into literary, visual, and performance arts. This emphasis distinguishes INSAP from other conferences that focus on archeoastronomy, ethnoastronomy, or cultural astronomy. INSAP provides a mechanism for a broad sampling of artists, writers, musicians, historians, philosophers, scientists, and others to talk about the diversity of astronomical inspiration. This, of course, reminds me of the strange recent news item about the new Pope evicting the Jesuits from the papal summer palace. See: Pope tells astronomers to pack up their telescopes Following that story, one then finds this: Italian scientists attack Pope’s equivocation on Galileo trial Pope Benedict XVI has been forced to cancel a visit to the prestigious La Sapienza University in Rome after lecturers and students expressed outrage at his past defence of the Catholic church’s actions against Galileo. The Pope had been due to make a speech at the university on Thursday 17 January 2008. Sixty-seven academics have said that the Pope effectively condoned the 1633 trial and conviction of the astronomer Galileo for heresy, in remarks he made while head of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the successor to the notorious Inquisition. As Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict said that Galileo had turned out to be correct about the earth revolving around the sun, and that subsequent biblical scholarship had rejected literalist readings of texts that had been taken by the Church to deny this. Nevertheless, he said, Galileo had been dogmatic and sectarian in his statements at the time, and the Church authorities had acted reasonably given the levels of knowledge available then. But the scientists say that this is “insulting” and unacceptable equivocation. The Church was unjust, irrational and unfair in its treatment of their predecessor and its outright rejection of Copernican theory, they say. My, my! Well, anyway, before Ratzinger was selected to run the Catholic Fraud Factory, apparently the Jesuits were pretty interested in figuring out what was going on here on the BBM – for what purposes, we may never know. Clube was there at one of their meetings and presented a paper which is so interesting that I have taken the time to covert it to text and put it in the Sott database: The Nature of Punctuational Crises and the Spenglerian Model of Civilization Parts of it are a bit rough, but it is well worth the trouble of reading it all the way through – maybe more than once – and giving a lot of thought to the implications of what he writes there especially in regard to any group of people who are trying to dig out this kind of information and present it to the public. Clube makes it abundantly clear why this must be considered a revolutionary activity! Getting back to the narrative report he wrote for Oxford and the USAF, he says: The sequence of events affecting involved generations is potentially debilitating because, whether or not the risk is realised, civilization commonly undergoes violent transitions e.g. revolution, migration and collapse. In short, whether or not there are any impacts during those periods when “something is out there, rather close and threatening,” people go crazy when they get the feeling that they are living on a target in a cosmic shooting gallery. Yes, indeed, the knowledge that the earth beneath our feet may not be so firmly and peacefully fixed in space assaults our deepest feelings of security. It’s almost as if Clube is saying that there is some sort of contagious madness, a stampeding of human beings, almost, like a herd of cattle stampeding over a cliff because someone accidentally (or on purpose) shoots a gun into the air. That’s not even a bad metaphor because, as we are going to see in today’s installment, it seems that the ruling elite DO tend to take advantage of such conditions for their own purposes which are usually to grab more power and plunder. Subsequently perceived as pointless, such transitions [revolution, migration and collapse] are commonly an embarrassment to national elites even to the extent that historical and astronomical evidence of the risk are abominated and suppressed. Indeed, when the madness dies down and the people begin to realize what fools they have made of themselves and, more importantly, what fools their leaders are, when they view how much death and destruction has occurred for no good reason at all except a form of madness, I’m sure that the elites do want to just shove it all under the rug and try to make everyone forget that it ever happened so as to keep their hands on the reins of power. As we will see, this isn’t how it always turns out. Sometimes, the people are so hostile when they see how they have been abused by their leaders, the leaders pay a rather high price… sometimes their very heads! Upon revival of the risk, however, such “enlightenment” becomes an inducement to violent transition since historical and astronomical evidence are then in demand. Such change and change about in addition to the insult is evidently self-defeating and calls for a procedure to eliminate the risk. The term “enlightenment”, used above, is a reference to people waking up to what is possibly going on out there in space. Turning to the full-text report, on page 2, discussing potential impacting giant comet remnants, we read that… …their presence is readily enough betrayed by the zodiacal dust which continues to accumulate in the ecliptic and by the rather sudden encounters which the Earth makes every other century or so, for several decades… These encounters produce an overabundance of fireballs penetrating the Earth’s atmosphere implying both an increased probability of bombardment by sub-kilometre debris AND an increased risk that the Earth will penetrate the core of a minor disintegration stream a la Shoemaker-Levy. An abundance of fireballs and repeated comet sighting apparently excites a lot of “eschatological” activity – predictions that the world is gonna end – that can lead to all kinds of social unrest which is, as Clube points out, highly undesirable to the ruling elites. After all, if people are thinking the world is going to end, they generally blame it on their rulers for being so corrupt and evil! The way they usually handle that sort of thing is to create an ostensible enemy who is responsible for it all, get a war going that satisfies everyone’s “end of the world blues” and kills of most of them in the bargain! Clever, aren’t they? Right now, however, I want to come back to that “every other century or so” comment where Clube says this has been happening and then covered up by “governing elites” who are embarrassed. What the heck? As it happens, further on in the narrative we find out just what periods he is referring to: There have been five extended epochs since the Renaissance when the Earth apparently encountered the fragmentation debris of previously unsighted comets. Well, we know from the work of Mike Baillie that the period around 540 AD is highly suspect as the period around the Black Death is also. The events that Baillie suggests were happening during those periods are backed up by very strong scientific data. But those aren’t the periods that Clube is talking about here. He is saying “since the Renaissance.” The Renaissance, of course, followed closely on the heels of the Black Death which Baillie considers to have been a period of cometary bombardment that killed almost half of humanity! (Or so it seems from the statistics given for those areas where statistics were obtainable.) In the broadest of terms, the Renaissance covers the 200 years between 1400 and 1600, although specialists disagree on exact dates. The Black Death began in 1347/1348, 50 years earlier, so it could even be inferred that the Black Death was the gestational period for the Renaissance, or that the Renaissance occurred as a reaction to the Black Death. Anyway, what we now see is that Victor Clube is suggesting that there was a lot more going on in our recorded history than we know about, and that the rise and fall of nations and civilizations may be closely related to what is going on out there in space! To continue: During these epochs, broadly coinciding with the Hundred Years’ War, the Reformation, the Thirty Years’ War (including the English Civil War), the French Revolutionary Period (including the American War of Independence) and the mid-nineteenth century Revolutionary crisis in Europe [including the American Civil War], the various national authorities could do very little to restrain public anxiety in the face of the perceived danger. Okay, we now have some specific periods where Clube, et al, believe that strange things were going on in the space around our planet. It might help us to better understand our own time period to take a look at times past. The Hundred Years War covers the 116 year period from 1337 to 1453, the Black Death 1347/48 – 1351, and then the Renaissance: 1400 to 1600. Some really ugly stuff was going on back then! Anyway, as for the war itself, it was a conflict between France and England, over claims by the English kings to the French throne. It was punctuated by several brief and two lengthy periods of peace before it finally ended in the expulsion of the English from France, with the exception of the Calais Pale. We notice that this state of conflict was already in motion about ten years before the Black Death fell on Europe. If you were of a strong religious bent, you might even want to say that the Hand of God punished mankind for being warlike! That is probably what the people of the time thought and I suspect that this was not a favorable view for the masses to take toward their leaders. The Hundred Years’ War was also the time of Joan of Arc who was running around hearing voices and rallying people to an apocalyptic standard. There was unbelievable devastation in France, and the end result of this war was that it helped to establish a sense of nationalism in France, ended all English claims to French territory; and made possible the emergence of centralized governing institutions and an absolute monarchy. One commentator notes: The Hundred Years War was actually dozens of little wars and hundreds of battles and sieges that went on for over a century (1337-1453), until both sides were exhausted. While neither side won in any real sense, the end result was that while there were two kingdoms at the beginning of the war, there were two nations at the end of it. When one studies the history of the Black Death and the Hundred Years War side by side, the thing that stands out is that whatever was going on then, there were conscienceless people taking advantage of the situation of confusion and terror. For example, we read the following: This would be a war of devastation. Villages and crops were burned, orchards were felled, livestock seized and residents harried. On Edward’s entry into France he spent a week torching Cambrai and its environs. More than 1,000 villages were destroyed. France did what it could in England, at the war’s onset seamen ventured to the southeastern coast of England to burn and ravage there. Much plunder was taken back to England and the thought of acquiring ill-gotten gain enticed many to support the war. Ransom was another was of monetary gain and a king, nobles, knights and even citizens were taken hostage. Cruelty abounded. After the city of Limoges was captured and burned, Edward ordered the townsmen executed. Much of Artois, Brittany, Normandy, Gascony and other provinces were reduced to desolation (circa 1355 to 1375) and France did the same to the provinces that sided with England. Walled towns were safe during the early period of the war, but churches, monasteries, villages and rural areas were ruined. Truce and treaty were not observed. The “Free Companies” went into action, bandits of Either, English, French or hired mercenaries led by captains that dominated large areas and levied tribute on towns, villages and churches. They also seized women, took clergymen as accountants and correspondents, children for servants and plundered. ( Edward P. Cheney, (1936)The Dawn of a New Era 1250-1435) Another source tells us: For the first few years of the war there wasn’t much happening except English raids into France and Flanders. Then, in the 1340s, England and France took opposite sides in the long-running civil war over who should be the duke of Britanny. In 1346 this resulted in a French invasion of Gascony and the shattering French defeat at Crecy. The English then rampaged through western France, until a truce was signed in 1354 (brought on by the devastation of the Plague, which hit France heavily in 1347-48) The truce didn’t last. In 1355, the war began again. In 1356 another major battle was fought at Poitiers and the French king was captured. English raids continued until 1360, when another truce was signed. In addition to all the warring going on, the plague, etc, the weather was going crazy! Clube writes: One chronicler at least reports of the most immediate cause of the plague in 1345 that “between Cathay and Persia there rained a vast rain of fire; falling in flakes like snow and burning up mountains and plains and other lands, with men and women; and then arose vast masses of smoke; and whosoever beheld this died within the space of half a day…” There seems little doubt also that a worldwide cooling of the Earth played a fundamental part in the process. The Arctic polar cap extended, changing the cyclonic pattern and leading to a series of disastrous harvests. These in turn led to widespread famine, death and social disruption. In England and Scotland there is a pattern of abandoned villages and farms, soaring wheat prices and falling populations. In Eastern Europe there was a series of winters of unparalleled severity and depth of snow. The chronicles of monasteries in Poland and Russia tell of cannibalism, common graves overfilled with corpses, and migrations to the west. Even before the Black Death came, then, a human catastrophe of great proportions was under way in late medieval times. Indeed the cold snap lasted well beyond the period of the … plague. A number of such fluctuations are to be found in the historical record, and there is good evidence that these climatic stresses are connected not only with famine but also with times of great social unrest, wars, revolution and mass migrations. (Clube, The Cosmic Winter) It sounds surprisingly like our own era, doesn’t it? There are differences in detail and scale, but the dynamics of a world gone mad, and incredible cruelty running rampant, and global climate fluctuations are the same as we see before us now. One naturally wonders why the masses of people would put up with such a state of affairs since it was they – and not the elite – who took the brunt of the horrors. The answer then is the same as it is now. The masses of ordinary people support their leaders in war because of propaganda. During wartime, church and state generally form an alliance and patriotic statements are used in church sermons to support the ruling elite. The goal of the government is always to make the masses hate the enemy that the leaders wish to destroy (or at least to take their attention off their own depredations on the body social). In addition to the propaganda of church and state, governments will offer increased wages and new opportunities to those who fight in the war (mercenaries like Blackwater today). Criminals are often released from prison to fight. Then and now, people are promised lands, goods, benefits of all kinds, if they join the war effort. In some cases, what is offered to the common man is just to be left alone in their “normal life” and not hounded or ridiculed. All of this has been how wars have been supported since time immemorial, and nothing has changed. The lures of power and goods make people who have no conscience, or who are low on the social totem pole enthusiastic to join in killing other people just like themselves. Calvinism was one of the developments that came out of this period. As Clube notes, the Protestant reformation was partly due to the fact that the Powers of the Time, the Catholic Church, had built their control system based on the Aristotelian system of “God is in his heaven and all will be right with the world if you are a good Christian.” Obviously, they didn’t want to talk about a cosmos run amok over which their vaunted god had no control. And the fact that things were running amok and the church couldn’t do anything about it (not to mention the corruption of the church that was evident to the masses) gave ammunition to the Reformers who then were able to attract many followers just as Christianity attracted Constantine at a time when the pagan gods didn’t seem to be able to help in the face of cometary bombardment. The Protestants thus were able to use the situation to advantage, suggesting that it was “The End of Times” and that this was all part of the plan and people would be saved if they would only come over to the Protestant side! Of course, once the Protestants had “won their place,” so to say, they, too, had to establish authority and adopt the Aristotelian view! “NOW, God is in his heaven and all will be right and there won’t be any more catastrophic disruptions as long as everybody goes to church, tithes, and obeys the appointed authoritie!” Another bizarre thing that came out of this time period was witch persecutions. From the early decades of the fifteenth century until 1650, continental Europeans executed between two and five hundred thousand witches (according to conservative estimates), more than 85 percent of them being women. (Ben-Yehuda, 1985) People of the time – and even later – really did believe in the reality of witchcraft and evil demons. Men like Newton, Bacon, Boyle, Locke and Hobbes, firmly believed in the reality of evil spirits and witches. As Russell said: Tens of thousands of [witch] trials continued throughout Europe generation after generation, while Leonardo painted, Palestrina composed and Shakespeare wrote.” In order to understand this part of what was going on throughout those troublesome times, we have to back up a bit. Witchcraft and witches have existed throughout history though in a context completely different from that which came to be understood during the crusade against witches. The Old Testament pretty much ignores the topic except to report an encounter between King Saul and the witch of Endor and to include a law: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” But, other than that, in a way that seems to bizarrely contradict that law, stories of witches in the Bible are surprisingly neutral. There is no conceptualization or elaboration of witches, devils, or any kind of demonic world. In ancient Greece and Rome, magic was used to produce rain, prevent hail storms, drive away clouds, calm the winds, make the earth bear fruit, increase wealth, cure the sick, and so on. It could also be used against one’s enemies to deprive them of those desirable effects. These beliefs were widespread in the ancient world and generally, “good magic” was lawful and necessary, and “bad magic” was condemned and punished. The state even supported those who could purportedly do “good magic.” It depended on perspective whether you were a “good magician” or a “bad” one. That’s probably why the English condemned Joan of Arc for being a witch and France turned around and canonized her. The Graeco-Roman religious universe – the supernatural world – was not divided into extreme good and extreme evil. It was occupied by every shade and combination of all qualities exactly as existed in human society. (It was only in the Judeo-Christian religion that God becomes the very image of absolute goodness and purity, and the devil was invented to be his opposite.) For the ancient world, magic was simply an attempt to harness the power of the Unseen while religion occupied itself with respect and gratitude to Nature and its representatives for results. In this way, prayers and spells could be easily combined. The witch or sorcerer was a person who had a method – a technology – that could be used to harness and activate supernatural powers on behalf of himself or others. He could “control” the forces of nature. (At least, that is what they believed.) So, two points are important here: 1) witchcraft/sorcery was a technology and 2) there was a definite distinction between good magic and bad magic. This changed drastically during the fifteenth century, the time when the forces of nature ran amok, and most certainly, someone had to be blamed when it was all over! Protestantism was on the rise and it was not seen as politic to go after the Mother Church which still held a great deal of power, so some other sin-bearer had to be found. The distinction between good and bad magic vanished and witchcraft became something purely evil. The pluralistic conception of the supernatural world also vanished and we were left with only a very good god who was, however, seemingly impotent in the face of evil mankind in cahoots with a very evil devil. Well, not exactly “mankind,” mostly “woman-kind”! One of the results of this change in attitude was the creation of witchcraft as a systematic anti-religion; it became the opposite of everything that Christianity – both Catholic and Protestant – stood for. Witchcraft as an elaborated system of religion was unknown before the fifteenth century. This was a period in which a theory of supernatural demons was invented and crystallized as an explanation for the evils that fell upon mankind. How else to explain the Black Death which killed indiscriminately in spite of the prayers and supplications of the priests of the Christian church, both Catholic and Protestant? Another point to note is that witches were no longer thought of as beings that could use a technology to control the powers of nature; they became beings that channeled evil into the world because they were under the control of the Evil One. They were all purely Satan’s puppets and no good could ever come from them. The Malleus Maleficarum specifically mentions that “witchcraft is chiefly found in women” because they are more credulous and have poor memories”, and because “witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable”. (Sprenger and Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum, 1968, pp. 41-48) In short, “witch myth” was created in the late 1400s in reaction to the Black Death which consisted of a whole, coherent system of beliefs, assumptions, rituals, and “sacred texts” that had never existed until this time. The Dominicans developed and popularized the conceptions of demonology and witchcraft as a negative image of the so-called “true faith” and the Protestants were just as busy! When Kramer and Sprenger (both members of the Dominican Order and Inquisitors for the Catholic Church) wrote the Malleus Maleficarum and submitted it to the University of Cologne’s Faculty of Theology on May 9, 1487, seeking its endorsement, it was roundly condemned as unethical and illegal. The Catholic Church banned the book in 1490, placing it on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. In order to understand why, again we have to back up a bit. After the disintegration of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, many missionaries, on finding that the pagans had their own spectrum of local deities and beliefs, often sought to convert them by the simple expedient of canonizing the local gods so that the natives population could continue to worship them under the aegis of Christianity. They became “Christian saints” complete with invented hagiographies. The old temples were converted into churches so that the pagans would come to familiar places of worship to hear mass and pray to their “saints” just like always. Magical practices were tolerated because it was felt that the people would give them up naturally over time once they had become truly Christian. Official church policy held that any belief in witchcraft was an illusion. In the famous, but mysterious, Canon episcopi, we read: Some wicked women, perverted by the devil, seduced by illusions and phantasms of demons, believe and profess themselves in the hours of night, to ride upon certain beastes with Diana, the goddess of pagans, and an innumerable multitude of women, and in the silence of the dead of night to traverse great spaces of earth, and to obey her commands as of their mistress, and to be summoned to her service on certain nights. But I wish it were they alone who perished in their faithlessness and did not draw many with them into the destruction of infidelity. For an innumerable multitude, deceived by this false opinion, believe this to be true, and so believing, wander from the right faith and are invalued in the error of the pagans… Wherefore the priests throughout their churches should preach with all insistence … that they know this to be false and, that such phantasms are imposed and sent by the malignant spirit… who deludes them in dreams… Who is there who is not led out of himself in dreams, seeing such in sleeping which he never sees [when] waking? And who is so stupid and foolish as to think that all these things, which are only done in spirit happen in the body? It is therefore to be proclaimed publicly to all that whoever believes such things… has lost his faith. (Translated by Kors and Peters, pp. 29-31. The origin of this document is not clear. Kors and Peters (1972) date it to 1140. It has been attributed to an obscure meeting, the Council of Anquira, held possibly in the 4th century. Although there is no record of this council, the statement on witchcraft was adopted by later canonists as official policy. Ben-Yehuda, 1985) So, for more than six centuries, this was the official attitude of the church toward witches – that it was an illusion or delusion or just the product of dreams. It was even declared: “Whoever was ‘so stupid and foolish’ as to believe such fantastic tales was an infidel.” In 1450, 100 years after the Black Death had destroyed about half of Europe’s population, the Hundred Years’ War was coming to an end and someone had to be blamed, (definitely NOT cometary explosions!), and the so-called Renaissance was kicking off, Jean Vineti, Inquisitor at Carcassone, identified witchcraft with heresy. In 1458, Nicholas Jacquier, Inquisitor in France and Bohemia, identified it as a NEW form of heresy. When Jacquier wrote his book on witchcraft, he had to dispose of the Canon episcopi first. Other writers of the time also found it necessary to diminish this official church policy in order to even have a “witch craze.” So, the first attacks were made on the validity of the document itself. Then, contemporary witches were claimed to be different from the ones that the document was about. In 1460, Visconti Girolamo, Inquisitor professor, Provincial of Lombardy, stated that the act of defending witchcraft (or witches) was itself heresy. In 1484-86, Sprenger and Kramer published the Malleus which explicated a crystallized theory of witchcraft which held sway for three hundred years. Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press – a product of the Renaissance – allowed the work to spread rapidly throughout Europe. This crystallization is what resulted in the beginning of the witch craze itself. Taking into account the wars of the time killing off so much of the male population, one might suppose that there was in increase in unmarried women. In short, women were becoming autonomous widows as a consequence. So, a couple of psychopathic types (psychopaths always seem to really hate women – dunno why, but there it is) – Sprenger and Kramer et al – came along and got hostile about it and wrote a book describing a healthy, competent, intelligent woman as a witch, and presto! Problem solved. All the excess women can be gotten rid of; all the autonomous women with property can be done away with and their property confiscated; and, at the same time, the psychological control of men over women, re-establishing the subservience of women and the Church, can all be accomplished in one fell swoop! I think a strong factor in the witch trials was also psychopathy – Ponerology. Those guys who wrote the Malleus sound like your typical schizoidal psychopath. Devilishly clever, I say! (One also has to consider the destruction of many genetic lines of powerful women in this process which has been ongoing, so it seems.) Again, we note that the most spectacular “witch” was Joan of Arc who was tried, condemned, and burned in 1431, three years before Europe’s mass panic over witches started in Valais where over 100 people were tried by secular judges – not religious – for “murder by sorcery.” As the craze spread over Europe, literally hundreds of thousands of women were burned at the stake. Children, women, and even whole families were sent to be burned. The historical sources are full of horrifying descriptions of the tortures these poor people were subjected to. Entire villages were exterminated. One account says that all of Germany was covered with stakes and Germans were entirely occupied with building bonfires to burn the victims. One inquisitor is reported to have said: “I wish [the witches] had but one body, so that we could burn them all at once, in one fire!” (Trevor-Roper 1967, p. 152). In the 1580s, the Catholic Counter-Reformation became dedicated witch hunters, going after Protestants, mainly. In France, most witches happened to be Huguenot. There were many cases of “political” executions in the guise of witch burnings. One victim was a judge who was burned in 1628 for showing “suspicious leniency”. As the craze spread, the viciousness and barbarity of the attacks increased. The judge just mentioned, a Dr. Haan, under torture, confessed to having seen five burgomasters of Bamberg at the witches Sabbath, and they, too were executed. One of them, a Johannes Julius, under torture, confessed that he had renounced God, given himself to the devil, and seen twenty-seven of his colleagues at the Sabbath. But afterward, from prison, he contrived to smuggle a letter out to his daughter, Veronica, giving a full account of his trial. He wrote: “Now my dearest child, you have here all my acts and confessions, for which I must die. It is all falsehood and invention, so help me God… They never cease to torture until one says something. If God sends no means of briging the truth to light our whole kindred will be burnt.” (Trevor-Roper 1967, p. 157) Protestants and Catholics accused each other and the early decades of the 1600s were infected by a veritable epidemic of demons! This lasted until the end of the Thirty Years’ War. It is said that if the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum was the beginning of the terror, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 was the end. In recent times, the Malleus has been examined critically, though not by individuals with any awareness of the cosmic events of the time. Nevertheless, what they have observed has a bearing on our subject here: Sexy Devils One evening 10 years ago, Walter Stephens was reading Malleus malificarum. The Malleus, as scholars refer to it, would not be everyone’s choice for a late-night book. Usually translated as The Hammer of Witches, it was first published in Germany in 1487 as a handbook for witch hunters during the Inquisition. It’s a chilling text – – used for 300 years, well into the Age of Reason — that justifies and details the identification, apprehension, interrogation, and execution of people accused of consorting with demons, signing pacts with the devil, and performing maleficia, or harmful magic. “It was 11 at night,” Stephens recalls. “My wife had gone to bed, and on the first page [of the Malleus] was this weird sentence about people who don’t believe in witches and don’t believe in demons: ‘Therefore those err who say that there is no such thing as witchcraft, but that it is purely imaginary, even although they do not believe that devils exist except in the imagination of the ignorant and vulgar, and the natural accidents which happen to man he wrongly attributes to some supposed devil.’” That convoluted sentence dovetailed with a curious line Stephens knew from Il messaggiero, a work from 1582 by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso: “If magicians and witches and the possessed exist, demons exist; but it cannot be doubted that in every age specimens of the former three have been found: thus it is unreasonable to doubt that demons are found in nature.” Stephens, the Charles S. Singleton Professor of Italian Studies in the Hopkins department of romance languages, is a literary critic, and he sensed that something intriguing was going on beneath the text on the page. Tasso, and especially the Malleus’ author, a Dominican theologian and inquisitor named Heinrich Kramer, had in their works invested a striking amount of energy in refuting doubt about the existence of demons. What was that about? For the next eight years Stephens read every treatise he could find on witchcraft, as well as accounts of interrogations, theological tracts, and other works (his bibliography lists 154 primary and more than 200 secondary sources). Most of the 86 witchcraft treatises he cites had been written in western Europe in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, and one after another (including the Malleus) contain accounts of sexual intercourse with satanic spirits. Why? Were the authors remorseless misogynists hellbent on portraying women in the worst possible light? Were they lurid, repressed celibates who got off by writing accounts of demon sex? Stephens didn’t think so; the texts, in his view, didn’t support that reading. Elsewhere in the Malleus he had found a key reference to accused witches under torture as being “expert witnesses to the reality of carnal interaction between humans and demons.” These guys are trying to construct proofs that demons exist, he thought. They’re trying to convince skeptics. And then he thought, They’re trying to convince themselves. Stephens’ thesis profoundly revises the conventional wisdom about centuries of cruelty and injustice. The great European witch hunts, he says, were the outgrowth of a severe crisis of faith. The men who wrote books like the Malleus, men who endorsed the torture and burning of tens of thousands of innocent people, desperately needed to believe in witches, because if witches were real, then demons were real, and if demons were real, then God was real. Not just real but present and attentive. Carefully read the works composed by the witchcraft authors, Stephens says, and you will see how profoundly disturbed these educated, literate men were by their accumulating suspicions that if God existed at all, He wasn’t paying much attention to the descendants of Adam. The sanctioned, organized pursuit and persecution of witches, which peaked from 1560 to 1630 and was almost entirely a western European phenomenon, began during a time of grave concern in the Roman Catholic church. The European world in the early 1400s was a wreck. The preceding century has been labeled by historian Barbara Tuchman as “calamitous,” and she does not overstate. Starting around 1315, a great famine ravaged much of western Europe. From 1347 to 1352, the Black Death killed more than a third of the continent’s population. Other diseases and additional outbreaks of the plague scourged the weakened survivors. As if natural catastrophe weren’t enough, England and France chose to fight the Hundred Years’ War from 1337 to 1453, the longest war in history. The Church itself fractured, riven by massive organized heresies, and by a schism that led to as many as three men simultaneously laying claim to be the true pope. How could a world created by a watchful, benevolent, and engaged God be such a mess? Indeed. The calamities of that time – of ANY time – assault religious faith. And anyone who talks about such calamities in a reasonable and factual way as just what Nature does, and who back it up with scientific data, MUST be silenced because they threaten the very foundation of Western Civilization: Christianity and Uniformitarianism and Fascist control of humanity! It seems that such persecutions may very well have been initiated as a way of controlling those who uttered “heresies” against the “providential” order of the universe established by the Church and State, like pointing out that an increased number of fireballs and comet sightings may very well suggest that the planet and its inhabitants are in potential danger. This was the period of Galileo, after all, and he was accused of being a “heretic” for not supporting the potency of God Almighty. Nowadays, that’s the same as being accused of being a “cult”. We notice, also, as mentioned above, that the Church is regressing into the same mindset that held sway during other “eschatological” periods. What strikes me as particularly funny is the way the US school of Asteroid Impacts is going about this. Apparently, under the influence of the British school of cometary bombardment, they are thinking about all of these things. It also seems highly likely that the entire War on Terror is a distraction from what is really going on “out there.” Anyway, from a recent conference: AIAA 2007 Planetary Defense Conferencewe note what is agitating them most: An asteroid impact could occur anywhere on the globe at any time, so planetary defense has implications for all humankind. All nations on Earth should be prepared for this potential calamity and work together to prevent or contain the damage. That said, there is currently very little discussion or coordination of efforts at national or international levels. No single agency in any country has responsibility for moving forward on NEO deflection, and disaster control agencies have not simulated this type of disaster. Providing funding over the long term was also seen as a challenge. Much of the work in virtually all areas of planetary defense has been done on individuals’ own time and initiative. There is a need for ongoing studies and peer-reviewed papers to improve our knowledge in this area, as well as to increase the credibility of the issue and the public’s trust in our ability to respond. The reality is that NEO deflection or disaster mitigation efforts may not be required for decades or longer, so governments, which are focused on more immediate concerns, may not be willing to commit sufficient recourses to this type of work. Determining the appropriate level of this work and funding such activities over the long term is seen as a major issue. In addition, major legal and policy issues related to planetary defense need to be resolved. An example is liability for predictions that prove false or deflection missions that only partially work or fail completely, resulting in an impact. Other examples include: · A prediction is made that an impact may occur in a specific area, and residents and businesses that might be affected leave. Are there liabilities associated with the loss in property values if the prediction is wrong? · A nation makes a deflection attempt, but it fails to change the object’s orbit enough to miss Earth. Is that nation now responsible for the damage inflicted? · A NEO threat demands the nuclear option, but public perception is that the possibility of a launch failure and subsequent damage is more acute than the threat from the NEO. What are the liabilities and political and policy implications associated with a launch failure during a deflection mission? These types of issues should be discussed and resolved before they are raised by a serious threat. Yup, that’s what they are worried about! Legal liability! Amazing. Well, anyway, at the end of the Hundred Years War and the Black Death, the Witch Persecutions were utilized to hush up completely any hint that the Earth was not securely hung in space, and history and truth was suppressed with blood and burning human flesh. Continue to Part Five: Thirty Years of Cults and Comets
1.1 2.1 3.1 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 7.1 8.1 9.1 9.2 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 13.1 14.1 14.2 14.3 15.1 16.1 16.2 17.1 18.1 19.1 19.2 20.1 20.2 20.3 21.1 21.2 22.1 22.2 23.1 23.2 24.1 24.2 25.1 26.1 26.2 26.3 27.1 28.1 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 30.1 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 32.1 32.2 33.1 34.1 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 35.6 36.1 37.1 37.2 38.1 38.2 38.3 38.4 38.5 38.6 38.7 39.1 39.2 39.3 40.1 40.2 41.1 42.1 42.2 42.3 43.1 44.1 45.1 45.2 46.1 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 48.1 48.2 48.3 48.4 48.5 49.1 49.2 49.3 50.1 50.2 51.1 52.1 53.1 54.1 55.1 56.1 57.1 57.2 58.1 58.2 59.1 59.2 59.3 60.1 61.1 62.1 62.2 62.3 62.4 63.1 64.1 64.2 64.3 65.1 66.1 67.1 67.2 68.1 69.1 69.2 69.3 69.4 70.1 70.2 70.3 71.1 72.1 72.2 72.3 72.4 72.5 72.6 72.7 73.1 73.2 74.1 75.1 75.2 76.1 76.2 76.3 76.4 76.5 76.6 77.1 78.1 78.2 79.1 79.2 80.1 80.2 81.1 81.2 81.3 81.4 81.5 81.6 81.7 82.1 82.2 82.3 82.4 83.1 83.2 83.3 84.1 84.2 85.1 86.1 86.2 86.3 86.4 87.1 87.2 88.1 88.2 89.1 89.2 89.3 90.1 91.1 91.2 92.1 92.2 92.3 93.1 94.1 94.2 95.1 95.2 95.3 95.4 95.5 95.6 95.7 95.8 95.9 95.10 95.11 96.1 96.2 96.3 97.1 98.1 98.2 99.1 99.2 99.3 99.4 99.5 100.1 101.1 102.1 102.2 102.3 102.4 103.1 103.2 103.3 103.4 103.5 103.6 104.1 104.2 104.3 104.4 105.1 105.2 105.3 106.1 107.1 107.2 107.3 107.4 107.5 108.1 108.2 108.3 108.4 109.1 109.2 109.3 109.4 110.1 110.2 111.1 111.2 111.3 112.1 112.2 112.3 112.4 113.1 113.2 114.1 114.2 114.3 115.1 116.1 117.1 118.1 119.1 119.2 119.3 119.4 119.5 119.6 120.1 120.2 121.1 122.1 122.2 122.3 122.4 122.5 122.6 122.7 122.8 123.1 123.2 123.3 123.4 123.5 123.6 123.7 123.8 123.9 124.1 124.2 124.3 124.4 124.5 124.6 124.7 125.1 125.2 125.3 125.4 125.5 125.6 125.7 125.8 125.9 125.10 126.1 126.2 126.3 127.1 128.1 128.2 128.3 128.4 128.5 129.1 129.2 129.3 129.4 130.1 130.2 131.1 132.1 132.2 132.3 132.4 133.1 133.2 133.3 133.4 133.5 133.6 133.7 133.8 133.9 133.10 134.1 134.2 134.3 134.4 134.5 135.1 135.2 135.3 135.4 135.5 135.6 135.7 135.8 135.9 136.1 136.2 136.3 137.1 137.2 137.3 137.4 138.1 138.2 138.3 138.4 139.1 139.2 139.3 139.4 140.1 140.2 140.3 140.4 140.5 141.1 141.2 141.3 142.1 142.2 143.1 144.1 144.2 145.1 146.1 146.2 147.1 148.1
Ratovi, pošast i vještice Laura Knight-Jadczyk 15. siječanj 2008. Bilo je toplo, vedro poslijepodne u glavnom gradu. Užurbanost gradskog trgovanja i turizma je ispunila ulice. Mala plovila su nakitila zaklonjene vode unutar vidokruga vladinih zgrada, ploveći na nježnom južnom povjetarcu. Sunce se zrcalilo na blagim valovima, posuđujući blistav sjaj makovima i tulipanima koji se njišu u parkovima uz rub vode. Sve je bilo u skladu. Ali odjednom, nebo je posvijetlilo kao da je tu drugo, još sjajnije sunce. Drugi skup sjena se pojavio; isprva duge i slabe, a zatim brzo skraćene i izoštrene. Čudan pištavi i zujajući zvuk se činio kao da dolazi iz svih smjerova odjednom. Tisuće ljudi je okrenulo svoj vrat i pogledalo prema gore, tražeći na nebu novo sunce. Iznad njih, ogromna bijela vatrena kugla je cvjetala, poput otvaranja prostranog papirnatog cvijeta, ali sada zasljepljujuće blještavo. Nekoliko sekundi je žestoka vatrena kugla dominirala nebom, posramljujući sunce. Nebo je izgaralo žarko bijelo, a zatim je polako blijedilo kroz žutu i narančastu prema poprijeko gledajućoj bakreno-crvenoj. Grozan pištavi zvuk je nestao. Promatrači, zaslijepljeni bljeskom, opečeni njegovom žestokom vrućinom, prekrili su svoje oči i ustuknuli u užasu. Oni koji su boravili u uredima i apartmanima su pohrlili prema svojim prozorima, tražeći na nebu izvor blistave baklje koja je osvijetlila njihove prostorije. Veliki pokrivač vrtložastog i bakrenastog oblaka je ispunio pola neba iznad glava. Za tucet otkucaja srca, grad je bio pun straha, omamljen i tih. Tada, bez upozorenja, silan prasak je pogodio grad, rušeći pješake na tlo. Zatvorena vrata i prozori su razneseni; ograde, zidovi i krovovi su zastenjali i popucali. Udarni val je projurio preko grada i njegovih vodenih putova, prevrnuvši jedrilice na vodi. Vrući, sumporasti vjetar poput otvorenih vrata koja vode u pakao, dah peći kozmičkog kovača željeza, s neba potisnut prema dolje, ispunjen s beskrajnom jekom nevidljivih odrona zemlje. Zatim je vrući dah usporio i zastao, normalni povjetarac se vratio s obnovljenom jedrinom, a hladan zrak s juga zapuhao je preko grada. Nebo iznad glava je sada blijedilo u tamno sivu, a zatim u kobno crnu. Crni vrtložast oblak poput zgužvane plahte se činio kako se spušta s nebesa. Fina crna prašina je počela padati, polagano, nježno, lebdivši i vrtložeći se pod utjecajem povjetarca. Sat ili više crna prašina je padala, sve dok je povjetarac nije razrijedio i raspršio, a oblak izblijedio iz vida. Mnogi su mislili da je kraj svijeta… [Rekonstrukcija događaja u Konstantinopolu, 472. godina “Rain of Iron and Ice” (1996.), John S. Lewis, profesor planetarnih znanosti u Lunarnom i Planetarnom laboratoriju, jedan od direktora u Istraživačkom centru za svemirski inženjering NASA-e i Sveučilišta Arizona, te povjerenik državnog povjerenstva za svemir države Arizona.] Nastavivši kopati po ovoj temi, potaknuta čitanjem rada Victora Clubea: The Hazard to Civilization from Fireballs and Comets, zaista se čini da sam otvorila “konzervu crvi”. Mogu izvijestiti dvije stvari u ovom trenutku: 1) postoji mnogo skrivenog istraživanja koje se odvija o ovoj temi; 2) čini se kao da je sam Victor Clube nestao. Imamo neke istraživače koji trenutno kopaju po tome, a kasnije ću vas daljnje izvijestiti. Možda se čovjek samo umirovio, ali trenutno, zaista se čini pomalo misteriozno s obzirom na stvari koje je napisao o predmetu pri ruci. U svakom slučaju, jednom kad povučeš crva van iz konzerve, cijela hrpa drugih međusobno isprepletenih također izađe van, te se počinješ pomalo zbunjeno pitati kojeg bi trebao povući prvog! A tek stvari koje otkriješ kada započneš s temom poput ove! Zadivljujuće! Na mom stolu je više od pola metra naslaganih knjiga i papira! U svakom slučaju, prema dr. Lewisu, čiji je maštovit scenarij o tome kako bi svjedoku mogla izgledati nadzemna eksplozija krhotine kometa citiran gore u tekstu, naša Zemlja zapravo doživljava ove tipove događaja prilično često, čak i ako je to pomalo neredovito. Eksplozije na nebu – neke od njih ogromne – su prema njemu i mnogim drugim znanstvenicima duboko utjecale na povijest čovječanstva. Čudnovato, povjesničari, kao grupa, ne pričaju o takvim stvarima. To je jedna od stvari koja čini ovo istraživanje toliko teškim. Ne radi se samo o tome da uzmeš i čitaš povijesnu knjigu gdje autor kaže nešto poput: Pa, 325. godine, Konstantin je bio užasnut zbog nadzemne eksplozije kometa što je rezultiralo tim da je odlučio usvojiti kršćanstvo i učiniti ga državnom religijom. Kako je ovo utjecalo na povijest? Preobraćenje cara na kršćanstvo sigurno ne bi moglo promijeniti uvjerenja i praksu većine njegovih podanika. Ali on je mogao – i jest – odabrao dodijeliti pogodnosti i privilegije onima čiju je vjeru prihvatio. Izgradio im je crkve, oslobodio je svećenstvo od građanskih dužnosti i poreza, dao je biskupima svjetovnu moć nad poslovima pravosuđa i postavio ih za suce protiv kojih nije bilo mogućnosti žalbe. Zvuči kao fašistički režim, zar ne? Rano kršćanstvo je imalo vrlo zasebne i nove ideje koje su bile nakalemljene na judaizam. Kršćanstvo je održalo i proširilo na zarazan način određene ideale judaizma koji su stvorili temelj na kojem naša današnja kultura počiva. Glavni predložak kršćanstva – koji je primljen izravno od judaizma – je onaj o GRIJEHU. Povijest GRIJEHA od tog trenutka do sada – je priča o njegovom trijumfu. Svjesnost o prirodi GRIJEHA je dovela do industrijskog rasta u posredovanju i tehnikama za suočavanje s njim. Ta posredništva su postala centri ekonomske i vojne moći, kakvi su i danas. Kršćanstvo – promoviranje ideala judaizma pod tankim okriljem “Novog zavjeta” – je promijenilo načine interakcije između muškaraca i žena. Promijenilo je stav prema jedinoj neizbježnoj stvari u životu: smrti. Promijenilo je stupanj slobode s kojim su ljudi mogli prihvatljivo izabrati što će misliti i vjerovati. Pogani su bili netolerantni prema židovima i kršćanima čije religije nisu tolerirale druge bogove osim njihovog vlastitog. Rastuća dominacija kršćanstva je stvorila puno oštrije sukobe između religija, a religijska netolerancija je postala norma, a ne iznimka. Kršćanstvo je također donijelo otvorenu prisilu na vjersko uvjerenje. Čak bi se moglo reći da je, prema modernoj definiciji kulta kao grupe koja koristi manipulaciju i kontrolu uma kako bi potakla obožavanje, kršćanstvo Majka svih kultova – u službi mizoginističkih, fašističkih ideala judaizma! Rastuća kršćanska hijerarhija Mračnog doba je bila brza pri mobiliziranju vojnih snaga protiv onih koji su vjerovali u druge bogove, a posebice protiv drugih kršćana koji su promovirali blaže sisteme uvjerenja. Oni su vjerojatno uključivali originalne kršćane i originalna učenja. Promjena zapadnog svijeta s poganskog na kršćanski je efektivno promijenila način na koji su ljudi promatrali sebe i svoje interakcije s vlastitom stvarnošću. Mi danas živimo u plodovima tih promjena: Rat Bez Kraja. Sada, na temelju čega možemo povezati dominaciju kršćanstva s nadzemnim eksplozijama kometa? U nedavnom izdanju časopisa New Scientist, (vol. 178, tom 2400, 21. lipanj 2003., str. 13) postoji članak koji izvještava o otkriću kratera na Apeninima, nastalog udarom meteorita, a datira iz 4. ili 5. stoljeća. Krater je sada “sezonsko jezero” približno kružnog oblika, promjera između 115 i 140 metara, koje ima izrazito povišen rub bez ulaznog i izlaznog otvora, te se puni isključivo kišnim padalinama. Tamo je i 12-ak puno manjih kratera u blizini, kakvi bi nastali kada bi se meteorit promjera oko 10 metara rasprsnuo prilikom ulaska u atmosferu. Tim vođen švedskim geologom Jensom Ormom, vjeruje da je krater nastao udarom meteorita na tlo jačine 1 kilotone – što je ekvivalentno vrlo maloj nuklearnoj eksploziji – proizvodeći udarne valove, potrese i oblak u obliku gljive. Uzorci s ruba kratera su datirani na 312. godinu – plus/minus 40 godina, ali zbog malih količina onečišćenja u nedavno prikupljenom materijalu taj datum bi mogao biti znatno kasniji od 312. godine. Legenda o padajućoj zvijezdi je postojala u Apeninima još od rimskih vremena, ali događaj koji ona opisuje je ostao misterija. Drugi iskazi iz 4. stoljeća opisuju kako su barbari stajali pred vratima Rimskog carstva, dok je kršćanski pokret prijetio njegovoj stabilnosti iznutra. Car Konstantin je vidio zapanjujuću viziju na nebu, preobratio se na kršćanstvo na licu mjesta i poveo svoju vojsku u pobjedu pod znakom križa. Ali što je on vidio? Bi li udar meteorita u talijanske Apenine mogao biti znak na nebu koji je ohrabrio cara Konstantina da prizove kršćanskog Boga u svojoj odlučujućoj bitci 312. godine kada je porazio cara Maksencija kod Milvijskog mosta? Ovo nas podsjeća na izvještaj povjesničara Herodijana koji je opisao Maksiminovu opsadu Akvileje 230-ih godina, tijekom koje su vojnici vidjeli “boga Apolona” kako se “često” pojavljuje iznad grada i bori se za njega. Herodijan nije bio siguran jesu li ga vojnici ZAISTA vidjeli ili su samo to izmislili kako bi objasnili svoj poraz. Uobičajeno objašnjenje je, naravno, da je bilo zajedničko generalima da potvrđuju “pojave” kako bi potakli srčanost svojih trupa. Ali možda, ponekad, oni ZBILJA JESU nešto vidjeli? Ovo me podsjeća na nešto drugo: Nedavno sam čitala novinski članak o čovjeku kojem je meteorit prošao kroz krov njegove kuće dok je on bio na poslu. Njegova reakcija je bila jako zanimljiva: objavio je da je to bio “znak od Boga” koji mu je trebao kako bi krenuo u crkvu i obnovio svoju vjeru. Što reći na to? Clube piše: … [U]nutar zadnjih nekoliko godina otkriveno je da postoji veliko jato kozmičkih krhotina koje kruže u potencijalno opasnoj orbiti i točno presijecaju Zemljinu orbitu u lipnju (i studenom) svakih nekoliko tisuća godina. Što je možda još i više iznenađujuće, otkriveno je da su dokazi za ove činjenice u prošlosti namjerno skriveni. Međutim, kada se orbite točno presijecaju, postoji veliki porast vjerojatnosti od prodiranja jezgre jata, odgovarajuće pojačan protok vatrenih kugli koje dosežu Zemlju i uvelike podignuta percepcija da je kraj svijeta blizu. Ta percepcija je također podložna podizanju i u drugim vremenima, kad god se novo jato oblikuje, ali duboka prodiranja se jesu dogodila tijekom 4. tisućljeća pr. Kr., zatim ponovo tijekom 1. tisućljeća pr. Kr., završavajući u vrijeme Krista i vjerojatno će opet nastupiti tijekom sljedećeg tisućljeća. Prema tome, kršćanska religija je započela dovoljno prikladno, s apokaliptičnom vizijom prošlosti, ali u razdoblju poslije zadnjeg prodiranja, kad je očita opasnost prošla, u rukama revizionističke crkve istina je pretvorena u mitologiju, a takvo već postojeće prethodno znanje o jatu, koje nam sada dolazi kroz radove Platona i drugih, je kasnije sustavno zatajeno. Nakon toga, kršćanska vizija o trajnom miru na Zemlji ni na koji način nije bila univerzalno prihvaćena i uslijedilo je nekoliko faza “prosvjetljenja” prije nego što se dosegao vrhunac s našom današnjom sekularnom verzijom povijesti s kojom se i sama znanost slaže, uviđajući malo ili nimalo opasnosti s neba. Nedostatak opasnosti je iluzija, međutim, duga ruka ranokršćanske obmane još uvijek ima svoj utjecaj. Ideja o strašnoj kazni koja visi nad čovječanstvom nije, naravno, nova. U prošlosti je strah od apokalipse bio rasprostranjen i općenito se vjerovalo da će nastupiti u sadašnjem tisućljeću. Tijekom posljednjih tisuću godina, štoviše, obično je reformirajuća crkva bila ta koja je oživljavala strah. Ali takve ideje, kad god su se pojavile, uvijek su naišle na oštro protivljenje. Ponekad bi zagovornici takvih ideja pobjegli u novootkrivene zemlje gdje bi se u dogledno vrijeme susreli s opozicijom domaće vrste. U SAD-u, primjerice, unatoč slobodi govora, stare narodne predaje o kozmičkim katastrofama se pojavljuju s vremena na vrijeme, čak i u sadašnjem stoljeću, ali naposljetku se suočavaju s pavlovijanskim bijesom autoriteta. U tom slučaju, možda je ironično da se izbori u SAD-u uobičajeno održavaju u studenom, slijedeći tradiciju drevnog sazivanja plemena u to doba godine, što je vjerojatno imalo svoje korijene u istinskom strahu od kraja svijeta kada su Zemlja i jato kometa križali svoje putove. U Europi je došlo do odbacivanja milenijske ideje (straha od kraja svijeta) kad se razvio službeni “sretan” pogled na svijet kao suprotnost idejama iz vremena Reformacije. Imati suprotan stav je zaista u to vrijeme postalo poput krivovjerja, a oni koji su uznemiravali masu s pričom o kraju svijeta (dolazak tisućljeća) su bili oštro osuđivani. Kozmička zima i apokalipsa imaju zajedničke aspekte, pa prema tome, ogorčenost autoriteta nije iznenađujuća. Prosvjetljenje se, naravno, gradi na “sretnom” pogledu i postupa s kozmosom kao s bezopasnom pozadinom za ljudske poslove, pogled na svijet za koji akademska zajednica sada često smatra svojim poslom da treba podržavati i kojem se protureformacijska Crkva i država drage volje pridružuju. Zaista se čini da se ponavljajući kozmički stres – natprirodno prosvjećivanje – namjerno izprogramiralo van kršćanske teologije i suvremene znanosti, koje su uvjerljivo dva najutjecajnija doprinosa zapadne civilizacije prema kontroli i dobrobiti čovječanstva. Kao rezultat toga, sada razmišljamo o globalnoj katastrofi, bilo da nastupi kroz nuklearni rat, ozonske rupe ili efekt staklenika, kao o mogućnosti koja dolazi isključivo od nas samih; i zbog toga, zato što smo suočeni s “autoritetima” koji nikada ne gledaju više od vrhova krovova, vjerojatni udar kozmosa se ne uklapa u nacionalne planove. Velika iluzija o kozmičkoj sigurnosti je stoga obuhvatila čovječanstvo, a koju “ustanove” Crkve, države i akademske zajednice ne žele mijenjati. Uporno vjerovanje u takvu iluziju neće pomoći pri ublažavanju sljedećeg Mračnog doba kada ono nastupi. Ali ta se iluzija lako uništi: pojedinac samo treba pogledati u nebo. Šok i bijes, stoga, izvire iz neponovljivo kratkovidnog stava koji sada može svrstati ljudsku vrstu na malo viši stupanj od noja, iščekujući sudbinu dinosaura. Clube, The Cosmic Winter, 1990.] U članku Cosmic Turkey Shoot ove serije, smo pogledali u sažeti izvještaj zaključaka koje je iznio Victor Clube, a koji se temelje na njegovom dužem izvještaju pod nazivom: Narrative Report on the Hazard to Civilization due to Fireballs and Comets koje je napisao pod sponzorstvom ratnog zrakoplovstva SAD-a i Odjela za fiziku Sveučilišta Oxford. U sažetku Clube piše: Otprilike svakih 5-10 generacija, tijekom jedne cijele generacije, čovječanstvo podliježe povećanom riziku od globalne povrede kroz jednu drugu vrstu kozmičkog djelovanja. Svakih 5 do 10 generacija? To je prilično šokantna izjava. Ako je istinita, zašto onda mi ne znamo o tome? Zašto povjesničari ne znaju za to? Zašto prosječni ljudi koji uče povijest u školi, ne znaju o tim stvarima? Malo sam kopala uokolo slijedeći Clubeove reference i pronašla sam da stvarno postoji grupa koja promatra ove stvari, ali mislim da oni to ne čine kako bi informirali opću javnost, niti da imaju najbolje interese javnosti na umu. Pogledajte na INSAP-ovu web stranicu (engl. The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena – Inspiracija astronomskih fenomena) i slijedite neke od njihovih linkova. Njihova prva konferencija, kojoj je prisustvovao Clube i iz koje je indirektno povukao poveznice za svoj izvještaj na temu Hazards to Civilization (Opasnosti za civilizaciju), održana je u kongresnom centru Mondo Migliore pod sponzorstvom vatikanskog opservatorija, Rocco di Papa, Italija, od 27. lipnja do 2. srpnja 1994. godine. Njihovo ovlaštenje glasi: INSAP konferencije istražuju raskošne i različite načine kojima ljudi prošlosti i sadašnjosti priključuju astronomske događaje u književne, vizualne i izvedbene umjetnosti. Ovaj značaj razlikuje INSAP od drugih konferencija koje se fokusiraju na arheoastronomiju, etnoastronomiju ili kulturalnu astronomiju. INSAP omogućuje mehanizam za široko uzorkovanje umjetnika, pisaca, glazbenika, povjesničara, filozofa, znanstvenika i drugih, kako bi govorili o raznolikosti astronomske inspiracije. Ovo me, naravno, podsjeća na nedavni neobični novinski članak o novom papi koji je istjerao jezuite iz papinske ljetne palače. Pogledaj: Pope tells astronomers to pack up their telescopes (Papa kaže astronomima da spakiraju svoje teleskope). Slijedeći tu priču pronalazimo ovo: Italian scientists attack Pope’s equivocation on Galileo trial (Talijanski znanstvenici napali papinu dvosmislenost u vezi Galileovog suđenja) Papa Benedikt XVI je bio prisiljen otkazati posjet prestižnom Sveučilištu La Sapienza u Rimu nakon što su predavači i studenti izrazili ogorčenje zbog njegovog ranijeg opravdavanja postupaka katoličke crkve protiv Galilea. Papa je imao obvezu održati govor na sveučilištu u četvrtak, 17. siječnja 2008. godine. 67 akademika je reklo da je papa efektivno odobravao suđenje iz 1633. godine i osudu astronoma Galilea za herezu, u izjavama koje je dao dok je bio prefekt Kongregacije za nauk vjere, nasljednice ozloglašene inkvizicije. Kao kardinal Joseph Ratzinger, papa Benedikt je rekao da je ispalo da je Galileo bio u pravu što se tiče Zemljinog okretanja oko Sunca i da su kasniji biblijski naučnici odbacili doslovno čitanje tekstova koje je Crkva uzela kako bi porekli Zemljinu revoluciju. Unatoč tome, rekao je, Galileo je bio dogmatski i sektaški nastrojen u svojim izjavama u to vrijeme, te su autoriteti Crkve postupili razumno s obzirom na razine znanja tada dostupne. Ali znanstvenici kažu da je to “uvredljiva” i neprihvatljiva dvosmislenost. Crkva je bila nepravedna, iracionalna i nepoštena u svom tretiranju njihovih prethodnika, te u svom potpunom odbacivanju kopernikanske teorije, kažu. Zbilja! U svakom slučaju, prije nego što je Ratzinger odabran da vodi katoličku tvornicu obmane, izgleda da su jezuiti bili prilično zainteresirani otkriti što se događa na ovom plavom našem plavom planetu – u koje svrhe, možda nećemo nikada saznati. Clube je bio tamo na jednom od njihovih sastanaka i prezentirao je rad koji je toliko zanimljiv da sam uzela vremena kako bi ga pretvorila u tekst i stavila u Sott bazu podataka: The Nature of Punctuational Crises and the Spenglerian Model of Civilization. Neki dijelovi su pomalo grubi, ali je zaista vrijedno uloženog napora pročitati sve do samog kraja – možda i više puta – i treba dobro razmisliti o implikacijama onoga o čemu piše, posebice što se tiče bilo kojih grupa ljudi koji pokušavaju iskopati ovakvu vrstu informacija i predstaviti ih javnosti. Clube čini savršeno jasnim zašto se ovo mora smatrati revolucionarnom aktivnošću! Da se vratimo nazad na njegovo narativno izvješće koje je napisao za Oxford i USAF (ratno zrakoplovstvo SAD-a) u kojem kaže: Niz događaja koji utječu na obuhvaćene generacije je potencijalno oslabljujuć, jer bio rizik shvaćen ili ne, civilizacija općenito prolazi kroz nasilne tranzicije, tj. revoluciju, migraciju i kolaps. Ukratko, bilo ili ne ikakvih udara tijekom tih perioda kada je “nešto tamo vani, prilično blizu i prijeteće”, ljudi polude kada počnu osjećati da žive na meti u kozmičkoj streljani. Da, zaista, znanje o tome da zemlja pod našim nogama možda nije tako čvrsto i mirno utvrđena u prostoru napada naše najdublje osjećaje sigurnosti. To je gotovo kao da Clube kaže da postoji neka vrsta zaraznog ludila, pomahnitali stampedo ljudskih bića, umalo, poput krda stoke koje juri preko ruba litice jer je netko slučajno (ili namjerno) opalio hitac u zrak. To čak nije loša metafora jer, kao što ćemo vidjeti u današnjem nastavku, čini se da vladajuća elita ZAISTA smjera iskoristiti povoljan položaj u takvih uvjetima za svoje vlastite svrhe, koje su uglavnom zgrabiti još više moći i pljačkanje. Naknadno shvaćeno kao besmisleno, takve tranzicije [revolucija, migracija i kolaps] su obično sramota za nacionalne elite koje idu čak toliko daleko da povijesne i astronomske dokaze o riziku izvrgavaju ruglu i prikrivaju. Doista, kada se ludilo stiša i ljudi počnu shvaćati kakvim budalama su sebe napravili i, još važnije, kakve budale su njihove vođe, kada vide koliko smrti i uništenja se dogodilo bez ikakvog dobrog razloga osim zbog ludila, sigurna sam da elite sve to žele samo gurnuti pod tepih i navesti sve na zaborav da se to ikad dogodilo kako bi zadržali svoje ruke na uzdama moći. Kao što ćemo vidjeti, ovo ne ispadne baš uvijek tako. Ponekad su ljudi toliko neprijateljski nastrojeni kada vide kako su bili zlostavljani od strane svojih vođa što rezultira tim da vođe plate vrlo visoku cijenu… ponekad i svojim vlastitim glavama! Nakon ponovnog oživljavanja rizika, međutim, takvo “prosvjetljenje” postane poticaj za nasilnu tranziciju budući da su povijesni i astronomski dokazi tada u potražnji. Takva promjena i promjena što se tiče uvrede je očito samo-poražavajuća i zahtjeva postupak za eliminaciju rizika. Pojam “prosvjetljenje”, upotrijebljen iznad, upućuje na ljude koji postaju svjesni o tome što se moguće događa tamo vani u svemiru. Okretanjem na 2. stranicu punog izvještaja, gdje se razmatraju potencijalni udari ostataka ogromnog kometa, čitamo da je… …njihova prisutnost sasvim lako uočljiva preko zodijačke prašine koja se nastavlja nakupljati u ravnini ekliptike i po prilično iznenadnim susretima sa Zemljom otprilike svako drugo stoljeće, u trajanju od nekoliko desetljeća… Ti susreti stvaraju pregršt vatrenih kugli (meteorita) koje prodiru kroz Zemljinu atmosferu, što podrazumijeva i povećanu vjerojatnost od bombardiranja krhotinama manjim od 1 kilometra, KAO i povećan rizik od Zemljinog prodiranja u jezgru manjeg dezintegrirajućeg toka poput Shoemaker-Levy. Mnoštvo vatrenih kugli i ponovljenih viđenja kometa očito pokreće mnogo “eskatološke” aktivnosti – predviđanja da svijet dolazi svome kraju – što može dovesti do svakakvih vrsta društvenih nemira što je, kako Clube ističe, jako nepoželjno za vladajuće elite. Nakon svega, ako ljudi misle da će doći kraj svijeta, obično za to krive svoje vladare zbog njihove korupcije i zla! Način na koji oni rješavaju takve stvari je da stvore prividnog neprijatelja koji je odgovoran za sve to, pokrenu rat koji zadovoljava svačiju “pjesmu za kraj svijeta” i ubiju većinu njih u pogodbi! Pametni su, zar ne? Sada se, međutim, želim vratiti na Clubeov komentar “otprilike svako drugo stoljeće”, gdje kaže da se ovo događa, a zatim zataškava od strane “vladajućih elita” koje su osramoćene. Što, dovraga? Kako slijedi, dalje u priči pronalazimo na koja to razdoblja on upućuje: Bilo je pet produženih epoha još od renesanse kada se Zemlja očito susrela s krhotinama raspadnutih, prethodno neprimijećenih kometa. Pa, znamo iz rada Mikea Bailliea da je razdoblje oko 540. godine vrlo sumnjivo kao što je i razdoblje oko Crne smrti. Događaji za koje Baillie predlaže da su se događali tijekom tih razdoblja su podržani s vrlo snažnim znanstvenim podacima. Ali to nisu razdoblja o kojima Clube ovdje govori. On kaže “još od renesanse”. Renesansa je, naravno, slijedila tijesno za petama Crne smrti za što Baillie smatra da je bio period bombardiranja kometa u kojem je poginulo gotovo pola čovječanstva! (Tako izgleda prema statistikama za ona područja za koja su statistike bile dostupne.) U najširim pojmovima, renesansa pokriva 200 godina između 1400. i 1600. godine, iako se stručnjaci ne slažu o točnim datumima. Crna smrt je počela 1347./1348. godine, 50 godina ranije, tako da se čak može izvesti zaključak da je Crna smrt bila razdoblje inkubacije za renesansu ili da se renesansa dogodila kao reakcija na Crnu smrt. U svakom slučaju, ono što sada vidimo je da Victor Clube sugerira da se puno više toga događalo u našoj zabilježenoj povijesti nego što mi znamo, te da uspon i pad naroda i civilizacija može biti usko povezan s onim što se događa vani u svemiru! Da nastavimo: Tijekom ovih epoha, koje se uglavnom podudaraju sa Stogodišnjim ratom, Reformacijom, Tridesetogodišnjim ratom (uključujući engleski građanski rat), periodom francuske revolucije (uključujući američki rat za neovisnost) i revolucionarnom krizom u Europi sredinom 19. stoljeća [uključujući američki građanski rat], razni nacionalni autoriteti su mogli malo učiniti kako bi obuzdali javni nemir u suočavanju s uočenom opasnošću. Dobro, sada imamo neka specifična razdoblja gdje Clube, i drugi, vjeruje da su se čudne stvari odvijale u prostoru oko našeg planeta. Moglo bi nam pomoći da bolje razumijemo naš vlastiti vremenski period gledajući u prošla vremena. Stogodišnji rat pokriva razdoblje od 116 godina od 1337. do 1453. godine, Crna smrt 1347./48.-1351. godine, a zatim Renesansa: 1400.-1600. godine. Neke doista ružne stvari su se odvijale tada! Inače, što se tiče samog rata, to je bio sukob između Francuske i Engleske, oko polaganja prava engleskog kralja na francusko prijestolje. Bio je isprekidan kroz nekoliko kratkih i dva duža razdoblja mira prije nego je Crna smrt pala na Europu. Ako ste imali jače religijske sklonosti, možda bi čak htjeli reći da je Božja ruka kaznila čovječanstvo zbog ratobornosti. To je vjerojatno ono što su ljudi tog vremena mislili i sumnjam na to da ovo nije bilo povoljno mišljenje za mase, s kojim bi pristupile svojim vođama. Stogodišnji rat je također bio vrijeme Ivane Orleanske koja je trčala uokolo čujući glasove i okupljajući ljude pod apokaliptičnim barjakom. Nevjerojatna opustošenost je bila u Francuskoj, a krajnji rezultat tog rata je bio da je pomogao uspostaviti osjećaj nacionalizma u Francuskoj, okončao je sva engleska potraživanja na francuski teritorij, te je omogućio nastanak centraliziranih upravnih institucija i apsolutnu monarhiju. Jedan komentator bilježi: Stogodišnji rat je zapravo bio nekoliko desetaka manjih ratova, te stotine bitki i opsada koje su trajale više od stoljeća (1337.-1453. godine), sve do iscrpljenja obiju strana. Iako nijedna strana nije pobijedila u bilo kojem stvarnom smislu, krajnji rezultat je bio da dok su na početku rata bila dva kraljevstva, na kraju rata su bile dvije nacije. Kada netko usporedno proučava povijest Crne smrti i Stogodišnji rat, ono što se ističe je da štogod se događalo tada, tamo je bilo nesavjesnih ljudi koji su iskorištavali stanje pomutnje i terora. Na primjer, čitamo sljedeće: To je rat opustošenja. Sela i usjevi su spaljeni, voćnjaci su posječeni, stoka je zaplijenjena, a stanovnici opljačkani. Pri Edwardovom ulasku u Francusku, proveo je tjedan dana paleći Cambrai i njegovu okolinu. Više od 1000 sela je uništeno. Francuska je učinila što je mogla u Engleskoj, na početku rata pomorci su se odvažno zaputili do jugoistočne obale Engleske kako bi tamo palili i pustošili. Mnogo plijena je odnešeno natrag u Englesku, a pomisao na pribavljanje nečasno stečene dobiti je primamila mnoge na podupiranje rata. Otkupnina je bila još jedan način monetarne dobiti, te su kralj, plemstvo, vitezovi, pa čak i građani bili otimani. Okrutnost je obilovala. Nakon što je grad Limoges osvojen i spaljen, Edward je naredio pogubljenje građana. Veći dio pokrajina Artois, Bretanje, Normandije, Gaskonje i drugih, su bile svedene na pustoš (oko 1355.-1375. godine), a Francuska je učinila to isto pokrajinama koje su graničile s Engleskom. Gradovi opasani zidinama su bili sigurni tijekom ranog perioda rata, ali crkve, samostani, sela i ruralna područja su bili uništeni. Primirje i sporazum nisu ispoštovani. “Slobodne družine” su krenule u akciju, engleski i francuski razbojnici ili unajmljeni plaćenici predvođeni zapovjednicima koji su dominirali velikim područjima i nametali poreze gradovima, selima i crkvama. Također su otimali žene, uzimali svećenike kao knjigovođe i dopisničare, djecu za sluge, te pljačkali. [Edward P. Cheney, The Dawn of a New Era 1250-1435, 1936.] Drugi izvor nam kaže: U prvih nekoliko godina rata nije bilo puno događaja osim engleskih upada u Francusku i Flandriju. Zatim, 1340-ih godina, Engleska i Francuska su zauzele suprotne strane u dugotrajnom građanskom ratu oko pitanja tko bi trebao biti vojvoda Bretanje. To je rezultiralo francuskom invazijom Gaskonje 1346. godine i slamajućim porazom Francuza kod Crecya. Englezi su zatim bješnjeli kroz zapadnu Francusku, sve dok primirje nije potpisano 1354. godine (donešeno zbog pustošenja kuge koja je teško pogodila Francusku 1347.-1348. godine). Primirje nije potrajalo. 1355. godine rat je opet počeo. 1356. godine još jedna velika bitka se vodila kod Poitiersa i francuski kralj je zarobljen. Engleski upadi i pljačkanja su se nastavili sve do 1360. godine kada je potpisano još jedno primirje. Kao dodatak svom tom ratovanju koje se odvijalo, kugi, itd., vrijeme je bilo poludjelo! Clube piše: Najmanje jedan kroničar izvještava o najizravnijem uzroku kuge 1345. godine – da je “između Cathaya (Kina, op. prev.) i Perzije padala nepregledna kiša vatre; padajući u pahuljicama poput snijega i paleći planine, ravnice i druge zemlje, s muškarcima i ženama; zatim su se uzdigle velike mase dima; i tkogod je to gledao umro je u roku pola dana…” Također se čini gotovo nesumnjivo da je hlađenje Zemlje širom svijeta imalo fundamentalnu ulogu u tom procesu. Arktička polarna kapa se proširila, mijenjajući ciklonski obrazac, što je dovelo do niza katastrofalnih žetvi. To je zauzvrat dovelo do rasprostranjene gladi, smrti i socijalnog poremećaja. U Engleskoj i Škotskoj postoji uzorak napuštenih sela i farmi, rastućih cijena žita i opadajućeg stanovništva. U istočnoj Europi se dogodio niz zima nezabilježenih oštrina i dubina snijega. Kronike samostana u Poljskoj i Rusiji nam govore o kanibalizmu, zajedničkim grobnicama prepunjenim truplima, te o migracijama na zapad. Čak i prije nego što je Crna smrt došla, ljudska katastrofa ogromnih razmjera je bila u tijeku u kasnim srednjovjekovnim vremenima. Uistinu je hladni val trajao i poslije perioda … kuge. Mnogo takvih fluktuacija se može pronaći u povijesnim zapisima, a postoji i dobri dokazi da su ovi klimatski stresovi povezani ne samo s gladi, nego također i s vremenima velikih društvenih nemira, ratova, revolucija i masovnih migracija. Clube, The Cosmic Winter] Zvuči iznenađujuće slično našem dobu, zar ne? Postoje razlike u detaljima i opsegu, ali dinamika poludjelog svijeta, nevjerojatna okrutnost koja se neobuzdano širi i globalne klimatske fluktuacije su iste kao što to vidimo pred nama sada. Prirodno je zapitati se zašto bi mase ljudi trpjele takvo stanje stvari budući da su oni – a ne elita – preuzeli svu težinu strahota. Tadašnji odgovor je isti kao i sada. Mase običnih ljudi podupiru svoje vođe u ratovima, zbog propagande. Za vrijeme rata, crkva i država općenito formiraju savez i domoljubne izjave se koriste u crkvenim propovijedima u svrhu pružanja potpore vladajućoj eliti. Cilj vlade je uvijek da mase mrze neprijatelja kojeg vođe žele uništiti (ili barem da skrenu pozornost sa svojeg vlastitog nasilja nad društvenim tijelom). Uz propagandu crkve i države, vlade će ponuditi veće plaće i nove prilike onima koji se bore u ratu (plaćenici poput Blackwater-a danas). Kriminalci su često pušteni iz zatvora kako bi se borili. Tada i sada, ljudima se obećavaju zemlja, dobra, koristi svih vrsta, ako se pridruže u ratu. U nekim slučajevima, ono što se nudi običnim ljudima je da će ih se ostaviti na miru u njihovom “normalnom životu”, a ne uznemiravati i ismijavati. Sve ovo su načini kako su se ratovi podržavali od pamtivijeka i ništa se nije promijenilo. Privlačnost moći i dobara čini ljude koji su bez savjesti ili koji su nisko na društvenoj ljestvici, entuzijastičnim da se pridruže u ubijanju drugih ljudi poput njih samih. Kalvinizam je bio jedan od razvitaka koji su proizašli iz ovog perioda. Kao što Clube primjećuje, protestantska reformacija je nastala djelomično zbog činjenice da su moćnici tog vremena, Katolička Crkva, izgradili svoj kontrolni sistem koji se temelji na aristotelijanskom sistemu “Bog je na svojim nebesima i sve će biti u redu sa svijetom ako si dobar kršćanin.” Očito nisu htjeli razgovarati o pobješnjelom kozmosu nad kojim njihov hvalisavi bog nije imao kontrolu. I činjenica da su stvari divljale izvan kontrole i da crkva nije mogla išta učiniti oko toga (da ne govorimo o korupciji crkve koja je bila očita masama) je dala streljivo reformatorima koji su tada bili u mogućnosti privući mnogo sljedbenika kao što je kršćanstvo privuklo Konstantina u vrijeme kada se poganski bogovi nisu činili sposobnima pomoći u suočavanju s bombardiranjem kometa. Protestanti su stoga bili u mogućnosti iskoristiti situaciju u svoju prednost, sugerirajući da dolazi “kraj vremena” i da je sve to bilo dio plana, te da bi ljudi bili spašeni samo kad bi prešli na protestantsku stranu! Naravno, jednom kad su protestanti takoreći “osvojili svoje mjesto”, oni su također morali uspostaviti autoritet i prisvojiti aristotelijanski pogled! “SADA, Bog je na svojim nebesima i sve će biti u redu i neće više biti katastrofalnih poremećaja sve dok svi idu u crkvu, davaju priloge i pokoravaju se postavljenim autoritetima!” Još jedna bizarna stvar koja je proizašla iz ovog vremenskog razdoblja je bio progon vještica. Od ranih desetljeća 15. stoljeća sve do 1650. godine, kontinentalni Europljani su smaknuli između 200 i 500 tisuća vještica (prema konzervativnim procjenama), a više od 85 posto njih su bile žene. (Ben-Yehuda, 1985. godina) Ljudi tog vremena – pa čak i kasnije – su zaista vjerovali u stvarnost vještičarenja i zlih demona. Ljudi kao Newton, Bacon, Boyle, Locke i Hobbes su čvrsto vjerovali u stvarnost zlih duhova i vještica. Kao što je Russell rekao: Deseci tisuća suđenja [vješticama] su se nastavljali širom Europe iz generacije u generaciju, dok je Leonardo slikao, Palestrina skladao, a Shakespeare pisao. Kako bi razumjeli ovaj dio o tome što se događalo kroz ta problematična vremena, moramo se malo odmaknuti. Vračanje i vještice su postojali kroz povijest, ali u kontekstu potpuno drugačijem od onog kako je to bilo podrazumijevano tijekom križarske kampanje protiv vještica. Stari zavjet prilično ignorira ovu temu, osim kako bi izvijestio o susretu kralja Šaula i vještice od Endora, te uključio zakon: “Vještici ne daj da živi”. Ali, osim toga, na način koji se čini da bizarno proturječi tom zakonu, priče o vješticama u Bibliji su iznenađujuće neutralne. Nema konceptualizacije ili detaljnog izlaganja o vješticama, vragovima ili bilo kojoj vrsti iz demonskog svijeta. U drevnoj Grčkoj i Rimu, magija se koristila za stvaranje kiše, sprečavanje olujne tuče, rastjeravanje oblaka, smirivanje vjetra, plodonosnost zemlje, rast bogatstva, liječenje bolesnih, i tako dalje. Također se mogla koristiti protiv neprijatelja kako bi im uskratila te poželjne učinke. Ta vjerovanja su bila rasprostranjena širom drevnog svijeta i uglavnom je “dobra magija” bila zakonita i potrebna, a “loša magija” se osuđivala i kažnjavala. Država je čak podupirala one koji su navodno mogli izvoditi “dobru magiju”. Ovisilo je o perspektivi jesi li bio “dobar magičar” ili “loš”. Vjerojatno su zbog toga Englezi osudili Ivanu Orleansku kao vješticu, a Francuska se okrenula i kanonizirala ju. Grčko-rimski religiozni univerzum – natprirodni svijet – nije bio podijeljen na ektremno dobro ili ekstremno zlo. Bio je ispunjen sa svakom nijansom i kombinacijom svih kvaliteta upravo tako kako su one postojale u ljudskom društvu. (Samo u judeo-kršćanskoj religiji je Bog postao pravo oličenje apsolutne dobrote i čistoće, a vrag je izmišljen da bude njegova suprotnost.) U drevnom svijetu, magija je jednostavno bila pokušaj da se upregne moć Nevidljivog, dok se religija bila usredotočena na poštovanje i zahvalnost prema Prirodi i njezinim izaslanicima zbog učinaka. Na taj način, molitve i čarolije su se mogle lako kombinirati. Vještica ili čarobnjak je bila osoba koja je imala metodu – tehnologiju – koja se mogla upotrijebiti za upregnuće i aktiviranje natprirodnih moći u korist sebe ili drugih. On je mogao “kontrolirati” sile prirode. (Tako su barem oni vjerovali.) Dakle, dvije točke su važne ovdje: 1) vještičarenje/čarobnjaštvo je bila tehnologija i 2) postojala je definitivna razlika između dobre magije i loše magije. Ovo se drastično promijenilo tijekom 15. stoljeća, u vrijeme kada su sile prirode podivljale, za što je zasigurno netko morao odgovarati nakon što se sve završilo! Protestantizam je rastao, a nije izgledalo mudro proganjati majku Crkvu koja je još uvijek posjedovala mnogo moći, te se stoga morao pronaći neki drugi krivac. Razlika između dobre i loše magije je nestala i vještičarenje je postalo nešto potpuno zlo. Pluralistička koncepcija natprirodnog svijeta je također nestala i ostavljeni smo samo s jako dobrim bogom koji je, međutim, naizgled bio nemoćan u suočavanju s ortaštvom zlog čovječanstva i jako zlog đavla. Pa, ne baš točno “čovječanstva”, uglavnom “ženskog roda”! Jedan od rezultata ove promjene u stavu je bio stvaranje vještičarstva kao sistematične anti-religije; postala je suprotnost svega što je kršćanstvo – i katoličko i protestantsko – predstavljalo. Vještičarstvo kao razrađeni sistem religije nije bilo poznato prije 15. stoljeća. Ovo je bio period u kojem se teorija o natprirodnim demonima izmislila i kristalizirala kao objašnjenje za zla koja su pala na čovječanstvo. Kako drugačije objasniti Crnu smrt koja je neselektivno ubijala unatoč molitvama i preklinjanju svećenika kršćanske crkve – i katoličke i protestantske? Još jedna točka za zabilježiti je da vještice više nisu bile smatrane bićima koja mogu koristiti tehnologiju kako bi kontrolirale moći prirode; one su postale bića koja su kanalizirala zlo u svijet, jer su bile pod kontrolom Nečastivog. Sve su u potpunosti bile Sotonine lutke i nikakvo dobro nije moglo ikada iz njih doći. Malleus Maleficarum specifično spominje da se “vještičarenje uglavnom pronalazi kod žena”, jer su one više lakovjerne i imaju slabu memoriju”, te zato što “vještičarenje dolazi iz tjelesne požude, koja je u žena nezasitna”. (Sprenger i Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum, 1968., str. 41-48.) Ukratko, “vještičji mit” je stvoren u kasnim 1400-tim godinama kao reakcija na Crnu smrt, a sastojao se od potpunog, koherentnog sustava vjerovanja, pretpostavki, rituala i “svetih tekstova” koji nikada nije postojao sve do tog vremena. Dominikanci su razvili i popularizirali koncepcije o demonologiji i vještičarstvu kao negativnu sliku takozvane “istinske vjere”, a protestanti su bili jednako zaposleni! Kada su Kramer i Sprenger (obojica članovi dominikanskog reda i inkvizitori za katoličku Crkvu) napisali Malleus Maleficarum i predali ga teološkom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Kölnu 9. svibnja 1487. godine, tražeći njegovo odobrenje, to je bilo naširoko osuđeno kao neetično i nezakonito. Katolička Crkva je zabranila knjigu 1490. godine, svrstavajući ga pod Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Kako bi razumjeli zašto, ponovo se moramo malo odmaknuti. Poslije raspada Rimskog carstva i uspona kršćanstva, mnogi misionari, pri otkriću da su pogani imali svoj spektar lokalnih božanstava i uvjerenja, su često preobraćivali jednostavnim lukavstvom kanoniziranja lokalnih božanstava kako bi ih domaća populacija mogla nastaviti štovati pod okriljem kršćanstva. Postali su “kršćanskim svecima”, upotpunjenim s izmišljenom hagiografijom. Stari hramovi su pretvoreni u crkve kako bi pogani išli na poznata mjesta štovanja čuti misu i moliti se svojim “svecima” baš kao i uvijek. Prakticiranja magije su se tolerirala, jer se smatralo da će ljudi prirodno odustati od toga tijekom vremena jednom kad budu postali pravim kršćanima. Službena politika crkve je smatrala da je svako vjerovanje u vještičarenje iluzija. U slavnom, ali misterioznom Canon episcopi čitamo: Neke zle žene, izopačene vragom, zavedene iluzijama i sablastima demona, vjeruju i ispovijedaju se u noćnim satima, da jašu na određenim zvijerima s Dijanom, božicom pogana, te s bezbrojnim mnoštvom žena, te u mrtvoj tišini noći kako bi prešle velike prostore zemlje, te da slušaju njezine zapovijedi kao svoje gospodarice, te da su sazivane u njenu službu na određene noći. Ali, da su bar one same iščeznule u svojoj bezvjernosti i da nisu povukle mnoge za sobom u uništenje nevjernosti. Jer bezbrojno mnoštvo, prevareno ovim lažnim uvjerenjem, vjeruje da je ovo istinito, te vjerujući tako, udaljava se od prave vjere i obezvrijeđeno je u pogrešci pogana… Zbog toga bi svećenici kroz svoje crkve trebali propovijedati sa svim inzistiranjem … da znaju da je to lažno i da su takve sablasti nametnute i poslane od zloćudnog duha… koji ih obmanjuje u snovima… Tko još postoji, a da nije izveden izvan sebe u snovima, i vidi tako u spavanju ono što nikada nije vidio [dok je bio] budan? I tko je tako glup i budalast da misli da se sve ove stvari, koje su učinjene samo u duhu, događaju i u tijelu? Stoga će se javno proglasiti svima da tkogod vjeruje u takve stvari… izgubio je svoju vjeru. [Na engleski preveli Kors i Peters, str. 29-31. Porijeklo ovog dokumenta nije jasno. Kors i Peters (1972.) ga datiraju u 1140. godinu. Pripisano je nejasnom sastanku, koncilu u Anquirei, održanom moguće u 4. stoljeću. Iako ne postoji zapis o ovom koncilu, izvještaj o vještičarenju su kasniji kanonisti usvojili kao službenu politiku. Ben-Yehuda, 1985. godina] Dakle, više od šest stoljeća je ovo bio službeni stav crkve prema vješticama – da je to bila iluzija ili zabluda ili samo proizvod snova. Čak se proglasilo: “Tkogod je bio ‘tako glup i budalast’ da vjeruje u takve fantastične priče je nevjernik.” 1450. godine, 100 godina nakon što je Crna smrt uništila oko pola europskog stanovništva, Stogodišnji rat se bližio kraju i netko je morao biti okrivljen, (definitivno NE kometarne eksplozije!), a i takozvana Renesansa je započela, Jean Vineti, inkvizitor u Carcassonu, je izjednačio vještičarenje s herezom. 1458. godine, Nicholas Jacquier, inkvizitor u Francuskoj i Bohemiji (današnja Češka, op. prev.), identificirao ju je kao NOVU vrstu hereze. Kada je Jacquier napisao svoju knjigu o vještičarenju, morao je prvo odbaciti Canon episcopi. Drugi pisci tog vremena su također uvidjeli da je potrebno umanjiti ovu službenu crkvenu politiku kako bi uopće omogućili “vještičje ludilo”. Dakle, prvi napadi su učinjeni na samu valjanost dokumenta. Zatim, tvrdilo se da su tadašnje vještice drugačije od onih o kojima nam dokument govori. 1460. godine, Visconti Girolamo, profesor inkvizitor i provincijal Lombardije je izjavio da je sam čin branjenja vještičarstva (ili vještica) također hereza. Od 1484. do 1486. godine, Sprenger i Kramer su objavili Malleus koji je istumačio kristaliziranu teoriju vještičarstva koja je zadržala utjecaj idućih 300 godina. Tiskarski stroj Johannesa Gutenberga – proizvod renesanse – je omogućio da se djelo brzo proširi diljem Europe. Ta kristalizacija je ono što je rezultiralo u samom početku vještičjeg ludila. Uzimajući u obzir ratove tog vremena i ubijanja toliko mnogo muške populacije, moglo bi se pretpostaviti da je postojao porast neudanih žena. Ukratko, žene su postajale samostalne udovice kao posljedica toga. Dakle, nekolicina od psihopatske vrste (čini se da psihopati stvarno mrze žene – ne znam zašto, ali tako je) – Sprenger, Kramer i drugi – se pojavila i postala agresivna oko toga, te napisalo knjigu opisujući zdrave, sposobne i inteligentne žene kao vještice, i eto ga! Problem riješen. Svog viška žena se može riješiti; sa svim samostalnim ženama s posjedom se može izaći na kraj, te zaplijeniti njihove posjede; i istovremeno, psihološka kontrola muškaraca nad ženama, ponovno uspostavljanje pokornosti žena i Crkve, sve se može postići u jednom rušilačkom naletu! Mislim da je snažan faktor u suđenjima vješticama također bila psihopatija – ponerologija. Momci koji su napisali Malleus zvuče poput tipičnog šizoidnog psihopata. Vraški pametni, kažem vam! (Čini se da treba razmotriti i uništenje mnogih genetskih linija moćnih žena u ovom procesu koji je bio u tijeku.) Još jednom ističemo da je najspektakularnija “vještica” bila Ivana Orleanska kojoj se sudilo, te koja je bila osuđena i spaljena 1431. godine, tri godine prije masovne panike u Europi oko vještica koja je započela u Valaisu gdje se sudilo više od stotinu ljudi od strane sekularnih sudaca – ne religioznih – za “ubojstvo pomoću vračanja”. Kako se ludilo širilo Europom, doslovno stotine tisuća žena su spaljene na lomači. Djeca, žene, pa čak i cijele obitelji su poslane na spaljivanje. Povijesni izvori su puni užasnih opisa mučenja kojima su ti jadni ljudi bili podvrgnuti. Cijela sela su bila istrijebljena. Jedan zapis kaže da je cijela Njemačka bila prekrivena lomačama, te da su Nijemci bili potpuno zaokupljeni građenjem lomača kako bi spalili žrtve. Izviješteno je da je jedan inkvizitor rekao: “Volio bih da (vještice) imaju jedno tijelo, kako bi ih mogli spaliti sve odjednom, u jednoj vatri!” (Trevor-Roper, 1967., str. 152.) 1580-ih godina, katolički protureformatori su se posvetili lovu na vještice, loveći uglavnom protestante. U Francuskoj se dogodilo da su većina vještica bile Hugenoti. Bilo je mnogo slučajeva “političkih” smaknuća pod krinkom spaljivanja vještica. Jedna žrtva je bio sudac koji je spaljen 1628. godine zbog pokazivanja “sumnjive blagosti”. Kako se ludilo širilo, zloba i divljaštvo napada su rasli. Upravo spomenuti sudac, dr. Haan, pod mučenjem je priznao da je vidio pet gradonačelnika Bamberga na vještičjem sijelu, te su oni također smaknuti. Jedan od njih, Johannes Julius, pod mučenjem je priznao da se odrekao Boga, predao vragu, te vidio 27 svojih kolega na sijelu. Ali je kasnije, iz zatvora, uspio prokrijumčariti pismo i poslati ga svojoj kćeri Veronici, dajući puni izvještaj svojeg suđenja. Napisao je: Sada moje najdraže dijete, tu imaš sva moja djela i priznanja, zbog kojih moram umrijeti. To je sve laž i izmišljotina, tako mi Bog pomogao… Nikada ne prestaju s mučenjem dok netko nešto ne kaže. Ako Bog ne omogući način donošenja istine na vidjelo, naš cijeli rod će biti spaljen.” [Trevor-Roper, 1967., str. 157.] Protestanti i katolici su se međusobno optuživali, a rana desetljeća 1600-ih godina su bila zaražena pravom epidemijom demona! Ovo je trajalo sve do kraja Tridesetogodišnjeg rata. Rečeno je da ako je objavljivanje Maleus Maleficaruma bio početak terora, vestfalski mir 1648. godine je bio kraj. U novije vrijeme, Malleus je bio kritički proučavan, iako ne od pojedinaca s ikakvom sviješću o kozmičkim događajima tog vremena. Unatoč tomu, ono što su uočili ima utjecaj na našu temu ovdje: Sexy Devils Jedne večeri prije 10 godina, Walter Stephens je čitao Malleus Maleficarum. Malleus, kako ga učenjaci nazivaju, ne bi bio svačiji izbor za kasnonoćnu knjigu. Obično preveden kao Vještičji malj, prvo je bio objavljen u Njemačkoj 1487. godine kao priručnik za lovce na vještice tijekom inkvizicije. To je zastrašujući tekst – korišten 300 godina, duboko u Doba razuma – koji opravdava i detaljizira identifikaciju, uhićenje, ispitivanje i smaknuće ljudi optuženih za druženje s demonima, potpisivanje ugovora s vragom, te izvođenje maleficije ili štetne magije. “Bilo je 11 sati navečer” Stephens se prisjeća. “Moja žena je otišla u krevet, a na prvoj stranici [Malleusa] je bila ta čudna rečenica o ljudima koji ne vjeruju u vještice i ne vjeruju u demone: ‘Stoga griješe oni koji kažu da ne postoji takva stvar kao vještičarenje, nego da je to čisto imaginarno, čak iako ne vjeruju da đavli postoje osim u mašti ignorantnih i vulgarnih, te da prirodne nesreće koje se dogode čovjeku, on pogrešno pripisuje nekom navodnom vragu.’” Ta zamršena rečenica je povezana sa zanimljivim tekstom kojeg je Stephens znao iz Il messaggiera, rada talijanskog pjesnika Torquata Tassa iz 1582. godine: “Ako čarobnjaci, vještice i opsjednuti postoje, tada i demoni postoje; ali ne može se sumnjati u to da su primjerci ova tri bili pronađeni u svakom dobu: stoga je nerazumno sumnjati i da se demoni nalaze u prirodi.” Stephens, profesor na katedri Charles S. Singleton talijanskih studija na odjelu Hopkins za romanske jezike, je književni kritičar, te je osjetio da se nešto intrigantno događa ispod površine teksta sa stranice. Tasso, te posebice autor Malleusa, dominikanski teolog i inkvizitor po imenu Heinrich Kramer, su u svojim radovima uložili izvanrednu količinu energije u pobijanje sumnje o postojanju demona. O čemu se tu radi? Stephens je u sljedećih osam godina pročitao svaki traktat o vještičarstvu koji je mogao pronaći, kao i izvješća s ispitivanja, teološke rasprave, te druge radove (njegova bibliografija sadrži 154 primarna, te više od 200 sekundarnih izvora). Većina od 86 traktata o vještičarstvu koje citira je bilo napisano u zapadnoj Europi tijekom 15., 16. i 17. stoljeća, te jedan za drugim (uključujući Malleus) sadrže zapise o seksualnim odnosima sa sotonskih duhovima. Zašto? Jesu li autori bili nemilosrdni ženomrsci, čvrsto odlučni u prikazivanju žena u najgorem mogućem svjetlu? Jesu li bili jezivi, suzdržani neženje koji su strahovito uživali pišući izvještaje o demonskom seksu? Stephens nije mislio tako; tekstovi, u njegovom pogledu, nisu podržavali takvo iščitavanje. Na drugom je mjestu u Malleusu pronašao ključnu referencu na optužene vještice pod mučenjem, tj. da su one “stručni svjedoci stvarnosti tjelesne interakcije između ljudi i demona”. Ovi momci pokušavaju izgraditi dokaze da demoni postoje, pomislio je. Pokušavaju uvjeriti skeptike. Zatim je pomislio – Pokušavaju uvjeriti sebe. Stephensova teza duboko preispituje konvencionalnu mudrost o stoljećima okrutnosti i nepravde. Veliki europski lov na vještice, kaže, je bio izdanak ozbiljne krize vjere. Ljudi koji su pisali knjige kao što je Malleus, ljudi koji su odobrili mučenje i spaljivanje na desetke tisuća nevinih ljudi, očajno su htjeli vjerovati u vještice, jer ako su vještice stvarne, tada su i demoni stvarni, te ako su demoni stvarni, tada je Bog stvaran. Ne samo stvaran, nego prisutan i pozoran. Pažljivo čitajte radove koje su sastavili autori vještičarstva, Stephens kaže, i vidjet ćete kako su duboko uznemireni ti obrazovani i pismeni ljudi bili sa svojim nakupljajućim sumnjama o tome da ako Bog uopće postoji, On ne obraća previše pažnje na Adamove potomke. Odobrena, organizirana potjera i proganjanje vještica, koja je bila na vrhuncu od 1560. do 1630. godine, te koja je u potpunosti bila zapadnoeuropski fenomen, je počela tijekom vremena ozbiljne zabrinutosti u rimokatoličkoj crkvi. Europski svijet je ranih 1400-ih godina bio ruševina. Prethodno stoljeće je po povjesničarki Barbari Tuchman bilo označeno kao “razorno”, što nije pretjerivanje. Počevši oko 1315. godine, velika glad je opustošila veći dio zapadne Europe. Od 1347. do 1352. godine Crna smrt je ubila više od trećine stanovništva kontinenta. Druge bolesti, te dodatna izbijanja kuge su pustošili oslabljene preživjele. Kao da prirodne katastrofe već nisu bile dovoljne, Engleska i Francuska su odlučile voditi Stogodišnji rat od 1337. do 1453. godine, najduži rat u povijesti. Sama Crkva se razlomila, iskidana masivnim organiziranim herezama, te raskolom koji je doveo do toga da čak tri čovjeka istovremeno polažu pravo da su pravi pape. Kako bi svijet stvoren od pozornog, dobronamjernog i aktivnog Boga mogao biti u takvom neredu? Doista. Nesreće tog vremena – BILO KOJEG vremena – napadaju religijsku vjeru. I svatko tko razgovara o takvim nesrećama na razuman i činjeničan način, o tome što Priroda čini, te ako to podrži sa znanstvenim podacima, MORA biti utišan jer je prijetnja samom temelju zapadne civilizacije: kršćanstvu, uniformitarijanizmu i fašističkoj kontroli čovječanstva! Čini se da su takva proganjanja mogla vrlo lako biti pokrenuta kao način kontroliranja onih koji izuste “herezu” protiv “sretnog” poretka univerzuma uspostavljenog preko Crkve i Države, poput ukazivanja na to da povećani broj vatrenih kugli i viđenja kometa može vrlo lako biti nagovještaj da su planet i njegovi stanovnici u potencijalnoj opasnosti. Ovo je naposljetku bilo vrijeme Galilea, a on je bio optužen da je “heretik” zbog ne podržavanja moći Boga Svemogućega. U današnje vrijeme, to je jednako kao biti optužen da si “kult” ili “sekta”. Također primjećujemo, kao što je iznad spomenuto, da se Crkva vraća u isto stanje uma koje je prevladavalo tijekom drugih “eshatoloških” razdoblja. Ono što mi se čini kao osobito smiješno je način na koji se Američka škola asteroidnih udara ponaša u vezi ovoga. Očevidno, pod utjecajem Britanske škole kometarnog bombardiranja, razmišljaju o svim ovim stvarima. Također se čini vrlo vjerojatno da je cijeli rat protiv terorizma samo odvlačenje pažnje od onoga što se zaista događa “tamo vani”. U svakom slučaju, s nedavne konferencije AIAA 2007 Planetary Defense Conference saznajemo što ih najviše smeta: Udar asteroida se može dogoditi bilo gdje na Zemlji i u bilo koje vrijeme, stoga planetarna obrana ima implikacije za cijelo čovječanstvo. Svi narodi na Zemlji bi trebali biti pripremljeni za ovu potencijalnu katastrofu, te raditi zajedno kako bi spriječili ili ograničili štetu. Međutim, trenutno postoji jako malo rasprave ili usklađivanja napora na nacionalnim ili međunarodnim razinama. Niti jedna organizacija, u bilo kojoj zemlji, nema odgovornost djelovati u smjeru skretanja objekata bliskih Zemlji, a agencije za rukovođenje pri katastrofama nisu provele simulaciju ovakve vrste katastrofe. Dugoročno omogućavanje novčanih sredstava se također smatra izazovom. Većina rada u gotovo svim područjima planetarne obrane je učinjena u slobodno vrijeme i na inicijativu pojedinaca. Postoji potreba za kontinuiranim studijama i znanstvenim recenzijama kako bi poboljšali naše znanje u ovom području, a također i potreba za jačanjem vjerodostojnosti predmeta i javnog povjerenja u našu sposobnost reakcije. Činjenica je da skretanje objekata bliskih Zemlji ili napori ublažavanja katastrofe možda neće biti potrebni desetljećima ili dulje, te stoga vlade, koje su usredotočene na više neposrednije brige, možda neće biti voljne omogućiti dovoljno sredstava za pomoć ovoj vrsti rada. Određivati primjerenu razinu ovog rada i dugoročno financirati takve aktivnosti se smatra velikim problemom. Povrh toga, velika zakonska i politička pitanja vezana uz planetarnu obranu se moraju riješiti. Primjerice, odgovornost za predviđanja koja se pokažu pogrešnima ili misije skretanja koje samo djelomično uspiju ili dožive potpuni neuspjeh, rezultirajući udarom. Drugi primjeri uključuju: - Napravi se predviđanje da je moguć udar u određeno područje, te stanovnici i posao odu iz tog područja. Postoji li odgovornost u vezi pada vrijednosti zemljišta ako se pokaže da je predviđanje pogrešno? - Određena nacija pokuša skrenuti dolazni objekt, no ne uspije dovoljno promijeniti putanju objekta kako on ne bi udario u Zemlju, Je li ta nacija sada odgovorna za nastalu štetu? - Prijetnja objekta bliskog Zemlji zahtijeva upotrebu nuklearne opcije, ali mišljenje javnosti je da je mogućnost neuspjelog lansiranja i štete koja bi uslijedila ozbiljnija od prijetnje objekta. Koje su odgovornosti i političke implikacije vezane uz neuspjeh lansiranja tijekom misije skretanja? O pitanjima ovakve vrste bi se trebalo raspravljati i riješiti ih prije nego budu podignuta ozbiljnom prijetnjom. Tako je, o tome se oni brinu! Zakonska odgovornost! Nevjerojatno. U svakom slučaju, na kraju Stogodišnjeg rata i Crne smrti, proganjanja vještica se upotrijebilo za potpuno ušutkavanje svake aluzije na to da Zemlja nije sigurno pozicionirana u svemiru, a povijest i istina su ugušene krvlju i gorućim ljudskim mesom.