c.c. wonders:


have u heard about the new booster pack coming soon, Magical Revolution, here are the cards it will include, let me know what u think about it and by the way these cards r gonna b awesome 4 my spellcaster deck:
Hello again to Pojo and Yugoih fans one and all! Today I return with the card booster I have created–Magical Revolution! Now, there are a few things that should be said about this. First, as stated, it is over 200 cards. For those of you who actually take the time to read this, awesome, you are true fans. Second, despite the name, this isn’t only Spellcaster cards and support. I’ve put in Elemental Heros, Cyber Dragon support, and even some Digimon themed cards (as I loved that TV show.) I hope you enjoy it! I also used Secret Rares as opposed to Ultimate but there is only one Secret Rare.

MRV-000 Secret Rare

Velocitized Paladin
2900 atk. 2600 def.
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 8

This card can only be Special Summoned by removing 2 Spellcaster type monsters from your Graveyard from play. This monster is not destroyed as a result of battle (damage is applied normally.) This card negates the activation of Trap cards during the battle phase and destroys them.
By lowering this cards attack by 500 points during the damage step (attack returns to normal at the End Phase) negate the effect of an effect monster and destroy it.

MRV-001 Ultra Rare

Blade Breaker–The Magical Knight
Fusion: Blade Warrior + Breaker the Magical Warrior 2200 attack 1100 defense Light/Spellcaster/Effect Level 6

When this card is successfully summoned, put 2 Magic counters on it (Max 2). Remove 1 Magic counter to destroy all magic and trap cards on the field. Each counter on this card increases its attack by 400 points.

MRV-002 Super Rare

Life Absorbing River of Blood
Continuous Trap

Any battle damage inflicted to your opponent while this card is face up on the field is doubled.

MRV-003 Rare

Skilled Chaos Magician
1800 atk. 1800 def.
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 4

Whenever you or your opponent activates a Magic card, put 1 Magic counter on this card, (Max 3). By removing 3 counters and tributing this card, Special Summon one Dark Magician of Chaos from your hand, deck, or graveyard.

MRV-004 Short Print Common

Final Flame
Ritual Magic card

This card is used to Ritual Summon Final Flame Sage. You must tribute monsters from your hand and/or the field whose total stars equal 6 or more.

MRV-005

Final Flame Sage
2500 atk. 2400 def.
Fire/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 6

Each time this card inflicts damge to your opponent, select and activate one of the following effects.

*Draw 1 card from your deck
*Destroy up to two cards on the field.
*Discard one random card from your opponent’s hand to the graveyard *Remove one card in your opponent’s graveyard from play.

MRV-007

Rise and Return Reclessly
Quickplay Magic

Select one monster from your graveyard and Special Summon it to your side of the field. The monster gains 1000 attack points until the End Phase of the turn, and then returns to your Graveyard.

MRV-008

Micro Destruction
Normal Trap

Destroy all monsters on the field with 1400 or less attack points.

MRV-009

Blindness
Quickplay Magic

Draw two cards from your deck. Then, your opponent draws one card.
Whichever player has fewer cards in their hand takes 1000 points of damge.

MRV-010 Ultra Rare

DD Magician
1900 atk. 1600 def.
Lgiht/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 4

Once per turn, you may remove one card on the field from play. When this card is removed from play, it remains their for the rest of the duel.

MRV-011 Super Rare

Deep Burn!
Quickplay Magic

Tribute one monster on your side of the field. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the tributed monsters attack or defense. Then, draw one card from your deck.

MRV-012 Rare

Dark Destroyer
Normal Trap

Destroy all face down monsters on your opponent’s field. Inflict 600 points of damage to your opponent for any effect monsters destroyed.

MRV-013 Short Print Common

Triumph
Quickplay Magic

Select one monster on the field, and double its attack points until the End Phase. The monster may not attack directly during this turn.

MRV-014

Magical Index
Normal Magic

Select one card from your deck, and add it to your hand. The deck is then shuffled.

MRV-015 Super Rare

Burning Sage
2450 atk. 2250 def.
Fire/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 6

As long as this card is face up on the field, effects of monsters destroyed by Spellcaster type mnsters are negated. Inflict 800 points of damage to your opponent each time this card destroys an effect monster.

MRV-016 Short Print Common

Apocalyptic Ruin
Normal Trap

Pay 1500 lifepoints to destroy all cards on the field.

MRV-017

Cry for Help
Normal Magic

Select one Level 3 or lower mosnter from your deck, and add it to your hand. The deck is then shuffled.

MRV-018 Super Rare

Rougian-the Dark Monarch
2400 atk. 1000 def.
Dark/Warrior/Effect
Level 6

When thsi card is tribute summoned successfully, draw one card from your deck. Then, look at your opponents and discard one card from their hand to the graveyard.

MRV-019 Super Rare

Nerva-the Light Monarch
2400 atk. 1000 def.
Light/Warrior/Effect
Level 6

When this card is tribute summoned successfully, recover your lifepoints by 1000 points for each card in your hand. Also, deal damage to your opponent x500 for each card in their hand.

MRV-020 Super Rare

Cyclopean-the Wind Monarch
2400 atk. 1000 def.
Wind/Warrior/Effect
Level 5

When this card is tribute summoned successfully, you may return up to four cards on your opponents field to their hand.

MRV-021 Rare

Elemental Hero Bubble-Sparker
Fusion: E-Hero Bubbleman + E-Hero Sparkman 2350 atk. 2000 def.
Wind/Warrior/Effect

Any monster that battles with this card is destroyed at the end of the damage step.

MRV-022 Super Rare

Elemental Hero Blast Juggler
Fusion: E-Hero Clayman + E-Hero Sparkman 2500 atk. 2500 def.
Light/Warrior/Effect
Level 7

This monster can attack directly while in defense mode, even if your opponent controls a monster or monsters.

MRV-023 Ultra Rare

Elemental Hero Braveheart
Fusion: E-Hero Sparkman + E-Hero Avion + E-Hero Bubbleman + E-Hero Clayman

3000 atk. 3000 def.
Light/Warrior/Effect
Level 9

This card is not destroyed as a result of battle or by a card effect (damage is applied normally).

MRV-024

Elemental Hero Strongman
1900 atk. 900 def.
Earth/Warrior/Effect
Level 4

This card gains 200 attack points for each card with Elemental Hero in its name in your graveyard.

MRV-025

Elemental Hero Skylord
1400 atk. 900 def.
Earth/Warrior/Effect
Level 3

This card gains 1000 attack points when it battles with a Level 5 or higher monster.

MRV-026

Elemental Hero Trooper
2800 atk. 2400 def.
Dark/Warrior/Effect
Level 8

When this card is Fusion summoned successfully, you may Special Summon up to two Elemental Heroes from yoru deck to the field.

MRV-027 Super Rare

Elemental Hero Overlord
Fusion: E-Hero Skylord + E-Hero Strongman 2750 atk. 2550 def.
Wind/Warrior/Effect
Level 7

Once per turn, this monster can negate one of your opponent’s attacks.
This card is unaffected by Trap cards.

MRV-028 Ultra Rare

Elemental Hero Mystery Man
Fusion: Any two E-Hero monsters
? atk. 3000 def.
Light/Warrior/Effect
Level 8

This cards attack becomes 1000 points for each monster with E-Hero in its name that resides in your graveyard.

MRV-029

Lone Judge
Continuous Trap

While this card is face up, your opponent cannot play a card that you have on the field.

MRV-030 Short Print Common

Dark Ruler of the Skies
2900 atk. 2700 def.
Dark/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 9

This card cannot be destroyed by a Magic or Trap card. Instead of drawing during your Draw Phase, you may add one Trap card from your deck to your hand.

MRV-031 Rare

Elemental Power
Field Magic

Any card with “Elemental” in its name gains 500 attack points.

MRV-032

Elemental Hero Blockman
Fusion: E-Hero Clayman + E-Hero Burstinatrix + E-Hero Avion 2000 atk. 4000 def.
Earth/Warrior/Effect
Level 10

If this card is in face up defense mode, your opponent cannot select any other monster as an attack target.

MRV-033 Super Rare

Lord Marshmallon
600 atk. 1200 def.
Light/Fairy/Effect
Level 6

When this card is attacked while in face down defense mode, inflict 2000 points of damage to your opponent. This card is not destroyed as a result of battle, (damage is applied normally).

MRV-034

Cyber Index
Normal Magic

Add one card from your deck with “Cyber” in its name to your hand.

MRV-035 Super Rare

Holy Cyber Dragon
3500 atk. 2500 def.
Light/Machine/Effect
Level 10

This card negates effects of monsters it destroys. By paying 500 of your lifepoints, you may Special Summon one Machine monster from your hand to the field. You may only use this effect once per turn.

MRV-036

Cyber Rampage Dragon
1900 atk. 1100 def.
Light/Machine/Effect
Level 4

If this card attacks a defense posistion monster with an attack higher than that monsters defese, deal the difference in damage to your opponent.

MRV-037 Ultra Rare

Holy Cyber Rampage Dragon
Fusion: Cyber Rampage Dragon + Holy Cyber Dragon 2400 atk. 2000 def.
Light/Machine/Effect
Level 7

When this card attacks a defense mode monster with an attack higher than that monsters defense, inflict the difference as damage to your opponent. Once per turn, you may Special Summon one Machine monster whose level is equal to or lower than this monster from your Hand or Graveyard. This card is unaffected by Trap cards.

MRV-038

Reflection
Counter Trap

When your opponent declares an attack, switch it to your opponent.
Your opponent takes damage equal to the amount you would have taken.

MRV-039

Reversal Defense
Counter Trap

When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon one monster from your opponent’s Graveyard in face-up attack or defense posistion. The monster returns to the opponent’s Graveyard during the End Phase of the current turn.

MRV-040

Equality
Counter Trap

When your opponent declares an attack, Special Summon one monster from your deck in defense posistion whose defense is equal to or lower than the attack of the attacking monster.

MRV-041

Painful Choice #2
Normal Magic

Select five cards from your deck and send them to your Graveyard.

MRV-042 Super Rare

Mysterious Mage
Light/Spellcaster/Effect
Level ?
? atk. ? def.

This cards attack and defense become 1000x the amount of lifepoints you choose to pay in the turn you summon this card. This monsters level is determined in the same way.

MRV-043

Life Barrier
Continuous Magic

As long as you have a set Magic or Trap card or cards, your opponent cannot attack you directly.

MRV-044 Rare

Guidance
Counter Trap

When your opponent declares an attack, you may designate the attack target to any other target on the field, including a direct attack to either player.

MRV-045

Magical Staff
Equip Magic

This card can only be equipped to a Spellcaster type monster. The equipped monster gains 1000 attack points.

MRV-046

Magical Displacement
Quickplay Magic

Tribute one Spellcaster on your side of the field to take control of one of your opponents monsters until the End Phase of the current turn.

MRV-047 Rare

Dark Magical Attack!
Normal Trap

Select one Spellcaster on your side of the field. During this turn only, the selected monster can attack your opponent’s lifepoints directly.

MRV-048 Rare

One for One
Continuous Trap

During your End Phase, you may discard one card from your hand. If you do so, your opponent skips his/her next Draw Phase. If you choose not to discard, this card is destroyed.

MRV-049

Eradicating Destructoin
Continuous Magic

Each time a monster is destroyed, monsters with the same attribute as the destroyed monster cannot attack during the next turn.

MRV-050 Rare

Searing Scientist
Light/Spellcaster/Effect
Level 3
1000 att. 2000 def.

Pay 1500 lifepoints to Special Summon one Fusion monster from Fusion deck in face up Attack posistion. The monster is returned to the Fusion Deck at the End Phase.

MRV-051

Dark Mirror
Normal Trap

when your opponent declares an attack, select one Trap in your opponent’s Graveyard, and activate as if it were your own set card.
The selected card does not leave your opponent’s Graveyard.

MRV-052

Electric Sage
Light/Thunder/Effect
Level 2
900 atk. 600 def.

When this card is summoned in any way, change it to defense posistion.
While this card is in defense posistion, your opponent takes 900 points of damage during your End Phase. This card cannot be destroyed by monsters of Level 4 or above.

MRV-053

Gratification
Quickplay Magic

Discard any number of cards from your hand. Select one monster on the field and increase its attack or defense by 700x the cards discarded.

MRV-054 Rare

Healing Sage of Wisdom
Light/Fairy/Effect
Level 5
2350 atk. 2100 def.

When this card destroys a monster as a result of battle, increase your lifepoints by an amount equal to the destroyed monsters atk. or def.

MRV-055

Dark Defense
Normal Trap

You can only activate this card when a Spellcaster type mosnter on your field is designated as an attack target. Negate the attack and end your opponents turn.

So, this is plenty long, and I’m only 25% done here. You’ll get cards 56-110 soon. This is a lot of work to type up. That does it for today, and I hope you all know to please feel free to contact me with anything @ tsearcy@lssu.edu

You stay classy, Planet Earth

~Dark Paladin~

its from pojo.com

Emma wonders:


I have a four month old Ragdoll kitten called Millie who is starting her second day attached to a drip because she managed to get lily pollen on her. I was bought some flowers which were starting to come to the end of their lifespan and the lilies were in the bin which Millie, being her naughty self, kept jumping into. When I first saw that she had yellow all over her face I laughed at her but then something in the back of my head went “this isn’t right” like a weird mental siren and after searching “lily pollen poisonous to cats” on the internet, the information that came up nearly made me collapse – “blindness, renal failure, coma, death”. Yes, it’s pretty harsh and very shocking.

I called the vet expecting them to tell me to keep an eye on her and to call them again if she started having any symptoms, but they told me to bring her in immediately so that they could try to make her sick and flush her out. This morning I have spoken to them and she may need to stay on a drip for a while yet.

As bizarre as it sounds DO NOT LET LILIES NEAR YOUR CAT. They are the number 1 poison to cats. The number 2 listed is that lovely christmas plant called a poinsettia (with the red leaves). I find it weird that it is not more widely known. Maybe I’m a stupid cat owner as I really should have been more aware. You have no idea how angry I am with myself for being so careless. Please, please be careful with flowers/plants around your cats and please if you don’t have a cat yourself, tell someone who does. They don’t just make cats a little bit sick, they can kill them.

This website has a bit of info about other types of plants which are poisonous. I just feel that the more we spread the word, the safer it will be for our cats – http://www.gaylee.co.uk/Poisonous_plants1.htm
(sorry I can’t make it clickable but every time I try to do so it keeps crashing my computer!)

beginet wonders:


PRESENTING THE FLY

We can offer a fly to a fish in a number of ways depending on whether we are representing a grasshopper or beetle or a frail spinner falling spent on the water. To splash the fly down hard delay the presentation stroke by dropping the rod tip to point at the water. Shooting line will only pile line, leader and fly in a heap, so we refrain from shooting in this type of presentation. To land a fly delicately on the water, aim and release line at a point one meter above where the fly is to land and shoot line. If you do not shoot sufficient line the fly line will reach the end of the cast, stop, and bounce back. The lesson is, for a delicate cast you can’t shoot too much line, whereas you can undershoot. There are other techniques for an advanced caster and these will be covered briefly as this book is designed around a learner. However if you want to refer to these techniques at a later time they will certainly make you more proficient. To accomplish long casts it is essential that the speed of the fly line is fast enough to keep line in the air. To increase the speed of a cast we can pull the fly line down with our left hand as we simultaneously lift the line from the water. To give the fly time to float downstream without drag, we deliver the fly at about 11 o’clock on the forward cast , leader and fly land on the water in a heap and a drag-free float is achieved until and leader reach the end of their travel. This tactic is often used to cast across a stream to where a fish is rising but there is a current between you and the fish. A normal cast would cause a belly in the line because the current is travel faster than the water where the fish is rising, drag would occur very quickly and no self-respecting trout is going to accept that! The side cast, when overhead vegetation prevents a normal overhead cast, or when a stiff wind is blowing into your face, the side cast produces the result you need. A side cast is nothing more than an overhead cast performed in a horizontal instead of a vertical plane. There are many more various ways find this fly as the main tool for fishermens.

Silverwolf wonders:


I’m going to my opthamologist on Wednesday, so I’m not looking for a professional diagnosis, but I would like to find out if anyone has the same type of problems and what the diagnosis was, just to get a head’s up of what might be the problem.
My eyes are extremely complex to begin with. I’ve had neurological problems develop recently, and now even more complications are arising. First, I was born with a fourth nerve palsy, which causes strabismus and inward jerking upon outward gaze. I’m one of the rare cases that didn’t develop a lazy eye; I see two images, but each eye is roughly the same strength, which is just a bit nearsighted, and corrected to 20/20 or so by prescription lenses. I shift my vision from one eye to the other.
After the birth of my second son, I developed downbeat nystagmus (and a host of other problems, but this was the only visual problem). I was diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation, where the cerebellar tonsils herniate into the spinal column, putting pressure on the spinal cord. I had decompression surgery in October 2003. The surgery was successful. However, the nystagmus is permanent. I knew this before the surgery. There were no complications.
I had strabismus surgery (finally) in Aug 2004. Although my eyes were brought closer into alignment, they are still not lined up, which is next to impossible to do with a correction as intense as my situation. I still have double vision, but surprisingly, the nystagmus is not as profound. This was not supposed to happen.
In June of 2005, I noticed I couldn’t see as well as a month or two prior, so I went to my regular eye doctor to make sure my prescription was correct. It was. I had an MRI to make sure there was no scar tissue causing problems from the brain surgery. The surgery site was fine. I chalked it up to my crazy eyes just being difficult.
My eyes remained the same until May of this year. I wasn’t able to see slight imperfections at work all of a sudden, and I couldn’t find something unless I knew exactly where to look. Not good in a metal pressroom. Fortunately, I was laid off for the summer a few weeks later.
About two months ago, I went to my aunt’s funeral and realized I couldn’t recognize anyone’s face unless they were less than four feet in front of me, and only then I knew them by voice mostly. I was lying awake that night thinking and realized I wasn’t looking at blackness. I was looking at a light pattern that resembled reverse static on a TV; mostly black with small flecks of light throughout both central and peripheral vision, and it’s not moving or flashing. I see it all the time, even after sleeping, before looking at any light source. Also, I’ve completely lost my ability to scan. I have to know exactly where something is before I can see it. All details are lost if I focus anywhere beyond a foot or so away from the end of my nose. I can thread a needle, but my computer screen has to be enlarged. As far as I can tell, my color perception isn’t affected, and my eyesight isn’t blurry, the details are just not there.
I’ve got all kinds of ideas, from retinal disease, to cortical blindness, to just the mere combination of symptoms finally being too much for my eyes to adapt to. I would like to hear from anyone that’s had any of these symptoms and what caused it. I’ll post when I find out what doc says. Thanks!

Eric Madsen wonders:


Call: When a player matches the prior bet on the table, that action is termed the call.

Cap: The last permitted raise in a betting round is called the cap. We allow three raises beyond the initial bet in limit games. The third raise is the cap.

Check: If there is no bet on the table and you do not wish to place a bet, that action is termed a check. You may only check when there are no pending bets.

Client: The term for the software that you download to your computer, allowing you to interact with the poker room’s servers.

Collusion: A form of cheating where two or more players attempt to gain an unfair advantage by sharing information. We do not tolerate cheating.

Community Cards: Face up cards on the table that are shared by all players are termed community cards. Texas Hold’em and Omaha always have community cards. In stud games, a community card is dealt in place of the last down card when too few cards remain in the deck for each player to receive a down card.

Dead Blind: In a situation where you have missed your blinds and wish to re-enter the game before your turn to post the big blind. You must post both blinds and the small blind is termed a dead blind, meaning it does not count towards calling a bet.

Dead Hand: A hand no longer in the game.

Door Card: The first face-up card dealt with the two down cards in 7 Card Stud games.

Down Cards: The face-down cards dealt to a player.

Drawing Dead: This describes the situation when a player is trying to draw a card to complete a hand when there is already a hand that will beat it, even if made.

Drop: To drop your hand when you decide not to go further with your hand; to return your cards to the muck. Same as fold.

Face Down: Dealt cards that are not visible to other players.

Face Up: Dealt cards that are visible to all players.

Fifth Street: The term for the fifth card in 7 Card Stud and the fifth board card in Hold’em.

Flop: In Texas Hold’em, the set of 3 face-up community cards; the first three cards on the board, all dealt at the same time.

Flush: Any 5 cards in one hand that are all the same suit.

Fold: Withdraw from further participation in the current hand. Also see drop.

Forced Bet: A mandatory bet. In certain games, a player is required to bet, having sat-in the game. Also see bring-in.

Four of a Kind: A great hand … all 4 of one rank. For example, 4 Tens.

Mike Stephens wonders:


Loft conversions are designed for many purposes and home owners convert vacant loft areas for use as bedrooms, offices, space for relaxation, recreational purposes, to provide an extra bathroom or simply for use as storage. Whatever your particular use, there are Velux blinds suitable for every circumstance.

When a loft room is used as sleeping accommodation then your best choice of blind might be the type known as a ‘blackout’ blind, especially if the windows are south or east facing and you like to sleep late on a Sunday morning. This blind, known as Type DKL, is decorative on its interior face but combines with an aluminium coloured facing on the external side which completely obliterates external light sources. This blind is lowered and raised through aluminium side channels which eliminate any possibility of light entering through the edges.

For the best of both worlds, the blind known as the DUO, offers the combination of blackout blind and a pleated blind which are combined in a single unit. Either blind can be easily adjusted to be fully opened or fully closed or to allow a partial combination of both. The pleated blind does not obscure light completely but filters light so that it is easy on the eye and offers a soft, comfortable appearance so often desirable when furnishing a bedroom.

The pleated blind, Type FHL, can of course be purchased as a separate blind so if total darkness in the room is not a priority then this blind can be installed to create an air of peace and comfort. If your roof window is situated on a north facing slope of your roof then this blind could be your best option.

For office or recreational use, the best choice might be the blind known as a ‘roller blind’ Type RFL. This type of blind can be fully opened, fully closed, or placed at any desired position within its polished aluminium guides. For office use, this blind, made of 100% polyester lends an air of efficiency and is easy to clean. The effect of the ‘roller blind’ is to exclude the full glare of sunlight but is sufficiently translucent to avoid darkening of the room. Light is diffused and softened, thereby creating an ambience ideal for those pensive moments. Sharp shadows and glare are reduced, allowing an even light for working at a computer, playing games or for pursuing ones favourite pastime.

The Velux company also manufacture a range of Venetian blinds. Easy to install and ideal for a bathroom or any other area where there might be a high degree of humidity. Easy to clean and, like all other Velux blinds, they come in a wide range of colours to suit your décor.

Harun Yahya wonders:


The November edition of National Geographic magazine (NG) posed the question “Was Darwin Wrong?” on its front cover. Natural scientist David Quammen, author of the article by the same name, replied “No” to that question from his own perspective, and claimed that Darwin’s theory of evolution was today backed up by powerful scientific evidence. Quammen repeated the main claims from Darwin’s book The Origin of Species, but overlooked one important detail.

Darwin added another chapter to his book, one called “Difficulties on Theory,” and openly admitted the existence of difficulties in these terms:

Such is the sum of the several chief objections and difficulties which may justly be urged against my theory… I have felt these difficulties far too heavily during many years to doubt their weight. 1

The fact is, however, that the NG article discussed not one of the phenomena that Darwin regarded as a problem for his theory, and even ignored their existence. For example, although Darwin referred in his book to the way the fossil record failed to back up his theory and to the complexity in the eye, NG magazine did not even touch on such subjects which the theory of evolution is unable to account for as the Cambrian Explosion, biological complexity and the origin of genetic information.

Quammen, who thus appears to be more of a Darwinist than Darwin himself, emerged as the defender not of a theory that can account for difficulties, but of a “dogma” that needs to be shielded from criticism.

In this article, Quammen’s so-called evidence is analysed and the Darwinist propaganda embarked on by NG magazine refuted.

An Example of NG Turkey’s Dogmatic Stance

The English language edition of the NG article “Was Darwin Wrong?” also devoted space to Harun Yahya’s works about the theory of evolution. In the section describing worldwide reactions against evolution the following words appeared in reference to Harun Yahya:

Their discomfort is paralleled by Islamic creationists such as Harun Yahya, author of a recent volume titled The Evolution Deceit, who points to the six-day creation story in the Koran as literal truth and calls the theory of evolution “nothing but a deception imposed on us by the dominators of the world system.”

Interestingly though, Harun Yahya did not appear in NG’s Turkish version, and this section was altered, assuming the following form: “This unease displays a parallelism among those who support the Islamic idea of creation.”

As someone who states his primary aim as being that of describing the philosophy and scientific invalidity of Darwinism, Harun Yahya has closely monitored Darwinist propaganda in recent years and has responded, in the light of scientific findings, to the pro-evolutionist writings and broadcasts of media organisations, of which NG is one. (see www.darwinism-watch.com)

If Darwinism really were supported by a mass of evidence, as claimed in this NG article, then why is NG Turkey trying to prevent Harun Yahya’s scientific criticisms from being heard? Could it be that NG Turkey was concerned that Darwinism will be unable to withstand such scientific criticism? In fact, this attitude by NG’s Turkey desk not only shows that the magazine is unwilling to inform its readers of the source of effective criticism of evolution, but also confirms the criticism that it is seeking to keep Darwinism on its feet as an ideology.

NG Is Unwilling to Face the Modern Scientific Facts

There can be no doubt that in order to provide a realistic response to the question “Was Darwin Wrong?” one needs to look at what Darwin actually said and to compare this to modern scientific facts. In his book The Origin of Species, in which he unveiled his theory of evolution, Darwin provided a very important criterion by which to test his theory. So concrete is that criterion that in Darwin’s own words it could “absolutely break down” the theory. Darwin wrote:

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” 2

Darwin maintained that organs evolved during a gradual process. Thinking of this imaginary process in reverse, it appears that Darwin assumed that these organs possessed reducibility. However, advances made in the field of biochemistry, especially over the last 40 years, have revealed that the cell possesses a superior complexity, the details of which were unknown in Darwin’s time, for which reason it was equated to a “black box,” and that certain structures within the cell actually possess the feature of “irreducible complexity.”

“Irreducible complexity” is a phenomenon based on empirical evidence and literally constitutes the antithesis of Darwin’s theory. The most important figure to bring this concept onto the agenda of the scientific world is the biochemist Michael J. Behe from Lehigh University in the USA. In his 1996 book Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution Behe examines the irreducibly complex natures of the cell and certain other biological structures, and reveals that these cannot possibly be accounted for in terms of evolution. Behe sets out the effect that irreducible complexity has on the claims of Darwinism thus:

“To Darwin, the cell was a ‘black box’ — its inner workings were utterly mysterious to him. Now, the black box has been opened up and we know how it works. Applying Darwin’s test to the ultra-complex world of molecular machinery and cellular systems that have been discovered over the past 40 years, we can say that Darwin’s theory has ‘absolutely broken down’.” 3

Irreducible complexity has demolished Darwinism, and proved that life is the product of intelligent design, in other words that God has created all living things. The way that NG seeks to keep this from its readers constitutes a flight from reality.

NG’s biogeographical tales

In his article in NG, Quammen begins his account of the so-called evidence for Darwinism with biogeography, and it may be of use to provide a description of this concept at this point. Biogeography is a branch of science that investigates the geographical distribution of species and seeks an answer to the question of how they came by these habitat regions by drawing up maps of their locations on the Earth.

Most books in the field of biogeography are full of facts that say nothing, neither in favour nor against, the theory of evolution: such as maps of living species’ habitat areas, the features of those areas, questions regarding the spread of organisms, and the grouping together of species on the basis of geographical area … 4

When their distribution on the Earth is examined it can be seen that species do not generally exhibit a global distribution. Species have rather spread in large groups in areas possessing specific climatic and environmental conditions. Ever since Darwin, evolutionists have sought to portray this spread as evidence for evolution, though with regard to the “fundamental” living categories of geographical distribution their efforts have failed to come up with a consistent evolutionary scenario.

In their book Systematics and Biogeography, G. Nelson and N. Platnick of the New York American Museum of Natural History analysed the studies performed in this field and set out their conclusion:

We conclude, therefore, that biogeography (or geographical distribution of organisms) has not been shown to be evidence for or against evolution in any sense. 5

If evolutionists really wish to offer evidence for their theory then what they need to do is to abandon their fairy tales about “if this living thing is found here then it must have evolved here, and if that living thing is found there then it must have evolved there,” and instead scientifically document their own responses to the question of how living things came into being in the first place. (It is an indisputable fact that the mechanisms of random mutation and natural selection cannot account for the origin of species.)

The fact that evolutionist claims based on biogeography are myths devoid of any scientific evidence clearly emerge on inspection of NG’s claims about palaeontology. The fossil record clearly reveals that the idea that living things spread by evolving is a myth.

NG’s palaeontology deception

NG makes a generalisation about the fossil strata, telling its readers that so-called closely related species are generally found side by side in consecutive strata, and that a life form going back millions of years in one stratum is followed by a similar, though not identical, one in the subsequent stratum. As an example of this generalisation it cites the equine sequence that even evolutionists abandoned years ago; it maintains that the modern-day horse emerged at the end of the sequence Hyracotherium, Orohippus, Epihippus and Mohippus, fossils of which are found in consecutive strata.

What NG is doing here consists of a blatant deception. The equine sequence is an unfounded one, the invalidity of which has now been demonstrated. That being the case, putting it forward as a generalisation regarding the fossil record cannot be described as anything else than an attempt to verify that generalisation with a deceptive example.

Life forms emerged with no evolutionary progenitors, but in a single moment, and with flawless bodily structures

Darwin, who maintained that living things emerged through graduated evolution and who hoped that the fossil record to confirm that claim would be obtained in future excavations, was mistaken. The fossils obtained in endless excavations carried out by palaeontologists all over the world have produced findings that openly refute the idea of gradual change in consecutive strata. These facts concern the phenomena of sudden appearance and stasis.

Species emerge suddenly, with no evolutionary progenitors but with flawless bodily structures. In his 1999 book Fossils and Evolution, Tom Kemp, Curator of the Zoological Collections in Oxford University Museum of Natural History, admits this:

In virtually all cases a new taxon appears for the first time in the fossil record with most definitive features already present, and practically no known stem-group forms. 6

Fossils hundreds of millions of years old that bear no

trace of evolution invalidate neo-Darwinism

Furthermore, species exhibit no gradual change as suggested in the NG generalisation. Species with natural histories of hundreds of millions of years exhibit a “stability” demonstrating a permanency throughout geological strata. The shark, coelacanth, ant, salamander and many other species, fossils of which have been found and which have remained unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, have led to palaeontologists accepting stasis as one of the most striking aspects of the fossil record. This phenomenon refutes Darwinism’s prediction of gradual change and invalidates the theory. Professor of Geology Peter J. Williamson describes this in Nature magazine:

The principal problem is morphological stasis. A theory is only as good as its predictions, and conventional neo-Darwinism, which claims to be a comprehensive explanation of evolutionary process, has failed to predict the widespread long-term morphological stasis now recognized as one of the most striking aspects of the fossil record. 7

In short, NG’s claim of graduated change throughout geological strata is a myth supported in the face of the science of palaeontology. The way that NG seeks to support that myth with the equine sequence only makes matters worse.

The truth in the equine sequence that NG seeks to conceal from its readers

The equine sequence is based on various hoofed fossils unearthed in North America. Darwinists set these out in such a way as to establish a sequence, according to the fossils’ dental characteristics and numbers of toes, and for years put this forward as evidence for Darwinism. Continuing palaeontological excavations, however, definitively revealed the inconsistencies within that series. NG, known for its blind devotion to Darwinism, has no qualms about concealing this development from its readers and writing that the alleged evolutionary ancestors of the horse follow one another in consecutive geological strata.

Former BBC science editor Gordon Rattray Taylor describes how the equine sequence constitutes no evidence for Darwinism:

But perhaps the most serious weakness of Darwinism is the failure of paleontologists to find convincing phylogenies or sequences of organisms demonstrating major evolutionary change… The horse is often cited as the only fully worked-out example. But the fact is that the line from Eohippus to Equus is very erratic. It is alleged to show a continual increase in size, but the truth is that some variants were smaller than Eohippus, not larger. Specimens from different sources can be brought together in a convincing-looking sequence, but there is no evidence that they were actually ranged in this order in time. 8

At a meeting in November 1980 at the Chicago Museum of Natural History, attended by 150 evolutionists, one speaker, Boyce Rensberger, stated that there was no basis in the fossil record for the scenario of equine evolution, and that no gradual equine evolution ever took place:

The popularly told example of horse evolution, suggesting a gradual sequence of changes from four-toed fox-sized creatures living nearly 50 million years ago to today’s much larger one-toed horse, has long been known to be wrong. Instead of gradual change, fossils of each intermediate species appear fully distinct, persist unchanged, and then become extinct. Transitional forms are unknown. 9

Discoveries that living things included in the imaginary sequence of equine evolution actually lived at the same time, and even together, totally refute Quammen. One of the most striking examples of this came to light in 1981. Fossils of thousands of living things, 10 million years old, that had been buried under lava as the result of a volcanic eruption and whose skeletons had been preserved down to the present day, were dug up in the US state of Nebraska. With that discovery it emerged that three- and single-toed equines assumed to have lived at different periods and to have ancestral relationships with one another in the framework of evolutionists’ imaginary equine sequence, actually lived side by side. Interestingly the source of this information is NG magazine. 10

The myth of whale evolution

I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale. 11

From watching bears fishing along a river bank, Darwin set out his ideas on the origin of whales in these words in his book The Origin of Species, though he elected to remove that section from subsequent editions of the book. Yet evolutionists who came after Darwin had no hesitation over adopting this myth, with various minor amendments, that came down as a monument to the unrestricted nature of his imagination. They continued to propagate the myth that the whale evolved not from the bear but from other land mammals, as if this were a scientific fact.

It can now be seen that NG, one of the main representatives of Darwinian mythology, is behaving no differently, and is seeking to portray this great myth, supported for the sake of the dogma of evolution, as representing evidence for evolution.

There are enormous differences, in terms of such basic physiological characteristics as water conservation, sight and communication, between whales and the land mammals alleged to have been their progenitors. Let us now consider the scientific dilemma facing the myth of evolution by examining the design in whales:

The special water conservation design in whales’ bodies

Although they live in water, whales are unable to meet their water requirements from salty sea water. They need fresh water to live. Although it is not known exactly how they meet their water needs, it is thought that a large part of it is obtained by eating sea creatures that contain levels of salt that are 30% lower than those of the ocean water.In such an environment, where fresh water is exceedingly scarce, the maximum conservation of water in living things’ bodies and minimum consumption thereof are critical. Water levels are of great importance to whales, for which reason, just like camels, whales do not perspire. Their kidneys regulate urine concentration in such a way as to supply water.

Why is whale milk fatty?

Another delicate balance with regard to water needs appears in the fat level in the female whale’s milk. The mother whale feeds her young with a very thick milk, of the consistency of cheese. This milk is ten times fattier than human milk. There is a chemical reason why this milk contains such a high level of fat. Water is produced as a side product as fat is processed after being consumed by the baby. In this way the mother meets her offspring’s need for water with minimal water loss.

The design in whales’ eyes

There are complex arrangements in the design of the whale eye and its communication systems, no examples of which are to be found in terrestrial mammals. Land mammals have eyelids to protect against dust and impact. Whales, on the other hand, have a hard layer to protect against a different danger, the pressure under the sea. Moreover, the refractive index in the design of the whale eye makes it possible for a killer whale to leap up and catch a fish six metres above the water level in an amusement park with considerable accuracy. In addition, whales’ eyes are on either side of the head, unlike terrestrial mammals, thus protecting them from the current. Thanks to the levels of rod and cone cells in the eye, their sensitivity levels to light, colour and other details are very high. In addition to that ratio, the presence of phosphorus in the eyes is a design that facilitates their ability to see in the dark depths of the oceans.

The mathematical calculation employed by whales

The sense used by whales in the location of sources of food and of one another is not actually sight, but rather hearing. Many whales hunt at the dark regions at the bottom of the sea thanks to a form of natural “sonar.” The whale’s brain emits clicking sounds, in a way not yet fully understood by scientists. The distance of an object is determined by means of a mathematical calculation. The whale brain multiplies the speed at which the sounds it emits strike an object and bounce back by the time necessary for this, and divides the result by two. The result is the distance of the object from itself. Furthermore, the whale also possesses the ability to focus the sound waves with its brain on a specific point and to emit these like a light impulse. The returning waves are analysed and interpreted in the animal’s brain. This interpretation determines the shape of the body in front of it, its size, speed and position. The animal’s skull is sound-proofed to protect it from the bombardment of powerful sound waves it constantly emits and which could even seriously damage the brain itself. The sonic system in the animal is unbelievably sensitive, so much so that the US Navy imitates the sonar design in sea mammals in developing its own technology. 12

Special designs for whale calves

The perfect designs in whales are by no means limited to these. The shape of a whale calf’s mouth has been designed in such a way as to be ideally suited to fit its mother’s teats, so that the calf is able to suckle without losing a drop of milk and without taking in a drop of sea water. Moreover, they possess lungs capable of storing high levels of oxygen for protracted dives and an ear membrane designed to protect them from high pressure.

These arrangements, every one of which indicates an evident design, are particular to whales and are not to be found in any terrestrial mammal. NG, however, expects it readers to set reason aside and believe that these all came about by chance. NG denies that whales were intelligently designed, maintaining instead that one fine day a land mammal decided to live in the sea, and that the whale evolved as the result of unconscious mechanisms such as random mutations and natural selection.

Yet what mutation could possibly produce sonar in a mammal that was allegedly the progenitor of the whale? Bearing in mind the effect of mutations and the importance of the brain to the whale’s survival, it is clear that mutations would damage the brain, crippling or killing the whale. Could the brain, that produces sound waves, be able to focus these on a particular point and determine the location of objects using a mathematical calculation, acquire a perfect sonar in an area that would be damaged during this random process? By what coincidence could it produce sonar of such a high quality that even the US Navy’s technology development units have been unable to match it? What mutations could turn a land mammal’s feet into fins and a tail capable of propelling several tons of weight?

There is no doubt that these questions may also be asked with regard to the systems that make it possible to use water so productively, the suckling system and the protective systems in the eye and ear. However, NG has no reasonable response to give to these questions. There is but one answer. Whales were created fully formed in a single moment. God created whales to be flawless, endowed with all the systems for their needs, just as He did all other living things. In one verse of the Qur’an it is revealed that:

Mankind! remember God’s blessing to you. Is there any creator other than God providing for you from heaven and earth? There is no god but Him. So how have you been perverted? (Qur’an, 35: 3)

(For a more detailed reply to NG’s fantastical whale story see http://www.harunyahya.com/70national_geographic_sci29.php)

NG’s error regarding embryology

Another error in Quammen’s article in NG is the repetition of a myth once known as the “law of recapitulation.” This belonged to the German biologist Ernst Haeckel and in his claim regarding embryology Darwin was to a large extent “inspired” by Haeckel. The law of recapitulation maintains that the embryological development of living things repeats the imaginary stages undergone during the descent of the alleged evolutionary ancestors.

The fact that Quammen devotes space to this in his article reveals a wide gap of knowledge on his part. Objections along the lines that Haeckel’s claims were devoid of any scientific justification and that the evidence he offered was forged began 136 years ago13, and the end of the law of recapitulation as the subject of scientific debate came as far back as 80 years ago 14. Even George Gaylord Simpson, one of the founders of neo-Darwinism, admitted this fact 42 years ago in the words:

Haeckel misstated the evolutionary principle involved. It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny. 15

Moreover, the myth of recapitulation, which NG has no qualms over recapitulating itself, involves what one British embryologist referred to in 1997 as “the best known fraud in the history of biology.” In his book Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte (The History of Natural Creation), written in 1868, Haeckel deliberately distorted the pictures of human, monkey and dog embryos in such a way as to support his claim.

One striking aspect of this fraud is that it also constitutes a “centennial monument” to Darwinist dogmatism. Until recently, a number of Darwinist sources, including text books, continued either to use the counterfeit drawings as they were, or else to repeat the myth of recapitulation. The Harvard University professor and evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould displayed great common sense and offered the following criticism:

… [W]e do, I think, have the right to be both astonished and ashamed by the century of mindless recycling that has led to the persistence of these drawings in a large number, if not a majority, of modern textbooks! 16

NG has not used counterfeit drawings. Yet it has no hesitations over using recapitulation, the invalidity of which emerged at least 80 years ago, as support for Darwinism.

We urge NG to consider Stephen Jay Gould’s words.

NG’s errors with regard to morphology

Quammen exhibits a most thought-provoking attitude in that section in which he deals with Darwin’s claims on the subject of morphology. The way that a zoo is organised into birds, monkeys, big cats, crocodiles or fish in the aquarium is interpreted as evidence for evolution. According to Quammen, the fact that living things can be classified under a hierarchical system in families, orders and kingdoms must be the product of an evolutionary process.

However, Quammen’s portrayal of hierarchical classification as evidence for evolution is nonsensical. That is because the fact that forms of life can be classified hierarchically is not a prediction first put forward by evolutionists and then subsequently confirmed. The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus, the father of the modern system of classification, was a scientist who believed in creation from nothing and regarded that classification as the product of intelligent design. That is compatible with what we see with our own eyes and is grounded in common sense. The ability to be hierarchically classified is a well known hallmark of intelligent design. Means of transport, for example, can be classified as land, air and sea vehicles, and may be broken down into subcategories and even smaller subgroups. Yet this classification does not show that the modes of transport in question came into being through evolution.

Indeed, in an article published in the magazine New Scientist, the prominent evolutionist Mark Ridley makes the following statement:

The simple fact that species can be classified hierarchically into genera, families, and so on, is not an argument for evolution. It is possible to classify any set of objects into a hierarchy whether their variation is evolutionary or not. 17

Quammen’s preconception

In the same way that what Quammen writes on this subject are far from supporting his claim, it also reveals how he relies on preconceptions rather than scientific evidence:

Such a pattern of tiered resemblances?groups of similar species nested within broader groupings, and all descending from a single source?isn’t naturally present among other collections of items. You won’t find anything equivalent if you try to categorize rocks, or musical instruments, or jewelry. Why not? Because rock types and styles of jewelry don’t reflect unbroken descent from common ancestors. Biological diversity does. The number of shared characteristics between any one species and another indicates how recently those two species have diverged from a shared lineage. (p. 13)

Quammen placed the hierarchical categorisation in living things in a separate place, on the grounds that it reflects a continual chain of descent from a common ancestor. That term, however, is helpless labelling in Quammen’s desperate attempts to prove Darwin right.

As is made clear above, there is no fossil record capable of being proposed as evidence of any evolutionary link between living categories. The words of the prominent evolutionary palaeontologist Stephen Jay Gould that “The evolutionary trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches” are an admission of the fact that there is actually no evidence for the evolutionary links assumed to exist among living things. 18

In short, the origin of the evolutionary chain of descent that Quammen claims exists among living categories is not scientific fact such as the fossil record, but rather his own dogmatic mentality.

The five-digit skeletal structure error

Quammen maintains that the way that various vertebrates such as the bat, the dolphin and human beings all share the feature of having five digits stems from descent from a common ancestor. This claim rests on the fact that although there is the same basic plan in the front and rear legs of the living things in question, these can still be easily differentiated (the homological claim). This claim of Quammen’s can of course only deceive those readers who are unaware of the facts of modern science. Advances in the field of molecular biology definitively invalidate this morphology-based claim. One striking discovery that led to this is that the production of these organs, assumed to be a legacy from a common ancestor, is in fact controlled by different genes in different creatures.

The evolutionary biologist William Fix describes the collapse of the evolutionary thesis concerning pentadactylism (having five digits) in this area in the face of this discovery:

The older textbooks on evolution make much of the idea of homology, pointing out the obvious resemblances between the skeletons of the limbs of different animals. Thus the `pentadactyl’ limb pattern is found in the arm of a man, the wing of a bird, and flipper of a whale, and this is held to indicate their common origin. Now if these various structures were transmitted by the same gene couples, varied from time to time by mutations and acted upon by environmental selection, the theory would make good sense. Unfortunately this is not the case. Homologous organs are now known to be produced by totally different gene complexes in the different species. The concept of homology in terms of similar genes handed on from a common ancestor has broken down. 19

NG’s vestigial Darwinism

Quammen displays a striking determination not to grasp the fact that Darwin’s claims have been demolished by modern science. One of the indications of this is his repetition of the claim regarding vestigial organs, a claim which is utterly illusory. It is maintained in the article that organs such as the male nipple, structures claimed to be the vestiges of rear legs in certain snakes, or the covered wings in coleoptera that are not actually used, are redundant, functionless organs left over from the evolutionary process. Quammen is clearly ignoring the definitive results from scientific developments:

The list of up to 180 supposed vestigial organs at the beginning of the 20th century eventually shrank to almost none in the face of discoveries from scientific research. One by one it emerged that a great many organs, such as the appendix and the plica semilunaris, once supposed to be vestigial organs, do actually have functions.20 “Science” is in any case the process by which human beings come to know what was previously unknown. The gradual emergence of the functions of organs that were once regarded as vestigial shows that, logically, the functions of the last few remaining organs whose functions are still unknown will soon be revealed.

Indeed, a great many present-day evolutionists have admitted that the myth of “vestigial organs” is an argument rooted in ignorance. In an article headed “Do Vestigial Organs Represent Evidence for Evolution?” published in the journal Evolutionary Theory, the evolutionary biologist S. R. Scadding admits this fact:

Since it is not possible to unambiguously identify useless structures, and since the structure of the argument used is not scientifically valid, I conclude that ‘vestigial organs’ provide no special evidence for the theory of evolution. 21

Evolutionists’ claim on the subject of vestigial organs stem not from any vestigialism in these organs, but from the vestigial nature of their own perspectives. The existence of any living thing proves only the existence of God, its creator. The way that inanimate and unconscious atoms combine to produce a hearing, smelling, touching and seeing human being is proof of God’s flawless creation. That it is because it is impossible for atoms, which cannot smell, hear or see, to wish to have perception and to combine together for that purpose. For a collection of matter to stand and look at itself in front of a mirror, or for matter to taste and touch itself, has no place in evolutionary logic. These feelings can only be explained in terms of a superior creation, in other words the existence of God and His flawless creation. Despite this self-evident truth, evolutionists hold to the irrational and blind belief that they themselves are the product of matter and blind chance, which shows that their claim regarding vestigial organs is one based on this prejudiced and dogmatic perspective.

The realisation that the organs regarded by evolutionists as vestigial do actually have functions is a proof of this. For example, the structures portrayed as the vestiges of rear legs in certain species of snake are now known to help them to grip one another during mating. To regard the male nipple as the product of an evolutionary process also rests on a distorted logic. If the male nipple were a leftover from an evolutionary process then males must have evolved from a population consisting solely of females, which is a scenario so unimaginable that no evolutionist has felt able to accept it. Coleoptera, another example cited by Quammen, also constitute no evidence for evolution. Insect species which do not develop a functional wing are generally seen in open habitats with strong winds, such as ocean islands. In an environment where strong winds blow and surrounded by large masses of water, insects’ being able to fly is by no means an advantage, and may even represent a danger. That is because insects flying in the air are exposed to the effects of the wind and can be hurled into trees or rocks, ending up crippled or dead. There may, therefore, have been a tendency for them to move towards a ground-based lifestyle. Over time, the insect population that lives near the ground comes to consist of individuals that do not develop fully fledged wings. That is because, unlike flying insects, mutations that prevent insects that live near to ground level developing wings may not be damaging to the insect (on the provision that they do not cause a total interruption in its physiology).

A mutation that prevented wing development in a flying insect living in a habitat uninfluenced by winds would be harmful and maybe even lethal. That is because normally an insect that uses its wings to feed and to avoid predators would possess functionless wings because of that mutation and would be unable to survive and thus eliminated from the population.

On the other hand, in insects living in a habitat affected by winds and that used their feet to move about in the same way as non-flying insects, a mutation in the wings might not have lethal consequences. That is because the insect will already have grown accustomed to a life style in which it does not use wings, and it will make no difference whether its wings are healthy or else lose their function due to mutation (as long as the mutation in question is not one that affects the insect’s general physiology). In short, a destructive mutation leading to the loss of an insect’s wings may not be lethal in an environment where wings are in any case of no consequence.

However, it cannot be said that the coleoptera that are assumed to have undergone such a process represent evidence of evolution. The theory of evolution proposes that organs gradually assume a more complex form. The genetic change proposed in support of this claim must be of such a kind as to add new genetic information to creatures’ DNA. It is evident, however, that coleoptera do not gain any new genetic information during this process and that, on the contrary, they suffer a loss of information in the genes that control wing development.

Can this acquisition of genetic information, which is not seen in coleoptera, be observed in any other living thing? Definitely not. Evolutionists have been unable to show the emergence of a new organ, or even a new protein, by means of random mutations.

In short, the theory of evolution maintains that living things acquire new organs with the addition of new genetic information to their DNA, but the vestigial organ argument is one that concerns a loss of function, in other words a loss of genetic data. Therefore, vestigial organs provide no scientific support for the theory of evolution. The reason for evolutionists’ determination to place this claim on the scientific agenda is psychological rather than scientific. Their display of blind devotion to materialism leads them to adopt a vestigial perspective towards the evident truth of creation. (You can read Harun Yahya’s article that demolishes evolutionists’ vestigial viewpoint here. http://www.darwinism-watch.com/hurriyet_science0407.php)

James P. Gills, M.D., founder of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida, is a creationist scientist. He is also a world-renowned ophthalmologist. In his book Darwinism Under the Microscope, Gills cites a great many proofs of creation that totally undermine evolution, and writes that the only reason why scientists still insist on evolution is the spiritual cataract of thinking of themselves as the product of blind chance. 22

The error of thinking that resistance to antibiotics and DDT is evidence of evolution

The NG article seeks to show that bacterial immunity to antibiotics and insects’ resistance to such pesticides as DDT constitutes evidence for evolution. On the subject of the resistance that microbes appear to develop to drugs Quammen confidently states:

There’s no better or more immediate evidence supporting the Darwinian theory than this process of forced transformation among our inimical germs. (p. 21)

However, Quammen’s excitement in portraying bacterial immunity as evidence for evolution is totally misplaced. It is explained below why these two phenomena do not represent evidence for Darwinism.

The first of the “deadly molecules” employed against micro-organisms was penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Fleming discovered a molecule that killed the Staphylococcus mould bacterium, after which antibiotics taken from micro-organisms were used against various bacteria. Although it appeared at first that definitive results had been obtained, the truth later emerged: bacteria gradually acquire resistance to antibiotics. The great majority of bacteria exposed to antibiotics die, but since a small minority remain unaffected this rapidly multiply and eventually come to constitute the entire population. Thus the entire population becomes resistant to the antibiotic.

However, there is no question of bacteria developing through mutation here, because the bacteria already possess the characteristics in question before being exposed to antibiotics. Despite being an evolutionist publication, Scientific American magazine admitted these facts in its March 1998 edition:

Many bacteria possessed resistance genes even before commercial antibiotics came into use. Scientists do not know exactly why these genes evolved and were maintained. 23

Insects acquire resistance to pesticides such as DDT in the same way, and, again in the same way, this represents no evidence for evolution.

The prominent evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala accepts the truth of this in the words:

The genetic variants required for resistance to the most diverse kinds of pesticides were apparently present in every one of the populations exposed to these man-made compounds. 24

One of those to carry out the most detailed research on this subject is the Israeli biophysicist Dr. Lee Spetner. In his book Not by Chance, published in 1997, Spetner showed that bacterial immunity is brought about by two different mechanisms, but that these offer no support for the theory of evolution. For more detail on this subject see http://www.harunyahya.com/20questions05.php#q19 and http://www.darwinismrefuted.com/embryology_01.html)

Another so-called piece of evidence in the NG article, in addition to the resistance in bacteria and insects, concerns genetic similarities.

The deception that evolution can be observed

NG claims that evolution can actually be witnessed in nature and in the laboratory. This, however, is a fantastical and groundless claim. In an article titled “How Are New Species Formed?” published in the 14 June, 2003, edition of New Scientist, George Turner made the following significant “admission”:

Not long ago, we thought we knew how species formed. We believed that the process almost always started with complete isolation of populations. It often occurred after a population had gone through a severe “genetic bottleneck,” as might happen after a pregnant female was swept off to a remote island and her offspring mated with each other. The beauty of this so-called “founder effect” model was that it could be tested in the lab. In reality, it just didn’t hold up. Despite evolutionary biologists’ best efforts, nobody has even got close to creating a new species from a founder population. What’s more, as far as we know, no new species has formed as a result of humans releasing small numbers of organisms into alien environments. 25

As we have seen, evolutionists do not actually know how new species are formed. In other words, Quammen’s claim about being able to witness evolution in action is totally unfounded. The fact that the long years of study carried out by the Grants into chaffinch beak lengths on the Galapagos islands is cited in support is the result of Darwinism misrepresenting variations to represent evidence for itself. (For further information, see http://www.harunyahya.com/nas04.php)

Conclusion

As we have seen, Darwin was wrong. National Geographic’s posing the question whether he was wrong is as ridiculous as asking “Was Freud wrong?” or “Was Marx wrong?” That is because, like Freudianism and Marxism, Darwinism is a theory that has come to the end of its life. We call upon NG magazine to abandon its support for this outdated myth and to accept that creation is the true origin of life.

What NG needs to do is to set its preconceptions to one side and cease supporting Darwinism as a dogma, and to face up to the scientific evidence that undermines this theory. Discoveries in the last 40 years in particular have definitively revealed the invalidity of the naturalist philosophy at the heart of Darwinism. If NG does face up to that fact it will see that the organised complexity of life and the genetic information on which it depends point to intelligent design, in other words that life did not evolve on its own through chance and natural events, but was “created.”

NG – and all other Darwinists – have so far avoided facing up to this, and may therefore have resorted to covering up the difficulties facing their theory. Yet they must be aware that this avoidance will be of no use in keeping their theory alive. That is because a major development in the world of science is serving notice that the age of sweeping matters under the carpet has come to an end.

The way that the intelligent design movement, that has been sweeping through the USA over the last 10 years, has one by one unmasked the dogmas of Darwinism, has made it the focus of wide interest. The intellectual basis of this movement is the “Theory of Intelligent Design.” The theory in question maintains that complex biological structures containing large amounts of information can only be explained in terms of intelligence-based causes, and that these causes can be empirically studied in the field of biology. 26

One indication that the intelligent design movement may represent the dynamic for major cultural changes is the way it is effectively and in a widespread manner revealing that the evidence for so long taught as evidence for Darwinism in schools actually consists of mythology, deception, misrepresentation and even fraud. California Berkeley University’s Professor Phillip E. Johnson, the leader of the movement, stresses that Darwinism will pass into the dustbin of history sometime in this century. 27

It will be of use here to remind NG of the damage from a determined persistence in its policy of uncritical defence of Darwinism. It will be remembered that NG announced the discovery of the Archaeoraptor fossil discovered in China as definitive proof that birds evolved from dinosaurs, without waiting for it to be described in referred scientific journals. Later, however, it was realised that the fossil did not represent a missing link at all, but was a counterfeit “produced” by a Chinese peasant.26 Because of its blind devotion to Darwinism NG had no hesitation in embracing this fossil as “proof” by unscientific methods, and later found itself in “modern paleontology’s greatest embarrassment.” 29

According to the ornithologist Dr. Storrs Olson, “National Geographic has reached an all-time low for engaging in sensationalistic, unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.” 30

The portrayal of the claim of recapitulation, which died at least 80 years ago, as evidence for evolution in NG’s article “Was Darwin Wrong” shows that it is devoid of the seriousness required by science and is continuing with its “unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.” NG is not behaving intelligently. Maintaining this approach does not provide any support for Darwinism. On the contrary, NG is documenting its own dogmatism in an ever more obvious way.

We invite NG to consider these points and to accept that creation is the true origin of life.

There is no doubt that the Lord of all living things, on Earth, in the Sky, and between, is God. In one verse of the Qur’an God reveals that:

Your God is One God. There is no god but Him, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful. (Qur’an, 2: 163)

Under the pen name of Harun Yahya, Adnan Oktar has written some 250 works. His books contain a total of 46,000 pages and 31,500 illustrations. Of these books, 7,000 pages and 6,000 illustrations deal with the collapse of the Theory of Evolution. You can read, free of charge, all the books Adnan Oktar has written under the pen name Harun Yahya on these websites www.harunyahya.com

1. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library.

2. Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 189.

3. Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box, 1996

4. For more information about the evolutionist theses on biogeography, please see Walter J. Remine, “The Biotic Message: Evolution Versus Message Theory”, Saint Paul Science; 1st ed edition, 1993. page 538.

5. G. Nelson & N. Platnick, Systematics and Biogeography: Cladistics and Vicariance, Columbia University Press, 1981, p. 223.

6. Fossils and Evolution, Dr TS Kemp – Curator of Zoological Collections, Oxford University, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 246.

7. Peter G. Williamson, “Morphological stasis and developmental constraint: real problems for neo-Darwinism,” Nature, vol. 294, 19 November 1981, p. 214; Stephen E. Jones, http://members.iinet.net.au/~sejones/

8. Gordon Rattray Taylor, The Great Evolution Mystery, Abacus, Sphere Books, London, 1984, p. 230.

9. Boyce Rensberger, Houston Chronicle, November 5, 1980, p. 15.

10. Voorhies M.R., “Ancient Ashfall Creates a Pompei of Prehistoric Animals,” National Geographic, Vol. 159, No. 1, January 1981, pp.67-68,74 ; “Horse Find Defies Evolution” Creation Ex Nihilo 5(3):15, January 1983, http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/3723.asp

11. Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition, Harvard University Press, 1964, p. 184.

12. Spotting Mines With Dolphin Sonar , ScienceNOW 1998: 2

13 L. Rutimeyer, “Referate,” Archiv fur Anthropologie, 1868

14 Keith S. Thompson, “Ontogeny and Phylogeny Recapitulated”, American Scientist, vol. 76, May / June 1988, p. 273

15 G. G. Simpson, W. Beck, An Introduction to Biology, Harcourt Brace and World, New York, 1965, p. 241.

16 Stephen Jay Gould, “Abscheulich! – Atrocious! – the precursor to the theory of natural selection,” Natural History, March 2000, p. 45.

17 Mark Ridley, “Who Doubts Evolution?” New Scientist, vol. 90 (25 June 1981), p. 832.

18 Gould S.J, “Evolution’s Erratic Pace,” Natural History, May 1977, p. 13-14.

19 William Fix, The Bone Peddlers: Selling Evolution, Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, 1984, p. 189.

20 J. Bergman & G. Howe, Vestigial Organs are Fully Functional, CRS Books, Terre Haute, IN, 1990.

21 S. R. Scadding, “Do ‘Vestigial Organs’ Provide Evidence for Evolution?,” Evolutionary Theory, vol. 5, May 1981, p. 173.

22 James P.Gills, M.D. & Thomas Woodward, Ph.D., Darwinism under the Microscope, Charisma House, 2002, p. 39.

23 Stuart B. Levy, “The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance,” Scientific American, March 1998, p. 35

24 Francisco J.Ayala, “The Mechanisms of Evolution,” Scientific American, vol. 239, September 1978, p. 64

25 George Turner, “How Are New Species Formed?,” New Scientist, vol. 178, issue 2399, 14 June 2003, p. 36

26 http://www.arn.org , http://www.discovery.org/csc/

27 Phillip E. Johnson, “Mothballed Science,” Touchstone Magazine, December 2003

28 For more information about Archaeoraptor forgery, please see http://www.harunyahya.com/20questions03.php#q7

29 Tim Friend, “The ‘missing link’ fossil that wasn’t”, USA Today, 02/01/2000

30 Open Letter to National Geographic Society by Storrs L. Olson, Curator of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

Andy Josiah wonders:


You’ve stumbles upon the perfect product to sell as an affiliate marketer. The sales page is so good you think great an “affiliate new program”. The ideas are new and fresh. The product seems to be cutting edge “the next big thing”. The cost is right, the commission fantastic, and the graphics beautiful. Exciting isn’t? Slow down stud. You might be skillful enough to get tons of traffic to your landing page and quickly start generating a lot of sales, but it can be risky to take a new program at face value. What if the product is no good?

Yes you know Refunds; this could be a nightmare for an affiliate. New programs that promote goods that fail to be as good as advertised can cause chargeback’s and refund requests at a rapid speed. All those commission cheques you received that you were happy about will all disappear and all your hard work would be for nothing.

There is something even worse than just loosing those commission cheques. You would destroy the relationship you worked so hard to build with your customers, also all future earning can be in jeopardy because your customers would question every other product you try to sell or recommend to them, and this can set you back months or even years. You would not want to see your profits disappear as angry customers clamor for refunds; this is why you need to do research before putting your name on or promoting a new affiliate product.

What’s the Solution? You should examine the product before promoting it. You must find out if it is good or not. Is it worth the hype, is it all it is advertised to be. Will your customers like it or not? You should get information from people you trust, someone with first hand experience with the product, find out if what is said on the sales page is consistent with the actual product. A good place to check out for this information is forums, and chat rooms if you find forums based on affiliate marketing you can simply ask other fellow affiliates if they know about the particular product. You should get enough information to make an informative decision.

Of course purchasing the actual product and testing it for yourself is also a good idea, this is obviously the best way to test an item. Once you do all of this you would be in a good position to promote a new affiliate product. You can target more traffic with greater efficiency if you know first hand about a product and have high confidence in your product. This would make the possibility of customers purchasing your products higher.

When choosing products to sell and promote be careful and be sure to keep your eyes open and don’t enter blindly. A little vision can give a substantial head start on successful affiliate advertising. Do research on your product and it can save you a world of trouble. If you need more information on affiliate new program check out the attached link.

Terry Dashner wonders:


Days ahead…

Terry Dashner….Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013

A hunting accident in 1858 blinded a young Englishman, leaving him depressed and despondent. Letters from friends did not help much, for they mostly urged him to be resigned to the will of Providence. But one letter was different. It came from a former tutor of the 25-year-old man and said, “It will be your own fault if this trouble does not bring with it some alleviation. The evil that has fallen on you will lose half its terrors if regarded steadfastly in the face with determination to subdue it as far as may be possible.”

The letter continued with practical suggestions for study and plans for the future. It was the right challenge. Called on to accept his misfortune and make the best of it, Henry Fawcett became a professor at Cambridge University and later England’s postmaster general.

Our world is changing before our very eyes. Some of the changes are good—liberating Iraq from the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein, the world communities coming together to aid the victims of natural disasters worldwide, continuing advancements in science and medicine for the good of mankind, and many more. On the other hand, some of the changes are sobering, to say the least.

Current reports coming out of Asia are that China is getting ready to move against the United States for Taiwan. Nuclear strikes are probable in the noted scenario. Iran is about five years away from nuclear weapons. The Middle East is in turmoil. Israel is giving up occupied land in the Gaza. The Palestinians are claiming victory over Israel through years of jihad by suicide bombings and are steps closer to a Palestinian state. Weather patterns continue to alarm scientists worldwide and populated areas are being destroyed with its people displaced abroad. Truly these are trying times.

As Christians how should we interpret the signs of the times? Although we are Christian, that does not mean we are exempt from alarm and despair; nevertheless, we need not submit to the calamity and despair. Jesus told us over 2000 years ago (Matthew 24; Mark 13; and etc.) that troubling times would come worldwide. He told us that although the earth will shake and the heavens would fall, we are not to fear but rejoice because His coming is nigh. When calamity comes, we can do one of two things. We can fear and submit to the disaster around us. Or we can trust God all the more and do the Father’s business of serving our fellowman.

These days the Christian should stand head and shoulders above by stooping to serve everyone in need. This should be our “finest hour.” In the midst of darkness all around us, we should shine all the brighter because the light of Jesus Christ shines through us.

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon.

Pastor T.

Yuga Rishi Shriram Sharma Acharya wonders:


Material Science can be defined as understanding the potentials of this material universe and then making apt use of them. On the other hand Spiritual Science deals with the advancement of our consciousness so as to attain eternal unlimited bliss (Ananda). Human beings need to pay heed to both these in a balanced manner. Based on spiritual tenets Vital Force consciousness is made balanced in an optimal fashion. The physical body is made up of matter and hence materials are required to maintain a sound healthy body. In order to lead a balanced life both these are very essential for world humanity. If only spirituality and modern science work together in a healthy balanced manner can individuals and the entire world, lead a life of material comforts and spiritual bliss.

And yet it is our ill fate today that the gigantic potentials of materialism and spiritualism refuse to work in tandem with one another in a healthy cooperative manner. Forget cooperation both are at loggerheads with each other and are busy casting aspersions on each other. Modern Science virtually scoffs at the existence of God, our soul and fruits of actions (Karma Phala). Those who believe in only that knowledge/proof dished out by our 5 senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin) also believe in only the utility of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and nothing beyond that. With the result man has not only become an atheist but unethical too. Since a major chunk of world humanity follow rank materialism and nothing beyond that their thinking too has become blind and deluded. Today selfishness, unruliness and terrorist activities are ruling the roost. This has totally weakened individual characters and a sense of oneness with the world has disappeared into thin air. No doubt Modern Science has advanced our economic and intellectual prowess in a manifold manner and yet unfortunately immense distortions too have simultaneously grown like weeds in man’s conscious arena. Dangers and clouds of destruction are looming large all over the globe. It seems as though the days of super destruction are just round the corner.

After having said all this it is now the turn of Spiritual Sciences. They have failed to give healthy logical answers to the allegations made by Modern Science against them. Not only this spirituality angrily lashed out at science and set up an illusory dream like world for itself where science was refused entry. Obviously the vast intellectual class got irked and labeled Spiritual Science as a set of blind beliefs and means of fulfilling selfish unbecoming desires. With the result spirituality remained demeaned and man’s material prowess got a shock. World humanity has sadly lost all those benefits ere had Spiritual Sciences and Material Sciences worked in healthy tandem with one another. Today world individuals face debacle and the globe’s all round balance too has become grim. Only those subtle seers of the world who have gauged the havoc inflicted on the layman’s life, world management etc by all these developments. These great seers naturally are worried and uneasy if a solution is not found and applied immediately.

Today in the world the need of the hour is that modern science and spirituality, matter and consciousness work in whole hearted cooperation with one another. As a result an individual’s glory and world management can reach higher peaks of all round advancement. In order to target this super goal Brahmavarchas Research Institute (Address: Shantikunj, Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India, website: www.awgp.org) is conducting research studies in a very scientific manner so that modern science and spiritual sciences work in smooth tandem with one another. This mutual cooperation can be compared to the Samudra Manthan or ‘Churning of the Ocean’ as depicted in Indian Mythology called Puranas. In that the ‘demons’ (not literally speaking since it is just an allegory) of modern science and ‘demigods’ of spiritual science worked in tandem so as to churn the ocean and thus obtain 14 priceless jewels. Today’s times demand that this sort of cooperation take place again between modern science and spirituality. Brahmavarchas Research Institute (Address: Shantikunj, Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India, website: www.awgp.org) has already commenced this on a war like footing.

The task at hand is quite difficult and hence not easy at all. This is because all ancient precepts have to undergo the test using modern scientific techniques which so far were superficially accepted as “Rishi-tenets”. The Brahmavarchas Research Institute has authored a gigantic text which encompasses ancient Rishi texts, philosophical principles and modern day scientific laws. All worldwide principles with reference to science and spirituality (scientific journals, scriptures etc) have been collected on a mammoth scale. Great thinkers and scientists the world over are reflecting over these details deeply so that science and spirituality mutually cooperate with one another and thus bestow both material and spiritual prosperity on world denizens. Ultimately the age old dream of great leaders and thinkers of the world can definitely be realized viz. “A BEAUTIFUL BORDERLESS WORLD”.

Spiritual philosophy, sacred sentimental feelings, idealistic behavior and a disciplined life is not merely the figment of one’s imagination because they encompass not merely logic, precept, proof etc., but also modern scientific principles. Without proving all this very conclusively it is well nigh impossible to re-manifest faith that has been lost in the soul of today’s highly intellectual and professional world human beings. Scriptural proof and the Rishi tradition does not hold as much water as it did many decades back. If under such circumstances we sit listlessly devoid of hope the situation in future will turn even scarier. Over and above losing faith in spiritual values it will lead to a life devoid of ethics, duty bound nature, commitment, accountability, human values, love for all etc. In turn man’s intelligent wiliness devoid of ethics and human values will create anarchy, unruliness, terror, tainted viewpoint etc in the entire world. Thus idealistic thinking, generosity, disciplined living etc will all remain a thing of the past.

Keeping in mind that the world over people abhor practicing spiritual tenets it has now become most important that those priceless teachings of great Rishis, thinkers and philosophers of the world be tested scientifically which encompasses logic, sound principles, proof etc. Only then can the present day ‘ethical anarchy’ be nullified so as to replace it with high ethical living both professionally and socially. Research studies conducted by Brahmavarchas Research Institute involves experimentation, scientific research and analysis in this direction. It has a well equipped gigantic laboratory including modern day scientific technology and apparatus. In addition it has a superb collection of books, journals and other required literature from the world over. Highly qualified research scientists are experimenting in this unique scientific institute so as to achieve the supreme goal of raising man’s ethical, material and spiritual status. So far some very encouraging findings have come their way and they are very sure that in the near future the goal of raising world humanity’s glory to its pinnacle will no doubt be achieved.

Nature has designed such machines in the form of the human body and brain which helps man easily carry out his daily chores with élan. The subtle body has so many mysterious layers which help us correlate them to cosmic Divine Powers and tap the latter for apt material and spiritual advancement. Brahmavarchas Research Institute makes use of apt research techniques for carrying out experiments and research, on the subtle human body and its relation with cosmic powers. The 6 Chakras, 5 Sheaths (Koshas), subtle complexes and glands, subtle plexuses, divine Yogic nerves, vital energy flow, Sahasrar, Mooladhar, Sushumna, Kundalini centers etc abound with infinite divine energy. If these are awakened and made optimum use of man can raise his ordinary status into an extraordinary one and his Extra Sensory Potential (ESP) too will augment by leaps and bounds.

Shantikunj (Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India) the HQ of All World Gayatri Parivar conducts many spiritual camps where one finds thousands of spiritual participants. As per their inner state and requirements they are made to do Sadhana (spiritual practice) and its results are noted down in detail. As per our observations the bodily health, intellectual brilliance, sentimental potential, Ojas, Tejas, Varchas and divine aura of these aspirants augmented a great fold which imbues strong belief in us that in future much more gigantic achievements will come our way at the world level. Aspirants who undergo Sadhana find a great difference wherein their mental weakness, ill health, bad habits, mental taints and complexes are eradicated from their very roots. Instead good health, special qualities, divine aura, intellectual brilliance etc bloom forth amazingly.

Dev Sanskriti (divine culture) has 2 foundation stones viz. Gayatri and Yajna. Gayatri is a Super Divine Science that encompasses Mantra Science too. Within Mantra Science word power of an individual is awakened which in turn augments our Vital Force manifold times. Almighty God is also called Shabda Brahman or Divine Sound and Naad Brahman. The Gayatri Mantra is interwoven and meditated upon on this basis. Mantra Science helps one augment ones divine potential greatly, make use of it for others material/spiritual advancement and both the material world and subtle world’s atmosphere gets transformed in a positive manner. Today we are scientifically analyzing as to what extent the precepts of Gayatri hold true in today’s modern age. In fact the results so far are outstanding wherein Super Mantra Gayatri chanting and meditation manifest mysterious DivinePpowers in the devotee’s subtle body. In the near future we are confident that more such valuable information will be unearthed by us all.

Agnihotra practices (fire rites) as per scriptural injunctions help overcome diseases and mental taints and complexes like lust, greed, envy, criminal instincts etc. Based on scriptural tenets we are trying to prove whether all this can be overcome including natural disasters and calamities. We are quite sure that when the true principles and method of Agnihotra will be identified via research it will be at par with existing methods and cures that humanity resorts to today. It will augment both physical and mental health without any side effects and that our very life force and Vital Force will be made intensely radiant.

Shantikunj (Haridwar, UtTaranchal, India) has built a gigantic garden that grows various herbs including very rare ones. These herbs are used in Yajnopathy i.e. curing diseases by using these herbs grown in various types of Yajnas (Vedic fire sacrifices). Today we have set up a modern scientific laboratory to experiment on these herbs and prove that what is written in our ancient scriptures regarding their method of cure is absolutely true even in today’s modern computer age. From the standpoint of therapy every herb is tested to find out which disease/diseases are cured by it.

Yajna has other priceless benefits too. Vital Force energy rains from interstellar space on Earth which is absorbed by creatures, plants etc dwelling on it. We are studying how it can be made more nourishing for us all on our globe. Yajnas also help eradicate atmospheric and other types of pollution. Yajna energy can help radiate our personalities by warding off mental taints. A philosophical research in this area too is being conducted by us very minutely.

Astrological Sciences believe inter planetary rays and emissions influence the Earth’s atmosphere, the Vital Force of all beings and plants, trees etc. The present day calculations of their findings are in a state of doubt for majority of world humanity. With reference to their influence mere approximations are put forth. It is our ill fate that this priceless science which can influence various aspects of human life in a positive manner remains listless in a cloud of doubt. Brahmavarchas Research Institute has set up a Vedic School which has all requirements and means used in ancient times. With its aid predominantly the true state of the planets, satellites etc of the Solar System are gauged. It is done so that one can find out how a particular state of a particular planet etc influences which group, when and in what manner? If such apt and accurate predictions are made successfully will they not help man the world over overcome problems and thus increase his material and spiritual prosperity? With reference to this astrological research a new Panchang (almanac) has been published wherein apart from the planets mentioned in ancient texts the influence of more recently identified planets (Neptune, Uranus, Pluto) too has been elucidated. Astrology can strongly influence Spiritual Science and hence it too is a part of our research at Brahmavarchas. In order to unearth information regarding the subtle results of conscious inter planetary influences new beliefs and scientific technology too have been made use of apart from apparatus that has been used so far since ancient times. Keeping this in mind our research also includes a deep scientific study of Astrological Sciences.

Over and above all this we are also researching into the other unknown and subtle mysteries of cosmic nature. A major aspect of this research focuses on the basis, nature and mode of awakening of the unlimited Extra Sensory Powers (ESP-albeit in a latent state) that lie untapped in man’s psyche/soul.

This cosmos is also pervaded by groups of invisible beings. They are called ghosts, Satan, demigods, angels etc. The question is if they do exist what is the nature/form of their existence? Assuming a relationship gets established between man and these subtle beings, will both mutually benefit or that one of them gains and the other experiences a lack? This area too is being researched into by us. We are making all efforts to prove our point via scientific means, sound logic and required proof.

With reference to precepts detailed in spiritual texts we take recourse to the findings, speech, experience and the required proof given by great philosophers, saints and Rishis of yore. Simultaneously we are trying to re-prove these very ancient precepts with reference to the 25 major categories of modern science by using modern scientific research techniques. We have kept in mind more such other areas of science and soon we shall delve into them too.

It has already been emphatically said that both Spiritual Science and Modern Material Science are 2 Super Powers of this world. If both cooperate with one another we can reach the portals of Ultimate Reality and Truth. Thus when both these commence proclaiming the same reality and truth regarding this cosmos people the world over will accept and imbibe them in their lives very easily. We must fully hope that this seemingly small experiment of ours will not only benefit individuals but the entire world at large both materially and spiritually.