GSXR Compilation 116

1. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in The Dark - Carl Sagan 1997

Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvellous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing and channelling, refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious and other issues.

2. Skeptical Inquirer vol.33 no.1

Articles:

UFOs and Aliens in Space
DAVID MORRISON

The Minsk UFO Case: Misperception and Exaggeration
James Oberg

‘Buzzing Bee’ Missile Mythology Flies Again
KINGSTON A. GEORGE

UFOs: an Assessment of Thirty Years of Official Studies in France
David Rossoni, Eric Maillot, and Eric Déguillaume

Roswell Update: Fading Star?
DAVE THOMAS

An Astronomer Looks at UFOs:
ANDREW FRAKNOI

The Trained Observer of Unusual
JAMES McGAHA

The Stephenville Lights: What Actually Happened
The Editors

Same Planet, Different Worldview
TYLER A. KOKJOHN

Columns:

EDITOR’S NOTE
UFOs: Fact and Fiction—A Special Issue

NEWS AND COMMENT
Discovery of HIV Nets 2008 Nobel Prize for Two French Virologists / FTC Warns Against Bogus Cancer Cures, Charges Five Companies / Sid the Science Kid: Meet Bill Nye for the Preschool Set / Kansas Gym Ghost Video Mystery Solved / Skeptics Create Creepy Café

INVESTIGATIVE FILES
Return to Roswell
JOE NICKELL

PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS
Nazi Saucers and Antigravity
Robert Sheaffer

THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE
Experimental Philosophy, an Oxymoron?
Massimo Pigliucci

NOTES ON A STRANGE WORLD
Search for the Ark
Massimo Polidoro

THE SKEPTICAL INQUIREE
XanGo Juice: Miracle or Myth?
Benjamin Radford

Follow-up:

Cyberonics Responds to Barglow’s ‘Corporate Self-Interest and Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Depression’
George Parker

Response to Cyberonics Letter of Criticism
Peter Barglow

3. Continuum Magazine #1 Paranormal, UFOs, Ghosts, Occult

4. Genesis of the Grail Kings: The Explosive Story of the Ancient Bloodline - by Laurence Gardner 2004

Genesis of the Grail Kings relates to the dawn of
monarchy, and to the emergent bloodline which gave
rise to the Messianic succession. In biblical terms, we
shall concentrate on Old Testament times,
particularly on the early stories from the books of
Genesis and Exodus.
The Bible explains that the Bloodline story began with
Adam and Eve, from whose third son, Seth, evolved
a line which progressed through Methuselah and
Noah, eventually to Abraham, who became the great
patriarch of the Hebrew nation. It then relates that
Abraham brought his family westwards out of
Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) to the land of Canaan (Palestine), from where some of his
descendants moved into Egypt. After a few
generations, they moved back into Canaan where, in
time, the eventual David of Bethlehem became king
of the newly defined kingdom of Israel.
If viewed as it is presented in the scriptures, this is a
fascinating saga - but there is nothing anywhere to
indicate why the ancestral line of David was in any
way special. In fact, quite the reverse is the case. His
ancestors are portrayed as a succession of wandering
territory seekers, who are seen to be of no particular
relevance. Their biblical history bears no comparison
to, say, the contemporary pharaohs of ancient Egypt.
We are told, however, that their significance comes
from the fact that they were God's chosen people.

This designated status leaves us wondering because,
according to the scriptures, their God led them
through nothing but a succession of famines, wars
and general hardship - and on the face of it, these
early patriarchs do not appear to have been too
bright. We are faced, therefore, with a couple of
possibilities: Either David was not of the Abrahamic
succession, and was simply grafted onto the list by
later writers. Or, maybe we have been presented
with a very corrupted version of the family's early
history.

5. The Order of the G.'.B.'.G: Its Origins and Beginning

It is my conviction that the founder of the G.’.B.’.G.’. was the greatest and most efficient teacher
of this Century in that field of occultism known as Magick’. ( all members of the Order have
concurred in this) I make no statement as to the height if his Initiation; only that he was the
greatest and most efficient teacher, and upon this alone it seems sufficient to postulate that he
had a dispensation.
Now, be it known that being the greatest teacher does not mean a great pedagogue, per se! The
head of this Order knew what to teach to get the best and most rapid results, how to teach it and
how to get the best response from the neophytes. All of this is included in this exposition of The
Complete Magick Curriculum of the Secret Order G.’.B.’.G.’.
It is a mistake to evaluate one’s personality against his ability and attainments, but some
identification of a person is expected- Here is a brief statement about the head and founder of this
Order.
In the outer world his name was C. F. Russell; his magickal name was frater Genesthai. Some
further identification is to be had from the book The Great Beast by John Symonds. Russell was
the man who had a tiff with Crowley at the Ab in Cefalu, Italy, about giving up his room. Russell
went up on “The Rock” for a magical retirement and had been there sixty hours without food or
water- Jane Wolf (called Elizabeth Fox in Symond’s book) took food and water to Russell and
brought him down.
Jane Wolf, whom I knew for years, told me that Crowley recognized the attainment of Russell and
had given Russell his blessing for him to found his own Order—naturally based on these three
points:

6. The Library Of Knowledge - The Guardian 2001

Magic is a touchy thing to begin. I suppose the first major question is religion.
What is your religion? Is it compatible with magic? Do you wish to change religions to a
magical one or simply merge what you have? There is much debate on this topic, but here
is my opinion: Most religions ban magic as evil and have severe penalties, either now, in
the eternal, or both for practitioners of any form of magic. More than likely, your current
religion will not mix with magic. Many practitioners have to break from their current
belief system and form/join a comfortable hybrid religion. Also, the option of simply
abandoning what you currently know as religion and radically changing your belief
system is open. It rarely works, due to moral and emotional conflicts, but it is still an
option.
The second major question confronting magicians is, "What is my nature?". This question
spawns many different answers. Some like aggressive magic to attack an adversary, or a
friend's adversary. Many use protective magic to shield themselves and their friends from
the stormy blast of other magic. Many people abandon the idea of combative magic all
together and opt for enchantments to ease the burdens of life on everybody, such as
blessings and prosperity spells. Here are most of the major classes of magician (as far as I
can tell, all spells can be accounted for within these castes):

7. MOZART AND HIS MASONIC MUSIC - by Robert G. Davis

The period of history which encompassed the Baroque, the Rococco, and the
Viennese Classical schools of music can be described as the Enlightenment Era.
In my thinking, this roughly spanned the 200 years of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
It was a period of great contributions in the arts. To give some examples, in its
early stages it was characterized by the Dutch school of painting, headed by
Rembrandt and Vermeer; the French artists Poussin and
Lebrun; the architect Christopher Wren; the writers Moliere, Racine, Milton,
Shakespeare, and Bacon; the composers Corelli, Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Pachabel,
Albinoni, Handel and Bach; the poets Goethe and Burns; the philosophers Kant,
Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot. And it ended with such musicians as Gluck,
C.P.E. Bach, J.C. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Boccherini, Beethoven, and Schubert.
It was a period which gave us the sonata, the suite, the rondeau (rondo), the
fugue, the concerto, the opera, the cantata, the art of improvisation, the
application of tonal rivalries between solo instruments, etc. It was a period
of enormous output, both in variation of composition and in virtuosity of
performance.
It was also a period of fertile growth in Masonic philosophy and ritual. And
it was the time when much music was composed for the fraternity. During his
brief 7 years as a Mason (1784-1791), Brother Mozart brought his unsurpassed
gift of creativity and virtuosity to the fraternity in a series of
compositions which are still universally played and used in today's
ceremonies of Masonry. The spirit of the Enlightenment shines throught
Mozart's music, and this is nowhere as true, perhaps, as in his Masonic
music.

8. ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND MODERN MASONRY - Charles H. Vail

The purpose of these lectures is to consider the origin
and nature of the Ancient Mysteries and Modern Masonry
and to show the relation which they bear one to the
other. Freemasonry deals largely with the morals and
symbols of the Mysteries of Antiquity, and originally
was one of the channels of Ancient Wisdom.

There were a few among the founders of Modern Masonry
who possessed the Royal Secret, or, at least, had a
knowledge of its existence, and, if the key has been
lost, the Mason, as Heir-apparent of the Old Wisdom,
should be foremost in the search for its recovery.

9. Masonic Ritual Murders AKA Jack the Ripper - By Uri Dowbenko 2004

Jack the Ripper is a misnomer," writes Stephen Knight beginning his landmark book,
"Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution." "The name conjures up visions of a lone
assassin, stalking his victims under the foggy gaslight of Whitechapel. It is just this
mistaken notion, inspired almost solely by that terrifying nickname, which rendered
the murders of five East End prostitutes in 1888 insoluble. For Jack the Ripper was not one
man, but three, two killers and an accomplice. The facts surrounding their exploits have never
before been teased from the confused skeins of truths, half-truths and lies which have been
woven around this case." Likewise, the film "From Hell," partially based on Knight's book, is a
horror movie and occult thriller-murder mystery, directed by Albert and Allen Hughes ("Menace
II Society", "Dead Presidents") and written by Terry Hayes and Rafael Yglesias.
Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, "From Hell" is
a richly sculpted, fictionalized version of the suppressed history of England - how a cabal of
Freemasons orchestrated the so-called "Jack the Ripper" murders.
In the movie, Inspector Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp) tries to make sense of the serial murders
in a lower-class London ghetto plagued by poverty and violence. When he's not on the job,
Abberline tries to deal with the death of his wife by soaking his sorrows in absinthe and opium.
Chasing the dragon, he's stoned again, when he sees the grisly murders through his astral
vision - a drug-induced psychic journey through the netherworld.
Tracking him down to an opium den, his obese sidekick Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane) brings
him back to consensus reality with a well-placed bitch slap.
Meanwhile, Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) and her hooker friends are being extorted by a gang
of thugs.
Abberline follows the clues, leading him to a conspiracy at the highest levels of Government and
Freemasonry -- Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), the Queen's physician, and Sir Charles Warren (Ian
Richardson), Commissioner of Police and member of the Ars Quator Coronatorum Masonic
Lodge - confidants to Queen Victoria herself.
A gripping, well-styled movie, "From Hell" is a bold revision of history based on Knight's ground-
breaking research.
Historically, this cabal of high-level Masons was determined to "protect" the Monarchy - and
preserve their own control of the Government.
“

10. 9/11 Masonic Terrorism in Early America: The 9/11 Masonic Capture & Subsequent Terrorist Murder of Capt. William Morgan in the year 1826 - by John Daniel 2002

11. United States Presidents and the Masonic Power Structure - Robert Howard