Tuesday, 5 May 2020
UFO An Hour with Stanton T Friedman
Interview with Stanton Terry Friedman (born July 29, 1934) one of the last tv appearances before he died. He was a professional Ufologist. He is the original civilian investigator of the Roswell incident. He studied physics at the University of Chicago and worked as a nuclear physicist on research and development projects for several large companies.
Japan Defense Ministry to draft UFO protocols in response to U.S. footage
By The Japan Times
The Defense Ministry plans to draw up protocols for UFO encounters in light of the U.S. Defense Department’s recent decision to release videos of the mysterious objects.
The ministry will consider procedures for responding to, recording and reporting on UFO encounters as their unknown nature might cause confusion among Self-Defense Forces pilots.
The videos released Monday by the U.S. Defense Department were taken in 2004 and 2015. Some show an elliptical flying object with unprecedented speed and maneuverability.
Defense Minister Taro Kono said Tuesday that SDF pilots have never encountered UFOs but that the ministry will develop protocols for the possibility.
According to the ministry, Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets from seven bases ranging from Hokkaido to Okinawa are scrambled to monitor and identify aircraft of unknown nationality.
If it appears such an aircraft might enter Japanese airspace, the fighters call on it to change course in English. Once its nationality has been determined, the request is repeated in that country’s language.
If the aircraft enters Japanese airspace, the ASDF can fire signal shots, including tracer rounds, and force it to land. It is unclear whether such procedures would be effective against UFOs.
It is possible UFOs cannot be detected by land-based radar systems and thus might be encountered by SDF planes on training or surveillance missions.
“If (UFOs) are encountered, training will be canceled immediately,” an ASDF source said. “We will seek to identify it from a safe distance, including whether it is a drone, and report it to the Air Defense Direction Center for orders.”
“To be honest, I don’t believe in UFOs,” Kono said. “But because the Defense Department released such a video, I would like to hear from the U.S. side about its intention and analysis.”
Pentagon's release of UFO videos a big deal for believers in extraterrestrial life: former U.K. investigator
By CBC
Skeptics argue that the videos' content can be easily explained, however
A screenshot from a video titled GIMBAL shows what the U.S. Department of Defense characterizes as an 'unidentified aerial phenomena.' Three videos depicting unknown flying objects, captured by U.S. Navy pilots, were officially released by the Pentagon on Monday. (U.S. Department of Defense)
The Pentagon's official release of footage that appears to show unidentified flying objects sets the stage for an "adult conversation" about a once fringe topic, a former British defence ministry investigator argues.
"This new revelation, I think, takes us to some very interesting territory and at least lays the groundwork for serious adult conversation about this that goes beyond Sci-Fi memes," said Nick Pope, former head of the British government's UFO research project.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Defense released three short videos, recorded in 2004 and 2015, depicting what they call "unidentified aerial phenomena."
Those same videos have been available online since 2017 when To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences, a company founded by former Blink-182 musician Tom DeLonge, posted them online.
In a release, the department says it declassified the clips to "clear up any misconceptions" about whether the footage was real and "whether or not there is more to the videos."
For believers in extraterrestrial life, the Pentagon's acknowledgement is a big deal, Pope says.
"After years of what they see as government denial, they think that this is a prelude to disclosure, the moment when the government formally acknowledges an extraterrestrial presence," he told The Current's Matt Galloway.
While Pope is far more cautious in his assessment of the videos' contents — he is "unsure" of what they depict — he says whatever is shown "doesn't matter in a sense."
"The important point is this subject has now come out of the fringe and into the mainstream."
But others are far more skeptical that the official release of the videos mean anything at all.
"[The U.S. Navy] essentially acknowledged them back in September last year," said Mick West, a science writer and author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect.
"These videos have been out for two years and the Navy has never really said that these are not real videos from Navy planes."
Nick Pope spent years investigating UFOs for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. (Chris Loomis)
Logical explanations
The Pentagon offered no information about what's actually seen in the three clips, but some believe the pilots' incredulous reactions to what they're seeing indicates something bizarre.
"The U.S. Navy top guns are not easily impressed in terms of things like speed and manoeuvrability," Pope said. "So when they get excited, it tells you there's something a little bit unusual about this, to say the least."
But West argues the videos' content can easily be explained.
In one of the videos titled GIMBAL, a small, potato-shaped object is seen. One pilot, watching the screen, declares it a drone. Another counters that there's an entire "fleet" of them. Neither believes it to be a Navy plane.
Eventually, the object begins to rotate, leading to a surprised reaction from the pilots.
"But if you analyze what's going on there," West countered, "it actually seems like it's more likely that it is the heat signature of the jet engine. It kind of flares up in the infrared [camera]."
"It's like if you shone a flashlight into a camera: you don't see the flashlight itself, you just see a bright glare around it," he added.
Mick West is a conspiracy theory debunker and the author of Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect. He believes that there are logical explanations for what's seen in the released videos. (Submitted by Mick West)
And the object's rotation? West chalks it up to a moving part in the camera's lens.
"You've got to realize that what they [the pilots] are looking at is really the same thing that we're looking at. They're just looking at a small screen in their cockpit and they're seeing these things on the screen," West said.
West, who is a licensed pilot, says that often these objects appear as nothing more than white dots given their distance from the aircraft.
"You're seeing things that are too far away to make out any details. So pilots will naturally see things in the sky that they can't identify," he said.
'Let's have that conversation'
Though there may be logical explanations for the objects pictured in the videos, West says they may be kept confidential for national security reasons, no matter how benign.
"The Navy probably has a very good idea of what types of things these are — that they're drones or balloons or aircraft or whatever they are — but they're not going to tell you about it because that's part of a classified investigation," he said.
Pope, who has investigated many UFO claims from the public and Air Force pilots during his career, adds that the government likely has the required intelligence to shed more clarity on what's in the videos.
In its release, the Department of Defense said the objects observed in the video remain "characterized as 'unidentified.'"
Still, West acknowledges that even when offered alternate explanations, die-hard UFO believers won't give up hope that the videos show proof of extraterrestrial life.
He sees their interest as benign — unless it veers into anti-government conspiracy that could prevent them from trusting important information, like health guidelines.
But that curiosity, Pope argues, allows humankind to ponder bigger, more philosophical questions.
"What if there are other civilizations out there that will have profound implications for almost every aspect of human society: politics, religion, science, economics, philosophy?"
"Let's have that conversation. It would be interesting and it would be fun."
Do The UFO Videos Released By Pentagon Show Aliens Are Among Us?
BY BENNETT MACDONALD
With the recent authorized release of videos from the Pentagon, society might be one step closer to figuring out the answer to a question many often ask - are humans alone in the universe or is there something else out there.
As pointed out by in a recent Wired article, in 2017, the New York Times released an article covering a Pentagon program researching what was called Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification. This program was developed to investigate possible threats that the military deemed unidentified aerial phenomena or objects. This original article was based on three videos that were released in 2015 where a Tic Tac-shaped flying object moved through the sky and over the ocean in front of Navy Pilots. Though the Navy acknowledged that the videos were authentic, the Pentagon never authorized them for release until recently. In a press release the DOD claimed that "these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena."
Despite the authorization of these videos, the Pentagon still has not admitted that aliens exist. When the DoD labels things as "unidentified," it just means that they have seen something that cannot be explained, not that it is extraterrestrial. Often, they turn out to be an atmospheric illusion, or a satellite rather than Ghost Rider's Doge Charger. So, what does this mean for alien enthusiasts who are hoping to one day see a little green man taken to their leader? Or, for those who are hoping to one day have to phone home for a friend of their own? At this point, hopes should not be down about that happening in the future, nor should they be up. Though the Pentagon took three years to "authorize" the video, when it comes to the DoD, things often just take that long. Not only this, but after the Storm Area 51 Event that was scheduled for September 20th, 2019, many were disappointment at the lack of evidence found. In releasing this "new" evidence, it helps to spark hope.
Whether this was a way for the DoD to showcase to the world that aliens exist without directly saying it, or a spark of hope for humanity in these dark times, one thing is for sure - these videos are still unidentified flying objects and the imagination of the world will run wild until they get an answer. Like a magic trick, maybe the real treat for humanity is not knowing, as it allows people to continue to feel as though they are special and the only lifeforms in the universe. After all, who knows how humans would actually feel if they knew they were just a small piece in a much bigger puzzle.
UFO UK UFO hot spots revealed in RAF’s ‘X Files’ listing 626 sightings in a year before secret unit shut down
By Alahna Kindred
BRITAIN's UFO hot spots have been revealed in RAF 'X Files' documents that list 626 sightings in the year before their secret unit shut down.
The Midlands had more than 100 sightings and London had 54 in 2009, the year the RAF stopped collecting records.
Air traffic control employees, pilots, police officers and journalists were among those who reported the sightings.
Kent had 30 sightings in the same year and in Lancashire there were 24 sightings, with 22 in Essex.
There were more than 100 sighting across the Midlands including 22 in Derbyshire, 17 in Warwickshire and 13 reports from Lincolnshire.
In 27 instances, no location was provided at all and others are missing sighting times.
In 2009 alone, 626 sightings were reported across the UK.
The RAF ran a UFO unit for five decades but chose to shut it down in 2009 after it concluded none of the reports sent in offered evidence of a potential threat.
Members of the public reporting alleged UFO sightings are now directed to their local police force.
Until now, records from the RAF unit were sent to the National Archives, often initially classified before being made public years later.
But earlier this year chiefs said they would put the files online for all to see.
A spokesman for the RAF said: "It had been assessed that it would be better to publish these records, rather than continue sending documents to the National Archives, and so they are looking to put them on to a dedicated gov.uk web page".
One in five Brits admitted that it is likely alien currently live on Earth, according to a YouGov survey.
And 65 per cent it was not likely and 15 per cent were undecided.
Last week, the US government released videos taken by US Navy pilots that reportedly showed "unexplained aerial phenomena".
The Pentagon footage, which had previously been leaked and has been seen before, was set public following an investigation into whether the sensitive material revealed "any sensitive capabilities or systems".
The clips show three separate incidents involving "unidentified aerial phenomena," one from November 2004 and two from January 2015.
A Department of Defense spokesperson said in a statement: "The U.S. Navy previously acknowledged that these videos circulating in the public domain were indeed Navy videos...
"DOD is releasing the videos in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos.
"The aerial phenomena observed in the videos remain characterized as 'unidentified.'"
In the 2004 encounter, pilots reported seeing tic-tac like object in the sky
One of the two videos showing encounter with a US Navy warplane off the coast of Florida in 2015
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