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To: Tom Clarke who wrote (3415)	8/9/2006 11:09:36 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5290

Spheres of influence Umberto Eco on why we should beware mad scientists Saturday August 5, 2006 The Guardian There are two hollow earth theories. According to the first one we live on the crust, but there is another world on the inside where lies - some say - the realm of Agartha, the home of the King of the World (see, for example, the fantasies of French philosopher René Guénon). The second theory has it that while we think we live on the outer crust, we actually live in the interior (on a convex surface instead of a concave one). One of the first hollow earth theories was proposed in 1692 by the English astronomer Edmund Halley (discoverer of the now-famous comet), who suggested that the Earth was composed of four spheres, each embedded in the others like so many matryoshka dolls, illuminated by a luminous atmosphere and perhaps inhabitable. The theory was reproposed in the early 19th century by J Cleves Symmes of Ohio, who wrote to various scientific societies: "To all the world: I declare that the Earth is hollow and habitable within; containing a number of solid concentric spheres, one inside the other, and that it is open at the poles 12 or 16 degrees." Symmes believed that at the north and south poles there were two apertures that led to the interior of the globe. He attempted to raise funds for an exploration of the polar regions to locate these entrances. The Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences still has a wooden model he used to explain his theories. The idea was later championed by Jeremiah Reynolds, a newspaper editor, who took it upon himself to promote the expedition at the expense of the American government (a request ultimately denied). The journey was unsuccessful, since he and his party were thwarted by Antarctic ice. At the end of the century the theory was revisited by cult leader Cyrus Reed Teed, who said that what we believe is the sky is a gaseous mass that fills the interior of the globe with areas of bright light (sun, moon and stars would not be heavenly bodies but visual effects). It is widely rumoured on the internet that the hollow earth theory was taken seriously by top-ranking Nazis who believed in the occult sciences. In some circles of the German navy it was purportedly believed that the hollow earth theory would make it easier to pinpoint the exact position of British ships because, if infrared rays were used, the curvature of the Earth would not have obscured observation. Hitler allegedly sent an expedition to the Baltic island of Rügen where a Dr Heinz Fischer trained a telescopic camera toward the sky in order to spot the British fleet sailing on the interior of the convex surface of the hollow earth. It is even said that some V1 missiles went astray because their trajectory was calculated on the basis of a hypothetical concave surface instead of a convex one. Symmes's story is told well in Banvard's Folly (Picador, 2001) by writer Paul Collins, who has reconstructed the stories of a series of madmen. Some were geniuses in their way, scientists who staked their entire careers on false hypotheses. He discusses the lives of men such as respected French physicist René Blondlot, who discovered N-rays in the early 20th century. N-rays didn't exist, but they threw the scientific community into turmoil. Or consider the eponymous John Banvard, an American artist and showman, whose life, Collins says, was "the most perfect crystallisation of loss imaginable". In the mid-19th century he was the richest and most famous painter in the world because of his landscape dioramas, but of both man and his works virtually nothing remains today. Then there was forger (and writer) William Ireland, considered stupid by all, even his own father, but who duped all of 18th-century England into believing that he had discovered texts, documents and entire works by Shakespeare. The list continues all the way to music instructor Jean-François Sudre, the inventor and promoter of Solresol, a universal language based solely on musical notes and accessible even to the blind and mute. But Sudre is still remembered in histories of artificial languages, whereas the accomplishments of most of these men - some considered brilliant inventors, famous in their day - eventually sank into oblivion. On various occasions I have written about "literary madmen", but they are not merely a fixation of mine. I find that reflecting upon outlandish theories that were taken seriously for a long time teaches one to distrust many ideas that are accorded full credence in the media, and even in some scientific circles. If you search the internet for "hollow earth", you'll find that both theories - the one that says we live in the interior of the planet and the one that claims that we live on its exterior, with an entire civilisation underneath our feet - still have plenty of adherents. Or, if you pass a few pleasant hours with Collins's book, at the same time you'll be reminded not to put your faith in the extravagant claims of madmen. · Umberto Eco's most recent novel is The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana books.guardian.co.uk

To: Tom Clarke who wrote (3415)	8/11/2006 3:14:46 PM
From: average joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5290

August 11, 2006.......... Thousands protest impending execution of Catholics in Poso clashes MAUMERE, Indonesia (UCAN) -- Thousands of Indonesians across the country, including students and religious leaders, on Aug. 10 protested the impending execution of three Catholics convicted of murdering 200 Muslims in 2000. The Palu Prosecutor's Office in Central Sulawesi province announced on Aug. 8 that Fabianus Tibo, 60, Dominggus da Silva, 39, and Matinus Riwu, 48, would die on Aug. 12. The three were convicted in 2001 of murdering the Muslims in May-June 2000 in the Poso area, Central Sulawesi, and then sentenced to death. Christian-Muslim clashes from December 1998 to December 2001 in and around the area killed hundreds of people, with estimates ranging as high as 2,000. The Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of the three, and last Nov. 10, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected their plea for clemency. On Aug. 10, about 5,000 students from kindergarten to university level took part in a protest in Maumere town, capital of Sikka district, in East Nusa Tenggara province. The protest was coordinated by Divine Word Father Robertus Mirsel, a lecturer at Divine Word-run School of Philosophy, a major seminary in Ledalero, near Maumere, and organized by Forum Peduli Tibo Cs (forum caring for Tibo and his friends). The demonstration began at 10:00 a.m. in the town's Kota Baru (new city) Square. About an hour later, the protestors marched to the town's Court of Justice Office, about 300 meters from the square. They called on the office head and staff to come out and listen to their demands and speeches. Adrianus Say read a statement on behalf of all his fellow protestors. He declared, "We refuse all kinds of death sentences, and call on the government to immediately issue a law to abolish the death sentence." "The (pending) executions indicate the state has failed to protect its citizens," he continued, "and the judicial power has became an instrument of certain parties." He did not name the "parties" to which he was referring. His statement also included: "Tibo and his friends are victims of a deviated judicial process. The state has chosen to protect the plotters of the violence in Poso, and sentenced the three men to death as if it has upheld the law." The protestors, who insist the executions violate the Constitution and human rights, want the government to reopen the judicial process for the three men. They promised to continue protesting until the day of the execution. That same day in Atambua, capital of Belu district in East Nusa Tenggara province, the Religious Leaders Cooperation Forum (FKPA, Indonesian acronym) of Belu and North Central Timor districts organized a press conference in Belu's Legislative Council office to express their stand on the executions. Divine Word Bishop Anton Pain Ratu of Atambua, FKPA's leader, said, "This situation convinces us the law in Indonesia is implemented only for small people who have no money." He also said: "We acknowledge Tibo and his friends may have done wrong, but their sentence is not commensurate with their acts. Tibo and his friends should not be executed because only God can take life." In a letter sent on Aug. 10 to the United Nations, FKPA asks the world body to urge Indonesia's government to cancel the executions. The bishop as well as other FKPA members, including Muhammad Hasan, a Muslim, Ida Bagus Putu Sutha, a Hindu, and Reverend Viktor U. Nenohai, a Protestant, signed the message. In Manado, North Sulawesi province, 2,115 kilometers northeast of Jakarta, several religious leaders issued a statement on Aug. 10 in response to the Palu Prosecutor's Office announcement of the executions. The thre who signed it are: Sacred Heart Bishop Yosephus Suwatan of Manado; Arifin Assegaf, head of Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI, Indonesian acronym) North Sulawesi chapter; and Reverend Nico Gara, president of Asia Fellowship of Mission 21 Partner Churches and vice president of International Synod of Mission 21. Their statement, published on the website (http://www.mirifica.net) of the Indonesian bishops, declares, "We do not accept the executions of Tibo and his friends because it is not based on justice," and expresses hope the executions will be suspended until a new criminal law is passed. Parliament has been divided on the death sentence, but legislators are now finalizing the bill. According to the statement, "Making the mistake of taking people's life, which is a gift from God, will affect the image of the judicial process and law enforcement processes, as well as the good name of the Indonesian government among the international community." Father Jimmy Tumbelaka of St. Theresia Church of Poso, on Aug. 10 told UCA News by phone from Tentena, just south of Poso, that he laments the court's decision because the three to be executed are not guilty as charged. "The actual culprits are allowed to wander free and have not been arrested, so how could the court make such a decision?" said the priest, referring to Tibo naming 16 people whom he alleges were involved in the murders. Father Tumbelaka also reported that 2,000 people of different faiths took to the streets in Poso and Tentena on Aug. 10 to protest the impending execution. Stefanus Roy Rening, who coordinated the legal team for the three men, told UCA News via a mobile phone text message sent on Aug. 10 that the three men's families and their lawyers still do not accept the executions. "Up to now," he said, "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has not decided whether to accept or reject the second plea for clemency filed by the families of the convicts." Rening also detailed the men's four last requests. The three want to deliver an open message to the president through a press conference on Aug. 11, and they want three people to attend their executions: Antonius Sujata, head of the National Ombudsman Commission; Father Nobert Betan, director of Advocacy Service for Justice and Peace in Indonesia (Padma, Indonesian acronym); and Father Jimmy Tumbelaka, pastor of St. Theresia Church of Poso. They also want their bodies brought to St. Mary Church in Palu, and they want Bishop Suwatan to preside at a requiem Mass for them, Rening added. Father Tumbelaka told UCA News that he is ready to administer penance and the Eucharist, as well as last rites to the three men. "I will accompany them to the execution," the priest said. theindiancatholic.com