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Welcome to the June 2008 round up of news and views on UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles, ghosts, the paranormal, the unexplained, the weird and the wonderful.
MoD UFO Files Released
As trailed in previous columns, the process of releasing the Ministry of Defence UFO files began last month. I had been working with the National Archives press office on this and knew the date well in advance, but could say nothing as the news was to be announced via an embargoed press release. This was global news and I had a manic week once the story broke, being interviewed on Newsnight, Larry King Live and countless other TV and radio shows, as well as giving interviews to and writing features for a number of national newspapers. The National Archives were delighted and the whole event was a massive success. The dedicated website set up to host the files received well over a million hits in the first few days. Check out http://ufos.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ for the details of this story.
Robbie Williams
Several national newspapers including The Sun recently picked up on the fact that Robbie Williams has become interested in ufology. Indeed, Robbie has recently joined the Above Top Secret forum - http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/ - where people discuss personal UFO sightings and their opinions about the subject more generally. He posts in the Aliens & UFOs section and needless to say, members are delighted that a genuine superstar has joined up and gone public on his interest and indeed on a number of UFO sighting he has witnessed himself. I met Robbie when he dropped in to the UFO Congress held at Laughlin earlier this year. He is a nice guy and his interest is entirely genuine. Of course, Robbie is not the first pop star to have an interest in UFOs. John Lennon and David Bowie are just two of the many other music stars to have had an interest. But having any high-profile figure speaking about the subject in such a positive way is always going to help raise awareness and bring new people to the subject.
Now That's Weird
Later this month I'll be making my only UK conference appearance this year. Organised by author and Glastonbury Radio host Ross Hemsworth, the Now That's Weird Conference is scheduled to take place on the Summer Solstice weekend, 21 and 22 June. The conference will take place in the Assembly Rooms on the High Street in Glastonbury. Speakers will include Professors JJ and Desiree Hurtak, Paola Harris, Andrew Collins, Malcolm Robinson and Adrian Gilbert. Topics will include the Keys of Enoch, UFOs, Mayan prophesies, stargates, ghosts, Rosslyn Chapel and EVP. I will be giving a new presentation entitled Spinning The Saucers, detailing how news management techniques are used by the government to ensure the subject is presented in a way that best suits the MoD. However, given the interest in the newly-released MoD UFO files, I'll be discussing this too. Check out www.nowthatsweird.co.uk for more details, but book quickly and be aware that if you need accommodation you will need to get in fast, as hotels and guest houses can be hard to come by on the Solstice weekend.
MUFON 39th International UFO Symposium
My next US conference appearance will be at the Mutual UFO Network annual symposium on 24 - 27 July. The event will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose and speakers include General Wilfried De Brouwer, Dr. Anthony Choy, Captain Rodrigo Garrido, Budd Hopkins and Leslie Kean. I will also be giving a presentation which will include an update on the release of the MoD archive of UFO files. Check out http://www.mufon.com/symposia.htm for further details.
Doritos
Earlier this year Doritos announced their You Make It, We Play It campaign, aimed at getting film-makers to design a 30 second commercial which will then be beamed into space. The advert, in the form of a message created by a member of the public, will be beamed out this month from the EISCAT space centre in Norway. The broadcast will be aimed at a star known as UMa47, which is very much like our own sun. It is only 42 light years away, so if there is any intelligent life on any planets that orbit the star, the message will be received by 2050. Earlier this year NASA broadcast the Beatles song Across The Universe towards the North Star, some 431 light years from Earth. I am a great supporter of SETI and think the Doritos broadcast is a fun and funky way to make the subject more accessible to the general public. Check out http://www.doritos.co.uk/ for more details.
Crop Circles
The first crop circles of the 2008 season have already begun to appear in the fields. Check out http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/interface2005.htm and http://www.circlemakers.org/ for news about the formations as they appear, as well as for wider information about the phenomenon, from two very different perspectives.Ed's Note:
Nick Pope has written four books. Open Skies, Closed Minds is an overview of the UFO phenomenon with the emphasis on his official Ministry of Defence research and investigation. The Uninvited is an overview of the alien abduction mystery. Operation Thunder Child and Operation Lightning Strike are science fiction novels about alien invasion, incorporating UFO and abduction data. All four titles are available from most good bookshops and all the usual Internet book sites.
Nick Pope has a website, which can be accessed at www.nickpope.net |
