The hotly anticipated disaster movie "2012" scheduled for worldwide theatrical release this week is already controversial. NASA's senior scientist for its Astrobiology Institute, David Morrison in an article last week responded angrily to the film's marketing campaign, saying it exploits people's fears about the end of the Mayan "long count" calendar in 2012 as leading to global catastrophe. At least one modern Mayan elder named Apolinario Chile Pixtun agreed with Morrison's point of view, claiming the year 2012 represents "transformation" and the dawn of "a new earthly order", not the end of the world.According to internationally recognized researcher and author of the new book "Apollyon Rising 2012," Thomas Horn, the biggest secrets related to the year 2012 and this transformative 'new earthly order' have been hidden in plain sight for hundreds of years, including in Washington DC and at the Vatican. That secret has to do with what numerous ancient societies believed about the year 2012--that it marked the date on which "the gods" would return to earth, heralding the start of a new pagan golden age. While the Maya get most credit for fixing this date, they were not alone among ancient cultures around the world that viewed 2012 as prophetically important, says Horn. For instance, the Hindu Kali Yuga calendar started approximately during the Mayan Fifth Great Cycle and also predicts global earth changes around the year 2012.
