Phantoms and Monsters

Is Stephen Hawking Right? Can We Handle The Truth?
'Cowboy' the Ghost - Emerado, North Dakota
China's Triassic Dragon
Crop Circles: The Ongoing Mystery

Is Stephen Hawking Right? Can We Handle The Truth?

Posted: 01 May 2010 11:37 AM PDT

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In 1911, a chunk of rock reportedly fell from the sky and killed a dog in the little town of Nakhla in Egypt. This was the first known fatality caused by a cosmic object.

Scientists later revealed the rock was not a common meteorite, but a piece of Mars.

As British biologist J.B.S. Haldane said, "the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose".

Interestingly, the story of the unlucky pooch was followed by a spate of UFO sightings.

The number of claimed extraterrestrial encounters and claims of alien abductions have exploded since.

The best-educated generation in history is fascinated by the subject.

The desire to have contact with something from beyond seems to be part of our psyche, even for those without religious faith.

The hunt for intelligent species outside Earth may be a staple of literature and film...but it is happening in real life, too. NASA probes are on the lookout for planets outside our solar system, and astronomers are carefully listening for any messages being beamed through space. How awe-inspiring it would be to get confirmation that we are not alone in the universe, to finally speak to an alien race.

Well no, according to the eminent physicist Stephen Hawking. "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," Hawking has said in a forthcoming documentary made for the Discovery Channel. He argues that, instead of trying to find and communicate with life in the cosmos, humans would be better off doing everything they can to avoid contact.

Hawking believes that, based on the sheer number of planets that scientists know must exist, we are not the only life-form in the universe. There are, after all, billions and billions of stars in our galaxy alone, with, it is reasonable to expect, an even greater number of planets orbiting them. And it is not unreasonable to expect some of that alien life to be intelligent, and capable of interstellar communication. So, when someone with Hawking's knowledge of the universe advises against contact, it's worth listening, isn't it?

Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in California, the world's leading organization searching for telltale alien signals, is not so sure. "This is an unwarranted fear," Shostak says. "If their interest in our planet is for something valuable that our planet has to offer, there's no particular reason to worry about them now. If they're interested in resources, they have ways of finding rocky planets that don't depend on whether we broadcast or not. They could have found us a billion years ago."

If we were really worried about shouting in the stellar jungle, Shostak says, the first thing to do would be to shut down the BBC, NBC, CBS and the radars at all airports. Those broadcasts have been streaming into space for years...the oldest is already more than 80 light years from Earth – so it is already too late to stop passing aliens watching every episode of Big Brother or What Katie and Peter Did Next.

The biggest and most active hunt for life outside Earth started in 1960, when Frank Drake pointed the Green Bank radio telescope in West Virginia towards the star Tau Ceti. He was looking for anomalous radio signals that could have been sent by intelligent life. Eventually, his idea turned into SETI (standing for Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence), which used the downtime on radar telescopes around the world to scour the sky for any signals. For 50 years, however, the sky has been silent.

There are lots of practical problems involved in hunting for aliens, of course, chief among them being distance. If our nearest neighbours were life-forms on the (fictional) forest moon of Endor, 1,000 light years away, it would take a millennium for us to receive any message they might send. If the Endorians were watching us, the light reaching them from Earth at this very moment would show them our planet as it was 1,000 years ago; in Europe that means lots of fighting between knights around castles and, in north America, small bands of natives living on the great plains. It is not a timescale that allows for quick banter...and, anyway, they might not be communicating in our direction.

The lack of a signal from ET has not, however, prevented astronomers and biologists (not to mention film-makers) coming up with a whole range of ideas about what aliens might be like. In the early days of SETI, astronomers focused on the search for planets like ours...the idea being that, since the only biology we know about is our own, we might as well assume aliens are going to be something like us. But there's no reason why that should be true. You don't even need to step off the Earth to find life that is radically different from our common experience of it.

"Extremophiles" are species that can survive in places that would quickly kill humans and other "normal" life-forms. These single-celled creatures have been found in boiling hot vents of water thrusting through the ocean floor, or at temperatures well below the freezing point of water. The front ends of some creatures that live near deep-sea vents are 200C warmer than their back ends.

"In our naive and parochial way, we have named these things extremophiles, which shows prejudice – we're normal, everything else is extreme," says Ian Stewart, a mathematician at Warwick University and author of What Does A Martian Look Like? "From the point of view of a creature that lives in boiling water, we're extreme because we live in much milder temperatures. We're at least as extreme compared to them as they are compared to us."

On Earth, life exists in water and on land but, on a giant gas planet, for example, it might exist high in the atmosphere, trapping nutrients from the air swirling around it. And given that aliens may be so out of our experience, guessing motives and intentions if they ever got in touch seems beyond the realm's even of Hawking's mind.

Paul Davies, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University and chair of SETI's post-detection taskforce, argues that alien brains, with their different architecture, would interpret information very differently from ours. What we think of as beautiful or friendly might come across as violent to them, or vice versa. "Lots of people think that because they would be so wise and knowledgeable, they would be peaceful," adds Stewart. "I don't think you can assume that. I don't think you can put human views on to them; that's a dangerous way of thinking. Aliens are alien. If they exist at all, we cannot assume they're like us."

The researchers at the forefront of the work are astrobiologists, working in an area that has steadily marched in from the fringes of science thanks to the improvements in technology available to explore space.

Scientists discovered the first few extrasolar planets in the early 1990s and, ever since, the numbers have shot up. Today, scientists know of 443 planets orbiting around more than 350 stars. Most are gas giants in the mold of Jupiter, the smallest being Gliese 581, which has a mass of 1.9 Earths. In 2009, NASA launched the Kepler satellite, a probe specifically designed to look for Earth-like planets.

Future generations of ground-based telescopes, such as the proposed European Extremely Large Telescope (with a 30m main mirror), could be operational by 2030, and would be powerful enough to image the atmospheres of faraway planets, looking for chemical signatures that could indicate life. The SETI Institute also, finally, has a serious piece of kit under construction: the Allen Array (funded by a $11.5m/£7.5m donation from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) has, at present, 42 radio antennae, each six meters in diameter, but there are plans, if the SETI Institute can raise another $35m, to have up to 300 radio dishes.

In all the years that SETI has been running, it has managed to look carefully at less than 1,000 star systems. With the full Allen Array, they could look at 1,000 star systems in a couple of years.

Shostak is confident that, as telescope technology keeps improving, SETI will find an ET signal within the next two decades. "We will have looked at another million star systems in two dozen years. If this is going to work, it will work soon."

And what happens if and when we detect a signal? "My strenuous advice will be that the coordinates of the transmitting entity should be kept confidential, until the world community has had a chance to evaluate what it's dealing with," Davies told the Guardian recently. "We don't want anybody just turning a radio telescope on the sky and sending their own messages to the source."

But his colleague, Shostak, says we should have no such concerns. "You'll have told the astronomical community...that's thousands of people. Are you going to ask them all not to tell anybody where you're pointing your antenna? There's no way you could do that."

NOTE: My colleague, Sunny, was quoted in an article Can we handle THE TRUTH?. Her blog is at Lights in the Sky...Lon

Sources:
www.guardian.co.uk
thechronicleherald.ca
www.heraldsun.com.au
www.thesun.co.uk
www.csmonitor.com
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Bob Dean: Bringing in the Light - Project Camelot

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Bob Dean is a legend in his own time. He is, I believe, a one-man disclosure project. Ask him to the party and you barely need anyone else to make the case, for the truth behind ufos, ETs and the secret space program. He lends a touch of class to everything he touches.

After two brilliant interviews with Dean, imagine my surprise when I got a call from him telling me he wanted to come forward again... He had, he says, barely grazed the surface of what he knows. Hard to believe but who am I to quarrel with the 'great Yoda"?

So to Laughlin we went. I was accompanied by Jack Burns, the notorious, future, giver of Camelot conferences... A man who has attracted controversy and even, some believe, ignominy to Camelot in the process.... When these two war horses met it was a meeting of brothers. They had ridden together back in the days of the Knights Templar, they said. And Dean greeted him like the long lost comrade he was. With Jack's help -- handling the roving camera... I sat down with the retired Command Sergeant Major to have another go... and down the rabbit hole we went. A bit deeper in search of the real truth behind the matrix. And Bob did what he does best... bringing in the light.

Kerry Lynn Cassidy
Aoril 2010
Interview shot in February 2010

Is Stephen Hawking Right? Can We Handle The Truth?

'Cowboy' the Ghost - Emerado, North Dakota

Posted: 01 May 2010 10:58 AM PDT

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woai - Emerado, North Dakota -- It all started with some surveillance video. Bar owner, Brent Aspinwall says it felt like someone tugged his shirt. A close-up of the image on tape, some say, looks like a person that they've named "Cowboy." There have also been other incidents.

"I saw a figure by the dart board. It was quick and fast. It was an older man with dark rimmed glasses and a hat that snapped in front," said Penny Sorteberg, a resident of Gilby.

Brock McAdam, another Gilby resident said, "All of a sudden I heard a tap on the bar, and I got chills and my hair stood up on my arms and just got cold all of a sudden."

It all led to an investigation by a group of spirit world enthusiasts, who were on hand this week to reveal their findings to bar patrons.

"Based on what we have collected, I would have to say you guys have some paranormal activity," said Nick Guse of Dakota Paranormal Investigators.

They supposedly recorded the sounds of silverware moving by itself, and there was a strange occurrence by that ghost named Cowboy.

"I said hey, if you're here come sit on my lap and then I said to Nick... I'm feeling like I'm having a cold feeling... sensation on top of my lap," said Kelly Moraghan, also of Dakota Paranormal Investigators.

"I was pointing the thermometer and it went to about 65 or 66, and I said can you get it to got to 60 to prove that you're here. And it went to 60 and it stayed at 60," said Guse.

The Dakota Paranormal Investigators say they'll continue to research what's going on here. Bar employees also say there have been several incidents where a water faucet in the bar, which they say just seems to turn on by itself.

NOTE: It's hard to see on the video but the bartender does seem to react to something pulling on his shirt. The apparition is difficult to see as well. I called KLVY-TV in Fargo, ND and talked to a production manager who told me that the 'Hanger Bar' in Emerado has a history of strange phenomena. I attempted to dig up some information but there wasn't much available. Also, the paranormal group has yet to post any investigation notes. A ghost story from a business in a town with a population of 550 that makes a city TV newscast is probably a good way to get some curious patrons...Lon

'Cowboy' the Ghost - Emerado, North Dakota

China's Triassic Dragon

Posted: 01 May 2010 09:21 AM PDT

The "China dragon fossils", were recently exhibited in the Xinwei Ancient Life Fossils Museum in Anshun, Guizhou.

When archeologists first stripped the clay off the fossil, they found the dragon had a pair of horns above its head and the shape of the dragon was very like the legendary animal often described in books and stories.

Dragons have often appeared in Chinese legends. The dragon with two horns on its head is regarded as a totem. The totem was first invented by Chinese ancestors and worshipped by the Chinese people. Therefore Chinese people are also called the "descendents of the dragon".

For a long time, scientists thought that the dragon was a fictional animal existing only in stories.

The dragon fossil was found in Guanling County, Anshun City, in 1996, and has been kept in a good condition. It is measured 7.6 meters long. Its head is 76 centimeters long and the neck is 54 centimeters long. The body is 2.7 meters in length and 68 centimeters in width, and the tail is 3.7 meters long.

The dragon's head is in a triangle shape. Its mouth is 43 centimeters long. The widest part of the head is 32 centimeters long. The horns project from the widest part of the head, and are symmetrical and 27 centimeters long. They are a little bit curved and tilted, which makes the fossil look very much like the legendary dragon.

The China dragon was a reptile animal living in the ocean in Triassic Period about 200 million years ago. It was an amphibian. It spent most of its time living in water, although sometimes it walked on land. It also laid eggs on land. The animal lived on fish and small reptile animals.

This is the first time that China found a dragon fossil with a pair of horns. Its discovery provides some evidence to prove that dragons might really have horns. The fossil provides important scientific information for people to trace the origin of the Chinese legendary dragon.

NOTE: this article came out of China in 2007 and, frankly, I don't really know if it's bogus or not...though a couple of news agency recently ran it again. Doesn't really look like a 'fossil' but looks too 'defined' to have been photoshopped...Lon

China's Triassic Dragon

Crop Circles: The Ongoing Mystery

Posted: 01 May 2010 08:51 AM PDT

Chris Holly's Paranormal World - Crop Circles are part of the unknown that takes place all over this planet. Although extremely interesting crop circle designs or art are completely ignored by most people.

I find the incredible designs and numbers of circles formed each year to be fascinating. I find the fact people ignore, yawn or just do not care they are being formed also fascinating. It brings me back to my considering the global spraying going on worldwide in our skies to be huge doses of dummy juice!

It seems there are about 250 circles or designs formed every year. There seems to be some debate to when the crop circles first were discovered. Most seem to feel it is a modern day event starting within the last 30 or so years. Others claim they have been going on since the 1800's. Knowing how many are discovered each year and the time they started to be noticed are for me important parts of trying to rationalize out what exactly is going on with the crop designs.

Since the real time line of this subject seems to remain in debate I will say that if there were some kind of evidence that crop circles were being made worldwide dating before the 1900's I would consider alien intelligence rather than mankind the most logical source.

If however they are a modern happening the only logical conclusion would be to include our fellow humans as part if not entirely responsible for these incredible designs.

I personally feel that the crop circles being made today are computer generated works of art. I would consider hanging many as framed photos. The question is who is generating them?

I do not think a bunch of local boys are hooking up to boards in the middle of the night and forming these intricate designs. I am sure there have been circles made in this manner but there simply is no way that the fantastic designs found all over the world is being done by a pack of bored good ole boys.

The fact that the circles are found all over the planet at a rate of 250 per year also rules out the idea any earth bound group is doing this. It would be expensive, time consuming and next to impossible to pull off that many designs in that amount of time.

It seems to be common for the people that live near crop designs to share a mutual response of not seeing or being aware of when they are made.. There have been reports of light or orbs being seen in the areas but rare are those who have been on hand when they are being formed.

Frustrating as this may be I do believe we need to do more than ignore the fact these extreme designs are being left in fields across the world. The fact we do not know what is forming them is rather bizarre. The fact we do not as a species seem to be interested or care is equally as bizarre.

Logic rules out the idea that all crop circles are man made by people with boards strapped to their feet. I understand there are a few fools out there making a circle now and then however the elaborate circles by number and location around the world allow us to fully realize more is at hand here.

Like everyone else who has looked at this phenomenon I have tried to figure out how this is being done. I wonder what is being used to produce the intricate designs being found all over the world. I understand many feel they are computer generated in design. I agree they most likely have been done by an artful hand and a computer program. That however does not explain how they are being formed silently without detection all over the world.

I also have researched those who have been present when crop designs are being formed to find a recurring description of light rays, bright light or light orbs being seen.

It is obvious they are being created above the crops by way of some type of force. Knowing that our planet is now full of orbiting satellites makes space a logical place to look for an explanation. I wonder if the ability to form the crop designs is not being done by way of sound, light or a form of electromagnetism we are not yet privy to. I know that sound and light are being developed in the area of weapons. I know electromagnetism is able to do many actions we are only beginning to understand. It may be the crop designs be a test of this new technology or simply a way of killing boredom by some mad group of science freaks who fully enjoy messing with the public by way of sculpting out a crop circle design on a dull satellite control shift? It is not impossible.

Another area to consider is the ongoing development and use of the HAARP weather manipulation machines that are located across the planet. Many countries now own and use these horrible machines. I would think anything capable of controlling and changing the weather across the planet from space is also capable of tossing down a few computer designs on a few farmer's fields along the way.

Last but far from least I must include the idea that beings who easily could possess the ability to form crop circles are the ones from a orbit around earth who are blasting down the crop circle designs as a wakeup call for mankind to start looking up!

Nancy Talbot who is a crop circle expert had an experience when visiting a farmer with crop circle problems in his fields where she witnessed a circle being made.

Nancy and the farmer watched as bright light covered one of the farmer's fields while large rays of light blasted down from the night sky. They both watched this event take place and both found a new crop circle formed right before their eyes. They did not see a craft only this light display coming straight down from the night sky.

I believe they are being made via that which orbits our planet by intelligent beings via computer designs. I just have no idea at all whom what or where these intelligent beings are or why they are doing this.

I do find this to be a great mystery. I also find our apathy concerning this mystery strange and concerning.

We have incredible designs being forced on the crops of our farmers all over the world. There is no reason for them or explanation for them. No one knows how they are being done or by who. They are ongoing and average about 5 new ones each and every week. The biggest mystery here is that no one seems to care and no one seems concerned. Now that is as mysterious as the phenomenon.

If it is the misuse of our space projects, I think we should be aware of it. If it a big expensive joke by a bunch of bored science geeks I think it should be stopped. If it is a tactic to frighten us by those operating the weather manipulation machines I want to be able to ignore them – and if they are messages from another life form I think we need to begin to pay attention. The one thing I do believe strongly is that that the crop circle design mystery needs to be solved.

Be careful out there, pay attention to your surroundings and always keep your eyes on the sky.

Thanks to Chris Holly at Chris Holly's Paranormal World
Copyright © 2008-2010 Chris Holly all Rights Reserved
chrishollyufo@yahoo.com

Crop Circles: The Ongoing Mystery

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