The History Channel spreads 2012 fear |
The History Channel used to be a reputable cable channel, carrying shows about documented history. Recently however, the channel has degenerated, and has become a place where various 'doomsday' scenarios are presented, looking like documentaries, and giving the impression that the science behind these shows is well-accepted. In reality these shows are apparently nothing more than vehicles for book sales for the various authors and "independent researchers" that the History Channel has chosen as their Prophets of Doom.
History Channel Shows
What follows is a partial list of shows that mention the year 2012 in their online description.
Armageddon
Several video clips are hosted at the history.com website.
In the sidebar of this clip is the statement "Even if it doesn't mark apocalypse, Dec 21, 2012 may mark a period of great change.", exactly the kind of meaningless but manipulative statement we have come to expect from a History Channel production. Their recent productions are marked by an extensive use of rhetorical questions with manipulative set-ups. In other words, they provide slanted information, or partial information, and then ask a rhetorical question. This leads the audience to conclude the answer that the producers want, without actually making the statement. Presumably this is done because the producers know that what they are implying is false.
At the beginning of the clip above, the narrator states: "The calendar advances, galactic forces move into alignment, the Maya prophecy approaches. What will happen on that fateful day, December 21st, 2012?". The clip then moves on to a discussion of the final panel of the Dresden Codex, with its flood imagery, and then asks the question: "In 2012 will the Earth be annihilated by a great flood, or will it be just another day?" However, the question has been 'pre-loaded' or 'set up' by the narration at the beginning of the clip! The short clip has already (at 1:10 of a 3:10 clip) made two erroneous claims1, drawn an inference between the final panel of the Dresden Codex and 2012 where no such association exists, and asked a rhetorical question that it has already provided an incorrect answer to! The emotional manipulation in this short clip is extreme.
But, they're not finished! At 1:10 a new voice2 begins, saying "What's gonna happen in 2012 is that some planets are gonna be aligned3, and therefore some of the Maya prophecies tell us that its gonna be the end, but this is from their perspective". The narrator then moves on and says "While skeptics dismiss doomsday, with reason, others embrace the prophecy, and embrace the catastrophic events of December 21st 2012 as a day of rebirth".
http://www.history.com/shows/armageddon/videos/2012-the-sun#2012-the-sun
- intro claims "violent storms and other natural disasters on the increase"
- Lawrence Joseph (author, Apocalypse 2012): hints at a causal connection between solar storms and violent weather
- Jay Weidner (author, Secrets of Alchemy) : claims that the sun has a period of violent solar flaring every 13,000 years, and that exactly 1/2 of a precession cycle ago we had the largest period of climate change and extinctions since the dinosaurs
- Greg Braden ( author, The Divine Matrix): claims that if we understand where we are in "the cycles of time" we can tell what future conditions will be, and that nature has a very precise rhythm.
- Lawrence Joseph: Claims was attending solar physics conference in colorado right after katrina, and sun 2nd wildest week ever recorded on sun, in the middle of an "unstable period on the earth", never mentioned. like the blizzard in july. sun is going wild, between now and 2012 sun will increase in activity, powers that be are keeping this information from us.
Katrina was late August 2005. Made landfall in Louisiana on August 29. In stark contrast to Joseph's claims is the fact that by late 2005 we were well into the extended minimum between solar cycles 23 and 24. This minimum extended until early 2009. Our guess is that this was "never mentioned" because it simply isn't true.
End of the World
More recently, some doomsday forecasters have focused on the year 2012. Citing the conclusion of a lengthy cycle in the ancient Mayan calendar, certain theorists anticipate the end of life as we know it on December 21, 2012. These theorists believe that on December 21, 2012, the Earth will experience unprecedented, cataclysmic disasters ranging from massive earthquakes and tsunamis to nuclear reactor meltdowns4.
The Nostradamus Effect
Doomsday Heiroglyphs
Doomsday Hieroglyphs
The Great Pyramids of Egypt have amazed and mystified humanity for 45 centuries. A new look at their mysterious design reveals shocking architectural prophecies containing profound messages about a violent end to our future. Evidence shows that the construction and layout of the entire Giza complex, including the Sphinx, contain coded warnings about terrible tribulations set to strike us in our own times. New research will deconstruct the architectural clues and shed light on our doomed future. Why did the Egyptians believe that a rogue comet, called the Destroyer, which passes by earth every 3,000 years, will cause unimaginable destruction again in the year 2012? What prophecy-laden stones inside the Great Pyramid predicted that September of 2001 would mark the beginning of the end of the world? And what was the role of the ancient, secret society of Freemasons in creating these predictions and carrying Egyptian knowledge into the new world of America?5
2012 Extinction
The Maya, an ancient South American culture, predicted that time would end in a violent apocalypse on December 21, 2012. They created an elaborate astronomical calendar called "The Long Count," which stops abruptly in 2012. This date, which is also the winter equinox, coincides with an incredibly rare galactic alignment that happens once every 26,000 years. What did the Mayans think would happen when their calendar ended? And were they joined by other cultures — from different parts of the world and in different centuries — all pointing to 2012 as a calamitous end time? The Hopi Indians and Eastern Hindus have similar calendars, which are remarkably synchronous. One counter-culture mystic even uses an Ancient Chinese philosophy to unlock the key to a 2012 prophecy. Nostradamus himself suggests the world is headed toward a coming cataclysm. What can we do to head the warning of the Mayan apocalypse?6
Apocalypse Island
Apocalypse Island as reviewed by David J. West.