Christmas
Thank you for visiting Mac's UFO News, i'll be offline now untill after the holidays. Here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas & a happy new year. Have fun & be safe!
Mac.
Todays Links:
UFO on White House Christmas card turns out to be a hoax - National unexplained phenomena | Examiner.com
UFOs over Glastonbury - Myth or reality? | Glastonbury People
Alien nativity display turns heads in NE Portland – Northwest Cable News
'UFO cloud' spotted floating over UK: Dazzling picture of rare for...
Could the new Earth-like planets harbor life? – Christian Science Monitor
Two Report Sighting UFO Over Hermiston - OPB News
Will we find first alien life in 2012? – KitGuru
PRIVATE COMPANY FOUNDED TO MINE THE MOON
Hubble Spots Complex Carbon Compounds, Possibly Organic, on Pluto’s Surface – Popular Science
Did HAARP Hit Phobos Grunt? Conspiracy MARS « Ahrcanum
Twilight Language: Hopkinsville + Budd Hopkins / August 21st
UFO Disclosure Countdown Clock: 2011, The Year Of The Orb - The 2011 UFO Saga - Told In Story Form - With Top Five Videos
UFO Survey Reveals Many Americans Believe the Obama White House is Lying When it Says the Government has “No Evidence” That Extraterrestrial Beings Do Exist – Wall Street Journal
Resident Reports UFO Sighting Over Severn – Patch
Book Review: Keep Out: Top Secret Places Governments Don't Want You To Know About by Nicholas Redfern - seattlepi.com
Gold Coast UFO sighting on record – Gold Coast Bulletin
Inexplicata-The Journal of Hispanic Ufology: Victoria, Argentina: UFOs, Bridges and the Unexplained
UFO sightings over Christmas increase at Bray's Point with scientific phenomena | HULIQ
Artificial Lightings Seen in Kuiper Belt Could Signal Alien World, Study Says – International Business Times
An Early Alien Abduction
Two ‘new Earths’ found by Kepler space probe as ‘alien life’ edges closer – Metro
Alien And UFO Sightings In Somerset Reported In 'Record Numbers' (VIDEO SLIDESHOW)
Quintet gangs up on alien worlds – MSNBC
NASA to Announce Discovery of New Alien Planets Tuesday – Space
UFO sightings over Christmas increase at Bray’s Point with scientific phenomena – HULIQ
Did the Military Really Try To Smuggle a UFO Through Kansas In Plain Sight? – Gizmodo
Glastonbury ‘UFO calls hotspot’ – MSN
UFO Over the Las Vegas Strip (VIDEO) – Huffington Post
UNEXPLAINED MYSTERIES OF 2011 AND INTO 2012 – Discovery
UFO – drifting lanterns – SunLive
UFO and alien sightings on the rise in Somerset – This is Somerset
How Would an Extraterrestrial Arrival Affect the Markets? – Benzinga
New method to find ET – News24
UFOs spotted over Stonehenge for 5,000 years while 2012 called an excellent year
Ancient Stonehenge stones – that date back to some 5,000 years old – have been dubbed the most visited place on the planet for UFOs; meanwhile, druids reported “good omens” after the winter solstice sunrise over these ancient stones Dec. 21, pointing to 2012 “as an excellent year for mankind.”
Finally some good news. London’s Telegraph newspaper reported the winter solstice sunrise over Stonehenge yesterday resulted in local druids stating they felt “good omens for 2012,” with the New Year being “an excellent year,” as the sun shone on these ancient stones that are viewed as the top spot in the world for UFO sightings. In fact, the recently released British government UFO documents state that “Stonehenge is off the chart when it comes to reported UFO sightings over the past 5,000 years.” At the same time, ancient druids considered Stonehenge to be sacred ground were “ancient astronauts” would visit “over the centuries;” while a vortex around these famous stones produces a “concentrated energy field” that druids say “radiates from both the stones and the ground” producing a sort of mental energy and awareness that allows some druid members to “understand such things as if the New Year will be good or bad.” According to the “Stonehenge vortexes,” good things are in store for the planet and its people in 2012; as a counter to the Mayan Calendar predicting 2012 as “a time of apocalypse.”
Omens are good from Stonehenge: Rejoice!
It’s no secret that throughout the recorded history of man, Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from scientists, antiquarians, astronomers and archaeologists; while the world’s top ufologists also concur with the view that “there’s no place on Earth that draws more flying saucers, or generated a blizzard of sparks about the origins of life on the planet than Stonehenge.”
For instance, early in 1977 The New York Times reported that astronomers researching the grouping of Stonehenge stones said they were in favor of scientific studies of UFOs; with the Times stating that “unidentified flying objects should be investigated further based on the Stonehenge findings.”
Meanwhile, The New York Times reported in 1977 – when any talk of UFOs was still pie in the sky, with anyone mentioning the word “aliens” as nuts – the Times reported stated that “a majority of the world’s top astronomical observers said in a survey that Stonehenge and its UFOs need further investigation.”
In turn, experts who’ve examined Stonehenge and “its magical stone formations” have stated in recently released once top-secret British government UFO documents that Stonehenge has the “highest concentrations of UFO sightings in the world;” while ufologists believe “the aliens are drawn in some way to the vortex that the Stonehenge rocks both create and radiate.”
Reports from Stonehenge on winter solstice
The shortest day of the year often falls on December 21, “but this year the druid and pagan community marked the first day of winter today because the modern calendar of 365 days a year - with an extra day every four years - does not correspond exactly to the solar year of 365.2422 days,” reported elegraph.co.uk; while quoting Rollo Maughfling, the arch druid of the standing stones in nearby Wiltshire -- after yesterday’s winter solstice ceremony – stating that as the sun was rising over the horizon at the end of the religious service, it bathed “more than 1,000 people who attended in pale light, meant good things for the next 12 months.”
Also, the London newspaper reported how “mild temperatures and sunshine at the pre-historic site were a marked contrast to last year's solstice, when the giant stones were surrounded by a thick blanket of snow and the winter morning mist obscured the actual sunrise.”
''Just as the ceremony came to an end the sun came over the horizon, it was excellent,'' Maughfling said. ''It has been a very jolly occasion. It's a good omen for the year ahead.''
During the winter solstice, the sun is closer to the horizon than at any other time in the year, meaning shorter days and longer nights, added the Independent report; while noting how the day after the winter solstice marks “the beginning of lengthening days, leading up to the summer solstice in June.”
Stonehenge rocks moved by ancient astronauts
It was on Dec. 19 that scientists in England said they’ve finally – after 5,000 years of speculation -- located the “exact source of Stonehenge stone that was used to create some of Stonehenge’s first stone circle that ufologists still believe is “some sort of ground control or command center for spacecraft from both within and outside our universe.”
According to London’s Independent newspaper, “researchers have been able to match fragments of stone from around the 5,000 year old monument with an outcrop of rock in south-west Wales. The work - carried out by geologists Robert Ixer of the University of Leicester and Richard Bevins of the National Museum of Wales - has identified the source as a site called Craig Rhos-y-Felin, near Pont Saeson in north Pembrokeshire. It is the first time that an exact source has been found for any of the stones thought to have been used to build Stonehenge. The discovery has re-invigorated a long running debate as to whether the smaller standing stones of Stonehenge were quarried and brought from Pembrokeshire by prehistoric humans or whether they were carried all or part of the way to Wiltshire by glaciers hundreds of thousands of years earlier.”
In turn, leading archaeologists tend to subscribe to the 'human transport' theory, while geomorphologists often favor the glacial one; while “the debate is solely about Stonehenge's smaller standing stones which are sometimes known collectively are sometimes known collectively as bluestones. The larger stones, or sarsens, are accepted to have been incorporated into the monument several centuries later.”
The Independent also reported that this “remarkable find has been reported in the journal Archaeology in Wales and opens up the possibility of finding archaeological evidence of quarrying activity at Craig Rhos-y-Felin which would indicate humans rather than glaciers were responsible for transporting the stone.”
Moreover, the outcrops where some of the stones come from are thought to have been associated with sacred springs and local Welsh stone circles that have also gotten the attention of the UFO community in England that has “always maintained that Stonehenge stones were moved by aliens.” Thus, “by bringing those particular rocks the 160 miles from Pembrokeshire to Wiltshire, the builders of Stonehenge may have thought they were obtaining more than just plain rock. Experts have suggested they may have regarded the stone as having supernatural powers.”
Stonehenge pits discovery points to ancient astronauts command center
Although they’ve been around for more than 5,000 years, another recent discovery of “two pits” at Stonehenge points to a possible “command center for ancient astronauts.”
The breaking news out of England last month pointed to “two uncovered pits to the east and west of Stonehenge that suggest the area around the 5,000-year-old circle of stones may have been a significant sacred site,” and possibly a “command center for ancient astronauts.”
For as long as there has been the written word in England, there’s been tales about the ancient standing stones at Stonehenge.
According to an overview about Stonehenge at the British Museum in London, “Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire; about eight miles north of the medieval town of Salisbury. It is considered to be one of the most famous sites in the world. The ancient site is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks. It is also the center of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, and includes nearly 300 ‘burial mounds.’”
British archaeologists think this iconic stone monument was built between some 3,000 years before Christ (B.C.)
In turn, a 2008 research project by the British government point to “radiocarbon dating” that puts Stonehenge as “being erected somewhere between 2400-2200 B.C.
Stonehenge “pits” confirm ancient “alien command center”
While ufologists in England are calling the discovery of two “pit areas” – that were hidden at the Stonehenge site for centuries – as a possible “command center” for alien spacecraft, traditional scientists say they’re just happy about the discovery. And, since it took literally thousands of years to sort out what British scientists currently know about Stonehenge, they’re not in any real hurry to speculate at this time, say officials at the British Museum in London.
“Researchers say they've found two pits to the east and west of Stonehenge that may have played a role in an ancient midsummer ceremony. The discovery suggests that the 5,000-year-old circle of stones we see today may represent just a few of the pieces in a larger geographical, astronomical and cultural puzzle,” reported msnbc.com Nov. 29.
The previously undetected pits could provide clues for solving the puzzle.
"These exciting finds indicate that even though Stonehenge was ultimately the most important monument in the landscape, it may at times not have been the only, or most important ritual focus, and the area of Stonehenge may have become significant as a sacred site at a much earlier date," said Vince Gaffney, an archaeology professor at the University of Birmingham.”
Overall, experts say the pits, which measure about 16 feet (5 meters wide) and at least 3 feet (1 meter deep,"have been covered over for centuries and can't easily be spotted on the ground. But they showed up in a survey that was conducted using non-invasive mapping techniques such as ground-penetrating radar and magnetometry. The survey is part of the Stonehenge Hidden Landscape Project, which was initiated last year with backing from the University of Birmingham's IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Center and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in Vienna,” added the Nov. 29 msnbc.com report, that also noted how “the placement of the pits is intriguing: They were found on the eastern and western sides of the Cursus, a racetrack-style enclosure north of Stonehenge itself that spans 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) from east to west and is up to 100 yards (meters) wide. From the perspective of an observer standing at the Heel Stone, a massive upright stone just outside Stonehenge's main circle, the sun would rise just above the eastern pit on the day of the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The same observer would see the sun set that evening in line with the western pit.”
Stonehenge: an ancient gathering place for aliens and others
Throughout the first and second century, ancient peoples would gather in what are now the recently discovered Stonehenge pits. This practice of a gathering of tribes at the Stonehenge pits later involved what was dubbed as “Neo-druids,” in the late 19th century.
“These modern Druids arrived at Stonehenge just as archaeologists were evicting the ancient Druids from the site,” states British Stonehenge historian Ronald Hutton.
In turn, Hutton notes in a history of Stonehenge at the British Museum how these “Neo-druidic groups” would make good use of the “megalithic monument for secret ceremonies tied to the “Ancient Order of Druids,” that many ufologists believe were hybrids from a “joining of the ancient ones and humans who lived in this part of England.”
During a now famous August 1905 meeting, in which the Ancient Order of Druids admitted 259 new members into their organization; with many of the members being Lords and other British Royals. While a history of this group points to the Druids and “hybrids” being ridiculed in the press, those who mocked them soon learned that these people and others dressed in white robes “were powerful,” state British newspaper reports from 1905.
Stonehenge: haunted by UFOs
Back in November of 2002, a report, now posted on stevequayle.com, and translated by Maria Gousseva – titled “Stonehenge: Haunted by UFOs – caught the attention of UFO watchers in England because it was part of the 8,500 British government’s once top secret UFO documents that were released to the public back in March of this year.
In turn, a link to this story about the ancient Stonehenge site being “haunted by UFOs,” pointed to a sort of “headquarters” or “ground control” operation carried out by “ancient astronauts” or aliens in and around the new Stonehenge “pits” that have been unearthed now at the end of November 2011.
Also, it's known that the majority of Englishmen "know the Salisbury Valley because of the ancient Stonehenge monument. However very few people know that the ruins are haunted by UFOs,” states this report on stevequayle.com. “In August 1957, a war game was held between the London garrison and the Royal Guards from Liverpool in the mentioned valley. According to the battle’s conditions, the defending side (the London garrison) was equipped with five Centurion tanks. The tanks performed a defensive role: they maneuvered and fired at the center of the area. When the tanks were getting ready for the combat mission, the crew of one of the tanks reported that they saw a large, silver, cigar-shaped object; they reported that the tank was ready to open fire. After the report, no more information could be obtained about the tank, and none of its traces could be found. The tank simply disappeared.”
Really strange things occur around Stonehenge
For instance, the reported noted how “one Englishman decided to fly a kite near Stonehenge. He stood on the bed of his pickup, and the kite flew up and up towards the sky. Suddenly, when the kite flew above the cromlech’s edges, 150-200 yards from the car park, a strange unknown source of energy hurt the man’s hands. The man lost his conscience and fell down from his car. His wounds healed only after six months.”
There is another even more fantastic phenomenon, the report adds. “Once, a group of people heard some strange sounds from the direction of the stones. These people immediately left, but the strange sound went up into the sky with a buzzing. Then, these people saw something resembling a huge wheel of fire, turning as it flew up into the sky. Later, after they returned home, they saw a female figure dressed in yellow clothes. The woman’s hair was long, and her coiffure resembled an ancient Egyptian one. This even gave them the impression that they witnessed a struggle between good and the evil.”
One Czech artist says that levitation of sounds was used when Stonehenge was built; the levitation was caused by the strengths of sound and thought.
Moreover, an ufologists named Tony Wedd discovered a very important element of new discoveries: “he discovered a connection between ancient field lines of the area and UFOs. The cromlech area resembles an UFO when seen from the air. Circular embankments and ditches are an exterior rim of the UFO, the Aubrey holes are the illuminators, and the internal stone ring is the UFO’s cabin. The central stone resembles a prominent cabin, and the so-called blue stones are humanoids.”
Stonehenge comes under the control of the Queen of England
The report goes on to state that “although Stonehenge is owned by civilians (it belongs to the Royal family), it is surrounded by closed military zones. Glastonbury’s peace and quiet is not disturbed yet. Over Waminster, UFOs frequently follow a flight path from the east to west, from Stonehenge to Glastonbury. In this place, people have observed UFO landings, giants, sounds of invisible pedestrians, and even exotic space perfume left after a UFO flew away. However, this phenomenon isn’t new. Even John Aubrey in his notes in 1670 mentioned a strange ghost seen not far from Sprinchester. When the ghost was asked whether it was a good or an evil spirit, no response followed, and the creature disappeared, leaving an unusual smell and melodious chime after itself.”
Also, the recently released British government UFO documents point to an UFO sighting from 1968, “when a man named Arthur Shuttlewood saw an UFO close to a circle of fire that emerged from Stonehenge. When Shuttlewood decided to approach the strange object, it shot straight up. Late one evening in November 1977, blazing fires were seen. They moved across the sky in a line, and they could hover and suddenly change direction. At that, the fires didn’t move fluently like planes, by in a very energetic and sudden manner.”
In turn, the British UFO documents point to this UFO sighting by Shuttlewood as “something aircraft do when approaching a flight line, with “Stonehenge serving as a command post for these ancient astronauts.”
Image source of an early photograph of Stonehenge taken in July 1877 when locals reported strange “lights from the sky over the ancient stones. Today, Stonehenge is viewed as both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “most powerful UFO sighting locations in the world.” Photo courtesy British government UFO documents and Wikipedia
Antonio Huneeus | Dec 20, 2011
Marble portrait of Alexander the Great, 2nd-1st century BC (Credit: The British Museum)
Ever since the well known radio broadcaster, author and ufologist Frank Edwards published it in his book Stranger Than Science, the story of a UFO incident during the military campaigns of Alexander the Great has been repeated endless times in books, articles, TV programs and the web. Its latest incarnation appears in the just released book, UFOs in Wartime – What They Didn’t Want You to Know (Berkley Books) by Mack Maloney. It’s understandable than Maloney included this case since Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) is one of the most successful and iconic military commanders of all times. Unfortunately, Maloney didn’t do any research on this particular story, limiting himself to paraphrasing the Edwards account and a second story where “flying shields” supposedly helped Alexander’s army to conquer the city of Tyre in modern-day Lebanon.
Despite the many repetitions of Alexander’s UFO story, there are only two modern versions of it and neither one provides historical references or sources. All efforts by various historians and researchers to find ancient sources have failed so far. Before mentioning these efforts by Jacques Vallee and others, let’s see first what was supposed to have happened. The first version published originally by Frank Edwards in 1959 is very brief. It comes at the end of his book in Chapter 72, “Spies in the Skies.” Edwards wrote:
Alexander the Great was not the first to see them nor was he the first to find them troublesome. He tells of two strange craft that dived repeatedly at his army until the war elephants, the men, and the horses all panicked and refused to cross the river where the incident occurred. What did the things look like? His historian describes them as great shining silvery shields, spitting fire around the rims… things that came from the skies and returned to the skies.
The second version was published in 1966 by Alberto Fenoglio in the Italian ufological publication Clypeus (issue #9, 1st Semester 1966) in an article titled, “Cronoistoria su oggetti volanti del passato – Apunti per una clipeostoria” (Chronological History of Flying Objects in the Past – Notes for a History of Shields). Fenoglio’s account, which like Edwards didn’t cite any historical sources, was in turn translated and published by the English ancient astronaut author Raymond Drake in his 1967 Gods and Spacemen in Greece and Rome (recently reprinted by Tim Beckley’s Global Communications as Alien Space Gods of Ancient Greece and Rome). After repeating the Edwards account, Drake goes on to say that Fenoglio based his version on the 19th century historian Johann Gustav Droysen, revealing the following startling information during the Macedonian siege of Tyre on 332 BC:
The fortress would not yield, its walls were fifty feet high and constructed so solidly that no siege-engine was able to damage it. The Tyrians disposed of the greatest technicians and builders of war-machines of the time and they intercepted in the air the incendiary arrows and projectiles hurled by the catapults on the city.
One day suddenly there appeared over the Macedonian camp these “flying shields”, as they had been called, which flew in triangular formation led by an exceedingly large one, the others were smaller by almost a half. In all there were five. The unknown chronicler narrates that they circled slowly over Tyre while thousands of warriors on both sides stood and watched them in astonishment. Suddenly from the largest “shield” came a lightning-flash that struck the walls, these crumbled, other flashes followed and walls and towers dissolved, as if they had been built of mud, leaving the way open for the besiegers who poured like an avalanche through the breeches. The “flying shields” hovered over the city until it was completely stormed then they very swiftly disappeared aloft, soon melting into the blue sky.
Detail of the Alexander Sarcophagus in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, showing Alexander fighting the Persians at the Battle of Issus. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Unverified account
There is a rather modern tone in this account by Fenoglio, reminiscent of contemporary UFO stories, with phrases like the objects “flew in triangular formation” and “hovered over the city until it was completely stormed.” If this was a true story and the “flying shields” played such a decisive role in a key battle, one would expect to find it mentioned by Plutarch, Quintus Curtius and all the other historians of Antiquity who wrote extensively about Alexander the Great, and yet none have been found. I looked at French translations of Droysen’s German biography of Alexander, where he described the siege of Tyre in detail. Needless to say, the flying shields and lightning-bolts are not there. He describes how the Greek army bombarded the walls heavily with catapults until a part of it finally collapsed. Moreover, I later found a more complete translation of Fenoglio’s Clypeus article where he writes that, “during the siege of Tyre in the year 332 BC, strange flying objects were observed. Johann Gustav Droysen in his History of Alexander the Great [Geschichte Alexanders des Grossen (1833)] does not cite it intentionally, believing it to be a fantasy of the Macedonian soldiers.” So Drake misunderstood completely the Droysen reference or else translated a distorted version of the original article, but either way the Fenoglio story lacks any valid ancient or modern sources.
Cover of the book Wonders in the Sky by Vallee and Aubeck, showing an artist’s rendition of Alexander’s silver shields. (Credit: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin)
All the researchers who have spent some time with this story have come up empty-handed so far. Gordon Creighton, the longtime scholarly editor of Britain’s Flying Saucer Review wrote in 1970 that, “so far I have seen no indication as to which classical author is responsible for it,” and “I hope if there is a Greek or Latin text somebody can tell me where to find it.” The Swiss ufologist Bruno Mancusi looked into it with the Macedonian historian Aleksander Donski, concluding a 2003 post in UFO Updates that “this story remains very dubious.” Jacques Vallee and Chris Aubeck reached the same conclusion in their recent important book, Wonders in the Sky – Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to Modern Times (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin), where they even put Alexander’s “silver shields” battle scene on the cover. The story of the Tyre siege, however, was relegated to the “Part II: Myths, Legends, and Chariots of the Gods” in their catalog of historical UFO cases. The authors first questioned the idea that there were two incidents (river and siege) involving Alexander rather than one. They also pointed out that Fenoglio was an unreliable source who had invented or embellished several ancient stories. To say, as put by Edwards, that “his historian” had described the “flying shields” is a moot point because the Deeds of Alexander written by Callisthenes (who accompanied the Macedonian King in his campaigns and wrote the official history of them) is lost. Some excerpts were quoted by later Greek and Roman historians but none cited the “flying shields.” For all these reasons, Vallee and Aubeck conclude: “Until some original source can be located, we are left with the suggestion that Alexander’s army at Tyre simply witnessed fiery projectiles, some sort of flaming weapon.”
By far the most thorough analysis of this case was made by historian Yannis Deliyannis in his excellent website “Chronicom Mirabilium – A historian’s look on ancient anomalous celestial phenomena and mysterious history,” specifically on his piece, “Did Alexander the Great really see UFOs?” posted in November 2009. After going over the same material by Edwards and Fenoglio discussed already, Deliyannis made an honest effort to find some sources to the legend. He discovered that the classical historian Quintus Curtius Rufus wrote the following in his Historia Alexandri Magni (lib. IV, cap. V):
Furthermore, they [the Tyrians] would heat bronze shields in a blazing fire, fill them with hot sand and boiling excrement and suddenly hurl them from the walls. None of their deterrents aroused greater fear than this. The hot sand would make its way between the breastplate and the body; there was no way to shake it out and it would burn through whatever it touched. The soldiers would throw away their weapons, tear off all their protective clothing and thus expose themselves to wounds without being able to retaliate.
(From Heckel, W. and Yardley, J. Alexander the Great: historical texts in translation, 2004, p. 147)
“This is as close as we can get to Fenoglio’s ‘flying shields’ by looking at ancient sources,” commented Deliyannis, “and I believe this passage from Quintus Curtius is the basis Fenoglio used for his version, whether intentionally or as a result of a (hard-to-believe) misunderstanding or mistranslation.” As for the description of “silvery shields,” Deliyannis points out that an elite unit of Alexander’s army known as the Hypaspists changed their name at the beginning of the campaign in India to Argyraspides, which means “silver shields” because they decorated their shields with silver, so that could be another source of confusion for modern writers like Edwards, Drake and Fenoglio.The Alexander Romance
A naval action during the siege of Tire in 332 BC by the 19th century artist André Castaigne (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Deliyannis also mentions another possible source—the literary genre known as the Alexander Romance, which reached extraordinary popularity in medieval times. It was basically a fantastic version of Alexander’s campaigns which started in the waning years of the Roman Empire with a writer known as the Pseudo-Calisthenes, to distinguish him from the official historian Calisthenes. Another apocryphal document that contributed to the Romance was the so-called Letter of Alexander to Aristotle, “a fake, probably composed in the 4th or 5th century AD” that “was extremely famous during the middle ages and was eventually inserted in the Pseudo-Calisthenes,” according to Deliyannis.
The personality of Alexander the Great was already larger than life even in his own lifetime. There were rumors that he was not the son of King Philip II of Macedon, but that the chief god Zeus had seduced his mother Queen Olympias (played by Angelina Jolie in the Oliver Stone movie), thus becoming a semi-god. This rumor was probably used as propaganda to discourage any resistance to his invasions. In just 12 years, Alexander changed completely the ancient world, conquering the mighty Persian Empire and pushing all the way to India in the east and Egypt to the west. Many cities still bear his name, such as Alexandria in Egypt and Kandahar (from his name in Persian, Iskandar) in Afghanistan. Although his empire was divided among his main generals after his death in Babylon in 323 BC at the age of 32, the era of Hellenic civilization spread through the Mediterranean and beyond, symbolized by the famous Library of Alexandria.
Although the known facts about Alexander the Great were fantastic enough, the Pseudo-Calisthenes and a series of Byzantine, Armenian, Arab and European variants developed through the Middle Ages converted the “Alexander Romance” into a kind of medieval science-fiction. There are dozens of variants—some of the more famous are the 15th century French illuminated manuscript, La Vraye Histoire du Bon Roy Alixandre (The True Story of the Good King Alexander), now in the British Library, and the Spanish epic Libro de Alexandre (Book of Alexander), written between 1178 ad 1250 AD. Many of these versions are magnificently illustrated. Among other fantastic deeds of the Alexander Romance, the Macedonian hero built a wall in Asia confining the armies of Gog and Magog, which will not be unleashed until the end of times; reached Eden or the primeval Paradise of Adam and Eve; flew in the sky in a chariot propelled by griffins and descended to the bottom of the ocean in a barrel-shaped submarine; fought and killed dragons and many other exotic monsters; encountered all kinds of strange creatures including the fabled Amazons, a bigfoot-type Wildman, and the legendary headless beings known in Antiquity as Blemmyes, who had eyes and mouth on their chests.
Beautiful illustration by medieval artist Jean Wauquelin showing Alexander’s aerial voyage in a cage flown by griffins, from the Histoire du bon roy Alexandre, 1438. (Credit: Biliothèque nationale de France)
Illuminated manuscript from the XV century showing Alexander the Great’s diving bell submarine. (Credit: British Library)
Alexander encounter the Wildman in his voyage to Asia, from a medieval manuscript of the Alexander Romance. (Credit: Biliothèque nationale de France)
One of the most delightful stories of the Alexander Romance is the King’s flying chariot pushed by griffins, which exhibits the most quaint propulsion system ever devised in literature. According to the various versions of the Romance, Alexander had captured two griffins during his campaign in India. He built a cage for one man to stand up and kept the animals without eating for three days, so they would be really hungry. He then tied the griffins to the cage and put a big piece of meat on top of a spear, dangling the meat in front of the griffins. “Trying to grab it, the griffins kept flying,” says the Libro de Alexandre. This scene was particularly popular with medieval illustrators, and so was another science-fiction type episode of his descent into the bottom of the ocean in a barrel-shaped submarine, which is mentioned in a famous letter on future inventions by Friar Roger Bacon, one of the wisest men of the Middle Ages. In this letter written c. 1260, Bacon wrote:
A machine can be constructed for submarine journeys, for seas and rivers. It dives to the bottom without danger to man. Alexander the Great has made use of such a device, as we know from Ethicus the astronomer. Such things have been made long ago and they are still made in our days, except perhaps the flying machine…
Alexander the Great in his griffin-powered flying machine, XV century, from La Vraye Histoire du Bon Roy Alixandre. (Credit: British Library)
It is clear that the many exploits of the Alexander Romance are fanciful and not factual, although they deserve a spot in the history of science-fiction. The historian Yannis Deliyannis found a “celestial prodigy” in the so-called Letter to Aristotle worth citing:
Immediately after that the sky grew very black and dark, and from the dark sky there came burning fire. The fire fell to the earth like a burning torch, and the whole plain was burning from the fire’s flame. Then men said that they thought it was the anger of the gods which had fallen upon us. Then I ordered old clothing to be torn up and used as a protection against the fire. After that we had a quiet and peaceful night, once our difficulties assuaged.
(Orchard, Andy. Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf Manuscript, Cambridge, 1995, p. 245)
Deliyannis points out that this account is not as fantastic as the one described by Edwards and, in any case, “the historiographical value of the documents belonging to the Romance of Alexander” are not reliable. He concludes his thorough study of Alexander’s alleged UFO incidents by pointing out the amusing fact that “the aforementioned UFO writers have somewhat become the spiritual continuators of the tradition of the Alexander Romance in our century, still adding marvelous events to it, as had done before them their medieval predecessors…”
We have to agree with Deliyannis. Until ufologists and ancient astronaut writers find legitimate historical accounts that back up the alleged UFO incidents of Alexander the Great, the story should not be repeated as factual.
We have to agree with Deliyannis. Until ufologists and ancient astronaut writers find legitimate historical accounts that back up the alleged UFO incidents of Alexander the Great, the story should not be repeated as factual.
GUEST: TRACIE AUSTIN
SUMMARY: Tracie’s interest in the paranomral began with an incredible UFO sighting in Lodon in the mid-80′s. She was so astonished by this experience that she began investigating the phoneomenon. In 1996, she then had another sighting, which was featured in a BBC documentary. She then began lecturing and started her own UFO conference. In 2001 she moved to California and soon after started the “Let’s talk Paranormal” television show, which she hosted. Recently she moved to Las Vegas and wrote th book Haunted Las Vegas. She will share with us her amazing UFO sightings, details on her new book, and her upcoming appearance at the Women’s UFO Symposium. Read more about Tracie at TracieAustin.com.
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: DECEMBER 19TH, 2011
Sunday, 18 December 2011
By Steve Hammons
If some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are related to intelligent visitors from elsewhere, what is the impact on national security and global security? This is a question that may have faced U.S. and international officials at least since the World War II era.
Wartime security and secrecy procedures probably would have been implemented in such a case. The alleged Roswell incident reportedly occurred in that climate when “Loose lips sink ships” was one of the mottos to remind Americans to keep information about sensitive military activities secret so it would not fall into the hands of enemies.
Many elements of American society including industries, scientists, journalists and others understood the reason for this kind of security related to defense matters and gladly cooperated. American lives were at stake and the outcome of WWII hung in the balance.
And, the “need-to-know” guideline used to maintain security was (and is today) widely accepted as reasonable and necessary in many cases.
During and after WWII, loyal Americans were helping make sure that necessary secrecy was maintained to protect the country and our friends around the world. Most people probably assumed that this was a united group effort that benefited everyone in the long run.
GRASSROOTS INTELLIGENCE
Today, concerns exist about finding the balance between certain security situations, including UFOs and other anomalous phenomena, and making sure that this balance is a united group effort that benefits everyone. Is secrecy at the appropriate levels? Do Americans have a need to know about certain developments?
Many researchers and others have weighed in on these kinds of questions. In fact, there may be different kinds of views within the defense, intelligence and scientific communities about how much and what kind of information and awareness should be made available to the American people.
Additionally, how the information is made available may be a key factor.
It’s hard to make a judgment without knowing more about what we might be facing. Is there a threat from hostile adversaries from elsewhere? Are there friends and allies who want to help the human race? Are there just explorers, visitors and those passing through who are neutral and unconcerned one way or other about the human condition on Earth?
Managing relationships with our international human friends, allies, “frenemies,” competitors, adversaries and flat-out enemies is quite challenging. Maybe we can think about how more complex it would be when dealing with unusual visitors from elsewhere.
Gathering intelligence might be a lot more difficult. As in dealing with other human groups, communication and cultural differences could also play a part. In the case of certain extraterrestrials or other anomalous beings, actual physical and biological differences could also be an element. Gaps between humans and others in technology and/or deeper knowledge might be significant.
If unusual visitors are actually interacting with Earth and humans, who are friends, allies, frenemies, adversaries and flat-out enemies?
And, what if some visitors want to “save us from ourselves?” That is, they look down on the Earth, gather intelligence about how it is functioning and being run, and note that there is vast poverty, hunger, suffering, disease, ignorance, injustice and overpopulation.
What if they note that the Earth’s ecosystem and climate are in grave danger? Or, maybe they know that Earth may face some other threats that we do not fully understand at this time.
And, they may see that the human race has the potential to rise to a higher consciousness and deeper understanding, but is not there yet.
TEAM EFFORT
These are quite complex dynamics that could actually be facing us now, if you believe the many credible researchers looking into these topics.
Maybe we can understand how difficult it would be for insiders in the defense, intelligence and scientific communities to sort it all out and make sound decisions. Their missions include protecting and helping the American (and other countries’) people in various ways. Maintaining appropriate security is part of this.
And standard intelligence tasks do not just include gathering information and keeping it secret. They also include interpreting and organizing the information, then disseminating it to the right people in the right way.
In the case of the UFO subject, providing information to the people about what they need to know may be a legitimate and important part of this intelligence mission.
The people, for their part, probably must take the responsibility for being open to new information, including that which is subtle, complex, “between the lines” or presented in relatively general ways. We might also need to use our own judgment, perception and gut feelings about what we are told.
We might need to find understanding within ourselves about what is going on. Human consciousness is undoubtedly a key factor that is part of the overall situation.
As we move forward, there will be more research into UFOs and what is going on. Many people will learn more, one way or the other. This ongoing educational process can contribute to national and global security, as well as enhance the development of the human race.
If some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are related to intelligent visitors from elsewhere, what is the impact on national security and global security? This is a question that may have faced U.S. and international officials at least since the World War II era.
Wartime security and secrecy procedures probably would have been implemented in such a case. The alleged Roswell incident reportedly occurred in that climate when “Loose lips sink ships” was one of the mottos to remind Americans to keep information about sensitive military activities secret so it would not fall into the hands of enemies.
Many elements of American society including industries, scientists, journalists and others understood the reason for this kind of security related to defense matters and gladly cooperated. American lives were at stake and the outcome of WWII hung in the balance.
And, the “need-to-know” guideline used to maintain security was (and is today) widely accepted as reasonable and necessary in many cases.
During and after WWII, loyal Americans were helping make sure that necessary secrecy was maintained to protect the country and our friends around the world. Most people probably assumed that this was a united group effort that benefited everyone in the long run.
GRASSROOTS INTELLIGENCE
Today, concerns exist about finding the balance between certain security situations, including UFOs and other anomalous phenomena, and making sure that this balance is a united group effort that benefits everyone. Is secrecy at the appropriate levels? Do Americans have a need to know about certain developments?
Many researchers and others have weighed in on these kinds of questions. In fact, there may be different kinds of views within the defense, intelligence and scientific communities about how much and what kind of information and awareness should be made available to the American people.
Additionally, how the information is made available may be a key factor.
It’s hard to make a judgment without knowing more about what we might be facing. Is there a threat from hostile adversaries from elsewhere? Are there friends and allies who want to help the human race? Are there just explorers, visitors and those passing through who are neutral and unconcerned one way or other about the human condition on Earth?
Managing relationships with our international human friends, allies, “frenemies,” competitors, adversaries and flat-out enemies is quite challenging. Maybe we can think about how more complex it would be when dealing with unusual visitors from elsewhere.
Gathering intelligence might be a lot more difficult. As in dealing with other human groups, communication and cultural differences could also play a part. In the case of certain extraterrestrials or other anomalous beings, actual physical and biological differences could also be an element. Gaps between humans and others in technology and/or deeper knowledge might be significant.
If unusual visitors are actually interacting with Earth and humans, who are friends, allies, frenemies, adversaries and flat-out enemies?
And, what if some visitors want to “save us from ourselves?” That is, they look down on the Earth, gather intelligence about how it is functioning and being run, and note that there is vast poverty, hunger, suffering, disease, ignorance, injustice and overpopulation.
What if they note that the Earth’s ecosystem and climate are in grave danger? Or, maybe they know that Earth may face some other threats that we do not fully understand at this time.
And, they may see that the human race has the potential to rise to a higher consciousness and deeper understanding, but is not there yet.
TEAM EFFORT
These are quite complex dynamics that could actually be facing us now, if you believe the many credible researchers looking into these topics.
Maybe we can understand how difficult it would be for insiders in the defense, intelligence and scientific communities to sort it all out and make sound decisions. Their missions include protecting and helping the American (and other countries’) people in various ways. Maintaining appropriate security is part of this.
And standard intelligence tasks do not just include gathering information and keeping it secret. They also include interpreting and organizing the information, then disseminating it to the right people in the right way.
In the case of the UFO subject, providing information to the people about what they need to know may be a legitimate and important part of this intelligence mission.
The people, for their part, probably must take the responsibility for being open to new information, including that which is subtle, complex, “between the lines” or presented in relatively general ways. We might also need to use our own judgment, perception and gut feelings about what we are told.
We might need to find understanding within ourselves about what is going on. Human consciousness is undoubtedly a key factor that is part of the overall situation.
As we move forward, there will be more research into UFOs and what is going on. Many people will learn more, one way or the other. This ongoing educational process can contribute to national and global security, as well as enhance the development of the human race.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Large parts of Mars 'habitable'
Australian scientists who modelled conditions on Mars to examine how much of the red planet was habitable said Monday that "large regions" could sustain terrestrial life.
Charley Lineweaver's team, from the Australian National University said their world-first modelling showed three percent of Mars was habitable, though most of it was underground
Charley Lineweaver's team, from the Australian National University, compared models of temperature and pressure conditions on Earth with those on Mars to estimate how much of the distant planet was liveable for Earth-like organisms.
While just one percent of Earth's volume - from core to upper atmosphere - was occupied by life, Linewaver said their world-first modelling showed three percent of Mars was habitable, though most of it was underground.
"What we tried to do, simply, was take almost all of the information we could and put it together and say 'is the big picture consistent with there being life on Mars?'," the astrobiologist told AFP.
"And the simple answer is yes... There are large regions of Mars that are compatible with terrestrial life."
Where previous studies had taken a "piecemeal" approach by examining particular sites on Mars for signs of life, Lineweaver said his research was a "comprehensive compilation" of the entire planet using decades of data.
Frozen water has been found at the poles on Mars and the ANU study examined how much of the planet could sustain water "that could be habitable by Earth-like standards by Earth-like microbes".
The low-pressure environment of Mars means water cannot exist as a liquid and will vaporise on the surface, but Lineweaver said the conditions are right underground, where the weight of the soil gives the added pressure required.It would also be warm enough, at certain depths, for bacteria and other micro-organisms to thrive due to heat from the planet's core.
The average surface temperature on Mars is minus 63 degrees Celsius (minus 81 Fahrenheit).
Lineweaver said his study was "the best estimate yet published of how habitable Mars is to terrestrial microbes" and a significant finding given mankind had evolved from microbial life.
"It's not important if you want to figure out what the laws of physics are and you want to talk to some intelligent aliens who could build spaceships," he said.
"If you're interested in the origin of life and how likely life is to get started on other planets, that's what relevant here."
Lineweaver's paper was published on Monday in the scientific journal Astrobiology.
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Todays Links:
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First Annual Women’s UFO Symposium
The Women's UFO Symposium brings together leading women in UFO research, documentation and related information.
The first annual Symposium will be held at the Somervell County Expo Center and Texas Amphitheater in Glen Rose, Texas on May 19-20, 2012. The event will be hosted by Tracie Austin Peters, producer and host of "Let's Talk...Paranormal" radio and TV talk show.
Symposium admission includes all speaker presentations. A Meet & Greet with conference presenters will be held Friday evening, May 18, and a Texas Bar-B-Que will be held Saturday evening, May 19. Symposium registrants may purchase admission to these events separately. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged.
Print and mail our Registration Form, with payment, today!
* Special Award to Angelia Joiner - This event is near the Stephenville, TX Sightings
* First Time Keynote Speech by Kim Arnold (Daughter of Kenneth Arnold)
* James Carman will screen his film THE HIDDEN HAND, winner of the 2011 EBE Film Festival Award for Best UFO Feature Film
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What Is Nasa Hiding
Forbidden Archeology
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Antonio Huneeus | Nov 18, 2011
The recent publication of author Philip Eade’s biography of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband of queen Elizabeth II, has brought into the news once again the intense interest on UFOs by the upper crust of British society. As reported in recent stories in The Daily Beast and in the Huffignton Post , Eade’s biography,
Eade's Prince Philip biography (credit: Henry Holt and Co)
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II was even inspired when the author looked into the possibility of writing about prominent British ufologists in the period following World War II.
As reported in previous articles in this website about the Royals and UFOs, the Duke of Edinburgh’s interest in ufology, which included a subscription to Flying Saucer Review, the UK’s top magazine in the period between the 1950s and the 1980s, was spearheaded by his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten. The Earl of Mountbatten was a famous Admiral of the Fleet who served as Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia during World War II and was the last British Viceroy of India. He even investigated personally a UFO landing and CE-III right in his Broadlands Estate in Romsey, Hamphisre, in 1955 (all the relevant documents were posted in that story).
Another key UFO player in Prince Philip’s entourage was Air Marshal Sir Peter Horsley, who served as Equerry to Princess Elizabeth and later the Duke of Edinburgh in the period between 1949 and 1956. The Equerry, now a senior aide to the royals, is a historical position that goes back to medieval times for the man who was in charge of the King’s horses, a key job in the days when horses were the main means of transportation and battle. As revealed in his 1998 autobiography, Sounds from Another Room, Horsley arranged for UFO witnesses to give their testimony at Buckingham Palace and, even more incredibly, stated he once met and talked at length with a man at a house in Ealing who claimed to be an extraterrestrial. Horsley’s military career included serving as Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Operations) and Deputy Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command, from where he retired in 1975. An unnamed senior Ministry of Defence (MOD) official told Eade, “how unfortunate that the public will learn that the man who had his finger on the button of Strike Command was seeing little green men.” But of course the alleged ET he met in Ealing was neither little nor green, but a highly cultivated human looking person. Whether he was truly an ET is impossible to know at this stage, but it’s highly unlikely that a military officer of Horsley’s rank and character would have made up such a story.
Another significant sign of how deeply the interest in ufology had penetrated the upper crust of British society was the famous UFO debate that took place in the venerable House of Lords on the evening of
Palace of Westminster where the House of Lords meets (credit: Mgimelfarb/Wikimedia Commons)
January 18, 1979, which made worldwide headlines at the time. Just imagine the same exercise taking place in the U.S. Senate! Decades before the term was invented, this was pure exo-politics—a 4-hour debate on the political and national security implications of UFOs and possible extraterrestrial activities on the upper chamber of a parliament of a major power with nuclear weapons and international prestige. It doesn’t get better than that and yet it really happened.
For the full details of this historical event, we reprint below another of my classic articles written under the pseudonym of “A. Hovni” for a UFO Supplement in the long-defunct New York City daily The News World in the early eighties, when the story of the House of Lords UFO debate was still fresh. Other than adding illustrations, we transcribed the article exactly as it was published back on November 21, 1981.
* * *
Britain’s Lords studying UFOs
By A. Hovni
Special to The News World
New York City, November 21, 1981
“It is with much pleasure that I introduce this debate this evening about unidentified flying objects – known more briefly as UFOs and sometimes as flying saucers. I understand that this is the first time the subject of UFOs has been debated in your Lordships’ House, so that this is indeed a unique occasion.” With these words, his noble lordship, the Earl of Clancarty, initiated on the evening of January 18, 1979, a historic debate in Britain’s venerable House of Lords, over a “question” previously requested by him. The debate lasted almost four hours, and not less that 14 lords stated for the record their pro and con positions concerning UFOs, and specifically , Lord Clancarty’s motion that Her Majesty’s initiate an “intra-governmental study” of UFOs, as well as his suggestion to set up a UFO Study Group within the House of Lords to look further into the matter. It was reported that within 48 hours of this debate, every single copy of Hansard—the official Parliamentary Debates records—with the UFO transcript was sold out.
Cover of LePoer book Mysterious Visitors (credit: Stein and Day Pub)
Lord Clancarty was certainly the right man at the right place. Better known as Brinsley LePoer Trench, he was described by The Illustrated London Times as “the one uncontroversial personality, the ‘elder statesman’ of the British flying saucer movement.” Among other things, Clancarty has published seven popular books of UFOs, and was one of the founders and early editor of Flying Saucer Review, perhaps the oldest and most prestigious publication in the field. Clancarty was also the founder of Contact International, a British UFO research group, and he is currently the vice president of BUFORA, another UFO organization in England.
Lords get UFO rundown
With his credentials, then, it wasn’t a very difficult task for Lord Clancarty to give his peers a brief and complete rundown of the UFO story, from ancient times to the 1947 sighting by Kenneth Arnold up to the buzzing over a 13-day period of several Strategic Air Command nuclear bases in the United States. And from the candid declarations of the French Defense Minister, M. Galley, in 1974 to the famous Iranian UFO battle near Teheran two years later, in which all the communications and firing systems of a U.S.-made F-4 phantom jet were immobilized by a UFO. “There are literally vast numbers of these astounding reports,” said Clancarty. “Indeed, my lords, this worldwide UFO invasion of every country’s air space is of growing importance and therefore I suggest that Parliament keeps a continuous watch on the situation.”
Following Clancarty’s 20-minutes presentation, Lord Trefgarne, a young and experienced pilot speaking for the Tories, gave a skeptical view of the UFO problem, only to be followed by a strong denunciation by the Earl of Kimberley, a former chairman of the military committee of NATO, of the international UFO cover-up.
Super-power secrecy pact?
Kimberley’s speech cut straightforwardly through the control of the UFO problem by military establishments everywhere. “It has been reported,” he said, “that the United States and the USSR signed a pact in 1971 to swap UFO information, but the pact stated that they were to keep the rest of the world in the dark. I believe that the pact was signed so that neither superpower would make mistakes about UFOs being atomic missiles.”
The debate would still go on for another two hours. Some peers, such as Lord Hewlett, complained the debate had “precious little to do with the facts,” and declared his mission was “to explode the myth” of flying saucers. Others like Lord Gainford, explained that “I saw a UFO a little while ago,” and reassured Lord Clancarty that he would “enjoy volunteering for working in a UFO information centre.” Before Clancarty’s closing remarks for the night at almost 11 p.m., Lord Strabolgi, the peer speaking officially for the Ministry of Defence, sent a clear signal to the effect that Her Majesty’s Government would not start an official UFO investigation, nor would the government open its UFO files to the public because of Britain’s tight Official Secrets Act. An annotated, illustrated full transcript of The House of Lords UFO Debate, edited by John Michell, was later published by Open Head Press in London.
Study Group keeps going
Lord Clancarty and Major von Keviczky in 1980 (credit: ICUFON Archives)
Yet the UFO enthusiasts in the world’s oldest and most prestigious parliamentary body would not loose the battle, either. Out of the 297 peers in the House of Lords, 25 formed a UFO Study Group, where a number of UFO experts from around the world briefed the lords throughout late 1979 and 1980. Besides the 25 members of the Study Group, other peers were invited to the sessions if they wished to attend. Some of the internationally recognized UFO experts that briefed the Group from their particular field of expertise, were: Major (Ret.) Colman von Kevivzky, director of ICUFON; the British historian Raymond Drake; Charles Bowen, the editor of Flying Saucer Review; Antonio Ribera, Spain’s foremost ufologist, and Roberto Pinotti and Major (Ret.) Hans Petersen, his counterparts in Italy and Denmark.
Major von Keviczky, for instance, presented substantial evidences both in terms of photographic analysis and declassified U.S. military and intelligence documents on UFOs, to justify the establishment of a World Authority for Spatial Affairs (WASA Project) to deal with the “endangered international situation” posed by UFOs. The Study Group supported ICUFON’s motion to call for an end of the UFO secrecy through the release of military documents on the UFO level only, a request that was ignored in Britain and elsewhere.
Raymond Drake, the distinguished historian author of several books on ancient sightings, listed over 50 of such incidents extracted from mankind’s holy books, legends, traditions, historical and mythological records, etc. Antonio Ribera gave some fascinating insights of the work he has done to categorize and classify the UFO phenomenon according to its various manifestations from “daylight discs” and “E M [electromagnetic] Effects on engines, television sets, etc.” to “telepathic ‘messages’ from ‘extraterrestrials’” and “Cultism and Messianism.”
“The trouble arises from the fact that the problem is wider than the yardsticks used to measure it,” he said.
Italian military eyes UFOs
Roberto Pinotti from Italy also gave a well-documented lecture. Pinotti is the founder and president of the Centro Ufologico Nazionale (CUN) with headquarters in Milano, and his latest and perhaps most interesting contribution to ufology was that he obtained a number of military UFO reports from the Italian Ministry of Defense. Incidentally, NATO’s Italian military forces use standard UFO reporting sheets quite similar to those used by the Pentagon. More about the Italian documents on a future article in these pages.
There were still the lectures of Major Petersen, Charles Bowen and others. Some ufologists were unable to deliver a lecture in person, but they sent it for the record anyway. One case was that of Jerome Eden, president of the Planetary Professional Citizens Committee and a follower of Dr. Wilhelm Reich’s study of UFOs through what he called “orgone energy.”
Admittedly, the House of Lords’ UFO Study Group has been pretty quiet lately. Unfortunately, the initial thrust of the group seems to be slowing down, and the enthusiasm is perhaps drying out by the lack of official response or encouragement from governments around the world. There is also the undeniable fact that most day-to-day State businesses in Britain are discussed next door at the House of Commons, and the Study Group does not represent the full House of Lords, either.
Parallel with U.S. Congress
A somewhat similar parallel exists in the American history of UFOs, when a number of top scientists briefed the House Science and Astronautics Committee in 1968. Although the majority of the scientists urged the Congressmen for more research and an open policy towards UFOs, the official government machinery was preparing then its final blow against the saucers with the University of Colorado’s Condon Report. Just as the Congressional Hearings ended, so did any further interest on UFOs in Capitol Hill up to this day.
Will the same thing happen in the venerable House of Lords, guarded by the Victoria Tower on the side of the Thames? Only time will tell, yet there is a difference. Unlike the U.S. Congress, the House of Lords has among its peers a professional UFO writer and researcher, the Hon. Brinsley LePoer Trench. We are sure that no matter what are the odds against it, this gentleman will keep the subject alive in the House. And since membership in the House is for a lifetime, the Earl doesn’t have to campaign for UFOs at the polls.
* * *
Update
After I sent him a copy of this article, Lord Clancarty responded to let me know that the House of Lords UFO Study Group was still active and it remained so for several years in the 1980s. Eventually it did fade away as the Earl aged and finally passed away in 1995. By that time, however, he had passed the UFO torch to a formidable personality, Lord Peter Hill-Norton, a retired Admiral of the Fleet and former Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee in the late seventies. It was, in fact, after retiring from this top military position that the admiral was made Baron Hill-Norton and joined the House of Lords in 1979. This was right after the debate and there can be little doubt that his ufological apprenticeship took place at the House’s Study Group.
We profiled the exo-political activities of Lord Hill-Norton in the recent article in this site, “British Admiral was tireless UFO advocate at the House of Lords”, based on a significant number of documents recently released by the British Ministry of Defence. Although Lord Clancarty and his allies failed to convince the MOD to release its files back in 1979, the Ministry finally revoked its policy in 2008, and has since declassified thousands of UFO-related documents.
Earl of Kimberley (credit: Phooshot/The Telegraph)
We could go on profiling each of the peers who participated in the debate or the study group. One of the more colorful and gung-ho members was John Wodehouse, the fourth Earl of Kimberley, who was a former spokesman for the Liberal Party, a former Grenadier Guardsman and a military and aviation expert. He passed away in 2002 and, according to his obituary in The Guardian, he led a turbulent life, marrying six times like King Henry VIII. He was also a member on the British Olympic bobsleigh team from 1949 to 1958 and a notorious gambler. The Guardian obituary also included the following: “An enthusiast for Concorde, he was also on the all-party UFO study group. His speech on UFOs resulted in the Lords’ Hansard being sold out in 24 hours.”
Despite his controversial private life, Lord Kimberley seemed very well informed about the UFO situation. When he mentioned that “a pact” existed between the USA and the USSR to deal with UFOs, this was actually true and not a conspiracy theory. As mentioned in a previous article in this site about UFOs sighted at nuclear weapons installations, “Soviet nukes and UFOs”, an Agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War between the United States of America and the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, was signed on September 30, 1971 by Secretary of State, William Rogers, and Foreign Minister, Andrei Gromyko.
In that article we quoted verbatim the section in this Agreement dealing with “unidentified objects” that could trigger a nuclear reaction and how the parties should notify each other before undertaking any aggressive action.
Most of the players of the House of Lords UFO Debate and those who participated in the Study Group are now gone, but not all. One of the speakers at the all-party UFO study group, the prominent Italian author and researcher Roberto Pinotti, is still very much active and he will be in fact be one of the speakers at our forthcoming International UFO Congress next February.
You can download a PDF file of the entire official Hansard transcript of the 1979 House of Lords UFO Debate here.
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Entertainment
Broken Bow