Things are changing in the world. Balances of power are changing, as do balances of thoughts. Philosophies are changing. What until yesterday was 'true' appears to be 'false' or 'incomplete' today. Are you changing with it? I had to think of this when I saw Al Jazeera's Riz Khan doing an interview with Dr. Naif al-Mutawa. He holds (a.o.) a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University and has a 'hobby': producing stripbooks about The 99. An informed reader immediately recognizes this number. It refers to the 99 qualities Islam attributes to Allah. So, are these stripbooks another way to make propaganda for Islam? No! The story-lines are non-religious, the characters archetypical: they cross cultural blindness and ignorance that endangers so much our still unbalanced, modern world. Yet the basis finds its root in the Qur'an and the beauty (!) of the lifestyle it expresses. Modern Islam, which al-Mutawa lives, has transcended old black-and-white thinking. It lets the Qur'an define itself for everybody, and as al-Mutawa says: "Knowing that children will learn vicariously from The 99 to be tolerant of all who believe in doing unto others as we would have them do unto us, makes me very proud." Does this sound suspect to you, or familiar...?
The 99 be your guide to enlightening insights.

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From time to time interesting personalities rise to great popularity. One of them is Nassim Haramein from Switzerland. Born in 1962 he tells us that at age 9 he already had a significant interest in 'the secrets of this world'. Those are many, from history until the universe and our place therein. Where boys of his age still played with Lego blocks, he then started to develop a new idea about the hyperdimensionality of matter and energy. Einstein was an example for the later translation of this boy's dream into a new paradigm for sciences: the 'Haramein-Rauscher Metric' for an holofractographic universe. The University of Liège gave an award for his paper about this subject. Could it be the foundation for a fundamental change in our current understanding of physics and consciousness? What do we know more about Haramein, who is director of 'The Resonance Project' on Hawaii? Is he a new 'prophet' for a future world, or -as a do-it-yourself 'physicist'- a brilliant charlatan?

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An old Volkswagen entered our parking lot. What I saw were lots of yellowish tubes. With a smile my friend came out and pointed inside. "I have taken my music with me!"
I looked surprised: "Your music...?" "Yes," he replied, "my Alphorn..." For heaven's sake, I thought. But indeed: he could play it. In the church of Kloster Andechs in Bavaria, where we lived nearby. Ever seen such an instrument? It measures about 9 feet and comprises several parts. The sound of it is natural and deep. But to blow a column of air that size!
I could only get a hiss out of it. Maybe I should smoke less and blow more?
Eliana Burki from Switzerland has no trouble with that. She and her band are conquering the world right now. From New York to Mumbai, Tokyo to Gstaad her fans come to see and hear her. The perfect candidate for my weekend music...

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These become harsh times for many. Not only the 'economic crisis' is striking and will widen, but also our climate is involved with a cold Winter predicted by the experts that I trust. And then there is this 'flu'-threat with its unpredictable effects, artificially invoked or not. Already now I am beginning to see 'worried' messages and comments on the Internet from people with fears that they won't make it this coming season without extra help. Even we ourselves in our reasonably favorable position do worry, seeing the signs of the times: inflated prices, lower nett incomes and colder weather. Heating and eating will become a major problem for all of us the coming 8 months. What struck me however is the appearance of new 'i-begging' from an 'old friend' in Russia. Is he leading a new trend? I wonder how many people run into this new 'i-trap' and how many will follow its example. Be warned!

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