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Welcome to the January 2010 round up of news and views on UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles, ghosts, the paranormal, the unexplained, the weird and the wonderful.
2012
In my previous column I observed that with The Fourth Kind (alien abductions) and The Men Who Stare At Goats (remote viewing) we had two paranormal themed movies out at once. I should perhaps also have mentioned 2012. This movie is based on the theory that the ancient Mayan calendar says that the world will end on 21st December 2012. It's a great film, but will doubtless fuel the wider 2012 Mayan end-time prophesy debate, which is increasingly being linked to the Nibiru/Planet X controversy and even to the idea of a false flag alien invasion. All this is doubtless very interesting, but as someone who studies and commentates in the media on conspiracy theories, there's a darker side, if vulnerable people believe these sorts of things. In reality, as with the idea that the world would end in 1999, the date will pass without incident and the whole thing will be quietly forgotten. So by all means take an interest in all this - but don't have nightmares!
27 November 2009
In the event, the date passed without incident, just as the world didn't end in 1999, despite the predictions of Nostradamus. 27th November was the day when, if the rumours were to be believed, President Obama was to have announced to the world that UFOs were real and that we've been visited by intelligent extraterrestrials. It's not entirely clear where these rumours started, but a number of American UFO researchers claim to have sources close to the US government. The rumour really took off on the internet, with discussion on thousands of websites, blogs, forums and email lists. These sorts of predictions surface from time to time, so I'm sure we won't have to wait too long for the next one!
UFO Info Weekend
I am sorry to announce that after a couple of postponements, the proposed UFO Info Weekend in Florida, publicised in previous columns, has now been cancelled.
Intruders Foundation December 2009 Seminar
Col. Charles Halt is to give a presentation in New York, discussing the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident and his role in events. Halt has appeared on numerous documentaries and chat shows, but it's rare for him to give a talk. Here's what the Intruders Foundation website says:
On Saturday, December 5, 2009, we are honoured to present Air Force Col.Charles Halt (ret.), the former deputy base commander at RAF
Bentwaters, as the speaker for our next Intruders Foundation Seminar. What has become known as one of the most significant UFO incidents in modern memory occurred in December, 1980, when, during several nights, UFOs appeared flying over, and even landing near, a highly secure Air Force base in the UK which at the time housed the largest Tactical Fighting Wing in the US Air Force. Temporarily the acting base commander, Col. Halt was asked to investigate a series of strange lights in the forest abutting the air base, and the rest is UFO
history. He took with him a small cassette recorder as he entered the woods, and, accompanied with a small detachment of soldiers, he
recorded the ensuing events in a harrowing and now famous tape which he will play at the seminar. Among other incidents that night, he will
describe a hovering UFO which sent a concentrated light beam down at his feet, and the varying kinds of physical evidence he discovered at
the scene.
Check out www.intrudersfoundation.org for more details of this and other Intruders Foundation events.
2009 UFO Sighting Figures
It's going to be close. When sometime in January MoD release figures showing how many UFO reports were received in 2009, it may break the previous record of 750, which dates back to 1978. While many recent sightings have been attributable to Chinese lanterns, sightings are at a 10 year high and the record may fall. Even this would not reflect the true extent of the situation, because many people who see a UFO don't report it, either because they don't know who to contact or because they fear ridicule or disbelief. Furthermore not all reports that are made find their way to the MoD. While a national reporting system should ensure MoD get any reports sent to military bases, airports and police stations, reports to the media or to civilian UFO groups or researchers are not picked up. So MoD's figures are the tip of the iceberg.
The Art of Close Encounters
For arty types with an interest in UFOs and extraterrestrials, check out The Art of Close Encounters, by Kim Carlsberg. Here's the product information from the website:
The Art Of Close Encounters is a compilation of compelling stories accompanied by stunning artwork by people who have had, studied, or been influenced by "Close encounters". The encounter art categories include: Research Encounter Art, Sightings Encounter Art, Abduction Encounter Art, Dream Encounter Art, Contact Encounter Art, Inspired Encounter Art, Psychic Encounter Art, Celestial Encounter Art and Extraordinary Encounter Art which includes: Angels, Crop Circles, Channeling, Big Foot, Fairies, Ghosts, Unidentified Beings, OBEs, Near Death, and God, etc. The book is double page spreads ... story on the left side, corresponding art on the right side. It is my third book on the subject of UFOs and Close Encounters and may I humbly add ... by far the best! Please enjoy and if you have had an encounter you would like to share "The Art Of Close Encounters, Volume II" is already underway.
Check out www.outtherezone.com for further details.
Nick Pope Website
On a personal note, my website has just had a major redesign, with various stylistic improvements and some new content. I hope this will be of interest to those who follow my work, so please check out www.nickpope.net and have a browse.
Review of the Year
As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, I thought I'd pick out a few highlights from 2009. The year started with one of those stories that really captured the public imagination, when locals in Conisholme in Lincolnshire were awoken by what sounded like an explosion. The following morning it was discovered that a wind turbine had been damaged, prompting theories that something (a UFO or a secret prototype aircraft were two popular theories) had hit it. The Sun (who have championed the UFO issue and put UFO stories on the front page twice in 2009) ran the story which was subsequently picked up by news outlets all around the world. Another big story was the Ministry of Defence releasing two further batches of UFO files to the National Archives. As was the case with previous releases, I was heavily involved in the process and was at the centre of the media firestorm, giving numerous newspaper, TV and radio interviews. I've been globetrotting too and as well as a number of UK conferences have spoken at events in Washington DC, Roswell, Barcelona and Istanbul. Further proof that interest in UFOs - like the sightings themselves - is not confined to any one country or continent: it's global.
The Sun put a UFO story on the cover of the paper
MoD UFO Project Axed
With effect from 1st December 2009, the Ministry of Defence terminated its UFO project, ending over 50 years of research and investigation. The news was slipped out in a way designed not to attract attention, by making an amendment to an existing document in the Freedom of Information section of the MoD website, entitled "How to report a UFO sighting". The announcement states that "in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom" and goes on to say that "MOD will no longer respond to reported UFO sightings or investigate them". Having worked on the UFO project from 1991 to 1994 I am sorry to see MoD disengage in this way. I believe that where evidence suggests that UK airspace has been penetrated by an unidentified object, this must automatically be of defence interest and should be investigated properly. Indeed, I am sure that sightings from pilots and uncorrelated targets tracked on radar will continue to be looked at, albeit outside of a formally constituted UFO project. From the Fifties to the present day, MoD received around 12,000 UFO reports. While most were misidentifications of ordinary objects and phenomena, around 5% remained unexplained. The ongoing programme to declassify and release MoD's old UFO files will not be affected by this decision. Batches of files will continue to be released to the National Archives at regular periods, with an estimated completion date of 2011. Biography:
Author, journalist and TV personality Nick Pope used to run the British Government's UFO Project and is now recognised as one of the world's leading experts on UFOs, the unexplained and conspiracy theories.
Check out www.nickpope.net for more information about Nick. |
