Italy hunts those who call on the dark

As we dive deeper into a time of turmoil, a reactionary movement towards faith has been sweeping across the mainstream. One has to question, however, what are people turning to? According to Italian officials, there is widespread concern that some in the boot of Europe could be turning to the Devil.

After a number of satanic cult related crimes that have occurred in the past year, the Italian police force is creating a satanic cult unit that will include detectives, psychologists and priests that have experience with the occult. The new unit will investigate religious movements that they feel could be a threat to public safety.

In February of 2005, a group of young Italians involved in a cult and heavy metal band, known as The Beasts of Satan, were convicted of ritualistically murdering two other cult/band members. The "beasts" beat, raped and buried their victims alive in a secluded area of woods after a drug induced black mass.

There is no doubt that there is paranoia in Italy over the existence of Satan. The center of the Roman Catholic Church, there are many old superstitions and beliefs that Lucifer will begin the final battle against God by taking control of the Vatican. Many have feared that we are coming closer to the day of the black pope, a pope that is secretly the emissary for the Devil.

Pope Paul VI furthered these fears in 1972. He said, "It is as if from some mysterious crack, no, it is not mysterious, from some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God."

Once again, the famous Father Malachi Martin said in an article featured in The Fatima Crusader, "Anybody who is acquainted with the state of affairs in the Vatican in the last 35 years is well aware that the prince of darkness has had and still has his surrogates in the court of St. Peter in Rome.”

Skeptics will say that this is nothing more than superstitious mumbo jumbo, and that the creation of an occult unit is a legalized witch hunt. Much like the Inquisition was a response to the wars, plagues and religious changes that occurred in Europe shortly after the Middle Ages, this unit is a reaction to a few incidents that have occurred during the troublesome times that face society today.

Of course, there is always the chilling thought in the back of one's mind that wonders if they may be hunting something that we do not fully comprehend.

Litvinenko Conspiracy Rundown

Was it the KGB? Was it polonium being smuggled to Chechen rebels to build a dirty bomb? No one seems to know right now what killed former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, but The Baltimore Sun ran a great article on what the chatter around the world intelligence water cooler is these days.

Everyone seems to agree, however, that the rift between East and West is beginning to grow once again.

Despite Russia's goals of entering the World Trade Organization and the European Union, its need to have sympathy for problem nations like Iran and North Korea have put it in an awkward category of speculation.

Russia's government didn't win any points last month by selling missile defense systems to Iran despite a call by Western nations to end arms transactions with the Middle Eastern country. With the mysterious death of Litvinenko, it all seems to be a repeat of Cold War antics.

So, get your shovels, dig a hole, and snuggle up with a couple copies of Red Dawn and Mad Max! Your post-apocalyptic fantasies could still come true!

NASA commits to colonizing the Moon; Mars may still hold the key to Life

NASA announced its plans to begin colonization of the moon by 2024 yesterday, and followed it up today with an announcement that there is evidence of flowing water on Mars. Perhaps, Steven Hawking's hopes of assuring the survival of the human race are not far off (See last Post).

While the colonization of the moon will act as a jump point for further exploration of space and serve as a place to mine resources, the implications of water on Mars opens a whole other door Many scientists have followed the Rare Earth hypothesis or the Drake Equation to estimate that complex life in the universe is rare. So rare, the chances are very close to zero. Evidence of life in any form on more than one planet in our solar system would not destroy this theory, but definitely deal it a harmful blow. The Rare Earth hypothesis, however, does give itself a buy out by saying microbial life may be abundant. It seems, however, that even this safety provision doesn't stop what could be the tipping of the scales.

People who believe the Moon is an alien made space station or that it was a mining colony for a previous civilization will be crying themselves to sleep. The great cover up about the Moon landings are falling apart. Of course, one could say the reason NASA has chosen the southern pole of the moon to start its permanent base is because the aliens have one at the north already.

Humans must Leave the Earth!

Stephen Hawking gave a rare interview to BBC last week. Known for his theories on black holes and time travel, the Cambridge academic said that mankind must look to colonize other planets as soon as possible to insure its survival.

Through out the centuries, mankind has survived a lot. Whether you believe that we will be wiped out by a super virus, global warming, nuclear war, or by meteors hurled at us by the Nemesis star that supposedly lies on the edge of our solar system, scientists believe that some of the human race will survive.

In other words, unlike our predecessor’s the dinosaurs, we are like cockroaches. If 99.9% of our planet's population of 6.5 billion was wiped out, there would still be 6.5 million people left to figure out what to do to survive and repopulate the planet. Thank god for survivalists.

If humans were to spread out across the cosmos, what would happen? Looking at the written works of Frank Herbert, humans would begin to adapt and evolve to whatever planet they inhabited. This would open the door for all kinds of branching off from the original species.

Those of you who really want to get crazy, should take a look at essays by Frank J. Tipler. Tipler predicts that as the universe flows towards the Omega Point or the end, there will inevitably be a civilization that will be able to either hold back the collapse of the universe or create a parallel universe generated by the energy given off from the universe's destruction. If you were completely depressed by the Cold Freeze Theory, you may take some comfort from his ideas.

For those interested in knowing more about Stephen Hawking, check out his Website.