UM - Fatima - mother mary!

Fatima

On May 13, 1917, in a field called Cova da Iria near the Portuguese village of Fatima, "a beautiful lady from Heaven", shining like the sun and standing on a cloud over a beech tree, appeared to three children: Lucia Dos Santos (age 10) and her two cousins, Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marti (7). Lucia saw and heard the Madonna and spoke with her. Jacinta also saw and heard her, but did not speak, and Francisco only saw the Virgin




The radiant being spoke with the children for several minutes, and asked them to meet her again at the same place on the 13th of each month until October. Then, she promised, she would identify herself.
The Madonna reappeared six times in all, and the reports of the events drew increasing crowds of spectators. About 50 persons attended on June 13, and nearly 70,000 were present on October 13. Many witnesses saw a bright cloud over the beech tree, but only the three children could see and hear the woman.
They were given prophecies concerning World Wars I and II as well as the world wide spread of communism. But their third prophecy was not officially released until recently...and there are those who maintain that the real revelations were not disclosed by the church.

At the behest of a group of political activists and doubters who wished to "put an end to the nonsense," the civil prefect of Outrem seized, interrogated and threatened the children for two days in the hope of forcing a confession of fraud from them. Though the children had been prevented from meeting the Madonna on August 13, she appeared to them on August 19 at Valinhos, near the site of her first appearance. The Madonna then told them that she would appear a final time on October 13, and then produce a miracle.

On that day the Madonna transmitted the prophecy known as the Secret of Our Lady of the Rosary. It was a rainy day, but newspaper journalists who were eyewitnesses reported that the rain stopped suddenly and the sun reappeared. In the words of A. Garret, a professor at Coimbra University, the sun looked like "a burnished wheel cut out of mother of pearl. This disc spun dizzily around...
It whirled upon itself with mad rapidity, then advanced, blood red, towards the Earth, threatening to crush us with its weight." Terrified spectators fell to their knees in prayer. The sun returned to normal, then twice again repeated the prodigy. In addition, the rain-soaked clothes of the audience dried out during the brief time of the solar phenomenon.

THE SECRETS

Lucia said the first secret shown to them by Mary began with a terrifying vision of hell. Mary then indicated that the war would soon end, as World War I did in the following year.

But Mary foresaw that a "night illuminated by an unknown light" would precede a "worse war" in which "The good will be martyred" and "The Holy Father will have much to suffer." On January 25, 1938, a remarkable display of aurora borealis was visible across Europe, the year before World War II began.

The second secret involved the future of Russia. Lucia says Mary revealed that Russia would "spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars," and that "Various nations will be annihilated." Many believe this is a direct prophecy of the spread of communism. "I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart," continues the account of Mary's revelation. "If people attend to My requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace." Some interpret Pope John Paul II's 1984 consecration of Russia as fulfilling the prophecy, and paving the way for the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union as the "conversion" of Russia



Lucia wrote down the third secret, sealed it, and entrusted it to Portugal's Bishop of Leiria, with instructions that it was not to be read until 1960. The Bishop turned the envelope over to the Vatican. Pope John XXIII reportedly opened the envelope when 1960 arrived, but refused to divulge its contents, saying, "This prophecy does not relate to my time." Pope John Paul II is said to have also read it, and refuses to reveal it on the grounds that its true spiritual message has been obscured by sensationalism.

The Secret of Our Lady of the Rosary is a three-part prophecy that she ordered to be kept secret for 25 years or until the death of Lucia, whichever came first. Francisco and Jacinta died in the influenza pandemic that ravaged Europe in 1918 and 1919. Lucia became a Dorothe Sister, and in 1948 she became a Barefoot Carmelite in a closed convent at Coimbra. Lucia learned to write, and recorded the text of the secret prophecy. This was kept in the Bishopric of Leiria until 1943, when Pope Pius XII revealed the first two parts through the agency of Cardinal Schuster. The final, secret part of the prophecy was opened by Pope John XXIII and several cardinals in 1960, according to the Madonna's directions, but it was not revealed to the public. The first section is a vision of Hell. The second part predicts World War II.
The following segment was published with Papal approval:

"If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and we shall have peace. The war is coming to an end; but it does not cease to offend the Lord, and another, more terrible one will break out. When you see a night lit up by an unknown light, you will know that it the great sign that God gives you of the next punishment of the sins of the world with war, famine, and persecution against the Church and against the Holy Father.

"In order to prevent this, I have some to intercede for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the communion of the first Sabbaths.

"If you carry out my demands, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. Otherwise the errors will be spread around the world, provoking war and persecution against the Church; many good people will become martyrs, the Holy Father will suffer much; many nations will be suppressed...

"But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia for me, which will be converted and the world will be granted a period of peace..."

The "great sign", "a night lit up by an unknown light," occurred on January 25, 1938. It has been explained as an unusual aurora borealis. World War II began soon afterward.

The secret section of the prophecy of Our Lady of the Rosary was leaked by Pope John XXIII to certain Roman Catholic officials and world leaders of the USA, USSR, and Britain. On October 15, 1963, the German journal News Europe published the alleged text of the secret portion of the Fatima Prophecy. The text cannot be verified, but it is widely accepted as being genuine:

"Have no fear, little one. I am the Mother of God who speaks to you and asks you to publish the message I am going to give you to the whole world. You will find strong resistance while you do so. Listen well and pay attention to what I tell you.

"Men must be set on the right road once more. With suppliant humility, men must seek forgiveness for sins committed already and for sins which will be committed. You wish me to give you a sign, so that everyone will accept My Words, which I am saying through you, to the human race. I have seen the Prodigy of the Sun and all believers, unbelievers, peasants, countrymen, wise men, journalists, laics and priests, all have seen it. And now I proclaim in my name: A great punishment shall fall on the entire human race, not today and not tomorrow, but in the second half of the 20th century! I have already revealed to the children Melanie and Maximime at La Salette, and today I repeat it to you for the human race has sinned and has trampled down the Gift which I have made. In no part of the world is life in order, Satan rules in the highest position, laying down how things should be done. He will effectually succeed in bringing his influence right up to the top of the Church; succeed in seducing the spirits of the great scientists who invent the arms. And if humanity opposes me I shall be obliged to free the arm of My Son. Now I see that God will punish man with a severity that has not been used since the Flood.

"The time of times will come and everything will come to an end if humanity is not converted, and if things remain as they are now or get worse, the great and powerful men will perish just as will the small and weak.

"For the Church, too, the time of its greatest trial will come. Cardinals will oppose cardinals and bishops against bishops. Satan will march in their midst and there will be great changes at Rome. What is rotten will fall, never to rise again. The Church will be darkened and the world will shake with terror. The time will come when no king, emperor, cardinal or bishop will await Him who will, however, come, but in order to punish according to the designs of my Father.

"A great war will break out in the second half of the 20th century [not?]. Fire and smoke will fall from heaven, and waters of the oceans will become vapors, the scum will arise in a confused manner, and everything will sink down. Millions and millions of men will perish while this is going on and those who survive will envy the dead. The unexpected will follow in every part of the world, anxiety, pain and misery in every country. Have I seen it? The time is getting ever nearer and the abyss is getting wider without hope. The good will perish with the bad, the great with the small, the Heads of the Church with their faithful, and the rulers with their people. There will be death everywhere as a result of the mistakes of the unfeeling and the partisans of Satan, but when those who survive all these happenings are still alive, they will proclaim God once again and His Glory, and will serve Him as in the time when the world was not so perverted.

"Go, my little one and proclaim it. For that purpose I shall always be at your side to help you."
The following version of the third prophecy of Fatima has been in circulation since about 1985, and published in various newspapers and magazines:

"A great plague will befall mankind in the year 2000. Nowhere in the world will there be order, and Satan will rule the highest places, determining the way of things. Satan will even succeed in asserting himself at the top of the Church.

"He will succeed in seducing the spirits of the great scientists who invent arms, with which it will be possible to destroy a large part of mankind in a few minutes. Satan will have in his power the leaders who command the people and who will incite them to produce enormous quantities of arms.

"God will punish man more thoroughly than with the Flood. There will come the time of all times and the end of all ends. The great and the powerful will perish together with the small and weak.

"Even for the Church, it will be the time of its greatest trial. Cardinals will oppose cardinals, bishops will oppose bishops. Satan will walk in their midst and in Rome there will be great changes. The Church will be darkened and the world will be shaking with terror.

"A huge war will erupt: fire and smoke will fall from the sky. The waters of the ocean will become mist, and the foam will rise to tremendous heights and everyone will drown.

"Millions and millions of men will die from hour to hour. Whoever remains alive will envy the dead. Everywhere one turns one's glance there will be anguish and misery, ruins in every country.

"The time draws nearer, the abyss widens without hope. The good will perish with the bad, the great with the small, the princes of the church with the faithful, the rulers with their people.

"There will be death everywhere because of the errors committed by the crazed and the followers of Satan, who will then and only then rule the world.

"At the last, those who survive will at every chance newly proclaim God and His glory and they will serve Him as when the world was not so perverted."

On her death-bed (February 1920), Jacinta told Mother Godinho:

"There is a secret of Heaven and one of earth, and the latter is terrifying. It will seem as though it were already the end of the world. And in this cataclysm everything will be separated from the sky, which will turn white as snow."
In 1981 while visiting in Fulda, Germany, Pope John Paul II was asked about the secret message of Fatima. He answered:

"Due to the seriousness of the contents of the Fatima secret, my predecessors in the Throne of Peter have preferred to postpone the publication. Furthermore, it may be enough to the christian people to know that, if there is a message saying that the oceans will flood whole parts of the globe, and millions of people will die, from a minute to another, it is not really the case to will the publication of this secret message."

In an interview with Sr. Lucia with Cardinal Ricardo Vidal in 1993, Sr. Lucia commented on the secret prophecy:

"The triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary also refers to (her victory over) the errors that were being spread by Russia? Our Lady's Immaculate Heart triumphed over the errors that were being spread by Communist Russia?The Consecration of 1984 prevented an atomic war that would have occurred in 1985? The `era of peace' does not refer to a civil peace but rather to a peace that we are now living with the end of the spread of the errors of Communist Russia??

Fr. Joseph de Ste. Marie, who served as Fatima expert to Pope John Paul II, said:

?Let there be no hysteria concerning dates or concerning expectation of chastisements. The dates are unknown, the chastisement certain.?

Pope John Paul II was nearly assassinated on May 13, 1981 (the anniversary of Mary?s first apparitional appearance at Fatima). The gun was aimed at the Pope?s head, but Agca had to aim for his abdomen instead when the pontiff turned to a young girl who was wearing a picture of Our Lady of Fatima. While he was in the hospital, Pope John Paul reviewed the Church?s documentation of Fatima, and he read the secret Third Secret of Fatima. In 1984 the Pope consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Communism collapsed soon afterward.

The Vatican released its official document, ?The Message of Fatima?, in June 2000. It includes the first and second parts of the ?secret? of Fatima as written by Sr. Lucia on August 31, 1941, and a photostatic copy of the original manuscript of the third part of the secret, and comments by Sr. Lucia from conversation with Archbishops Bertone and Ferreira in April 2000 in the Carmel Monastery of St. Teresa of Coimbra in Portugal. Bertone noted:

"As is well known, Pope John Paul II immediately thought of consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and he himself composed a prayer for what he called an 'Act of Entrustment' which was to be celebrated in the Basilica of St. Mary Major on June 7, 1981."

Sodano said that the secret contained a prophetic vision similar to those found in the Bible, but the events to which the third part of the Secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past:

"That text contains a prophetic vision similar to those found in Sacred Scripture, which do not describe with photographic clarity the details of future events, but rather synthesize and condense against a unified background events spread out over time in a succession and a duration which are not specified. As a result, the text must be interpreted in a symbolic key.

"The vision of Fatima concerns above all the war waged by atheist systems against the Church and Christians, and it describes the immense suffering endured by the witnesses to the faith in the last century of the second millennium. It is an interminable Way of the Cross led by the Popes of the twentieth century.

"According to the interpretation of the 'little shepherds,' which was also recently confirmed by Sister Lucia, the 'bishop clothed in white' who prays for all the faithful is the Pope. As he makes his way with great effort towards the Cross amid the corpses of those who were martyred (bishops, priests, men and women religious and many lay persons), he too falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire.

"After the assassination attempt of May 13 1981, it appeared evident to His Holiness that it was 'a motherly hand which guided the bullet's path,' enabling the 'dying Pope' to halt 'at the threshold of death.' On the occasion of a visit to Rome by the then bishop of Leiria-Fatima, the Pope decided to give him the bullet which had remained in the jeep after the assassination attempt, so that it might be kept in the Shrine. At the behest of the bishop, the bullet was later set in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

"The successive events of 1989 led, both in the Soviet Union and in a number of countries of Eastern Europe, to the fall of the Communist regime which promoted atheism. For this too His Holiness offers heartfelt thanks to the Most Holy Virgin. In other parts of the world, however, attacks against the Church and against Christians, together with the burden of suffering which they involve, tragically continue. Even if the events to which the third part of the Secret of Fatima refers now seem part of the past, Our Lady's call to conversion and penance, issued at the beginning of the twentieth century, remains timely and urgent today. 'The Lady of the message seems to read the signs of the times - the signs of our time - with special insight... The insistent invitation of Mary Most Holy to penance is nothing but the manifestation of her maternal concern for the fate of the human family, in need of conversion and forgiveness.'

"In order that the faithful may better receive the message of Our Lady of Fatima, the Pope has charged the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with making public the third part of the secret, after the preparation of an appropriate commentary.?

The following official Vatican version is alleged to be the complete translation of the original Portuguese text of the third part of the secret of Fatima that was revealed to the three pastorinhos children on July 13, 1917 at Cova da Iria-Fatima, as written by Sr. Lucia on January 3, 1944:

"I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.

"After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!' And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God."

UM - Mothman

SYNOPSIS: Some believe a crumbling set of buildings outside of Point Pleasant, West Virginia are home to one of the most bizarre and terrifying creatures ever to walk the earth: half-man, half-bird, and a portent of impending disaster. Those who have seen the creature called it "Mothman."

In late 1966 a strange series of sightings began in and around the Point Pleasant, West Virginia, area known to locals as T.N.T. Originally a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary, portions of the land were appropriated by the military during World War II for use as a munitions factory and storage facility. Abandoned after the war, the area became a popular hang out and party spot for local youth. It was here that two young couples first spotted a strange creature on the evening of November 15. Described as half-man, half-bird, the creature was said to have prominent red eyes, a horrific screech, and a wing span of eight to twelve feet. The couples drove away in a panic, with the creature flying above in hot pursuit of the vehicle, reaching speeds of up to 100 mph. As they approached town, the creature, apparently frightened by the bright lights, backed off and fled.
The next day a woman leaving the home of a relative around dusk saw what she thought was someone leaning against her car. As she approached she momentarily froze, for what she had first taken for a man was a creature, well over six feet tall, with glaring red eyes and feathers rather than skin. Terrified, she grabbed her four-year-old daughter and ran back into her brother's home. When she looked back, the creature had disappeared. A few days later a man driving near the TNT area would see the Mothman in the clear light of day, in full flight, when the creature, which he at first took for a helicopter, circled his moving car for several minutes.
Over the next year sightings of the Mothman increased in frequency. The national media descended on the small town along with thousands of the curious, all hoping to catch a glimpse of Mothman. Then other weird things began to occur. Residents reported finding their farm animals dead, drained of blood, and with the heart removed. The town also began receiving visits from enigmatic strangers dubbed "the men in black," who some believe hold the answer to the Mothman mystery.
Was Mothman a government experiment gone awry? Was the creature a mutant bird created by the effect of the chemical residue from the munitions plant on bird DNA? Or perhaps Mothman was, as some believe, simply an extremely large specimen of the sand hill crane, a native bird that stands nearly as tall as a man and has two red patches of flesh that might have been mistaken for eyes. Whatever the explanation, the Mothman terrified all who saw it, and some even believe the creature is linked to the greatest tragedy ever to befall Point Pleasant. After nearly a year of Mothman sightings, the Silver Bridge leading out of town collapsed, killed 46 people. One witness claimed to have seen the Mothman on the bridge just prior to the disaster. Today the bridge has been rebuilt, and although Mothman hasn't been sighted for years, thousands still travel to Point Pleasant with the hope of spying the mysterious creature. Books have been written and a major motion picture made. Real or imagined, Mothman is more famous now than ever.

UM - CANADIAN CROP CIRCLES

SYNOPSIS: Intricate formations known as crop circles often pop up overnight in the middle of nowhere. Many are attributed to clever pranksters - but others have no rational explanation at all. Are they the work of some strange force on earth? Or, something not of this world?

Canadian residents Rusty Manuel and Thelley Whitman were driving home one day from Edmonton, Alberta when they were flagged down by one of their farmhands. What Rusty and Thelley discovered were seven crop circles pressed into thistle and barley - comprising a formation about 190-feet long. Soon after the startling discovery was made, the Canadian Crop Circle Research Network was contacted. CCCRN is a group of volunteers dedicated to gathering information about the mystery of crop circles. Skeptics were quick to call the whole affair a hoax - attributing the work to clever pranksters. Paul Anderson - Director of the CCCRN - has studied many similar formations in western Canada. Paul believes another factor makes it improbable the so-called Edmonton circle was a hoax. Unlike England's mysterious Stonehenge region - where many crop circles have been sighted - western Canada holds little of that same mystique.
When the crop and soil samples were analyzed both internal and external characteristics of the crops were profoundly altered in ways that could not be induced by humans using ropes and boards. Meanwhile, the soil samples from the Edmonton site were sent to Dr. Sampath Iyengar in California, an expert in materials analysis. The results showed a dramatic difference between soil samples taken from inside the crop circle compared to those taken from outside the circle. Did the crop circles in western Canada finally provide conclusive evidence of unknown forces at work? Skeptics say no. They blame pranksters who proudly admit to making 80 percent of these often-complex formations - creations they call 'human land art.' But what about the other 20 percent? It's a debate that's been raging since the mid-1970s when a wave of crop circles captured worldwide attention. However, the most compelling question remains unanswered. If they are not the work of humans, then who - or what - created them? And how? Theories range from geothermal and magnetic forces to some kind of cosmic energy. Perhaps most intriguing of all the proposed theories is the one that claims at least some crop circles are the work of extra-terrestrials. Over the past three decades, researchers have compiled a database that includes more than ten thousand crop circle reports from around the world. If eight thousand of these strange formations can be attributed to pranksters, that still leaves more than two thousand that are simply...unexplained

UM - UNSOLVED BLACK HOPE CURSE

SYNOPSIS: For the families who bought new houses in a subdivision near Houston, Texas, life in their dream homes quickly turned into a nightmare. When one couple began to dig a swimming pool, they unearthed two bodies and made the horrifying discovery that their homes rested atop an old African-American burial ground. Then frightening, unexplainable things began to occur.
Sam and Judith Haney bought their dream home in the upscale subdivision of Newport outside of Houston, Texas, in 1982. A year later, when they began to excavate a site for a pool, an old man, a stranger, knocked on their door and told them human remains were buried in their backyard. He pointed out a spot where he claimed two graves had been, and gave the Haneys the names of some black families living nearby who could confirm his story. Digging with a backhoe where the old man had indicated, the contractor unearthed two bodies, a man and a woman, interred in crude wooden coffins. Horrified, the Haneys were determined to find out who these people were and to give them a dignified burial.
Their search led them to an elderly black man named Jasper Norton who, as a youth, had worked as a gravedigger. Norton told the Haneys that their home and surrounding houses were built on top of an old cemetery called Black Hope, and that the deceased were mostly former slaves. The last burial had been in 1939, and as many as 60 people had been interred there in pauper's graves. Norton identified the two people buried in the Haney's backyard as Betty and Charlie Thomas, former slaves who had died during the thirties. Unable to locate any living relatives of the Thomas', and plagued with guilt for desecrating their graves, Sam and Judith made the extraordinary decision to rebury their remains in their own backyard, and resolved to live peacefully, side by side with Charlie and Betty. But, according to the Haneys, what would follow was anything but peaceful.
Shortly after they reburied the Thomas', the Haneys began to experience the unexplainable. Disembodied voices disturbed their sleep, and one night Judith was awakened when an unplugged clock in the bedroom began shooting sparks and giving off an eerie glow. The clock was only the beginning. One evening when Sam was working a night shift, Judith heard their sliding glass door open and assumed Sam had forgotten something. "What're you doing?" she heard a voice ask. But when she checked, there was nobody there and the door was locked. The next morning, Judith couldn't find her red shoes. When she finally located them, they were outside, sitting side by side on top of Betty Thomas' grave. Even more unsettling, the Haneys realized the date was Betty Thomas' birthday.
As the disturbing occurrences continued, the Haneys came to feel that something was trying to drive them from their home. They were not alone. A dozen neighbors whose houses were built on top of the abandoned cemetery reported lights, televisions, and water faucets turning on and off for no apparent reason. Many claimed to hear unearthly sounds and some even saw supernatural apparitions. And there seemed to be an increasing maliciousness to the bizarre events. Could the spirits of the Black Hope cemetery, angry at the desecration of their graves, be seeking vengeance?
Ben and Jean Williams thought so. They lived across the street from the Haneys with their young granddaughter, Carli, in the home they had built in 1980, and from the beginning nothing about the house had felt right. The house retained a clammy chill year round, and Jean and Carli couldn't shake the persistent feeling they were being watched. Toilets flushed by themselves and the garage door and household appliances seemed to operate on their own. Rectangular sinkholes opened up in the yard, and no matter how well the Williams filled them in, they reappeared within a few days, and Jean, who had always had a green thumb, couldn't get any new plants to live on the property, no matter what she did. The Williams also noticed strange markings on an old oak tree by the sinkholes, an arrow pointed downward with two horizontal slash marks beneath it. When a long time resident of the area told them he had marked the tree as a way to identify where his two sisters were buried, the Williams' were devastated.
Soon menacing presences began to invade the house. Jean and Carli were awakend from an afternoon nap by phantom footsteps in the hall, and Ben returned home from work one evening to find a threatening apparition hovering over his sleeping wife. Worse yet, six members of the Williams' extended family were stricken with deadly cancers, with three of them dying within a year.
The Haney's lives were also unraveling. Plagued with health problems and frightened of remaining in their house, Sam and Judith decided to fight back. They sued the developer for not disclosing that their home was built over a cemetery and were awarded $142,000 by a jury. However, the judge ruled on legal grounds that the developers were not liable and reversed the decision, ordering the Haneys to pay $50,000 in court costs. Exhausted and broke, the Haneys filed bankruptcy and abandoned their home.
The Williams' also explored legal recourse, but say they were told that without definitive proof of a cemetery on their property, nothing could be done. It was then that Jean made a decision she will forever regret. Desperate to prove their home was built on a cemetery, Jean began digging in one of the sinkholes beneath the oak, sure she would find a body to prove their case. When she became too exhausted to dig any longer, her daughter, Tina, took over. After digging for about a half-hour, Tina collapsed. Two days later she died, at thirty, of a massive heart attack. Convinced their desecration of a grave had precipitated their daughter's death, Ben and Jean Williams' resolved to leave no matter what it cost them. They escaped to Montana and later moved back to Texas. Today both the Haney and Williams families are living happy, productive lives, no longer plagued by the mysterious noises, horrific apparitions and heart-breaking tragedies that marked their years in Newport. Subsequent owners of the homes in the area say they have noticed no unusual occurrences---and are completely content to live in such a lovely neighborhood. Was the "Black Hope Curse" real or imagined? It may remain an unsolved mystery.

UM - The kailasa temple

Ajanta and nearby Ellora are two of the most amazing archaeological sites in India. Although handcrafted caves are scattered throughout India's western state of Maharashtra, the complexes at Ajanta and Ellora - roughly 300 kilometres northeast of Mumbai (Bombay) - are the most elaborate and varied examples known. The caves aren't natural caves, but man-made temples cut into a massive granite hillside. They were built by generations of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain monks, who lived, worked, and worshipped in the caves, slowly carving out elaborate statues, pillars, and meditation rooms

Although all of the caves at Ellora are stunning architectural feats, the Hindu Kailasa Temple is the jewel in the crown. Carved to represent Mt. Kailasa, the home of the god Shiva in the Himalayas, it is the largest monolithic structure in the world, carved top-down from a single rock. It contains the largest cantilevered rock ceiling in the world.

Within the courtyard is the massive multi-level temple, its pyramidal form replicating the real Mount Kailasa, the Himalayan peak said to be the home of the Hindu god Siva.Mount Kailash.

The scale at which the work was undertaken is enormous. It covers twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and is 1.5 times high, and it entailed removing 200,000 tonnes of rock. It is believed to have taken 7,000 labourers 150 years to complete the project.
The rear wall of its excavated courtyard 276 feet (84 m) 154 feet (47 m) is 100 ft (33 m) high. The temple proper is 164 feet (50 m) deep, 109 feet (33 m) wide, and 98 feet (30 m) high.

Kailasa Temple, cave #16 at Ellora, India


It consists of a gateway, antechamber, assembly hall, sanctuary and tower. Virtually every surface is lavishly embellished with symbols and figures from the puranas (sacred Sanskrit poems). The temple is connected to the gallery wall by a bridge

Described as Cave 16, the Kailasa Temple is considered
the pinnacle of Indian rock-cut architecture
The gigantic, 8th century Kailasa Temple at Ellora, Cave 16,
was chiselled from solid stoneKailasa Temple, cave #16 at Ellora, India
Dramatic sculptures fill the courtyard and the main temple, which is in the center.
It must have been quite a spectacular sight when it was covered with white plaster and elaborately painted.
nlike other caves at Ajanta and Ellora, Kailasa temple has a huge courtyard that is open to the sky, surrounded by a wall of galleries several stories high.

The Kailasa temple is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men's minds, hearts, and hands work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal

UM - The Great Pyramids

Now follows the mysteries about some of the things we are very much familiar with


Southern face of the Great Pyramid.
The base originally measured about 230.33m square.
The original height was 146.59m


Location
Location: 29? 59' N 31? 09' E


The Great Pyramid (the Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops in Greek) at Gizeh, Egypt, demonstrates the remarkable character of its placement on the face of the Earth.
The Pyramid lies in the center of gravity of the continents. It also lies in the exact center of all the land area of the world, dividing the earth's land mass into approximately equal quarters

The north-south axis (31 degrees east of Greenwich) is the longest land meridian, and the east-west axis (30 degrees north) is the longest land parallel on the globe. There is obviously only one place that these longest land-lines of the terrestrial earth can cross, and it is at the Great Pyramid! This is incredible, one of the scores of features of this mighty structure which begs for a better explanation

UM - Mysterious Alignment of the globe

Another puzzle is mysterious alignment of world's ancient sites.
Easter Island is exactly aligned along a straight line around the center of the Earth, with the Nazca lines, Ollantaytambo and the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Other world wonders that are within one tenth of one degree of this alignment include: Perseopolis, the capital city of ancient Persia; Mohenjo Daro, the ancient capital city of the Indus Valley; the Oracle of Zeus-Amon at Siwa; and the lost city of Petra. The Ancient Sumarian city of Ur and Angkor temples in Cambodia and Thailand are within one degree of latitude of this alignment.



The alignment of these sites is easily observable on a globe of the Earth with a horizon ring. If you line up any two of these sites on the horizon ring, all of the sites will be right on the horizon ring. 3-D world atlas software programs can also draw this line around the Earth. Start on the Equator, at the mouth of the Amazon River, at 48? 36' West Longitude; go to 30? 22' North Latitude, 41? 24' East Longitude, in the Middle East, which is the maximum latitude the line touches; then go to the Equator at 131? 24' East Longitude, near the Northwest tip of New Guinea; then to 30? 22' South Latitude, 138? 36' West Longitude, in the South Pacific; and then back to 48? 36' West Longitude, at the Equator.

Centered on:

0.00? N 48? 36' W
30? 22' N 41? 24' E
0.00? N 131? 24' E
30? 22' S 138? 36' W

The circumference of this line around the center of the Earth is 24,892 miles. Along this line, the great circle distance from the Great Pyramid to Ollantaytambo is 7,472 miles, 30.0% of the circumference. Ollantaytambo is 2,579 miles from Easter Island, 10.3%. Easter Island is 10,096 miles from Angkor Wat, 40.6%. Angkor Wat is 2,490 miles from Mohenjo Daro, 10.0%. Mohenjo Daro is 2255 miles from from the Great Pyramid, 9.1%. In addition to calculating the distances between these sites as a percentage of the circumference of the Earth, the distances may also be calculated in degrees of the 360? circumference, by multiplying the percentage by 3.6. For example, the Great Pyramid is 108? away from Ollantaytambo. Near Ollantaytambo, Machupicchu is within one quarter of a degree and Cuzco is within one third of a degree of the alignment.

UM - A Link between Mesopotamia and Americas?

Some researchers reject the dogmatic idea that the New World was isolated prior to 1492. There is some compelling evidence that the ancient peoples from Mesopotamia may have crossed the Atlantic ages before Columbus.
The images below represent very much the same religious symbolism. Also, please notice the object held by the deity. It seems identical.


Holding a cone or sponge in his right hand and a bucket in his left, this genie is performing a ritual involving the Assyrian sacred tree.
The sacred tree was an extremely important symbol in the palace of Ashurnasirpal, appearing on reliefs in virtually every room of the palace. It was also used in textile patterns, on stamp and cylinder seals, and in ivory carvings. It represented both the king and Ashur, the chief god of Assyria, and was also a symbol of the fertility of the land.

Unsolved Mysteries - Link between Egypt and Americas

A Link between Egypt and Americas?

According to the official view there was no contact between the Old World and the New World before Columbus. Yet numerous similarities have been found that suggest a link between Egypt and the Americas:

• Both have huge pyramids, aligned to the cardinal points
• Both have structures built with megalithic stones and extremely fine joints
• Both exhibit intriguing bumps on many unfinished stone blocks (Picture 1)
• Both employed a unique style of construction using "L" shaped corners
• Both use the same style of metal clamps to hold the huge stones in place
• Both used the process of mummification to preserve and honor their dead

These compelling similarities suggest that both ancient cultures were influenced by a sophisticated common source.

Unsolved mysteries -

There are many unsolved mysteries in the world.
Like unsolved murder cases, the wonders of world etc.

With this thread i am going to give u all the details of some of the
mysteries i have heard and read about.

So keep watching for some interesting facts that are to be known.
Try to involve yourself to give reasons to find out the real reasons of those
MYSTERIES

Many popular experts suggest possibility that mysterious sites around the world were created with help of advanced knowledge and technology (possibly more advanced than our current one) possessed by lost civilizations.

Others do not believe that there ever was very advanced civilization on earth and all of the superb knowledge was handed down to us by ancient astronauts who came down from heaven.

Most scientists do not subscribe to any of these ideas and try to explain ancient enigmas on the ground of religion and ritual...

So let us see one by one now.....

Srilanka clinches a two wicket thriller

Fernando holds his nerve to seal a thriller

Sri Lanka's slick professionalism in the field, and Dilhara Fernando's composure in the final over, earned them a nail biting win over England in Antigua. Though Sri Lanka only compiled a relatively modest 236, England's middle-order fell away meekly before a thrilling fightback from Paul Nixon and Ravi Bopara dragged down the required total to just 12 from the final over. It was two too many.

Fernando was thrown the ball for the final over, but his second ball was paddled - quite brilliantly - over short fine-leg by Bopara for four. Seven needed from four balls, but Bopara's crunching drive couldn't pierce the covers, picking up just two - enough, though, to register his first one-day fifty. A single off the fourth ball; another off the fifth but, with three needed from the final ball, Fernando cleaned up Bopara to end a memorable match. That England even got into a winning position owed much to Nixon, whose crafty 42 at a run-a-ball took them out of the woods and into the clearing.

Just an hour or so earlier, the match was England's for the taking, however. Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen were cruising along in their commanding third-wicket stand of 90, regaining the momentum after losing Michael Vaughan and Ed Joyce cheaply. Pietersen, inevitably, took the game by the scruff, asserting his authority on Lasith Malinga with a front-footed pull and a fierce slap through the covers. Once he had lofted Chaminda Vaas for an effortless six, Pietersen was in complete control of proceedings.

Bell was less certain - although, next to Pietersen, most batsmen are. But he too found his fluency, clipping two fours off one Vaas over, one behind square and the other threaded through covers, before Sanath Jayasuriya affected a cruel run out. Pietersen pushed it back to the bowler who deflected it via his fingertips onto the non-striker's stumps. Bell appeared to ground his bat but replays showed it had lifted by a few millimetres. It was a stroke of fortune Sri Lanka needed, and they capitalised brilliantly.

Pietersen brought up an uncharacteristically sedate 74-ball 50 - before the magician, Muttiah Muralitharan, was brought on. His spell began quietly before he tossed down a doosra to Pietersen who, trying to work it to leg, got a leading edge ballooning it back to Murali. It was his 28th caught-and-bowled and with Pietersen departing at 126 for 4, England's hopes sunk. Andrew Flintoff scratched around for a couple of overs, skying Fernando's slower ball to Malinga at mid-on. And Collingwood ended what little hope of victory England had when he was trapped in front two balls later.

Enter Nixon, reverse-sweeping with furious intent, if not great success initially, nurdling singles with relative ease. An old head needed young legs though - and Nixon was joined by Bopara, whose maturity and proficiency has been a distinct, rare highlight for England so far this tournament. 67 balls later, the young-old combination had a 50-run partnership to their name. And without ever attacking the target with real intent, they chipped away to bring the required runs down to 32 from three overs.

Nixon then unfurled the shot of the day, a remarkable reverse-swept six off Muralitharan to raise hopes of unlikely victory. In the end, Sri Lanka's discipline in the middle overs proved the decisive factor.

England were no less impressive in the field earlier in the day, capping a one-day match in which, for once, the bowlers shone. The big fear was whether the nightmares of last summer - when Sri Lanka drubbed them 5-0, saving particular scorn for Sajid Mahmood - would haunt them. It didn't. James Anderson and Mahmood, the two opening bowlers in an unchanged lineup, were tight, controlled and impressively accurate in their opening spells.

With Jayasuriya falling cheaply, Sri Lanka's middle-order was opened up but Mahela Jayawardene's solid fifty from 61 balls provided much-needed fluency to an innings lacking momentum. How crucial it was in the end, too. His class with the bat and growing maturity as a leader - not to mention calmness under pressure - is a very reassuring sign for Sri Lanka's future and particularly for this tournament.

Sri Lanka take the two points, and were deserved victors, but England can take pride and encouragement from a far improved performance. They still lost, though, and their next game against Australia now takes on an even greater significance.

Want to be a TV anchor? Read this

Don't wish for the big break too soon." This is what BBC World's popular anchor Michael Peschardt has to say to youngsters aspiring to become television anchors.

If this sounds absurd and bizarre coming from the host of Peschardt's People (last year, the show featured actor Preity Zinta, writer Shobhaa De and industrialist Vijay Mallya,) remember this: the man knows what he is saying.

One of the BBC's most respected broadcasters and senior foreign correspondents, Michael presents a wide variety of programmes, including news, current affairs and entertainment. He is also a regular presenter on the BBC show, Breakfast.

Michael is in Mumbai to meet with Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Amitabh Bachchan, who will feature in Peschardt's People this year. Here's what he has learnt, over the years, about the art of anchoring a show on televsion..

Don't wish for overnight success

Michael says it's important to go through the grind and to know your subject thoroughly well. This, he says, is something that can only come through age and experience.

"If I had tried to do what I do now when I was in my twenties, I would have failed miserably and never got another chance. It is important to get the big break at a time when you are ready to perform and excel," he says. Don't wish for overnight success; it might mar your chances forever.

Know your subject

"Always know your subject. Build a very sound and strong foundation. Irrespective of which subject you wish to cover -- entertainment, business, sports or arts -- it is crucial to know your area thoroughly," says Michael.

In his shows, Michael has interviewed celebrities from across the globe. He says, "It is impossible for anybody to know people across geographies. I always research a lot to acquaint myself with the person's work and background. I also find it useful to learn about the person from the people in the country."

So what might seem an easy and walk-in-the-park interview is actually a lot of hard work.

Get professional help

He further adds, "Professional training also helps. Being a presenter for a television show or a radio jockey isn't as easy as it seems. You might be a glib talker but professional training always helps. It smoothens the rough edges, teaching you the nuances of presenting. Finally, no amount of training can prepare you for the excitement (and nervousness!) of being on television, but training always helps."

Yes, the master presenter does admit to sweaty palms and a sinking feeling of nervousness. He says, "Everyone feels nervous, but the trick lies in not letting it show. The only way you can do that is by knowing your subject really well."

What makes a good or bad interview?

"A good interview is one which shows a lesser known facet of the interviewee. Also, the interviewer should walk away from the show learning something he didn't know.

"It is not my style to interrogate or provoke my guests. While that kind of shows do have their place and audience, Peschardt's People is a friendly, casual comfortable friendly chat."

Micheal also suggests you never film in a studio; instead, stick to an environment where the guest can relax and be his/ her real self. He feels studios are the most uncomfortable places on earth and compel people to put on a show.

"I always like to meet up with my guest outside the studio, getting comfortable, making the person at ease and chatting him/ her up." Each interview for Peschardt's People is usually filmed over two to three days.

Do your job well

A presenter's job is crucial and a bad one can ruin all the hard work put in by the team to put the show together.

"As a presenter, I'm always conscious of the fact that 15-20 people work in the background to ensure everything runs smoothly and that a great show is made. It is absolutely imperative that I do my job well so that the hard work of so many people isn't ruined," says Michael.

Never be larger than the show

Being a celeb himself, Michael is down-to-earth and very grounded (another must, he says, for a presenter). "Never be larger than the show. People watch the show to see interesting people talk and not to see the presenter. So don't keep interrupting the guest. You are the facilitator and not the main focus of the show."