Phantoms and Monsters |  |
- The Villa Santina, Italy Humanoid Incident
- Fortean / Alternative News: Helpful Aliens, Extraterrestrial DNA and Ghost Census
- Haunted Flat Exorcised? We'll See...
| The Villa Santina, Italy Humanoid Incident Posted: 03 Jan 2011 12:13 PM PST  Incident: On June 24, 1947, airman Kenneth Arnold startled the world with his claim to have seen nine discshaped objects travelling in line ahead, and at fantastic speed, through the skies over Mount Rainier. Arnold likened the objects, and their movements, to "saucers skimming over water". The era of the flying saucer was upon us. Seven weeks later, according to Italian artist R. L. Johannis, there took place what was probably the first post-Arnold "landing with entities" case in Europe. The story has been recorded in the May 1964 edition of Clypeus (organ of Centra Studi Clipeologici of Turin), and by Antonio Ribera in his book El Gran Enigma de los Platillos Volanies. Signor Johannis was out painting near the Chiarso creek, at Villa Santina, close by Carnia (Friuli), on August 14, 1947. The time was about 9 a.m. Suddenly he noticed a 30 ft. disc-shaped object that had alighted some little distance from him. Next, Signor Johannis saw two child-sized beings standing alongside the object. The artist said that they were about 3 feet tall, and were wearing dark blue coveralls with a bright red collar and belt. They also wore spherical helmets on heads that seemed larger than normal, but their faces were not covered. Their faces had a greenish colour, their eyes were large and plum coloured with a vertical line (the pupil?) in the centre, and they had no eyelashes or eyebrows. Each had a straight and rather !arge nose. Their hands were claw-like, greenish in colour, and with eight fingers on each, four opposed to four in the same way that our thumbs are opposed to our fingers. With his paint brushes still in his hand, the artist hailed the creatures. It is possible that this was interpreted as a hostile gesture, for one of the beings touched the centre of its belt and projected a thin vapour which caused the artist to fall dazed onto his back. The creatures then approached to within two yards of the prostrate artist and stood examining his easel. Although weak, the artist contrived to roll over, and saw the beings pick up the easel which had been knocked down; he perceived that it was taller than both of them. He also noticed that they were panting heavily. They then returned to the disc-shaped object and entered it, whereupon it rose from the ground, hovered and, according to the account, disappeared. When the unfortunate artist had sufficiently recovered his strength to be able to stand, he saw that his easel had disappeared. There has been some criticism that the artist saw rather a lot, particularly the colours, in a very short time. Surely, however, this is where artists have a great advantage over ordinary mortals: an artist's eye is quicker than a camera, and I do not find it surprising that Signor Johannis's brain could record such a mass of detail. The description of the belts is interesting, and it calls to mind the belts of the entities in the Antonio Villas Boas case—see Gordon Creighton's article. Also intriguing is the account of the gas or vapour, heralding as it does the incident of Cisco Grove which Mrs. Lorenzen describes elsewhere in this issue. - Charles Bowen - "The Humanoids" - Flying Saucer Review Special Issue (1966) **********  Summary Report: Near Raveo Carnic Alps, Italy - August 14 1947 - 0900A Ascending a mountain stream, the Chiarao, R L Johannis came upon a 10-meter wide lens shaped object of red burnished metal, wedged into a rock crack so that it stood on edge. It had a low cupola bearing a thin telescoping antenna like a car radio's but no openings. Seeing two "boys" 50 meters away, he called out to them, and began to approach them. When within 25 meters, he saw that they were midget-sized beings not over 3 ft tall, wearing dark blue overalls of translucent material, with bright red belts, collars, and cuffs. Their large heads were covered with broad tight fitting caps. They had immense round yellow green eyes with vertical slit pupils, and a mere slit of a ^-shaped mouth, which kept opening and closing. Their skin was dull greenish; they walked like robots, with arms hanging. After a couple of minute's stupor, Johannis waved his geologist's pick and called out, asking who they were. At this one raised his hand to his belt and a thin puff of smoke received was emitted; Johannis found himself flat on the ground, paralyzed, feeling as if he had received an electric shock. He saw one of the beings pick up his pick, with a green hand that had eight fingers, four of them opposite like our thumbs. Then with small steps they slowly walked to the saucer. A few minutes after they entered the rock crack, the disk rose vertically to about 15 ft above the ground (still on edge, "like a gong") & hovered there, while Johannis tried to get up but fell back again. The disc tipped a bit, and then took off, with a blast of wind that rolled Johannis into the stony riverbed. It was more than 2 hours before he felt able to walk home. When he unpacked his pack, he found that the aluminum objects in it were missing. At this time he had never heard of flying saucers. - Clypeus May 1964, FSR Vol. 13 # 1 **********  by Professor R. L. JOHANNIS During the first half of August 1947 I was in a small village called Raveo, near Villa Santina, in Carnia (Friuli). I spent a large part of the summers in that district where I am consequently well known. I have always been interested in geology and anthropology, and I spent all my leisure time studying these, my favourite sciences, an integral and indispensable part of which involves the systematic search for fossils. On the morning of August 14, 1947, as usual, I was making my way again up the short valley of the mountain stream called the Chiarso. This valley ends on the lower slopes of the central mountain massif, the Carnico del Col Gentile. I had with me a small knapsack and my geologist's pick. 1 was following a path along the left bank of the stream (which was almost dry) which winds up through clumps of fir trees and deposits of alluvial rubble and detritus. On my right the face of the mountain, with a gradient of about 45 degrees, towered away, consisting of fractured and weathered rock mixed with layers of gypsum. As I emerged from one of these clumps of fir I noticed, on the rocky river bank, and at a distance of about 50 metres from me, a large lenticular object of vivid red colour. I am slightly short-sighted, and so I quickly put my glasses on. When I had arrived at a spot a few steps distant from the 'thing', I was able to establish the fact that it was a disc—seemingly of varnished metal like the metal of an ordinary toy—having the shape of a lens and a low central cupola with no apertures. At its tip a sort of shining metallic antenna, of telescopic form, was protruding, roughly similar to those we have on our present-day motor-cars. (And here I must state straight away that I knew nothing whatever in those days of flying saucers and I do not think that the Italian newspapers had even started to talk about them.) The object, some 10 metres wide, was embedded, to the extent of about a quarter of its length, in a great transverse cleft in the friable rock of the mountain side, and was at a height of about 6 metres above the bed of the stream. Without more ado I decided that I would climb up there to it and see what it was, but first of all (and anybody else would have done the same) I looked round to see whether there was anybody about who—should the need arise—could help me. It was then that I perceived, at a distance of 50 metres or so from me, right on the edge of the grove of trees from which I bad just emerged, two 'boys'. At any rate, that is what they seemed to be, at first. I shouted to them and pointed to the disc. And then I started towards them. When I had halved the distance between them and myself, I stopped, petrified. The two 'boys' were dwarfs, the likes of which I had never seen nor even imagined. They were coming towards me slowly, with tiny strides, with their hands at their sides and their heads motionless. When they had come to a few paces from me, they halted. I had no strength left, I seemed to be paralysed, or to be dreaming. But I was still able to observe them in every detail. And those details have remained impressed upon me so indelibly that even now I could make a portrait or even a statue of those extraordinary beings. However I must confess that the dominating sentiment in me then was one of enormous astonishment combined with fear, as you will well understand.  They were no more than 90 centimetres in height, and were wearing dark blue coloured overalls made of some material that I would not know how to describe. 'Translucent' is the only term for it. They had collars and rather deep belts, all of a vivid red colour. Even the cuffs and the shins of the legs ended in 'collars' of the same type. Their heads, according to the impression that I got, were bigger than the head of a normal man, and gave them a caricaturish aspect. But I think the sight of their 'faces' would have put an end to anybody's desire to laugh. At this point, I am obliged to explain that the terms I have used in this description are purely indications, and are of a purely anthropomorphic nature, because I don't know, today, whether those things that I have defined as nose, mouth, eyes, and hands were like that or whether it would be more correct to name them in some other way. They had no signs of hair but in place of it they were wearing a sort of dark brown tight-fitting cape like an alpinist's bonnet. The 'skin' of their faces was an earthy green (verde terroso). The only colour that comes close to it is that of the plasticine commonly used by sculptors or of clay dipped in water. The 'nose' was straight, geometrically cut, and very long. Beneath it was a mere slit, shaped like a circumflex accent, which I saw opening and closing again at intervals, very much like the mouth of a fish. The 'eyes' were enormous, protruding and round. Their appearance and colour were like the colour of two well ripened yellow-green plums (due prugne giallo-verdi ben mature). In the centre of the eyes I noticed a kind of vertical 'pupil'. I saw no traces of eyebrows or eyelashes, and what I would have called the eyelids consisted of a ring, midway between green and yellow, which surrounded the base of those hemispherical eyes just like the frame of a pair of spectacles. I remained there in astonishment, for what seemed to me an interminably long time, gazing at the two extraordinary creatures. Only later was I able to calculate roughly how long it was. I think the silent confrontation lasted no more than two or three minutes. Then I raised my arm with the pick and waved it in their direction and then in the directionof the disc, and, in an agitated voice, I shouted and asked who they were, where they came from, and if I could be of any help to them. They wheeled round very quickly and I can't remember what I saidafter that, for things began to happen fast. I now believe that the two beings had interpreted my precipitate gestures as being threatening to them. But I don't know for sure, and don't suppose I ever shall. What is certain is that one of them raised his right hand to his belt, and from the centre of the belt there came something that seemed as though it might be a thin puff of smoke. I now think it was a ray or something of the sort. Anyway, before I had time to move or do anything, I found myself laid out full length on the ground. My pick shot out of my hand, as though snatched by an invisible force, Only once in my life have I had the experience of suffering a 'violent electric shock. That was in 1924, when I was a student at the Technical Institute in Udine, and the physics professor made us all form a chain and take the charge from a Leyden jar. Well, I can only tell you that as soon as I was struck by that smoke-ray, I felt a similar sensation. Moreover I felt myself deprived of all strength and all my efforts to raise myself meant an expenditure of energy that was beyond me. Meanwhile, the two midgets were coming towards me, and they halted at a spot 2 metres from me, where my pick had fallen. I managed to roll over on to one side and I saw one of them bend down and pick up the tool, which was longer than he was. And this was how I was able to see his green 'hand' quite distinctly. It had eight fingers, four of them opposable to the others! It wasn't a hand: it was a claw, and the fingers were without joints. I also noticed that the chests of the two beings were quivering: like a dog's chest when it pants after a long run. I made fantastic efforts to get up, and finally managed a sitting position. But I had to brace my arms against the ground so as not to fall back again. Meanwhile the two entities had arrived beneath the disc. I saw them climb up, slowly but surely, to the cleft in the rock and disappear into the disc itself, which was imbedded almost vertically in the rock. A few more minutes elapsed, and then the strange object shot straight out from the rock and rose into the air. A cascade of stones and earth fell down on to the bed of the river. And that was the only noise that broke the silence in that lonely spot. The stream, being at low water, was trickling silently over the pebbles. The disc remained there stationary in the air, like an enormous suspended gong. I could distinctly see its sharply cut flange 4 or 5 metres from me, and for a moment I was seized with terror that it was going to come down and cut me in half like a worm. I am not sure, but I think I shouted at the top of my voice. At any rate, I am certain that I made every effort to get up and escape. The result was that I kept falling back again, supine and racked with pain. Meanwhile, the disc had tipped slightly away from its vertical position. Then it suddenly grew smaller, and vanished. Immediately afterwards, I was struck by a tremendous blast of wind (the air shock?), which rolled me over and over on the ground and filled my eyes with dust. I ended up against the stones in the river bed and remained there for I don't know how long. Finally I managed to get into a sitting position again and it was then that I looked at my wrist watch. It was 9.14. But it was only at about midday that I was in a fit state to get back home. In the meantime, I even slept for an hour. My bones all felt as if they were broken and my legs wereweak and trembling, as though after a fearful bout of drinking. I looked in my rucksack for my thermos flask of coffee, and was not surprised to find it shattered to pieces, but what did surprise me was not being able to find any trace of its metal casing. Also gone were my aluminium fork and an aluminium can that had contained my cold lunch.' Everything had been soaked with coffee, including a pack of cards with sketches of the region which I usually carried with me. I had to be content with bread soaked in coffee and throw away the salami and all the rest. Finally I should add that I searched in vain for my pick, which would have been very useful to me at that point as a walking stick. At 2 p.m. I reached Raveo and went to bed. I told the proprietress of the inn where I was staying that I had fallen from a rock, and she replied that served me right for it was high time I stopped going around picking up stones (she has known me for more than thirty-five years since I was a boy). Next morning I armed myself with another pick and—I confess—with a revolver, and went back to the spot. Naturally there was nobody there. I climbed right up to the cleft in the rock since I thought the two creatures might have thrown my old pick—to which I was very much attached—in there, but I found nothing. I believe that that old pick of mine is now in a museum on some other planet. I hope that somebody up there is trying to decipher the marks cut in the handle, my name and a mountaineering motto, and a pair of stylised alpine flowers, and an eagle. And I hope they rack their brains to a standstill trying to make it out. Finally I must tell you that at that time I tried to explain my strange adventure in many different ways, but none of them having anything whatever to do with flying saucers orother craft of extra-terrestrial origin. At first I thought the 'saucer' was an experimental machine of the allied forces which were then in occupation of the Campoformido aerodrome in the Friuli area. My next thought was of some device of Russian origin. Finally, I wondered about some unknown civilisation still hidden away in some unexplored regions of the world like the Matto Grosso of Brazil. The most absurd hypotheses could be adapted to fit my extraordinary adventure. But not one of them was satisfactory, since not one of them could account for the presence of those two little men. Anybody else in my position would have decided that the sensible thing to do was to say absolutely nothing whatever to anybody about what had happened. And this was what I did, quite consciously. I had no wish to be considered a crazy visionary, or worse, and I don't think anyone could blame me. Two months later, I sailed for New York. During the crossing I heard for the first time about the flying saucers seen by Kenneth Arnold. Only then did I realise that I had seen a flying saucer. During my five years in the U.S.A. I followed with the greatest of interest all developments in the 'flying saucer story', and in 1950 I decided to relate my experience to two persons in whom I have confidence, who can give their testimony about it at any time, and whose addresses I have given to the president of the Centro Studi Clipeologici in Turin which has now been good enough to publish my account, In 1952, before returning to Italy, I read an article in the weekly review L'Europeo, about the book by the American Scully, who spoke of two flying saucers that had landed in America and, as he stated quite clearly, contained the corpses of little men. Then I sent a letter from New York to the director of L'Europeo, asking him to publish the account of my experience which, at any rate, possessed the merit of priority in time. When, two months later, I returned to Italy, I went to Milan, and called upon the director of L'Europeo. There I was told that the subject was an interesting one but that, in order that it could be published, it was necessary for me to furnish 'proofs' (I) of its authenticity. I replied that if on that morning in August 1947 I had imagined that I was going to encounter creatures from another world, 1 would certainly not have hesitated for one moment to take along with me a whole troop of journalists, cinematographers and (why not?) a company of soldiers too. As a result of my experience, I had made enquiries in the village next day (August 15, 1947), as to whether anybody had noticed any sort of 'aeroplane' the day before. Two people (an old man and a boy) told me, separately, that they had seen one, in the one case at 8.30 a.m. and in the other case at approximately 10 a.m. The old man had been sitting down in the village square enjoying the sunshine. He noticed a red globe being 'carried aloft by the wind' behind the mountain on the slope of which the village lies. The boy was with his mother and other people, working in a field scarcely outside the village, and he noticed a red ball ('like the ones they have at fairs') which was rising at great speed and vanished in the clear sky. That is all that I have been able to gather in the way of 'local testimony'. It is doubtful whether it would have been of any interest to the director of L'Europeo. And with that, my story is finished. I will only add that I was deeply disgusted by the mean campaign of vilification which has been carried on in the U.S.A. in connection with the matter of flying saucers and which I followed closely in all its details between October 1947 and 1952. And my disgust ended by turning into bitterness here in Europe when I realised the enormous levity with which the important question of the flying saucers is treated. I say 'levity', because I don't regard as worthy of any sort of consideration at all the hoaxes and the frauds perpetrated for the purpose of making money or for witless propaganda. And I must conclude this brief account with a warning similar to the one with which the American, Major Donald E. Keyhoe, closes his book Flying Saucers from Outer Space. 'There are intelligent beings that are coming from outer space and have been observing us for years, perhaps for centuries. Perhaps there will be beings similar to us. Others might be very different from us as regards their physical aspect (I am not sure about this). 'We must be ready, at any time, for meetings with these beings, and ready to demonstrate that we are "civilised". When? Perhaps tomorrow or perhaps in two centuries from now. We don't know. But it is certain that, immediately, at the first meeting, we must give them the impression that we are in fact not their enemies. Because, while we can surely learn from them things that will increase our scientific knowledge, we might be treated by them on the same level as inferior beings or savages. And we cannot deny that our own "highly civilised" exploratory expeditions in Africa, Australia, Malaysia and Arizona, have answered the poor arrows of the natives with their more lethal leaden bullets. What sort of reply might the "flying saucer people" give to our modern weapons? The mysterious power (magnetic?) which silently drives their craft should make us think.' ********** Letter from Professor R. L. Johannis to Gianni Settimo, Director and founder of the Centri Studi Clipeologici, Turin. Milan March 20, 1964. 'My dear Settimo: 'In accordance with your request, I am sending you two China-ink sketches to illustrate the account of my meeting with a "saucer" and two of its "pilots" in Carnia away back in 1947. 'As I told you, at such a distance in time, many of my recollections'—exact enough at the time—have weakened and have consequently become a little confused. I refer particularly to the exact appearance of the "bodies" of the two 'beings" met by me, as well as the shape of the eyes since I am no longer certain whether they were vertical or horizontal slits or whether there weren't any pupils at all. 'When I sent my account of' the episode from America to the Italian weekly L'Europeo, I sent with it a sketch of the "pilots", but when I came back to Europe that sketch was not returned to me because their editorial office had lost it. That sketch was done by me two months after the meeting, and consequently was much more faithful a reproduction than the ones done by me now. 'However, generally speaking, the front view of the "head" can be taken (apart from the pupils) as corresponding to the truth. The profile sketch is uncertain in respect of the form of the 'nose' and in respect of the absence of ears or something similar that I can't recollect absolutely. 'The sketches of the complete figures are to be considered as rough and approximate outlines and consequently of purely general value. Besides, I am at present inclined to believe the two pilots were nothing more than two "robots" whereas in 1947 I was convinced that I had met real and actual extraterrestrial beings. Sources: Charles Bowen - "The Humanoids" - Flying Saucer Review Special Issue (1966) www.ufoevidence.org Gordon Creighton - "The Villa Santina Case" - Flying Saucer Review (1967) Christopher Humphrey - "UFOs, Psi, and Spiritual Evolution" www.bibliotecapleyades.net www.interstellar-travel.com www.noufors.com       |
| Fortean / Alternative News: Helpful Aliens, Extraterrestrial DNA and Ghost Census Posted: 03 Jan 2011 11:23 AM PST  Abductee States New Alien Race Here to Help unexplainable - by Chris Capps - A UFO abductee from Brisbane, Australia has come forward claiming that just recently a new race of aliens has arrived to help the human race on Earth and investigate our bodies for genetic tampering. Though it might sound a bit strange even for a UFO abduction report, this witness details an interesting narrative that seems to suggest there's more going on in the world of UFO abductions than just aliens visiting Earth and altering DNA. This witness actually suggests there may be a different alien race that has come to investigate the others. And if this was the case, it seems to suggest a number of things that might change the very face of UFOlogy. The witness, who submitted his report to the Mutual UFO Network, says that he was awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of chirping coming from his bedroom. Looking around, he could see strange shapes suddenly moving about his room. Soon four creatures approached his bed and introduced themselves as one, two, three, and four. They told him they were there to help the human race and not to be afraid. Though the creatures were extremely strange to the witness, he felt very calm and at peace. Quickly he felt an overwhelming trust for these creatures. The experience involved body scans with a handheld device. One of the creatures scanned his internal organs with a device that had a screen on it showing his circulatory system. The creature even tilted the machine up so the witness could see his own body pumping blood through his veins. After a few moments of examination, the witness asked why they were there and the creature explained that they had arrived on Earth to investigate the possibility of DNA tampering. As the night progressed the creatures returned him to his room and when the witness awoke he found that he had not slept well the previous night as he looked back on it, he couldn't help but feel that the whole experience couldn't have been a dream. He had remembered his dreams many times over the years, and whatever this was, it was completely different. It stands to reason if DNA alteration were to happen on Earth, as many peoples' UFO scenarios suggest, then it would likely happen on other planets as well. In fact, it would seem this would be fairly common practice on developing worlds if potential tamperers were not policed somehow by a unified group of creatures that valued the natural diversity of life. And so if the creatures involved here in this account were to have a motive to protect the humans, then the collection of DNA suddenly seems to make more sense. Of course this still doesn't explain so many accounts of the abduction narrative where children and other offspring are shown to the abductees during subsequent abductions. Still, this witness appears to have had a very strange and intriguing experience that defies explanation. Unexplainable.net - Watching the World Change ********** Colombian Undertaker Launches Ghost Census dalelinezero - A Medellin undertaker has taken his craft to the next level by launching a "ghostly census" in Colombia's second-largest city, where his workers have so far compiled 215 spirits, 23 in pictures and videos. "It's beyond question that many of the city's buildings and homes have ghosts. For years, we've heard stories about them and we thought the time had come to approach, catalog and classify them through a census," William Betancur told AFP. Betancur said he came on the idea of a "ghostly census" after clearly sensing his pet dog still going about his daily rounds at the funeral home — four months after he died. The enterprising Betancur Funeral Home owner said he began working on the list a few weeks ago, sending "a team of four funeral parlour workers — properly attired in uniforms — to buildings" around Medellin, 245 kilometers (152 miles) northwest of the capital Bogota. "They've reported back with 215 ghosts…. Our video and still cameras have captured 23," he said with pride. Anybody can report an otherworldly apparition, Betancur said. "They just have to phone or email us (censofantasmas@hotmail.com) and depending on their physical manifestation — noises, sparkling light shows or images — that's how they'll be classified." And the ghost business seems to be catching on, according to AFP. Betancur said he gets calls every day from people and companies "from Colombia and abroad" with offers on how to measure the "relationship between the ghost and the place he inhabits" and of state-of-the-art detection equipment. The undertaker has a sound business model behind his haunted venture. "Our plan is to take a year for the census…. Later we're thinking of writing a book and, why not, doing a movie or documentary series." Betancur said he came on the idea of a "ghostly census" after clearly sensing his pet dog still going about his daily rounds at the funeral home — four months after he died. ********** Babies Can Read Minds scientificamerican - Babies as young as seven months old may be able to take into account the thoughts and beliefs of other people, according to a paper published December 23 in Science. Called "theory of mind," this ability is central to human cooperation. The finding provides evidence for the earliest awareness in infants so far of others' perspectives, says lead author Ágnes Kovács, a developmental psychologist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. The research team made the discovery by measuring a simple behavior--how long infants stare at a scene--in experiments that did not require infants to explicitly assess others' thoughts or predict their actions. Although many past studies have suggested that the ability to infer another person's viewpoint does not arise until the age of four, scientists demonstrated in 2005 and 2007, respectively, that 15- and 13-month-old infants can, in some situations, comprehend the beliefs of others. Showing that younger babies possess this aptitude is significant, says developmental psychologist Rose Scott of the University of California, Merced. It's not known how babies acquire the capacity to understand others' mental states, but some scientists have argued that conversation has a key role. Because seven-month-olds have little experience with conversation--responding to voices and babbling rather than speaking words--Scott says that this study "really changes the kinds of theories that we're going to have to build for how these abilities develop." Sensing expectation The researchers showed 56 seven-month-old infants an animated cartoon in which a Smurf-like character watches a ball roll behind a rectangle placed on a table through a number of scenes. The ball either stopped behind the rectangle and was hidden from view, or kept rolling along the table until it disappeared from the scene. In some of the scenes, the "Smurf" character watched the whole process. In others, he left too soon to see the ball's final position. For example, a ball that previously rolled behind the rectangle while the character was present would start rolling again and disappear from view after his departure. In the last scene, the rectangle dropped off, revealing no ball behind it. The team found that the infants stared longer at the final scenes depicting a surprising outcome for the cartoon character when he retreated early (ball absent) than the anticipated one (ball present). Babies are thought to look longer at unexpected situations or events. So the researchers interpret the infants' behavior as indicating that they were surprised at the unexpected outcome, just as the cartoon character would have been. In other words, the babies seemed to process the character's viewpoint, not just their own. Of two minds? Although using looking times is a standard approach in the field, it is problematic because it is hard to know whether infants are attending to the right parts of the scene when they are looking at it, says developmental psychologist Alison Gopnik of the University of California, Berkeley. Tracking reaching behavior or eye movements will be necessary to substantiate the findings, she adds. Gopnik also says that infants' responses could be explained by the perception of physical events, such as the sequence of ball movements, rather than the cartoon character's viewpoint. The researchers would have to add a control scene with no characters in it to show that they influence looking times, she says. The authors did include experiments that were meant to account for alternative explanations, such as visual discrepancies between the movies. For example, the researchers made sure that the timing of the ball's movements and the total distance it covered was the same in all the movies. "I believe that we can be rather confident that the looking-time differences are really due to computing the cartoon character's beliefs, and not to some uninteresting differences between the conditions," says co-author Ansgar Endress, a cognitive psychologist at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. If confirmed by future studies, the results would indicate that infants are sensitive to social information and to what others see. But this does not necessarily mean that they have the ability to comprehend others' beliefs in the same way that four-year-olds do, Gopnik says. "The most interesting question now is how children revise and change their early view of the mind based on the evidence they see around them." ********** Another 'Power' Wristband Seller Forced to Admit Misleading Advertisement powerbalance - In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility. We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct in breach of s52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974. If you feel you have been misled by our promotions, we wish to unreservedly apologise and offer a full refund. To obtain a refund please visit our website www.powerbalance.com.au or contact us toll-free on 1800 733 436 This offer will be available until 30th June 2011. To be eligible for a refund, together with return postage, you will need to return a genuine Power Balance product along with proof of purchase (including credit card records, store barcodes and receipts) from an authorised reseller in Australia. This Corrective Notice has been paid for by Power Balance Australia Pty Ltd and placed pursuant to an undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission given under section 87B of the Trade Practices Act, 1974. ********** Video: Russian Scientist Believes He Found Alien DNA at UFO Landing Site Train passengers in Russia said they saw a UFO land. A biologist took the passengers seriously and decided to do a number of experiments. The experiments show that there is little life in the ground and that animals avoid the area, even 20 years after the landing. Inside what is believed the landing circle, time speeds up. But most amazing is that the scientist says he has found physical proof of ET. He was able to find physical samples that he believes contain alien DNA. Some Russians believe this is Alien micro-technology being placed on earth by interplanetary probes. American scientists believe the Alien physical samples are of unknown origin or common parts of filter systems.     |
| Haunted Flat Exorcised? We'll See... Posted: 03 Jan 2011 10:19 AM PST  wigantoday - Paranormal investigators say they have successfully exorcised a haunted Wigan flat after a terrifying all-night vigil. The Dead Connections team offered their services to Pemberton young mum Holly Taylor after reading in the Wigan Evening Post about how she has been plagued by ghostly goings-on at her new home in Woodford Street, Pemberton. She and toddler daughter Willow were refusing to spend the night there, having endured inexplicable happenings such as: Plates flying off the kitchen work surface; Ornaments and other objects being moved or knocked over while they were out; Footsteps and knockings; The smoke detector sounding without reason; Lights coming on. Neighbours had suffered from unexplained noises too and the flats' predecessor – Pemberton Police Station – also had a reputation for being haunted. An officer who used to serve there told the Evening Post that the footsteps and bangings that staff used to here were put down to the ghost of a former inspector, who had hanged himself in a cell many years ago. But the investigators say that they believe the ghost was that of a woman, who had died in a fire. Dead Connections team members Emma and Adam Butler, Robyn Davies and John Strickland spent the night in the flat with a variety of technological instruments including an electromagnetic field meter (which at times almost went off the scale despite being nowhere near electrical appliances), and a voice recorder. Emma said they had spent many nights in allegedly haunted buildings, but this one had proved one of the most frightening and eventful. The team, who were joined by Holly, Willow and Holly's boyfriend Jordan O'Neill, heard breathing and clicking noises and also a series of tappings by which they attempted to communicate. The taps appeared to be coming from Willow's bedroom which was empty (the youngster was sleeping in another room). And as the questions they asked about who was there were answered, the meter would leap from green to red. They also used what is known as a Frank's Box, which picks up radio station white noise and occasional words. And through these two forms of communications, Emma and her team concluded that they were talking to a woman who had died in a fire and needed help to "cross over" – although, perplexingly, the name Simon kept coming through too. Photographs taken during the night also showed grey orbs, about the size of tennis balls, floating in the air which no one had seen at the time. Emma said: "We always go into situations like this trying to explain things normally first, but really there was a heck of a lot happening that we could not account for. "There were all kinds of noises. A cupboard in Willow's bedroom, which doesn't have a weak catch on it, popped open at one point and the smoke detector kept bleeping even though there was no fire and there were new batteries in it. "At one point, there was a very loud bang which took us all by surprise and it was tempting to run away. "There has also been something weird happening with memory lapses. "Robyn and I went to look round the flat a few days before we spent the night there, and then went back home and apparently had a long conversation with Adam and John about a cat. "But when the lads reminded us of it the next day, neither of us had any recollection of the conversation. "We mentioned this to Holly and she said that it was always happening to her too. "Twenty-minute passages would just vanish from her memory." At the end of the night, the team carried out an hour-long blessing ceremony, which involved the use of sage – a herb associated with exorcism – and calling on the spirit to leave the family and the flat and move to the other side. And it seems to have done the trick. Emma said: "Holly says nothing has happened since. "Her daughter has just spent her first uninterrupted sleep in the flat, the smoke alarm doesn't bleep any more and even the clock which stopped after it fell off the wall has started working again." Holly said: "All the noises have stopped. It's amazing and I'm very grateful to them." NOTE: Honestly, if this was a true haunting I seriously doubt that the procedures used by the paranormal group in this article moved the spirit along. The use of sage or 'smudging' has been used since the ancient Babylonians in rituals for healing and releasing negative energy. These rituals, including religious incantations, has become a popular 'cure all' for all degrees of haunting and possession. It may very well calm a location for awhile but most likely has not solved the problem...namely, clearing or moving the entity along. You may want to read excerpts from 'Among the Spirits' for further insight...Lon Send us an email   New Items - Strickler's Celebrity Autographs  ANOMALIST BOOKS Works on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries. Please check out their excellent and diverse catalog  The 'C' Influence Actualizing Esoteric Discussion   "The latest news from beyond the mainstream" Join Ben & Aaron for their weekly podcast! Check out Mysterious Universe Plus+ all access format!  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