(Updated) UK School Tells Students WWlll Has Broken Out

Another story from the UK about teachers playing mind games with students. In the past couple of years or so there have been several stories of English schools creating scenarios -- presented as being real -- of crashed or landed UFOs on school property, complete with local police arriving on the scene. One school had a crashed UFO scene along with claws and body parts of the 'dead alien,' along with the news that a teacher had been abducted by the aliens. ( see also my UK Still Staging UFO Crash Drills.)

Not all of these scenes were about UFOs. A teacher in Scotland told several students to quickly get their things together because they were being picked up and possibly sent off to an orphanage. Students were told their parents knew about this and had given permission for their children to be taken away:

Deputy head teacher Elizabeth McGlynn segregated nine pupils and told them they were to be sent away. After 15 minutes they were told it was all an act but that the role play would carry on up to lunchtime.


In a letter sent to council bosses, the unnamed mother said: 'Mrs McGlynn told the children they would probably have to be sent away from their families and that their parents had been informed about this and knew all about it.

The students were told they had to be segregated because they had "lower IQs" due to a "lack of sunglight in their mother's wombs."

Another staged event: the "murder" of a teacher on school grounds, which, naturally, severely upset students. Still another staged an "assault" on one of the female school employees, complete with fake blood on the ground.

In most of these cases, if not all, parents were not notified that  these little scenes were going to take place, permission asked from parents. Sometimes, the scenes were enacted while parents were there as volunteers at their schools.

Yesterday, news from the UK of a school who told students that London was under attack; World War III had broken out. The students were not just told this; they were shown footage from the Blitz in WWII and a tape of "Neville Chamberlain's war address" was played over the PA system to simulate real time news about "WWIII." Then, students were taken by teachers to a basement to hide:

Teachers then led them to a cellar when an air raid siren sounded and a firework was let off to simulate a bomb.

Headmaster Mike Richards is quoted as saying, many times over, that the exercise was to make students "sympathetic" to war victims. Studying WWll, the thinking behind this staged stunt was that students would really get it, since apparently Richards believed students were incapable of believing their teachers:

'The idea of it was to get the children to empathise with what it was like.  "The big concern we had was that the children wouldn't believe it.

Parents were angry and upset, students scared and confused.

In all of these staged events there are shared elements. The plot may differ: UFOs, government officials taking you away, murder, war, but they all contain the following:

An element of violent surprise.
Authority figures assumed to be trusted and respected (teachers,school staff, police) carry out these fake events.
Parents are not notified that these events are planned; permission is not asked for.
The local police are often involved; appearing on the scene, pretending to take part.
Specific character traits and emotional states are the target of these scenes:sympathy,empathy,feeling emotions, compliance, unquestioning volunteerism/work.

The rationale for given by schools for these events vary: sometimes it's to foster creative thinking and expression, in this case, make it real so students believe it. In other words: real (as far as students and parents know) events of a violent, unexpected and even bizarre (UFOs) nature are to be fully, completely believed, lived, accepted and experienced.

In the WWIII scenario,  the headmaster said the goal was to get students to sympathize with war victims. The Scottish school said they wanted "the children to experience an accurate emotional response."

Foxhill Primary school, where the fake assault on a female staff member was staged, justified their performance with the two layered rationale for these scenes; fostering creativity:

We wanted to give the pupils a topic that would inspire their creativity and their imaginations which is why the crime scene was chosen.

And unquestioning acceptance of authority and compliance, as well as overall moulding of state sanctioned character traits:

"This was also done to raise pupils' aspirations and to reinforce a positive view of the police and the work they do in the community.

Who is observing these reactions of children, and why? It is not coincidence; these scenes are part of a larger agenda. Individual teachers may think they are doing something creative and different for their students, but the curriculum and the nudges to enact it are coming from somewhere else, and for specific reasons. A desensitizing program; get children to feel comfortable with the abrupt intrusions of authorities, of violence, of the unexpected. But it goes beyond that; even more insidious is the trauma factor.

If students (and parents, by extension) are told that all these purposeful staged events are to foster trust in authority, that contradicts the fact the authority has just come in and lied to everyone. The message is: 'It's fake this time, but just you wait, next time it might not be. And we're the only ones around who can determine that."  Keep people nervous, jumping with anxiety, never knowing when the next assault, war, murder, or invading aliens will come.

Headteacher convinces terrified primary school children that World War Three has broken out | Mail Online

Blue Suited Aliens in Parking Garage

This year has found me working on consciously recovering the facts/reality of my UFO events, including missing time. I don't think hypnosis is the answer, although I find myself arguing with myself about it a lot. Meanwhile, I've been trying to remember, through meditation, dream work, and just plain demanding my suppressed memories to come forth, goddammit! and get real here. The following is a dream I had last night but before I relate the dream, here's the background:

The Event
I wrote about the missing time experience here: Missing Time Los Angeles/West Hollywood 1996 or '97 Jim and I were compelled to walk down a side street; something about a light coming from a parking garage. We both remember feeling there was something odd about it and went towards it. As I wrote in the post on Saucer Sightings, this was when all kinds of UFO related events, dreams, etc. started happening.

The Dream
I'm in a city, daytime. Jim is with me, or nearby. . . I/we get an urgent call, a telepathic "call," from a friend. Or is it Jim, who's already there? Either way, telepathic message of urgency comes to meet him/her/them at a parking garage a few blocks away.

I/we get over there fast. We're walking when this happens, so we kind of run over there. Arriving at the garage, there is no friend. In fact, there isn't anyone around. The city seems to be a ghost town. No people. Just us. And about a half dozen aliens.

The aliens are very human looking; a little weird looking, but human. Around six and half feet tall, maybe taller. Their skin is pale white, but again, they are more human looking than not. They're all wearing the same uniform, a skin tight, thin, blue jumpsuit with yellow and silver trim. I'm the only human (for they look human, and could pass for human, but I know they're not) around. Jim is off in another part of the garage, I know this telepathically.

Two or three of these beings grab me, which is ridiculous I think. (A lucid moment in the dream.) They're men, they're tall and big, why would it take three of them to hold me? But they're kind of weak. It's all show. They're not hurting me but I still don't like this. I don't like being tricked, I don't like being held here against my will. I have no choice. I'm angry, screw them!

They're holding me and one of the beings comes over to me, and presses himself against me, on top of me. It seems sexual and almost like rape, except, it isn't anything physical he wants. We remain clothed, there's no genitalia (I'm not sure they have any) and while it's very much an intrusion, it's not sexual. He doesn't want my body, he wants me - my soul, or ...something.  He presses himself into me, in a sense. Sort of lke a Vulcan mind meld, as silly as that sounds. He's taking something from me, but he's also giving me a bit of something as well.

Then he's done, the others release me, and they're pleased with themselves. Me, I'm still pissed. I don't care if they didn't hurt me, or that Jim is now back, and we can go. I'm angry at the whole thing: the ruse, the assumption they can just take what they want, the lack of communication or explanation, let alone asking permission.

Aftermath
When I told Jim my dream the first thing he said was that "obviously" I was remembering something about that night in West Hollywood. He thinks, as do I, that night was the beginning of our UFO journey.

How much is memory of a real event, how much is my own subconscious creativity and taking from what I know to create something? The event happened at night, yet I dreamt it took place during the day. Uniform clad "aliens," -- MILABS? I mentioned those in a post here the other day; do I think humans were involved in some of this? I don't know. . . I really just do not know. . . is that a memory of a true event, or my fears?

Controlling Information: Colin Andrews on Conference Cancellation and the Future

Earlier today I posted a link to Colin Andrew's site, with a brief note on the cancellation of the Power Places International Crop Circle Conference. The conference was cancelled because, according to

Andrews, the conference coordinators refused to give in to the demands by researchers Michael Glickman and Gary King, who insisted Power Places directors dis-invite Colin Andrews, also scheduled to speak. Rather than acquiesce to Glickman's and King's ridiculous and arrogant demands, the decision was made to cancel altogether.  (Andrews linked to further commentary on his post; see here.

Andrews is both understanding and respectful of that decision, yet also understands what's at stake and who's responsible for the chilling reality that there are those on the inside -- our side -- as well as the expected outside, who would control information, and our ability to think for ourselves:

The public is treated as if they are no longer considered
worthy of receiving all points of view. Free thinking has
become a threat to easily led masses and many, from all
sides, are trying to control available information.

Andrews is not surprised that this happened however, and urges us to acknowledge these realities and then move on. At least, that's how I interpret his message; we are responsible for what can happen:

The situation we find ourselves in is not unexpected. It
fits perfectly into the discussion of “2012” and the
transitional period we are in. This is a time when old
structures of deceit and manipulation are failing.
Transformation into new and better structures for the
future is underway. What the future will look like
depends on what we create in the actions and decisions
we make today.  It depends on freedom of thought,
freedom of information and freedom of spirit. This is
what my research has been based on.

The point here, for me, is not whether one agrees with Andrews or anyone else; it's about access to information. There are those on the inside, let alone the outside of the fringes, who think nothing of making threats, behaving arrogantly and making demands in regards to information. That of course sends the clear message to the rest of us that we can't be trusted to think for ourselves. 

I've been commenting a lot here and there about the meme that UFOlogy is dead, and how it isn't dead at all. It's shifting, as all things are, within and without the esoteric world. The demands made by Glickman and King is just one more example of the shifts taking place in "fringe world." And while that may sound flippant, I will say, New Agey as it may be, that this is very important, and does affect, and will affect, all aspects of our world on many levels; from the mainstream to the anomalous.

I was surprised to hear that Glickman pulled this low brow stunt. I don't much of the crop circle research world or the researchers but from what I've seen of Glickman  -- primarily the Star Dreams DVD on crop circles -- he seemed above this kind of thing.

But, again, this isn't about agreement with this researcher or that, but the control of information, and, by natural extension, the control of "the people."  It's a pitiful reality we see this over and over in all categories of Fortean, paranormal -- call it what you will -- research. That, to me, is what "hurts" UFOlogy, or Bigfootology, or whatever -ology it is you're involved in. 

When I first heard Colin Andrews discuss his now famously misunderstood idea that most crop circles are "fake" I didn't want to hear it. I felt betrayed, and confused. But I listened. And found out Andrews isn't saying anything so simplistic at all --- far from it. Far from it. It seems to me that certainly fellow researchers would get that. I'll go so far as to say they do get it, and that's what makes their actions even more reprehensible.  I have no proof they do get it and are lying, simply my opinion. It's difficult to believe that researchers would be so lax in their awareness of what a Colin Andrews is doing and yet go so far as to demand he be removed from the presenter's list.

New Trickster's Realm: "Twilight Language: Cold War Inklings?"

My new Trickster's Realm is up at Binnall of America: Twilight Language: Cold War Inklings?" about the numerous Russian connections popping up in the culture stream.

Politics and entertainment (I know, what's the difference) merged when Vice President Joe Biden appeared on the Jay Leno show. Biden joined Leno in a comedy sketch and later, they discussed the busted Russian spy ring. Leno showed a photo of one of the alleged spies, Anna Chapman, who's been described as "sultry" by every talking head and newspaper it seems. Leno showed a photo of alleged spy Chapman and asked: "Do we have any spies that hot?" to which Biden, a frustrated comedian, said: "Let me be clear. It was not my idea to send her back." 

One element I could have added but didn't think of: the new movie SALT, with Angelina Jolie. I haven't seen the movie but here is another example of a "sultry" sexy female spy and a Russian connection. Is Jolie's character a good spy or a bad (Russian) spy?

Things are not what they seem in these culture episodes; politicians as thwarted comedians, Russian spies as citizens, Russian lovers/actresses/entertainers, betrayals, non-Russians appearing as Russians . . . is the culture missing the Cold War?

Richard Dolan at X-Conference 2010 (A.D. Disclosure)

FAA and BAASS: An Octopus Creation

Many thanks to Atrueoriginal of Alien UFO & The Paranormal Casebook, who gives us daily links to dozens of stories of UFOs, ghosts, related TV programs, podcasts and more every day for the following link: FAA Issues Order On UFO Sightings.

My previous post acknowledged my unease with the FAA promoting Bigelow's para-government, newly formed official/unofficial UFO reporting center.

Aileen's link leads us to the original story, which is an enthusiastic piece on Bigelow's work, including the news from the FAA that Bigelow is their official, sanctioned collector of UFO sightings.

Now, the FAA says that you should call one of his mysterious companies if you see an UFO.

 Bigelow Aerospace – already has two private test space stations in low Earth orbit: Genesis 1 and 2. His plan is to have a hotel in orbit, and he’s steadily on course to achieve his objectives. The guy and his Errol Flynn moustache may seem eccentric to some, but he means business.

  Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies.
 According to the last order by Federal Aviation Administration – issued on December 10 – BAASS is now the organization to contact if you are a pilot or an air traffic controller who gets close to an Unidentified Flying Object:

Why has the FAA suddenly decided it will acknowledge the UFO presence, encouraging witnesses to report their sightings, when in the past, silence and repression of those who reported sightings were the norm?

 Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies (BAASS), a sister company to Bigelow Aerospace, is a newly formed research organization that focuses on the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of novel and emerging future technologies worldwide as they specifically relate to spacecraft. BAASS is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 Candidates must qualify for secret and top secret clearances and must be willing to submit to a thorough background check.

Some see this as good news; as I commented in the previous post, good news! At long last the FAA has opened up, allowing pilots, etc. to report their sightings without fear of losing their jobs. I acknowledge my inner paranoia, or at least, find it suspect, that Bigelow "focuses on the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of novel and emerging ... technologies worldwide as they specifically relate to spacecraft." (italics mine) Whose spacecraft?

BAASS is in Nevada, and the obvious connection to Area 51 can't be denied. Background checks are a natural expectation, but if Bigelow is a civilian entity, why "qualify for secret and top secret clearances?" Of course, like defense contractors and other corporations in the increasing globalist-government, Bigelow is not strictly a civilian entity.

There are speculative scenarios; one being that the FAA, the shadow government, and Bigelow, are fully aware of an extraterrestrial presence and there is some sort of space chess game going on. Another is defense; man made uber- secret technologies, wrapped up in a tangled, octopus creation of espionage, war, and global control.

Whatever the real motive, the least likely is an altruistic gesture by the FAA to the public about disclosure or a benign appreciation for UFOs in context of the citizenry.

Vol. 2: UFOs and the National Security State

Richard Dolan's second volume of UFOs and the National Security State will be available about the second week of August. I just ordered mine! You can pre-order at Dolan's site here.

Buzz Aldrin on UFO; Bruce Duensing Comments

Bruce Duensing, who manages the Intangible Materiality blog, (who is one of those writers -- Aeolus Kephas is another - who, after reading, I ask myself "Why do I bother, when we have people like Duensing writing?") posted this clip at the Department 47 forum, along with some good insights.

From Church of UFOlogy: SYNCHRONICITY!

(image source: Crowded Skies.com; image color manipulated by me.)

A green glow while hunting, that psychic feeling, and synchronicity.

From the Church of UFOlogy, a story about green glows, ufos, and that psychic feeling that "they" know you know they're there.

Two hunters, one who had seen strange green glows coming from below the bluff he was camping at, see the glow again. The first time the hunter saw the glow from his sleeping bag, he was "too tired" to investigate. This strange apathy is common in UFO reports. (I'm reminded of a story a couple I knew about ten years ago told me. Camping in Colorado, they saw a green glow, also in a depression. They investigated, saw a disk shaped craft on the ground, with portholes. They saw beings behind the windows, and some with wands with green glowing tips. The couple acknowledged how strange it was but instead of calling the sheriff, or alerting others, they calmly went back to their tent and went to sleep.) With his hunting partner, they go to look, and see landed ufos, with "men" around them:

At this point I woke my partner up. He became hysterical and wanted to leave. I asked him to control himself for a moment while I looked through the binoculars. As I watched I had the uncanny feeling that the "men" were well aware of my observing them.

The two hunters become hysterical, after witnessing a lot of weirdness, and get the hell out of there. They find a strange object with an insignia that beeps (there's that beeping sound again) and his partner picks it up. Later, one of the hunters has a strange experience on the bus:

Later in Seattle, while riding on a bus, a man sat down beside me wearing a ring that was an exact duplicate of the insignia. His hair was brown and his fingers seemed to be a little long, but other than that, you would never have been able to detect he was other than a human. When I saw the ring my hair stood on end. He got off at a bus stop and I never saw him again. I felt like he was aware that I was "tuned" into who he might be.

The story gets much, much stranger, with elements of MIBS, spooks, psy-ops, contactee stuff,crime, covert head games, and just general flying saucer high strangeness. Definitely worth reading.

Is it true, is part of it true, . . . is part B a screen memory for part A . . . who knows. Does it matter?

Billy Cox: Admiral: Never looked for UFO data

The usual lies, cover-ups and obsturfications. UFO writer Billy Cox writes about Edgar Mitchell, Dr. Stephen Greer and retired Rear Admiral Thomas R. Wilson in Admiral: Never Looked for UFO Data. Someone’s not telling the truth... how unusual in these situations!

In this piece by Billy Cox, it turns out that (allegedly -- all allegedly dahlings) Edgar Mitchell and Dr. Stephen Greer insist ex-admiral Wilson met a looming stone wall when he tried to access UFO info when he was director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Wilson denies not only banging into said wall, but bothering to look for UFO info in the first place. According to Wilson, the UFO issue wasn’t that interesting. Wilson agrees he met with Greer and Mitchell,denies looking for any information on covert UFO projects:

“What is true is that I met with them,” Wilson said in a phone interview. “What is not true is that I was denied access to this material, because I didn’t pursue it. I may have left it open with them, but it was not especially compelling, not compelling enough to waste my staff’s time to go looking for it.”

We’ll probably never know who’s telling the truth. Does it matter? This particular little episode doesn't prove or disprove anything in the way of UFO truthiness. Conspiracies, lies, cover-ups, black projects, disinformation, misinformation, all have happened, continue to happen. . . neither Greer or Mitchell are changing their story. Neither is Wilson.

I do find this curious: Wilson did say he had “a certain amount of curiosity” about allegations of deep-black UFO projects. But not enough curiosity, I gather. Nor was it “compelling” enough:

may have left it open with them, but it was not especially compelling, not compelling enough to waste my staff’s time to go looking for it.”

So, the idea of deep and possibly rogue UFO projects was a curious thing, but not enough to investigate. He “may have (italics mine) left it open” but isn’t sure. But, in the end, none of it was “curious” enough -- certainly not suspicious, even with all the implications inherent in the idea of UFO technology, black budgets, rogue operations, defense, national security, science, and the like.

My instinct tells me Mitchell and Greer are telling the truth, and the dear Admiral has changed his story. After all, he wants to disassociate himself from the whole thing, either because he really knows the truth about UFOs (ta dah!) and that’s his job -- to keep it from the rest of us. Or, he thinks it’s all very silly, and thought so back then. After all he has a new job with an unnamed defense contractor and it probably doesn't do him any good to be subjected to UFO nonsense while he’s trying to do Very Important Things. (Then again, maybe those Very Important Things have to do with UFOs, and black semiprivate defense contractor projects, and ... don’t you love it when we tumble down the rabbit hole?)

I have an automatic distrust of authority, military bigwigs and industrial military complex uber-corporations,so I like my theory best. But I will acknowledge it’s also possible the ex-Admiral is telling the truth, and Mitchell and Greer aren’t backing down because they’d be embarrassed if they did; after all, they said one thing, now they have to back up and say they were, what? Exaggerating? Embroidering, embellishing, . . . being theatrical? Lying?

Hmmm, put that way, that seems a bit much. I don’ think so. The ex-admiral is no doubt covering up in grand brusque disinformational style.

In The Green Room: Yes, Yes, Yes! But . . .

I have a new blog entry on the UFO Magazine blog, The Green Room: Yes, Yes, Yes! But . . .

Catastrophes and UFOs: It's Not a Contest

Recent catastrophes; earthquakes in China, cyclones in Myanmar,tornadoes in the U.S., have caused some to once again demonize UFOs, or at least, those who choose to explore the mystery of UFOs.

Why the two would have anything to do with each other is beyond me, but the supposed thinking of those who use these tragedies to support their peevish anti-UFO stance makes sense to them, obviously.

Skeptics of many varieties (including, paradoxically, those who acknowledge there are UFOs) don’t like most UFO researchers. That aside, they don’t like UFOs much either. They're always pissed off at them, because UFOS aren’t doing anything. The UFO phenomena’s continued behavior of remaining elusive is maddening, torturous in its contradictory, slippery manifestations. And yet, for all the years the UFOs have been around (centuries, really) for all the evidence, they haven't done anything. At least not in a grand, showy way; pulling off some mind blowing trick like turning mountains into ice cream sundaes or finally delivering those flying cars.

They haven’t fixed anything, saved anyone, cured any diseases, solved any of the world’s problems. They didn’t prevent the recent tragedies, or past disasters. They didn’t warn us. They haven’t stopped war. Racism, ageism, sexism, classism still exist, relgious hatreds and wars continue, people live in poverty. The aliens and UFOs haven't fixed any of it.

This makes some people downright mad. Instead of getting mad at a god, God, Jesus - they’re mad at UFOs. And they're madder still at people who study UFOs. The message seems to be that it’s somehow all our fault that tragedies happen. And if it isn’t our fault, exactly, and/or the UFOs, we’re still guilty by association just for seriously thinking about the subject.

I get the feeling these brands of skeptics (and beware; many of them insist they are not skeptics at all and are, in fact, in with the in crowd of UFO researchers) have a whole lot of expectations on what UFOs should do, and what they shouldn’t do. Which is ludicrous. They accuse us of being like children; frivolous children who chase after the fleeting, fragile UFO, when it’s they that are stuck in magical thinking.

Sure, I “believe” in aliens. Rather, I believe they exist. I believe aliens from other planets, as well as other entities, are all around us. I don’t believe in them, however. I don't pray to them or expect them to do anything.

I don’t believe every UFO is from outer space, piloted by ET.
I don’t believe ET, aliens, entities, Mothman, Bigfoot, or Lizard Man are going to save us, cure us, fix us, heal the planet, or teach me how to parallel park.

I don’t think only some should study UFOs, and others shouldn’t, and I don’t think anyone should, or, shouldn't, just because I said so. Or because anyone else said so.

I don’t care who’s who, or why, or what they do in their private life, (naturally there are some boundaries here, Christ people, use your common sense) if they party too much, or not enough, -- they “get to” delve into the mysteries of life as much as anyone. In fact, god knows, we need more people getting deep into this stuff!

Using the very real horrors of this world to bash UFO or Fortean research is dishonest. It’s disingenuous. It’s lazy. It distracts from both the world’s cruel realities, as well as anomalous research.

The two aren’t in a contest with each other; don’t make it one. Don’t pit one phenomena against the other as some sort of moral barometer of any given individual.

Those Spiky Drones

I'm not giving the whole drone thing another minute of my time. Oh, I'll still lurk around the topic, as I do with many of the topics that are a part of the giant multi-facted spinning thing called UFOlogy, but I'm not going to research it, read about it, or write about it. My time on paranormal, esoteric and UFO stuff can be better spent. (Something might catch my eye and I'll find I can't resist writing about it, but it'll have to be big.)

Whatever the drones are, they're not UFOs from outer space.

They're hoaxes. No one's come out yet with it, and maybe that's the evil plan; if it's a psy-op monkey wrench, they're not going to come out, their job is done.

If it's some sort of spy robot thing, then that's what it is. Lots of them around you know. We've been in big trouble for a long time around that issue. Which is a lot scarier and more tangible than UFOs from space. Forget the aliens, it's Dr. Evil Global Corporate Big Brother we have to worry about.

The Snarly . . .

Sometimes I just have to laugh. Usually I ignore silly blowhards, but sometimes the mood overcomes me and I have to play.

Today's example: the UFO Provocateur(s) blog (now there’s an unassuming name) have decided that when all those in the UFO field die off, it will be a good thing. Oh Happy Day. The “UFO palate” (oh, pleeeeeze!) shall be cleansed, they tell us. Oy.

After the elders die off, the young will swoop in with new bright ideas and new bright energy and save UFOLogy from itself.

What a load of crap. Young, old, in between, people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, skills and perspectives are contributing their thoughts to UFOlogy and related fields. It’s mostly and usually a good thing.

If UFOlogy stinks, it isn’t because it’s “old people” or middle aged people, or baby boomers. It’s not because there is a lack of some holy UFO Organization, or union, or guild, or whatever the hell some people want to get up and running. (However,UFOlogy will surely start to reek of its own self importance if the latter ever happens. Which, happily, it won’t. It’s a glad thing that UFOlogy is full of all kinds of people, of all ages and types. What kind of rational being thinks you can get all these types of people together in one cohesive thing? How long will such a thing last before a group of ticked off individuals leave to start their own UFO Guild of UFO High and Mightiness? Then what? We’re back where we started, having lost a lot of time in the process.)

In fact, UFOlogy doesn’t stink at all. People who think that are mostly debunkers; anti-UFOists, snarly little skeptics. Some are actually inside UFOlogy themselves, but for some twisted reasons of their own, don’t like that fact much, so have to qualify their presence. That includes saying things like “UFOlogy is a circus,”
and bemoaning the sad, sorry state of things while sneering at others. They’ve come to the party and eat all the appetizers and drink all the booze but keep checking their watches. And they won’t stay to help clean up.

Meanwhile, the world outside of UFOlogy goes on, whether those of us inside are young, old, baby boomers, middle aged, or whatever. The mainstream media continues to ridicule and ignore, the authorities continue to cover-up, the relatives think you’re crazy.

Nothing is going to change that either. It’s the way of things.

So you either be brave and true within yourself, and do what you do, and tell your story. You learn about others and think upon them. You express yourself, you discover. You do your best to ignore the bozos. And here’s a clue little mister, the bozos aren’t the My Reptilian Lizard Lover victims, the bozos are the ones who think they’re above it all, who believe their views gives them the right to insult, as if being insulting is a sign of intellectual superiority. We expect that from the aforementioned snarly skeptics, the debunkers and those types. But when it comes from within, it's a different story.

They’re not only ill mannered little buggers, but naive little buggers. They don’t get that nothing much will change on the outside, no matter how many Approved UFO Think Tanks are created, or how dismissive they are about UFO experiences.

Now here’s fair warning: the part where I get all Shirley MacLaine-ish. Things on the outside are beginning to change, and humans have the potential to help that change, regardless of a “belief” in UFOs or things Fortean. Our thoughts and energy affect the ways things go. Calm down, I’m not ridiculous enough to think that’s all you have to do; wave a crystal around and you’re done. But focusing your intent and holding that intent on a daily basis can only help.

You can choose your intent, your battles, where to put your focus. You can grumble and poke things with sticks, or you can snap out of it and be a bit more compassionate.

Facts and Stephenville and the Other Story

This fluff piece from the Washington Post: New UFO Sighting Reported In Stephenville Texas Fired Reporter Angelia Joiner Sparks Conspiracy Theories, by Emil Steiner is interesting for its lack of interest. It makes no snese, just another filler piece about UFOs that, on the surface, says nothing, but for those of us obsessed with parsing and dissecting semantics, it says a lot. Or, it says a lot about nothing. No, wait, the “nothing” is a big huge something -- that is, the UFOs -- so it’s the nothing about the something that’s something. Oh, forget it. Moving on. . .

Any official denial can be labeled a cover-up. In the end, it often boils down to a he-said-she-said scenario.

Isn't’ a denial covering up? Given the context of the Stephenville sightings, the fact is that the Air Force did deny having anything to do with the activity in the skies, then turned around and said they were engaging in military exercises. After they said the sightings were probably caused by witnesses mistaking reflected sunlight off airplanes for UFOs. And denying that fighter jets were chasing UFOs. If that’s not a cover-up, what is? Attempts at misdirection and causing confusion; cousins of covering-up.

Steiner goes on to quote Angelia Joiner, the reporter from The Empire Tribune who was fired for her reports on the sightings. I’m not sure why he includes a quote from her about military exercises (see below) because it has nothing to do with her firing, which is a fact.

He ends his piece with this comment:

But who can we believe? The truth remains unidentified.

Who can we believe about what? The UFOs? The ones seen by dozens of witnesses, caught on video? That’s a “truth” and it’s easy to “identify.” Who can we believe about Joiner's firing? It’s a fact she was fired. (Haggling over details: she offered to resign at first, etc. don’t count: reality is, she was fired, (not allowed to resign) her computer confiscated, and her body escorted out of the building.) What “truth” does Steiner mean?

I don’t mean to pick on Steiner, I don’t know him and giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s just writing a column. He’s certainly not of the ilk of a Randi, McGaha, Shermer, etc. But pieces like this are a good example of the disingenuousness (a form of marginalization)that often surrounds UFO reporting.

The facts remain. People in Stephenville Texas are seeing some very weird things, and that’s a fact. What those things are is another story. This other story is equally important, almost, as UFOs from outer space. Because is they’re not from outer space, they’re ours. And, as Steiner quotes Joiner:

According to Angelia Joiner, the reporter who wrote the original UFO stories, there was another UFO sighting on Saturday. "If the military is testing a secret military device, why do they keep doing it here?" she asked me. "If it's not a secret why do they keep scaring the bejesus out of people?”

Exactly. This is the other story about many UFO sightings. Certainly the Black Triangle UFO sightings fall into this category. Are we to allow, and accept, the fly overs of top secret scary ass weaponry above our heads as a matter of course? Are we being conditioned for blind acceptance of in our face military and covert activities around us? These are concerns that don’t seem to be addressed much by UFO researchers, witnesses, or reporters. The focus seems to be on the dichotomy of UFOS as ET vs. Something Else. What if that something else isn’t ET, but something possibly more sinister? (that’s assuming of course that ET isn’t sinister. I’m no Space Brother groupie.)

Articles like this don’t serve any purpose, they just add to the fluff factor and so further muddle up the perception of UFO activity. Which is a fact. In other words, we shouldn’t get away from the fact that UFOs are a fact. What they are, well, that’s to be determined, and many are going about that in different ways, from the Disclosure Movement to Exopolitics, etc. The more we spiral out from the fact -- UFOs seen in Texas -- the more we dilute the reality that UFOs are here. Which is probably just what “they” are trying to do.

Link:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/2008/02/
new_ufo_sighting_reported_in_s.html?nav=rss_blog

Reminder To Self: The Trickster Is A Part Of It

Wow. Things like this, I keep reminding myself, are excellent examples of what I consistently put out there: that the Trickster is an innate part of the UFO phenomena.

Those videos of UFOs -- giant space machines just having a big party up there -- appearing on Rense.com lately? Some guy with a special souped up telescope managed to capture all kinds of craft missed by others with less magical telescopes. Well, according to the skeptic blog Forgetomori (“extraordinary claims. Ordinary explanations,”) in Walson’s World, the author comments that these images are one big hoax, and the person behind them, a certain Walson, is one big hoaxer. Maybe. Kind of. Or not. That is, if “Walson” is even his name. Or, hers. Whoever.

But, as readers of The OrangeOrb know, I’m paranoid enough to both believe a good part of this story as well as be suspicious of it, all at the same time.

There is a lot of tangled elements preceding the following, which I found extremely interesting for obvious reasons:

pringer, from ATS, claims that a license plate of a van in the video could be traced back to a company that is located near a military airbase. That, along with the refusal to disclose any actual details of their methods, led to the expulsion of one of Walson’s spokespersons (or Walson himself, who knows). The whole case is now tagged as a HOAX on ATS.

And plenty of stuff following that that is crazy interesting.

One small part of this whole thing -- whatever this really is, keep in mind -- is the time and effort spent on creating this, um, thing. Why? Is it that funny to the creator? Guess so, clearly someone found it amusing. I’m not not amused; just a curious observer. I just wonder at the expended energy in continuing a saga like this. What’s the payoff for him/her/them? (I suspect there’s more than one person involved.)

It’s too over the top to be disinfo, but maybe I’m being too kind to some fellow UFO researchers and witnesses. But none of it much matters, because as long as there will be UFO, paranormal and Fortean events, there’ll be things like this right alongside them.

Trickster's Realm: UFOs and Military Exercises: Is This Supposed To Make Us Feel Better?

My new Trickster's Realm is up over at Tim Binnall's Binnall of America:UFOs and Military Exercises:
Is This Supposed to Make Us Feel Better?

MRSA and Morgellons: Jangled Messages

I moved my MRSA and Morgellons: Jangled Messages article to my Mating Hedgehogs blog. It's also up at Book of Thoth.

Sunday Orb

Shameless Pleadings

Read my Bigfoot blog. Link to it, Favorite it on Technorati, talk about it. Leave comments. Enjoy. Or even if you don’t.

My Bigfoot blog Frame 352: The Stranger Side of Sasquatch.

And Shameless Self-Promotion:
I’ve submitted a piece to the Book of Thoth site: They Want to be Seen, Not Discovered. No guarantee it will be accepted, but hopefully it will be, so look out for it.

On UFO Digest is my piece
Disingenuous Infiltration on the unethical tactics of Abdullah Hashem and Donna Bassett. Yes, both are “old news” but that doesn’t mean anything.

Currently on Trickster’s Realm for Tim Binnall’s Binnall of America is my piece on the Trickster: No Mere Prankster. (and I must say I was very jazzed about Brad Steiger's nice email to me about the piece.)

In the current issue of UFO Magazine is my article on The Purple Road, about my New Agey self.

Ghost Picture Contest
Lesley of The Debris Field has her ghost pic contest going again. I entered a photo I took a few years ago at a local cemetery. Be sure to enter; it will be fun to see all the ghostly images!

Recent Orb Postings


I'm still reeling from Noory's Flintstone comment.
The UFO footage from Venezuela does seem too good to be true, as one person commented, it could be a blimp. Whatever, it's unlikely it was a flying saucer from outer space.

A Scofftoid Looks at Rendlesham: The Persistence of Skepticism vs. The Persistence of High Strangeness

Aaron Sakulich, resident collegiate scofftoid of the Iron Triangle college paper at Drexel University, writes on/against UFOs and related topics. A favorite phrase of his is “UFO enthusiast.” (Use of such a term attempts to ensure that any study of UFOs and related phenomena remain trivialized.) He mocks, he pontificates, he rants. Free country, we’re all entitled.

But in his recent piece: Story of 'British Roswell' lacks verifiable evidence” he misses the point. Well, he’s missed the point about a lot of things, but that’s to be expected with chronic skeptics.

It’s a given there isn’t any “verifiable evidence” with any of all this stuff; so let’s move on. Of course, it does beg the question of just what is “verifiable evidence?” Students of the esoteric know that chronic skepticism does not allow for anecdotal evidence to be considered evidence. Not even data. Well, sheesh, dahlings, if you’re going to go that far, whatever is there to talk about?

Anyway. Rendlesham.

Sakulich shares with all persistent, irrational rationalists the premise that there’s no "there" in UFO Land, and so, open mockery and silliness is not only acceptable, but expected. He opens with:

England is an exotic land of mystery. The English eat parts of animals I'd never consider putting in my mouth. Some of their groceries are named specifically after genitalia and their secret agents are continually impregnating the women of the world. Americans prefer broken beer bottles at the bar; they prefer top hats and pistols at dawn. Yet, our two countries have something in common: UFO enthusiasts seize on the flimsiest evidence and hold it up as proof that space monsters from beyond the moon are visiting the earth.

I have nothing against the English (so much) and I hope to visit there someday, but I don’t think of England as being “exotic.” And I for one, being a “UFO enthusiast” don’t think aliens come from “beyond the moon” but actually from the moon.

Of Rendlesham, or the so-called “British Roswell,” Sakulich says there are “enormous holes” in the story. That’s a fascinating statement, given that we don’t know what happened. If we don’t know what happened, how can we say there are ‘holes?” We're dealing with the anomalous, the weird, the highly unusual; "holes" are to be expected, if by "holes" one means Things That Don't Fit.

He goes on to describe what happened; the flashing lights, the weird sounds, the triangle shape observed by one of the soldiers, the burn marks and impressions in the ground from something heavy, and so on.

Sakulich's first error -- either from an honest glitch in thinking, or disingenuousness - is in assuming what “UFO enthusiasts” think. He does this all the time, sharing with all persistent skeptics the need to make sweeping assumptions on what "UFO enthusiasts" think:

The next day, returning to the site of the supposed landing, men found triangular impressions in the earth and "burn marks" on the trees. Therefore, the UFO community came to one conclusion: a mechanical spaceship had been out and about in the forest that night wreaking all sorts of havoc.

I for one never thought the UFO that landed that night was from outer space, piloted by aliens. No, this “UFO enthusiast,” dahlings, thinks it was a military (or industrial/technological-- or combination of ) object, intentionally sent, staged, to gauge the reactions of the humans on duty that night. Possibly it was a mistake; the thing wasn’t meant to be seen, but seen it was. Either way, whatever the thing was, I don’t think it was from outer space, and there are a lot of UFO researchers who agree.

Besides which, the “UFO community” is far from being a cohesive group that comes to consensus. Der.

Of the lights seen, Sakulich writes that witness Penniston was “petulant” in his disagreement that the light (s) he saw weren’t beacons:

When asked if this could be the source of the lights, Penniston petulantly replied that no, he could tell the difference between this beacon and the mystery lights.

I’d be “petulant” too, if someone insisted I saw something different from what I saw, especially if they weren’t there, and I was. What, suddenly we’re to believe Penniston can’t distinguish types of lights?

It’s old news; this lighthouse beacon stuff, and enough already. But here Sakulich almost surpasses the infamous “mating hedgehogs” explanation for crop circles, in explaining away the marks left in the ground from an object:

The third problem is the supposed physical evidence found at the scene: the triangular landing gear marks and the burn marks on the trees in the areas. For this one, investigators didn't have to go much further than the locals. The marks made by alien landing gears were actually rabbit holes, perfectly normal and plentiful in the forest.

(And I just can’t let go the cheap easy “laugh” when Sakulich stoops to classism and culturalism when he comments:

I like to imagine that these locals laugh a little to themselves at the city-slicker UFO enthusiasts mistaking rabbit holes for landing pad impressions as they wait in line for their monthly allowance of eel pies and plaid wool trousers.)

He drones on, but the point is this: something weird enough happened at Rendlesham to mess with witnesses heads, which seemed to be the point of the whole thing. The incident isn’t any different from countless others in UFOlogy; and this glaring fact utterly escapes people like Sakulich.

It’s easy to be glib, and easy to be lazy. Call everyone who doesn’t openly mock and ridicule UFOlogy a “UFO enthusiast,” make wild assumptions, such as they/we all believe the same thing, and that same thing is a warm and fuzzy ET space brother. Call the people who’ve experienced the weird and shared their stories nuts and lunatics, and there it is: a name for yourself, a reputation as a “critical thinker” when no such thing has taken place. Meanwhile, the anomalous continues to manifest, despite what we say about such things.