The purpose of this blog is the creation of an open, international, independent and free forum, where every UFO-researcher can publish the results of his/her research. The languagues, used for this blog, are Dutch, English and French.You can find the articles of a collegue by selecting his category. Each author stays resposable for the continue of his articles. As blogmaster I have the right to refuse an addition or an article, when it attacks other collegues or UFO-groupes.
Druk op onderstaande knop om te reageren in mijn forum
Zoeken in blog
Deze blog is opgedragen aan mijn overleden echtgenote Lucienne.
In 2012 verloor ze haar moedige strijd tegen kanker!
In 2011 startte ik deze blog, omdat ik niet mocht stoppen met mijn UFO-onderzoek.
BEDANKT!!!
Een interessant adres?
UFO'S of UAP'S, ASTRONOMIE, RUIMTEVAART, ARCHEOLOGIE, OUDHEIDKUNDE, SF-SNUFJES EN ANDERE ESOTERISCHE WETENSCHAPPEN - DE ALLERLAATSTE NIEUWTJES
UFO's of UAP'S in België en de rest van de wereld Ontdek de Fascinerende Wereld van UFO's en UAP's: Jouw Bron voor Onthullende Informatie!
Ben jij ook gefascineerd door het onbekende? Wil je meer weten over UFO's en UAP's, niet alleen in België, maar over de hele wereld? Dan ben je op de juiste plek!
België: Het Kloppend Hart van UFO-onderzoek
In België is BUFON (Belgisch UFO-Netwerk) dé autoriteit op het gebied van UFO-onderzoek. Voor betrouwbare en objectieve informatie over deze intrigerende fenomenen, bezoek je zeker onze Facebook-pagina en deze blog. Maar dat is nog niet alles! Ontdek ook het Belgisch UFO-meldpunt en Caelestia, twee organisaties die diepgaand onderzoek verrichten, al zijn ze soms kritisch of sceptisch.
Nederland: Een Schat aan Informatie
Voor onze Nederlandse buren is er de schitterende website www.ufowijzer.nl, beheerd door Paul Harmans. Deze site biedt een schat aan informatie en artikelen die je niet wilt missen!
Internationaal: MUFON - De Wereldwijde Autoriteit
Neem ook een kijkje bij MUFON (Mutual UFO Network Inc.), een gerenommeerde Amerikaanse UFO-vereniging met afdelingen in de VS en wereldwijd. MUFON is toegewijd aan de wetenschappelijke en analytische studie van het UFO-fenomeen, en hun maandelijkse tijdschrift, The MUFON UFO-Journal, is een must-read voor elke UFO-enthousiasteling. Bezoek hun website op www.mufon.com voor meer informatie.
Samenwerking en Toekomstvisie
Sinds 1 februari 2020 is Pieter niet alleen ex-president van BUFON, maar ook de voormalige nationale directeur van MUFON in Vlaanderen en Nederland. Dit creëert een sterke samenwerking met de Franse MUFON Reseau MUFON/EUROP, wat ons in staat stelt om nog meer waardevolle inzichten te delen.
Let op: Nepprofielen en Nieuwe Groeperingen
Pas op voor een nieuwe groepering die zich ook BUFON noemt, maar geen enkele connectie heeft met onze gevestigde organisatie. Hoewel zij de naam geregistreerd hebben, kunnen ze het rijke verleden en de expertise van onze groep niet evenaren. We wensen hen veel succes, maar we blijven de autoriteit in UFO-onderzoek!
Blijf Op De Hoogte!
Wil jij de laatste nieuwtjes over UFO's, ruimtevaart, archeologie, en meer? Volg ons dan en duik samen met ons in de fascinerende wereld van het onbekende! Sluit je aan bij de gemeenschap van nieuwsgierige geesten die net als jij verlangen naar antwoorden en avonturen in de sterren!
Heb je vragen of wil je meer weten? Aarzel dan niet om contact met ons op te nemen! Samen ontrafelen we het mysterie van de lucht en daarbuiten.
16-03-2017
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING? Obama, Bush and the Clintons ALL DODGE the UFO question
WHAT ARE THEY HIDING? Obama, Bush and the Clintons ALL DODGE the UFO question
US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is on a one-man-mission to get the "truth" about aliens and UFOs out there.
And after asking Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W Bush for information, some say the lack of response is very telling.
The former Presidents and Secretary of State have been grilled on Jimmy Kimmel Live over the past two years – being asked whether they had access to alleged top-secret files on the existence of aliens, and if so what they saw.
Each time, he put it to them straight, asking what they had seen and what they would divulge.
And, each time, he was met with a similar response.
The four top-drawer politicians laughed awkwardly, side-stepped the question, but refused to say outright there are no secret files or that there is no evidence of any alien visitations of Earth.
GETTY
Former presidents squirmed their way through a UFO grilling by Jimmy Kimmel.
Alien conspiracy theorists claim that the US Government does have evidence of alien visitations, but it has been kept secret from the public for years amid fears of the impact it would have on religion and the rule of law if we knew we were not alone.
They claim a so-called "truth embargo" prevents anyone speaking out about the real facts.
UFO blogger Cheryl Costa, who has keenly followed the questioning unfold wrote about her view of Mr Kimmel's mission and the responses thus far.
She said: "He has asked three former US presidents and a presidential candidate the same query about UFOs.
"All of them brushed it off. Some side stepped it with a laugh, others with an uncomfortable snicker claiming they can’t talk about it.
"Jimmy Kimmel is an entertainer and should be commended for bringing up the topic in front of a national television audience that a majority of Americans want to know the answer to. But why is Kimmel the one asking this challenging question?
GETTY
Hillary Clinton vowed to open up the UFO files if she made it to the White House.
All of them brushed it off. Some side stepped it with a laugh, others with an uncomfortable snicker claiming they can’t talk about it.
Cheryl Costa
“Why haven’t journalists affiliated with mainstream news stations or newspapers or, better yet, the White House press corps asked the same hard question?
"Do these world-class journalists feel that a question about UFOs and the extraterrestrial presence is silly and nonsensical?"
The Paradigm Research Group (PRG) was set up by Steve Bassett, who is the only registered lobbyist in the US on the subject of UFO disclosure.
He is trying to get more mainstream media in the US, UK and further afield to take the subject seriously, an cheap pressure on this allegedly in the know as Jimmy Kimmel has.
He said: "After 20 years of dealing with the media on the extraterrestrial issue, I can say with full confidence the number one concern is ridicule.
"I have talked with more than a few reporters who are not afraid to dodge bullets in Iraq, but petrified they might be the butt of a joke on a late night talk show.
"The extraterrestrial truth embargo is an intellectual ghetto where the walls are not built of brick and mortar, but of ridicule. They are walls in the mind.
"Should anyone be surprised absent a full and determined commitment to the truth of all things by fearless journalism from the Fourth Estate, that systemic, institutional lying is approaching full normalisation in America?
"Ending the ET truth embargo is the way back from this nightmare. Who wants to go first?"
AMONG US: Police have admitted to sending out officers to investigate UFO sightings
Lancashire Police dispatched bobbies to probe the potential alien invasions over the past two years.
The force admitted its officers had found no proof any 'alien craft' existed.
In response to a Freedom Of Information request the force admitted it responded after UFOs were seen over Lytham St Annes, near Blackpool, and Buckshaw Village, near Chorley, in 2014.
GETTY
PROBE: A 'beam of light from a UFO' was reported over Burnley in 2015
“Sometimes these calls are not what they may seem so a potential UFO call could be a suspicious light or suspicious movement”
Lancashire Police spokesman
Police sent officers to investigate after two 'crafts' were spotted over Pendle Hill in 2015.
A 'beam of light from a UFO' was reported over Burnley and two more alien craft were seen over Fleetwood that same year. Last year (2016) red and white UFOs were seen near Fleetwood.
Police went sent out to probe a reported alien abduction in Accrington last March (2016).
A month later they were called to a UFO 'landing' in Marsden Park, Nelson, near Burnley.
GETTY
HISTORY BOOKS: Lancashire has a long history of UFO sightings
Eye-shaped UFO spotted in the skies above Gloucester
Lancashire has a long history of UFO sightings.
One in Burnley in November 1995 prompted 250 calls after members of the public claimed to have seen an object in the sky travelling at high speed towards Hebden Bridge in neighbouring West Yorkshire.
A Lancashire Police spokesman said the force responded to such calls not to search for aliens but in case they revealed more down-to-earth 'suspicious' behaviour.
"With any call received into the control room the operator assesses each and identifies any risk/threat/harm,'' a police spokesman said. "The operator provides the appropriate response to this which may include deploying an officer.
"Sometimes these calls are not what they may seem so a potential UFO call could be a suspicious light or suspicious movement. "That could mean any number of things and we would assess and deploy officers if required.
"Or there could be a concern for the caller's welfare.''
Astronomer Andy Sierolawski, from the Todmorden Observatory based on the moors above the Lancashire town, said: "We get asked if we have ever seen anything all the time.
"Saturn and Venus as well as aircraft can very easily be mistaken for something else."
A witness describes encounter with the "Phoenix Lights" 20 years ago and and its lasting impact at the UFO Congress in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Wochit
The "Phoenix Lights" incident remains a big deal to UFO researchers worldwide even 20 years later because thousands reported witnessing the phenomenon.
We know the official explanation that the lights in the sky and possible craft were military flares left many, especially among UFO and extraterrestrial believers, unsatisfied. We know that the curiosity about it probably isn't going to go away anytime soon.
Several hundred people attended "The Importance of the Phoenix Lights-Mass UFO Sighting" panel discussion earlier this week as part of the International UFO Congress in Scottsdale.
Panelists included witness to lights
Richard Dolan, a UFO writer and researcher, host of a weekly radio program and guest on the shows "Hangar One" and "Ancient Aliens";
Dr. Lynne Kitei, a witness to the lights and author of "Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone";
Jim Mann, director of Arizona MUFON (Mutual UFO Network), an investigative and research organization.
The panel was moderated by James Fox, a director of three UFO documentaries.
Here are a few things you may not know about the lights, according to the panel:
1. Mysterious lights were spotted in the months before March 13, 1997.
Two months before Phoenix became a hotbed of UFO interest, some reported seeing strange lights in the month before, including panelist Kitei.
2. It's called, the Phoenix Lights, but the mass sightings began in another state.
UFO researchers report that before the lights were seen over Phoenix, they were first spotted near Henderson, Nev. Afterward, they were spied in Mexico.
"We call it the Phoenix Lights, but it's really not completely accurate," said Richard Dolan, referencing the sightings hours earlier in Nevada. "... You're talking about two distinctive types of events. Could be related. Could be the same thing. Could be something different."
3. It took three months for news of the mass sightings to 'go viral.'
The event happened in the middle of March, but it didn't become general knowledge until June 18, 1997, when USA TODAY put a brief headlined, "Skies, phone lines light up Ariz." on the front page.
4. Even among some UFO investigators, there is not enough evidence to say it was extraterrestrial-related.
"Do we have evidence that it was an extraterrestrial event? No," said MUFON investigator Mann. "We have evidence that it was an extremely bizarre event. We can't put a label on it other than it was an anomaly."
Mann added that Arizona MUFON investigated 325 cases of reported UFOs last year. The majority were explained, 12 were filed away as unknown.
5. Seeing the lights caused an unnatural reaction, according to some witnesses.
Panelists shared that instead of being awed and immediately wanting to discuss what they saw, some witnesses reported a sort of temporary amnesia. Moderator Fox shared that while interviewing some hospice workers for one of his UFO documentaries about the event, they shared that they watched the lights appear and disappear over a period of time but didn't say a word about it. "We went right back to our tea," Fox said a woman told him.
Mann said he spoke to a man who reported that he stopped his car on the side of the road and watched with several others as a craft "slowly glided overhead. Not a word was spoken. After it went on by, everyone got in their car and drove home."
Things To Do app: Get the best in events, dining and travel right on your device
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
The 1973 Pascagoula Alien Abduction Case
The 1973 Pascagoula Alien Abduction Case
The 1973 Pascagoula Alien Abduction Case, Mississippi, USA
On the evening of October 11th, 1973, nineteen-year-old Calvin Parker and forty-two-year-old Charles Hickson were fishing on Pascagoula river, Mississippi, USA. before experiencing something that would change their lives forever.
They preferred to go fishing at night as the fish are said to be easier to catch. But, when they heard a strange buzzing near them, they turned around to see a strange egg-shaped object floating a few feet above the water. They reported that the object had a “blueish lighting”, and despite being out on their own, with no one else around, the object managed to get within 10 feet of them without them being aware of it (until of course they heard the buzzing and noticed it). As they froze to the spot and gazed at the UFO, they reported that a frontal door opened and they saw three beings. In the report, they say the beings were of “unknown origin coming straight to them” and described them as being; about 5ft tall, with bullet shaped heads, no necks, small slits for mouths, and their noses and ears were thin cone like objects protruding out, described like the carrots you would put on a snowman.
This is where the stories seems to have a discrepancy… One story is that both men were awake, but another states that Parker (age 19) fainted.
Whichever is true, Hickson was awake during the events that followed.
The beings were reported to have legs, but when approaching the two men from their UFO, they didn’t use them, instead, they floated (or hovered forward) over the water. When the beings approached and touched them, Hickson, still frozen in fear, said he felt a numbness come over his entire body, ultimately leading to what he believed (in our understanding) to be temporary paralysis.
This is where there is another discrepancy… One story is that the two men were picked up by the beings and taken to the craft, while another shares Hickson’s description of the event was that he was held and somehow floated across the water with the guidance of the beings. It’s a small discrepancy, but either way, the two men ended up on thecraft.
Once inside, the two men were separated, and the only further account is from that of Hickson as Parker had fainted and was still said to be unconscious.
Hickson recalls being led to a brightly lit room, and still floating, he was never put on the ground during his time in the UFO. He was levitating while what he describes as an “eye-like object” hovered over his body, thought to be conducting a test, in his words “scanning” him. He said this “scan” lasted 20 minutes, after which time, the beings led him out the room, and he, still under the guidance of the beings, floated back to the river banks where he was reunited with Parker. Parker was now conscious and was crying and praying, clearly aware of what was happening. The beings then put Hickson on the ground, returned to their egg-shaped object (UFO) and the doors closed. The object took off, and was never seen by the two men again.
Immediately after the event, they wanted to tell the public about their Pascagoula alien abduction story, in an attempt to alert people… and prevent others from going through the same ordeal? It is said they wanted to be careful about how they shared their story, so they contacted their local Air Force base, Keeslar. The Air Force told them they needed to report it to their local sheriff’s office, but Parker and Hickson knew the sheriff’s office would dismiss it as a joke or a hoax. Deciding to go with the newspaper, they attempted to contact them, but by now, it was very late and the newspaper office was shut, so they begrudgingly went to the sheriff’s office to explain the events of that evening.
Right away, officers thought it was a hoax. They put the men in an interview room, and unknowingly to the two abductees, the room was wired and the sheriff’s could hear their entire conversation. Expecting to hear them plotting what to say, maybe laughing about fooling everyone with their story, the Sheriffs actually heard something far different; the two men were talking about the events from that evening and were both still in complete fear. Deciding the two may be telling the truth, the Sheriffs heard them out and the case was documented.
The story got out and spread like wild fire, getting the attention of many researchers. It is said that someone tried to hypnotize Hickson, but going back to such a frightened state, the hypnosis was stopped.
Hickson also took it upon himself to undergo a polygraph test. There is much skepticism surrounding this element of the story though. Hickson apparently used a very inexperienced tester to conduct the polygraph (maybe unknowingly), and when requested to do another polygraph with a professional police tester, Hickson refused. He did pass the original polygraph test, but there is not a clear reason why he refused the police test, which has led many to believe it was a hoax.
The 1973 Pascagoula Alien Abduction case had a lot of time and research dedicated to it, but with no evidence of the events, and Hickson and Parker being the only two witnesses, it’s not considered very credible for researchers as, say, the Rendlesham Forest incident, for example. Furthermore, Parker was said to once report events from inside the UFO, despite previously saying he was unconscious throughout the ordeal.
Do you think the two came up with the idea to spread a story of being abducted by extra-terrestrials or do you think the Pascagoula Alien Abduction was an event that unfolded just how they said, and the discrepancies came from confusion, fear, and inaccurate recollections of their memories? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Hickson passed way a few years back, but here is a brief interview with Parker, who still claims to remember the events from inside the craft:
Regional media have reported an upsurge in sightings and odd events in the part of the country known for its mysterious happenings, legends and crop circles - of course allegedly caused by alien visitors.
Somerset Live reports that there have been two UFO sightings just weeks after claims an alien being was seen in country town Yeovil, in Somerset.
The website said: "In December we had an alien spotted wearing a Stetson Hat near Yeovil College.
"Now two more possible unexplained sightings have been reported online. Sadly no alien drawings this time though."
A witness reported to the UFO Stalker website seeing a UFO in the sky above Lysander Road and the A3088 in Yeovil on March 4.
In a report to UFO Stalker, the unnamed witness said: "I didn't see anything at the time, we took a photo of the scenery near Lysander Road.
"The sun was pretty bright so we couldn't see anything at the time.
"We noticed it later on in the photo when we got home. I think the direction of the object was west."
GETTY
There has been an upsurge in suspected UFO sightings in the west country.
Often people mistake planets in the early morning sky for UFOs, and when filmed at close zoom, they can cause some bizarre visual effects that look like shape-shifting to be recorded.
Scott Brando, who runs website ufoofinterest.org said that the photograph taken into the sun in Yeovil was just a lens flare.
This happens when light refracts inside the camera lens, creating strange orbs or circles on the picture, which were not actually there.
It is common when aiming a camera at the sun.
He says he has yet to find a UFO picture or video that cannot be explained.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: Truth about claims of 'alien UFO undersea bases off Malta'
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: Truth about claims of 'alien UFO undersea bases off Malta'
ALIEN conspiracy theorists claimed there were extraterrestrials living in undersea bases surrounding Malta after a bizarre UFO was allegedly snapped in the deep blue skies above the holiday island.
Scott C Waring, editor of ufosightingsdaily.com, described the object as a "croissant-shaped UFO" in a post on his website, which went onto suggest Malta was a mecca for aliens due to it being surrounded by ocean.
Mr Waring claimed Malta was an ideal location for "spotting alien objects as the tiny island off the coast of North Africa is surrounded by sea on all sides and is often frequented by sunny, clear skies."
The case was originally reported to the US-based Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), which keeps a global database of alleged UFO and alien sightings.
The unnamed witness said in a report to MUFON it was snapped in Marsaskala.
MUFON
The UFO has since been identified as likely to be a Red Admiral butterfly.
Are the objects flying over Giza pyramids alien UFOs?
They wrote: “It was a sunny day and I was taking photographs of the view and in three photographs the item appeared and I began noticing it for 15 minutes or so.
"Then it disappeared over the ocean.”
The image was reportedly taken in October last year, but has only just been reported to MUFON.
Mr Waring then took the leap to make his wild suggestion.
A #UFO flying over #Malta? It's most likely a butterfly like this.
Scott Brando
He wrote: "Most of the alien bases are below the ocean. I assume this since the ocean covers 75 percent of the Earth's surface, that means 75 percent of the Earth's surface is mostly unwatched because there are few humans out there except on a few ships and boats.
"Since aliens can build bases in space that are air tight, and below the surface of Venus, it's just logical that aliens would utilise the untapped resource of our oceans to build bases."
So it is much more theory than fact.
But, Mr Waring's theory has been blasted out of the water... after it emerged the UFO in question was likely to be just a fluttering butterfly.
Scott Brando, who runs hoax-busting website ufoofinterest.org, examined the pictures and concluded it was just a Red Admiral, a butterfly commonly found in the UK and across Europe.
Mr Brando claims there is yet to be a picture or video taken of an alleged UFO that cannot be explained.
He tweeted: "A #UFO flying over #Malta? It's most likely a butterfly like this."
He then linked to a series of pictures of the Red Admiral that looked remarkably like the alleged UFO in the MUFON report.
It does have three lights which could mean its a TR-3B military craft, but its hard to tell at night.
Scott C Waring
"Two were red and one white, flashing very fast.
"I recorded it for a few seconds from my car, until the video went out of focus, then pulled into my driveway and went inside to tell people to come look.
"My brother-in-law came outside and saw it as well."
The witness said they started recording again and "its white light changed to red and began pulsating slowly with the other two lights now turned off".
They added: "It then flickered its lights and changed the red pulsating light back to white, continued to pulsate, and then went back to flashing again for the remainder of the time I watched.
In the meantime Express.co.uk sent the footage to UFO investigator Scott Brando, who is renowned for exposing hoax and misinterpreted pictures and videos.
He said many reported so-called triangular UFOs turn out to be just aircraft navigation or landing lights.
He said: "The three lights could be related to aircraft, but it's really hard to identify it as airliner or military aircraft.
"In this case I can only say that those three lights could be related to navigation lights by a plane or a different aircraft."
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
Google balloon mistaken for UFO as it crashes in Colombia
Google balloon mistaken for UFO as it crashes in Colombia
Image copyrightCOLOMBIAN POLICEImage captionColombian police retrieved the object and took it to a police station
Farmers living in central Tolima province in Colombia say they were terrified when an object they took to be a UFO crashed in a field on Sunday.
"It was smoking and a strange liquid was leaking from it," a resident of the small town of San Luis said.
Police have since identified the object as an internet balloon developed by X, a company founded by Google, to boost the signal in rural areas.
It is not yet clear what caused the balloon to crash.
'From outer space'
Tolima police commander Jorge Esguerra denied previous reports on Twitter and local media which had described the object as a satellite.
Image copyrightTWITTERImage captionSome locals assumed the "strange object which fell from the sky" was a satellite
"It's a technological device used by Google which moves around and is held aloft by a balloon," he explained, adding that it formed part of X's Project Loon.
X, which was formerly known as Google X, is using the devices to extend internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas by having the balloons, which travel on the edge of space, relay the signal.
Media captionProject Loon uses balloons to try to expand internet coverage to remote locations
But many people in the rural area near San Luis where it crashed said they were convinced it was something more sinister.
"We all thought it was a UFO or the remains of a space craft," locals told El Tiempo newspaper.
It is not the first time a Project Loon balloon has crashed.
In February 2016, one came down at a tea plantation in Sri Lanka during a test flight.
Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionA similar crash happened in Sri Lanka last year
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
Ufo’s in de wetenschap.
Ufo’s in de wetenschap.
In de wetenschap en voor veel wetenschappers zijn ufo’s een heet hang-ijzer. Enkelen durven zich voorzichtig in het openbaar af te vragen of er wellicht toch wat meer aandacht aan besteedt moet worden, anderen hebben er wat meer moeite mee. Toch lijkt het meer een kwestie van onbekend maakt onbemind en is het vooral de onzin die regeert.
Dat een ufo’s een, op zijn zachts gezegd, een omstreden onderwerp is mag duidelijk zijn. De reden hiervoor is minstens even duidelijk. Alleen al het woord ufo roept onlosmakelijk ook de associatie met buitenaards leven op. Toch zijn ufo’s, het onverklaarde gedeelte ervan dan, en een eventuele buitenaardse herkomst niet een en hetzelfde.
De fantasieverhalen over contacten met “aliens” die dan schijnbaar regelmatig even bij komen kletsen, bij bosjes lichtjaren overbruggen om dan hier op onze planeet te crashen of zelfs al in grote getale aanwezig zijn om hier de boel achter de schermen te runnen, vliegen je om de oren.
Vreemd genoeg trekken websites met dergelijke onzin toch een grote schare “gelovigen”. De mogelijkheden zijn dan ook eindeloos: Aliens gebruiken dimensiepoorten om te reizen, kunnen zich onzichtbaar maken, hebben ofwel het beste dan wel het slechtste met de mensheid voor. Een ding hebben alle verhalen gemeen: Ufo’s zijn buitenaardse vaartuigen die wonderlijke dingen kunnen doen en zich zo af en toe eens laten zien aan een select groepje uitverkorenen.
Kortom, ufologie anno 2017 in een notendop.
Toch is het waarnemen niet iets van recent. Al ver in het verleden werd er al melding gemaakt van vreemde objecten aan de hemel. Uiteraard valt met dat gegeven alleen niks meer aan te tonen of te achterhalen, behalve dat ufo’s niet iets van de moderne tijd zijn. Het onderwerp werd pas onder het “grote publiek” bekend toen in de jaren veertig, en dan met name 1947, van de vorige eeuw toen eerst piloot en zakenman Kenneth Arnold melding maakte van negen vreemde objecten, en niet lang daarna de pas bestaande Amerikaanse luchtmacht zelf melding maakte een heuse “vliegende schotel” geborgen te hebben.
Ondanks dat dat bericht ook snel weer werd ingetrokken, was de geest wel uit de fles.
Het meeste van alle ophef ging Europa echter voorbij aangezien de Tweede Wereld Oorlog net voorbij was en er andere zaken waren om zich druk over te maken. Maar ook hier waren al jaren eerder onbekende objecten die geallieerde vliegtuigen leken te begeleiden. De eerste melding daarvan kwam van een Engels vliegtuig met een Poolse bemanning die boven de Zuiderzee, nu Ijsselmeer, achtervolgd werd door een vreemd lichten object, en er zelfs op heeft geschoten.
Foo Fighters tijdens WOII
Tijdens de oorlog werd aangenomen dat het afkomstig was van de Duitse tegenstander, maar na de oorlog bleek dat de Duitsers met hetzelfde geconfronteerd waren, en aannamen dat het “fenomeen” afkomstig was van de geallieerden. Het fenomeen kreeg de naam “Foo Fighters”, en er werd nooit een verklaring voor gevonden.
Kortom, het fenomeen is niet nieuw, en werd lange tijd ook serieus genomen.
Kentering
Hoe men tegen het ufo fenomeen aankeek begon te veranderen toen de Amerikaanse overheid door de aandrang van de bevolking en wetenschappelijke wereld zich genoodzaakt zag officieel onderzoek te doen.
In 1966 werd een onderzoek gestart wat de geschiedenis in ging als het “Condon Rapport”. De conclusie hiervan was, kort samengevat, dat met het ufo fenomeen niks onverklaarbaars aan de hand was. Het onderzoek was echter zo slecht en bevooroordeeld uitgevoerd dat zelfs vanuit de academische wereld commentaar kwam over de uitvoering.
Dr. Condon.
Condon bleek al ver voor het onderzoek ook maar was begonnen in diverse interviews al verklaard te hebben dat wat hem betreft de conclusie al vast stond, en het onderzoek weggegooid geld zou zijn. Iets wat ook tot uitdrukking kwam in het uiteindelijke onderzoek. Condon bepaalde zelf wat wel en niet onderzocht diende te worden, wat in 1968 als resultaat gaf dat de meest interessante zaken niet waren onderzocht, de beste getuigen nooit werden opgeroepen en hij zelf niet eens de moeite had genomen ook getuigen te ondervragen. Kortom, prutswerk waarop vanuit de wetenschappelijke wereld ook commentaar kwam op de manier hoe het onderzoek was uitgevoerd. Ook bij het onderzoek zelf betrokken onderzoekers beaamden dat het onderzoek naar deze uitkomst gestuurd werd. Van de aangedragen gevallen om te onderzoeken bleken alleen de simpelste voorvallen onderzocht te zijn. Iets wat nu nog terug te vinden is in het originele rapport.
Alle aangedragen voorvallen staan helemaal achter in het rapport, dat begon met de conclusies zodat indertijd veel verslaggevers en belangstellenden niet verder keken.
Project Bluebook
"Om vast te stellen of ufo’s ook een bedreiging konden vormen voor de “nationale veiligheid” en het fenomeen wetenschappelijk te analyseren, waren er al eerder onderzoeken gestart onder de naam Project Sign (1947), Project Grudge (1949), gevold door Project Blue Book, (1952) dat doorliep tot 1970.
Voor deze projecten werd astronoom Allen Hynek als adviseur aangetrokken. Een astronoom en wetenschapper met een degelijke wetenschappelijke geschiedenis en indertijd een ufo scepticus die er van overtuigd was dat de hele ophef ook wel weer zou overwaaien.
Uiteindelijk had ook dit onderzoek een nogal onbevredigend einde. Tot op de dag van vandaag is het onderzoek niet compleet vrijgegeven, en is er voor niet minder dan 701 ufo voorvallen nooit een verklaring gevonden.
Toch was de conclusie dat ufo’s wetenschappelijk van geen waarde waren en er ook geen dreiging voor de nationale veiligheid van uit ging.
Hynek in Close Encounters
Ook de opvattingen van Hynek veranderden van scepticus naar een overtuiging dat er wel degelijk een onverklaard fenomeen plaats vond.
Mocht u nooit van J. Allen Hynek hebben gehoord, dan komt Close encounters of the first kind u wellicht bekender voor. Hynek speelde zelfs een klein rolletje in deze klassieker. De naam van de film komt uit een door Hynek uitgewerkte classificatie van ufo waarnemingen. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_encounter)
Door deze onderzoeken, en dan vooral de conclusies, nam de aandacht voor het onderwerp gestaag af. Daarnaast verschoof ook de algemene visie hoe het ufo fenomeen werd gezien. Van studieobject naar onzinnig.
Onterecht
Toch is het op zich vreemd te noemen dat de wetenschappelijke wereld zover is meegegaan in de conclusies van deze onderzoeken. Geen van de onderzoeken voldoet aan ook maar één wetenschappelijke standaard wat betreft het onderbouwen van de conclusies. Een conclusie valt niet te verdedigen als in het ene geval de meest simpele voorvallen enkel maar worden onderzocht, en in het andere geval men nog steeds met 701 gevallen blijft zitten die niet verklaard kunnen worden, en er bovendien nog steeds hele gedeelten van het onderzoek niet vrij worden gegeven. Met andere woorden, oncontroleerbaar.
Toch is dat exact wat is gebeurd. Wetenschappelijk gezien is iets dergelijks een enorme blunder die maar niet gecorrigeerd wordt. Toch heeft vanaf begin jaren zeventig het ufo fenomeen om deze reden het stigma als onzin meegekregen. Objectief gezien is een dergelijke werkwijze nogal onterecht en heeft het alle potentiële wetenschappelijke aandacht in de kiem gesmoord.
Daarnaast doen, vooral de laatste decennia, de “alternatieve” media ook flink hun best om van een simpel “nuts & bolts” fenomeen een zowat complete religie te maken, waar ET al dan niet het beste met de mensheid voorheeft, en sommigen het laten lijken of ET dagelijks even op de koffie komt om bij te kletsen. De meest waanzinnige fantasieën worden voor waar aangenomen en de meest ridicule beweringen worden serieus als mogelijkheid gezien, of zelfs omarmd.
Graancirkels, ontvoeringen, contact verhalen, dimensiepoorten, Area 51 en ga zo maar door, worden op een grote hoop gegooid met nog wat ingrediënten als implantaten, hybride half alien, half mens, reptielen, wereld heerschappij en, niet te vergeten, de fictieve planeet Nibiru, en het beeld is duidelijk: De hedendaagse ufologie. En laat dit dan ook net het beeld zijn dat de doorsnee lezer heeft van ufo’s.
De realiteit
Close Encounters
De Discovery serie “Close encounters” begint in elke aflevering van de serie wel erg optimistisch met de claim dat er jaarlijks zo’n miljoen ufo waarnemingen zijn waarvan zo’n 95% verklaard kan worden. Wij gaan er van uit dat dit een wel erg optimistische claim is, maar dat er op jaarbasis zeker duizenden waarnemingen worden gedaan is zeker. De 95% claim is inderdaad ook aantoonbaar. Na onderzoek blijft er van de onderzochte gevallen inderdaad zo’n 5% over waar een mogelijke verklaring niet gevonden kan worden.
In absolute aantallen is dit toch nog steeds een niet te negeren aantal. Het is dan ook vreemd te noemen dat er, op enkele uitzonderingen na, officieel geen interesse voor is. Nog vreemder is dat er uiteindelijk toch wel interesse voor het onderwerp ufo’s blijkt te zijn.
In Januari dit jaar gaf de Amerikaanse CIA de wereld een overdosis informatie met het vrijgeven van zowaar 13 MILJOEN documenten. Van het merendeel kun je je afvragen waarom het überhaupt in de archieven zat, zodat er in werkelijkheid maar een klein deel documenten overblijft waar met moeite uit valt te bepalen op wat het betrekking heeft. Wie de moeite doet om er in rond te spitten zal er een beste kluif aan hebben en waarschijnlijk nog niks wijzer worden.
Toch valt een ding op in vrijgegeven documenten. Dit soort vrij gegeven documenten, maar ook via een rechter afgedwongen documenten, hebben steeds weer twee dingen gemeen.
Ten eerste zijn documenten betreffende ufo’s gemiddeld genomen voor maar 8% leesbaar. 92% is dus onleesbaar gemaakt. Ten tweede blijkt, ondanks dat de informatie onleesbaar is, wel dat er dan toch wel degelijk nog een belangstelling bestaat voor het onderwerp en dat dat dan ook nog eens gewichtig genoeg is om niet aan de grote klok te hangen. En dat is toch tegenstrijdig met de conclusies die getrokken werden uit de onderzoeken decennia eerder.
Ufo’s in officiële documenten.
Daarnaast is ook onomstootbaar aangetoond de Amerikaanse overheid belangstelling heeft voor gevallen met onbekende objecten in andere landen. En wellicht staat de Amerikaanse overheid hierin niet alleen, en hebben andere landen dezelfde interesse. Van sommige landen is bekend ook dat zij dit soort gevallen ook interesseert. Landen als Frankrijk maken hier ook geen geheim van. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEIPAN)
De realiteit is dat het niet vreemd is dat welk land dan ook belangstelling heeft voor welk onbekend object dan ook boven hun grondgebied en natuurlijk dan ook graag zekerheid willen hebben over de aard en herkomst van dergelijke objecten. Het zou uitermate vreemd zijn wanneer dit niet zo zou zijn.
Toch zien de meeste mensen het onderwerp ufo’s als fantasie. Wellicht dat de realisatie dat de 5% onverklaarde objecten in absolute aantallen duizenden en duizenden voorvallen representeren waarbij de aard en herkomst van een object niet verklaard kan worden mensen toch aan het denken zou moeten zetten.
Wat is een ufo dan?
Zoeken naar informatie over ufo’s met behulp van Google levert al jaren zo goed als alleen maar onzin op. In ons eigen landje zijn er een paar websites die er dan uitspringen. Op een enkele verdwaalde site na, is het onzin wat de klok slaat, en steken sites als Niburu, Nine for news en Wanttoknow er met kop en schouders boven uit. En hoewel de beheerders of eigenaren van dergelijke sites ook nog eens geregeld met elkaar overhoop liggen, zijn ze het wel eens met elkaar. Of beter, hebben ze een grote gemene deler: Hoe groter de onzin, hoe gretiger afname door de gebruikers. En vergis u niet, deze sites hebben een zeer grote trouwe volgelingen, waarvan het merendeel ook nog eens klakkeloos meegaat in de bergen waanzin die zij hun lezers dagelijks voorschotelen.
Anno nu lijkt er niet een enkele website meer te bestaan die zaken niet weet te scheiden. Dat ufo’s buitenaardse ruimteschepen zijn lijkt een zeker gegeven. En ook diegenen die iets als ufo’s wel serieus durven nemen zijn er over het algemeen van overtuigt: Ufo’s zijn buitenaardse ruimteschepen.
En het is op dit punt dat de hulp van de wetenschap broodnodig is. Uiteraard is een onverklaarde ufo niet per definitie een buitenaards voertuig. De definitie van een een ufo is nooit anders geweest dan “Unidentified Flying Object”, onbekend vliegend object in het Nederlands. Niks meer en niks minder.
De mogelijkheid dat een ufo een buitenaardse herkomst zou kunnen hebben is niks meer, of minder, dan een hypothese die ook nog maar aangetoond moet worden. Dat wil dus niet zeggen dat een buitenaardse herkomst vast staat.
Het enige wat met zekerheid gesteld kan worden is dat er onverklaarde voorvallen met onbekende objecten hebben plaatsgevonden. In enkele gevallen met gedrag dat de huidige technische mogelijkheden van nu lijkt te overstijgen.
De wetenschap
Al het bovenstaande is met een beetje huiswerk ook zelf na te trekken. Het is makkelijk om een onderwerp als ufo’s af te rekenen op onderbuik gevoel. Maar daarmee is het onderwerp uiteraard nog steeds niet uit de wereld. Wie iets wil afdoen als onzin, zal dat toch op feiten moeten doen. En onderbuik gevoel lijkt ook de meeste wetenschappers niet vreemd.
Zelfs briljante wetenschappers met een goed gevoel voor drama en humor lijken niet te kunnen ontsnappen aan onderbuik gevoel en verlaten het wetenschappelijke pad wanneer het om ufo’s gaat. Zo ook Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, een wereldbekend astronoom.
Uiteraard is het komisch om deGrasse zich zo als komediant te zien gedragen. Toch heeft hij het op nogal wat punten fout. Ten eerste kan zelfs de grootste wetenschapper een onderwerp niet als onzin afdoen op grond van de onzin die hij er zelf bijsleept. Uiteraard werkt dat nergens op deze manier. Het lollige verhaal over iemand die denkt een vreemd object heen en weer te zien bewegen terwijl hij zelf op een weg met bochten rijdt mag dan op de lachspieren werken, maar het mag toch duidelijk zijn dat een onderwerp, welk dan ook, niet simpelweg afgedaan kan worden op basis van een anekdote. Helemaal een wetenschapper zou beter moeten weten dan dat.
Wanneer deGrasse zichzelf iets beter had geïnformeerd, dat had hij voor hetzelfde geld voorbeelden zat kunnen vinden van voorvallen die niet zo simpel en komisch afgedaan kunnen worden.
Erger is dat deGrasse zelfs op zijn eigen vakgebied de mist in gaat. De bewering dat astronomen nooit een ufo zien omdat zij weten waar ze naar kijken, kan ook stellig afgedaan worden als fout.
Er zijn in het verleden twee onderzoeken geweest onder astronomen waarin zij, met name, werden gevraagd of zij ooit een ufo hadden waargenomen. Anonimiteit was verzekerd. Verrassend genoeg blijken dan ineens astronomen significant meer ufo’s waar te nemen dan de doorsnee bevolking. Ook deGrasse had dit kunnen weten wanneer deze de moeite had genomen zichzelf iets beter te informeren. Helemaal omdat onder deze astronomen ook enkele waren die het wel aandurfden om hun verhaal onder hun eigen naam te doen. Waaronder ook de ontdekker van Pluto, Clyde Tombough. (https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tombaugh)
Dap Hartmann
Voor andere astronomen die dezelfde fout maken, hoeven we Nederland niet te verlaten. De uitvinder van het woord “ufogekkie”, astronoom Dap Hartmann, deed het op het Skepsis congres in 2013 nog eens dunnetjes over. Ook hiervan bestonden filmopnamen, maar deze lijken niet meer beschikbaar.
Op dit congres voerde Hartmann zaken aan als graancirkels, Coen Vermeeren en allerlei andere onzin aan om aan te willen tonen dat ufo’s zeker niet iets zijn wat serieus genomen dient te worden. Het is met alle waanzin die rondgaat dan ook niet echt een kunst om de pias uit te hangen. Maar het blijft een vreemd gezicht om mensen die zeker niet dom genoemd kunnen worden toch zo de fout in te zien gaan. Objectiviteit verliezen afhankelijk van het onderwerp betaamd geen enkele wetenschapper.
De hierboven genoemde astronomen zijn geen van beide dom of naïef te noemen. Toch laten beiden zich leiden door onderbuik gevoel om een oordeel te vellen over een onderwerp waar beiden duidelijk geen kennis van hebben, en daar ook de moeite niet voor hebben genomen.
Voor beiden geldt ook dat de door hun aangevoerde argumenten simpel weerlegd kunnen worden. Wetenschap draait om feiten en onderzoek om kennis op te doen. Wetenschap hoort nieuwsgierig te zijn. De reputatie die een onderwerp als ufo’s heeft lijkt het echter voor de meeste mensen, niet alleen wetenschappers, onmogelijk te maken om ook eens met een objectieve blik naar het onderwerp te kijken. Het blijft vreemd zonder kennis van zaken wel een uitgesproken mening te hebben.
En dan hebben we uiteraard nog Coen Vermeeren. Wie dacht met deze (voormalig) docent aan de Technische universiteit Delft eindelijk eens iemand te zien die met verstand van zaken naar het ufo fenomeen kon kijken, kwam ook bedrogen uit. Zijn boek, Ufo’s bestaan gewoon, stond vol met loze beweringen, halve waarheden en niet nagetrokken “feiten”. Na het uitbrengen van zijn boek ging het echter nog verder berg af met Vermeeren. Ineens liep Vermeeren rond in graancirkels, gaf lezingen samen met Robbert van den Broeke, en liep meer en meer verloren in de ene complot na de andere. Helaas werd deze man in een klap het gezicht van ufologie in Nederland, terwijl de opvattingen van deze man toch juist meer passen bij de bovengenoemde onzin websites.
Coen Vermeeren
De stand van zaken
Het mag duidelijk zijn dat serieus onbevooroordeeld naar de aard en herkomst van de onverklaarde ufo voorvallen nog wel even op zich kan laten wachten. Ondanks dat de feiten voor zich spreken, er aantoonbaar legio voorvallen hebben plaatsgevonden met onverklaarde objecten, lijkt het niet aannemelijk dat er op korte termijn ook serieus onderzoek gedaan zal worden.
Het gebrek aan (wetenschappelijke) interesse kan uiteraard wel verklaard worden, maar ondanks dat blijft het verbazingwekkend dat dergelijke voorvallen nooit de interesse wekt van onderzoekers.
Maar weinig wetenschapper durven het aan het onderwerp publiekelijk serieus te nemen, zoals al bleek uit een onderzoek onder astronomen waar deze anoniem juist wel ufo’s bleken waar te nemen.
Het roept de vraag op wat er moet gebeuren voordat men het onderwerp wel serieus wil bekijken.
Overigens, de allereerste bekende foto van een ufo werd gemaakt door een astronoom!
Un OVNI dans le ciel dionysien ce soir ? Un internaute a pris des photos
Nous attendons évidemment vos commentaires sur cette série de clichés que nous a fait parvenir Georges, un internaute qui rendait ce soir visite à sa fille, dans son studio au Moufia.
La nuit commençait à tomber quand leur attention, depuis le balcon, a été attirée par un objet lumineux dans le ciel.
Une « apparition » qui selon Georges n’a duré que quelques minutes, avant que la lumière et l’objet ne « disparaissent subitement. Je ne crois pas particulièrement aux extra-terrestres, aux histoires de soucoupe volante, mais ce soir, moi et ma fille avons été abasourdis! »
Cette apparition rappelle celle signalée à la Plaine des Cafres ou encore dans le ciel de Saint Leu la semaine dernière.
Que faut il en penser ? Vos commentaires sont les bienvenus sur le web et en direct à la radio au 0262 99 12 00
Nous avons passé un filtre sur l’agrandissement initial de la photo de Georges en « fonçant » le ciel… le résultat donne à réfléchir
Voici un autre cliché pris de l’appartement du Moufia ce soir :
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
TThe Allagash Abductions - An OpenMinds.tv Documentaryhe Most Interesting Science News Articles of the Week
The Allagash Abductions - An OpenMinds.tv Documentary
Published on Nov 25, 2015
In August of 1976, twin brothers Jim and Jack Weiner, along with their two friends Charles Foltz and Charles Rack, headed to the Allagash in Maine for a canoeing and camping trip. One night they experienced an incredible encounter with a UFO. Years later, after the brothers suffered from horrific nightmares, they underwent regression hypnosis. They were regressed separately and most of the men had startling similar recollections of what occurred during the night of the UFO sighting.
We are very happy to bring to you one of the most compelling and mysterious UFO - and potential alien abduction - cases from the perspective of the witnesses themselves.
Now two more possible unexplained sightings have been reported online. Sadly no alien drawings this time though.
On March 4, someone reported seeing a UFO near Lysander Road and the A3088 in Yeovil. It was then posted on the UFO Stalker website.
The message read: "I didn't see anything at the time, we took a photo of the scenery near Lysander Road. The sun was pretty bright so we couldn't see anything at the time.
"We noticed it later on in the photo when we got home. I think the direction of the object was west."
There was also a strange sighting on February 21 at around 6.30am. It was captured on video and also posted to the same website.
There was no exact location of where it was filmed but it was in Yeovil.
The post said: "The video footage shows a row of what appears to be eight lights travelling in an east to south easterly direction. I was not actually present at the time of the event."
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anybody out there?
Have you seen a strange bright light criss-crossing it’s way across the night sky or a mysterious orange disk hovering over the trees in the distance?
If you have, then you’re not alone! According to the National UFO Reporting Center in the US, sightings of UFOs are reaching record heights.
Back in 1990, the organization only recorded 307 sightings (most are in the US but their records include global sightings) and that has skyrocketed in the years since. They reached a peak of 8,619 in 2014 before falling slightly to 5,516 in 2016.
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
‘Ik zag lichten zigzaggen door de lucht, en wist: dit kan niet’
‘Ik zag lichten zigzaggen door de lucht, en wist: dit kan niet’
Coen Vermeeren (53) is lucht- en ruimtevaartingenieur, werkt aan de TU Delft én hij gelooft in ufo’s. Dat wordt daar lang niet altijd gewaardeerd. „Het enige wat ik vraag is: onderzoek het!”
Thomas Rueb
‘Ik las UFO’s bestaan gewoon van Coen Vermeeren, die jarenlang luchtvaarttechniek bestudeerde”, rapt Lange Frans over een onheilspellende pianomelodie. De zaal joelt. „Hoe NASA-astronauten, die waren op de maan, nu openlijk bekennen, dat UFO’s echt bestaan.” Applaus nu.
Als het nummer, Kamervragen 2.0, voorbij is, komt de echte ster van de avond op. Naast Lange Frans schuift hij aan op het podium, een bebrilde man in een tweedjasje. „Wie gelooft er hier in buitenaards leven?” Nagenoeg alle handen in het Delftse theater de Veste schieten in de lucht.
Elke week geeft Coen Vermeeren (53) wel ergens een lezing, al is dit optreden met zijn fan Lange Frans een eenmalig avontuur. Want mensen die geloven in ufo’s zijn er genoeg, maar Vermeeren is een wetenschapper, lucht- en ruimtevaartingenieur, hij werkt aan de TU Delft – én hij gelooft in ufo’s.
Ruimteschepen, ja. Ongeïdentificeerde vliegende objecten die ons luchtruim binnendringen. „Wie erin zitten en wat ze willen, dat kan ik je niet met zekerheid zeggen”, zegt Vermeeren twee dagen na het optreden in zijn huis buiten Breda. „Maar er is geen twijfel dat we door buitenaardse levensvormen worden bezocht. Beyond doubt.”
Het is een mening die hem op zijn universiteit regelmatig in een lastige positie brengt. Vermeeren is er de enige. „Die er openlijk voor uitkomt dan, hè?”, grapt hij.
Het is een gotspe, vindt Vermeeren, dat er nergens serieus onderzoek naar ufo’s wordt gedaan. Een failliet van de wetenschap. „Ik ben van mening dat je alles moet willen weten, en dat je alles moet durven onderzoeken. Ook als het onwaarschijnlijk of zelfs ongelofelijk lijkt. Dat is het enige wat ik vraag: onderzoek het!”
Hoe is een technisch ingenieur terechtgekomen in een wereld van ruimteschepen, aliens, verborgen werelden en complottheorieën?
Stampvolle zaal
Het begon voor Vermeeren zoals eigenlijk elke wetenschappelijke fascinatie begint: met een vraag die hij niet kon beantwoorden. Het is 2008, het YouTube-tijdperk is net aangebroken, en Vermeeren vraagt zijn studenten om voor hem filmpjes op te zoeken van vliegtuigcrashes. „Om in het college te behandelen, dan kon ik uitleggen wat er mis was gegaan.”
Zijn mailbox stroomt vol. Crash na crash, maar andersoortige filmpjes zitten er ook tussen. „Van objecten, gefilmd vanuit een Space Shuttle van de NASA. Op de achtergrond hoor je astronauten: Houston, we still see the alien space craft.”
‘Wat zien we hier?’, willen studenten van hem weten. ‘Hoe verklaart u dit?’ Vermeeren heeft er geen antwoord op. „Maar dat wilde ik wel kunnen geven.”
Bij collega’s krijgt hij nul op het rekest. Die kijken even mee naar de filmpjes op zijn scherm en gaan weer door waar ze mee bezig zijn. „Behoorlijk jammer.” Vermeeren besluit er zelf in te duiken. Op het web gaat een wereld voor hem open.
„Het was zo veel”, zegt hij, „zo overweldigend veel.” Filmpjes, foto’s, getuigenissen. „En niet afkomstig van de minste mensen, dat verbaasde me nog het meest. Er zijn vele tienduizenden verklaringen te vinden van militairen, piloten en zelfs astronauten die iets hebben gezien. Dat kun je niet wegzetten als onzin.”
Vermeeren doet dan ook het tegenovergestelde. Hij besluit een college te geven over ufo’s. De zaal zit stampvol, en als hij even later een opname van het college online zet – toen nog lang niet zo gebruikelijk – wordt die binnen no-time honderdduizenden keren bekeken. Vermeeren raakt op slag bekend – en berucht.
Zigzaggen door de lucht
In een brief aan de universiteitsleiding eisen collega’s zijn ontslag. „UFO-gekkie” Vermeeren zou de universiteit tot schande maken. Een speciale commissie wordt ingesteld. „Godsgeloof is toch ook niet onverenigbaar met wetenschap?”, werpt Vermeeren tegen. „Daarbij merk ik op dat voor het bestaan van ufo’s wat tastbaarder aanwijzingen zijn dan voor de schepper.”
Godsgeloof is toch ook niet onverenigbaar met wetenschap?
Tot ontslag komt het niet, maar de rector magnificus en hij komen in 2012 wel overeen dat het beter is als Vermeeren geen les meer geeft maar zich richt op zijn werk als hoofd van het Studium Generale, waar lezingen worden georganiseerd buiten het vakgebied van de universiteit.
Heeft Vermeeren zelf ooit weleens iets gezien? „Ja.” Hij aait Anubis, een van zijn twee enorme dalmatiërs, over de kop. „Heel regelmatig zelfs.”
Hij herinnert zich de lancering van Skylab, het eerste ruimtestation van de NASA. Hij moet een jaar of twaalf geweest zijn. Met de hele buurt stond hij buiten naar de lucht te kijken toen het stipje aan de nachtelijke hemel voorbij trok. Maar hij en zijn vriendjes zagen ook andere lichten, ze zigzagden door de lucht. „Technisch onmogelijk, dat wisten wij toen al.” Ufo’s? „Dat hield me destijds niet echt bezig.” Maar hij bracht wel menig nacht door met zijn verrekijker op het dak, gefascineerd door alles wat met de sterren te maken had.
In contact staan met aliens
De reden dat hij de ruimtevaarttechniek inging, is dat niet. „Ik werd ingeloot. Het had ook medicijnen kunnen worden.” Maar misschien hielp die ‘encounter’ hem wel om de filmpjes die zijn studenten stuurden niet meteen als onzin af te serveren. „Ik dacht juist: wauw, wat spannend! Ik wil altijd alle opties openhouden. Veel andere wetenschappers denken helaas niet zo, die negeren liever het bewijs dat er ligt.”
Wat is volgens hem dan dat onweerlegbare bewijs? Wat heeft hem zo stellig overtuigd?
Vermeeren begint over Roswell, New Mexico, waar in 1947 een vliegende schotel zou zijn neergestort „met honderden getuigen”. Over austronaut Edgar Mitchell, de zesde man op de maan, die eind jarige negentig uit de school klapte over ufo’s: de mensheid zou sinds Roswell met aliens in contact staan, en de Amerikaanse regering zou alles op alles zetten om dat verborgen te houden. Hij vertelt over ‘The Disclosure Project’, waarin de getuigenissen zijn verzameld van meer dan vijfhonderd ambtenaren, militairen en geheim agenten over hun ervaringen met ufo’s, ruimtewezens en „extra-terrestial technology”. Noemt gelekte documenten van de CIA, de FBI, de NSA, de Russen.
Zelf zocht hij betrokkenen op, zoals de Vlaamse majoor-generaal Wilfried de Brouwer die openlijk heeft getuigd over „de Belgische ufo-golf” – tussen 1989 en 1991 zou het land zijn overspoeld door ufo-waarnemingen. „Dan zit je een paar uur te praten en dan zie ik: dit is geen idioot. Dit is iemand die weet waar hij het over heeft.”
Zijn zoektocht naar ufo’s bracht Vermeeren als vanzelf bij andere grote complottheorieën
Goed. Als dat allemaal zo is, waarom is het bestaan van ufo’s en intelligent buitenaards leven dan niet algemeen bekend en geaccepteerd?
Hij zucht. „Het is niet in het belang van overheden dat dit naar buiten komt. Getuigen worden regelmatig geïntimideerd. Alle systemen van de wereld zouden op de schop gaan: regering, geloof, wetenschap, onze omgang met klimaat.” Het onderwerp is bewust dusdanig geridiculiseerd („Kijk naar Hollywood”) dat haast niemand zijn vingers eraan durft te branden. „Universiteiten werken al helemaal niet mee.”
Zijn zoektocht naar ufo’s, de omarming van het fenomeen, bracht Vermeeren als vanzelf bij andere grote complottheorieën. Dit jaar bracht hij nog een boek uit over één daarvan: 9/11 is gewoon een complot.
Zijn we wel op de maan geweest? „Soms denk ik van wel”, zegt Vermeeren, „soms denk ik van niet. Er is voor beide hypothesen iets te zeggen.”
Een soort rockster
Ufo’s, 9/11, de maanlanding – het lijkt soms of dit soort complotten gebundeld komen. Hoe wapent Vermeeren zich tegen een confirmation bias, waarbij alles wat je ziet past in het plaatje dat je toch al in je hoofd hebt?
„Dat is een goede vraag.” Even is hij stil. „Maar ik heb mijn huiswerk goed gedaan. Kijk, ik vraag niemand te gelóven wat ik zeg. Je mag er zelfs boos om worden. Ik moedig mensen alleen aan om zelf eens te gaan graven.”
Zijn eenmansstrijd kan soms frustreren, maar buiten de wetenschappelijke wereld, onder zijn ufo-medestanders, is hij een soort rockster. Zoals een meisje tijdens de avond met Lange Frans tegen hem zei: „Ik vind het zo dapper wat u doet, dat u zich zo durft uit te spreken.”
„Ik ben een doctor in de technische wetenschap”, zegt Vermeeren. „Die titel brengt óók plichten. Ik zie het als mijn plicht te delen wat ik weet.” Hij heeft wel eens budget aangevraagd om het ufo-fenomeen te onderzoeken, maar dat werd afgewezen. „En misschien ben ik wel helemaal niet de persoon om dat te doen. Ik wil mensen vooral aansporen óók op zoek te gaan.”
Is hij weleens bang dat hij het fout heeft? Dat hij middenin de nacht overeind schiet in bed, en zich realiseert dat hij zich gigantisch heeft vergist?
Vermeeren denkt even na.
„Ik zal je vertellen”, zegt hij ten slotte, „als ik soms van heel intelligente mensen te horen krijg dat er niets klopt van wat ik zeg, dan heb ik weleens een moment van twijfel. Zo van: het zou toch niet? Eventjes, en verdwijnt het weer.”
0
1
2
3
4
5
- Gemiddelde waardering: 0/5 - (0 Stemmen) Categorie:News from the FRIENDS of facebook ( ENG )
PHOENIX LIGHTS: Mass UFO sighting 20 years ago is PROOF of ET, says alien investigators
PHOENIX LIGHTS: Mass UFO sighting 20 years ago is PROOF of ET, says alien investigators
TWENTY years ago today will be the twentieth anniversary of what many alien investigators claim is the most extraordinary and inexplicable mass UFO sighting on record.
Phoenix Lights UFO Event - 20 Years Later - YouTube
Phoenix Lights UFO Witness Tim Ley TV Interview - 6/13 ... - YouTube
The Phoenix Lights Incident became a phenomenon from March 13, 1997, after thousands of people began telling of seeing huge triangular UFOs drifting over Arizona and the city of Phoenix.
The sizes varied from a Boeing 747 to multiple football fields.
Five lights were seen in a formation by thousands of people over three hours from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.
The sightings took place across a 300-mile area from Phoenix to Tucson.
It was blamed by the military as being flares set off during an exercise at the time.
So-called triangle UFOs are still seen in high numbers across the USA, according to the database of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), which keeps a global record of such sightings, but never before have they been seen in such numbers as during the Phoenix Lights Incident.
Many claim they are evidence of extra terrestrials visiting our planet, but other conspiracy theorists suggest they could be top-secret experimental craft developed by the US Airforce at places like the mysterious Area 51 military base in the Nevada desert.
GETTY*YouTube
The Phoenix Lights incident 20 years ago is still seen as unexplained by some UFOers.
The Paradigm Research Group (PRG) is a US lobby group campaigning to get an alleged "truth embargo" lifted by the US Government.
It is convinced that the government has evidence aliens have visited Earth but says such information is kept from the public amid fears of the effect it may have on religion and the rule of law.
The group is urging anyone who is not yet convinced that aliens are real and visiting us to watch a new documentary available on Amazon Prime called I Know What I saw.
Featuring testimonies from witnesses to the Phoenix Lights, and other UFO incidents, it also includes interviews with ex-military and even astronauts.
PRG founder Steve Bassett said: "March 13, 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the Phoenix Lights event.
"For anyone who still has a doubt as to the reality of an extraterrestrial presence and a government imposed truth embargo, please watch this documentary."
Alien chasers claim no-one has explained what else the Phoenix Lights could have been.
It recently emerged at the International UFO Congress event that some people even experienced memory loss after seeing them.
A panel of UFO experts discussed the case as part of the conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, last month.
Several hundred people attended an event called The Importance of the Phoenix Lights-Mass UFO Sighting.
One element which emerged during the panel's discussion was that there was a bizarre reaction to the sightings by a number of witnesses.
MUFON
Triangle UFOs like those said to be seen on the night are still reported across the US.
Some reported a temporary amnesia-like state, when immediately after seeing the lights, they went blank or failed to discuss it with anyone.
Panel moderator filmmaker James Fox, who investigated the case to produce a documentary, said that during interviews with hospice workers, they told how they "watched the lights appear and disappear over a period of time but didn't say a word about it".
One woman told him: "We went right back to our tea."
Jim Mann, director of the Arizona Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) branch, which investigates UFO and alien sightings, told of similar accounts.
Another witness told Mr Mann he stopped his car to watched the UFOs with several other people and "a craft slowly glided overhead".
The man said: "Not a word was spoken. After it went on by, everyone got in their car and drove home."
Suspicious UFO captured on camera by Danish Fisherman
Many witnesses thought they saw a black triangle supposedly carrying these lights, but two witnesses who viewed them through a telescope identified them as a formation of high-altitude aircraft.
Nigel Watson
The panel also included Richard Dolan, a UFO writer and researcher, and Dr Lynne Kitei, a witness to the incident who went on to write the book Phoenix Lights: A Skeptic's Discovery That We Are Not Alone.
They looked at other claims, including similar mysterious sightings which happened in the three months leading up to March 1997.
Witnesses to these earlier lights included Dr Kitei, she said.
The panel also heard that the mass sightings actually started outside of Arizona, azcentral.com reports.
They were first seen near Henderson, Nevada, and later in Mexico.
Mr Dolan said: "We call it the Phoenix Lights, but it's really not completely accurate.
"You're talking about two distinctive types of events. Could be related. Could be the same thing. Could be something different."
Despite the unanswered issues, some researchers remain loathed to say it means it must have been aliens.
Sceptics claim to have since proved that military flares, which were set off at the same time, were responsible for the multiple UFO sightings.
Many UFO experts, however, claim this does not satisfactorily explain all the accounts.
Mr Mann said: "Do we have evidence that it was an extraterrestrial event? No.
"We have evidence that it was an extremely bizarre event. We can't put a label on it other than it was an anomaly."
YouTube
Some claim the Phoenix Lights could have been secret US technology like the alleged TR-3B craft.
Scott Brando runs website ufoofinterest.org which exposes hoax UFO sightings.
He says the Phoenix Lights Incident was explained as aircraft and military flares.
He told Express.co.uk: “The Phoenix lights were explained with two different events. The first was the flight of five planes in V-shape formation.
"This is what the witness saw in that day.
"The second event was the launch of military flares over Estrella mountains."
Referring to triangle UFOs generally, he added: “About other similar sightings I'd like to see some reports by MUFON, however many formation of sky lanterns or the launch of skydivers.
"Golden Knights were often mistaken for UFOs.”
Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, said the Phoenix Lights were actually the result of aircraft lights.
He said: "The navigation and landing lights of aircraft can easily generate UFO sightings.
"Aircraft are usually identified as such by their engine noise, but loud background sounds or the distance of the UFO and wind direction can hide them from the witness.
"At night, the lights of a large tanker aircraft re-fuelling several small jet aircraft can look like an impressive formation of UFOs."
Referring to the lights, he added: "Many witnesses thought they saw a black triangle supposedly carrying these lights, but two witnesses who viewed them through a telescope identified them as a formation of high-altitude aircraft."
Brent Swancer’s recent feature on Men in Black in Japan has prompted me to write an article showing that the creepy and strange MIB are seen just about here, there and everywhere. In 2005, I spent a week or thereabouts in Puerto Rico. I was there with Paul Kimball’s Redstar Films crew. The subject of the shoot: the Chupacabra. While we were there, we met a number of interesting witnesses, including one guy who had encountered not just a Man in Black, but a Woman in Black too.
Late one night, some years earlier, he jumped out of bed to the screams of his pigs – he was a breeder and seller of the animals. And, given that this was his only source of income, he raced to the back-door, grabbed a handy machete and a flashlight, flung the door open, and charged out into the muggy darkness. The scene was one of carnage. The bodies of a number of dead, blood-splattered rabbits – which the farmer also kept – were strewn about the yard, many torn to pieces. And one of his prize-pigs was dead, too, lying on the ground.
All of them, the pig and the rabbits, were killed in the same fashion: via three, huge puncture wounds to the neck. As the man, pretty much in a state of shock, prowled around the tree-shrouded yard, he heard movement in the undergrowth. Wasting no time at all, he threw the machete in what he thought was the right direction. His instinct was right: the machete slammed into something solid. Oddly, the sound was akin to metal hitting metal. Whatever it was, it didn’t hang around. In seconds, it was gone, having leaped into the safety of the all-encompassing, nearby woods. There were even weirder developments to come – in the form of none other than the dreaded MIB and WIB.
It was early the next morning when the darkly-garbed, pale-faced duo descended upon the man’s farm. They asked all sorts of questions about the previous night’s events, making it clear to him that they knew far more about the attack in particular – and the mysterious attacker in general – than they were willing to admit. The strange pair listened, in an emotionless fashion, to everything that he had to say, then suddenly turned and vanished into the woods, along with his machete – which they made clear they were confiscating. Maybe wisely, he decided not to object. He never saw them, or his machete, ever again.
Moving over to the U.K., there are a couple of strange stories from Fortean author-investigator, Neil Arnold. Neil told me: “During the early ‘90s I was with two mates out walking at night, and I’d just got the reissues of The Unexplained magazine – and we saw a strange, hanging, dull yellow light in the sky which at first we took to be a firework about to explode. It was late October. The light eventually came over us, at quite a height and the light vanished (I believe because it was on top of the object). But the underside revealed a circle of lights and we watched in amazement as this thing silently glided over the houses out of sight. I recall a chap walking his dog who also looked up at it and everything was very quiet. Although I don’t recall it, when I spoke to one of the guys many years later (I lost touch with him shortly afterwards) he stated quite categorically that we lost about an hour in time.”
Neil continued: “This is not something I’ve ever taken seriously, but anyway, a month or so later I began writing a lot about MIBs and UFOs, and the same two friends visited London to buy records. It was early afternoon and we were sat in the MacDonald’s in Leicester Square. I was facing the door, one of my mates faced me with his back to the door, and my other mate sat side on. I recall looking up over my mate’s shoulder (the mate who was facing me) and there was a guy sitting there. He was about ten-feet away, staring, what I felt, right into my soul. He was about 60-70 years of age, he had grey hair slicked back, wide, staring, unblinking eyes. He wore a black suit, white shirt and a dark tie. Strangely, he had no food on the table, or no newspaper and he just sat staring at me. I went to mention it to my friend who was facing me and my mate just shuddered and said, ‘I know!’ He said he could sense this guy. We actually got up and left straight away…very odd.”
Neil had another case to report to me: “I also have a relative who in the ‘80s saw a UFO and went to the local phone box to report it to the newspaper. As soon as he entered the phone box a man appeared by the phone box and was staring in rather menacingly. My relative thought the man wanted to use the phone and so he motioned he wouldn’t be long, but the man still stared. The man wore a dark suit. My relative came off the phone and said to the man: ‘You can use it now.’ But he just stood there. My relative told the newspaper that he would go to their offices to tell them of the sighting, but as soon as he got on the bus he got a shocking headache. He thought he was going to pass out but persisted, but when he got to the office no-one working there knew what he was on about and they all said they hadn’t received a call from him.”
Gareth Medway, who has done an excellent job of collecting MIB reports, says of a 1957 case: “Luciano Galli of Rome [Italy] was walking from his home to work after lunch when a black Fiat pulled up and a man with piercing jet-black eyes spoke to him and invited him to come with him. They drove to Croara Ridge outside of Rome, where a saucer shaped craft was waiting. He was taken for a ride into space.” And, one more from Gareth, this one from 1963: “Li Jing-Yang, a security guard in Yangquan, Shansi Province, China, saw an object like two plates sealed together hovering in the sky. The next day he was approached by a strange man dressed in black who warned him not to talk about the sighting.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is very little we can say for sure about the Men in Black. One thing we do know, however, is that the phenomenon is global.
Brent Swancer’s recent feature on Men in Black in Japan has prompted me to write an article showing that the creepy and strange MIB are seen just about here, there and everywhere. In 2005, I spent a week or thereabouts in Puerto Rico. I was there with Paul Kimball’s Redstar Films crew. The subject of the shoot: the Chupacabra. While we were there, we met a number of interesting witnesses, including one guy who had encountered not just a Man in Black, but a Woman in Black too.
Late one night, some years earlier, he jumped out of bed to the screams of his pigs – he was a breeder and seller of the animals. And, given that this was his only source of income, he raced to the back-door, grabbed a handy machete and a flashlight, flung the door open, and charged out into the muggy darkness. The scene was one of carnage. The bodies of a number of dead, blood-splattered rabbits – which the farmer also kept – were strewn about the yard, many torn to pieces. And one of his prize-pigs was dead, too, lying on the ground.
All of them, the pig and the rabbits, were killed in the same fashion: via three, huge puncture wounds to the neck. As the man, pretty much in a state of shock, prowled around the tree-shrouded yard, he heard movement in the undergrowth. Wasting no time at all, he threw the machete in what he thought was the right direction. His instinct was right: the machete slammed into something solid. Oddly, the sound was akin to metal hitting metal. Whatever it was, it didn’t hang around. In seconds, it was gone, having leaped into the safety of the all-encompassing, nearby woods. There were even weirder developments to come – in the form of none other than the dreaded MIB and WIB.
It was early the next morning when the darkly-garbed, pale-faced duo descended upon the man’s farm. They asked all sorts of questions about the previous night’s events, making it clear to him that they knew far more about the attack in particular – and the mysterious attacker in general – than they were willing to admit. The strange pair listened, in an emotionless fashion, to everything that he had to say, then suddenly turned and vanished into the woods, along with his machete – which they made clear they were confiscating. Maybe wisely, he decided not to object. He never saw them, or his machete, ever again.
Moving over to the U.K., there are a couple of strange stories from Fortean author-investigator, Neil Arnold. Neil told me: “During the early ‘90s I was with two mates out walking at night, and I’d just got the reissues of The Unexplained magazine – and we saw a strange, hanging, dull yellow light in the sky which at first we took to be a firework about to explode. It was late October. The light eventually came over us, at quite a height and the light vanished (I believe because it was on top of the object). But the underside revealed a circle of lights and we watched in amazement as this thing silently glided over the houses out of sight. I recall a chap walking his dog who also looked up at it and everything was very quiet. Although I don’t recall it, when I spoke to one of the guys many years later (I lost touch with him shortly afterwards) he stated quite categorically that we lost about an hour in time.”
Neil continued: “This is not something I’ve ever taken seriously, but anyway, a month or so later I began writing a lot about MIBs and UFOs, and the same two friends visited London to buy records. It was early afternoon and we were sat in the MacDonald’s in Leicester Square. I was facing the door, one of my mates faced me with his back to the door, and my other mate sat side on. I recall looking up over my mate’s shoulder (the mate who was facing me) and there was a guy sitting there. He was about ten-feet away, staring, what I felt, right into my soul. He was about 60-70 years of age, he had grey hair slicked back, wide, staring, unblinking eyes. He wore a black suit, white shirt and a dark tie. Strangely, he had no food on the table, or no newspaper and he just sat staring at me. I went to mention it to my friend who was facing me and my mate just shuddered and said, ‘I know!’ He said he could sense this guy. We actually got up and left straight away…very odd.”
Neil had another case to report to me: “I also have a relative who in the ‘80s saw a UFO and went to the local phone box to report it to the newspaper. As soon as he entered the phone box a man appeared by the phone box and was staring in rather menacingly. My relative thought the man wanted to use the phone and so he motioned he wouldn’t be long, but the man still stared. The man wore a dark suit. My relative came off the phone and said to the man: ‘You can use it now.’ But he just stood there. My relative told the newspaper that he would go to their offices to tell them of the sighting, but as soon as he got on the bus he got a shocking headache. He thought he was going to pass out but persisted, but when he got to the office no-one working there knew what he was on about and they all said they hadn’t received a call from him.”
Gareth Medway, who has done an excellent job of collecting MIB reports, says of a 1957 case: “Luciano Galli of Rome [Italy] was walking from his home to work after lunch when a black Fiat pulled up and a man with piercing jet-black eyes spoke to him and invited him to come with him. They drove to Croara Ridge outside of Rome, where a saucer shaped craft was waiting. He was taken for a ride into space.” And, one more from Gareth, this one from 1963: “Li Jing-Yang, a security guard in Yangquan, Shansi Province, China, saw an object like two plates sealed together hovering in the sky. The next day he was approached by a strange man dressed in black who warned him not to talk about the sighting.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is very little we can say for sure about the Men in Black. One thing we do know, however, is that the phenomenon is global.
Brent Swancer’s recent feature on Men in Black in Japan has prompted me to write an article showing that the creepy and strange MIB are seen just about here, there and everywhere. In 2005, I spent a week or thereabouts in Puerto Rico. I was there with Paul Kimball’s Redstar Films crew. The subject of the shoot: the Chupacabra. While we were there, we met a number of interesting witnesses, including one guy who had encountered not just a Man in Black, but a Woman in Black too.
Late one night, some years earlier, he jumped out of bed to the screams of his pigs – he was a breeder and seller of the animals. And, given that this was his only source of income, he raced to the back-door, grabbed a handy machete and a flashlight, flung the door open, and charged out into the muggy darkness. The scene was one of carnage. The bodies of a number of dead, blood-splattered rabbits – which the farmer also kept – were strewn about the yard, many torn to pieces. And one of his prize-pigs was dead, too, lying on the ground.
All of them, the pig and the rabbits, were killed in the same fashion: via three, huge puncture wounds to the neck. As the man, pretty much in a state of shock, prowled around the tree-shrouded yard, he heard movement in the undergrowth. Wasting no time at all, he threw the machete in what he thought was the right direction. His instinct was right: the machete slammed into something solid. Oddly, the sound was akin to metal hitting metal. Whatever it was, it didn’t hang around. In seconds, it was gone, having leaped into the safety of the all-encompassing, nearby woods. There were even weirder developments to come – in the form of none other than the dreaded MIB and WIB.
It was early the next morning when the darkly-garbed, pale-faced duo descended upon the man’s farm. They asked all sorts of questions about the previous night’s events, making it clear to him that they knew far more about the attack in particular – and the mysterious attacker in general – than they were willing to admit. The strange pair listened, in an emotionless fashion, to everything that he had to say, then suddenly turned and vanished into the woods, along with his machete – which they made clear they were confiscating. Maybe wisely, he decided not to object. He never saw them, or his machete, ever again.
Moving over to the U.K., there are a couple of strange stories from Fortean author-investigator, Neil Arnold. Neil told me: “During the early ‘90s I was with two mates out walking at night, and I’d just got the reissues of The Unexplained magazine – and we saw a strange, hanging, dull yellow light in the sky which at first we took to be a firework about to explode. It was late October. The light eventually came over us, at quite a height and the light vanished (I believe because it was on top of the object). But the underside revealed a circle of lights and we watched in amazement as this thing silently glided over the houses out of sight. I recall a chap walking his dog who also looked up at it and everything was very quiet. Although I don’t recall it, when I spoke to one of the guys many years later (I lost touch with him shortly afterwards) he stated quite categorically that we lost about an hour in time.”
Neil continued: “This is not something I’ve ever taken seriously, but anyway, a month or so later I began writing a lot about MIBs and UFOs, and the same two friends visited London to buy records. It was early afternoon and we were sat in the MacDonald’s in Leicester Square. I was facing the door, one of my mates faced me with his back to the door, and my other mate sat side on. I recall looking up over my mate’s shoulder (the mate who was facing me) and there was a guy sitting there. He was about ten-feet away, staring, what I felt, right into my soul. He was about 60-70 years of age, he had grey hair slicked back, wide, staring, unblinking eyes. He wore a black suit, white shirt and a dark tie. Strangely, he had no food on the table, or no newspaper and he just sat staring at me. I went to mention it to my friend who was facing me and my mate just shuddered and said, ‘I know!’ He said he could sense this guy. We actually got up and left straight away…very odd.”
Neil had another case to report to me: “I also have a relative who in the ‘80s saw a UFO and went to the local phone box to report it to the newspaper. As soon as he entered the phone box a man appeared by the phone box and was staring in rather menacingly. My relative thought the man wanted to use the phone and so he motioned he wouldn’t be long, but the man still stared. The man wore a dark suit. My relative came off the phone and said to the man: ‘You can use it now.’ But he just stood there. My relative told the newspaper that he would go to their offices to tell them of the sighting, but as soon as he got on the bus he got a shocking headache. He thought he was going to pass out but persisted, but when he got to the office no-one working there knew what he was on about and they all said they hadn’t received a call from him.”
Gareth Medway, who has done an excellent job of collecting MIB reports, says of a 1957 case: “Luciano Galli of Rome [Italy] was walking from his home to work after lunch when a black Fiat pulled up and a man with piercing jet-black eyes spoke to him and invited him to come with him. They drove to Croara Ridge outside of Rome, where a saucer shaped craft was waiting. He was taken for a ride into space.” And, one more from Gareth, this one from 1963: “Li Jing-Yang, a security guard in Yangquan, Shansi Province, China, saw an object like two plates sealed together hovering in the sky. The next day he was approached by a strange man dressed in black who warned him not to talk about the sighting.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is very little we can say for sure about the Men in Black. One thing we do know, however, is that the phenomenon is global.
Brent Swancer’s recent feature on Men in Black in Japan has prompted me to write an article showing that the creepy and strange MIB are seen just about here, there and everywhere. In 2005, I spent a week or thereabouts in Puerto Rico. I was there with Paul Kimball’s Redstar Films crew. The subject of the shoot: the Chupacabra. While we were there, we met a number of interesting witnesses, including one guy who had encountered not just a Man in Black, but a Woman in Black too.
Late one night, some years earlier, he jumped out of bed to the screams of his pigs – he was a breeder and seller of the animals. And, given that this was his only source of income, he raced to the back-door, grabbed a handy machete and a flashlight, flung the door open, and charged out into the muggy darkness. The scene was one of carnage. The bodies of a number of dead, blood-splattered rabbits – which the farmer also kept – were strewn about the yard, many torn to pieces. And one of his prize-pigs was dead, too, lying on the ground.
All of them, the pig and the rabbits, were killed in the same fashion: via three, huge puncture wounds to the neck. As the man, pretty much in a state of shock, prowled around the tree-shrouded yard, he heard movement in the undergrowth. Wasting no time at all, he threw the machete in what he thought was the right direction. His instinct was right: the machete slammed into something solid. Oddly, the sound was akin to metal hitting metal. Whatever it was, it didn’t hang around. In seconds, it was gone, having leaped into the safety of the all-encompassing, nearby woods. There were even weirder developments to come – in the form of none other than the dreaded MIB and WIB.
It was early the next morning when the darkly-garbed, pale-faced duo descended upon the man’s farm. They asked all sorts of questions about the previous night’s events, making it clear to him that they knew far more about the attack in particular – and the mysterious attacker in general – than they were willing to admit. The strange pair listened, in an emotionless fashion, to everything that he had to say, then suddenly turned and vanished into the woods, along with his machete – which they made clear they were confiscating. Maybe wisely, he decided not to object. He never saw them, or his machete, ever again.
Moving over to the U.K., there are a couple of strange stories from Fortean author-investigator, Neil Arnold. Neil told me: “During the early ‘90s I was with two mates out walking at night, and I’d just got the reissues of The Unexplained magazine – and we saw a strange, hanging, dull yellow light in the sky which at first we took to be a firework about to explode. It was late October. The light eventually came over us, at quite a height and the light vanished (I believe because it was on top of the object). But the underside revealed a circle of lights and we watched in amazement as this thing silently glided over the houses out of sight. I recall a chap walking his dog who also looked up at it and everything was very quiet. Although I don’t recall it, when I spoke to one of the guys many years later (I lost touch with him shortly afterwards) he stated quite categorically that we lost about an hour in time.”
Neil continued: “This is not something I’ve ever taken seriously, but anyway, a month or so later I began writing a lot about MIBs and UFOs, and the same two friends visited London to buy records. It was early afternoon and we were sat in the MacDonald’s in Leicester Square. I was facing the door, one of my mates faced me with his back to the door, and my other mate sat side on. I recall looking up over my mate’s shoulder (the mate who was facing me) and there was a guy sitting there. He was about ten-feet away, staring, what I felt, right into my soul. He was about 60-70 years of age, he had grey hair slicked back, wide, staring, unblinking eyes. He wore a black suit, white shirt and a dark tie. Strangely, he had no food on the table, or no newspaper and he just sat staring at me. I went to mention it to my friend who was facing me and my mate just shuddered and said, ‘I know!’ He said he could sense this guy. We actually got up and left straight away…very odd.”
Neil had another case to report to me: “I also have a relative who in the ‘80s saw a UFO and went to the local phone box to report it to the newspaper. As soon as he entered the phone box a man appeared by the phone box and was staring in rather menacingly. My relative thought the man wanted to use the phone and so he motioned he wouldn’t be long, but the man still stared. The man wore a dark suit. My relative came off the phone and said to the man: ‘You can use it now.’ But he just stood there. My relative told the newspaper that he would go to their offices to tell them of the sighting, but as soon as he got on the bus he got a shocking headache. He thought he was going to pass out but persisted, but when he got to the office no-one working there knew what he was on about and they all said they hadn’t received a call from him.”
Gareth Medway, who has done an excellent job of collecting MIB reports, says of a 1957 case: “Luciano Galli of Rome [Italy] was walking from his home to work after lunch when a black Fiat pulled up and a man with piercing jet-black eyes spoke to him and invited him to come with him. They drove to Croara Ridge outside of Rome, where a saucer shaped craft was waiting. He was taken for a ride into space.” And, one more from Gareth, this one from 1963: “Li Jing-Yang, a security guard in Yangquan, Shansi Province, China, saw an object like two plates sealed together hovering in the sky. The next day he was approached by a strange man dressed in black who warned him not to talk about the sighting.”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is very little we can say for sure about the Men in Black. One thing we do know, however, is that the phenomenon is global.
Beste bezoeker, Heb je zelf al ooit een vreemde waarneming gedaan, laat dit dan even weten via email aan Frederick Delaere opwww.ufomeldpunt.be. Deze onderzoekers behandelen jouw melding in volledige anonimiteit en met alle respect voor jouw privacy. Ze zijn kritisch, objectief maar open minded aangelegd en zullen jou steeds een verklaring geven voor jouw waarneming! DUS AARZEL NIET, ALS JE EEN ANTWOORD OP JOUW VRAGEN WENST, CONTACTEER FREDERICK. BIJ VOORBAAT DANK...
Druk op onderstaande knop om je bestand , jouw artikel naar mij te verzenden. INDIEN HET DE MOEITE WAARD IS, PLAATS IK HET OP DE BLOG ONDER DIVERSEN MET JOUW NAAM...
Druk op onderstaande knop om een berichtje achter te laten in mijn gastenboek
Alvast bedankt voor al jouw bezoekjes en jouw reacties. Nog een prettige dag verder!!!
Over mijzelf
Ik ben Pieter, en gebruik soms ook wel de schuilnaam Peter2011.
Ik ben een man en woon in Linter (België) en mijn beroep is Ik ben op rust..
Ik ben geboren op 18/10/1950 en ben nu dus 74 jaar jong.
Mijn hobby's zijn: Ufologie en andere esoterische onderwerpen.
Op deze blog vind je onder artikels, werk van mezelf. Mijn dank gaat ook naar André, Ingrid, Oliver, Paul, Vincent, Georges Filer en MUFON voor de bijdragen voor de verschillende categorieën...
Veel leesplezier en geef je mening over deze blog.