Saturday, April 30, 2011

'Michelin Man' Humanoids


There have been two documented cases of 'Michelin Man' humanoid encounters:

Strange Beings Near Jerez de la Frontera (Province of Cadiz), Spain - June 1960

by Miguel Peyro Garcia
Source: Stendek - June 1980

The information comes from Antonio Ribera, who was questioned by the witness during a UFO lecture he (Ribera) gave in Jerez de la Frontera. Given the distance of the events from his home, Ribera passed the data on to Vicente-Juan Ballester and the Centra de Estudios Interplanetary Studies, which publishes Stendek — trans.). Through this latter individual, the writer obtained knowledge of the event, and contacted the witness to undertake the investigation.

The incident occurred in May of 1960 (the witness does not remember the exact date), at about 1:00 p.m. The encounter was at a crossroads between Arcos de la Frontera and El Bosque (both towns being in the province of Cadiz), not far from Jerez, where the witness lives. Five kilometers (3 miles) from the site is the Embalse (Dam) de Bornos, and from there the road to Villa-martin branches off.

The witness was on a motorcycle, returning from Prado del Rey (also in the province of Cadiz), a town not far from the site of the incident.

There was not enough opportunity to get to know the witness well, but it should be stated that he is a mature man, a teacher, with an excellent predisposition to collaborate with the writer, to whom he provided all kinds of details.

Don Miguel Timermans Ceballos was motorcycling from Prado del Rey to Jerez, at the date and time indicated, when he discerned a strange human-like being about 150 meters (500 feet) away, on a short steep uphill incline of the highway that was ahead of him. He describes the being as follows:

"He was completely red, from head to foot, and suddenly appeared at the edge of the highway, rather tall, something like two meters (6'-7") or more, having trouble walking, and his walking was like a mechanical doll, that is to say, like a robot, with stiff arms."

Timermans stopped his motorcycle, tremendously surprised, and got ready to observe better. The humanoid was walking on the edge of the road, and before going six steps, another individual of similar characteristics appeared, and followed him. Like his predecessor, he appeared suddenly. The second humanoid was not so tall, as he measured about one meter twenty centimeters (3'-ll"), and though he was also dressed in red, he had one difference with respect to his predecessor: he had a black boot. The witness does not remember if the 'boot" was on the left foot or on the right one, but he certifies that he saw it like that.

The two humanoids then crossed the highway at an angle. Due to the fact that at that time (but not any more) this route was of white earth, our driver perceived the red of their "garments" with all clarity, as well as the ringed outlines of the beings, with the classic shape of the "Michelin man," which had been reported in Type-I cases in different parts of the world.

Timermans decided to get closer, while he debated with himself over the danger entailed in his decision, so he again started up his vehicle. On reaching the curve in the highway to head toward the slope where the humanoids were located, they had disappeared in the same mysterious manner that they had appeared. The witness had taken a few short moments to arrive there, but the apparitions were no longer in sight.

The time of the observation from the first look — which we described — is some thirty seconds.

The witness told us that if there had been someone else with him, he would have proposed to get off his cycle to go looking for the two beings in the vicinity, but as he was alone, he did not do it. - Miguel Peyro Garcia, APRO, July 1980

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"CONTACT CASUALTY ON REUNION"

A sighting of capital importance took place on the Island of Reunion [which is situated in the Indian Ocean between Mauritius and Madagascar] on the plain known as La Plaine des Cafres. The date of the siqhting was July 31, 1968, and the time, 9.00 a.m.

The witness, M. Luce Fontaine, is aged 31, a farmer, married, with a family, his wife being a teacher. Everybody is in agreement in considering him a serious, hardworking man, who is completely worthy of trust.

He says: "I was at [the] kilometre 21 [mark], in a small clearing in the middle of a forest of acacia trees, that morning, and I was bending down and picking some grass for my rabbits when I suddenly saw a sort of oval-shaped cabin in the clearing. It was 25 metres from me, and as though suspended at a height of four or five metres from the ground. The extremities of it were dark blue, the centre part lighter, more transparent rather like the windscreen of a [Peugeot] 404. Above and below it had what looked like two glass feet of shining metal.

"In the centre of the cabin were two individuals with their backs towards me. The one on the left turned right round and so faced me. He was standing, small, about 90 centimetres in height, enveloped from head to feet in a sort of one-piece overall a bit like the suit worn by the 'Michelin man". The one on the right simply turned his head round towards me, but all the same I had time to catch a glimpse of his face, which was partly masked by a sort of helmet.

"Then both turned their backs to me, and there was a flash, as strong as the electric arc of a welding machine. Everything went white around me. A powerful heat was given off and then as it were a sort of blast of wind, and a few seconds later there was nothing there any more.

"Then [ approached the spot over which the object had been. There were no marks. The object had a diameter of 4 or 5 metres and was about 2 1/2 metres measured through from top to bottom. It was of a bluish colour, with white on the upper and lower parts.

'"I told my wife all about it, and then the Gendarmerie, and everyone at once believed me."

Such was the first piece of testimony given by M. Fontaine, and next day the enquiry began. He then explained more precisely to the investigators that, seen "face-on", the machine, egg-shaped in appearance, looked in fact like two whitish saucers, shining like aluminium, placed face to face. - Lumieres dans la Nuit - Nov. 1968

Fortean / Alternative News: 9/11 Suit Dismissed, 55Ft. Mystery Fish in China and Huge Illinois Fireball


Court dismisses 9/11 suit against Bush officials, orders sanctions

Rather than judicially review significant evidence in the events of September 11, 2001, on April 27, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s dismissal of an Army Specialist’s complaint against former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers.

One of Plaintiff April Gallop’s attorneys, William Veale, didn’t know whether to relate the decision to “Kafka, Orwell, Carroll, or Huxley,” referring to the absurdity and dearth of reason emanating from the court regarding the deadliest attack on U.S. soil the nation has ever faced.

“The Court’s decision, analogous to reviewing an Indictment in a liquor store hold-up without mentioning the guy walking in with a gun, refuses to acknowledge even the existence of the three defendants much less what they were doing that morning or saying about it afterwards,” Veale added.

Of the three judges on the panel, John Mercer Walker, Jr. is first cousin of former President George H.W. Bush and first cousin once removed of George W. Bush, who used 9/11 to manipulate public emotion to support passage of the unconstitutional PATRIOT Acts and waging illegal wars of aggression in the Middle East. According to Wikipedia, Walker shares a grandfather with the 41st president, George Herbert Walker, whose daughter married Prescott Bush. A motion to force Judge Walker’s removal from the case was denied, despite a clear conflict of interest.

The lawsuit, prepared by the Center for 9/11 Justice, accuses the defendants of conspiring to facilitate the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that killed 3000 Americans and which has resulted in the deaths of many more, due to the toxicity of the clean-up conditions at Ground Zero. The plaintiff and her son were both injured in the attack on the Pentagon, multiple videos of which the government has refused to release to the public.

Ignoring crucial evidence like the total collapse of WTC7 though not hit by a plane on September 11, the whereabouts of and statements made by the Defendants on 9/11, and the presence of thermitic material in the rubble of the Twin Towers, the court ludicrously affirmed the lower court’s finding that the case was “not plausible” and “the product of cynical delusion and fantasy.”

Additionally, the court filed an Order to Show Cause for Sanctions amounting to $15,000 for filing a “frivolous” suit, which the Center for 9/11 Justice plans to appeal.

Meanwhile, nearly 1,500 professional architects, engineers and scientists continue to assert the physical impossibility of all three World Trade Center buildings collapsing in near free fall as a result of burning jet fuel. Indeed, it is the government’s conspiracy version which is implausible, “fanciful, fantastic and delusional.”

The bravery of April Gallop in her attempt to expose the truth is as laudable as the obvious official corruption is contemptible. An unbiased judicial review of the events surrounding 9/11 will not be found in the United States. But refusal to do so only heightens global suspicion. The conspiracy and cover-up was so poorly executed that the vast majority of the planet’s population doubts the official version of events. - COTO Report

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Huge fireball rises from Illinois farmland

MUFON CMS - 4/29/11 - Illinois: I went out the back door that faces the western sky it was dark and cloudy. There is nothing west of us but miles and miles of fields and various farm land.

I right away seen a fireball bright orangish red rising from the ground. It looked to be about 2-3 miles away. It hovered for a minute or two not getting up to high and it started moving to the northwest.

This thing dwarfed any other lights in comparison even from the distance between us and the object. It was HUGE!

I grabbed my camera and car keys and tried to chase it down to no avail. It starting moving way to fast. I was speeding and trying to catch it jumping from one road to another. I just wanted to get it documented. Maybe next time. We have seen it in the same spot a few times in the past year. There were four of us that witnessed it.

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55 Feet Long Unknown Fish Species Found in China

ibtimes - A 55 feet long fish has been found in the seashore of Guangdong, China.

According to a local newspaper, the big fish weighs at least 10,000 pounds.

Hwang, a 66-years-old fisherman living in the near area, said he has never seen anything like this in his whole life and that the fish was tied with ropes when it was first found.

Many people have flocked to see this strange specimen since its discovery, although its rotting corpse already emits a foul smell.

The people living in the area think the fish was caught by some fisherman but was abandoned due to its heavy weight, hence the ropes.

Due to the serious decay of the fish's body, it is almost impossible to identify the species, according to the local newspaper.

The fish was discovered on April 25th.

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2 Bitten in Possible First Croc Attack

nbcmiami - A Florida Keys couple is poised to make the history books, although today they are simply celebrating the fact that they are alive.

Mike Gregory and Leigha Poulson may soon hold the dubious distinction of being the first people in the state to ever be attacked by the elusive American crocodile.

"I think it's cool. Kind of made history a little bit," Gregory said. "We're lucky to be alive."

While state officials are trying to confirm the alleged attack, which happened Thursday morning in the Upper Keys, the couple says they have the bite and scratch marks to prove it.

Gregory, 23, and 20-year-old Poulson were kayaking at around 3:30 a.m. after a night of partying when they're vessel was flipped, they said.

As they scrambled to get back to the kayak, each was bitten on the leg. Poulson also suffered scratch marks on her side.

"I was saying how pretty it was out there and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else because I am from Ohio and then the boat just flipped," said Poulson, who moved to the Keys to study marine biology at Florida Keys Community College. "I was screaming 'Oh my God!'"

Pictures of the attack were sent to the Croc Doc, Frank Mazzotti, a biologist at the University of Florida Research and Education Center in Davie. He said no other animal could have caused such damage.

“That area is almost all crocodiles. On very rare occasions an alligator may stray into there,” Mazzotti said. "Nine out of 10 times it would be a croc in that area. It's possible that it may have been an alligator, but that’s going out on a limb to say that.”

Crocodiles usually roam in the brackish, salt water in the Keys, while alligators set up territory further inland in the fresh water.

Poulson and Gregory thought they might have stumbled on another marine animal that night.

"We thought we might have hit a manatee and gotten bruised up," Gregory told the Florida Keynoter.

"We made it back to the house and we got into the light," he said. "We looked at each other and we’re bleeding like crazy."

American crocodiles were once on the verge of extinction and are still classified as a threatened species.

Unlike people's usual view of the croc based off the prehistoric-looking, aggressive crocodiles of Africa and Australia, American crocs are fairly shy and prefer flight over a fight, Mazzotti said.

He said Thursday's incident wasn't by a man-eating predator, but a scared reptile who was minding its own business.

"I wouldn't describe it as an attack. It was an escape attempt by the crocodile,” Mazzotti said. "They are not grabbing you to eat you. They are giving a warning, 'Don’t mess with me.'"

New 'Beast' Sightings at Cannock Chase


sundaymercury - There have been a raft of fresh sightings of the Cannock Chase beast in recent weeks – with readers reporting sightings of an elusive Panther-like creature.

“I definitely saw a Panther-like cat, jet black, about 15m-20m in front of me between Chase Road and Ansons Bank car park,” reported one Cannock resident Stephen Hill.

“I had a clear view of it before it disappeared into the undergrowth. I went closer to try to see it, but did not go too close because I feared for my own safety.”

Another resident said: “I saw an animal that I did not recognise. It was very compact – stocky even – with a strong, sturdy body, head, and legs.”

Eye-witness reports continue to roll in, but there are those who are far more sceptical.

Derek Crawley, chairman of Staffordshire Mammal Group, said: “For years there have been reports of Big Cats on the Chase. However, if these animals were successfully surviving in the wild, it would be practically impossible not to encounter them more frequently.”

So are people just letting their imaginations run wild? Perhaps what Cannock residents are seeing are large dogs.

This fits with one account we received: “I saw a creature roughly the size of an Alsatian, kind of like a greyhound.”

Chase Rangers believe the public are, in fact, seeing Muntjac Deer, which are dog-sized.

Mr Crawley, however, hasn’t completely discounted claims that there is a panther on the loose. He added: “If anybody is convinced that they have seen a mysterious creature, please report it, so that we can investigate, and find evidence as to what might possibly be lurking in the bushes.”

Many Big Cats, such as Panthers, were kept as pets until the Dangerous Animals Act came into force in 1976, making it an offence to actually own them.

Could it be what residents are seeing are direct descendents of Big Cats whose owners released them into the wild when the law was changed? If so, then there is another mystery to resolve.

John Plant, from Cheslyn Hay, reported seeing a large creature with a snout – and he’s not the only one. Now if these reports are true, could it be Wild Boar have descended on the Chase?



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Friday, April 29, 2011

Muhuru: Jurassic Relic

Stegosaurus

The Muhuru is said to be an armor plated, club-tailed creature that lives deep within the thick overgrown terrain of East Africa. Some people have suggested that it is a modern example of a living dinosaur.

Photographic or biological evidence is sketchy at best in proving this animal’s existence and the general consensus among cryptozoologists is that the Muhuru is yet another Jurassic relic unlike the Mokele-mbembe. Unlike the Mokele-mbembe, which is known for it's vicious territorial instincts, the Muhuru, which has been spotted primarily in Kenya, is not known to be aggressive.

Ankylosaur

Eyewitnesses have described the Muhuru as a heavily armored reptilian beast with large, bony plates jutting out of its spine. There is speculation that this creature may well be a surviving species of the plant-eating dinosaur called the Stegosaurus. Believed to have been extinct for 150 million years, the Stegosaurus was a large, herbivorous quadruped from the Late Jurassic period.

Descriptions of the Muhuru’s unique armor plating and intimidating club-like tail would seem to indicate that, unlike the spike tailed and triangle scaled Stegosaurus, this beast may more akin to the squat, armadillo like dinosaur known as the Ankylosaur.

Ankylosaur were bulky, armor plated, quadrupeds with short, powerful limbs with clubbed tales which it used to fend off predators. First known to have appeared in China during the early Jurassic Period, these unique creatures managed to survive at least until the end of the Cretaceous Period.

-----

I received a brief correspondence from a Canadian reader a few months ago where he detailed a conversation he had while on vacation in Kenya in 1988:

Sir - I want to thank you for the daily newsletter. In the Spring of 1988 my father and I vacationed in Africa where we toured several parts of the continent. During the last week of our trip we were able to secure an invitation from an associate to accompany him to Mount Elgon National Park in western Kenya.

It was a bone-jarring 200 mile trek by car from Nairobi to the park then an additional 10+ mile hike through tough terrain. It was the most unusual area we had visited during our trip. I especially enjoyed the caves, known as a gathering place for elephants who would scratch for salt with their tusks.

We stayed the night at the park lodge. That evening we had a conversation with a park guide who mentioned that there had been talk of a strange animal in the rainforest at the foot of the mountain. A group of locals had discovered a fresh killed male elephant who had large lacerations across it's abdomen and neck. The theory was that this was not an attack by another elephant and that a 'mahuru' was the culprit.

The guide explained that a mahuru was said to be a dinosaur-like animal and larger than a fully grown elephant. My father and I were amazed by this story because the guide was very serious while he talked. Another gentleman was listening to the conversation and said that he had seen a drawing of a mahuru and that it looked liked an armored dinosaur with a horned club tail. I later was shown a picture that resembled a stegosaurus dinosaur. Have you heard of this animal? Nevin



NOTE: there is very little information on the 'Mahuru'. I suspect it is more legend than fact...but I still wonder what could have killed the elephant in that manner. Lon

Is this an actual depiction of a Muhuru?

Sources:
americanmonsters.com
www.paranormalhaze.com
fortean.wikidot.com

Fortean / Alternative News: 'Yeti Hand' Returned, Crop Circle Burns Proven and Triangle UFO Lands


'Yeti hand' replica to be returned to Nepal monastery

BBC - A pilot from New Zealand is in Nepal to return a replica of what some believe is the hand of a yeti to a remote monastery in the Everest region.

Mike Allsop will fly from Kathmandu to the Everest region on Friday to take the models to Pangboche Monastery, which sits at 4,000m (13,123ft).

The originals were stolen from the monastery in the 1990s.

They first came to light in the 1950s when an expedition to find the mythical yeti came upon the monastery.

Mr Allsop will also take with him a replica of a yeti skull-cap, which was also stolen in the 1990s.

"I will take these replicas back to the monks so they can replace the ones that were stolen," Mr Allsop told the BBC.

Peter Byrne, the leader of the 1950s expedition to find the abominable snowman, said that while the skull was probably made of goat or antelope skin, the hand did not match the skeleton of a human or a primate.

Mr Byrne managed to take one of the bones from the hand out of Nepal to his friend, the Hollywood actor James Stewart, who was on holiday at the time with his wife in Calcutta.

James Stewart's wife then placed the bone in her lingerie box and smuggled it into England where it was examined by a professor at Oxford University who said he could not conclusively say what kind of bone it was.

In the 1990s, an American television channel ran a documentary about the hand and skull. Shortly after, both were stolen from the monastery.

Mr Allsop said that he decided to make replicas of the hand and skull after trekking in the Everest region.

He approached the head of the New Zealand firm Weta Workshop, who were responsible for crafting the special effects and props for the Lord of the Rings films.

They agreed to make the replicas for free from photographs.

Mr Allsop has not yet told the monks in the monastery that he is returning with replicas of the hand and the skull.

He hopes that they will now be able to attract more trekkers to Pangboche, who will pay a small fee to see the artefacts.

"I want to help the monastery have an income again - I want to help them out," he said.

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1st Scientific Proof of Burning in Crop Circle Plants

We have heard many reports over the years about possibly "burned" plants in crop formations. However, in every case where these plants have been sent to BLT for examination our consulting analytical chemist has shown (through FT-IR and EDS) that the blackening was actually caused by Ustilago, an opportunistic fungus which feeds on the internal plant stem moisture which is exposed to air when the stems are crushed or broken (http://www.bltresearch.com/labreports/mission1.php).

But in 2010 seedheads from a Dutch formation which occurred in the early morning hours of August 2nd in a field in-between Hoeven and Oudenbosch have provided scientific proof of actual burning. At the end-point of a "half-ring" or "arc" component of one section of this formation, in the standing plants right at the edge of this area, there were three partially blackened seedheads and an additional plant stem with no seedhead but with a 45 angle cut which was also blackened.

The laboratory report clearly shows that -- in this case -- the blackening is carbon-based and positively due to burning, not to the fungus Ustilago. Continue reading at FIRST SCIENTIFIC PROOF OF BURNING IN CROP CIRCLE PLANTS

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Triangle UFO Lands

MUFON CMS - April 26, 2011 - Kennewick, WA: Was driving and spotted a huge glowing orb of light hovering over the blue bridge in Kennewick Washington where I live, I watched it hover for 10 minutes and then fly across the river and land in someones yard,

I started my car and drove across the bridge to go find where it landed, by the time I got over there it had gone back up and started sitting hovering above the bridge again,

I stayed where I was though watching it, finally it started moving right towards my car, I got to see that it was a triangle shape and very large in size, it was quiet and made no type of noise.

I have seen this same ufo on three occasions now, and am curious to why they are in my city.

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Animal Planet's Whale Wars Returns For The Ultimate Battle That May End The Antarctic Whaling War Forever

underwatertimes - When the Japanese whale meat processing ship - the Nisshin Maru - turned around and set its course back to its home port in mid-February, Captain Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherds declared a cautious victory. Watson and his international conservationist group have been hell bent on stopping the whaling industry for nearly a decade, harassing them and making international headlines in the process. Perhaps the Sea Shepherds' tactics finally had taken their toll... The whalers' actions not only signaled a possible victory for the Sea Shepherds, it also meant hundreds of whales' lives in the Antarctic would be spared this year through an unprecedented cancellation of an entire nation's whale hunt. But was it a final victory or just a temporary conquest?

Animal Planet's Emmy-nominated WHALE WARS returns for a fourth captivating season beginning Friday, June 3 at 9 PM with 10 exhilarating episodes documenting the Sea Shepherds' dramatic campaign on the Antarctic high seas. The series has enthralled audiences who have witnessed the dangerous cat-and-mouse game at the far end of the globe between the Sea Shepherds and the whalers. For years, Captain Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society crew have taken to the high seas in an attempt to stop Japanese ships from hunting whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. WHALE WARS documents the ongoing battles in the icy Antarctic waters as the conflict between Sea Shepherds and the whalers grows more intense with each engagement - each pushing the other to the limit to fight for their beliefs.

This new season is full of the drama that viewers have come to expect from the Sea Shepherds' campaigns, including new equipment in their arsenal -- a new vessel that's almost as fast but far bigger than the boat destroyed last year, a helicopter with a greater range, secret GPS devices, and more. Aside from the Sea Shepherds' new tactics, there are harrowing experiences unlike any viewers will have seen before, including a crew stranded overnight in freezing conditions and a tragic mayday call. Captain Alex Corneliessen joins the campaign to helm the Bob Barker, and Captain Lockhart Maclean takes command of the Sea Shepherds' newest small vessel, the Gojira.

As Watson has said, "In order to save the whales, people have to be willing to risk their lives." And, before this campaign, when a reporter asked pointedly if he really couldn't stop whaling, he vehemently responded, "We can't stop whaling? That's what they once said about slavery, but it was stopped. So yes, we can stop whaling."

The third season of WHALE WARS averaged nearly 1.4 million viewers, 29% above the season two average. In 2009, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recognized WHALE WARS with a Television Academy Honor identifying it as "Television with a Conscience" for exploring issues of concern to society in a compelling, emotional, and insightful way. The series has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy® for Outstanding Cinematography in a Non-Fiction Series (twice) and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Non-Fiction Series. The first three seasons are available on DVD at AnimalPlanetstore.com.

Liz Bronstein is the executive producer for The Lizard Trading Company, and Jason Carey is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley is the vice president of development for Animal Planet.

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Superman to Renounce U.S. Citizenship

yahoo - Superman, citizen of the world?

The Man of Steel, in the latest issue of Action Comics which hit newsstands on Wednesday, said he intends to renounce his U.S. citizenship in a speech before the United Nations.

"I'm tired of having my actions construed as instruments of U.S. policy," Superman said in a short story in the issue, Action Comics No. 900 from the Time Warner Inc unit DC Comics.

In the comic, Superman never actually renounces his citizenship, he only talks about his plans to do that.

But conservative commentators reacted with disgust to the new storyline, given that the fictional superhero has long proclaimed he stood for "Truth, Justice and the American way."

In a blog post at The Weekly Standard, senior writer Jonathan Last questioned Superman's beliefs, now that he seems to have rejected the United States.

"Does he believe in British interventionism or Swiss neutrality?" Last wrote. "You see where I'm going with this: If Superman doesn't believe in America, then he doesn't believe in anything."

The new plot twist for Superman comes as the superhero visitor from a distant planet, who was raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, looks to take on a more global mission for his battle against evil.

"The world's too small. Too connected," Superman said in the comic book.

Superman, who was first introduced in the 1938, has a long association with the United States. But Joe Shuster, the artist who helped create the character with writer Jerry Siegel, was born in Canada.

And critics have described Superman's life story as a metaphor for the immigrant experience, because he is an alien.

DC Comics co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio seemed to downplay their landmark superhero character's latest declaration, in a joint statement.

"In a short story in Action Comics 900, Superman announces his intention to put a global focus on his never ending battle, but he remains, as always, committed to his adopted home and his roots as a Kansas farm boy from Smallville," they said.

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Argentina: Captain Polanco Recalls the Bariloche UFO

From Scott Corrales - Inexplicata - The Journal of Hispanic Ufology

Source: Clarin (Argentina)
http://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Luces-extranas-Sur
Date: 04.26.11

“Open your minds, we’re not alone in the universe.” These are the words that airliner captain Jorge Polanco spoke to Clarin. He was the protagonist a UFO event that shook the country: the Bariloche Case.

On the evening of 31 July 1995, Polanco was about to land at Bariloche Airport, at the rudder of an Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 727, when “a light, dim at first, then intense and bright, got between the airliner and the runway.” The captain immediately advised the control tower, but received a disconcerting reply: it was no known aircraft. The strange light escorted the Boeing and its 100 passengers for 17 minutes.

A Gendarmería aircraft that was also in flight at the time confirmed seeing the same object. The tableau was made complete by another extraordinary event: a sudden blackout at the airport.

“The case had great repercussion in the media worldwide. I was even visited by NASA specialists. This was the most definite, real and spectacular case. I witnessed two other episodes in my career,” says Polanco.

15 years following his experience, he sees the Argentinean Air Force’s interest in these matters as something positive, “provided that it’s done seriously.” The two other cases the pilot alluded to occurred on 6 February 1995 when he was returning from Rio de Janeiro toward the Cordoba Airport, and was startled by a bright light. Upon contacting the tower, he received the same reply: “Unknown traffic.” Another episode occurred on 11 August 1996. Flying over the city of Trelew, he crossed paths with a bright light for a third time. “I treat it as a natural occurrence. I believe there could be life on other systems; I’m convinced of it. I never bothered making my case known because most people do not take it seriously,” Polanco reiterates. On 14 February of this year, the crew of the 727, the crew of the military aircraft and UFO specialists met at Costanera to discuss the case. Polanco feels that it’s always good to keep these events fresh. “Being air travel experts, we aren’t startled by a mere light. I think that there is more developed life than our own. I repeat, we are not the only ones who inhabit the planet,” he says.

Photo: Big Cat on the Prowl in North Scotland


ross-shirejournal - A grisly find in Ross-shire and an intriguing image captured on camera has further fuelled speculation that a big cat is on the prowl.

The sighting of a large, cat-like beast stopped Tain sisters Lisa and Alana Sydenham in their tracks as they were out driving near Embo on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile on the Black Isle, the stripped-to-the-bone remains of a deer and large paw prints in the mud left another landowner pondering the possibility that a big cat is responsible.

The latest revelations follow last week’s exclusive Ross-shire Journal story in which Easter Ross farmer George Ross, of Rheguile Farm, spoke of the savaging of 18 of his sheep since the beginning of the year.

Lisa Sydenham (29), an administration and information technology student at Dornoch College, contacted the Journal yesterday after her sighting on Wednesday night. She had been driving with sister Alana (26) near Embo outside Dornoch when she caught sight of a large beast on the prowl.

Lisa, who snapped the black creature with the point-and-shoot digital camera she was carrying around 8.30pm on Wednesday night, told the Journal, “It was definitely not just a large domestic cat or dog.

“At first I thought it was a very large dog but from the way it was walking and the shape of its body I could tell that it was a big cat. It was quite a distance away over a field. My sister Alana and I were at first very surprised and then excited. I looked into it and found there had been another sighting in the area last September.

“It looked and moved like a cat.

“It spotted me and crouched down in the grass before walking off. We must have watched it for about five minutes in all.”

She speculated that changes in animal licensing laws some time ago had prompted the owners of some exotic animals to release them into the wild.

The Journal was also contacted yesterday by Black Isle-based Alison Kennedy, who lives near Culbokie. She stumbled across the remains of a deer on land she owns at Upper Braefindon on Monday night and is hoping for some expert analysis of distinctive paw prints found in the mud near the kill.

She told the Journal, “On returning to the spot on Tuesday there were signs that the carcass had been dragged further away and carried off, nothing remained but a severed leg. All other stories only show remains of savaged animals, but I have pictures of paw prints at the site of the attack and the very fresh, almost totally eaten carcass.

“I tried to get SAC vets to visit the site and confirm what might have killed the deer, but have had no response so far.

“If it was dogs, that in itself is very worrying, given the livestock in the area, but more so if it is a big cat.”

She said there were obvious signs of a struggle and the appearance that the deer had been dragged a significant distance during the apparent attack.

Chief Inspector Paul Eddington, who has several years’ experience as a police wildlife crime coordinator specialist under his belt, said there had been several very credible sightings of big cats in Ross-shire down the years.

He said too there had been several stories of exotic animals being released in the Highlands since the 1970s following changes in legislation surrounding what people are permitted to keep as pets.

There have also been documented instances of domesticated cats turning feral and breeding with wildcats.

Ch Insp Eddington also recalled the December 2008 report — first revealed by the Journal — of the attack on a 73-year-old Easter Ross woman convinced she had been mauled after disturbing a big cat near her home.

Pat McLeod, who lived in a remote cottage outside Alness, had required hospital treatment for cuts sustained in an attack the exact details of which remain a mystery. Police were sufficiently convinced to lay traps and issue a warning to the public to be vigilant.

Ch Insp Eddington said, “Anyone who sees something unusual is encouraged to contact us. There’s an issue of public safety to consider and also the wellbeing of any such creature. We have had a number of credible reports down the years and people can be assured they will always be taken at face value.”


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Thursday, April 28, 2011

The 1978 Fort Dix / McGuire AFB Incident

Reconstruction of the Fort Dix incident

Preamble: January 18, 1978 - Fort Dix/McGuire AFB, New Jersey - The primary eyewitness in the case, Jeffrey Morse, alleged that he had been working as a security policeman at McGuire AFB when he was notified about UFO activity over Fort Dix army base. Morse alleged that he heard that a non-human entity had been shot and he later witnessed the dead body of the entity lying on the ground on a disused runway at McGuire AFB.

Incident: The primary eyewitness in the case, Jeffrey Morse, alleged that he had been working as a security policeman at McGuire AFB at 03.00 on January 18, 1978 when he was notified about UFO activity over Fort Dix army base that adjoined McGuire AFB. Morse alleged that he heard that a non-human entity had been shot and he later saw the dead body of the entity lying on the ground on a disused runway at McGuire AFB. The scene was rapidly cordoned off and the body was crated and flown to Wright-Patterson AFB (WPAFB) for examination. Morse himself, two days after the shooting incident, was allegedly summoned to WPAFB and interrogated about the event. He was warned to keep quiet and shortly thereafter was transferred to Okinawa, Japan.

Location of Fort Dix / McGuire AFB, NJ

Letter from sergeant Morse summarizing his experience and the incident:

In January of 1978, I was stationed at McGuire AFB, NJ. One evening, during the time frame of 0300hrs and 0500hrs., there were a number of UFO sightings in the area over the air field and Ft. Dix Army camp. I am a security policeman and was on routine patrol at the time. N.J. State Police, and Ft. Dix MPs were running code in the direction of Brownsville, NJ. A state trooper then entered gate #5 at the rear of the base requesting assistance and permission to enter. I was dispatched and the trooper wanted access to the runway area which led to the very back of the air field and connected with a heavily wooded area which is part of the Dix training area. He informed me that a Ft. Dix MP was pursueing (sic) a low flying object which then hovered over his car. He described it as oval shaped, with no details, and glowing with a blueish (sic) green color. His radio transmission was cut off. At that time in front of his police car, appeared a thing, about 4ft tall, grayish (sic), brown, fat head, long arms, and slender body. The MP panicked and fired five rounds from his .45 Cal into the thing, and one round into the object above. The object then fled straight up and joined with eleven others high in the sky. This we all saw but didn?t know the details at the time. Anyway, the thing ran into the woods towards our fenceline and they wanted to look for it. By this time several patrols were involved.

We found the body of the thing near the runway. It had apparently climbed the fence and died while running. It was all of a sudden hush-hush and no one was allowed near the area. We roped off the area and AF OSI came out and took over. That was the last I saw of it. There was a bad stench coming from it too. Like ammonia smelling but it wasn?t constent (sic) in the air. That day, a team from Wright-Patterson AFB came in a C141 and went to the area. They crated it in a wooden box, sprayed something over it, and then put it into a bigger metal container. They loaded it in the plane and took off. That was it, nothing more was said, no report made and we were all told not to have anything to say about it or we would be court martialed.


Morse, in subsequent conversations, revealed that two days after the incident he and others on duty at the scene were summoned to Wright Patterson AFB for interrogation, and each was transferred promptly to a separate base overseas.

The Fort Dix/McGuire case was also of interest because a prominent UFO investigator, George Filer, claimed to have been present at McGuire AFB on the morning of January 18, 1978. Mr. Filer told NIDS that he witnessed a commotion with red lights on one of the disused runways at McGuire when he arrived on the base at 4:00 AM. He further claimed that he heard from a Senior Master Sergeant at McGuire command post on the same morning that UFO activity had been sighted by the control tower and on radar at neighboring Fort Dix and an alien had been shot that morning and that it had been found dead on the runway at McGuire. - NIDS - National Institute for Discovery Science

Eyewitness sketch of the dead extraterrestrial

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Alien Being Shot Dead by MPs - Body Found on New Jersey Air Force Base

January 18, 1978

During the early morning hours of January 18, 1978, UFOs were sighted flying over Fort Dix and McGuire AFB, adjacent military bases. Shortly afterward, an Air Force security patrol was ordered to the back gate of McGuire AFB to allow entry to New Jersey State Police who were searching for something. One of the airmen on duty was Sgt. Jeff Morse (pseudonym). The state trooper told Morse that a Fort Dix MP was pursuing a low-flying object that had hovered over his car; then a small being with large head and slender body appeared in front of his car. The MP had panicked and shot the alien several times with a .45 automatic. The being had fled over the fence between the two bases, before falling and dying on the deserted runway.

Morse and his colleagues found the body lying on a deserted runway. As they followed routine procedure and roped off the area of the "crime scene," other "blue beret" forces unfamiliar to Morse and his companion took over. Morse was relegated to a back-up role, but could see from a slight distance what was happening. Later that day a team from Wright-Patterson AFB arrived in a C-141 cargo aircraft, crated up the body, loaded it on board, and took off. Morse and his companion were warned not to talk about the incident or they would be court-martialled.

Two days later Morse and other participants were taken to Wright- Patterson AFB, OH, where they underwent intimidating interrogation and were again warned not to talk about the incident. (Morse supplied the names of the interrogation team taken from their name badges, and their identities have been verified.) Morse reported; "[They] told me about my duty to keep my mouth shut. . . . I signed a form and it is supposed to bind me for life."

Shortly after returning to McGuire AFB, Morse was debriefed by his commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel (name also known), and heard no more about the incident. Shortly thereafter each of the airmen who had been involved was transferred to a separate overseas base. Morse was shipped to Okinawa.

The author has met with Morse face-to-face several times, talked with him on the telephone numerous times, and considers him completely credible. He has cooperated fully, answering all questions to the best of his ability and agreeing to meet and talk with various colleagues. He has given a formal deposition on the incident in the presence of several witnesses, and was subjected to questioning on specific details.

As a direct consequence of innocently being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Morse has been harassed and threatened, and his reputation defamed to the point that he had difficulty finding employment in the law enforcement field.

Another witness is George Filer (Major, USA, Ret.), who was stationed at McGuire AFB in 1978, serving as an intelligence officer; one of his duties was to brief the commanding general. He was not on duty at the time of the incident, but the next morning he heard talk about the "alien body" and saw a lot of unusual activity He is prepared to testify on what he knows firsthand and what he has learned since about the incident. - Richard H. Hall - "The UFO Evidence - A Thirty Year Report"

A detailed account is also available at THE FATAL ENCOUNTER AT FT. DIX-McGUIRE: A CASE STUDY; Status Report IV - Leonard H. Stringfield


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10/4/1985 - Copy of form letter sent to Senator Dan Quayle, Senator Richard Lugar, Representative Frank McCloskey, which included attachments: copy of letter to Stringfield, copy of Incident/Complaint Report, responses from AF and Army.

Dear Sirs:

I am the State-Section Director for Posey, Vanderburg, and Gibson counties for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), an international organization. I work with the local police, sheriff, state police, airport control tower people, etc., in regards to unidentified aerial phenomenon reported by the public (and sometimes by the law enforcement people, etc.). In the earlier years I served with the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (1960- 1974) and they worked with a lot of congressional committees trying to get serious attention on the problems inherent in the situation. We ran into a "wall" when in 1968 the House Committee on Science & Astronautics, chaired by George P. Miller (California) and J. Edward Roush (Indiana), had to wait & see what the University of Colorado decided, as far as the fate of future investigations by the Air Force Project BLUE BOOK. As a result, Dr. Condon's study recommended BLUE BOOK be shut down, and it was, in 1969. Newly released documents uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act show that the government is withholding a lot of information on UFOs, and that the government is still interested in UFOs. Project BLUE BOOK was only a "front".

I am assuming that you have some knowledge in regards this subject. The public opinion polls show that we have come a long way the last 10 years. I have a request. This is being done all over the country and you will not be the only one working on this, but your help is needed if we are to succeed. I have enclosed a document that we of MUFON feel is of key importance to the issue. It is an Incident Report that was given to us by a confidential source. It appears to be authentic. After months of exhaustive research by Leonard Stringfield, Richard Hall, and a few others, the case seems to be standing the test of time. Also, besides the "leaked" document, the person reporting says that he will "go public" with his name when he is assured of a safe forum for his story, such as a congressional committee hearing.

The incident reportedly occurred on January 18, 1978, at Fort Dix-McGuire AFB, N.J. It describes a UFO encounter/alien body retrieval operation. It is a "leaked" document confirming the basic facts of the reporting personnel's story - the document being an "Incident Report" filed by the McGuire Security Police & forwarded to the USAF Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) for coordination of any follow-up request.

what I am asking, initially, is for you to send this request to the appropriate House/Senate committee for their review and investigation. After about thirty days I will write to the committee chairman, directly, to determine what his committee is doing, or plans to do, to resolve the issue. There is always the possibility that documents like this may be deliberately "planted" so as to be easily discredited, especially since we have gotten over 3,000 cleared as a result of FOIA lawsuits. One such document turned out to be fraudulent about a year ago, but wasn't an embarrassment to us since we exposed it. But this document that you have appears to be real.

In the meantime, we are trying to track down the current location of the several principals cited in the preliminary Incident Report (whose names we deleted from your copy) so as to protect them from the same type of reprisal allegedly incurred by Stringfield's informant.

If you need further information, please contact me whenever possible. Surely, you can see the implications if this one of many incidents can be confirmed. What we hope to get are the follow-up reports that can help resolve any question about the case's authenticity, comparative importance, and outcome. Where do the reports repose now ? The letter, dated 1 February 1985 (also enclosed) states the reports would have been held 5-years, then destroyed! Or, if they were important and classified (which we assume something of this nature would be), where are they now ?

This is only one of the problems involving UFOs that we are trying to resolve, but the implications here are staggering. The full 17-page SYMPAP report by researcher, Leonard Stringfield, will be provided upon request.

Sincerely,

Francis L. Ridge
State-Section Director,
Mutual UFO Network, Inc.

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Leonard Stringfield
Dix-McGuire Updated Report

The former Air Force security policeman who claims to have witnessed a UFO incident on January 18, 1978, involving military police at McGuire AFB, New Jersey and adjacent Fort Dix, and New Jersey State Police, recently visited the Washington, D.C., area from overseas, where he is employed and met with the authors. The Fund for UFO Research sponsored a mini-conference to bring Stringfield from Cincinnati, Ohio, and have representatives of the Fund meet the witness to form their own impressions of his credibility.

The witness, Jeff Morse (pseudonym), had contacted Stringfield in 1980 and described the alleged events, including a non-human-appearing body found near a deserted runway, allegedly shot by a Fort Dix MP, crated up and hauled away on a special aircraft from Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Afterwards, Morse was flown to Wright-Patterson for a "debriefing," instructed to remain silent, and shortly afterwards transferred overseas, while his colleagues who also witnessed the event were shipped to various parts of the world.

A preliminary report on this incident (and many others) is included in Stringfield's 1982 "Status Report No. III" and a detailed follow-up report appears in the MUFON 1985 UFO Symposium Proceedings. Over several years, Morse remained incommunicado, surfacing briefly at times in response to Stringfield's communications. His silence, he said, was due to harassment and threats by officials as a result of talking to Stringfield.

The Fund-sponsored mini-conference took place on January 24, 1987, at a large shopping mall in the Washington, D.C., area suburbs. In addition to the authors and Morse, Dr. Bruce S. Maccabee (Chairman of the Fund) and William H. Hall (electronics engineer and brother of Richard) were present. Dr. John B Carlson, Univ. of Maryland astronomer and Fund Board Member, was to have been present, but a postponement caused a schedule conflict and he was out of town on the date of the conference. William Hall. a former technical consultant to the National Investigations Committee an Aerial Phenomena (NICAP), substituted since he had a number of things in common with Morse (including military police background and overseas duty stations) and would be able to judge Morse's credibility as he talked about his activities .

NEW INFORMATION

By prior arrangement Morse remained incognito, using only his first name, but talked freely and responded to questions by Maccabee and William Hall. (The authors know his full name, employment status, past biography, etc.) During the questioning and review of the alleged incident, Morse filled in details that were missing from his previous account, but offered no startling new information. A number of questions were clarified, and some new information (including claims that can be checked and proved or disproved) were offered. However, the authors were again impressed by Morse's straight forwardness and lack of embellishment.

The most significant new information related by Morse, briefly, was his claim that on a trip to the United States to visit his family in October 1986 he had been "detained," while in California, under obscure pretenses. Outraged, he filed a lawsuit against the California-based authority and notified Stringfleld by letter that he would return to the United States in January 1987 for court appearances and, at that time would be willing to meet him and Dick Hall and a couple other well-trusted friends to discuss the matter. But, during Morse's layover in the States he could learn nothing about the cause or reason for his detainment, nor the identity of the source who dictated the "pick up and hold" order. His legal probes, for some inexplicable reason, had been stalled in a tangle of red tape.

Among other things discussed at the mini-conference was the entire question of alleged harassment of UFO crash/retrieval witnesses, apparently in an attempt to intimidate them into silence. If Morse's story is credible, he is potentially an important witness who would tend to undermine the official cover-up. Unfortunately, this makes him vulnerable to retaliation (which may account for his detainment) and inhibits his ability to lead a normal life.

Skepticism about crash/retrieval reports may be fully justified and entirely understandable on the part of UFO "believers" and "disbelievers" alike unless they have met Jeff Morse or one of his many counterparts face-to-face. Morse has now provided many additional leads that we intend to check, and we will report our findings objectively as new information is
obtained.

AUTHENTIC?

Meanwhile, the authenticity of the "Incident Report" form Morse supplied to Stringfleld (reproduced in the MUFON 1985 UFO Symposium Proceedings), obtained from a colleague still on active duty, has been disputed by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) on the grounds that the style and terminology used "allegedly" does not follow proper Air Force style and is therefore probably a hoax. One of the key statements made by AFOSI was that pay grades (E-2, E-3...) were given instead of ranks (Corporal, Sergeant...) on the official form.

Aside from the fact that Morse has claimed all along that this was a rough draft "back room" copy subject to review and revision, and that minor errors would be corrected by responsible officials before the final report was filed, the AFOSI statement is inaccurate. Pay grades, rather than ranks, are routinely filed in official Air Force reports. Two examples of this are an Air Force form reproduced in a November 6, 1985 Congressional hearing transcript (copy provided to MUFON) and an Air Force Serious Incident Report form on a 1973 case reproduced in Appendix A of Clear Intent by Fawcett and Greenwood (Prentice-Hall, 1984), labeled Figure 6.

Participants of the mini-conference discussed ways of obtaining additional confirmation of the reported 1978 event, and various initiatives will be undertaken to do so. Results will be reported periodically.

As a result of the mini-conference, two additional persons (B. Maccabee and W. Hall) now have met and talked with Morse and can confirm that he is not a "fairy tale" or a figment of the imagination. They are also now in a position to help confirm or disconfirm his story. - Leonard Stringfield & Richard Hall

-----

Former Air Force Maj. George Filer III told reporters that when he was at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, an alien craft came down, and an alien got out and was shot by a military policeman.

"Our security police went out there and found him at the end of the runway dead," Filer said. "They asked me to brief the general staff," he said, but was later told not to. He said he would tell the story in front of Congress.

Filer is not new to UFO sightings. He has his own Web site called Filer's Files, where he says he also chased an alien ship over England when flying for the U.S. Air Force. "I personally have observed a UFO both visually and on radar. I've been chasing them ever since," he writes. - ABC News

Sources:
www.ufoevidence.org
NIDS - National Institute for Discovery Science
NICAP
Richard H. Hall - "The UFO Evidence - A Thirty Year Report"
Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS)
Multiple Anomaly Detection & Automated Recording (MADAR)
MUFON
www.ufocasebook.com
www.anomalyresponse.org
Stringfield, Leonard H. - "UFO Crash/Retrievals: Amassing the Evidence: Status Report III" - 1982

Fortean / Alternative News: Russians Are Believers, 'The Vampire Diaries' Set Haunted and Bolivia UFO Panic

For many Russians, UFO and Bigfoot equally realistic

pravda - A paradox was revealed during a recent poll of the Russians. In spite of the fact that approximately 70 percent of the country's population call themselves believers, only 26 percent believe that life after death is possible. The beliefs of the Russians are generally contradictory: Russians bring Easter cakes to church to "make them holy" but at the same time are afraid of black cats and broken mirrors.

"Public opinion" fund decided to poll the Russians on the possibility of resurrection after death. The fund found out that despite the fact that 59 percent of the citizens consider themselves Orthodox, and ten percent say that they belong to other denominations, only 26 percent believe in an afterlife.

For 54 percent resurrection is no more than a myth. The majority of those who do not believe in the afterlife are represented by rural residents, men, students and seniors.

Another interesting fact is those who do believe in the afterlife are people with an income of over 30,000 rubles a month, entrepreneurs and executives. Surprisingly, there were more of those who believed in eternal life among the businessmen than among those who call themselves Orthodox Christians: 43 percent versus 31.

According to the numerous surveys and studies, human faith is generally a collection of paradoxes and even absurdities. Russians who call themselves Orthodox Christians consider it their duty to wear a cross, but at the same time do not shy away from horoscopes and psychics' services. A growing number of advertisement promising "to return the beloved one" and "ward off a competitor" indicate a growing demand.

Generally in the recent years Russians have become much more skeptical. Horoscopes, prophetic dreams and professional astrologers are still popular among the population, but to a much lesser extent. Alien life for the majority of the Russians is as much a fairy tale as the life after death. Possibility of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations is denied by 58 percent of Russians.

However, the skepticism of the Russian people does not apply to every day superstitions. Little green creatures and life after death seem to be a myth to many, while troubles promised by a meeting with a black cat, a broken mirror or spilt salt are quite real for the most. The Russians believe that spitting over the left shoulder and knocking on wood is much more effective than a prayer or a call to the spirits.

It is worth mentioning that the representatives of the Church are not surprised by such data. Priests say that identifying themselves as Orthodox, people are not talking about religion, but, rather, the national and family tradition and culture. This means that many Russians do not believe in God, but call themselves Orthodox.

In fact, for many Russians a visit to a church during holidays or baptizing children is the same thing as knocking on wood or avoiding "jinxing," i.e., and old tradition designed to ward off trouble.

However, Russians are not the only ones that have such a strange attitude to religion. For example, 43 percent of Americans attend religious ceremonies every week, but this does not prevent 38 percent of the U.S. adults from believing in the existence of aliens, 33 percent believing in Bigfoot, and 37 percent - in ghosts. Of these, 23 percent are convinced that ghosts are their dead relatives or friends, while 20 percent said they personally met with the spirits of the dead.

Experts, however, argue that there is no paradox here. "Traditional" (in moderation) religion does not interfere with the belief in the paranormal, but quite the contrary: being open to the faith into the unknown, people are not so steadfast in their religious beliefs that reject the mysterious events in principle.

In other words, people who admit the existence of things unexplained from the viewpoint of science can be (or call themselves) Christians (Muslims, Jews), and with the same sincerity believe that aliens have visited Earth a number of times. An individual open to the faith in a higher intelligence, in principle can believe in some seemingly conflicting things. Traditional religions are traditional because people transfer their commitment to a particular confession from generation to generation, observing certain rituals as a family. But it is often nothing more than a tribute to the national culture, rather than a sincere belief and commitment to a wholly-owned church dogma.

**********


Is The Vampire Diaries Set Haunted?

The Vampire Diaries is a scary show—vampires, werewolves, witches and frighteningly sexy stars—but the set itself is also a pretty terrifying place to work.

What happened to cause star Nina Dobrev to believe in ghosts?

The actress, who plays doppelgängers Elena and Katherine on the CW thriller, says the crew had more than one close encounter with paranormal phenomena while filming at the Gaither Plantation in Covington, Ga.

Once, Dobrev told the AP, a phantom piano player interrupted a shoot.

"The ADs started screaming, 'Stop! Whoever that is, stop the music. We're rolling!'" she said, adding that when the crew barged into the room with the piano, it was empty.

Another time, when Dobrev was alone in a bathroom with no one nearby, she said "the lights were just spontaneously coming on and off."

The whole crew, said the actress, shared a "weird feeling" while filming at Gaither but "nobody could pinpoint" why.

Enter Syfy's Ghost Hunters crew, who investigated the plantation for an episode airing aired April 15, 2009.

"We have a lot of theories," Amy Bruni, one of the Ghost Hunters paranormal investigators, told us today about the hauntings. "The place is very historical—it's been around for a long time. There's a lot of history in that area. Sometimes we see that associated with paranormal activity, especially tragedies or things like that where something might not want to leave.

"I wouldn't blame them," Ami laughs. "It's a beautiful location."

Ami says The Vampire Diaries crew aren't the mysterious piano player's first audience. "I know piano playing has been reported there before," she told us, theorizing that "it could be what we consider a residual haunt. Something that doesn't necessarily interact with you but it kind of does things—goes through the motions."

The Ghost Hunters crew believe they found pretty conclusive evidence of paranormal activity during their investigation at the Gaither Plantation. "We basically put some flour down on the floor upstairs in the attic, left it and came back and there were footsteps in it." (Goosebumps!) "It's a very old-fashioned way of investigating. And then there was a cabinet door downstairs that we caught on camera that opened on its own [and] we heard footsteps throughout the location. It's been awhile but I do remember it pretty well as a really neat place."

A neat place to go on a dare, maybe, but would you want to work there?

"I don't think we've shot there since," Dobrev said. - eonline

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Alfred Hitchcock 'The Birds' Barbie Doll

Made by Mattel. I have to get one of these. I had a crush on actress Tippi Hedren (mother of actress Melanie Griffith) when I was younger. As well, "The Birds" is one of my favorite films. It seems this product has been available for a few years....really don't know why I never noticed it.

Alfred Hitchcock 'The Birds' Barbie Doll



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Politician: "Ban Abortion, Sterilize Poor Women and Pay the Wealthy to Procreate"

Louisiana State Rep John Labruzzo (R) has introduced "feticide" legislation to ban all abortion in his state and sentence women and doctors who violate the ban to 15 years hard labor. The law would make no exceptions for cases of danger to the health of the mother, incest or rape, and would essentially be an attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade in the state of Louisiana.

In previous attempts to manipulate, penalize and reward women's reproductive choices, Labruzzo has also suggested Louisiana law should pay poor women to be sterilized and well-to-do women to crank out more financially secure kids into the American gene-pool.

From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

Worried that welfare costs are rising as the number of taxpayers declines, state Rep. John LaBruzzo, R-Metairie, said Tuesday he is studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied...

It also could include tax incentives for college-educated, higher-income people to have more children, he said.


Julie Mickelberry, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of the Gulf Coast, denounced Labruzzo's actions as sham politics, intended not really to impact local law, but to give legal ammo to anti-choice groups in a federal setting:

"The bill is purely political. It's not at all about preventing abortion—he said it himself...his intention is to give anti-choice groups a bill they can take to court." - care2

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Bolivia: Alleged UFO Causes Panic in Magdalena

Trinidad, Beni, 25 Apr (Erbol) – An alleged Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) caused fear and concern among residents of the municipality of Magdalena, Province of Iténez, in the Department of Beni.

According to the report on “Iténez” Radio, belonging to the Erbol Network, the object was seen around midnight on April 16 of this year as the “José, María y Juan” religious act came to a close at the municipality’s main square.

The local station reported that residents claimed seeing an unidentified flying object for more than 15 minutes.

“To the north of the municipality we could see an object flying around at low altitude over the town. It looked like an enormous piece of hot coal, seen by all of us present at the site,” said a witness.

Some of the townspeople managed to take photos of the phenomenon on their cell phones. - Scott Corrales - Inexplicata - The Journal of Hispanic Ufology