New Zealanders have been issued with a stark warning to expect "surprises" by scientists who say they cannot keep up with extreme weather events linked to climate change.
Scientists opened a climate change conference in Wellington yesterday by stating that changes in climate being experienced around the globe were beyond their worst-case scenarios.
The founding director of the Climate Change Research Institute, Martin Manning, said policy-makers needed to stop waiting for scientists to come up with answers about trends for the future, or definite measurements for how much sea levels or temperatures would rise by.
Almost simultaneously, devastating floods battered Sir Lanka, Brazil and Queensland earlier this year. Professor Manning said policy-makers should start getting prepared for greater risks, instead of waiting for the lengthy process of scientists linking events together.
Extreme rainfall around the world had been more than scientists had been predicting from climate models.
"Society needs to take over from science when we're talking about global risk management.
"We can't wait till the scientists understand everything."
Continue here
People in Canterbury are being warned of more earthquakes and aftershocks for years to come.
The Natural Hazards Manager at GNS Science, Kelvin Berryman, says it is impossible to tell for sure how long the aftershocks will continue.
But he says previous earthquakes, in this country and overseas, have been followed by seismic activity for up to 30 years.
Dr Berryman says while the current sequence of aftershocks will eventually drop off, there is a possibility it could trigger further earthquakes, beginning the cycle again
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Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Change. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Monday, 4 April 2011
Acting Fabian_Forcing Change…
When hearing various media lackeys saying Britain hasn’t any power anymore- it makes me smile…Bullshiters!!
Since January, the world’s eyes have focused on the United States’ new president, Barack Obama.
This is understandable. Obama’s charisma and electioneering slogan of “change” ignited imaginations in America and around the globe. And now “change” is happening; instead of Big Government it’s Even Bigger Government, and instead of unmanageable debt levels its incomprehensible debt levels. In world affairs President Obama has taken a decidedly international-friendly approach. Even so, Barack is the new man on the block, and his public endorsement of global governance – while real and documentable[
2] – is relatively mild compared to his fellow traveler across the Big Pond. So far… If anyone has been a trumpeter for global change, it’s England’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Since taking office in 2007, Mr. Brown has incessantly called for a new internationalism. Listening to his speeches, it appears that the Prime Minister is more interested in supporting an empowered United Nations and European super-state, rather than advancing an independent, free, and prosperous Britain.
But does this really matter, especially to those outside of the United Kingdom?
For those living in England and the other European nations – and to a lesser extent the Commonwealth countries – Mr. Brown’s position is understood: It’s the desire to birth a successful “socialist international.” However, for those residing in the United States, Gordon Brown’s name means little. After all, why should someone in Cleveland care what the Prime Minster of England says or supports?
Because the world is a much bigger place then CNN and Fox News, and England
is a global leader, exerting enormous influence through its roles in the United Nations and NATO, and it’s ongoing leadership in the Commonwealth of Nations (a grouping of 53 member countries). Furthermore, it’s a major holder of US treasury securities (American debt). In fact, the United Kingdom is currently the seventh largest holder of US securities (the ten biggest holders in descending order are China, Japan, Caribbean Banking Centers, Oil exporting countries – OPEC, Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Taiwan).[3] Yet this pales in comparison to the role Great Britain has played as an historical driver during the past one hundred-plus years; Few other countries have fashioned the present global landscape like the British have.4
And now UK leadership is attempting to forge a path through the global economic storm. In this respect the nation holds the 2009 Chair for the Group of 20, a conglomerate of financial ministers and central bank governors from the twenty most important industrialized and developing countries. This is the principal vehicle being used to guide us through the economic hurricane, and how the world will function on the other side will reflect the G20’s vision.
So does England matter to residents of Cleveland, or anyplace else beyond the United Kingdom? It has in the past, it does today, and it will matter even more in the future. Global solutions are needed, or so we are told, to fix global problems. The headman at Number 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, firmly believes this. Moreover, he sees the crisis as an opportunity to introduce world change.
Today, his voice can be heard from the halls of the European Parliament where he recently called for the creation of a “truly global society,”
[5] to the floor of the US Congress where he proclaimed that “we should seize the moment, because never before have I seen a world so willing to come together.” Like a broken record he reminded Congress that “the new shared truth is that global problems need global solutions.”[6] In a perfect “Mr. Brown World,” how would this look? A clue was tossed out at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January 30, “Reviving Economic Growth” session). During the discussion, the moderator asked PM Brown a thinly veiled question focusing on the need for world government. The Prime Minister responded with a thinly veiled promotion of world government.
Moderator:
“Prime Minister Brown, you’ve talked a lot about the need for better global governance, but the problem often is that countries don’t want to give up their sovereignty…. How can you have a global governance without global, supranational bodies that then are resented by people in your country and in mine, the United States? There’s a great suspicion of these organizations like the WTO [World Trade Organization] or the EU [European Union] anyway. Is the answer here to create more of them?”
Gordon Brown
: “…you’ve got global capital markets, you’ve got global financial flows, but you’ve only got national supervisors. And it cannot work when you’ve got cross-border activities and nobody quite knows what’s happening. And then you find in a crisis, of course, that you’ve got a bank or a financial institution that is international for all its life until it finds itself in crisis, and then the only lifeline is actually national, not international. So I think people are realizing that the international cooperation that we’re talking about is essential. You’re in a global financial system, how do you ever believe that you could solve global financial crisis without having a degree of global cooperation? It seems to me absolutely obvious. The problem is that our institutions were built in the 1940s for sheltered economies, for limited competition, for national – not global – flows of capital. So we’ve got to rebuild these institutions…
That is the problem; that we haven’t got international institutions that are working well enough, even when we’re part of a global economy that everybody knows is now global and should never be anything other than global in the future. And if we don’t act, protectionist tendencies will become paramount and we will have failed in this first stage of building a new global era which I hope will end with a global economy becoming a truly global society.”
Grand Designs for a Global Society
Gordon Brown’s ideas are not unique to him. England, like America, has a long history of world government aspirations. Clarence Streit, an early advocate of a federal Atlantic Union and later a lobbyist for NATO reformation, testified to this fact in his 1941 book Union Now With Britain.
“America and Britain have each been the world’s outstanding supporters of both local and general government. No other people has proved quite so parochially-minded as each of them has been. No others have done so much to bring about world government as we Americans and British have.”
[7]
Over the decades American-based global leadership has included President Woodrow Wilson (creator of the League of Nations), Samuel Gompers (the International Labor Organization), Elihu Root (the World Court), Owen Young (the World Bank), and Presidents Roosevelt and Truman (the United Nations). Commenting on these earlier institutions, Clarence Streit noted the essential role of England.
“In fairness, we must also admit that it was mainly British support that enabled every one of those four invaluable experiments in world government – League, Court, Labor Organization, and Bank – to be made real, and not left on paper.”
[8] Although it’s impossible to document the scope of British world-government activities within the space of a single article, an examination of some key individuals will suffice in demonstrating the historical breadth of “international thinking” within the UK.
Why is this important? Because understanding the foundation gives us an important observation platform into Gordon Brown’s vision of a “global society.” And as today’s leading global government advocate – more so than President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and arguably more than UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon – Mr. Brown’s grand de
signs would see all of us operating under a socialist system of world management.
Let’s take a very brief look at three historical figures from Britain, and their quest for a new global society.
1. H.G. Wells: The author of such classics as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898) – Mr. Wells was greatly interested in the “fate of human society” and believed that human management should be approached with a degree of “science.” In 1925, Wells published a series of articles in a volume titled
A Year of Prophesying, in which he called for a one-world economic and political system; “I am for world-control of production and of trade and transport, for a world coinage, and the confederation of mankind. I am for the super-State…”
[9]
Keep in mind that this was during the time of the League of Nations, the first major experiment in trans-national cooperation. But H.G. Wells was not satisfied with the League. In his mind the League’s ultimate vision was being squandered.
“I am hostile to the present League of Nations because I desire the Confederation of Mankind. I do not think that the obstructive possibilities of the existing League of Nations are sufficiently understood by liberal-minded people throughout the world. I do not think they realize how effectively it may be used as a consumer and waster of the creative energy that would otherwise carry us forward towards World Confederation.
“The League of Nations that we saw in our visions in those distressful and yet creative years, 1917-1918, was to have been a real step forward in human affairs… The League we desired was to have been the first loose conference that would have ended in a federal government for the whole earth.”
[10]His approach towards the accepted sovereignty of the nation state was also antagonistic,
“The world is a patchwork of various sized internment camps called Independent Sovereign States…But a day will come… when the only passports in the world will be found alongside of Aztec idols and instruments of torture and such like relics of superstition in our historical museums.”
[11]Wells believed in and worked towards an “Open Conspiracy” of world revolution. In 1928 he published a book titled Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution, in which he claimed that a world revolution would usher in a global super-government. To Wells’ this was “the
truth and the way of salvation.”[12]Consider the following excerpt from Open Conspiracy. Does it sound like today?
“The character of the Open Conspiracy will now be plainly displayed. It will have become a great world movement as widespread and evident as socialism and communism. It will largely have taken the place of these movements. It will be more, it will be a world religion. This large loose assimilatory mass of groups and societies will be definitely and obviously attempting to swallow up the entire population of the world and become the new human community.”
[13]Other books, such as his monumental Outline of History, pointed to the coming hope of a super-world government. However, towards the end of his life Mr. Wells’ lost much of his “Open Conspiracy” optimism. Having lived through the devastation of London’s World War II air blitz, Wells came to the realization that man’s power to wage war was too great to overcome. This conclusion was so problematic to Mr. Wells that
modern editions of his Outline of Historyhave removed his original thoughts about the anticipated world society.[14]
Regardless of his changed position later in life, Mr. Wells’ earlier work played a major role in formulating a global ideology.
2. Winston Churchill: Prime Minister Churchill was and still is the most visible symbol of Britain’s stance as a sovereign nation in the heat of crisis. Because of his bulldog determination, the citizens of his country were able to rally against the Nazi assault of World War II. Today, Mr. Churchill is a flagship icon of the United Kingdom Independence Party, a pro-national, anti-European Union political body. While that figure of independence is legitimate in the context of World War II, there was much more to Mr. Churchill.[15]
It is interesting to note that while the “Bulldog” was at odds with a British political organization known as the Fabian Society, which advocated a socialist world order,16 Churchill clearly embraced a world government vision. During an early September, 1943 speech on “Anglo-American Unity” at Harvard University, Churchill stated the following,
“I am here to tell you that, whatever form your system of world security may take, however the nations are grouped and ranged, whatever derogations are made from national sovereignty for the sake of the larger synthesis, nothing will work soundly or for long without the united effort of the British and American peoples.”
[17] That “system of world security” became the United Nations, of which Churchill played a fundamental role along with Stalin, Roosevelt and Truman. Churchill’s world government stance, however, really came to the forefront after the creation of the UN. Going further, the Bulldog directly linked a world government to the creation of a new European super state.
“The creation of an authoritative, all-powerful world order is the ultimate aim towards which we must strive. Unless some effective World Super- Government can be set up and brought quickly into action, the prospects for peace and human progress are dark and doubtful. But let there be no mistake upon the main issue. Without a United Europe there is no sure prospect of world government. It is the urgent and indispensable step towards the realization of that ideal.
“[18] He also made similar remarks to an audience at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and at Zurich University
.[19] Churchill’s direct involvement in creating the United Nations, and his open support of an “effective World Super-Government,” led the American-based World Federalist Association to list him as one of the historical leaders who paved the way for the modern world government movement.
[20] Obviously there’s more to the story of Churchill than just determination and the ability to unify his country in the face of adversity. Like Wells, Churchill was committed to a larger picture of global change.
3. Bertrand Russell: Considered by many to be the most important liberal thinker of the last century, Bertrand Russell has been recognized the world over for his contributions to philosophy, politics, and peace advocacy.[21] He authored more than thirty books, lectured extensively, and openly pursued the goal of a central world authority. Born into a long family line of liberal British politicians,
[22] the young Russell likewise adopted a liberal view of the world – going so far as to philosophically embrace communism while simultaneously finding the practices of the Soviet government distasteful.[23] After visiting the Soviet Union with a specially arranged Labour Party delegation, Russell wrote; “The fundamental ideas of communism are by no means impracticable, and would, if realized, add immeasurably to the well-being of mankind.”[24] This is not surprising since Russell recognized that “The true Communist is thoroughly international.”[25]
Bertrand Russell also connected “population control” with radical world change. His ideas of de-population had a distinctively apocalyptic ring. Consider an excerpt from a lecture given at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, England.
“I do not pretend that birth control is the only way in which population can be kept from increasing. There are others, which, one must suppose, opponents of birth control would prefer. War, as I remarked a moment ago, has hitherto been disappointing in this respect, but perhaps bacteriological war may prove more effective. If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full. There would be nothing in this to offend the consciences of the devout or to restrain the ambitions of nationalists. The state of affairs might be somewhat unpleasant, but what of that? Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people’s.”
[26] Russell continued by offering a global solution to the global problem.
“…unless there is a world government which secures universal birth control, there must from time to time be great wars, in which the penalty of defeat is widespread death by starvation…The two great wars that we have experienced have lowered the level of civilization in many parts of the world, and the next is pretty sure to achieve much more in this direction. Unless, at some stage, one power or group of powers emerges victorious and proceeds to establish a single government of the world with a monopoly of armed force, it is clear that the level of civilization must continually decline…”
The need for a world government, if the population problem is to be solved in any humane manner, is completely evident on Darwinian principles.
[27] Russell’s thoughts on tyranny were equally disturbing.
“Given a stable world-organization, economic and political, even if, at first, it rested upon nothing but armed force, the evils which now threaten civilization would gradually diminish, and a more thorough democracy than that which now exists might become possible. I believe that, owing to men’s folly, a world-government will only be established by force, and will therefore be at first cruel and despotic. But I believe that it is necessary for the preservation of a scientific civilization, and that, if once realized, it will gradually give rise to the other conditions of a tolerable existence.
[28]“Tolerable” to who? Those who hold the ultimate authority of life and death in a global regime? Remember, this man is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. Interestingly, Russell also viewed the educational arena to be part of this global authoritarian control structure,
“…physiology [the science of the functions of living organisms] will in time find ways of controlling emotion, which is scarcely possible to doubt. When that day comes, we shall have the emotions desired by our rulers, and the chief business of elementary education will be to produce the desired disposition…The man who will administer this system will have a power beyond the dreams of the Jesuits…”
[29] Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s message of a “global society” is rooted in a movement that spans over 100 years, covering H.G. Wells, Churchill, and Russell. But there’s another connection that goes beyond visionary aspirations – one that marries the intellectual ideal of a world community with actual political power.
Fabian Brown
For over a century, the Fabian Society – mentioned earlier in this article – has advanced socialism at the British national level and beyond. Its symbol was and is the tortoise, a proclamation that “slow and steady” wins the race. But what is the finish line?
One of the most remarkable exposés done on the Fabian Society was the 1968 book, Fabian Freeway by Rose L. Martin.
[30]Rose clearly documents that the Fabians’ goal is international socialism, and connected the group to a host of interlocking organizations and movements working for similar ends. It’s not surprising to learn then, that H.G. Wells was a member of the Society – although he quit the group in frustration over its methodology – and that Bertrand Russell was part of the Fabians for a period. Since it’s inception in the mid 1880s, the Fabian Society has been the heartbeat of England’s intellectual and political movement for international socialism. The Society spawned the London School of Economics (LSE), a globally recognized university focusing on economic, political, and social issues. In fact, on April 20, 2006, Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled “the lost Fabian window” during a ceremony at the LSE. This stained glass window shows Fabian leaders using hammers to pound a globe positioned on an anvil: it’s the remaking of the world.
[31] Along the top of the window is the phrase; “Remold It Nearer To The Hearts Desire.” H.G. Wells is seen in one corner of the picture, and a group of members are praying to a stack of social theory texts.What’s really remarkable is the coat of arms hanging over the re-forged globe: A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This window was first unveiled by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who held the PM’s office from 1945 to 1951, and then the framed glass was re-instated in 2006 by another Labour leader, Mr. Blair
.[32] This shouldn’t be a surprise; after all, the Fabian Society was the primary designer of the Labour Party. As Fabian founder Sidney Webb explained regarding the Labour/Fabian connection; “the Fabian Society participated in the very first [Labour] meeting; and has ever since formed a constituent part of the organization.”[33] Hence, from the Party’s inception, all Labour Prime Ministers have been members of the Fabian Society.[34]
This intimate connection between the Fabians and Labour explains why the Labour Party Election Manifesto of 1964 is so…blatant.
“…Labour always…remained faithful to its long-term belief in the establishment of east-west co-operation [Note: this refers to Russia and the West] as the basis for a strengthened United Nations developing towards world government…
“For us world government is the final objective – and the United Nations the chosen instrument by which the world can move away from the anarchy of power politics towards the creation of a genuine world community and the rule of law.”
[35]
Other Labour Party Election Manifestos speak of forming a world community, empowering the United Nations, and upholding a system of binding international laws: This is global governance – the centre piece of world management.
No wonder PM Brown has made so many statements over the past two years advocating a global society – it’s the heart of his Party and the bedrock of the Fabian ideal. As Brown explained in the 2008 Kennedy Memorial lecture in Boston,
“For the first time in history we have the opportunity to come together around a global covenant, to reframe the international architecture and build a truly global society.”
[36]
Wells, Churchill, Russell, and the Fabian fathers would be proud. Brown and his comrades are telling those who have ears to hear: The “global society” that has been long dreamed of is very near.
Wake up, Britain. Wake up America. Wake up Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and all those who value freedom.
“Change” is coming. FC
Carl Teichrib is a Canadian-based researcher on globalization and editor of Forcing Change (www.forcingchange.org), a monthly publication documenting global governance and world change issues.
Endnotes:
1. Clarence K. Streit,
Union Now With Britain (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1941), p.124. Clarence Streit’s idea of combining the US with the British Commonwealth to create an English-based regional world government drew heavy attention and large support from the US and British governments of the day. Our present NATO was partially founded upon Streit’s Union concept.2. One example is his promotion of the Global Poverty Act while he was still a Senator. For more on this issue, see Tom DeWeese’s article, “Barak Obama & the UN’s Drive for Global Governance,” (www.newswithviews.com/DeWeese/tom114.htm).
3. For a current listing of foreign holders of US Treasury Securities, see the US Treasury Department’s most recent data release at www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
4. For information on the role of England in shaping international affairs, see Carroll Quigley’s two books, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time (1966) and The Anglo-American Establishment (1981). And the UK’s involvement in colonial change cannot be ignored; From the Middle East to the Pacific and Africa, Great Britain has firmly left its finger prints on the pages of modern history.
5. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Speech to European Parliament, March 24, 2009 (this speech can be viewed at www.number10.gov.uk/Page18718).
6. UK PM Gordon Brown Speech to the Joint Session, US Congress, March 4, 2009 (full text can be obtained at www.number10.gov.uk/Page18506).
7. Clarence K. Streit, Union Now With Britain (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1941), p.124.8 Ibid., p.123.9 H.G. Wells, A Year of Prophesying (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1925), p.86.
10. Ibid., pp.9-10.
11. Ibid., p.86.
12. H.G Wells, The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution (Garden City, 1928), p.ix.13 Ibid,. p.163.
14. See the endnote in the new revised editions of The Outline of History. Compare the new version with the 1940-1941 volume three edition.
15. See Leftism: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse, by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn for an examination of Winston Churchill’s conservative/liberal political switch-hitting.
16. See Fabian Freeway: High Road to Socialism in the USA, by Rose L. Martin for more information on the role and influence of the Fabians in European and American political affairs. Leftism by von Kuehnelt-Leddihn also contains some important information on the Fabian Society and their international role in the global socialist agenda. 17.
18. Ibid., p.913. Speech entitled “United Europe,” May 14, 1947, Albert Hall, London, UK.
19. Ibid., pp.878/893, “The Sinews of Peace,” March 5, 1946, Fulton, Missouri/”The Tragedy of Europe,” September 19, 1946, Zurich University.
20. World Federalist Association Activists Guidebook, Section 1, p.15.
21. Bertrand Russell was a giant in the field of philosophy and politics. Because of the complexities of his life and beliefs, it is completely impossible to do justification to the subject in such a limited-spaced article as this. I would suggest reading Russell’s own writings to get a sense of his life’s scope, and to read the various biographies and commentaries. Some of his more obscure works are some of his most revealing, such as The Impact of Science on Society (1953).
22. His grandfather was a Prime Minister and his father was a Member of Parliament for a brief time (he died prematurely). Others in the family tree were involved in British politics and England’s high society. For a short introduction to the Russell family’s political roots, see Alan Ryan, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).
23. See Bertrand Russell, The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism; Sidney Hook, Political Power and Personal Freedom (B.R. has some interesting correspondence published in this work); Alan Ryan, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life.
24.The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism, pp.23-24,11725 Ibid., p.30.
26. Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953), pp.103-104.27. Ibid., p.105.
28. Bertrand Russell,
29. Ibid., p.46.
30. Rose L. Martin, Fabian Freeway: High Road to Socialism in the USA (Fidelis Publishers, 1968). For more on the Fabian Society see the book The Story of Fabian Socialism by Margaret Cole (Stanford University Press, 1961) and Fabian Essays in Socialism (Fabian Society, 1908).
31. London School of Economics, “A Piece of Fabian History Unveiled at LSE,” April 20, 2006. Press release.
32. Ibid.
33. Fabian Essays in Socialism, 1920 edition, p.xv. November 1919. Introduction to the essay collection.
34. About the Fabian Society, (www.fabians.org.uk/about-the-fabian-society).
3. 1964 Labour Party Election Manifesto: “The New Britain.” (The full text of this Manifesto can be found at www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1964/1964-labour-manifesto.shtml).
36 You can read selected excerpts of this speech in Developments, Issue 42, p.4. Developments is the official magazine of the UK Department for International Development.
The Future of Science (New York: Wisdom Library, 1959), pp.33-34.
Churchill Speaks, 1897-1963: Collected Speeches in Peace and War (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1980), p.817.
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/09/6-fabian.htm
Acting Fabian_Forcing Change…
When hearing various media lackeys saying Britain hasn’t any power anymore- it makes me smile…Bullshiters!!
Since January, the world’s eyes have focused on the United States’ new president, Barack Obama.
This is understandable. Obama’s charisma and electioneering slogan of “change” ignited imaginations in America and around the globe. And now “change” is happening; instead of Big Government it’s Even Bigger Government, and instead of unmanageable debt levels its incomprehensible debt levels. In world affairs President Obama has taken a decidedly international-friendly approach. Even so, Barack is the new man on the block, and his public endorsement of global governance – while real and documentable[
2] – is relatively mild compared to his fellow traveler across the Big Pond. So far… If anyone has been a trumpeter for global change, it’s England’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Since taking office in 2007, Mr. Brown has incessantly called for a new internationalism. Listening to his speeches, it appears that the Prime Minister is more interested in supporting an empowered United Nations and European super-state, rather than advancing an independent, free, and prosperous Britain.
But does this really matter, especially to those outside of the United Kingdom?
For those living in England and the other European nations – and to a lesser extent the Commonwealth countries – Mr. Brown’s position is understood: It’s the desire to birth a successful “socialist international.” However, for those residing in the United States, Gordon Brown’s name means little. After all, why should someone in Cleveland care what the Prime Minster of England says or supports?
Because the world is a much bigger place then CNN and Fox News, and England
is a global leader, exerting enormous influence through its roles in the United Nations and NATO, and it’s ongoing leadership in the Commonwealth of Nations (a grouping of 53 member countries). Furthermore, it’s a major holder of US treasury securities (American debt). In fact, the United Kingdom is currently the seventh largest holder of US securities (the ten biggest holders in descending order are China, Japan, Caribbean Banking Centers, Oil exporting countries – OPEC, Brazil, Russia, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and Taiwan).[3] Yet this pales in comparison to the role Great Britain has played as an historical driver during the past one hundred-plus years; Few other countries have fashioned the present global landscape like the British have.4
And now UK leadership is attempting to forge a path through the global economic storm. In this respect the nation holds the 2009 Chair for the Group of 20, a conglomerate of financial ministers and central bank governors from the twenty most important industrialized and developing countries. This is the principal vehicle being used to guide us through the economic hurricane, and how the world will function on the other side will reflect the G20’s vision.
So does England matter to residents of Cleveland, or anyplace else beyond the United Kingdom? It has in the past, it does today, and it will matter even more in the future. Global solutions are needed, or so we are told, to fix global problems. The headman at Number 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, firmly believes this. Moreover, he sees the crisis as an opportunity to introduce world change.
Today, his voice can be heard from the halls of the European Parliament where he recently called for the creation of a “truly global society,”
[5] to the floor of the US Congress where he proclaimed that “we should seize the moment, because never before have I seen a world so willing to come together.” Like a broken record he reminded Congress that “the new shared truth is that global problems need global solutions.”[6] In a perfect “Mr. Brown World,” how would this look? A clue was tossed out at the 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (January 30, “Reviving Economic Growth” session). During the discussion, the moderator asked PM Brown a thinly veiled question focusing on the need for world government. The Prime Minister responded with a thinly veiled promotion of world government.
Moderator:
“Prime Minister Brown, you’ve talked a lot about the need for better global governance, but the problem often is that countries don’t want to give up their sovereignty…. How can you have a global governance without global, supranational bodies that then are resented by people in your country and in mine, the United States? There’s a great suspicion of these organizations like the WTO [World Trade Organization] or the EU [European Union] anyway. Is the answer here to create more of them?”
Gordon Brown
: “…you’ve got global capital markets, you’ve got global financial flows, but you’ve only got national supervisors. And it cannot work when you’ve got cross-border activities and nobody quite knows what’s happening. And then you find in a crisis, of course, that you’ve got a bank or a financial institution that is international for all its life until it finds itself in crisis, and then the only lifeline is actually national, not international. So I think people are realizing that the international cooperation that we’re talking about is essential. You’re in a global financial system, how do you ever believe that you could solve global financial crisis without having a degree of global cooperation? It seems to me absolutely obvious. The problem is that our institutions were built in the 1940s for sheltered economies, for limited competition, for national – not global – flows of capital. So we’ve got to rebuild these institutions…
That is the problem; that we haven’t got international institutions that are working well enough, even when we’re part of a global economy that everybody knows is now global and should never be anything other than global in the future. And if we don’t act, protectionist tendencies will become paramount and we will have failed in this first stage of building a new global era which I hope will end with a global economy becoming a truly global society.”
Grand Designs for a Global Society
Gordon Brown’s ideas are not unique to him. England, like America, has a long history of world government aspirations. Clarence Streit, an early advocate of a federal Atlantic Union and later a lobbyist for NATO reformation, testified to this fact in his 1941 book Union Now With Britain.
“America and Britain have each been the world’s outstanding supporters of both local and general government. No other people has proved quite so parochially-minded as each of them has been. No others have done so much to bring about world government as we Americans and British have.”
[7]
Over the decades American-based global leadership has included President Woodrow Wilson (creator of the League of Nations), Samuel Gompers (the International Labor Organization), Elihu Root (the World Court), Owen Young (the World Bank), and Presidents Roosevelt and Truman (the United Nations). Commenting on these earlier institutions, Clarence Streit noted the essential role of England.
“In fairness, we must also admit that it was mainly British support that enabled every one of those four invaluable experiments in world government – League, Court, Labor Organization, and Bank – to be made real, and not left on paper.”
[8] Although it’s impossible to document the scope of British world-government activities within the space of a single article, an examination of some key individuals will suffice in demonstrating the historical breadth of “international thinking” within the UK.
Why is this important? Because understanding the foundation gives us an important observation platform into Gordon Brown’s vision of a “global society.” And as today’s leading global government advocate – more so than President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and arguably more than UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon – Mr. Brown’s grand de
signs would see all of us operating under a socialist system of world management.
Let’s take a very brief look at three historical figures from Britain, and their quest for a new global society.
1. H.G. Wells: The author of such classics as The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898) – Mr. Wells was greatly interested in the “fate of human society” and believed that human management should be approached with a degree of “science.” In 1925, Wells published a series of articles in a volume titled
A Year of Prophesying, in which he called for a one-world economic and political system; “I am for world-control of production and of trade and transport, for a world coinage, and the confederation of mankind. I am for the super-State…”
[9]
Keep in mind that this was during the time of the League of Nations, the first major experiment in trans-national cooperation. But H.G. Wells was not satisfied with the League. In his mind the League’s ultimate vision was being squandered.
“I am hostile to the present League of Nations because I desire the Confederation of Mankind. I do not think that the obstructive possibilities of the existing League of Nations are sufficiently understood by liberal-minded people throughout the world. I do not think they realize how effectively it may be used as a consumer and waster of the creative energy that would otherwise carry us forward towards World Confederation.
“The League of Nations that we saw in our visions in those distressful and yet creative years, 1917-1918, was to have been a real step forward in human affairs… The League we desired was to have been the first loose conference that would have ended in a federal government for the whole earth.”
[10]His approach towards the accepted sovereignty of the nation state was also antagonistic,
“The world is a patchwork of various sized internment camps called Independent Sovereign States…But a day will come… when the only passports in the world will be found alongside of Aztec idols and instruments of torture and such like relics of superstition in our historical museums.”
[11]Wells believed in and worked towards an “Open Conspiracy” of world revolution. In 1928 he published a book titled Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution, in which he claimed that a world revolution would usher in a global super-government. To Wells’ this was “the
truth and the way of salvation.”[12]Consider the following excerpt from Open Conspiracy. Does it sound like today?
“The character of the Open Conspiracy will now be plainly displayed. It will have become a great world movement as widespread and evident as socialism and communism. It will largely have taken the place of these movements. It will be more, it will be a world religion. This large loose assimilatory mass of groups and societies will be definitely and obviously attempting to swallow up the entire population of the world and become the new human community.”
[13]Other books, such as his monumental Outline of History, pointed to the coming hope of a super-world government. However, towards the end of his life Mr. Wells’ lost much of his “Open Conspiracy” optimism. Having lived through the devastation of London’s World War II air blitz, Wells came to the realization that man’s power to wage war was too great to overcome. This conclusion was so problematic to Mr. Wells that
modern editions of his Outline of Historyhave removed his original thoughts about the anticipated world society.[14]
Regardless of his changed position later in life, Mr. Wells’ earlier work played a major role in formulating a global ideology.
2. Winston Churchill: Prime Minister Churchill was and still is the most visible symbol of Britain’s stance as a sovereign nation in the heat of crisis. Because of his bulldog determination, the citizens of his country were able to rally against the Nazi assault of World War II. Today, Mr. Churchill is a flagship icon of the United Kingdom Independence Party, a pro-national, anti-European Union political body. While that figure of independence is legitimate in the context of World War II, there was much more to Mr. Churchill.[15]
It is interesting to note that while the “Bulldog” was at odds with a British political organization known as the Fabian Society, which advocated a socialist world order,16 Churchill clearly embraced a world government vision. During an early September, 1943 speech on “Anglo-American Unity” at Harvard University, Churchill stated the following,
“I am here to tell you that, whatever form your system of world security may take, however the nations are grouped and ranged, whatever derogations are made from national sovereignty for the sake of the larger synthesis, nothing will work soundly or for long without the united effort of the British and American peoples.”
[17] That “system of world security” became the United Nations, of which Churchill played a fundamental role along with Stalin, Roosevelt and Truman. Churchill’s world government stance, however, really came to the forefront after the creation of the UN. Going further, the Bulldog directly linked a world government to the creation of a new European super state.
“The creation of an authoritative, all-powerful world order is the ultimate aim towards which we must strive. Unless some effective World Super- Government can be set up and brought quickly into action, the prospects for peace and human progress are dark and doubtful. But let there be no mistake upon the main issue. Without a United Europe there is no sure prospect of world government. It is the urgent and indispensable step towards the realization of that ideal.
“[18] He also made similar remarks to an audience at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and at Zurich University
.[19] Churchill’s direct involvement in creating the United Nations, and his open support of an “effective World Super-Government,” led the American-based World Federalist Association to list him as one of the historical leaders who paved the way for the modern world government movement.
[20] Obviously there’s more to the story of Churchill than just determination and the ability to unify his country in the face of adversity. Like Wells, Churchill was committed to a larger picture of global change.
3. Bertrand Russell: Considered by many to be the most important liberal thinker of the last century, Bertrand Russell has been recognized the world over for his contributions to philosophy, politics, and peace advocacy.[21] He authored more than thirty books, lectured extensively, and openly pursued the goal of a central world authority. Born into a long family line of liberal British politicians,
[22] the young Russell likewise adopted a liberal view of the world – going so far as to philosophically embrace communism while simultaneously finding the practices of the Soviet government distasteful.[23] After visiting the Soviet Union with a specially arranged Labour Party delegation, Russell wrote; “The fundamental ideas of communism are by no means impracticable, and would, if realized, add immeasurably to the well-being of mankind.”[24] This is not surprising since Russell recognized that “The true Communist is thoroughly international.”[25]
Bertrand Russell also connected “population control” with radical world change. His ideas of de-population had a distinctively apocalyptic ring. Consider an excerpt from a lecture given at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, England.
“I do not pretend that birth control is the only way in which population can be kept from increasing. There are others, which, one must suppose, opponents of birth control would prefer. War, as I remarked a moment ago, has hitherto been disappointing in this respect, but perhaps bacteriological war may prove more effective. If a Black Death could be spread throughout the world once in every generation survivors could procreate freely without making the world too full. There would be nothing in this to offend the consciences of the devout or to restrain the ambitions of nationalists. The state of affairs might be somewhat unpleasant, but what of that? Really high-minded people are indifferent to happiness, especially other people’s.”
[26] Russell continued by offering a global solution to the global problem.
“…unless there is a world government which secures universal birth control, there must from time to time be great wars, in which the penalty of defeat is widespread death by starvation…The two great wars that we have experienced have lowered the level of civilization in many parts of the world, and the next is pretty sure to achieve much more in this direction. Unless, at some stage, one power or group of powers emerges victorious and proceeds to establish a single government of the world with a monopoly of armed force, it is clear that the level of civilization must continually decline…”
The need for a world government, if the population problem is to be solved in any humane manner, is completely evident on Darwinian principles.
[27] Russell’s thoughts on tyranny were equally disturbing.
“Given a stable world-organization, economic and political, even if, at first, it rested upon nothing but armed force, the evils which now threaten civilization would gradually diminish, and a more thorough democracy than that which now exists might become possible. I believe that, owing to men’s folly, a world-government will only be established by force, and will therefore be at first cruel and despotic. But I believe that it is necessary for the preservation of a scientific civilization, and that, if once realized, it will gradually give rise to the other conditions of a tolerable existence.
[28]“Tolerable” to who? Those who hold the ultimate authority of life and death in a global regime? Remember, this man is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. Interestingly, Russell also viewed the educational arena to be part of this global authoritarian control structure,
“…physiology [the science of the functions of living organisms] will in time find ways of controlling emotion, which is scarcely possible to doubt. When that day comes, we shall have the emotions desired by our rulers, and the chief business of elementary education will be to produce the desired disposition…The man who will administer this system will have a power beyond the dreams of the Jesuits…”
[29] Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s message of a “global society” is rooted in a movement that spans over 100 years, covering H.G. Wells, Churchill, and Russell. But there’s another connection that goes beyond visionary aspirations – one that marries the intellectual ideal of a world community with actual political power.
Fabian Brown
For over a century, the Fabian Society – mentioned earlier in this article – has advanced socialism at the British national level and beyond. Its symbol was and is the tortoise, a proclamation that “slow and steady” wins the race. But what is the finish line?
One of the most remarkable exposés done on the Fabian Society was the 1968 book, Fabian Freeway by Rose L. Martin.
[30]Rose clearly documents that the Fabians’ goal is international socialism, and connected the group to a host of interlocking organizations and movements working for similar ends. It’s not surprising to learn then, that H.G. Wells was a member of the Society – although he quit the group in frustration over its methodology – and that Bertrand Russell was part of the Fabians for a period. Since it’s inception in the mid 1880s, the Fabian Society has been the heartbeat of England’s intellectual and political movement for international socialism. The Society spawned the London School of Economics (LSE), a globally recognized university focusing on economic, political, and social issues. In fact, on April 20, 2006, Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled “the lost Fabian window” during a ceremony at the LSE. This stained glass window shows Fabian leaders using hammers to pound a globe positioned on an anvil: it’s the remaking of the world.
[31] Along the top of the window is the phrase; “Remold It Nearer To The Hearts Desire.” H.G. Wells is seen in one corner of the picture, and a group of members are praying to a stack of social theory texts.What’s really remarkable is the coat of arms hanging over the re-forged globe: A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
This window was first unveiled by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who held the PM’s office from 1945 to 1951, and then the framed glass was re-instated in 2006 by another Labour leader, Mr. Blair
.[32] This shouldn’t be a surprise; after all, the Fabian Society was the primary designer of the Labour Party. As Fabian founder Sidney Webb explained regarding the Labour/Fabian connection; “the Fabian Society participated in the very first [Labour] meeting; and has ever since formed a constituent part of the organization.”[33] Hence, from the Party’s inception, all Labour Prime Ministers have been members of the Fabian Society.[34]
This intimate connection between the Fabians and Labour explains why the Labour Party Election Manifesto of 1964 is so…blatant.
“…Labour always…remained faithful to its long-term belief in the establishment of east-west co-operation [Note: this refers to Russia and the West] as the basis for a strengthened United Nations developing towards world government…
“For us world government is the final objective – and the United Nations the chosen instrument by which the world can move away from the anarchy of power politics towards the creation of a genuine world community and the rule of law.”
[35]
Other Labour Party Election Manifestos speak of forming a world community, empowering the United Nations, and upholding a system of binding international laws: This is global governance – the centre piece of world management.
No wonder PM Brown has made so many statements over the past two years advocating a global society – it’s the heart of his Party and the bedrock of the Fabian ideal. As Brown explained in the 2008 Kennedy Memorial lecture in Boston,
“For the first time in history we have the opportunity to come together around a global covenant, to reframe the international architecture and build a truly global society.”
[36]
Wells, Churchill, Russell, and the Fabian fathers would be proud. Brown and his comrades are telling those who have ears to hear: The “global society” that has been long dreamed of is very near.
Wake up, Britain. Wake up America. Wake up Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and all those who value freedom.
“Change” is coming. FC
Carl Teichrib is a Canadian-based researcher on globalization and editor of Forcing Change (www.forcingchange.org), a monthly publication documenting global governance and world change issues.
Endnotes:
1. Clarence K. Streit,
Union Now With Britain (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1941), p.124. Clarence Streit’s idea of combining the US with the British Commonwealth to create an English-based regional world government drew heavy attention and large support from the US and British governments of the day. Our present NATO was partially founded upon Streit’s Union concept.2. One example is his promotion of the Global Poverty Act while he was still a Senator. For more on this issue, see Tom DeWeese’s article, “Barak Obama & the UN’s Drive for Global Governance,” (www.newswithviews.com/DeWeese/tom114.htm).
3. For a current listing of foreign holders of US Treasury Securities, see the US Treasury Department’s most recent data release at www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
4. For information on the role of England in shaping international affairs, see Carroll Quigley’s two books, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time (1966) and The Anglo-American Establishment (1981). And the UK’s involvement in colonial change cannot be ignored; From the Middle East to the Pacific and Africa, Great Britain has firmly left its finger prints on the pages of modern history.
5. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Speech to European Parliament, March 24, 2009 (this speech can be viewed at www.number10.gov.uk/Page18718).
6. UK PM Gordon Brown Speech to the Joint Session, US Congress, March 4, 2009 (full text can be obtained at www.number10.gov.uk/Page18506).
7. Clarence K. Streit, Union Now With Britain (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1941), p.124.8 Ibid., p.123.9 H.G. Wells, A Year of Prophesying (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1925), p.86.
10. Ibid., pp.9-10.
11. Ibid., p.86.
12. H.G Wells, The Open Conspiracy: Blue Prints for a World Revolution (Garden City, 1928), p.ix.13 Ibid,. p.163.
14. See the endnote in the new revised editions of The Outline of History. Compare the new version with the 1940-1941 volume three edition.
15. See Leftism: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Marcuse, by Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn for an examination of Winston Churchill’s conservative/liberal political switch-hitting.
16. See Fabian Freeway: High Road to Socialism in the USA, by Rose L. Martin for more information on the role and influence of the Fabians in European and American political affairs. Leftism by von Kuehnelt-Leddihn also contains some important information on the Fabian Society and their international role in the global socialist agenda. 17.
18. Ibid., p.913. Speech entitled “United Europe,” May 14, 1947, Albert Hall, London, UK.
19. Ibid., pp.878/893, “The Sinews of Peace,” March 5, 1946, Fulton, Missouri/”The Tragedy of Europe,” September 19, 1946, Zurich University.
20. World Federalist Association Activists Guidebook, Section 1, p.15.
21. Bertrand Russell was a giant in the field of philosophy and politics. Because of the complexities of his life and beliefs, it is completely impossible to do justification to the subject in such a limited-spaced article as this. I would suggest reading Russell’s own writings to get a sense of his life’s scope, and to read the various biographies and commentaries. Some of his more obscure works are some of his most revealing, such as The Impact of Science on Society (1953).
22. His grandfather was a Prime Minister and his father was a Member of Parliament for a brief time (he died prematurely). Others in the family tree were involved in British politics and England’s high society. For a short introduction to the Russell family’s political roots, see Alan Ryan, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).
23. See Bertrand Russell, The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism; Sidney Hook, Political Power and Personal Freedom (B.R. has some interesting correspondence published in this work); Alan Ryan, Bertrand Russell: A Political Life.
24.The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism, pp.23-24,11725 Ibid., p.30.
26. Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953), pp.103-104.27. Ibid., p.105.
28. Bertrand Russell,
29. Ibid., p.46.
30. Rose L. Martin, Fabian Freeway: High Road to Socialism in the USA (Fidelis Publishers, 1968). For more on the Fabian Society see the book The Story of Fabian Socialism by Margaret Cole (Stanford University Press, 1961) and Fabian Essays in Socialism (Fabian Society, 1908).
31. London School of Economics, “A Piece of Fabian History Unveiled at LSE,” April 20, 2006. Press release.
32. Ibid.
33. Fabian Essays in Socialism, 1920 edition, p.xv. November 1919. Introduction to the essay collection.
34. About the Fabian Society, (www.fabians.org.uk/about-the-fabian-society).
3. 1964 Labour Party Election Manifesto: “The New Britain.” (The full text of this Manifesto can be found at www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1964/1964-labour-manifesto.shtml).
36 You can read selected excerpts of this speech in Developments, Issue 42, p.4. Developments is the official magazine of the UK Department for International Development.
The Future of Science (New York: Wisdom Library, 1959), pp.33-34.
Churchill Speaks, 1897-1963: Collected Speeches in Peace and War (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1980), p.817.
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/09/6-fabian.htm
Sunday, 3 April 2011
70 metal books found in Jordan cave could change our view of Biblical history
Revelation: Experts speculate that the tablets could be the lost collection of codices referred to in the Bible's Book Of Revelation.
For scholars of faith and history, it is a treasure trove too precious for price.
This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity.
Academics are divided as to their authenticity but say that if verified, they could prove as pivotal as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.
On pages not much bigger than a credit card, are images, symbols and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly even, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Adding to the intrigue, many of the books are sealed, prompting academics to speculate they are actually the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation.
The books were discovered five years ago in a cave in a remote part of Jordan to which Christian refugees are known to have fled after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. Important documents from the same period have previously been found there.
Initial metallurgical tests indicate that some of the books could date from the first century AD.
This estimate is based on the form of corrosion which has taken place, which experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially.
If the dating is verified, the books would be among the earliest Christian documents, predating the writings of St Paul.
The prospect that they could contain contemporary accounts of the final years of Jesus’s life has excited scholars – although their enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that experts have previously been fooled by sophisticated fakes.
David Elkington, a British scholar of ancient religious history and archeology, and one of the few to have examined the books, says they could be ‘the major discovery of Christian history’.
‘It is a breathtaking thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church,’ he said.
But the mysteries between their ancient pages are not the books’ only riddle. Today, their whereabouts are also something of a mystery. After their discovery by a Jordanian Bedouin, the hoard was subsequently acquired by an Israeli Bedouin, who is said to have illegally smuggled them across the border into Israel, where they remain.
However, the Jordanian Government is now working at the highest levels to repatriate and safeguard the collection. Philip Davies, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Sheffield University, said there was powerful evidence that the books have a Christian origin in plates cast into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.
‘As soon as I saw that, I was dumbstruck,’ he said. ‘That struck me as so obviously a Christian image. There is a cross in the foreground, and behind it is what has to be the tomb [of Jesus], a small building with an opening, and behind that the walls of the city.
‘There are walls depicted on other pages of these books too and they almost certainly refer to Jerusalem. It is a Christian crucifixion taking place outside the city walls.’
The British team leading the work on the discovery fears that the present Israeli ‘keeper’ may be looking to sell some of the books on to the black market, or worse – destroy them.
But the man who holds the books denies the charge and claims they have been in his family for 100 years.
Dr Margaret Barker, a former president of the Society for Old Testament Study, said: ‘The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah.
‘Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery.’
Professor Davies said: ‘The possibility of a Hebrew-Christian origin is certainly suggested by the imagery and, if so, these codices are likely to bring dramatic new light to our understanding of a very significant but so far little understood period of history.’
Mr Elkington, who is leading British efforts to have the books returned to Jordan, said: ‘It is vital that the collection can be recovered intact and secured in the best possible circumstances, both for the benefit of its owners and for a potentially fascinated international audience.’
*British scientists have uncovered up to eight million mummified dogs, thought to have been sacrificed to Anubis, the god of the dead, 2500 years ago after excavating tunnels in the ancient Eygptian city of Saqqara.
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70 metal books found in Jordan cave could change our view of Biblical history
Revelation: Experts speculate that the tablets could be the lost collection of codices referred to in the Bible's Book Of Revelation.
For scholars of faith and history, it is a treasure trove too precious for price.
This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity.
Academics are divided as to their authenticity but say that if verified, they could prove as pivotal as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.
On pages not much bigger than a credit card, are images, symbols and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly even, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Adding to the intrigue, many of the books are sealed, prompting academics to speculate they are actually the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation.
The books were discovered five years ago in a cave in a remote part of Jordan to which Christian refugees are known to have fled after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. Important documents from the same period have previously been found there.
Initial metallurgical tests indicate that some of the books could date from the first century AD.
This estimate is based on the form of corrosion which has taken place, which experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially.
If the dating is verified, the books would be among the earliest Christian documents, predating the writings of St Paul.
The prospect that they could contain contemporary accounts of the final years of Jesus’s life has excited scholars – although their enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that experts have previously been fooled by sophisticated fakes.
David Elkington, a British scholar of ancient religious history and archeology, and one of the few to have examined the books, says they could be ‘the major discovery of Christian history’.
‘It is a breathtaking thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church,’ he said.
But the mysteries between their ancient pages are not the books’ only riddle. Today, their whereabouts are also something of a mystery. After their discovery by a Jordanian Bedouin, the hoard was subsequently acquired by an Israeli Bedouin, who is said to have illegally smuggled them across the border into Israel, where they remain.
However, the Jordanian Government is now working at the highest levels to repatriate and safeguard the collection. Philip Davies, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Sheffield University, said there was powerful evidence that the books have a Christian origin in plates cast into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.
‘As soon as I saw that, I was dumbstruck,’ he said. ‘That struck me as so obviously a Christian image. There is a cross in the foreground, and behind it is what has to be the tomb [of Jesus], a small building with an opening, and behind that the walls of the city.
‘There are walls depicted on other pages of these books too and they almost certainly refer to Jerusalem. It is a Christian crucifixion taking place outside the city walls.’
The British team leading the work on the discovery fears that the present Israeli ‘keeper’ may be looking to sell some of the books on to the black market, or worse – destroy them.
But the man who holds the books denies the charge and claims they have been in his family for 100 years.
Dr Margaret Barker, a former president of the Society for Old Testament Study, said: ‘The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah.
‘Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery.’
Professor Davies said: ‘The possibility of a Hebrew-Christian origin is certainly suggested by the imagery and, if so, these codices are likely to bring dramatic new light to our understanding of a very significant but so far little understood period of history.’
Mr Elkington, who is leading British efforts to have the books returned to Jordan, said: ‘It is vital that the collection can be recovered intact and secured in the best possible circumstances, both for the benefit of its owners and for a potentially fascinated international audience.’
*British scientists have uncovered up to eight million mummified dogs, thought to have been sacrificed to Anubis, the god of the dead, 2500 years ago after excavating tunnels in the ancient Eygptian city of Saqqara.
70 metal books found in Jordan cave could change our view of Biblical history, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating Related posts:
Did you like this information? Then please consider making a donation or subscribing to our Newsletter.
70 metal books found in Jordan cave could change our view of Biblical history
Revelation: Experts speculate that the tablets could be the lost collection of codices referred to in the Bible's Book Of Revelation.
For scholars of faith and history, it is a treasure trove too precious for price.
This ancient collection of 70 tiny books, their lead pages bound with wire, could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of Christianity.
Academics are divided as to their authenticity but say that if verified, they could prove as pivotal as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.
On pages not much bigger than a credit card, are images, symbols and words that appear to refer to the Messiah and, possibly even, to the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Adding to the intrigue, many of the books are sealed, prompting academics to speculate they are actually the lost collection of codices mentioned in the Bible’s Book Of Revelation.
The books were discovered five years ago in a cave in a remote part of Jordan to which Christian refugees are known to have fled after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD. Important documents from the same period have previously been found there.
Initial metallurgical tests indicate that some of the books could date from the first century AD.
This estimate is based on the form of corrosion which has taken place, which experts believe would be impossible to achieve artificially.
If the dating is verified, the books would be among the earliest Christian documents, predating the writings of St Paul.
The prospect that they could contain contemporary accounts of the final years of Jesus’s life has excited scholars – although their enthusiasm is tempered by the fact that experts have previously been fooled by sophisticated fakes.
David Elkington, a British scholar of ancient religious history and archeology, and one of the few to have examined the books, says they could be ‘the major discovery of Christian history’.
‘It is a breathtaking thought that we have held these objects that might have been held by the early saints of the Church,’ he said.
But the mysteries between their ancient pages are not the books’ only riddle. Today, their whereabouts are also something of a mystery. After their discovery by a Jordanian Bedouin, the hoard was subsequently acquired by an Israeli Bedouin, who is said to have illegally smuggled them across the border into Israel, where they remain.
However, the Jordanian Government is now working at the highest levels to repatriate and safeguard the collection. Philip Davies, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Sheffield University, said there was powerful evidence that the books have a Christian origin in plates cast into a picture map of the holy city of Jerusalem.
‘As soon as I saw that, I was dumbstruck,’ he said. ‘That struck me as so obviously a Christian image. There is a cross in the foreground, and behind it is what has to be the tomb [of Jesus], a small building with an opening, and behind that the walls of the city.
‘There are walls depicted on other pages of these books too and they almost certainly refer to Jerusalem. It is a Christian crucifixion taking place outside the city walls.’
The British team leading the work on the discovery fears that the present Israeli ‘keeper’ may be looking to sell some of the books on to the black market, or worse – destroy them.
But the man who holds the books denies the charge and claims they have been in his family for 100 years.
Dr Margaret Barker, a former president of the Society for Old Testament Study, said: ‘The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah.
‘Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery.’
Professor Davies said: ‘The possibility of a Hebrew-Christian origin is certainly suggested by the imagery and, if so, these codices are likely to bring dramatic new light to our understanding of a very significant but so far little understood period of history.’
Mr Elkington, who is leading British efforts to have the books returned to Jordan, said: ‘It is vital that the collection can be recovered intact and secured in the best possible circumstances, both for the benefit of its owners and for a potentially fascinated international audience.’
*British scientists have uncovered up to eight million mummified dogs, thought to have been sacrificed to Anubis, the god of the dead, 2500 years ago after excavating tunnels in the ancient Eygptian city of Saqqara.
70 metal books found in Jordan cave could change our view of Biblical history, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating Related posts:
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Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Change - The Shape Of Things To Come - Are You Ready For It? (Pt II)
The Shape of Things To Come...
'For the earth will be filled with darkness and men's heart will fail them because of fear."
When I heard even Donald Trump say on a recent post-election interview with Greta Van Susteren on FoxNews that, TRUMP: "It is scary. It's a very scary time. And people are doing things that they've never done before. They're experimenting. It's all one big experiment that nobody knows how the experiment is going to end."
"The banks were pumped up with money, but they're not loaning the money, because if you have a prime deal, whether it's real estate or any other deal, and you go to a bank, no matter how strong you are, you can't borrow 10 cents, Greta."
"And, I will tell you, this could lead to something very, very bad for the country and for the world."
I knew it was over for Wall Street, Main Street and every other street unless you live on a street named "Hope".
Actually, Christians have known this was coming for at least the last 25 years haven't we? "There is a "shift" coming!" At least if they were listening to the Holy Spirit.
The Federal government doesn't know what it is doing. The financial experts don't know what is going on. And only God knows how it's all going to pan out as it is He Himself who is doing the shaking and will continue to do so until America comes to her senses, her courage, and her integrity for which she has long been known.
And oh yes, until God's people come to their knees in much more than token repentance, we can expect terrorist attacks to continue; the economy to worsen; and more and much gross darkness shall cover the earth.
Yet, there IS both a silver and a gold lining to be found as God has a people that He has prepared and are in place even now. In the darkness, they will shine and bring forth the solutions and answers which this crazed nation and the world will be looking for. (Please keep posted to the "Cyrus Anointing" and "Joseph Anointing" articles soon to follow in our next eLetter.) Yes saint, we are"going to the other side."
Now, let he who has an ear hear what the Spirit of Prophecy is saying: Please...
In the coming 2009 winter months, particularly heading into March, things will be accelerating and reaching a horrible crescendo two years into the Obama presidency.
I do not pretend to know what will happen two years into the Obama administration but get ready for instability and disruptions as we in the United States have never known before. The good old USA will never be the same again. It will be Y2K all over again. Except this time it will be sporadic yet wide spread and not the result of any single event such as a computer glitch.
And then, a Wind will blow and a gradual turn around will begin with the Lord-Admiral of the fleet, Jesus, at the helm!
America is a resilient nation. And she will once again prove her resiliency. But remember, in order to be resilient, the word itself suggests coming back to it's original form - after having been bent. (Let him who has an ear hear what the spirit is saying.) Be of good cheer as we enter 2009! We are going to the other side!
Beverly Anne Sanchez, is online editor/publisher of http://KingdomXchange.com and sister site, http://ChristePublishers.com She is administrator of the Covenant Ministry of the Lion and the Lamb in Miami, Florida and has written for several years for web sites such Suite101.Com, Themes.Com, Epinions.Com, This Christian Life.Com and many other web sites majoring on the topic of Biblical Economics and prospering in the End-times and other related areas.
Saturday, 26 March 2011
Now it’s climate change to be killing the Joshua trees
Study based on fossil sloth dung found in desert caves and packrat middens
From the US Geological Survey, because doing mapping and boundary lines are sooo yesterday:
Uncertain Future for Joshua Trees Projected with Climate Change
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Temperature increases resulting from climate change in the Southwest will likely eliminate Joshua trees from 90 percent of their current range in 60 to 90 years, according to a new study led by U.S. Geological Survey ecologist Ken Cole.
The research team used models of future climate, an analysis of the climatic tolerances of the species in its current range, and the fossil record to project the future distribution of Joshua trees. The study concludes that the species could be restricted to the northernmost portion of its current range as early as the end of this century. Additionally, the ability of Joshua trees to migrate via seed dispersal to more suitable climates may be severely limited.
“This is one of the most interesting research projects of my career,” said Ken Cole, a USGS ecologist and the study’s lead author. “It incorporated not only state-of-the-art climate models and modern ecology, but also documentary information found in fossils that are more than 20,000 years old.”
By using fossil sloth dung found in desert caves and packrat middens — basically, the garbage piles of aptly named packrats — scientists were able to reconstruct how Joshua trees responded to a sudden climate warming around 12,000 years ago that was similar to warming projections for this century. Prior to its extinction around 13,000 years ago, the Shasta ground sloth favored Joshua trees as food, and its fossilized dung contained abundant remains of Joshua trees, including whole seeds and fruits. These fossil deposits, along with fossil leaves collected and stored by packrats, allowed scientists to determine the tree’s formerly broad range before the warming event.
The study concluded that the ability of Joshua trees to spread into suitable habitat following the prehistoric warming event around 12,000 years ago was limited by the extinction of large animals that had previously dispersed its seeds over large geographic areas, particularly the Shasta ground sloth. Today, Joshua tree seeds are dispersed by seed-caching rodents, such as squirrels and packrats, which cannot disperse seeds as far as large mammals. The limited ability of rodents to disperse Joshua tree seeds in combination with other factors would likely slow migration to only about 6 feet per year, not enough to keep pace with the warming climate, Cole and his colleagues concluded.
The Joshua tree, a giant North American yucca, occupies desert grasslands and shrublands of the Mojave Desert of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah; Joshua Tree National Park in California is named after this iconic species. The Joshua tree is known for its distinctive shape and height of up to 50 feet.
Results of the study, “Past and ongoing shifts in Joshua tree distribution support future modeled range contraction,” appear in a current edition of “Ecological Applications.” The research team included Kenneth L. Cole, U.S. Geological Survey; Kirsten Ironside, Northern Arizona University; Jon Eischeid, NOAA Earth Systems Research Laboratory; Gregg Garfin, University of Arizona; Phillip B. Duffy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and University of California; and Chris Toney, USDA Forest Service.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Flood Experience Boosts Climate Change Acceptance
How convenient for governments that employ weather modification technology…
Scientific American People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change, according to a new studyBy Lauren Morello and ClimateWire | March 21, 2011
AFTER THE FLOOD: People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change and willing to adopt energy-saving behavior, according to a new study. Image: Frankie Roberto, via WikiMedia Commons
People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change and willing to adopt energy-saving behavior, according to a new study.
Researchers at two British universities based their findings on a 2010 survey of 1,822 individuals across the United Kingdom.
“We show that those who report experience of flooding express more concern over climate change, see it as less uncertain and feel more confident that their actions will have an effect on climate change,” the authors write. “Importantly, these perceptual differences also translate into a greater willingness to save energy to mitigate climate change.”
Previous psychological research suggests that many people are relatively unconcerned about climate change because they perceive it as a distant issue that will not directly affect them.
For more go here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=flood-experience-boosts-climate-change-acceptance
I wrote for Investigate Magazine from 2000-2005, then decided to invest my energy in the alternative media, when I became aware of the rise of fascism that was being concealed from the public under the guise of hoaxes, such as the "war on terror," by the mainstream media. Flood Experience Boosts Climate Change Acceptance
How convenient for governments that employ weather modification technology…
Scientific American People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change, according to a new studyBy Lauren Morello and ClimateWire | March 21, 2011
AFTER THE FLOOD: People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change and willing to adopt energy-saving behavior, according to a new study. Image: Frankie Roberto, via WikiMedia Commons
People who have directly experienced flooding are more likely to be worried about climate change and willing to adopt energy-saving behavior, according to a new study.
Researchers at two British universities based their findings on a 2010 survey of 1,822 individuals across the United Kingdom.
“We show that those who report experience of flooding express more concern over climate change, see it as less uncertain and feel more confident that their actions will have an effect on climate change,” the authors write. “Importantly, these perceptual differences also translate into a greater willingness to save energy to mitigate climate change.”
Previous psychological research suggests that many people are relatively unconcerned about climate change because they perceive it as a distant issue that will not directly affect them.
For more go here: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=flood-experience-boosts-climate-change-acceptance
I wrote for Investigate Magazine from 2000-2005, then decided to invest my energy in the alternative media, when I became aware of the rise of fascism that was being concealed from the public under the guise of hoaxes, such as the "war on terror," by the mainstream media. Sunday, 20 March 2011
The Power of Exponential Technological Change
03/18/11 Every once in a while, my wife sends me an email with the latest on-sale bargains from a membership warehouse club we belong to. One time I noticed a Westinghouse 42” LED LCD flat-screen TV that was on sale for less than $600. Quite a bargain! Our 3-year-old has taken a keen interest to banging away on Rock Band virtual drums (the Beatles version is his favorite). A separate television set seemed advisable to encourage his musical aspirations, so we decided to snatch it up.
That $600 TV got me to thinking… We recently disposed of an old Sony TV that we had received secondhand. That unit was one of the early flat-panel plasma models, and was less than a decade old. The original price was a whopping $8,000. It suffered from the burn-in that is infamous in older plasma display technology. It also weighed a metric ton, consumed gobs of power and would get quite hot.
However, here in 2011, I am presented with a far better unit. It has better display quality and less power consumption than a 100-watt light bulb. The coup de grace: All of this goodness is available for only 7.5% of the price of the old Sony. Adjusting for inflation, it is even cheaper than that.
A large, high-resolution flat-panel television was within the reach of only a relatively wealthy person in 2001. That is not the case today. This state of affairs, of course, is a result of the innovative aspects of an open economy. A manufacturer producing televisions using 2001 technology and pricing would be out of business today.
Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter summed it up well in his book Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy: “The capitalist engine is first and last an engine of mass production, which unavoidably means also production for the masses… The capitalist achievement does not typically consist in providing more silk stockings for queens, but in bringing them within reach of factory girls in return for steadily decreasing amounts of effort.”
To Schumpeter’s words, I would like to add that this process is not slowing down. Technological change is accelerating…exponentially.
The types of companies I recommend to the subscribers of my investment letter, Technology Profits Confidential, are precisely those that lower costs through superior technology. These are the “better mousetrap builders” – the innovators who have the world beating paths to their doors.
For example, one of the investments I have identified for my readers is a company that stands to benefit from the booming growth of wireless Internet products and technologies. This company has played a key role in lowering costs for the “common man.”
I can’t reveal the name of the company, but I can, and will, highlight some of the reasons for investing in the rapidly growing wireless Internet sector.
Last month, Cisco published a fascinating report entitled, Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update. This report contained some very detailed and persuasive predictions about the growth of mobile technologies. I’d like to highlight some of the projections made by Cisco’s analysts. They are, to say the least, astonishing.
Consider that total global mobile data growth is expected to grow at a 92% compound annual growth rate over the next five years. All that traffic growth won’t be coming from existing devices, of course. It will be coming from brand-new ones.
Although the bulk of data traffic will still be on laptops and netbooks in 2015, as you can see, the mix of devices will look quite different. While per user growth for laptops and netbooks will grow at a very healthy 42% annual clip, smartphones will do well too, at 24%. Finally, tablets will be growing at a breakneck compound annual growth rate of 105%.
The phrase “the power of compounding interest” is a valid and often-repeated mantra for long-term investors. In this context, think about what the power of steep rates of compound growth in smartphones will do for the profitability of the world’s mobile market.
In addition, tablets are the fastest-growing mobile segment. 2011 has been called the “year of the tablet,” but we are just witnessing the tip of a future iceberg.
Another big change under way is in the operating system of choice for mobile platforms. The biggest gainer here is Google’s Android, which grew at a monthly average of 56.7% for the first nine months of 2010. The second strongest operating system, Nokia’s Symbian, managed only 37.9% by comparison. However, following Nokia’s recent announcement that it will switch to Microsoft’s mobile OS, Symbian will now be relegated to the dustbin.
Patrick Cox, editor of Breakthrough Technology Alert, says:
There is, in fact, going to be a rapid acceleration in the adoption of smartphones very soon. This is because the Android OS has basically won the technological battle of the bands. It will become the standard…
Microsoft has been beaten in the mobile space and their proprietary OS is fading fast. Nokia has made a series of blunders as well and is now losing the mobile OS space it once seemed destined to own forever…
In Q4 2010, the Android OS was the world’s best-selling smartphone platform, ending the 10-year reign of Nokia’s Symbian. Recent events have solidified this trend. Open source advocates may have lost the personal computer battles, but they’re set to win the mobile war. This opens the doors for third-party developers like they’ve never been open before. Most importantly, it does so just as mobile devices, including phones and pad computers, are gaining the power they need to supersede laptops.
The next generation of Android pad computers is simply going to rock.
Since Android is essentially free, we can’t invest in it directly as a pure play. However, there will be profitable opportunities to ride on its coattails. One avenue is to invest in mobile applications developers.
In a recent Forbes interview, George Gilder, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute, explained how crucial “deep packet inspection” (DPI) technology will be to grow the wireless Internet. He said:
Deep packet inspection is absolutely critical to our technology and the advance of digital technology, because you can’t really have cloud computing, you can’t really have video teleconferencing, you can’t do any of the new promise of broadband without having ways to differentiate among different packets.
I do hope that the FCC will sanely manage the exploding wireless Internet. However, whether or not the US’s mobile Internet gets swamped in a regulatory nightmare, the strongest growth will be in the rest of the world. This is a market I will be watching closely and recommend you do the same.
Ad lucrum per scientia (toward wealth through science),
Ray Blanco
for The Daily Reckoning
Growing up, I'll bet you knew a kid like Ray. When Ray was 10, he was the eccentric kid that spent hours in his room every night, typing programming code into his Timex Sinclair 1000. By eighth grade, while most other kids were outside knocking a baseball around, Ray was in his basement figuring out how to build what's called a "Wilson Cloud Chamber" -- a supercooled device for detecting particles of ionizing radiation. From there to advanced robotics and avionics... genomics and biotechnology... getting smarter was his idea of fun. And now he's combined his passion for technology with financial and stock market expertise. Ray is the co-editor of Technology Profits Confidential.
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