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Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
Sat May 22, 2021, 08:55 PM May 2021

Why I know there's something to UFOs.

Someone who’s always wrong says there’s nothing to them.

“I want them to think whatever they think," Trump said of the Navy pilots. "I did have one very brief meeting on it. But people are saying they’re seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly.” — Donald J. Trump, June 2019

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/15/trump-says-he-doesnt-particularly-believe-ufo-reports-1365848

Spoken like someone who believes he already knows all he’ll ever need to know about everything.



Expert Testimony plus Radar-Photographic evidence of something unknown.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/65585-ufo-sightings-us-pilots.html

89 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Why I know there's something to UFOs. (Original Post) Kid Berwyn May 2021 OP
Here's the thing. OAITW r.2.0 May 2021 #1
Why would you assume they need one? Happy Hoosier May 2021 #6
You'll know the mother ship when you see it, it'll be hanging in the air the way that bricks don't. Towlie May 2021 #7
Jacques Vallee also says the extraterrestrial hypothesis is inadequate. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #8
I was just re-reading Passport To Magonia (1969) this morning. Midnight Writer May 2021 #18
Great record of the long history, written a decade before "Messengers of Deception." Kid Berwyn May 2021 #50
Would be a mistake to apply the typical alien movie narrative to whatever is going on. BannonsLiver May 2021 #16
They could be interdimensional Generic Brad May 2021 #27
Why do you assume they are terrestrial? elevator May 2021 #32
Not sure where it is right now... tonedevil May 2021 #34
The mother shop will be in Detroit June 14th 48656c6c6f20 May 2021 #39
All from Monroe, Michigan would be there if we could. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #45
If there was some department in the government that really know about the UFOs captain queeg May 2021 #2
Excellent points, Captain. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #11
Broken clock. edhopper May 2021 #3
What if the clock is broken, yet runs? Kid Berwyn May 2021 #13
Vallee certainly is. edhopper May 2021 #14
He's got a PhD in computer science from Northwestern. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #20
Using Hynek as a recommendation edhopper May 2021 #41
He had a PhD in astronomy from U Chicago... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #57
I am well aware of who they are edhopper May 2021 #58
Why do you write that? Kid Berwyn May 2021 #61
Carl Sagan edhopper May 2021 #62
Pioneer 10 Kid Berwyn May 2021 #67
Biden just said something like "ask Obama" when asked about UFO's Polybius May 2021 #4
Fox Noise reporter asked, President Biden responded... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #19
Reid, was a smart man and I daresay, far ahead on this issue to SWBTATTReg May 2022 #87
I believe today's hearings accomplished their primary goal. Kid Berwyn May 2022 #88
You're right, this was just a 'show' and no way was really going to reveal anything of importance. SWBTATTReg May 2022 #89
The one I saw has not been duplicated as far as I know. Kingofalldems May 2021 #5
Sounds like what I saw in Texas in 1964 left-of-center2012 May 2021 #17
I had an uncle in Ohio who saw that phenomena around 1925 Captain Zero May 2021 #38
Pretty much what I saw. Kingofalldems May 2021 #43
Close Encounter I Kid Berwyn May 2021 #30
It was dark pretty much. Kingofalldems May 2021 #42
You're going to need ... Xoan May 2021 #9
What Navy personnel photographed... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #37
OK, I've got 2 UFO stories Trailrider1951 May 2021 #10
Please report these to MUFON Beaverhausen May 2021 #25
I once saw something similar but with multiple lights looking like stars zig zagging BSdetect May 2021 #40
Goodyear blimp has caused many a report. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #44
Who or what could survive the great distances they would need to travel. rickford66 May 2021 #12
I think Clarke's three laws apply if we're going to speculate on what extraterrestrial highplainsdem May 2021 #15
"What can be conceived, can be created." -- Enzo Ferrari Kid Berwyn May 2021 #48
Think about the technology we had on earth just 150 years ago compared to today. Then what doc03 May 2021 #21
Technological progress seems to be accelerating. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #54
Man I wish Frank Zappa were still alive! Initech May 2021 #22
Me, too. Every day. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #55
Here is an honest theory about UFOs..Yes there is a strong possibility of some alien race exceeding Stuart G May 2021 #23
Ok, I'm sold, I'll believe anything from now on! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #63
I don't know what UFOs are or if anything is possible. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #64
How do we know that these things are not just debris that enters the earth all the time? Maraya1969 May 2021 #24
UFOs as alien spacecraft really doesn't explain things. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #68
Early in my lifetime, computers were a dream...Sci Fiction.. Stuart G May 2021 #26
A police officer I worked with for years told me something amazing... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #72
The Known Universe Is Enormous colsohlibgal May 2021 #28
I agree completely...The thought that it is only us.."ludicrous" Stuart G May 2021 #31
Very few people claim "it's only us" brooklynite May 2021 #49
Passport to Magonia Kid Berwyn May 2021 #85
Another possibility. roamer65 May 2021 #29
Black holes as an "EXIT" from one Space-Time to another. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #71
Pffft that's not a UFO, that's Batman. Volaris May 2021 #33
A Poem Kid Berwyn May 2021 #76
I think you run into a problem when you use Trump to norm-reference human behavior Bucky May 2021 #35
Compared to everyone else, Trump is the bottom of the barrel. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #77
You can't prove a negative. ananda May 2021 #36
Logically so. However, there are tapes. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #78
Tapes mean nothing. ananda May 2021 #80
Tapes and photographs are evidence. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #82
I tried. Lord knows I tried. Iggo May 2021 #46
I know. And I appreciate it. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #79
The real reason Trump was dismissive about UFOs: area51 May 2021 #47
The Thing Kid Berwyn May 2021 #73
Who has more credibility? The fool who is the most prolific liar in US history, Roisin Ni Fiachra May 2021 #51
Absolutely credible USN witnesses. Truly fascinating reports, theirs. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #74
There are no UFOs as stupid trump thinks. He is fooling you all to make you think akbacchus_BC May 2021 #52
Harry Reid in May 21 NYT wrote there is something to it. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #81
We live in a time where there are high def cameras in literally everyone's pocket. Dave Starsky May 2021 #53
Have you ever tried to film a plane or chopper? ecstatic May 2021 #65
Still not buying it. Dave Starsky May 2021 #66
+1000!!! Silly people believe bad proof! Nt USALiberal May 2021 #75
Some of the best photos were taken by Rex Heflin, a government employee... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #84
"But people are saying they're seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly." Caliman73 May 2021 #56
Excellent points. What some science people said... Kid Berwyn May 2021 #69
Definitely. Science, even with its flaws, is the best method that humans have of discovering fact. Caliman73 May 2021 #70
thanks, that's two things i've heard more than enough about. uncle ray May 2021 #59
Check out today's (Friday, May 28) POLITICO mag, then go through the thread. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #86
Then he went on to create the space force for some unknown reason... Mr. Sparkle May 2021 #60
Dr. Jacques Vallee should be science program director. Kid Berwyn May 2021 #83

Happy Hoosier

(7,216 posts)
6. Why would you assume they need one?
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:18 PM
May 2021

If they are extraterrestrial, then we do not know how they do long distance travel.

Towlie

(5,318 posts)
7. You'll know the mother ship when you see it, it'll be hanging in the air the way that bricks don't.
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:22 PM
May 2021

 
?

... and that's an absolute fact established by several movies, including First Encounters, Independence Day, and District 9.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
8. Jacques Vallee also says the extraterrestrial hypothesis is inadequate.
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:23 PM
May 2021
From (sorry, Never Old or In the Way) Wikipedia:

Vallée's opposition to the ETH theory is summarised in his paper, "Five Arguments Against the Extraterrestrial Origin of Unidentified Flying Objects", Journal of Scientific Exploration, 1990:

Scientific opinion has generally followed public opinion in the belief that unidentified flying objects either do not exist (the "natural phenomena hypothesis&quot or, if they do, must represent evidence of a visitation by some advanced race of space travellers (the extraterrestrial hypothesis or "ETH&quot .

It is the view of the author that research on UFOs need not be restricted to these two alternatives. On the contrary, the accumulated data base exhibits several patterns tending to indicate that UFOs are real, represent a previously unrecognized phenomenon, and that the facts do not support the common concept of "space visitors". Five specific arguments articulated here contradict the ETH:

1. unexplained close encounters are far more numerous than required for any physical survey of the earth;

2. the humanoid body structure of the alleged "aliens" is not likely to have originated on another planet and is not biologically adapted to space travel;

3. the reported behavior in thousands of abduction reports contradicts the hypothesis of genetic or scientific experimentation on humans by an advanced race;

4. the extension of the phenomenon throughout recorded human history demonstrates that UFOs are not a contemporary phenomenon; and

5. the apparent ability of UFOs to manipulate space and time suggests radically different and richer alternatives.


Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Vallée

Vallee applied information science to the phenomenon. He wrote the data show a more complicated explanation than extraterrestrial hypothesis. While he would be disappointed if UFOs turned out to be alien visitors, he fears humanity may get the visitors we deserve.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
50. Great record of the long history, written a decade before "Messengers of Deception."
Mon May 24, 2021, 08:11 AM
May 2021
https://bookshop.org/books/messengers-of-deception-ufo-contacts-and-cults/9780975720042

Dr. Vallee described the workings of the world as that of an “associative universe.” Somehow the mind works as a rudder that helps steer our experiences toward things and events that seem outside of our mental control, yet are more likely to physically occur because of our awareness. The theory — like Positive Thinking — has great applications in Politics.

Probably old news to you, Midnight Writer: The computer scientist-paranormal researcher-venture capitalist had been researching UFO cults, including one run by Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite, in their pre-Heaven’s Gate scam when they called themselves “Bo” and “Peep,” when he ran across a group called the Order of Melchizedek (going from memory). In the Old Testament, Melchizedek was a powerful priest.

Vallee was researching UFO cults in relation to human belief systems. Perhaps the UFO experience serves to manipulate human beliefs and, hence, destiny.

Vallee had to attend a conference in Los Angeles on an unrelated matter. Taking a cab from the airport to his hotel, he asked the driver for a receipt. He pocketed the paper and went in his business. Later he saw that the driver’s name was Melchizedek, the only person with that surname in the L.A. phone book.

Generic Brad

(14,272 posts)
27. They could be interdimensional
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:51 PM
May 2021

As long as we cling to our quaint interpretations of time and space, we will remain closed off to other possibilities.

 

elevator

(415 posts)
32. Why do you assume they are terrestrial?
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:55 AM
May 2021

And if they are connected with a mothership, it could be in orbit with a cloaking devise...not difficult with their technology. Or maybe behind the moon.

captain queeg

(10,092 posts)
2. If there was some department in the government that really know about the UFOs
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:11 PM
May 2021

I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t tell trump too much about it. Number one he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and number two no one would want trump to be representing the earth if there ever was any contact.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
11. Excellent points, Captain.
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:47 PM
May 2021

Like aspects of the phenomenon itself, completely absurd.





State UFO experts say give peace a chance

By Jim Stingl of the Journal Sentinel
Published on: 5/4/2010

My favorite UFO story from Wisconsin - and there are zillions - is about an Eagle River chicken farmer who said the spacemen served him pancakes.

In the spring of 1961, Joseph Simonton said the silver flying saucer landed in his yard. Three short men who appeared to be of Italian descent indicated they wanted a jug filled with water, which he gladly did. One of the visitors on the ship "was frying food on a flameless grill of some sort," Simonton, 60, said in a Milwaukee Journal article from back then.

They gave him three small pancakes, but no syrup, and zoomed off. The locals backed up Simonton as a solid citizen and, according to the sheriff, not a drinking man. The Air Force investigated and proclaimed the space food to be ordinary pancakes.

The encounter was peaceful and friendly, not at all like the ones envisioned by Stephen Hawking, the renowned physicist, who last week warned that extraterrestrials that show up here someday will be interested mostly in conquering and colonizing us.

Source: https://archive.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/92831654.html/



Then, within all that noise is some serious information, the makings of an unforgettable story.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
13. What if the clock is broken, yet runs?
Sat May 22, 2021, 10:08 PM
May 2021

Who knows what would be real or unreal?



We are dealing with a yet unrecognized level of consciousness, independent of man but closely linked to the earth.... I do not believe anymore that UFOs are simply the spacecraft of some race of extraterrestrial visitors. This notion is too simplistic to explain their appearance, the frequency of their manifestations through recorded history, and the structure of the information exchanged with them during contact."

-- Jacques Vallee

https://www.inspiringquotes.us/quotes/AKTc_Wt2zCfrj



May be it’s all crazy.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
20. He's got a PhD in computer science from Northwestern.
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:28 PM
May 2021

As J. Allen Hynek’s understudy, he applied the principles of science to the investigation of UFO phenomena along the way to earning his doctorate. Among his many professional accomplishments are numerous books on the subject. If you get a chance to read his work, you may find he has helped us approach a crazy subject in a rational manner.

https://www.biblio.com/jacques-vallee/author/24889

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
57. He had a PhD in astronomy from U Chicago...
Mon May 24, 2021, 08:32 PM
May 2021

The late Father of UFOlogy, in his own words:



CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH DR. J. ALLEN HYNEK

By Dennis Stacy
An Interview With The Dean, 1985
Re-Edited for CUFON by Dale Goudie 1991

For over two decades, from 1948 to 1969, Dr. J. Allen Hynek was a consultant in astronomy to the United States Air Force. The subject of his advice, however, was not the fledgling space program or even the moon and stars above, but Unidentified Flying Objects. In 1973 he founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) and had serves as Director and editor of its journal, "International UFO Reporter."

STACY: Dr. Hynek, as a scientist, you go back as far with UFO phenomenon as probably anyone alive today. Exactly how did that relationship begin?

HYNEK: That's an easy story to tell. In the spring of 1948, I was teaching astronomy at Ohio State University, in Columbus. One day thee men, and they weren't dressed in black, came over to see me from Wright Patterson Air Force Base in nearby Dayton. They started out by talking about the weather, as I remember, and this and that, and then finally one of them asked me what I thought about flying saucers. I told them I thought they were a lot of junk and nonsense and that seemed to please them, so they got down to business. They said they needed some astronomical consultation because it was their job to find out what these flying saucer stories were all about.

Some were meteors, they thought, others stars and so on, so they could use an astronomer. What the hell, I said, it sounded like fun and besides, I would be getting a top secret security clearance out of it, too. At that time, it was called Project Sign, and some of the personnel at least were taking the problem quite seriously. At the same time a big split was occurring in the Air Force between two schools of thought. The serious school prepared an estimation of the situation which they sent to General Vandenburg, but the other side eventually won out and the serious ones were shipped off to other places. The negatives won the day, in other words.

My own investigations for Project Sign added to that, too, I think, because I was quite negative in most of my evaluations. I stretched far to give something a natural explanation, sometimes when it may not have really had it. I remember one case from Snake River Canyon, I think it was, where a man and his two sons saw a metallic object come swirling down the canyon which caused the top of the trees to sway. In my attempt to find a natural explanation for it, I said that it was some sort of atmospheric eddy. Of course, I had never seen an eddy like that and had no real reason to believe that one even existed. But I was so anxious to find a natural explanation because I was convinced that it had to have one that, naturally, I did in fact, it wasn't until quite some time had passed that I began to change my mind.

STACY: Was there ever any direct pressure applied by the Air Force itself for you to come up with a conventional explanation to these phenomena?

HYNEK: There was an implied pressure, yes, very definitely.

Continues...

https://www.cufon.org/cufon/hynekint.htm



A great man, stood up for truth. Regarding “swamp gas,” I cut him some slack. He had undergone major oral surgery the day before getting called in to stamp out the flap in Michigan.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
61. Why do you write that?
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:05 PM
May 2021

What have Hynek or Vallee said, written or done to make you think they are not authorities or credible sources of information on the subject?

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
67. Pioneer 10
Tue May 25, 2021, 08:33 AM
May 2021


Designed by Linda Salzman Sagan.

For the two Voyagers:



“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.” — Arthur C. Clarke

Same can be said for being or not being on the government payroll.

Polybius

(15,334 posts)
4. Biden just said something like "ask Obama" when asked about UFO's
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:14 PM
May 2021

Either it's an inside joke that Presidents do for laughs, or there really is some secret stuff out there.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
19. Fox Noise reporter asked, President Biden responded...
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:04 PM
May 2021


UFOs? Ask Obama, Biden quips when questioned about unidentified aerial phenomenon

Earlier this week, former President Obama appeared on late night TV and said the government cannot explain the videos of unidentified aerial phenomenon.


May 21, 2021, 8:01 PM EDT
By Dartunorro Clark

The truth may be out there — but President Joe Biden isn’t saying so.

The president ducked a question Friday on "unidentified aerial phenomena" — the subject of renewed interest as the Senate awaits a report from U.S. intelligence agencies on the matter — when a reporter asked him about recent remarks by his former boss.

“President Obama says there is footage and records of objects in the sky — these unidentified aerial phenomena — and he says we don’t know exactly what they are. What do you think?” a reporter asked Biden near the end of a joint news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House.

Biden smiled and responded, “I would ask him again,” before thanking everyone and exiting so quickly he didn’t take his translation earpiece out.

Continues...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/ufos-ask-obama-biden-quips-when-questioned-about-unidentified-aerial-n1268225



Background...



Barack Obama just said something *very* interesting about UFOs

Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
Wed May 19, 2021

Excerpt...

In an appearance on “The Late Late Show” earlier this week, Obama confessed this: “The truth is that when I came into office, I asked, right, I was like, ‘Alright, is there the lab somewhere where we’re keeping the alien specimens and space ship?’ And you know, they did a little bit of research and the answer was no.”

Which, OK, he was joking. But then Obama said more about UFOs – and this is where things got really interesting.

Here’s Obama:

“What is true, and I’m actually being serious here, is that there are, there’s footage and records of objects in the skies, that we don’t know exactly what they are. We can’t explain how they moved, their trajectory. They did not have an easily explainable pattern. And so, you know, I think that people still take seriously trying to investigate and figure out what that is.”

Excerpt...

For many years, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) was a lonely voice in Congress on the existence of UFOs.

Back in 2007, Reid pushed for the creation of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), which was housed within the Department of Defense and about which almost nothing was (or is) known. In a 2017 profile of the program – headline: “Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program” – The New York Times wrote:

“The Defense Department has never before acknowledged the existence of the program, which it says it shut down in 2012. But its backers say that, while the Pentagon ended funding for the effort at that time, the program remains in existence. For the past five years, they say, officials with the program have continued to investigate episodes brought to them by service members, while also carrying out their other Defense Department duties.”

Reid, in an interview for the show “Nevada Newsmakers” in 2019, was unapologetic for the $22 million he had earmarked for AATIP over his time in the Senate. “We know that China is doing it,” Reid said in reference to studying unidentified flying objects. “We know that Russia, which is led by someone within the KGB, is doing it, too, so we better take a look at it, too.” Added Reid: “We got a volume of research that was done, $22 million worth of research. It showed that not two people, four people or six people or 20 people but hundreds and hundreds of people have seen these things, sometimes all at the same time.”

In April 2020, when the Pentagon released three videos of “unidentified aerial phenomena” – a HUGE breakthrough in the government acknowledging their existence, Reid was nonplussed.

“I’m glad the Pentagon is finally releasing this footage, but it only scratches the surface of research and materials available,” tweeted Reid. “The U.S. needs to take a serious, scientific look at this and any potential national security implications. The American people deserve to be informed.”

Continues...

http://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/politics/barack-obama-ufos/?hpt=ob_blogfooterold



Nothing but respect for Harry Reid, a great American.

SWBTATTReg

(22,065 posts)
87. Reid, was a smart man and I daresay, far ahead on this issue to
Tue May 17, 2022, 12:20 PM
May 2022

finally ack the existence of these craft and the technology that allows these craft to perform as they do.

Why the disconnect on ack that these craft exist, and that the technologies that allow these craft to perform as they do?

We're still discovering the existence of subatomic particles (and a whole class of them too, that we just discovered), so our Physics is touching just the edges of what is out there, Physics-wise. We've only just discovered radio waves, and the electronic media over the last 200 +- years or so ago, and we're still learning day-by-day about all sorts of the physical world about us.

And by the way, $22 Million Dollars spent on analyzing this technology is a but a tiny, tiny portion of I suspect has been spent on the analysis of this technology (and / or the reverse engineering of it too, incorporating the technologies gained into existing technical platforms we already have). I suspect that the amounts spent are in the billions of dollars, not millions.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
88. I believe today's hearings accomplished their primary goal.
Tue May 17, 2022, 12:47 PM
May 2022

Tamp down the expectations of those who have followed the subject and put on a nice show for the public.

One rep asked if US armed forces had fired during these “encounters,” the witness responded, “Not on AEP.” Which means to me that we did on UFOs.

Agree about the billions. The bits of the story we know would demand such an investment.

The secrecy surrounding the subject, I fear, may serve as an excuse for the few to get an edge on the many.

SWBTATTReg

(22,065 posts)
89. You're right, this was just a 'show' and no way was really going to reveal anything of importance.
Tue May 17, 2022, 01:12 PM
May 2022

Too much secrecy, too much money, too much 'gee whiz' technology at work here. So, in short, there is something going on here. A whole Industrial Complex and all of its workings, scattered through the U.S. and the world at many different places (secret and some not so secret). And I suspect that you're right, this is an excuse for using unlimited power reined in by those in the political realm to have some sort of control on this area (what control do we really have today? It's all covered by the guise of 'national security', so who really knows anything about what's going on, what's being spent in these 'black' projects, etc.?

Now, I'm not advocating the breaking of any secrets etc., we don't need to give our adversaries any heads up. But what really gets me thinking is that over the last 10 years or so, several countries have moved to reveal what they know about these things. Anyone w/ a smidgen of intelligence can gain insight into what technologies would be needed to develop and / or operate such craft, such as inertia drive, unlimited power of some kind (atomic or the like, such as those on subs today (but smaller in size)), and materials that are able to withstand the sheering forces enacted upon such materials when the craft perform tight turns/stop on a dime/etc.

By the way, one of my best friends who worked at McDonald Douglas told me (at least 20 years ago or so, probably longer) of their already developing helmets for the pilots of aircraft to use in guiding their craft, etc., he said that they used eye movement but I don't recall if they used thought too, I would tend to remember something like this. I just recall him being so upset when he had to pick and chose which people to fire when they had a downsizing. It tore him to pieces. That's why if you get people under you (they're working for you), I hope that you don't have to go through this process of firing people (and not firing them for cause, it simply was that the business (that part of the business) was going away/being shut down (and of course, they never have enough slots elsewhere to move everybody)).

Kingofalldems

(38,422 posts)
5. The one I saw has not been duplicated as far as I know.
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:17 PM
May 2021

Oblong object seen around 1 AM at about 200 ft. moving very slowly, made absolutely no sound. I thought I was seeing things until I saw another driver pulled over and leaning back on his vehicle with a look of absolute panic on his face. I pulled over and I saw it pass over the road at a crawl. As I look back on it the object was heading towards a Nike missile base maybe a mile away. This was in Gaithersburg, Md. c 1977.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
17. Sounds like what I saw in Texas in 1964
Sat May 22, 2021, 10:33 PM
May 2021

I was hitch hiking from Beaumont to Andrews in west Texas. I got let out by a farmer/rancher near his place, so I was standing on the side of a country road. (Should have taken the interstate, but I was inexperienced)

There was a large field behind me; a small hill covered in trees. At one point while waiting I saw a grey oblong object about the length of a football field floating about the trees; almost at treetop. No sound; no windows; no wings; no ‘rudder’; no ‘ribs’ or structural support that I saw; no ‘hot air ballon’ type basket hanging below it. Just a grey ‘cigar shaped’ unidentified object.

It slowly and quietly floated over the trees and disappeared beyond the hilltop.

Captain Zero

(6,783 posts)
38. I had an uncle in Ohio who saw that phenomena around 1925
Sun May 23, 2021, 10:35 AM
May 2021

In Ohio farm country around Marion/Galion. He used to swear it was very real.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
30. Close Encounter I
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:48 AM
May 2021

J. Allen Hynek created a system for classification of UFO reports. CE1 cases involve a UFO sighted at close range with no interaction with environment.

https://www.universalcompendium.com/tables/phil/ufos.htm

Thank you for sharing your fascinating experience. Was the object you saw dark or illuminated? Did it reflect lights from the ground? Did it affect the ground below it? Did it affect your car’s engine or radio? These physical effects are hallmarks of CE2.

How about you — any effects at the time? Later, did you feel any residual effects? Any unusual thoughts? These may be evidence of a psychic component.

Asking to give an idea of why it’s important to share information. It builds a record that can help us discern patterns...

Kingofalldems

(38,422 posts)
42. It was dark pretty much.
Sun May 23, 2021, 02:02 PM
May 2021

It had one light on it. I never got any residual effects but I always wonder about the terrified driver who had gotten out of his car.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
37. What Navy personnel photographed...
Sun May 23, 2021, 10:27 AM
May 2021
Here's what USN Chief Delbert Newhouse filmed -- on dry land in 1952.



When a dozen luminous, disc-shaped objects flashed across a clear blue sky on July 2, 1952, near Tremonton, Utah, Navy Chief Delbert C. Newhouse pulled his car off the road, grabbed his 16mm movie camera and filmed what he knew was a bizarre sight.

Newhouse, who had more than 1,000 hours of aerial photography mission experience, shot 1,200 frames of one of the objects, which has been described as "two pie pans, one inverted on top of the other."

After rigorous examination of the 75-second film, Navy analysts concluded that the objects were not conventional aircraft, but some sort of "intelligently controlled" vehicles. They stopped short of calling them space vehicles. The Air Force, however, called them "possible birds."

Source: https://www.stripes.com/news/is-the-sky-falling-this-man-says-maybe-not-1.130358

With the Argentine armada in the International Geophysical Year of 1958...



The Trindade Island UFO Incidents and Photographs

Brent Raynes, Classic UFO Cases
original source | fair use notice

Summary: On January 16, 1958, while a Brazilian Navy ship known as the Almirante Saldanha sat anchored off the south coast of Trindade, a small rocky island located in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, it seems that a most remarkable event transpired.

On January 16, 1958, while a Brazilian Navy ship known as the Almirante Saldanha sat anchored off the south coast of Trindade, a small rocky island located in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, it seems that a most remarkable event transpired. Forty-eight (48) crew members and passengers onboard at the time were witnesses. What made the event even more memorable, besides the large number of eyewitnesses, were the remarkable photographs taken by a skilled civilian photographer at the time. The incident began at 12:15 p.m., when an airborne object was spotted approaching the island. The photographer, Almiro Barauna, described as a member of the Icarai Club for Submarine Hunting, was the official photographer assigned to this unit because of his skill in underwater photography. In October 1957, the island had become a scientific research station for oceanographic and meteorological studies for the International Geophysical Year (IGY). Before that it hadn’t been occupied since World War II, when it had been used as an American and Brazilian anti-submarine base.

In a statement made soon afterwards to the Jornal Do Brasil, a newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, Barauna described how he was up on deck when a Amilar Vieira and retired Air Force Captain Jose Teobaldo Viegas began pointing toward the sky, yelling about a bright object that was moving toward the island. Barauna was trying to see it when Lt. Homero Ribeiro, the ship’s dentist, came running excitedly in his direction, also pointing skyward and yelling about some kind of object. After about 30 seconds of looking, he was finally able to see it. By this time, the object was close to the island. Barauna was able to detect it on account of a flash it emitted. He described how it glittered at certain times, and he wasn’t certain if this was the reflection of sunlight or the object’s own light.

Barauna shot two pictures of the object just before it disappeared behind a certain Desejado Peak. After several seconds the object reappeared. It was closer, flying lower and faster, and moving in the opposite direction. He then shot his third photograph. This was followed by a fourth and a fifth attempt that proved unsuccessful on account of being pushed and nudged by others also trying to observe the UFO. As a consequence, those two photographs only contained the sea and the island.

The object was then flying back out to sea, from the general direction it had arrived from. For a brief time it seemed to hang in mid-air. This was when Barauna shot his last picture, which had also been the last one on the film. About 10 seconds later, the UFO began to move off into the distance again and soon disappeared from sight.

The object was described as metallic looking, dark gray in color, was solid-looking but was surrounded by a greenish, phosphorescent haze or mist. There was also a ring around its mid- section that gave it an appearance similar to the planet Saturn.

Continues...

http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc644.htm

The Chilean Navy in 2014



Chilean Navy helicopter pilot shoots video of UFO

BY MCCLATCHY FEBRUARY 7, 2018, 8:03 PM

On Nov. 11, 2014, a Navy captain and technician were on a routine daytime patrol mission flying north along the Chilean coast, west of Santiago, and filmed an unidentified flying object.

Read more here: https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article125629429.html#storylink=cpy

Video here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article125658529.html

PS: Wish I was a better photographer, too. I’ve never seen a saucer or photographed one, but I imagine it would be difficult to frame a moving subject that may be shocking to experience in person, relatively small at a distance, exhibits a bright glow, covered by what appears to be shiny or rumpled metal, might be observable/unobservable on radar, from far away...Great we have images at all.

Trailrider1951

(3,413 posts)
10. OK, I've got 2 UFO stories
Sat May 22, 2021, 09:46 PM
May 2021

1. Place: West side of Houston, TX. Date: summer of 1987. Time: Unknown, except that it was after sundown, with the sky mostly dark and a fading pale glow in the west. I was driving my car with my 12 year old daughter in the front passenger seat. She suddenly screams, "Mom, there's a UFO!". I pulled over and got out of the car so I could see it. It was a large, cylindrical object that looked fairly close to the ground, maybe 500 to 1000 ft. up. It had lights on it. It took me about 10 seconds to recognize what it was. I stuck my head back in the window and said, "Honey, that's the Goodyear Blimp.".

2. Place: Rural Texas, campout with friends. Date: Summer of 2010. Time: Unknown, at least midnight or later, pitch dark clear skies with a myriad of stars everywhere. Since it was a clear night and quite warm (maybe low 90's F), I decided to sleep out of the tent under the stars. I'm familiar with the constellations, as amateur astronomy is one of my interests, and I was trying to see what was the faintest stars I could see with the naked eye. A moving point of light soon caught my attention. I am also familiar with spotting man-made satellites in the night sky. A good place to find out what is in your area, including the ISS, is heavens-above.com. This object was different. It did not maintain a direct flight path, but kind of meandered around, moving rather quickly. Satellites don't do that. I have no clue what it was. Truly a UFO.

BSdetect

(8,994 posts)
40. I once saw something similar but with multiple lights looking like stars zig zagging
Sun May 23, 2021, 10:54 AM
May 2021

Jan, 1974 Rottnest Island, Perth, Western Australia.

With two friends who saw the same thing.


Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
44. Goodyear blimp has caused many a report.
Sun May 23, 2021, 09:36 PM
May 2021

New Jersey in 2020.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/36473/goodyear-blimp-halts-new-jersey-traffic-after-drivers-mistake-it-for-a-ufo

Dr. Hynek classified similar reports to your second story, “Nocturnal Lights.” Upon investigation, some have been identified — odd aircraft strobes, tumbling booster stages reflecting sunlight near the terminator, and other more mundane explanations.

The ones that remain unidentifiable get classified as NL. Some of these have been photographed.



A string of lights seen floating in the night sky east of Charlotte (January 2021) has ignited debate on social media, including talk of UFOs and test rockets. ALISA HOMEWOOD PHOTO

Source: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article248795870.html

rickford66

(5,521 posts)
12. Who or what could survive the great distances they would need to travel.
Sat May 22, 2021, 10:02 PM
May 2021

Remember when Columbus discovered the Western Hemisphere land mass and then traveled to California ? Of course not. It took generations for that. So what if a civilization, far far away, built humanoid robots that could reproduce or at least repair them selves over and over by "borrowing" fresh DNA along their journeys. They may never had a plan to return home, but continue traveling and reproducing or rejuvenating. Scientist are growing human organs in labs right now. 3D printers would allow space travelers to build their own spare parts on the fly. I'm an engineer and believe almost anything is possible . We still don't understand gravity or how to harness it. Someone, somewhere may have.

highplainsdem

(48,910 posts)
15. I think Clarke's three laws apply if we're going to speculate on what extraterrestrial
Sat May 22, 2021, 10:19 PM
May 2021

civilizations might be capable of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws


When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.



Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
48. "What can be conceived, can be created." -- Enzo Ferrari
Mon May 24, 2021, 07:41 AM
May 2021

The late, great author Stanislaw Lem described a future very similar to what you have imagined. In his “Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age,” inventor robots create new problems as they solve old — Trurl and Klaupacius.

https://lem.pl/

In one of his stories Lem’s thinking machines imagined they were descended from biological life. They shuddered at the thought.

doc03

(35,295 posts)
21. Think about the technology we had on earth just 150 years ago compared to today. Then what
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:30 PM
May 2021

if another civilization was 1000 years ahead of us. Nobody back in 1871 could ever imagine the things we take for
granted today. I am 73 and never would have imagined the technology we have today myself. I don't think anyone can explain
how the ancient civilizations accomplished some of their work. How did they cut 100 ton stones with 1/1000ths and inch accuracy and
put them on a mountain top in the middle of the ocean?

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
54. Technological progress seems to be accelerating.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:10 PM
May 2021

Last edited Mon May 24, 2021, 02:03 PM - Edit history (1)

If you have a moment, please tell me about the cut stones on the island. Are you referring to Stonehenge or Easter Island? Those are fascinating subjects for study.

When I was a kid, 50 years ago, I remember reading that before Ben Franklin’s time, one person could read all the books extant in his or her lifetime. Today, a human lifespan is insufficient time to read all that is published in just one academic subject.

Which raises the point about Artificial Intelligence and its ability to tie all that knowledge together. Such an entity might consider humanity a dangerous threat. I doubt that AI would hesitate to pull the plug on us.

Regarding UFOs: The phenomenon seems to have adapted over time, perhaps making itself appear to us in technology the people of the time could better relate with, if not understand. In modern times, people report encounters with objects that remind some of advanced technologies needed for interstellar spacecraft. In the 1890s, people reported encounters with “airships,” a dirigible like flying machine. Centuries earlier, people reported what appeared like sailing ships which flew down from the clouds.

More info: http://grad.cs.rutgers.edu/~mcgrew/ufo/magonia/magtdb01/magonia.txt

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
55. Me, too. Every day.
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:18 PM
May 2021

Great song, that. Thanks!

Saw Frank and the Mothers of Invention in Detroit on a Mother’s Day in 1973, I think.



I love the Andes. Here are some nearby volcanoes I visited a couple years back.

Stuart G

(38,414 posts)
23. Here is an honest theory about UFOs..Yes there is a strong possibility of some alien race exceeding
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:32 PM
May 2021
the speed of light...(I said possibility)

I. I wonder how many people 300 years ago would say we would place a man on the moon and a robot on Mars?
2 I wonder how many people 200 years ago would say we could fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 6 hours?
3. I wonder how many people in 1920 would believe that you could communicate across the country on something
called a computer?

...............and so on, and so on, and so on....

Here is the real reason the UFOs don't contact us: We are not ready for contact.

Some of us are, but as a whole the human race is .....not ready for contact with aliens

If a group of aliens can exceed the speed of light to get here, they are far enough advanced to decide if the aliens on
Earth (that is us humans) are ready for contact with aliens from another solar system light years away...

............YES, IT IS THAT SIMPLE...also...There are thousands/ millions of stars with planets. Very likely
.......And are some far more advanced then us, and be able to exceed the speed of light?
.....maybe..
.......How many planets are out there?......maybe hundreds of thousands with life,,,,and would a few
be so far advanced that those few could exceed the speed of light?...maybe, I don't know, do you?

So ................YOU DON'T THINK THAT IS POSSIBLE...?....ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, AIN'T IT?

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
64. I don't know what UFOs are or if anything is possible.
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:39 PM
May 2021

I DO know UFO reports exist — including eyewitness accounts and cases that left physical traces, such as burned bushes, radar tracks and photographs.

Probably old hat for you, Stuart G, but for those new to the subject, what police officer Lonnie Zamora reported provides a great overview:





In late afternoon on Friday, April 24, 1964, Socorro Police Sergeant Lonnie Zamora departed his cruiser on a rough and rocky dirt road to investigate an unidentified flying object which came to rest in an arroyo south of Socorro. The desolate, undeveloped area was primarily made up of mesquite and creosote bushes. What Sergeant Zamora witnessed at approximately 5:45 p.m. was an “egg shaped craft” traveling into Socorro from the south. It was later reported and documented as having been witnessed (in flight) by 5 tourists traveling through Socorro. Zamora, in an interview following the incident, stated that he witnessed a bluish flame and a loud roar coming from the direction of the arroyo.

Zamora approached the area where he believed the craft had landed. Zamora later stated that he had first seen the object from about 150 yards and believed it to be a car or some sort of vehicle in need of assistance. Zamora then radioed the Sheriff’s Office about a possible accident he would be investigating. Zamora then contacted New Mexico State Police Sergeant Samuel Chavez, someone who Zamora trusted to assist in the investigation. After requesting the assistance of NMSP Sergeant Chavez, Zamora once again began approaching the object.

At about 50 feet from the object, Zamora noted seeing landing gear and a red insignia which he later drew for authorities. Zamora then noted bright blue flames and another loud roar until ultimately the object began lifting away from its resting place. Following the incident, many local residents visited the sight and witnessed not only burned bushes but also landing gear depressions in the ground. This incident has been recorded in many newspapers and magazine articles as well as written about in many books.

Source: https://www.socorronm.org/attractions/socorro-landing-a-ufo-story/

Others nearby that day also reported an egg shaped object: https://sentinel63.wordpress.com/2016/11/24/desert-encounter-with-the-unknown/



As for why they won’t make direct contact, your hypothesis is as good as anyone’s. Humanity really may not be ready. Look at the panic Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre caused.

The thing is, “they” or it or us or the universe or the multiverse themselves may be screwing with us. You know, putting on a show to make us remember a strange story. And that story may contain enough information to manipulate those who hear it into believing in things or behaving in ways they would not have done previously.

Jacques Vallee calls “those” who are behind that part of the phenomenon, the ones who make these things appear before our eyes, “Messengers of Deception.” They have an agenda. What’s on it, we can only guess.

Maraya1969

(22,462 posts)
24. How do we know that these things are not just debris that enters the earth all the time?
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:37 PM
May 2021

I asked the question here about something else and was told that debris from the universe gets into our atmosphere a lot.

Plus the problem I have with aliens is the always sort of resemble humans, with arms and legs and eyes etc. What if the alien is just a round thing that doesn't need eyes and just floats around? Maybe no one would know it was alive? idk.

Then again there are Octopuses and those things really are aliens.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
68. UFOs as alien spacecraft really doesn't explain things.
Tue May 25, 2021, 11:44 AM
May 2021

Excellent observations and questions, Maraya1969. The phenomenon can be absurd, terrifying and non-sensical— at times, all at once. And like the octopus, it may be a source of inspiration.

Dr. Jacques Vallee gave the 2011 Global Competiveness Forum a great introduction:

Stuart G

(38,414 posts)
26. Early in my lifetime, computers were a dream...Sci Fiction..
Sat May 22, 2021, 11:45 PM
May 2021

Later after they were invented they were only at collages and university for the eggheads.
Later they were available for very rich people with lots of knowledge
Later they were available for people to use, but in libraries...(too expensive to buy
Later they were available for some for thousands of dollars...
Now they are available for most people with several hundred dollars, and all young people know how to operate them,
..............and many adults know how to operate them....====even I know how to operate one...!!!!!

............AND, I REMEMBER THINKING THAT A HAND HELD COMPUTER (LIKE STAR TREK) WAS SCIENCE FICTION...

so.....Aliens who have contacted us,.......maybe, maybe so....Could BE???
...Would you believe someone who said that they were contacted by an alien?....maybe, maybe so, could be???

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
72. A police officer I worked with for years told me something amazing...
Tue May 25, 2021, 07:50 PM
May 2021

I was a newspaper reporter on the cop beat. This story happened almost 20 years before I met him.

One fall night in the mid-1970s, he was called to a lakefront home in southeastern Michigan. The residents called the station to report an object — saucer shaped and shiny — was sitting on their lawn by their beach. As the officer drove up, he saw a bright light flying low across the lake, away from where he was heading. Upon investigation by flashlight, he found a patch of burned grass about 30-feet across. He didn’t know what it was, but he saw something weird and it left marks on the ground.

Over five years, the guy never lied to me about a crime or story I was working on. There was no reason for me to disbelieve him then.

There are reports people who’ve experienced similar things, including Clarence “Kelly” Johnson of Lockheed Skunkworks fame, one of history’s great aircraft designers, was inspired to explore new avenues of investigation. His story:





The UFO Incident

On December 16, Johnson and his wife Althea were visiting their Lindero Ranch near Agoura, California, which was situated on a hillside facing the coast not far from Pt Mugu Naval Air Station, an aircraft and missile test facility. At about 5 PM Johnson was looking through a window at the brilliant sunset when he noticed a dark elliptical shape in the sky in the direction of Pt Mugu cape. His first thought was that it was a lenticular cloud, or possibly a smoke trail from an aircraft, but it remained stationary and unchanged for several minutes. He called for Althea to bring him his 8-power binoculars and ran outside. By that time the object had begun to move, accelerating away from him in a shallow climb in a direction opposite to the motion of the other clouds in the sky. It seemed to be very large and distant, and moving fast, but he had no real way of knowing its actual size, distance or speed.

At the same time, coincidentally, a Lockheed airplane was in the air on a test flight along the Los Angeles coastline. Constellation airframe 4301 was the prototype for a Navy Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft, the WV-2 Warning Star. The WV-2 was a large four-engine transport equipped with huge blisters housing radar antennas (a search radar unit in the belly and a height-finder in a dorsal fairing), and was designed to fly very long standing patrols far off the coasts of North America to provide long-range detection of incoming Soviet bombers. Constellation 4301 was the first of a long line of Navy WV-2s and Air Force EC-121s that would provide a vital part of the North American air defense network throughout the 1950s and '60s.

At the controls of the Warning Star were Rudy Thoren and Roy Wimmer, both highly experienced senior test pilots in the Constellation program, assisted by Joseph F. Ware, Jr, another longtime Lockheed engineering test pilot.[3] Also in the cockpit were Charlie Grugan, another veteran company pilot, and Lockheed's Chief Aerodynamicist, Philip A Colman. It was customary for Lockheed engineers to ride aboard their planes during test flights, and Johnson himself often did so. (There are no indications that the elaborate radar systems, which required a crew of at least a dozen men, were active during the flight.)

Thoren had been recruited by Johnson from their alma mater, the aeronautical engineering school at University of Michigan, and had been Chief of Flight Test for Lockheed since 1946, in charge of all the company's test pilots. Colman was a Cal Tech graduate who had made valuable contributions to the P-38 program, and who would soon be tasked by Johnson with designing the wings for the new CL-282 recon plane. All of the crewmen were top representatives of their fields, having flown for the company for years in development programs of a variety of sophisticated aircraft.

The exact purpose of the test flight is not detailed in the sighting reports, but such flights typically involved calibration of airspeed vs engine power settings at various altitudes, and therefore the crewmen were very conscious of the height of the aircraft. Altitude recording instruments were carried on board.

Though Wimmer was technically the pilot in command, he had turned the controls over to Thoren and was maintaining a watch for other air traffic as Thoren conducted his tests. They had turned from a southeast heading to west, just off the coast of Long Beach, when, at 4:58 PM, Wimmer noticed a dark shape ahead at about their altitude of 14,000 feet. After watching it for a few moments and noting that it was not moving, he jokingly pointed it out to Thoren, saying "Look out, there's a flying saucer." Thoren turned the WV-2 a bit to the right to head toward the object. The other men saw the object too and watched it for a few minutes with a growing sense of curiosity. It appeared to be a very large aircraft of some type, but as it remained stationary and unchanged in shape over at least a five minute period, they became more and more intrigued. Thoren finally diverted from his course and headed directly at it. They flew toward it at about 225 mph for some time without appearing to gain on it at all. Then Wimmer, who was less occupied with piloting tasks and was able to keep a constant watch on the object, commented that it seemed to be disappearing. Within a few moments it appeared to head west directly away from them at high speed, remaining dark and solid-looking the entire time as it dwindled to a tiny dot. They all felt that it was a large object at a considerable distance, and compared its size to the largest types of transport or bomber aircraft. The men later reported that they thought little more of the incident at the time due to their preoccupation with completing the test mission, but Thoren was intrigued enough that upon returning home that evening he told his family about the sighting and sketched the object.

The following day, Kelly Johnson had returned to work and was discussing the WV-2 test flight with Thoren, who was still ruminating on the incident. A bit worried that Johnson would ridicule him, the pilot casually mentioned the sighting. Thoren was surprised when Johnson excitedly interrupted him and described his own sighting in detail. Both concluded that all the witnesses had been viewing the same object at the same time. Over the course of the next few weeks each of the pilots wrote a detailed personal account of the case, probably at Johnson's urging, and the Chief Engineer, in his typical meticulous style, assembled them into a file (Lockheed file LAC/149536) and drafted a personal cover letter addressed to the "Air Force Investigation Group on Flying Saucers" at Wright Field. Then, tough and combative as he was, Johnson hesitated to send the report. After all, he was hoping to get a foot in the door of the Air Force's new covert strategic reconnaissance aircraft competition and was very concerned that a UFO report might jeopardize his credibility. He may have sought the advice of his friend, Lt General Donald Putt.

Source: http://ufxufo.org/stealth/lockiur.htm



There’s so much weirdness there, it’s a book by itself.

JFK got America to the moon and back in less than a decade. And things today change faster than ever and become seemingly more chaotic. Perhaps we need some good old fashioned friendly discussion and create a renewed sense of community. Then, we can roll up our sleeves and get some more really big work done.

colsohlibgal

(5,275 posts)
28. The Known Universe Is Enormous
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:18 AM
May 2021

And whose to say there aren’t multiple Dimensions.

Several Astronauts reported “bogeys” tailing them...after which NASA went to it’s private frequency.

Also one Astronaut is clearly heard saying that “the Alien Spacecraft is still under observation.”

The thought that it’s just us seems ludicrous.

brooklynite

(94,333 posts)
49. Very few people claim "it's only us"
Mon May 24, 2021, 07:48 AM
May 2021

But precisely BECAUSE the Universe is so vast, the technical capability to allow practical travel between those vast distances is so far above us that I find it hard to believe an alien ship wouldn't also have the technical capability to hide itself from detection.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
85. Passport to Magonia
Thu May 27, 2021, 08:03 AM
May 2021

I agree with you, colsohlibgal. Ours is an amazing universe or multiverse or cosmos. We know and understand but the smallest fraction of it.

The person, IMO, who best understands the phenomenon and its impact on our civilization, writes that UFOs seem to tell a story in a “language” that transfers meaning in a way that people in different times can relate and remember. The purpose may be to accelerate progress or instill new customs. We need, of course, more study.

http://www.autodidactproject.org/other/vallee_magonia.html



Three men and a woman, actually. They fell from the sky, it would seem, in the vicinity of Lyon in what’s now eastern France, early in the ninth century. They came from a place called Magonia.

So the local mob believed, as they prepared to stone them to death.

We have the story from Agobard, Archbishop of Lyon (c. 779-840), in a treatise directed against “the absurd opinion of the common folk concerning hail and thunder.” Agobard prided himself on his enlightenment; Scripture, not superstition, was for him the touchstone of truth. Here’s the story he tells, as translated by W. J. Lewis for the Internet Medieval Sourcebook:

“But we have seen and heard of many people overcome with so much foolishness, made crazy by so much stupidity, that they believe and say that there is a certain region, which is called Magonia, from which ships come in the clouds. In these ships the crops that fell because of hail and were lost in storms are carried back into that region; evidently these aerial sailors make a payment to the storm-makers, and take the grain and other crops. Among those so blinded with profound stupidity that they believe these things could happen we have seen many people in a kind of meeting, exhibiting four captives, three men and one woman, as if they had fallen from these very ships. As I have said, they exhibited these four, who had been chained up for some days, with such a meeting finally assembling in our presence, as if these captives ought to be stoned. But when truth had prevailed, however, after much argument, the people who had exhibited the captives, in accordance with the prophecy (Jeremiah 2:26) ‘were confounded … as the thief is confounded when he is taken.’ ”

This is a story well known in UFOlogical circles, for good reason. Forty-some years ago, it inspired the title of Jacques Vallee’s Passport to Magonia (Regnery, 1969), a stunningly original book that set forth the practically unheard-of possibility that it was possible to believe in UFOs without believing them to be visitors from outer space. Vallee noticed, and took seriously, the resemblance of the small humanoid beings who piloted the UFOs to the “wee folk” of European fairy lore. He suggested the two species of alien might have more in common than their small stature.

Not that the fairies and elves were misidentified spacemen, as the UFOlogists might have said. Nor (as the “debunkers” held) that UFOs are the same sort of nonsense as the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. Rather, both traditions attested to some realm beyond consensus reality, yet co-existing with ourselves through the length of human history. A realm that, for want of a better name, we might call “Magonia.”

Continues...

https://www.davidhalperin.net/the-mystery-men-of-magonia/

roamer65

(36,744 posts)
29. Another possibility.
Sun May 23, 2021, 12:29 AM
May 2021

Could it be our future “relatives” coming back for a look into their past? If they have solved temporal mechanics, our race 50,000 years from now would appear very “alien” to us.

As far as the speed of light, we don’t need to exceed it. Once we master the physics of gravity, we can bring points in space/time to us.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
71. Black holes as an "EXIT" from one Space-Time to another.
Tue May 25, 2021, 07:09 PM
May 2021
Five Amazing Facts About Black Holes –

“One-Way Doors Out of the Universe”


The Daily Galaxy
Posted on May 24, 2021

Nobel-Prize laureate Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, for whom NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory was named, described black holes as “the most perfect macroscopic objects there are in the universe: the only elements in their construction are our concepts of space and time.”

Strange Cosmic Paradoxes

These strange cosmic paradoxes, which Princeton quantum physicist John Archibald Wheeler coined “black holes,” have no memory, yet are said to contain the earliest memories of the universe, as well as the most recent, while at the same time obliterating all memory by obliterating all its manifestations.

And yet, like a hologram, black holes have two dimensions, in which gravity disappears, but they reproduce an object in three dimensions, aligning with Einstein’s theory of relativity, which describes black holes as three dimensional, simple, spherical, and smooth, as they appear in the famous image of the black hole in M87 captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in April 2019. An image, EHT director Shep Deleman described as “one-way doors out of the Universe.”



Chandra X-ray Close-up of the Core of M87, EHT Image of Black Hole below (X-ray: NASA/CXC/Villanova University/J. Neilsen, Radio: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration)

Continues...

https://dailygalaxy.com/2021/05/five-amazing-facts-about-black-holes-one-way-doors-out-of-the-universe/#more-42424

Wondrous times to live in, ours, roamer65.

ETA: Perhaps UFOs are doors into our universe? Or the universe itself is alive and communicates with us in symbols we can comprehend?

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
76. A Poem
Tue May 25, 2021, 09:24 PM
May 2021


THE FLYING SAUCER

by T/Sgt Barnes
March 1950

Hearing tales of little men
and speeding ships on high.
Around me all most every day,
I cast a weary eye.

Today I saw men gathered
around the hangar door.
They said they saw a Saucer.
A tiny ship they swore.

They pointed to the cloudless sky.
“Past Vapor Trails”, they sigh,
I saw a faroff something,
Shining in the sky.

We watched it hard, it seemed to move
As vapors drifted by
I felt the strangest feelings
Of course I know not why.

A weather baloon sent up to give
The weather for the day.
Some said a star that shines so bright,
We see it in the day.

Elusions, stars or man made things
Ships from other planets.
We watched, we talked and wondered.
But none of us could name it.

Because I could not give them
The answer is not given,
What is the thing that shines so bright
So far up in the heavens.

T/Sgt Barnes

FINIS

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
77. Compared to everyone else, Trump is the bottom of the barrel.
Wed May 26, 2021, 08:39 AM
May 2021

I found his statement, coming from the “mouth” of the “President,” chillingly moronic. The Pentagon, after 66 years of public denial said the UFO phenomenon is real and of an unknown nature. As about the only things Dumpy’s ever done in life serve mainly to advance his own interests, I figured his words were disinformation pointed to something important to consider.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
78. Logically so. However, there are tapes.
Wed May 26, 2021, 08:51 AM
May 2021

And now the Pentagon — if not CIA, NSA, and who knows what acronym from National Security State — has acknowledged them to be of things they cannot identify, performing maneuvers and acting in ways that cannot be replicated by current technologies.



When it comes to UFOs, or what the Pentagon refers to as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” the United States has “a massive intelligence failure on its hands,” said Christopher Mellon, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for intelligence.

“It’s extremely disturbing to think that, after spending hundreds of billions of dollars for so many years, and believing our airspace to be secure, in fact, we’ve had vehicles operating restricted military airspace with impunity on a recurring and sustained basis for many years,” said Mellon, who served under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/when-it-comes-to-ufos-us-has-a-massive-intelligence-failure-says-ex-defense-official.html



Why now? We may soon find out. As this is a democracy, I think We the People have a right to know and to decide what to do next.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
82. Tapes and photographs are evidence.
Wed May 26, 2021, 06:36 PM
May 2021

For example, Radar-Visual cases, where eyewitnesses have their testimony supported by radar records. Here’s an excellent example from Michigan in 1994:



Retired meteorologist shares his account of 1994 West Michigan UFO sightings

by Meteorologist Will Haenni | Newschannel 3Thursday, September 3rd 2020

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — "They were just moving so fast, and two more started coming into play there. I really had little time to describe where they were before they had moved and jumped again," said Jack Bushong, a retired meteorologist describing what he saw on radar the night of March 8, 1994.

Bushong spent his career working for the National Weather Service. On the night of March 8, 1994, he was manning the National Weather Service office by himself in Muskegon on a cold but routine night. The NWS no longer has an office or radar there after the government forecasting agency went through modernization and reorganization in the mid-90s.

Snip...

You could pretty much use it like a spotlight," Bushong said when describing the operation of the radar at the time. "I had two cranks to bring it up or down, or side to side. You pretty much sent it out searching for weather: any type of rain, sleet snow; or hail is what we were usually looking for when we took it off of automatic mode.”

Bushong recounts the object first appeared alone on radar returns. "It started as one," he said. "The object was coasting at about 100 miles per hour."

He said as he was watching the object, it stopped and started hovering. "And then it shot up, about 5,000 feet, then 10,000 feet I was getting it, just straight up," Bushong said. "At this point, the police officer was saying that he was seeing the same thing with that same object."

"It was almost as if, it was like it was saying to me, 'hey, I know you can see me,'" Bushong said. "Until that one got up to about 30, 40 thousand feet, and finally I saw it."

Continues...

https://wwmt.com/news/local/retired-meteorologist-shares-his-account-of-1994-west-michigan-ufo-sightings



Eyewitnesses on the ground included police officers who shared what they saw, brilliantly shining lights over Lake Michigan.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
79. I know. And I appreciate it.
Wed May 26, 2021, 08:53 AM
May 2021

And, as you know, when I’m wrong I admit it, apologize, and let bygones be bygones.

I forgive. But, no, I don’t forget.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
73. The Thing
Tue May 25, 2021, 08:28 PM
May 2021

From Who Goes There? in PDF:

..."I know," McReady acknowledged. "The thing is not Earthly. It does not seem likely that it can have a life­chemistry sufficiently like ours to make cross­infection remotely possible. I would say that there is no danger."

McReady looked toward Dr. Copper. The physician shook his head slowly. "None whatever," he asserted confidently. "Man cannot infect or be infected by germs that live in such comparatively close relatives as the snakes. And they are, I assure you," his clean­shaven face grimaced uneasily, "much nearer to us than ­ that."...

Roisin Ni Fiachra

(2,574 posts)
51. Who has more credibility? The fool who is the most prolific liar in US history,
Mon May 24, 2021, 08:17 AM
May 2021

or highly trained Navy pilots?

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
74. Absolutely credible USN witnesses. Truly fascinating reports, theirs.
Tue May 25, 2021, 09:07 PM
May 2021

Good bet Dumpy never read a word written by Dr. J. Allen Hynek or anything on one of his favorite reports, a Close Encounter of the Third Kind with about 30 witnesses.



Papua New Guinea Sighting (1959)

William B. Gill, an Anglican priest with a mission in Bosinai, Papas New Guinea, observed craft-like UFOs — one with Humanoid figures on top — on two consecutive evenings, June 26-27, 1959. About twenty-five natives, including teachers and medical technicians, also observed the phenomena. They “signaled” the humanoids and received an apparent response. This was one of sixty UFO sightings within a few weeks in the New Guinea area.

Snip...

As indicated by his notes, Gill saw a bright white light in the north western sky. It appeared to be approaching the mission and hovering about 100 metres up. Eventually 38 people, including Gill, teachers Steven Gill Moi and Ananias Rarata, and Mrs Nessle Moi, gathered to watch the main UFO, which looked like a large, disc-shaped object. It was apparently solid and circular with a wide base and narrower upper deck. The object appeared to have four ‘legs’ underneath it. There also appeared to be about four ‘panels’ or ‘portholes’ on the side of the object, which seemed to glow a little brighter than the rest. At a number of intervals the object produced a shaft of blue light which shone upwards into the sky at an angle of about 45 degrees.

What looked like ‘men’ came out of the object, onto what seemed to be a deck on top of it. There were four men in all, occasionally two, then one, then three, then four. The shaft of blue light and the ‘men’ disappeared. The object then moved through some clouds. There were other UFO sightings during the night. Gill described the weather as variable sky scattered clouds to clear at first, becoming overcast after. He estimated the height of the clouds at about 600 meters. The first sighting over the sea, according to Rev. Gill, seemed to be about 150 metres above the water all times. The main UFO was clearly visible and seemed mostly stationary during the twenty-five minutes of observation.

Astonishingly, the aerial visitor put in a repeat performance the following night, 27 June. Gill prepared another statement.

‘Large UFO first sighted by Annie Laurie at 6 p.m. in apparently same position as last night (26/6/59) only seemed a little smaller, when W.B.G. saw it at 6.02 p.m. I called Ananias and several others and we stood in the open to watch it. Although the sun had set it was still quite light for the following fifteen minutes. We watched figures appear on top four of them, no doubt that they are human. Possibly the same object that I took to be the “Mother” ship last night. Two smaller UFOs were seen at the same time, stationary.

One above the hills west, another over- head. On the large one two of the figures seemed to be doing something near the centre of the deck, were occasionally bending over and raising their arms as though adjusting or “setting up” something (not visible). One figure seemed to be standing looking down at us (a group of about a dozen). I stretched my arm above my head and waved. To our surprise the figure did the same. Ananias waved both arms over his head then the two outside figures did the same. Ananias and self began waving our arms and all four now seemed to wave back. There seemed to be no doubt that our movements were answered. All mission boys made audible gasps (of either joy or surprise, perhaps both).

Continues...

https://closeencounterproject.wordpress.com/papua-new-guinea-sighting/

More...

https://www.theblackvault.com/casefiles/father-gill-1959-papua-new-guinea-ufo-sighting/



Here’s audio of a lecture he made years later in Australia:


akbacchus_BC

(5,704 posts)
52. There are no UFOs as stupid trump thinks. He is fooling you all to make you think
Mon May 24, 2021, 08:20 AM
May 2021

that the ET helped Biden to win. This is 2021, no aliens around and if they were, the shit we are doing to the environment and animal habitats, they would have taken action to protect the wildlife and not us, the predators!! Think about it!

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
81. Harry Reid in May 21 NYT wrote there is something to it.
Wed May 26, 2021, 02:01 PM
May 2021
What We Believe About U.F.O.s

We still don’t know what they are — but we may be close to finding out.

Harry Reid, former US Senator
The New York Times, May 21, 2021

Excerpt...

Over the following years, as I became increasingly interested in U.F.O.s — in part through my conversations with former astronaut John Glenn, a fellow senator with a similar curiosity — my staff warned me not to be seen to engage on the topic. “Stay the hell away from this,” they said. I politely ignored them. I was inquisitive and, like Senator Glenn, I thought it was an issue that demanded attention, and I was in a position to act.

And act I did.

In 2007, while serving as Senate majority leader, I worked with Senators Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, and Daniel Inouye, a Democrat from Hawaii, to secure $22 million in funding for what would become known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. This clandestine Pentagon operation investigated reports of U.F.O.s and other related phenomena, including U.F.O. encounters involving American military personnel. Some videos and photographs documenting these astonishing encounters have since been made public, reigniting America’s longtime fascination with U.F.O.s.

Snip...

Until recently, many military pilots feared the possibility of retribution for reporting sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena. But I believed that an unofficial taboo regarding the frank discussion of encounters could harm our national security and stymie opportunities for technical advancement. Which is why, along with Senators Stevens and Inouye, I helped create that secret Pentagon program in 2007. We wanted to take a close, scientific look at the technological implications of reported U.F.O. encounters.

I believe that there is information uncovered by the government’s covert investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena that can be disclosed to the public without harming our national security. The American people deserve to know more — and hopefully they will soon, with the release of a comprehensive government report requested by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the military’s encounters with U.F.O.s. (The report is due in June, though it may be delayed.)

What have I personally learned from official investigations into unidentified aerial phenomena so far? The truth, disappointing as it may be, is that there’s still a great deal we don’t understand. It’s unclear whether the U.F.O.s we have encountered could have been built by foreign adversaries, whether our pilots’ visual perception during some encounters was somehow distorted, or whether we truly have credible evidence of extraterrestrial visitations. There may be other, as yet unknown explanations for some of these strange sightings.

Regardless, I believe it’s crucial to lead with the science when studying U.F.O.s. Focusing on little green men or conspiracy theories won’t get us far. Of course, whatever the science tells us, some portion of the public will continue to believe in the reality of otherworldly U.F.O.s as a matter of faith. Ultimately, the U.F.O. debate can be broken down into a sincere belief in science versus a sincere belief in extraterrestrials. I side with science.

Continues...

https://news.google.com/articles/CAIiEOsLrtgddIISu8Sv43m2Yz8qFwgEKg8IACoHCAowjuuKAzCWrzwwqIQY?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen

Dave Starsky

(5,914 posts)
53. We live in a time where there are high def cameras in literally everyone's pocket.
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:28 AM
May 2021

There is almost no place in occupied space on Earth where there isn't a security camera/GoPro/dashcam or some other sort of camera recording device pointed in one direction or another

And still, we can produce no evidence of extraterrestrial visitation any more consistent or compelling then the blurry pictures taken in the 1950s by Farmer Brown with his Kodak Brownie, of something that looks like a truck hubcap thrown in the air.

SMDH.

ecstatic

(32,652 posts)
65. Have you ever tried to film a plane or chopper?
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:02 PM
May 2021

You can see it pretty good in real life, but on the cam, it's a tiny spec.

Dave Starsky

(5,914 posts)
66. Still not buying it.
Mon May 24, 2021, 10:10 PM
May 2021

Our modern rapid information age has killed off Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster, too.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
84. Some of the best photos were taken by Rex Heflin, a government employee...
Wed May 26, 2021, 11:49 PM
May 2021

An employee of Orange County, California, Mr. Heflin took a series of four UFO images with his Polaroid while checking road signs that were being blocked by vegetation in 1965. Here's his first photo:



Note how the dust on the ground directly underneath the object is standing straight up. That is clear evidence for some type of unknown phenomenon.

Anne Druffel and associates studied the pictures and reported:



Excerpt...

Computer enhancement also confirmed that the UFO in Heflin’s photo is a large object, approximately 20 feet in diameter and more than 100 feet from the camera, as first estimated by Heflin. Kelson also independently detected an unusual blurring effect around the craft which he stated was not due to motion, camera focus, or to the gaussian effect. This correlates with Dr. Nathan’s finding 30 years prior of an unexplained fuzziness in the craft image.

Our reanalysis of the Heflin UFO photos in 2000 has led to the following conclusions:

1. The photos are totally consistent with Heflin’s written and verbal testimony regarding the sighting.
2. The photos depict a solid unidentified craft which is moving through the air, leaving a trail.
3. William Spaulding’s hoax conclusion in the mid-1970s was derived from faulty data.
4. The smoke-ring photo is linked by computer-enhancement data to the other three, by cloud and trail data which were previously unavailable.


There is evidence that for 28 years, three of the original four photos were in the hands of unknown persons who took good care of them while possibly accessing data from them. Why they were returned to Heflin under totally inexplicable circumstances remains an unsolved mystery.

The UFO field’s study of Rex Heflin’s incomparable photos continues, and will continue in years to come. Ongoing studies into more technical aspects are being conducted presently by Dr. Kelson, and there is more evidence emerging that the unexplained blur around the object might possibly be evidence of ionization, long speculated by many researchers and scientists in the field to be involved in UFO propulsion.

Source(via Wayback Machine Internet Archive):

http://www.anndruffel.com/articles/ufo/goodbyerexheflin.htm



Mr. Heflin was in the right place at the right time, with his camera at the ready, because photographing traffic accidents and roadway hazards were part of his job. Were it me that day in his stead, I likely would not get a single photo. Heck, I’d probably still be staring with my jaw on my chest.

FWIFW: There seem to be unreleased close-up photographs taken by USN pilots, going by recent revelations. With any luck, we might get to see what they show.

Caliman73

(11,725 posts)
56. "But people are saying they're seeing UFOs. Do I believe it? Not particularly."
Mon May 24, 2021, 12:48 PM
May 2021

Okay, that is just a stupid statement. "People are saying they are seeing UFO's ...Do I believe it? Not particularly" What is there to believe or not? His speech is so damned poor. He doesn't believe people are saying they are seeing UFO's? He doesn't believe there are UFO's? What is he even communicating here?

An intelligent person would say, "People are saying they are seeing UFO's. They may well be seeing something, but it is extremely unlikely those UFO's are extraterrestrials, we just have not current explanation for them hence UFO."

OR

"I think people want to believe that there is something out there, some other race of beings that would show we are not alone in the universe. I think that drives people to ascribe properties to things they cannot explain. There is a lot that we cannot explain out there, but there was a whole lot more until very recently in human history. Eventually we will be able to identify what those 'UFOs' are."

But Trump is not intelligent.

I wouldn't base anything on what Trump says. Not even the opposite of what he says. Trump is an idiot.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
69. Excellent points. What some science people said...
Tue May 25, 2021, 12:22 PM
May 2021

They agree with you, about the phenomenon, going from this in Scientific American:

‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena,’ Better Known as UFOs, Deserve Scientific Investigation

UAP are a scientifically interesting problem. Interdisciplinary teams of scientists should study them


By Ravi Kopparapu, Jacob Haqq-Misra
Scientific American on July 27, 2020

UFOs have been back in the news because of videos initially leaked, and later confirmed, by the U.S. Navy and officially released by Pentagon that purportedly show "unidentified aerial phenomena" (UAP) in our skies. Speculations about their nature have run the gamut from mundane objects like birds or balloons to visitors from outer space.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to say what these actually are, however, without context. What happened before and after these video snippets? Were there any simultaneous observations from other instruments, or sightings by pilots?

Judging the nature of these objects (and these seem to be “objects,” as confirmed by the Navy) needs a coherent explanation that should accommodate and connect all the facts of the events. And this is where interdisciplinary scientific investigation is needed.

Snip...

But we understand to an extent the nature of GRBs, supernovae and gravitational waves. How? Because we have not dismissed the phenomena or the people who observed them. We studied them. Astronomers have tools, so they can share the data they collected, even if some question their claim. Similarly, we need tools to observe UAP; radar, thermal, and visual observations will be immensely helpful. We must repeat here that this is a global phenomenon. Perhaps some, or even most, UAP events are simply classified military aircraft, or strange weather formations, or other misidentified mundane phenomena. However, there are still a number of truly puzzling cases that might be worth investigating.

Snip...

A template to perform a thorough scientific investigation can be found in James McDonald’s paper “Science in Default.” While he entertains the conclusion that these events could be extraterrestrials (which we do not subscribe to), McDonald’s methodology itself is a great example of objective scientific analysis. And this is exactly what we as scientists can do to study these events.

Continues...

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unidentified-aerial-phenomena-better-known-as-ufos-deserve-scientific-investigation/

Bet they agree with you about Dumpy. Sorry to have ever mentioned him.

Caliman73

(11,725 posts)
70. Definitely. Science, even with its flaws, is the best method that humans have of discovering fact.
Tue May 25, 2021, 01:45 PM
May 2021

I do not have any hard feelings about you mentioning Trump. He was the president of the United States. That should mean something. You have two presidents who have opined on this matter, with the third, Biden kind of deflecting.

The difference in the response that highlights the need to have actually intelligent people in high office, is noted in their response. President Obama highlighted the importance of finding out what those pilots and other people are seeing. He joked, but then seriously said that we do not at this time, have an understanding of what these objects or phenomena are. That is the statement of a man who understands the scientific method and who can note that there is something that needs to be explored, but should not be the subject of rampant speculation. We should in fact, take this seriously. Trump, on the other hand just murders the language on the issue. He speaks like someone for whom English is a foreign language (and I say this not to insult English language learners. Trump is almost aphasic. I totally understand what you were trying to communicate. Because Trump is such a devious fool, if he dismisses something, then there has to be something to it. I get it. I just can't take anything he says seriously one way or another. He offers absolutely NOTHING to any conversation.

If these are classified military aircraft, then there are national security matters, if they are nothing, then we should get an explanation. If they are extraterrestrial, then there is a matter of again, national security and the danger of mass panic, so there needs to be a way of communicating the identity of the objects in a way as to not panic the population. I am just glad that Trump is no longer in office during this time where more systematic exploration may be the order of the day. We saw how Trump handled a pandemic that several other countries were able to manage. I cannot imagine how he would handle the discovery that extraterrestrials are visiting earth.

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
86. Check out today's (Friday, May 28) POLITICO mag, then go through the thread.
Fri May 28, 2021, 11:47 AM
May 2021
How Harry Reid, a Terrorist Interrogator and the Singer From Blink-182 Took UFOs Mainstream

The hidden history of how Washington embraced a fringe field of science.


By BRYAN BENDER
Politico, 05/28/2021

Excerpt...

Over the next few years, (Harry) Reid told me, he went to multiple such meetings. As Bigelow, Alexander and the others were publishing obscure journal articles and compiling a database of UFO sightings, the most influential member of the group quietly broached the topic with some of his colleagues in Washington, including former astronaut and senator John Glenn. Reid ultimately enlisted the support of a handful of powerful committee chairs, including Ted Stevens of Alaska and Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, to fund hush-hush UFO research inside the Defense Department. The existence of that program was revealed publicly by POLITICO and the New York Times in mid-December 2017. One of the program’s main beneficiaries was an aerospace company owned by none other than Robert Bigelow.

Next month, the director of national intelligence, acting at the behest of Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, is scheduled to release a report that collects from across the government all relevant material on what the officials now call “unidentified aerial phenomena.” Regardless of what ultimately emerges in this report—whether it’s a trove of blockbuster reveals or a disappointing dud—the mere prospect has catalyzed a wave of mainstream coverage of government UFO research, from the New Yorker to “60 Minutes.” A bewildering and still highly controversial subject has achieved a surprising level of public respectability as a national security concern.

Reid had retired by the time his secret role in the program was revealed. But his willingness to talk openly now about the subject speaks to a profound change in the calculus of political and reputational risk. Far from a blot on his career, Reid sees it as a line to highlight on his legislative resume and he has no regrets about Bigelow benefiting from the program.

“I think that I have opened the door to people not being afraid to talk about it,” Reid now says. “I know that when I first got involved in this, people in the military were afraid to mention it for fear of it hurting their promotions. But now the Pentagon has told them they should report all these things that they see that are unusual. So we made a tremendous amount of progress.”

Continues...

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/05/28/ufos-secret-history-government-washington-dc-487900

Many of the people and ideas brought up in this thread are mentioned in today’s Politico cover story. To reiterate: I, like many of the people quoted in this thread and in the article, don’t know what UAP or UFOs are. Unsurprisingly, even when “President,” Dumpy has no clue or interest in what I find a fascinating topic. What I do want to do is to apply the principles of science to learn more.

Mr. Sparkle

(2,928 posts)
60. Then he went on to create the space force for some unknown reason...
Mon May 24, 2021, 09:03 PM
May 2021

and we all lived happily ever after!

Kid Berwyn

(14,795 posts)
83. Dr. Jacques Vallee should be science program director.
Wed May 26, 2021, 06:58 PM
May 2021


“I don’t think there is such a thing as “the flying saucer phenomenon.” I think it has three components and we have to deal with them in different ways.

First, there is a physical object. That may be a flying saucer or it may be a projection or it may be something entirely different. All we know about it is that it represents a tremendous quantity of electromagnetic energy in a small volume. I say that based upon the evidence gathered from traces, from electromagnetic and radar detection and from perturbations of the electromagnetic fields such as Dr. Claude Poher, the French space scientist, has recorded.

Second, there’s the phenomenon the witnesses perceive. What they tell us is that they’ve seen a flying saucer. Now they may have seen that or they may have seen an image of a flying saucer or they may have hallucinated it under the influence of microwave radiation, or any of a number of things may have happened. The fact is that the witnesses were exposed to an event and as a result they experienced a highly complex alteration of perception which caused them to describe the object or objects that figure in their testimony.

Beyond those — the physical phenomenon and the perception phenomenon — we have the third component, the social phenomenon. That’s what happens when the reports are submitted to society and enter the cultural arena. That’s the part which I find most interesting."

SOURCE: http://integralnews.blogspot.com/2008/01/jacques-vallees-integral-approach-to.html
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