2012 News

Latest

The “official” 2012 website (http://www.december212012.com/) – yep, that’s the first clue that it is a marketing exercise, now announces on their homepage Welcome To Our New Beginning:

We have entered a new era in our existence. A new beginning. A renewed enlightenment. We have entered a time of peace and harmony, hope and change, love and understanding. and a time of desire and ability to take back what has been taken from us. . . our dignity as human beings. We will no longer be subjected to tyrannical governments, man made religious directives and human degradation. We will stand as one against evil and injustice and pursue our right to exist in a free and just world. The time has come. The time is now, the scales have tilted and the power is now with the people.

That’s code for “this web site only exists for the scraps of advertising $$ it might scrape up – thanks but I am on to the next meme…”

I don’t blame him, I’m just pointing out the disingenuous-ness of it all.  Their forum ended just before the end of  the world, leaving hundreds of regular users suddenly without a venue.

Mayan

Guatemala’s Mayan people accused the government and tour groups of cynically perpetuating the myth that their calendar foresees the end of the world.

“We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles,” said Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlajuj Ajpop.

Gomez points out that their government (and tour companies) are actively promoting a belief that is contrived, and contrary to that of the indigenous people of Guatemala. For example the The Culture Ministry is running a huge event in Guatemala City to coincide with the “end of the world” and they expect 90,000 people will attend.

Gomez’s group said the new Maya time cycle simply “means there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature”.

That’s the modern interpretation. Unfortunately the last time the Long Count calendar ended pre-dated the Maya, and nobody really knows what happened.

Authors

Ronald Weinland runs Church of God Preparing for the Kingdom of God. He is known by many 2012ers because in numerous places 2012ers hang out he offered a free 2012 book: 2008 – God’s Final Witness, postage included  – hard to resist. Personally, the book didn’t appeal to me at all – bulk prophecy unsupported by anything tangible. Of course his predicted end of times on May 27, 2012 was uneventful.

What is interesting is that he believed his own prophecy enough that he neglected to pay his taxes.

A federal judge sentenced self-styled doomsday prophet Ronald Weinland to three-and-a-half years in prison Wednesday for failing to pay taxes on income he earned while running a worldwide ministry from his Union home for more than a decade.U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves also ordered the 63-year-old to pay $245,176 in back taxes and a $7,000 fine. Weinland was found guilty in June of five counts of income tax evasion for failing to pay taxes on $4.4 million in income from 2004 through 2007, according to court records.

…Reeves said Weinland used ministry donations to pay for his son’s schooling and then tried to mischaracterize the expense as a scholarship. Weinland also used donations to pay for his son’s BMW, daughter’s living expenses and his wife’s trips around the world.McBride said Weinland used donations to pay for everything right down to the designer suit he wore at his own trial.

The moral: no matter how much you believe a doomsday to be nigh, make sure you are covered if you are wrong!

Articles

Doomsday Preppers has been a big hit on Cable TV, but there are other types of preppers out there. They are the folk who watch Doomsday Preppers, read books on the topic (like mine on 2012 Survivalism) but don’t actually do much about it. They are probably the vast majority… Here’s one of many profiled at TMN*

Name: Douglas Bell

Age: 37

Disaster Prediction: Earth’s poles suddenly shift, which may or may not be the same as a magnetic field reversal (Mr. Bell is planning to google both terms some time in the near future). Nor is it known what type of calamity would ensue, but it could involve clocks running backwards or young people switching bodies with old people.

Signs: A hunch. A prophetic dream. An errant thought during a drug haze.

Preparations: Mr. Bell ponders all the many strange and dire consequences of the upcoming polar shift, attempting to come up with a solid survival plan, but he soon loses focus and puts it out of his mind until tomorrow, when he is sure to be struck by inspiration. In the meantime, he chooses to play Call of Duty and remain hopeful that things will work themselves out.

* not real!

Opinion

The “official” 2012 website (http://www.december212012.com/) – yep, that’s the first clue that it is a marketing exercise, now announces on their homepage Welcome To Our New Beginning:

We have entered a new era in our existence. A new beginning. A renewed enlightenment. We have entered a time of peace and harmony, hope and change, love and understanding. and a time of desire and ability to take back what has been taken from us. . . our dignity as human beings. We will no longer be subjected to tyrannical governments, man made religious directives and human degradation. We will stand as one against evil and injustice and pursue our right to exist in a free and just world. The time has come. The time is now, the scales have tilted and the power is now with the people.

That’s code for “this web site only exists for the scraps of advertising $$ it might scrape up – thanks but I am on to the next meme…”

I don’t blame him, I’m just pointing out the disingenuous-ness of it all.  Their forum ended just before the end of  the world, leaving hundreds of regular users suddenly without a venue.