Who’s Pranking Whom? Why Ireland and Why Triangular UFOs?

AUSTIN - It’s like déjà vu all over again … remember back in October 2008 when we broke the story of how someone in Ireland’s media had been convinced that a then recent UFO sighting flap (which featured an apparent triangle ufo with a red laser caught with cellphone video footage) was connected to this amazing footage of a triangle ufo with red laser darting about but which turned out to be reused footage of an award winning model from a UFO hoax contest? Well it appears that someone has yet again pulled the wool over the media’s eyes.

I was just made aware of some “dramatic new triangular ufo footage” and as soon as I saw it I recognized it as something I’d seen just a few months ago in October 2009 when I was researching the ufo videos of Ed Grimsley who claims to witness ufo battles complete with lasers and explosions using only a pair of expensive nightvision goggles. Yet none of his footage is anywhere near as interesting as this “new” triangular footage which happens to apparently use this same type of green-tinting night vision tech

The video I saw in October of last year was allegedly “filmed 12/5/08 in fremont, ca.” and uploaded to YouTube the same day by someone who appears to own a pair of the goggles and/or collects footage of nightvision anomalies. Yet the online news reports and bits of information offerred so far contradict that stating…

A triangular formation of lights was filmed flying at night at “incredible speed”.
Sighting near the River Liffey in Dublin.

One has to wonder, who got this misrepresentation of the footage started? Was it deliberate or could it just be a simple case of a news editor / web manager posting an interesting accompanying video that looks like what was described but which apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the “new” alleged Dublin sighting?

So far a handful of newsites has been taken in by this “hoax” or misidentification / miscommunication. But the list is growing everytime I check:

• Liffey on Mars
  The Sun – Vince Soodin – Jan 21, 2010
  EXPERT Nick Pope says it’s vital for our security to log sightings – and he will review yours. Among the most mysterious include a UFO over Parliament in …
  www.thesun.co.uk
• UFO spotted above Ireland (video)
  Daily Contributor - 11 hours ago
  A strange triangular formation of lights moving at an “incredible speed” has been filmed flying near the River Liffey in Dublin. …
  ailycontributor.com
• Triangular light formation UFO seen in Dublin
  NewsLite – 17 hours ago
  Witnesses say the lights moves at an “incredible speed” as they sped over the River Liffey. In the footage – which seems to have been taken via a night …
  newslite.tv
• Footage of ‘UFO’ taken in Ireland
  Oneindia – 21 hours ago
  news.oneindia.in
• UFO spotted above Dublin as Ireland turns X-Files
  Metro – 13 hours ago
  www.metro.co.uk
• Footage of ‘UFO’ taken in Ireland
  Newstrack India (blog) – 22 hours ago
  London, Jan 22 (ANI): The footage of a UFO flying near the River Liffey in Dublin has left experts thinking it could either be a secret aircraft or …
  www.newstrackindia.com
• Footage of UFO taken in Ireland
  Little About (blog) – Jan 21, 2010
  London, Jan 22 : The footage of a UFO flying near the River Liffey in Dublin has left experts thinking it could either be a secret aircraft or spacecraft. …
  www.littleabout.com

We’ll keep you posted with updates as we receive them.

- SMiles Lewis

Today we feature another guest article, from a skeptical slant, by Oliver Hallen. While it’s no secret that I am in no way a proponent of the Extra Terrestrial Hypothesis (ETH), I do believe in the reality of the phenomenon. Whether it eventually proves to be more physical, more psychological, or something altogether unimaginable (supposing it is, or ever can be, proven) it is real to those individuals experiencing it. The sociology and psychology student in me is honestly more interested in why people interpret the phenomenon the way they do than the physical reality of those phenomenon. That said, the individuals that Mr. Hallen speaks of in his article interest me because they believe in the government conspiracy, regardless of the reality or unreality of any such conspiracy. I also, however, must acknowledge the accounts put forward by respected researchers that include physical traces, such as the Australian landings referenced by Jacques Vallee that left circular depressions in tall grass and the physical reactions resembling radiation sickness reported by some UFO witnesses as intriguing (whether real, psychosomatic, or bizarre coincidence) in contrast to Mr. Hallen’s statements regarding the lack of physical evidence. There is evidence, however circumstantial in nature or irrelevant to those who did not themselves experience the phenomenon. I must also point out that part of Mr. Hallen’s argument about the inherent sloppiness of a secret organization about which so much rumor circulates fails to acknowledge the potential of such purposeful sloppiness as a tool for misinformation. Overall, however, he makes a rather interesting argument about the difficulty of maintaining big secrets and raises some intriguing questions. I know, with the varied opinions of our readers, someone will have issue, or be thrilled by something herein.

As always the views of Mr. Hallen do not necessarily represent the views of myself or AnomalyMagazine.com, but are presented here in the nature of free information and debate.  Please read, consider, and comment.

Secrecy… but not as you know it

by Oliver Hallen

The famous nuclear physicist Edward Teller well described the effects of confidentiality in this short yet inquisitive way: “Secrecy, once accepted, becomes an addiction”. I find that this quote is no truer than in ufology where not only is secrecy seen as commonplace, but it’s expected as a primary part concerning the so-called official forces apparently at work regarding the field. The history of this subject is inundated with alleged instances of how complex and well organized actions work to keep that all ambiguous truth concealed. Even though it can’t be proven, you’d imagine that if this were true the resources needed would be rather substantial and the people involved beyond trustworthy; then factoring this in over long periods of time, different departments, and even countries, it makes it all the more unlikely.

The fact of the matter is humans are lousy at keeping secrets and controlling sensitive information. As we’ve seen in the news, to the dismay of many, the British government has certainly shown how inept it can be at handling data with occurrences such as the mislaid personal details of millions of people which they were entrusted with. These incidents included factions like the Ministry of Defence, Home Office, and Foreign Office. If these important agencies, as an example, can’t even perform such duties what hope would there be of keeping a major cover-up under constant wraps and in operation regardless of size, scope, or country? This is one of numerous questions that have never been satisfactorily answered by ardent supporters of this, at least not to me anyway. What’s been claimed as evidence has absolutely no solidity when faced with serious questioning. There is real contradiction here; people claim that the authorities have a large, secretive, and well-oiled operation, yet this same project is not only common knowledge, but the perpetrators of this can’t even contain information which people use against them as alleged evidence of this so-called esoteric conspiracy. But if it’s anything to go off regarding previous lapses of security, like the ones mentioned above for instance, we most probably would have found out the truth long ago or at least have some idea about what’s going on concerning anything strange. However, no conclusive data has ever come to light to back a paranormal perspective which for me says much about the weakness of such accusations.

One well known and controversial element in all this is the Men in Black whose duty is to seemingly hassle and silence UFO witnesses. Surely if a special government program to keep this issue under control and wraps was being conducted in such a comprehensive and ruthless way as proposed, there wouldn’t be much need for individuals like this to perform these tasks (if we presume that they are in some way connected). Considering for a moment an ‘MIB division’ or ‘divisions’ exist, whatever jurisdiction, if any, it might be under (earth-based or otherwise) it certainly shows that the cover up effort in this area is performed in a rather insecure, reckless, and ineffective way. Especially when you think you’ve got suspicious looking and acting spooks making the rounds on particular cases and that details, unconfirmed though they are, are publicly available on them in different forms. Logically though, what harm could a witness do with no irrefutable evidence and no means by which to threaten the authorities purported program? There must definitely be more pressing things on a government’s alleged secret ufological agenda than a collection of witnesses who will probably not be taken that seriously or receive a great amount of attention except within the UFO scene which, by all rights if accurate, they should already be very well-informed on. To take such a needless risk like this is nothing short of crazy when, if true, you have so much to lose.

The reality of the situation is a lot more mundane however, as we’ve seen internationally regarding the various releases, statements, and investigations over the years which have gained much attention. Whilst there is interest here it’s definitely not to the style and depth of what has been claimed for so long by particular parties. No doubt a counter to this argument is that we’re being fobbed off with more ordinary and safe data whilst the real stuff is locked away in top secret, all the while government’s can claim good PR for their frankness having superficially answered the allegations. This, again, is totally unfounded.

When calls for openness are met, rejection is expected due to the fact that said calls run in opposition to established conspiracy lore held so dear by its proponents. Nonetheless, it’s a win-win situation for them as if the release is positive they get what they want and, if not, they can call foul and continue to point the finger at whomever they see fit. Sadly, all the information in the world would not satisfy them if it went against what they believed. Everyone must be reminded that releases generally come when it’s best for the authorities, not the public. Regarding the uses of data though, people need to recognize that it’s not enough to just know, it must be understood and applied in an appropriate way relevant to what you’re doing.

If I could pass on a good piece of advice it would be the need to look at yourself and the secrets you have; then place this in the context of governmental circumstances. It’s always been in the interests and nature of command to employ confidentiality as a valuable tool and asset concerning its work. With regards to ufology this fact has shown how erroneous the conspiracy angle actually is.

Finally, it’s important to mention that one of the many reasons I have such a skeptical attitude towards this field is not just because the answers are usually very normal, but because they can be overlooked in favor of the fantastic. It seems the last thing most ufologist’s want is a simple answer and if that requires self deception, then god help them.

Watching the ARGonauts Play

If you’ve followed the Elfis Network from the beginning then you know of my early interest in Alternate Reality Gaming and their potential for “mucking up the works” for paranormal and parapolitical researchers. You may also know that my interests were rekindled in 2007 by the provocative hypotheses of blogger DreamsEnd, who speculated that the mysterious suicides of artists Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake were some kind of sophisticated art hoax or viral marketing / alternate reality game. After a very rough period of defending his theories online, blogger DreamsEnd temporarily pulled up shop, taking down his websites. My own re-investigations into ARGland dwindled and I too went back to my normal para activities…

That is until I became aware of a new blog that was following many of the threads explored by DreamsEnd; KadesKorner. Here was another blogger (with a writing style nearly identical to that found at DreamsEnd) writing about many of the themes and topics we’d been exploring during the Theremicity period: Andy Kaufman, Election Fraud, Andy Stephenson, false identities, the Franklin Coverup, the Octopus and PROMIS, Middle East parapolitics and … Theresa Duncan and ARGs! And through “Kade” I learned of a new ARG to watch out for; what has come to be called TGATT or The Great And The Terrible aka I’m Sorry. But before getting off into the I’m Sorry mindfu…, er um, ARG, let’s take a peek at some of the more interesting ARGs and Viral Marketing campaigns that have been bleeding through their alternate ARGiverse realities into our own.

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Reuters is reporting that Russian authorities have assumed custody of a five year old girl who has spent the majority of her life locked in an unheated flat in the Siberian city of Chita with a group of dogs and cats. The child, who authorities assume to be around five years old despite stunted growth that makes her appear to be around two years of age, is non-vocal and exhibits dog-like behavior, such as barking and jumping at doors whenever care takers leave the room. (More at Reuters.com)

The girl, who is being called “Natasha”, is far from the first documented feral child. While the mythic founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus (who legend claims were suckled by a she wolf after being saved from death by having their basket set in the Tiber River and washing ashore Moses style) are among the most famous of the feral children and Rudyard Kipling’s fictional Mowgli, from the Jungle Book, lends his name to the syndrome for children who adopt the characteristics of animals they grow up with; there are several documented cases of actual feral children. These cases include:

Peter, the Wild Boy of Hamelin

The Wild Girl of Champagne

Oxana Malaya, the dog girl of Ukraine

Traian Caldarar, the wild boy of Romania

There are also a number of children who, while not technically “feral” in the sense of being raised by animals, have been abandoned due to mental incapacity and then had the feral child myth constructed around them (such as the famous Indian “wolf girls” Amala and Kamala) or otherwise held in isolation by their parents or care-givers. In addition there are a number of unsubstantiated or poorly documented stories out of African nations , especially those savaged by years of war such as Sierra Leone and Uganda, of children raised by apes or monkeys after losing their parents.

There are also the outright hoaxes, usually of the carnival side-show variety where a physical or mental deficiency was exploited for monetary gain, however there are enough verifiable accounts to make the phenomenon an intriguing study.

While the word Bigfoot usually conjures images of the deep forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest, there is also a rich tradition of southern hominid sightings. Often known by various local names, the southern Bigfoot doesn’t get as much attention (or respect) as his northwestern cousins, but his impact on the local people and their lore has been just as profound. Southern Fried Bigfoot, premiering tonight on the Documentary Channel, takes a look at some of the more notable southern sighting reports, including the Fouke Monster of Fouke, Arkansas; Louisiana’s Honey Island Swamp Monster; the Lake Worth Monster of Lake Worth, Texas; and Florida’s Myakka Ape or Skunk Ape. Southern Fried Bigfoot also talks with the various authors and field researchers involved in the study of southern Bigfoot phenomenon about the historical record and continuing efforts to document the species.

The subtle emphasis throughout the film, intentional or accidental, seems to be the impact of these creatures on the local culture. Interview subjects, for instance, emphasize the legacy of local names and legends, many linking southern “wild man” stories to reports that pre-date the first use of the term “Bigfoot” by hundreds of years. Even the use of cheesy, Bigfoot themed clip art imagery and sports mascot logos throughout the documentary, while seeming amateur at first, helps emphasize the impact these stories have had on the human experience.

The documentary is a worthwhile watch for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject. While the documentary does not contain any major revelations or new info for the dedicated students of Bigfoot and cryptozoology, it is engaging and entertaining. What will probably be of most interest to those already familiar with the creatures profiled will be the ideas expressed by the various personalities involved in the search for Bigfoot in the south. DVD extras providing additional information related to various reports, info on hoaxes, the difference between reports in the North and the South, the sounds associated with Bigfoot reports, etc., will also appeal to those with a deeper interest in the history of reported sightings and the personalities involved in researching the creature.

The Monkeyhouse production, Southern Fried Bigfoot, premieres tonight at 9:00 PM EST/8:00 PM CST on the Documentary Channel (encore at Midnight EST, 11 CST).

Additional showtimes are scheduled for Saturday, April 18 (5 PM Eastern, 4 PM Central), Wednesday April 29 (8 and 11 PM Eastern, 7 and 10 PM Central), Wednesday, May 6 (5 PM Eeastern, 4 PM Central), and Saturday, May 16 (9 PM and Midnight Eastern, 8 and 11 PM Central).

Respectability. Reputation. Legitimacy.

For those researching strange phenomenon, establishing and maintaining a good reputation, a measure of respect, and the legitimacy of their studies is always an uphill battle. Mainstream journalist and pundits usually scoff, when they bother to pay attention at all. Hoaxers and scam artists garner big notice in the press. But researchers who are respected in their particular cloistered field, and who have called a hoax a hoax from the outset, are relegated to a footnote in the mainstream news reports. That is, they are relegated to a footnote if they are lucky enough to be noticed at all.

In the world of conspiracy theory, ufology, cryptozoology, and fringe science, your damned when you speak out, and damned when you don’t.

So, given all of this, what does respectability even mean to these fields? Enthusiasm and interest ebbs and flows, as it does for anything, and people choose to construct a world-view that best suits them. If that means that all bigfoot reports are hoaxes so that they aren’t afraid to go into the woods at night, or that ghosts are real because nothing else explains the creepy feeling they get in the third floor guest room where Uncle Jim died, then that is what people choose to believe.

With incidents like the recent pseudocide of 9-11 Truther Ace Baker, blogged on here by SMiles Lewis, and the Georgia bigfoot body hoax pulled off by a police officer and former prison guard (professions comprised of individuals normally accepted as paramounts of honesty and respectability) in August of last year, it seems valid that we pause and ask ourselves some questions.

How important is reputation in these fields? Jacques Vallee is educated, well written and spoken, not prone to jumping to conclusions, and yet he would be lumped in with the “saucer nuts” by most mainstream journalists. The same could be said for hominid researchers such as Jeff Meldrum, who like Vallee has an academic reputation to maintain outside of his personal studies.  Yet while the Meldrums and Vallees of this world suffer under the derision and constant scrutiny of colleagues and the media, or keep their private pursuits to themselves; known hucksters and hoaxers like Tom Biscardi continue to benefit from the flippant attitude toward the subjects and lack of background research undertaken by various local media outlets. Biscardi is a known and proven hoaxer, yet he can pull into any small town and have the cameras on his crew in a matter of hours.

Perhaps, as guest blogger Oliver Hallen muses in the post below concerning UFO reports by police officers in the UK, respect and reputation are concepts as culturally and contextually loaded, and therefore as ephemeral, as the UFOs and beasties we endeavor to understand.

(The views expressed by Oliver Hallen are his own and do not reflect the opinions or views of AnomalyMagazine.com, its editorial staff, or myself. — Jeremy D. Wells)

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911 Truther Shoots Movement in Foot – Commits Pseudocide

by SMiles Lewis

As if the 911 Truth Movement weren’t weird and ridiculed enough already – now it goes and shoots itself in the foot … again.

How often do people come across a severed human head lying in the middle of the road? Apparently as often as someone might happen to tune-in and hear a radio-show co-host commit suicide live on the air. Or is it simply a matter of weirdness acting as a strange attractor for ever more weirdness? Whatever the explanation, I witnessed both within forty-eight hours of each other.

On Tuesday, January 6th at about 2:35 pm (Central Standard Time) I was tuning in to the webradio stream of upstart Austin alternative media outlet, Freedom Underground Radio. This is the new radio station “rising from the ashes of We The People Radio Network.” WFU Radio has been founded by a co-founder of WTPRN. (Full disclosure: WFURadio has recently started carrying the PsiOp Radio show which I co-host with Mack White.)

I was tuning in to James Fetzer’s show, The Real Deal. Now, I’m not a huge fan of his research nor a regular listener to his show. He had on someone whose name I recognized as having been on the show before as a co-host who has been active within the 911-TV-Fakery branch of the conspiracy community, Ace Baker. Apparently they had switched roles for this particular show with Ace interviewing Jim instead of the other way around.

Within moments of tuning in I had the thought, “Is this guy (Ace Baker) about to commit suicide?” And moments later he did. He was speaking of regret, longing and despair regarding his daughter and deceased parents, about the disrespect and outright attacks that others in the movement had heaped upon him. “I’m coming home,” he said before I heard the sound of a gunshot. The moments leading up to and those that followed that bang were some of the most awkward live radio I’ve ever experienced.

Fetzer was understandably more or less speechless and to his credit seemed to keep his head. He managed to call Baker’s wife and leave a voicemail begging her to check on Ace saying he was worried about him. This is especially amazing for Fetzer as we were later to learn that his own Mother had killed herself when he was only 11 years old and he says had told Ace about this previously.

Of course immediately, the possibility of a hoax was apparent, at least doubly so because of the involvement of someone involved in the “fakery” branch of 911 conspiracy theories who is also a sound engineer. But even contemplating the hoax possibility I was still feeling shocked and shaky – calling my friend Mack and posting online and within Jack Blood’s Deadline Live website chatroom.

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It was a little over a year ago that I posted my first article over here at Anomaly Magazine; a look back at the year 2007, as a year of Fortean anniversaries.
A look back at 2008, personally, as a nation, and as a blogger here at Anomaly, reveals a number of false starts and stops, lots of disappointment, and tons upon tons of soul searching.

Personally, throughout 2008 I’ve been self-employed, unemployed, taking advantage of free time to work on the blog, too busy looking for work to work on the blog, too poor to concentrate on anything but finding a job, and finally working a job and too darn tired to dedicate myself to keeping up a blog-post-a-day schedule like I would like to. It isn’t just me. My fellow contributors here have been in similar situations. So has most of the nation as we suffer through one of the worst economic downturns since the early Reagan years (incidentally, the only time I remember being hungry as a kid, when my dad was laid off).

We’ve posted some really good blog articles over here at Anomaly, with little pomp or fanfare, and little feedback from our readers. We’ve posted other articles, calling out national figures for their unbalanced coverage of UFO sightings and assuming no one would ever read, only to find that key players and authors are following us. If you are reading this, thanks for being a lurker. We do this for you, whether you comment or not. If you’d take some time just to say “hi”, let us know you’ve been here, it would mean the world to us.

If you decide not to say anything, that’s fine. I’ll keep writing. Here, elsewhere, or even on the backs of napkins. Lot’s of stuff happened over the course of 2008. We’ve had an historic election. We’ve suffered through yet another bigfoot hoax (and yet somehow Tom Biscardi still thrives… the cockroach of the bigfoot world whom no stink apparently sticks to.) I’ve not had the time to process it all, much less put together a comprehensive “year in review” blog post about all the strange things to happen over the past year.
But rest assured, these posts will continue to go up. Regularly, sporadically, or otherwise.
Things will continue to happen. Folks will continue to wonder “why”. And we’ll continue to ponder the possible reasons.
2008 wasn’t the best of years for us. But we hope you’ll join us in the coming year, as we strive to be more consistent, more timely, and to provide you with a forum for learning about, following, and discussing anomalies.

I found this item about those crazy Raelians on Huffington Post thanks to Chez Pazienza over at Deus Ex Malcontent.

For those not familiar with the Raelians, they are a saucer cult founded by French race car test-driver turned spiritual guru Claude Vorilhon. The Raelian ideology is the standard ancient astronaut world seeding theory, with heaping dollops of late 60s and early 70s free love, and generically spiritual “war is bad” platitudes. They have been in the news most recently for their support of, and claim that they had succeeded in, human cloning. Vorilhon, who currently goes by the name Rael and claims to be the son of an earthly mother of an extraterrestrial father, founded his religion after an alleged close encounter in 1973 where he met his father and learned the truth behind our creation myths.

That all may be true. Or it could be that after failing as a pop-singer (under the name Claude Celler) and as a race car driver, and with his youth fading as quickly as his car in his competitors’ rear-view mirrors, Vorilhon decided the only sure fire way to continue getting laid by a different woman every night was to start a free love cult.

The truth is for more devoted seekers than me to puzzle out.

But for now, enjoy the links. Pull out your old UFO paperbacks and look in the index for anything on Vorilhon and Rael. Enjoy your holiday. And try not to be too upset at the lost opportunity for deliciously comic irony that could have been found in a group celebrating the season when we remember the virgin birth of the Prince of Peace, with a World Peace Orgy.

Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah. Festive Festivus. Happy New Year.

In a recent forum discussion (Triangle ufo at Rigorous Intuition forums) someone brought to my attention video of an alleged triangular UFO that shoots a red beam of light. The video is posted online at several websites: Zwamneus Report, YouTube, LiveLeaks and others.

(“weird black triangle UFO with red lights” – YouTube)

The information posted at these video links alleges that the footage is connected to the recent article posted at the Irish Independent News website headlined We’re not alone . . . politician and pilot spot UFO that states:

“Footage, filmed on a camera phone at 10.35pm on August 3 near Dunboyne was also played and replayed to over 70 delegates who attended the fifth Irish International UFO conference in Carrick-on-Shannon.

The triangular shaped image, with lights at each point, which appeared to send a red laser-type light towards earth, drew gasps of amazement from the 70 or so delegates who attended the world premiere of the footage.”

The above quote does sound a lot like the footage in the video at the cited video sites. But the text at the YouTube link (recently updated) makes the claim that the footage was “found along a trail near the North Carolina / Tennessee border. It was found before the Irish video was announced. I only put it up when I heard about that one because it sounded like the same thing.” The poster goes on to say that he has given the camera and footage to a “UFO / Paranormal” researcher and that they will be posting the full, higher quality video online this weekend. [As of this weekend, it has indeed been updated to confirm our suspicions.]

Somehow I serendipitously came across the website for the Hoax Research Center and when I clicked through the headline UFOs: Phoenix Lights Effect Reproduced I (re)discovered the Annual Speaking of Strange UFO Experience and Fake UFO Contest organized by paranormal author, researcher and radio personality, Joshua P. Warren. And what should I see on that page but a picture of Jeff Wilson’s First-Place Winning UFO from last year’s 3rd Annual Speaking of Strange UFO Experience, which looks strikingly similar to the video in question:

(Photo by Sarah Harrison of the AshevilleParanormalSociety.com)

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