This is a test

(The following is an e-mail from the past, composed on Saturday, July 2, 2005, and sent via FutureMe.org)

Dear FutureMe, This seems to have no link ability, Must handle like this: See

httP://cwbn.blogspot.com

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Witnesses stage reunion

Witnesses of a 1966 sighting Australian at an Australian high school met on April 8. An estimated 30 witnesses of roughly 200 were expected to attend.

Details in this article. Australian UFO bloggers weigh in, too.

Mufon presents Hamilton allegations

A MUFON chapter in California has sponsored a talk by Bill Hamilton in which he speaks of Area 51 research collaboration with aliens and hyperspace vortices. "Time travel is happening, not only now, but has happened in the past," Hamilton said.

Orange County sees UFO outburst

Several Orange County, CA, residents have recently reported UFO sightings to the local sheriff's office.

The saucers are made in the garages of Gaylon Murphy and Steve Zingali, who get their kicks shocking people and hope to earn a few bucks hawking their remote-controlled saucers. After all, a few UFO sightings can only be good for business. "We fly them in formation. It's pretty funny," said Murphy, a cardiovascular surgeon. "People stop, people scream, one cabdriver ran his car up off the road."

This story does not say how the pranksters power their vehicles.

Witness sees lights near Wimbledon

A witness identified as "Debbie from Mitcham" by the Wimbledon Guardian has reported seeing three lights near Wimbledon doing aerobatic stunts on Feb. 15. The paper reports that she made a phone-camera snapshot of the sighting.

West Kilbride as a UFO destination

West Kilbride is coming to terms with its new reputation as Britain's UFO hotspot:

Last year reports released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) revealed that West Kilbride had the highest number of recorded sightings of flying saucers in Britain during 2004. A total of 12 sightings were made in the village, which makes it Britain's closest rival to the UFO capital of Roswell, New Mexico. Reported sightings were consistent: yellow spheres, sometimes alone, sometimes flying in groups of up to 25, all hovering over the hills of West Kilbride.

Carter revisits his UFO sighting

In an interview with GQ, former President Jimmy Carter has revisited his encounter with a UFO.

He recalled that it was a bright light that got "closer and closer to us," but then "changed color to blue," then to red, then back to white, and then "receded into the distance." However, he said, "I've never believed it came from Mars."

UFO sighting called "helium balloons"

The report of an Australian woman who reported clumps of hovering gray and white aircraft in Warmabool on Monday, Jan. 16, is facing explanations that these were helium balloons. Details here.

South Cheshire reports another UFO

Witnesses in South Cheshire have reported another UFO, this one a hovering "yellow flashing light". Details about the mid-January incident appear here.

October horse killings still baffle Colorado

Results from autopsies of six horses and a burro killed mysteriously in Colorado in October have spurred memories of the wave of cattle mutilations of the 1970s. Veterenarian Dr. John Heikkila "concluded that an unusual toxin, delivered through a dart or pellet, caused the deaths." Altogether 16 horses were killed on Oct. 22; officials blame a lightning strike, according to this story.

Photographer discovers UFO in shoot

The Manila Times reports that a man (not otherwise identified) photographing trash pickers near Zamboanga City in Lumbangan captured a UFO in one of the digital pictures. "He said the object resembled a dark metallic disc with what appeared to be a dome on its top and it emitted neither sounds nor smoke. It was unknown if there were other witnesses..." The photographer did not notice the craft until he downloaded his images to computer.

How to cruise Area 51

This travel feature from the Boston Herald tells tourists how to cruise Area 51 in Nevada. The writer reports:

It was easy to spot Area 51. A bright light flooded the sky, blanking out the stars, illuminating the right side of my car and spooking a jackrabbit to run in front of it. I pulled over, climbed out of the car and watched as a few seconds later a bright orange glow emanated from ground silhouetting the mountain ridge, and a very intense whitish-yellow light hung in the sky and then slowly descended behind the ridge.

The event took me a little by surprise. I figured I was witnessing a parachute flare, but what caused the initial flash and orange glow remains a mystery to me.

Illinois UFO sightings compiled

Phillip Dean, an Indiana UFO researcher, has compiled and released UFO reports from neighboring Illinois in magazine format. Dean researches cases through mail correspondence. Some of his stories are recapped in this news feature.

Explosions observed on moon

A scientist testing a new telescope has videotaped explosions on the moon, which are "rare," this BBC story reports. The scientist attributes them to meteor impacts.

"People just do not look at the Moon anymore," he noted.

Dr Suggs used commercial software to study the video he took, and spotted a very bright flash. The burst of light diminished gradually over the course of five video frames, each 1/30th of a second in duration.

Woman captures UFO on video

An woman residing in Crosland Moor, England, filmed a UFO last week and has asked for public help identifying the object: "Teresa Millward, 28, of Crosland Moor, said: 'It was very strange and slow-moving. It was shaped a bit like a triangle.' "

This local story contains a video link.

Kecksburg PA marks anniversary of sighting

Locals remember the "acorn" over Kecksburg in 1965.

According to this story, "hundreds" converged from as far away as Boston to hear speakers, including witness Bill Weaver, at the local fire hall.

(Weaver, photo above at left, stands next to a replica of the UFO. Photo from the Daily Courier.)

Scrapyard's "space shuttle" goes missing

Scrapman Pete Bielecki's 400-lb space shuttle has been stolen for a second, probably final, time.

Reporter to "jumpstart" lawsuit vs. NASA

Leslie Kean (right), a reporter associated with the Sci Fi cable channel, is filing new papers to "jumpstart" the stalled process of obtaining information from NASA related to a 1965 incident in Pennsylvania, local sources report.

Kean wants files on what happened December 9 1965, in the unincorporated hamlet of Kecksburg, about 48km southeast of Pittsburgh.

Witnesses described a "fireball" in the evening sky, and a metallic, acorn-shaped object about 4-4.5m high and 2-4m in diameter that landed gently in the woods, according to media accounts at the time.

Data was sought two years ago under the Freedom of Information Act but has produced nothing so far.

NASA is the object of sought information, in part, because it examined debris associated with the sighting.

Chinese get UFO funding for center

Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, has received the equivalent of $20 million (USD) to set up a research center to study a series of 1994 incidents that some believe were caused by UFO activity.

Local authorities, not otherwise identified, made the announcement, China Daily reports.

The donor was not identified either, except as a "Taiwan-based company."

UFO over Shanghai

The Shanghai Daily reports that a UFO was spotted over the city Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 30. Citing a number of witnesses, the story said that the object appeared "cubic," "oblong," "oval," and "dish-like."

New UFO report near Bracknell, UK

The IC Berkshire website has reported another UFO sighting in the Bracknell area earlier this month:

A NOISY UFO woke Birch Hill residents in the early hours of Monday morning when it zoomed over the sleeping suburb.

The craft spent half-an-hour hovering above houses in Jevington before zipping towards South Hill Park, according to witnesses.

Details include "It looked like a pile of scaffolding with lights, red, blue and orange ones."

The website tallied Bracknell News sighting stories this summer: "at the Coppid Beech Hotel (July 7), Birch Hill (July 14), Crown Wood (July 19), Binfield and College Town (July 28) and another in Binfield (August 30)."

Alien believers gather in Peru

UFOlogists believeing in alien visitation gathered in Lima, Peru, last week for an international conclave on extraterrestrials. "This ... congress has been organized by the Alfa y Omega group, which believes that a fleet of UFOs will fly to Earth at the end of the world and that Jesus Christ could use one for his second coming," according to a feature story on MSNBC's website.

Australian academic studies 1966 event

Shane Ryan, an English lecturer with the University of Canberra has been collecting witness stories about the Westall object observations of 1966, according to a feature article in The Age.

Mr Ryan has interviewed about 30 witnesses, mostly former staff and students from the Westall secondary and primary schools. He has tried obtaining police and RAAF reports, but so far with little luck. The story was covered then by Channel Nine, The Age and local newspapers.

Ryan plans a book to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the sighting.

The object was in view for up to 20 minutes, and many saw it descend. Most agree it landed behind pine trees at the Grange Reserve. Dozens of students ran across what was then an open paddock to the reserve to investigate, but the object had lifted off and vanished.

UK residents report light to paper

UK residents of Hainault reported lights in the sky to their local newspaper The Recorder late last month. "Residents and partygoers in Hainault were mesmerised by the unexplained lights that emerged as clear bright circles." Story summary here.

Filmmaker revisits Phoenix, 1997

Film director Steve Lantz (right) is making waves with his documentary about UFO sightings over Phoenix in 1997:

The movie played at the New York International Film and Video Festival where Steve was named Best Director and is also an official selection of the upcoming Los Angeles International Film and Video Festival.

The film was self-financed:

What really convinced Lantz about the Phoenix Lights, however, was meeting Dr. Lynne Kitei. She saw the lights, then photographed and videotaped them. "She got a real close look at them and she said even after they disappeared she still had a sense that there was something there, watching."

Lantz and Kitei decided this was a story that, although covered extensively by the media, had only been explored in a superficial way. They wanted the opportunity to delve deeper into the mystery. That was the genesis of their documentary film "The
Phoenix Lights." Kitei wrote the script and interviewed the witnesses, while, working with practically no budget, Lantz shot the movie, edited it, did the special effects work, and even composed and played the music. "She and I paid for this out of our pockets because we felt it was just too important," said Lantz.

Aliens are coming, mayor and entertainer agree

UK singer Robbie Williams says that the increased intensity of his UFO-related dreams indicates that an alien encounter is coming: "I think they are definitely on there way, seriously. Mark my words."

In a related development, the hamlet of Lajas, Puerto Rico, is building a UFO landing space:

Lajas Mayor Marcos Irizarry's support for the idea has provoked outrage among islanders who complained it would be a waste of money at a time when the government is encouraging thousands of employees to shorten their work week to cope with a staggering fiscal deficit.

Floridians report fireball

Local television on Florida's "space coast" reports that "Dozens of people from Jacksonville to Ft. Pierce flooded the U.S. Coast Guard late Tuesday with calls about a mysterious ball of fire seen flying in the sky..."

Incidents were reported last night after 7:00 PM EST. "In fact, the Coast Guard station in Port Canaveral got more than two dozen reports of people seeing a bright light in the sky over the ocean."

This additional story speculates about space debris falling to earth.

Here is a video report (the link did not work for me, however).

Shropshire UFO called "meteor"

A UFO reporter in Shropshire, England, now says that he believes what he witnessed and reported to have been a meteor. According to the Shropshire Star,

He [Steve Powell, 49] described the object as being a big round orange ball, about the size of a full moon in the sky. After Steve and his wife Cynthia watched the object for nearly a minute it dimmed and eventually faded away. Steve is now wondering why no one else witnessed the phenomenon, which he believes was a meteor crashing to earth.

UK UFO sky watch organized for October

Leeds Today reports that "The first British UFO hunters' skywatch will take place late in the evening of Saturday October 1." The news service reports that it is being organized to coincide with the Great British UFO Show at Headingley Stadium. Organizer Russell Kellett says:

You do not have to leave your home to take part, you can do so from your own back garden, in a park or out on the moors. It's entirely up to each individual and you do not even have to be a member of the British UFO hunters to take part in the skywatch. But we want anybody who sees anything to report their sightings.

Sightings can be emailed to Russell Kellett at www.ufo-paranormal.co.uk or called in to 01723 514700.

Canadian minister explains UFO beliefs

Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer, slated to speak to a UFO conference in Toronto, has gone on the record with some of his beliefs and conclusions. According to a new article on the CP wire, Hellyer has come to his UFO beliefs through reading, not through service in the national government.

"I believe that UFOs are real," he said in a recent interview. "I'll talk about that a little bit and a bit about the fantastic coverup of the United States government and also a little bit of the fallout from the wreckage, by that I mean the material discoveries we have made and how they've been applied to our technology."

UFO sighting in Louth, UK

Louth Today reports that UFOs have been spotted and reported over this seaside town on Sunday and two weeks previously:

The balls of multi-coloured light were seen by residents in St Bernard's Avenue around 10pm last Sunday.Two weeks ago three similar sightings off the coast of Trusthorpe were explained as being made by afterburners from military aircraft on exercise.But RAF bosses said this time there had been no fighter jets around the Louth area at that time last Sunday. [...] Steve Whittleton, 34, from St Bernard's Avenue, said: "I saw two UFOs - I'm certain of that. "There were two massive orange balls right above me, moving slowly. "I wanted to rub my eyes but I did not want to miss them. I told my wife, but she thought I was bonkers but I know what I saw."

UFO meeting gathers in China

China's People's Daily notes that the total of ufologists "now exceeds half of the world's total number of intellectuals."

The remark appeared in this article, noting the 2005 World UFO conference gathering in Dalien. Explaining ufologists to its readers, the Daily says, "Most of them believed that extraterrestrials do exist and that they are more intelligent than us human beings."

There were no specific conference stories or events reported in the article.

NH paper remembers "incident at Exeter"

New Hampshire's Portsmouth Herald remembers the "incident at Exeter" in 1965:

"There was this huge, dark object as big as that barn over there with red flashing lights on it," Bertrand later told an investigator. "It barely cleared that tree right there, and it was moving back and forth. … It seemed to tilt and come right at us. Norman told me later that I was yelling, ‘I’ll shoot it! I’ll shoot it!’ I did drop on one knee and drew my service revolver, but I didn’t shoot."

The piece appears to be a 40-year anniversary lookback with no new reporting.

Canadian defense minister to address UFO meeting

Paul Hellyer, a former Canadian defense minister, will address the Exopolitics Toronto Symposium on UFO Disclosure and Planetary Directions at the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall Sunday Sept. 25.

Hellyer is slated to discuss the Canadian government's interest in these phenomena after WWII.

Wakamaru robot debuts in Sept.

Mitsubishi will begin taking orders for its Wakamaru robot on Sept. 16, the company has announced.

"This is the opening of an era in which human beings and robots can coexist," it said. Mitsubishi-Heavy said it will start taking orders for "Wakamaru" from Sept. 16, and plans to sell 100 of the one meter- (3.3 feet-) tall, 30 kilogram (66 pound) robots at about 1.58 million yen (US$14,300; euro11,619) for residents in central Tokyo.

According to this report, "Wakamaru is a "child-shaped humanoid robot that can recognize about 10,000 words and work as a house sitter ..."

The "Wakamaru" robot can recognize the faces of up to 10 people and talk to them. When linked to mobile phones, it can also work as a monitor to check situations at home, such as a burglary or someone falling ill.

Man claims to have found UFO freeway

Ted Anderson, a Washington state resident, says he has identified a "UFO freeway" in then skies near the Big Dipper constellation, about 50 miles into space. According to this news report, "You can see ... ships any night of the week with your own eyes." Anderson says

"if you get out of the city and gaze up south of the Big Dipper, you can see the ahips for yourself with the naked eye. "These red ships, they're there constantly."

Anderson invites email contact, according to the report. "He says he'll email you all the information if you write to him at fantasiapro@fidalgo.net."

(Graphic by Komo 1000 News.)

Britons believe in aliens

A new study released by the Science Museum in London shows that 8 in 10 Britons believe in aliens and that one in 15 has seen a UFO. The study ties in with an Alien Life exhibition; the museum is also staging a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Exhibition.

Coloradians abduct alien

An metal art alien has been abducted from a sign in Hooper, CO. The UFO Watchtower organization is offering a reward.

SpaceDev sees growing revenues

The private space development company Spacedev says it has reported revenue growth for the last 10 consecutove quarters. In this new interview, founder Jim Benson says, "We believe pretty strongly that if we want to go to space to stay, space has to pay. That's the bottom line."

A door suitable for spacecraft

The Tanaka company of Japan has invented a door that goes one better than the portals on Star Trek: it opens a silhouette for you to walk through.

The Auto Door consists of individual slats that slide open and closed from the side of the door. Each slat is half the width of the door; each slat has a sensor. If you stand in front of the door, the sensors determine how much of the door needs to open to allow you to enter. [This] minimizes the amount of heating or air conditioning let out of a building, as well as minimizing the entry of pollen or other pollutants from the outside.

Texan catches chupacabra?

A Texas farmer has caught something that was terrorizing his chickens and has sent the creature off for examination:

What he found in his trap was a mix between a hairless dog, a rat and a kangaroo. The mystery animal has been sent to Texas Parks and Wildlife in hopes of determining what it is.

The article linked above refers to the find as a chupacabra, an unknown animal occasionally linked to UFOs.

(Via Fortean Times.)

False memories, UFOs and police work

Live Science has an interesting article on the phenomena of false confessions made to police.

Lack of sleep and isolation contribute to false confessions, the scientists say in the new study, announced today. A suspect's mental status and lack of education play roles. [...] A University of Michigan study last year reached the same conclusion in analyzing 328 cases since 1989 in which DNA exoneration defendants convicted of rape, murder and other serious crimes.

The piece has implications for UFO abduction memories. Consider this finding: some "people under interrogation ... become convinced they did it [the crime]."

Fawcett, Davenport speak at festival

George D. Fawcett (right) and Peter Davenport were slated to speak at the Little Green Men Festival in Kentucky this weekend. According to this article,

The festival is based on a August 21, 1955 incident involving an eleven member farm family that encountered a UFO landing and its six to eight “Little Green Men”. The “green” label was actually given by the media, not the family.

Fawcett ... will present a slide show of dozens of key cases he has investigated worldwide. He will also have numerous UFO exhibits and will participate in autograph sessions of his latest book, titled, What We Have Learned from UFO Repetitions and Human Reactions to UFOs and UFOnauts Worldwide. Both books were published in 2005.

Peter Davenport, who runs the National UFO Reporting Center, notes in this story, "I have not just a mountain of data, perhaps a mountain range of data. " Davenport was slated to review some of his more fascinating cases with conference attendees.

NM couple report "rotating lights"

A couple from Crownpoint, NM, reported UFO sightings last week for two days in a row, according to this news story in the Gallup Independent. Stephanie Jeff, who spotted the anomalies, called her brother who confirmed seeing them also.

"It wasn't a star, because it just came right out of the sky. It rotated, and was very bright when it was pointed at us," Jeff said. "And we know what an airplane looks like, we know the difference between the lights on a plane."

NASA wants flying cars

NASA is funding is a contest called the "Personal Air Vehicle Challenge," one in which the winner will take a $150,000 prize for developing

a flying car with two to six seats that has a 300-mile range and decent fuel economy.

The announcement comes on the eve of the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Cup Race in Ohio, a contest that attracts scores of experimental home-made aircraft every year.

Activist goads NASA towards Mars

Martian activist Robert Zubrin (right) says time's a-wasting if NASA wants to land men on Mars.

"This thing has got to get underway," Zubrin said while pointing out that the next U.S. President will not have the same ownership of the space exploration initiative given the White House leadership change in January 2009. "If we don't do that, this program stands every possibility of being cancelled circa 2009," Zubrin warned.

Meanwhile, a NASA official says that the agency

will soon publicly reveal its "Apollo-like" space exploration architecture. It will be derived from using space shuttle hardware, sans the orbiter – the crew-carrying space plane. Part of the plan ... is developing a 100 metric ton "Big Daddy" super-lift booster. "That development won't start until after 2010."

One major scheduling issue may be plotting the longer space missions against the solar storm cycles, as space radiation constitutes a major threat to the lives of spacemen.

Cumbrian plans local book on UFOs

The co-ordinator for British UFO Hunters is writing a book about Cumbria sightings to try to arouse some local sky watching, this news story reports. Chris Parr says his book will also expose "the bizarre adventures of British UFOlogists," the report notes.

The point of it all

A Newhouse News Service feature dated yesterday recall the days "When the USAF Was in the UFO Business."

The wistful writer wonders about the first two decades of the UFO phenomenon "What was it, really? We are left to wonder."

UK MoD issues new denials

In an article recapping year one of the Freedom of Information Act, the Scotsman happens to ask Britain's Ministry of Defense about UFOs:

"The Ministry of Defence does not have any expertise or role in respect of 'UFO/ flying saucer' matters or to the question of the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial life forms, about which it remains totally open-minded," said its published reply.

At least one British subject has used the act to "request ... [a] Royal Navy recipe for sauteed kidneys and curried meatballs." The story did not say whether this particular request received a published reply.

Another debunker dies

Robert Baker, a psychologist who argued that UFO sightings were a psychological phenomenon, has died at 84.

Baker was foremost a skeptic, believing that one could not assume from the start that unusual phenomena - ghosts, UFO abductions, lake monsters, remembrances of past lives - were real. In books and scholarly articles, he argued that they could be explained as mental states, that abductions by aliens, for example, were hallucinations, or "waking dreams," that occur in the twilight zone between fully awake and fully asleep.

UFO spotted over Manitoba

CTV reports that "southern Manitobans witnessed a strange sight in the sky over the weekend.

Three residents of Piney claim they saw a shiny object three times the size of a jetliner, with a pointed end and no wings." A UFO-watch group leader, Chris Rutkowski (right), shared details with Canada AM. "It was silvery, tubular-shaped, with some odd protrusions on either side, and it flew overhead very silently."

The object was flying low and was observed in the middle of the day, Rutkowski said.
(Photo via CTV)

Yorkshire has a "Filey triangle"

"Legions of UFO enthusiasts from across the UK have descended on what has become the nation's prime location to witness strange and other-worldly shapes in the skies between Scarborough and Filey," according to this new story in Britain's Yorkshire Poat. "They recorded at least 50 sightings of unidentified flying objects last year between the two seaside resorts, which now appear to have an increasing allure for extra-terrestrial visitors," the paper says.

He's serious about UFO back cure

A Mr. terry Walters, 62, has told a Berkshire (UK) newspaper that his back was operated on after a UFO visit and that no hospital will take the credit for this mysterious surgery.

He faced a trip to the doctors and possible confinement to a wheelchair. But as he laid in bed that night, someone entered his room and told him to follow them. When he awoke his back had been cured, so he went to Heatherwood Hospital to ask for the surgeon who operated on him. But staff denied any knowledge of it. Further tests showed he had undergone then-impossible back surgery.

Details here.

Make your own ball lightning?

This newspaper answer man tells readers how to make their own ball lightning in a microwave oven. He urges caution, however.

Indiana man makes Raelian film

A young Indiana filmmaker is producing a documentary about the Raelians. Abdullah Hashem "hopes to discredit the group and ultimately cause it to disband," according to this story.

UFO debunker Klass dies

Aviation journalist and UFO debunker Philip J. Klass has died at age 85.

Canadian sightings down, buff says

A Winnipeg-based UFO watcher, Chris Rutkowski, says sightings are down across Canada, according to this story appearing today on Canada.com.

But he says three people in southeast Manitoba reported seeing a very large cylindrical object with no wings and a somewhat pointed end on Sunday afternoon. Rutkowski says there was also a report last Friday of a mysterious light over Lake Winnipeg.

This CP agency story originally appeared on August 2nd - in that version, Rutkowski said sightings had dropped since April after a lot of reports in the first part of the year.

Rendlesham Forest to get UFO trail

BBC news reports that "The Forestry Commission and Friends of the Sandlings Forest trail is [constructing a trail] in Rendlesham Forest where there was a famous reported UFO sighting." Starting August 18,

To mark the opening, the Forestry Commission is staging two guided walks which will be led by a retired forester, Vince Thirkettle. He will retell the intriguing tale of the supposed UFOs on the trek round and even visit where the sightings took place.

(Photo via BBC.)

Mall chief claims UFO visit

The Paisley Daily Express (UK), in a story datelined yesterday, reports that Paisley mall manager Andrew MacKinnon is blaming strange shopping center roof markings on visiting UFOs. A

bizarre circle, measuring six metres across, appeared on the flat roof area of The Paisley Centre following a series of strange goings-on at the popular mall. [...] He said: “This is not a joke. I believe it was a UFO. I believe aliens are trying to get in contact with us.”

Space Adventures to handle moon trips

Russia recently declared its intention to orbit tourists around the moon; now its long-time US marketing partner, Space Adventures, will be providing the customers according to an announcement to be released sometime today.

Responding to "comfort" concerns on the $100 million flight, Space Adventures noted that the Soyuz orbiting craft has the interior room of an SUV.

Faking photos

Fortean Times has run an article on faking UFO photos modeling some Billy Meier snaps. The results are interesting:

My whole interest in recreating these pictures is not to launch any kind of attack on Meier's credibility, rather to try to get to the bottom of the serious question of why a group of professional sceptics, equipped with considerable financial and technical resources, have seemingly been unable to knock out a couple of half-way decent flying saucers – which, to my mind, is just not that hard to do.

(Faked photo by Alan Friswell. Registration required to view article.)

Triangles - plans point to government projects?

Rich Reynolds has linked to a paper that "provides the design of triangular craft for use in military experiments." He adds, "We’ll also be providing documentation, upcoming, of experiments that took place and are taking place which will take triangular sightings out of the UFO panoply."

Korean photos surface

The Korean UFO photos alluded to in an earlier posting on this blog have surfaced care at UFODimensionsNews. They are ambiguous, unfortunately. (Hat tip to Fortean Times.)

Private company tested spaceship today

The firm Transformational Space ("t/Space") today tested its crew transfer vehicle over the Pacific Ocean and Physorg.com carries a Business Wire press release declaring the tests a success.

Today's test focused on a proposed Crew Transfer Vehicle (CXV) to ferry astronauts to the Space Station at lower cost and risk than the Space Shuttle. [...] NASA plans a competition this fall to select a new vehicle to carry crew to the Space Station. t/Space will offer its four-person CXV. NASA also is moving forward with a separate effort to create a new Crew Exploration Vehicle for Moon and Mars Exploration.

The crew transfer vehicle is a bomb- or missile-shaped vehicle that is launched from high altitudes by a specially designed space plane (photo, right).

North Jersey UFO sightings remembered

UFO sightings in and around Bergen County, N.J. are recapped in this long article datelined today on JerseyCityReporter.com following an A&E special on the phenomena. North Bergen's police chief notes,

No one has ever received a call reporting a UFO to the Police Department. It is a mind boggling number to think so many have been reported them here. But as far as I know, I don't remember anyone calling the police with these cases.

British UFOligist may auction video footage

British UFOligist Russell Kellett says he is thinking of auctioning on eBay his "huge video collection of UFO sightings." Leeds Today reports "Anyone who wishes to make an early bid can contact him on 01723 514700."Kellett is a member of the the British UFO Hunters group.

He most recently obtained footage showing something changing from a "castle into tank and then a shamrock and finally into a saucer over two minutes."

B.U.H. on the ropes?

In a short article datelined today, Britain's North-West Evening Mail reports Chris Parr saying that his group, British UFO Hunters, may have to close its doors due to a lack of sightings.

However, in an entry on its website, apparently dated January 2005, the group had called for an emergency meeting "owing to the high volume of reported UFO sightings reported in the town of Filey, North Yorkshire."

MUFON leader sees "red flag" in Exeter

The head of the local MUFON chapter says that the Exter (NH) Navy retiree at the center of the recent UFO observation has denied him permission to visit for an "on-site investigation."

"That to me raises a red flag," said Geremia, who, along with Kathleen Marden of Stratham, appeared on an Aug. 1 History Channel show on UFO investigation. Marden is the N.H. director of field investigator training for the Mutual UFO Network in New Hampshire.

Cases from 1965 resurface

Two UFO reports from 1965 have resurfaced in this week's media.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reviews one of its reporters stories from that year, an incident involving "a spectacular, middle-of-the night encounter with an unidentified flying object while driving north on K-15 highway, about 25 miles south of Abilene." The incident left the reporter a believer. (Link requires registration.)

Meanwhile, in Phenomena magazine, UFO author Nick Redfern interviews the witness of a 1965 flying triangles incident. (Item via Kyle King.)

NASA releases moon, Mars plans

NASA has released some information about its plans for returning astronauts to space (instead of low orbit) over this and the next decade, with a moon landing projected for 2018.

This news story by the Orlando Sentinel contains an overview of the project. It is based on a NASA document called the "Exploration Systems Architecture Study" which has not yet been released.

Meanwhile, a new article in Astrobiology wonders if the recent water discovery opens up the possibility of terraforming Mars.

"Officials" deny space weapon deployment

Voice of America reports:

U.S. officials say they are a long way from developing any such [space] weapon, and efforts in other countries even to develop an anti-satellite weapon have failed.

VOA quotes vice commander of the U.S. Air Force Space Command, Lieutenant General Daniel Leaf, as saying that he prefers "temporary" and "reversible" means of neutralizing enemy satellites to any sort of orbiting weapons platform.

July sightings reported in Korea

A number of UFO sightings by South Korean tourists in North Korea have surfaced in today's Korea Herald. These are attributed to Lee Man-wook; the wife of Yoon Tae-woong; Choi Jong-yeon; and an unidetified Chinese man mentioned in a Yonhap News story.

Some photos are posted to this site, although we have been unable to locate them.