It's always seemed to me that the biggest advocates of UFO encounters are already the kind of people that don't really fit into normal society. However, this is Edgar Mitchell. He was on Apollo 14, he's been to the goddamn moon, he's an American hero.
Are there really aliens and is the government covering it up? I still lean no, but if it were true I wouldn't be surprised. Your thoughts?
(CNN) -- Earth Day may fall later this week, but as far as former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell and other UFO enthusiasts are concerned, the real story is happening elsewhere.
Mitchell, who was part of the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission, asserted Monday that extraterrestrial life exists, and that the truth is being concealed by the U.S. and other governments.
He delivered his remarks during an appearance at the National Press Club following the conclusion of the fifth annual X-Conference, a meeting of UFO activists and researchers studying the possibility of alien life forms.
Mankind has long wondered if we're "alone in the universe. [But] only in our period do we really have evidence. No, we're not alone," Mitchell said.
"Our destiny, in my opinion, and we might as well get started with it, is [to] become a part of the planetary community. ... We should be ready to reach out beyond our planet and beyond our solar system to find out what is really going on out there."
Mitchell grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, which some UFO believers maintain was the site of a UFO crash in 1947. He said residents of his hometown "had been hushed and told not to talk about their experience by military authorities." They had been warned of "dire consequences" if they did so.
But, he claimed, they "didn't want to go to the grave with their story. They wanted to tell somebody reliable. And being a local boy and having been to the moon, they considered me reliable enough to whisper in my ear their particular story."
Roughly 10 years ago, Mitchell claimed, he was finally given an appointment at Pentagon to discuss what he had been told.
An unnamed admiral working for the Joint Chiefs of Staff promised to uncover the truth behind the Roswell story, Mitchell said. The stories of a UFO crash "were confirmed," but the admiral was then denied access when he "tried to get into the inner workings of that process."
The same admiral, Mitchell claimed, now denies the story.
"I urge those who are doubtful: Read the books, read the lore, start to understand what has really been going on. Because there really is no doubt we are being visited," he said.
"The universe that we live in is much more wondrous, exciting, complex and far-reaching than we were ever able to know up to this point in time."
A NASA spokesman denied any cover-up.
"NASA does not track UFOs. NASA is not involved in any sort of cover-up about alien life on this planet or anywhere else -- period," Michael Cabbage said Monday.
Debates have continued about what happened at Roswell. The U.S. Air Force said in 1994 that wreckage recovered there in 1947 was most likely from a balloon-launched classified government project.
Stephen Bassett, head of the Paradigm Research Group (PRG), which hosted the X-Conference, said that the truth about extraterrestrial life is being suppressed because it is politically explosive.
"There is a third rail [in American politics], and that is the UFO question. It is many magnitudes more radioactive than Social Security ever dreamed to be," Bassett said.
Look, you don't need to be skilled to be an astronaut. You need to be a kiss-ass to be an astronaut. This is how our military officer ranks work, especially the aviation ranks. Pilots (and by that extension astronauts) have never been the brightest of officers. Sure, there are your bright stars here and there, but for the most part, these are those guys you knew in college who majored in business or communications, - you know, the phony majors - but were only in school because of their basketball scholarship. They are perpetually in high school, everything is a popularity contest. If you play your sport well, you'll get drafted into a good college. If you fly a plane well, you'll get drafted into NASA.
Is this guy telling the truth? I have no idea. Just because somebody is an astronaut, though, doesn't mean they are anywhere close to reliable.
I was unaware! You would certainly know more about this area than I would. I assumed they'd have to have a certain amount of intelligence to handle flying aircraft/rocket.
How much do YOU know about aliens John? What are you keeping secret from us?!
Whenever I hear about Raelism I always assume that it's about the guy who led the Metis revolt in Manitoba. Then I remember the UFO nutjobs (not that Louis Riel didn't engage in a bit of nutjobbery himself from time to time.)
Give or take, it is 5,000 miles from the Indian Ocean off Somalia to the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan. That is a vast distance, but few places on earth can match New York for its history of hospitality to pirates.
On Tuesday, the accused Somalian pirate man — or gullible boy, if you believe his parents, or possible victim of kidnappers, as his lawyer speculates — arrived in shackles and jumpsuit for arraignment on charges that he committed piracy on the high seas. Even worse, he is said to have totally bungled the job.
It has been many decades since a good pirate case has landed here, and for now, the laws and penalties are stacked to the skies against the defendant, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse; gangster capitalism has its limits.
The authorities say that Mr. Muse, using a portable ladder and carrying a gun, was the first pirate to board the Maersk Alabama, 280 miles off the coast of Somalia. He quickly botched things.
After forcing the captain to open the safe, which held $30,000 in cash, Mr. Muse demanded that members of the Alabama crew, hiding in a safe room, come to the ship’s bridge, according to a complaint filed by an F.B.I. agent.
Mr. Muse was persuaded that they would be afraid to surrender while he was holding a weapon, so he put his gun down and canvassed the ship — by then, sitting in darkness because the power had been turned off. He was promptly tackled by a crew member and was soon tied up.
Eventually, though, the balance of power shifted: the other pirates, who were holding the Alabama’s captain, demanded that Mr. Muse be delivered back to them. The pirates and captain got into a lifeboat. Before long, an American naval ship had arrived, and, the complaint says, Mr. Muse tried to swap the captain’s release for the safe passage of the pirates. He also needed medical attention for his hand, and so went aboard the Navy ship. Thus his relocation to New York.
History shows that the city has long held pirates in high regard. Successful ones, that is. Under Col. Benjamin Fletcher, who became the British governor of New York in 1692, piracy was a leading economic development tool in the city’s competition with the ports of Boston and Philadelphia.
At the time, Britain and France were at war, a nearly chronic condition, and each country commissioned private vessels to attack the other side’s ships. These privateers carried “letters of marque” that granted them authority to seize enemy cargo, which they were supposed to bring to a court for proper disposition.
It turned out that it was far more profitable to simply skip the legal requirements and board any vulnerable ship, no matter whether it was flying the flag of friend or foe. The big challenge was to find a port where pirated goods — rather than those seized under the privateering laws — could be sold.
In Governor Fletcher, the pirates found a most willing host, who could be bought for 100 Spanish dollars, according to Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace in “Gotham” (Oxford University Press 1998). Pirate money pulsed through New York. “This boodling was worth a hundred thousand pounds a year to the city,” they wrote. “Tavern keepers, whores, retailers and others flourished as buccaneers swaggered through the streets with purses full of hard money — Arabian dinars, Hindustani mohurs, Greek byzants, French louis d’or, Spanish doubloons.”
AMONG the most successful privateers of the era was Captain William Kidd, who was hanged in England after being convicted of piracy. Kidd used some of his wealth to build a fine home and helped establish the first Trinity Church, which to this day remains one of the city’s most important landowners. Other financiers of piracy, whose names endure in various forms around New York, were Frederick Philipse, Stephanus Van Cortlandt, Peter Schuyler and Thomas Willet.
During the Revolutionary War, privateering became a vital element in the rebellion against England. One merchant, John Broome, moved to Connecticut to set up a privateering operation that worked Long Island Sound.
It was not only tactically useful, but a lucrative business as well, with thousands of American seamen involved in one way or another, said Mr. Burrows.
But New York’s long entanglement with pirates is not necessarily good news for Mr. Muse. “I don’t think he has deep pockets,” Mr. Burrows said. “They brought him to the right town at the wrong time. The place was only hospitable if you had money to show.”
Six-year-old Christer was fed up with his name and sent a letter to Norway’s King requesting his name to be changed to Sonic X.
There’s a couple of things to explain before we continue with this bizarre story. Firstly, Christer wasn’t asking the King to change his name to Sonic X, though King Sonic X has a certain ring to it. Secondly, we’re not sure why Christer wanted the ‘X’ addition, since this was the simply title of the Japanese animé adaptation. Nevertheless…
Late last year Christer from Norway wrote a letter addressed to Norwegian King Harald V asking for his name to be officially changed to Sonic X, Norwegian newspaper and website dagbladet.no reports.
However, his parents were reluctant to send the letter. That is until months later Christer asked why they’d yet to post his heart felt request. The letter was sent and amazingly King Harald V replied.
Sadly, the King could not change Christer’s name, but not because the change would result in a child running around with a ridiculous video game character’s title. No, the request was rejected for the sole reason that at six-years-old, Christer was not old enough to make such a decision. Thus, the boy must contact King Harald V in twelve years time once he’s turned 18.
Christer admitted that he was disappointed, explaining that “it was a bit bad.”
CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati police have a new ally in their fight against crime, whether they want it or not.
He calls himself Shadowhare, and he wears a mask and a cape to conceal his true identity. He's Cincinnati's own version of a superhero fighting crime and injustice where he finds it.
Vote: What do you think of Shadowhare?
"We help enforce the law by doing what we can in legal standards, so we carry handcuffs, pepper spray … all the legal weapons," said Shadowhare. "We will do citizen's arrests. We will intervene on crimes if there is one happening in front of us."
The man behind Shadowhare's mask is 21 years old and from Milford. Those are the only clues to his true identity that he will reveal. Shadowhare said he was abused as a child and grew up in foster homes, perhaps leading him to a life helping others.
"My message to Cincinnati is that there is still hope and all we have to do is stand together," he said.
Shadowhare is not alone in his quest to fight crime. He heads up a group of men -- and one woman -- called the "Allegiance of Heroes." The members communicate with each other in online forums. Among the members are Aclyptico in Pennsylvania, Wall Creeper in Colorado and Master Legend in Florida.
"I've even teamed up with Mr. Extreme in California -- San Diego -- and we were trying to track down a rapist," said Shadowhare.
The crime fighters will often pair up to patrol the streets. Even so, fighting crime comes with its share of hardship.
Shadowhare said he suffered a dislocated shoulder two years ago while trying to help a woman who was being attacked.
And the authorities don't always take him seriously. In one encounter with a Hamilton County corrections officer, Shadowhare was greeted with a chuckle and a look of disbelief.
But Shadowhare said he and his team are not deterred by the criticism. He remains focused on trying to make Cincinnati a better place, whether it's fighting crime or feeding the homeless.
For now, the law is on Shadowhare's side.
It is legal in Ohio and Kentucky to make a citizens arrest, however, the arrester does face possible civil litigation if the person arrested turns out to be innocent.
For many years I have hoped, nay, prayed, that a real-life masked vigilante complete with costume and secret identity would one day patrol the streets fighting crime. My dream has finally come to pass, with not one but two such heroes. Bless you, Shadow Hare and Mr. Extreme!
EDIT: I am a little disappointed, however, at the Allegiance of Heroes' lack of web presence. The best I could find was Shadow Hare's MySpace page, but from what I've read, the Allegiance has around 200 members capturing villains across the nation. Hooray!
Today at school a classmate was telling me about how in her city, there's a guy of around 35, whose brothers were murdered in front of their house while he watched (he was almost killed too). Well, from there on this man calls himself "El Justiciero" which means something like the Justice Maker, I don't know the exact translation. Well, this guy has claimed that he is responsible for the death of around 80 people (real people who the police actually found murdered, not made-up murders by him), all of them with criminal records, and says he is in a constant fight against criminals in his province. Whenever he's walking around town he is wearing a bullet-proof vest and accompanied by bodyguards. Now that's a real life superhero (or maybe even a villain, whatever). He was imprisoned for a short time for not having the licenses and permits for owning firearms.
Now, the fun part is that he ran for mayor! He lost, though.
In what's possibly the meanest anti-Apple pun ever, Consumerist reader Ryan was sold an actual brick in a box instead of the MacBook Pro for which he paid over $2,000.
He purchased the "MacBook Pro" at a Best Buy in Texas, and the retailer is citing the problem as Apple's responsibility rather than its own. The box was apparently sealed with the brick (a paving stone, really, but I've already eked two jokes out of calling it a brick and I refuse to let that kind of thing pass me by) inside, which does seem like it would be a bizarre screwup on Apple's end. Ryan hasn't gotten the mess sorted out with his credit card company, Best Buy, or Apple, but this is so ridiculous somebody's bound to refund his money.
Afghanistan -- which surely needs no more frightening concerns -- has amply protected itself from swine flu, ahem, the AH1N1 contagion, by putting the country's only pig in solitary confinement. The farm animal lives in the Kabul Zoo.
Comments
Are there really aliens and is the government covering it up? I still lean no, but if it were true I wouldn't be surprised. Your thoughts?
Former astronaut: Man not alone in universe
Is this guy telling the truth? I have no idea. Just because somebody is an astronaut, though, doesn't mean they are anywhere close to reliable.
How much do YOU know about aliens John? What are you keeping secret from us?!
Whenever people bring up intelligent design, I always further their motions of equality by suggesting they teach Raelism as well!
But hot alien chicks who want frequent sex!
EDIT: I am a little disappointed, however, at the Allegiance of Heroes' lack of web presence. The best I could find was Shadow Hare's MySpace page, but from what I've read, the Allegiance has around 200 members capturing villains across the nation. Hooray!
EDIT EDIT: Yay, found a video!
And it mentioned their website, the World Superhero Registry!
I think Behemoth would do the trick....
Now, the fun part is that he ran for mayor! He lost, though.
Here's the story in Spanish.
It's the new Macbrick Pro.