Why I Believe in Flying Saucers

by MacKINLAY KANTOR
Popular Science
January 1966
From Francis Ridge
NICAP

The noted writer--co-author with Gen. Curtis E. Lemay of "Mission with LeMay. My Story"--tells of the strange personal sighting that convinced him that UFOs are real.

     Well, to begin with, I saw one.

But for some years previously. I had believed that Unidentified Flying Objects must exist. I'd heard the calm testimony of too many experienced pilots and other observers, not to believe.

Let's say that you are a skeptic--the same sort of grimly determined Doubting Thomas that I used to be. Would your skepticism still prevail if you could hear the dry steady voice of Gen. Curtis E. LeMay saying-- as indeed I've heard him say:

"Repeat again: There were some cases we could not explain. Never could."

When I first spotted the UFO it was hanging motionless in the sky.

I looked at my wristwatch. 6:07 p.m.

The date was January 4, 1954, a Monday. The place: My own beach on the Gulf of Mexico about five miles from downtown Sarasota, Fla., on an island called Siesta Key.

On viewing the UFO, I felt a great wave of thankfulness. By golly, I thought, at last it's here. Now I don't just have to believe. Now I know.

More . . .

See Also:Boy Sees Flying Saucer Land!

The Truth is Out There (in Roscommon)

The Irish Independent
11-28-06

      SO you want those damned UFOs tracked down and you can't afford Mulder and Scully from the 'X-Files'.

What do you do?

You do the next best thing - enlist the help of some of the finest trackers of identified and unidentified objects in the universe - the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI).

And it's in the official diary of those fine men in blue that you will find an ad requesting information on any 'unusual sightings'.

More . . .

See Also: Norway: UFO Lit Up Northern Skies

Australia: UFO Reported Over Victoria

Mystery lights reported second night in a row

The Age
11-28-06

     For the second night in a row residents in western Victoria have reported seeing a bright light in the sky.

Residents at Ballarat, west of Melbourne, said they saw something that looked like a UFO after spotting an orange-coloured light in the sky about 10pm yesterday.

The object hovered for more than one minute. But one resident said it could have been a model helicopter.

"A lot of guys fly night choppers here and they have the LCD lights around the blades and they have lights all down the boom and tail rotor," the man, identified only as Ian, told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"These models can hover and they can go from zero to about 100 kph in a few seconds."

On Monday night, people in South Australia and western Victoria deluged police and media with reports of a spectacular meteor sighting.

Police in SA said they took calls from just after 8pm (CST) on Monday from Renmark and Loxton in the Riverland, most Adelaide suburbs and then from people living south of the city, with reports of something looking like a fireball in the sky.

In Victoria, callers to ABC Radio from Bendigo to Horsham in the state's north-west down to Colac in the south-west, reported seeing a bright green coloured object shooting westward in the sky.

A South Australia Police spokesman said later that the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the object seen on Monday night was a meteor.

More . . .

See Also: 'Fireball' Shoots Across SA Sky!

Lake Erie: Hot Spot for UFO Sightings?

NBC 24
11-27-06

     (On The Shores of Lake Erie, OH) --- It's become known as the "Lake Erie 'UFO' phenomenon."

Recent sightings of unidentified objects are sparking new interest in the subject. So NBC24 launched a probe into the area's close encounters. Whether you're a skeptic, or a sworn believer, you'll want to see what we found.

Ufologist Aaron Clark is among the area's top investigators. He showed NBC24 video footage of a recent sighting -- a dark object that appears to dart back and forth in the sky.

"It's very strange as it moves," Clarks tells NBC24. 'It almost looks like it's changing shape."

Clark says efforts to identify another glowing object have been unsuccessful.

"It's this very strange odd shaped, almost boomerang-shaped object that flies in front of the moon. It's unknown. All we have is the video. It's not anything that's a conventional type of aircraft."

Clark says Ohio's Lake Erie coastline is is a well known hot spot for UFO sightings.

Ufologist Richard Lee has been examining reports for decades.

"Ohio's been famous for the possibility of the connection of the UFO subject from way back in the 1950s," he told NBC24 recently during a meeting of Ufologists.

"This is the oldest continuously operating group as far as we know in the world."

Lee admits most of the incidents the Cleveland Ufology Project has investigated are of this world.

"It might be atmospheric, or it might be miss-identified."

But the trained UFO investigator says there are incidents that still can't be unexplained.

Lee says a police chase with a UFO depicted in the 1970s Steven Spielberg film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was inspired by an actual event that happened right here in Ohio. The chase started on the morning of April 17, 1966.

Several police crews followed an object they could not identify. Lee says the deputy who first encountered the object described what he saw.

"We usually say, 'how big was it at arms length?' He said it was like a house 50-feet over your head, and that started the chase that ended up in Pennsylvania they exceeded 100 miles an hour in part of the pursuit."

Police followed it into Pennsylvania and eventually ran out of gas. It was a sighting that looked like a movie scene that make Clark a believer.

"It was a large object bigger than a house that had three rows of white lights and it was rotating about 500-feet away," he says.

Nearly 22 years later, in 1988, the Coast Guard responded to a call of a sighting. NBC24 confirmed a Coast Guard report, in which crews described an unidentified large object, appeared to land on the Lake Erie ice, before it vanished.

"Unexplained. It's like there's no definitive way to define what the phenomenon was." Lee says. "It's just one of those mysteries."

If UFOs are watching over Lake Erie, the real mystery is why? Area Ufologists have heard several theories over the years.

"The lake is being monitored by somebody from elsewhere possibly. people think there are underwater bases," Clark says.

More . . .

See Also: Report: UFO Sighted In Olmsted Falls Sky

'Bright Green Fireball' Streaks Across Evening Sky

WorldNetDaily
11-27-06

Massive explosion heard: 'We were absolutely amazed with what we saw'

     A spectacular meteor sighting of what was described as a bright green "fireball" has prompted hundreds of calls to police and media in Australia.

"It was green like a meteorite or shooting star," one caller, Jeff, told ABC Radio. "It was really pretty bright and you could see something else coming down as well, but what it was, I don't know."

The bedazzling event occurred last night across South Australia and western Victoria.

"It was before sunset and normally you only see those things in the dark," another caller, Monty, said. "The trail hung in the sky for at least 15 minutes afterward like a jet stream."

Dennis Schiller of Riverland was in his car when the sky was suddenly illuminated.

"We were looking to the south and this massive fireball came out of the sky and it seemed to increase as it come down," he said. "We were absolutely amazed with what we saw ... and we were there discussing it and it would have been a good two minutes later that we heard a massive explosion."

Brian, who owns a farm at Laanecoorie, west of Bendigo, said he and his wife were outside when they saw the object flash across the sky.

"We looked up and there was a green comet-like thing dropping out of the western sky," Brian said. "It dropped over the trees at the back of our property and it was making a tail as it went down."

A spokesman for the South Australia police said the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the object was indeed a meteor.

More . . .

See Also: Secret Docs, Project Grudge and 'The Green Fireball Phenomenon'

Riddle of UFO 'invasion'

This Is London
11-28-06

     A UFO scare was sparked after the police were flooded with calls about a fleet of 'spaceships' invading the coast of Britain.

Thousands of people spotted the bright orange orbs off the Channel coast at Brighton.

Police and air traffic control centres were inundated by reports of the strange spectacle, the Daily Express reported.

Shocked witness James Gordon-Johnson said: "I hadn't been drinking. I was sceptical about UFOs before but this has changed my mind.

"I saw this big orange light in the sky. Then another one appeared in mid-air. Then another. And another."

Experts are baffled by the phenomenon, but believe it could be linked to a meteor shower.

The Hermstmonceux Observatory in East Sussex said a cloud of comet dust had produced a meteor shower which peaked with a display of shooting stars.

And an earlier Ministry of Defence study into UFOs concluded that many sightings could be "glowing clouds of gas created by electricity charges."

More . . .

See Also: Yet Another Report of a 'Round Orange UFO'

'Fireball' Shoots Across SA Sky!

ABC News Online
11-27-06

     There have been reports of at least one large fireball in the sky over south-eastern South Australia.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says the fireball was most likely a meteor.

It shot across the sky soon after 8:00pm ACDT and was followed by what sounded like a large explosion.

BOM and police say they have received dozens of phone calls from residents in Adelaide and as far away as the Victorian border.

One Riverland resident, Dennis Schiller, was travelling in his car when he saw it.

"We were looking to the south and this massive fireball came out of the sky and it seemed to increase as it come down," he said.

"We were absolutely amazed with what we saw ... and we were there discussing it and it would have been a good two minutes later that we heard a massive explosion."


More . . .

See Also:Her Father Saw a 'Huge, Big Fireball With a Long Tail

UFO OVER WILLITS

This Was News

By Jody Martinez
Ukiah Daily Journal
11-25-06

     UFO OVER WILLITS. An apparent unidentified flying object (UFO) lit the skies of Willits last night, according to a group of Willits residents who reported a "pared orange peel-shaped object" to the National UFO Reporting Center.

"It was kind of an odd-shaped dome. It disappeared and then came back again," said Lawrence Porter, one of the several neighbors who sighted the unidentified flying object.

Porter said the object was sighted by William Bernhart, Bonnie Porter and the next-door neighbor Dixie Southwick, as well, at about 6:45 last night. The group watched the UFO for about 45 minutes before the phenomenon disappeared from the skies. The UFO was sighted about two and one-half miles east of Willits.

More . . .

See Also: UFO Sightings Over Sonora Continue!

A World-Wide Congress on UFOs in Argentina

Infobae.com
11-27-06

     A world-wide congress held in Buenos Aires ratified that “foreign civiliztions exist” that will participate in human developement “when the humans advance in spirituality.”

Before about 200 specialists on the subject of UFOs, coming from Mexico, Italy, Colombia and Argentina, among others, several experts arrived with the objective “to prepare humanity for the revelation of the existence of intelligent life beyond the planet”, according to the organization.

Jaime Sampayo, person in charge of Xendras, a Colombian organization dedicated to make events of “expansion of conscience”, explained that the Congress “approached the new conceptions of the world and man to the mass public”.

“A great volume of evidence exists on the existence of foreign civilizations and hidden powers for man that only arrive at certain parts of the society, and we we want it to reach everyone”, Sampayo said.

For Sampayo, this would be “the most important news in the history of the humanity after the coming of Christ”.

Between the most outstanding attendees of the congress, was the Argentinean Fabio Zerpa, historian, psychologist and expert parapsychologist in esoteric subjects, for that the Ufology is “the opening to a new culture of the conscience”.

Zerpa explained that the intervention of the extraterrestrial ones in terrestrial life will occur “when the human beings advance in their spirituality”.

The almost 200 people who attended the event admitted, like the artist and writer Carlos Lleras, they have had previous contacts with beings from other planets.

Lleras explained that more than thirty years ago he was kidnapped by “peace beings, of angelical appearance” and that since then worked for them spreading the knowledge of their presence.

More . . .

See Also: Ufology—The Second Time The Phenomenon is Studied
UFO Congress Concludes

Bizarre Deep-Sea Creatures Imaged Off New Zealand

By Catherine Brahic
New Scientist.com
11-27-06

     The weird and wonderful creatures living by methane vents in the southwest Pacific have been photographed for the first time (see images right and below).

The deep-sea communities live around methane seeps off New Zealand’s eastern coast, up to 1 kilometre beneath the sea surface. The team of 21 researchers from the US and New Zealand, who spent two weeks exploring the area, have just returned to shore. See video footage recorded by the researchers here, here and here.

“It's the first time cold seeps have been viewed and sampled in the southwest Pacific, and will greatly contribute to our knowledge of these intriguing ecosystems,” says Amy Baco-Taylor from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US.

More . . .

See Also: The Creature of Tagua Tagua Lagoon

The Mystery of "The Kinross Incident" Deepens

Lake mystery still unsolved

By JOHN PEPIN
The Mining Journal
11-26-06

The truth about a vanished Air Force jet is out there ... somewhere

     KINROSS — Fifty-three years ago this month, a U.S. Air Force F-89 Scorpion jet vanished from radar screens over Lake Superior after being sent to intercept an unknown aircraft.

On the evening of Nov. 23, 1953, Air Force radar tracked the missing jet until it merged with an unidentified object 70 miles off the Keweenaw Peninsula, at an altitude of 7,000 feet.

Newspaper reports said the missing plane, which had left the Kinross Air Force Base at 5:22 p.m. “was last heard from when it radioed the base from somewhere out over the lake.”

Pilot 1st Lt. Felix E. Moncla Jr., 27, of Mercauville, La. and radar operator 2nd Lt. Robert Wilson, 22, of Ponca City, Okla. were presumed dead, likely somewhere under the snow-swept waters of Lake Superior.

The U.S. military said the object the plane chased was a Royal Canadian Air Force Mohawk C-47 transport plane, but that claim was later denied by the Canadian government, saying there were no such aircraft in the area at the time.

Algoma Central Railway workers roughly 100 miles north of Sault Ste. Marie said they heard a crash that occurred shortly contact with the F-89 was lost by the military. But after a search, no sign of the crew or fighter jet was discovered.

In autumn 1968, prospectors in the Cozens Cove area of Ontario found mechanical parts north of Sault Ste. Marie, including a tail stabilizer section, that military officials said were from a high-performance jet aircraft.

A newspaper article from the time said the parts were thought to have perhaps been from the missing Kinross plane, but that idea was later discounted. The article doesn’t say why.

Over the years, a great deal of speculation has surrounded the “Kinross Incident,” with some UFO investigators suggesting the Scorpion may have struck, or even been devoured by, a craft from another planet.

“It is a compelling mystery with an interesting UFO twist,” said Gord Heath, a British Columbia resident interested in the Kinross incident since 2000. “Many people at radar tracking stations observed the F-89’s return merging with the blip from the other craft before it disappeared. The possibility that a UFO ‘swallowed’ the F-89 makes this an interesting puzzle.”

Now, more than five decades after the crew disappeared without sending a distress signal, the mystery of what happened to Moncla, Wilson and the Scorpion jet has been given new life.

Reports from The Great Lake Dive Company — a downstate venture said to be made up of Michigan natives with a common interest in shipwreck hunting and historical preservation — say they used side-scan sonar equipment to discover the missing plane, along with a piece of the object it presumably collided with.

The jet is reportedly located in deep water, lying upright on the lake bottom, mostly intact. The port wing and starboard tail stabilizer are missing. Cockpit structure is said to be in place, suggesting the pilots may still be inside.

Reportedly, the find was said to be made in an area off the Keweenaw Peninsula in summer 2005, with the dive company waiting a year before announcing its discovery.

“Frankly we came away surprised,” said Adam Jimenez, dive company spokesman from Oakland County. “We expected, at best, to locate an engine, wing or other small debris. Finding the plane together was really unexpected.”

The company reportedly made a positive identification of the F-89. The second object reportedly shows an impact trace that shows how it landed and stopped a little more than 215 feet from the plane’s wreckage.

Jimenez reportedly claimed the mystery object was confirmed to be metallic with a mark from being struck that could match a wing from the fighter jet. The missing wing from the plane’s wreckage may be buried in lake sediments underneath the teardrop-shaped object.

In August, Jimenez contacted The Mining Journal with a news release, saying the company was still in the process of documenting “the mystery object,” with “a lot of wreck site forensics to complete.”

Reportedly, there is nothing else located on the bottom of the lake for miles, leading dive company researchers to conclude the plane and second object being found so close together means they must both be related in the crash.

“We feel bittersweet,” Jimenez wrote. “On one hand, we set out to answer this thing and did. But on the other hand, you realize this was a tragedy that claimed the lives of two American pilots.”

Jimenez said a documentary on the history, search and discovery of the F-89 and mystery object was being planned.

But like the F-89 Scorpion jet itself, Jimenez and the dive company unexpectedly dropped off the radar screen.

Now researchers are wondering whether the reported find and purported sonar images circulated were a hoax, or whether Jimenez and his associates have simply sought a lower public profile with their claims remaining valid.

“While it may be too early to reach any definitive conclusions, there certainly seems to be many more questions than answers concerning Great Lakes Dive Company and the alleged F-89 discovery,” said Dirk Vander Ploeg, editor and publisher of UFODigest.com and PsiTalk.com in an on-line commentary. “About the middle of October, the Great Lakes Dive Company Web site suddenly went blank. It was at this time that Adam Jimenez stopped returning phone calls and e-mails.”

Jimenez has not answered Mining Journal requests seeking interviews for this story and Internet searches for the company have failed to produce new contact information.

Heath, who has contacted several principals in the case and maintains an extensive Web site on the Kinross case, said he believes there are several intriguing possibilities concerning the whereabouts of the missing F-89.

“The best possibility towards solving the mystery will be to find the aircraft, with or without the remains of the crew,” Heath said. “I do think it is possible that the F-89 is either on the bottom of Lake Superior or perhaps somewhere else in the region.”

Are the remains of Wilson and Moncla with their plane on the bottom of an inland lake or lost in a dense Canadian forest yet to be discovered by a hunter or trapper? Was the wreckage actually recovered by prospectors along Lake Superior in 1968?

Perhaps the missing Scorpion jet indeed sits upright off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula in more than 250 feet of water in Canadian jurisdiction? Or does the real answer to where the crew went lie somewhere beyond the stars?

As the popular science fiction television program “The X-Files” would say: “The truth is out there.”

More . . .

See Also:Stunning Development

Spain: UFO over the Canary Islands?

11-22-06

     TENERIFE - A number of phone calls have been received by this newsroom from the Tacoronte sector in northern Tenerife, reporting - not without a degree of nervousness - sightings of strange lights on Tuesday evening. Some of the witnesses have spoken openly of UFOs. Those who claim having witnessed this phenomenon report that even household appliances have died for a few seconds and others report seeing static white lights diving into the Tacorontan coast.
This is hardly the first time that various witnesses report seeing "strange" things in the sky, moving at high speed among the stars or emerging from the bottom of the sea.
According to experts consulted by Canarias24horas.com, the lights are nothing more than satellites, which give the impression of being stars despite their rapid movement. The lights entering and exiting the ocean are interpreted by some as large shooting stars that never reach the Earth's surface and vanish into the horizon; some reports mentioned green, blue and red lights - colors proper to a shooting star as it enters our atmosphere. As far as what was seen on Tuesday, the evidence points to a series of helicopters which were flying over the area. Two of these late model aircraft were surveying the coastline between northern Tenerife and the island of La Palma.

But what caused the household appliances to fail? The explanation is a simple one, and appears to be connected to the impending visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain to the Canaries.

This isn't the first that the passing of a royal motorcade on a highway causes all appliances liable to perceive or emit radio signals to stop working for a few seconds. Refrigerators also shut down. This effect is produced by devices known as signal inhibitors, which mask anything that could represent a safety hazard to a head of state. Iceboxes shut down because they signal inhibitors cannot distinguish between one appliance and another. Even the Internet is disconnected.

Could this be the answer to the experiences of Tacoronte's residents on Tuesday? We can only say that for the Royal Family's security detail, shutting off devices at a distance is mere childs' play.

* Source: Canarias 24 Horas

* (translation (c) 2006, S. Corrales, IHU)

More . . .

See Also: VENEZUELA: TRIANGULAR UFO OVER CARACAS

PRG's Work Written up in Roll Call

PRG Research Group
11-24-06

     The advocacy efforts of PRG and X-PPAC have been featured in a leading Washington political newspaper, Roll Call.

The article by Tory Newmyer significantly introduces some of the history of the disclosure movement including the Sci Fi Channel's Coalition for Freedom of Information, John Podesta, the Out of the Blue documentary, the Steven Schiff (R-NM) GAO Roswell inquiry, the 1996 Congressional hearing sought by then Rep. Gerald Ford, President Jimmy Carter's sightings - even the alleged comments by President Reagan to Steven Spielberg at a White House screening of ET: The Extraterrestrial.

The article does include certain phrasings which are common to this kind of coverage in higher-tier publications and is often necessary to get editorial approval. No matter. Tory did extensive research, asked all the right questions, and PRG personally thanked him for his piece.

Trust in the U. S. Congress recently reached a historic low of 16%, and the pressure for Congress to take action on a range of issues and produce for the American people is mounting. PRG will add to that pressure soon.

More . . .

See Also: The Paradigm Clock Has Been Reset

VENEZUELA: TRIANGULAR UFO OVER CARACAS

11-24-06

     CARACAS - November 2006. Three people witnessed the transit of a triangular UFO on November 16 as it passed over a state banking institution located on Av. Urdaneta, bordering the central district of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

According to information provided by Israel Urbaneja, the appearance of this strange object lasted from 9:30 to 10:00 PM approximately, allowing two of his relatives to join the observation from their home on Av. Baralt.

Likewise, he said that the object "was white in color but presented luminous variations of blue, red and green" and moved with a "zig-zagging" motion from south to north over the capital area's airspace until it became lost in the clouds, which was present at all times, althought with various degrees of clearing, accompanied by heavy rains earlier during the day.

"This is the first time that I've seen anything like it and I'm certain it wasn't an airplane or satellite by the way it moved. Furthermore, the object left a glowing, cone-shaped white wake as it flew, which caused a sensation akin to nausea," said the witness.

It should be noticed that this is not the first time that an unknown object with intelligent behavior has been seen over the central district of the Venezuelan capital, where major government offices are located.

Other witnesses have reported the presence of similar objects near the presidential palace and Fort Tiuna (army garrison) on Paseo de los Proceres, as well as in the vicinity of the majestic El Avila National Park to the north of Caracas.

* Source: Archivos Forteanos Latinoamericanos
***A report from Hector Escalante***

* [Translator's note - the health effects produced by flybys of these triangular objects have been reported in other cases, both in the US and abroad].

(translation (c) 2006, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to José Martinez, ARGUS-PR and Liliana Núñez (AFLA)

More . . .

See Also: Sharp-Dressed Men: The Men-in-Black are Back

- EXCLUSIVE -Interview With Mike Fortson - Eye Witness To Enormous V-Shaped UFO - AKA "The Phoenix Lights"

By Frank Warren
11-21-06

Note-As we approach the 10th anniversary of the so-called "Phoenix Lights" of March 13, 1997, the following is a continuation of a series of interviews/articles with and by direct eye witnesses of this monumental event.

Although many who witnessed this huge "V-shaped craft" have come forward, there are a great deal more who haven't; research concerning this case is ongoing to this day, and it is our hope by highlighting the event(s) and the individuals who witnessed it, more people will come forward and share their experiences. Comments are always welcome, and if requested confidentiality will be honored-FW

Part I

     FW: Thank you Mike for agreeing to do this interview and being one of the first participants in the latest addition to our "Knowledge is Power" web-site i.e., "the interview section."

In our private correspondence you certainly have convinced me of the "gravity" of what has erroneously become known as the Phoenix Lights; that title certainly doesn't represent what occurred on March 13th, 1997.

In any event, why don't we start by informing the readers of who Mike Fortson is . . . give us some background.

MF: I was born February 24, 1953, in Hertfordshire, UK. My parents are both Americans from Indiana. My father was a staff sergeant in the USAF stationed in London. I spent the first 18 months of my life in England, then Georgia for 5 years or so. Then in 1959 we moved to Kokomo, Indiana where I spent the next 16 years.

I graduated high school in 1971 and unfortunately my lottery number for the draft (Viet Nam) was under 60 and I was headed into the military. Lucky for me my test scores were high enough that the US Navy took me with a 4 year enlistment. During boot camp I was asked if I would be interested in the USN Ceremonial Guard in Washington, D.C. I said, “yes”. I spent my entire Navy career (4 years) in DC doing military funerals in Arlington National, state dinners at the White House, participated in full honor arrivals for foreign heads of state. Highlights included; Nixon’s inauguration, funerals for Presidents Johnson and Truman. I participated in over 1500 military funerals in Arlington National. I had a White House security clearance.

In June of 1972, I married my high school sweetheart. We have now been married for over 34 years. We have 3 sons, now aged 29, 30 and 32. Along with that comes the grand kids; twin girls 11, another grand daughter 8, 7, and my only grandson, 5 months.

I have been in sales since I got out of the Navy in 1975. In 1979 the auto recession pushed us out of Indiana and we were part of the rush to Texas. I worked in the oilfields until 1986. When oil dropped to $6 a barrel and we loaded up again and moved to Arizona. I now sell real estate in Prescott Valley, Arizona.

FW: Sounds like you've led a very rewarding and interesting life; having a "White House security clearance" certainly is an honorarium for one's resume.

Obviously your military career instilled a certain set of values within you, wouldn't you agree?

MF: Well, being raised with a military discipline and being in the Honor Guard at such a young age, I’ve almost always been held to a higher standard. My parents were strict and the Ceremonial Guard was very strict, so it’s pretty much all I knew. Then we had three boys by the time we were 23 or 24. I guess the best way to measure our values is to look at our sons and the lives they lead.

Having and keeping a “White House Security Clearance” is a must for anyone in the Honor Guard of any branch of the US military. After all, most of the time I’m within arm’s length of the President or other heads of state with a fixed bayonet on my rifle. Yes, one better have a very high security clearance. Truthfully, I did not fully appreciate what I had achieved in the military until I had been out for several years. You have no idea the work it takes to have your uniforms perfect. Your brass, shoes and gloves perfect. And since we were in the public eye so much, even our work clothes were starched and pressed. However, on the other side of the coin, I wasn’t operating a 50 cal machine gun in the Mekong Delta.

FW: Most certainly the character of one's offspring is indicative of their upbringing, and you're obviously a proud father; my hat is off to you Mike, as it it is with all those who have served.

Turning to Ufology, prior to the events in March '97, what was your view of the subject if any?

MF: I had heard stories of Roswell, but for the most part…my beliefs or non-beliefs were completely non-existent. I pretty much never gave it much thought, if any. We’ve been told all our lives that “they” don’t exist. That belief in UFO’s/aliens is just fantasy, so I don’t think I had an opinion one way or another. It’s kind’a like being from Missouri…show me. (and “they” did)

FW: So, admittedly, prior to your "life-changing event," you were "ignorant to the subject," and had you been asked about it's validity, you would have dismissed it . . . correct?

MF: Correct. I had never sky watched looking for ET prior to March 13, 1997. Nor had I been in any in depth conversations on the subject. I probably would have said, “yeah, right” if someone had told me of an encounter with a UFO.

However, I do remember watching television and movies about UFO’s/aliens. I was a Star-Trek fan in the 60’s-70’s. I also remember watching tv shows like; “Lost in Space”, “The Invaders”, “Space 1999”, etc. movies like “ET” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. These were popular shows and we did enjoy them. I am also a “Star Wars” fan. But the depth of this was entertainment value only.

FW: Aside from being a sci-fi fan (something we have in common) in essence I feel you, like the rest of us were/are the end product of what I call "societal programming," as well as the input from our parents. In other words it's instilled in us that Ufology lies beyond the borders of normalcy, the subject is silly etc. For those of us ignorant of the subject, (as we all were at one time) we're left with only the a fore mentioned dogma.

As you approached March 13th, Hale-Bopp was visible, and there much ado in the media wasn't there?

MF: Yes, I believe that there were early morning and evening opportunities to view the comet. It was rare to see and I believe if not on the news every night, it was revealed by our local weatherman when viewing times would be. I really don’t know of anyone who at least didn’t watch it for a few minutes at least once. If I remember right, we would keep an ‘eye” on it quite often. It was a rare occurrence and we both enjoyed being able to view it.

FW: So it was common knowledge about the comet, and "eyes were to the skies" so to speak? March 13th fell on what day of the week exactly?

MF: March 13, 1997 was on a Thursday.

FW: Do you recall your activities that day; if so please elaborate.

MF: No, not at all as far as any detail goes. In 1997, I worked for a company out of Chicago. I ran a home office for them. My territory was the entire state of Arizona. I would have worked, placed calls, placed orders, and handled company business. I probably got some groceries as I do almost all the cooking. We would have enjoyed dinner around 6:30 and crashed on the sectional sofa watching television (probably college basketball, as March Madness might be getting underway) Then I awoke from a brief nap and told my wife I was going to bed, I glanced to the television and the clock read 8:30. Nothing of any remembrance or importance occurred that day until 8:30 pm. It was just another normal day at the Fortson household. But, 8:30 pm., will be forever embedded in my memory. It was the exact minute when our lives changed forever.

FW: SO, it's now Thursday night at 8:30, March 13th, 1997 . . . what happened then?

MF: I guess now would be the proper place for me to cut and paste my original report I filed in March of 1997….

See: Eye Witness Mike Fortson's Original Report of ‘The 'Phoenix Lights'


After the massive V shaped object left our field of view, we must have searched the sky for several more minutes. We wondered if anyone else had seen it. We confirmed again and again that it was ONE solid object. And we tried to reason how something that massive could stay aloft without making any noise. It was just too low and too slow, and for sure just way too big to be something of our Earth. The size of the object left us in a state of awe and mild shock. After several minutes of searching, hoping for one more glimpse we went back inside. Nannette sat on the sofa and I sat on a bar stool facing her. We just stared at each other for multiple minutes, maybe 10, maybe even 30, we don’t remember. Then I got up and proceeded back outside and as I passed my wife, I said to her, “we just saw our first UFO!” She looked at me very seriously and said, “I know”. We both went back outside and searched the skies one more time. Wanting really some kind of understanding for what we had just witnessed. But after several minutes of searching we gave up and resigned to the fact that there was no more for us to see. At this point, I’m pretty sure we just went to bed.

I did not call any radio stations. I did not call any television stations. I did not call the police nor did I call Luke AFB. Those thoughts never occurred to me to do as something that needed to be or should be done. At this point we thought that we might be the only ones to have seen this profoundly enormous object.

End Part I


SEE PART II

SEE PART III

E-mail Mike Fortson

E-mail Frank Warren

See Also:
The Non-Investigation of the Phoenix Lights- My View

SHARE YOUR UFO EXPERIENCE

Take Me To Your Leaders

By Melissa Heckscher
The DAILY BREEZE
11-21-06

     Sitting in front of his computer inside the cozy pastel-colored house he shares with his wife and 11-year-old son, Torrance resident Robert Stanley looks surefootedly straight-faced as he points to a photo of a blurry blue blip in the night sky above the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

"You might look at this and say, 'Well this is real grainy. That's just a little blue dot, what does that have to do with anything?' " Stanley said, looking at the little blue dot in question, a hazy orb hovering near the illuminated white rooftop. "But when you get close up on the blue thing, you actually see that it's a sphere, and it's in motion."

Call him crazy, he doesn't care. He believes the "sphere" in the photograph -- the little blue dot most people would chalk up to some kind of camera error -- is a UFO. He doesn't know where it came from (other than, maybe, a galaxy far, far away), but he believes it's real.

"Even if the president said, 'I saw a UFO landing out in front of my White House,' people are not going to accept it," he says. "They want to see it for themselves to believe it."

More . . .

See Also: Author Says UFOs Still Buzzing W.Va.

Lies, Damned Lies, and Cover Stories

by Asif Siddiqi
and
Dwayne A. Day
The Space Review
11-20-06

     On March 16, 1962, the Soviet Union launched Cosmos-1, and declared that it was a research satellite with numerous scientific research objectives. A month later, the Soviets launched Cosmos-4, which was reportedly another scientific satellite. In reality, Cosmos-4 was the first successful Soviet reconnaissance satellite.

Over the next three decades the Soviets continued to launch satellites in the Cosmos series, over 2,400 of them—an amazing number of scientific satellites. However, Western observers had determined very early on that Cosmos was merely a cover, a generic classification used by the Soviet Union to conceal the identities of their spacecraft. A Cosmos designation could cover a radar ocean reconnaissance satellite or a failed moon probe. Its purpose was to confuse western observers of Soviet space launches. At this job it was only partially successful.

More . . .

See Also: Former Soviet Union Reported That Scientists Confirmed Landing of Alien Craft!

"I'm Surprised a UFO Hasn't Landed Here"

Storied Holy City is for sale

By Jennifer Squires
The Santa Cruz Sentinel
11-16-06

     One of the world's three holy cities is up for grabs.

Holy City, the 150-acre ghost town tucked on the San Jose side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, is for sale, said Jim E. Miller, a RE/MAX agent. The asking price is $11 million.

Gone are the giant Santa Claus statues festooned with weird religious slogans, the peepshow booths and the radio station broadcasting William E. "Father" Riker's racist diatribes. The last of the commune's disciples either died or moved away years ago.

Riker's white clapboard house, the ruins of the zoo and a commercial building that used to be a restaurant, the post office and a barber shop are all that remain of the commune described in news stories as a "sexual Disneyland."

The property is owned by three retired contractors who bought it in 1960 with intentions of developing the land into a park, but never did, Miller said.

"They had the permits to do like a big park, like a recreational park," he said, adding that the contractors built a lot of park benches, then got busy with other projects. "Now they're in their 80s."

Tom Stanton — Holy City's only long-term resident and self-appointed mayor — has run a glass-blowing business in the town's old post office for 30 years. He prefers the title "ambassador of goodwill," as he also shares local lore, gives directions to lost travelers and, for about 15 years, was a volunteer firefighter in the area.

Holy City went on the market Wednesday afternoon. The property, which includes 10 separate parcels, could be divided and resold by the buyer, Miller said. Development of the quiet, wooded mountainside long considered a party spot is possible.

The news surprised Stanton, 55, who lived in Riker's old house in the '70s. Over the years, he has amassed a wall's worth of black-and-white Holy City photos and aged newspaper clippings about the commune.

"There's a specialness to this town," Stanton said.

It's one of three places called "Holy City" in the world — the others are Jerusalem and Mecca — and people still make pilgrimages there. In the '70s, visitors came looking for Stanton's glass pumpkins, Easter eggs and Christmas ornaments. The Dalai Lama came through once and, in February, David Arquette and Courtney Cox stopped in to see about using Riker's house as a set for a horror movie sequel.

"I've had my share of famous people," Stanton said.

Holy City was established in 1919 by Riker, an ex-waiter who billed himself as the "Chief Comforter" and "Wisest Man on Earth."

Born in 1873 in Oakdale, Riker left school after the third grade and worked a series of odd jobs, including selling patent medicine. Around the turn of the century, he announced he'd had a revelation and acquired a silver key that opened his real identity as the Holy Ghost. His philosophy was a strange mix of religion, racial theories and politics.

He started a commune on an 18-acre parcel in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which he proclaimed was the "Headquarters for the World's Perfect Government." Disciples were expected to turn over their belongings, savings and pension checks, and in exchange were given room, board and Salvation Army clothes. There was enough money left over to build the town and buy Riker six Cadillacs.

At its height in the mid-1920s, Riker's commune had about 300 disciples and Holy City boasted a dance hall, an observatory, a bottling plant, a radio station and a zoo on the 180-acre property. Visitors were greeted by music blaring from red loudspeakers while they lined up for the 50 peepshow booths, which had titles such as "The Legs of Queen Elizabeth."

The construction of Highway 17 in 1937 bypassed Riker's kingdom. With no motorists to patronize the peep shows, Holy City began drying up. The next year, Riker launched the first of four campaigns for governor, calling for blacks and Asians to be denied the right to own businesses and to be relegated "to their proper station of serving the white race."

In 1966, at the age of 93, Riker shocked his followers by converting to Catholicism. He died in 1969 in a state hospital.

Many of Holy City's buildings were reduced to rubble by fires in the mid-1950s and Riker lost control of his commune. The town lost its status as a city in 1959 and the post office closed in 1979.

The defunct city, to the east of the rural community of Redwood Estates, hasn't been touched since, but it also didn't fall off the map. The area has been a hot spot for partiers for decades and Stanton said he has seen just about everything during his time in the old commercial building, including burning cars driving up the road, young lovers in the woods, lots of nudity, gunfire-punctuated police chases and, once, a naked woman riding horseback.

Stanton meant to capitalize on his special home and has considered producing glass products such as marbles called "Holy Rollers," cigars dubbed "Holy Smokes" and cows named "Holy Cows," but never did.

"I thought I was going to put in another good 30 years," Stanton said.

Without knowing about the potential sale of Holy City, Stanton put on a three-band party two weeks ago that celebrated 30 years in the defunct commune.

"We've always done some fun stuff out there," he said.

Staff writer Roger Sideman contributed to this report.

More . . .

See Also: Airships-The Beginning-1896

Columbia: Couple Records Image of UFO in Nechí

Caracol Radio
11-19-06

     Last Friday at 10:55, an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was sighted in the municipality Antioqueño of Nechí.

First to witness the event was Doña Ana Madera; she was on the third floor of her home, and immediately called to her husband, Hipólito Zola; both observed the strange circular object with red and yellow hues that was static in the firmament for over 5 minutes.

The pair alerted their neighbors and then got their video camera with which they have proof of the appearance of the UfO.

“It was a large circle that could be viewed from the camera easily. Nevertheless, we were scared because we thought that it was a meteor ", reported Hipólito Sola to Caracol Radio.

Mr. Zola declared that the neighbors who were asleep that night and didn’t see the strange UFO, have been coming to his house to watch the video and “many were terrified, even the commander of the Police of Nechí”.

The UfO remained in the sky, says Don Hipólito, until the 11:15 at night of that unforgettable Friday for the inhabitants of Nechí, a population located to 10 hours of Medellín, in a vehicle.


More . . .

See Also: 'Sky Devil-Ship' Scares Pilots

Scientists Record Mystery Hum!

By Stephen Hutcheon
The Age
11-17-06

     A New Zealand scientist believes he's captured a recording of the mystery hum that has been heard by scores of people living and in and around the city of Auckland.

Dr Tom Moir, a computer engineer at Massey University's Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, made the recording at a house in Auckland's North Shore suburb of Glenfield earlier this week.

Dr Moir and his colleague Dr Fakhrul Alam have dubbed the sound an unidentified acoustic phenomena.

Four people who previously reported hearing the low-level hum have confirmed that this is the sound they can hear in their homes.

"If this is indeed the hum, then it's acoustical and not electromagnetic," Dr Moir said.

Dr Moir previously pinpointed the low-level drone at a frequency of 56Hz, which is very close to the 50Hz frequency produced by the 240 volt AC main electricity supply delivered to homes in New Zealand (and Australia).

Although 56Hz is within the standard range of human hearing - which can range from 20 to 20,000Hz - it is too low for many people to pick up.

One of Dr Moir's students, Ms Nair Tsuji, who is able to hear the sound, has acted as Dr Moir's "ears". She also confirmed that the sound they heard in the Glenfield home was the same as the one she hears in her home in Whangaparaoa, about 30 minutes' drive north of Auckland.

All the 30-plus cases reported to Dr Moir are occurring in Auckland's north.

Dr Moir said the next step was to triangulate the sound in the hope of pinpointing the source.

He said that although there was a "high probability" that this was the sound, he's doubtful that he would ever be able to track its source.

According to a theory put forward by Professor Rod Cross, at Sydney University's department of Physics, the sound could be the humming of sand dunes, as described in the latest issue of Physics World, a monthly academic journal.

Professor Cross said he hadn't yet read the article, only heard about it. But it is available online here.

"The sound file on the web sounds like someone blowing over the top of an empty bottle," Professor Cross wrote in an email. "The New Zealand hum sound might therefore be due to wind blowing over hills and valleys. It may not actually require strong winds to cause the effect. Perhaps slowly moving air could do it."

Taking another informed guess, Professor Cross said the sound could be due to the motion under the earth. For example, hot gases or liquids rising through cavities could cause an organ pipe effect.

More . . .

See Also: Sandia Lights Mystery Solved ... Maybe

DISC-SHAPED UFO REPORTED OVER O'HARE AIRPORT

SIGHTING OF DISC-SHAPED OBJECT OVER O'HARE AIRPORT, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AT 16:30 HRS. (CENTRAL) ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2006

By Peter Davenport
NUFORC
11-14-06

     The National UFO Reporting Center has received the following information from a single source, who, for the time being, wishes to remain anonymous, and who prefers not to reveal for what entity he works. We have received documentation about the alleged sighting, which satisfies us as to the veracity of the report, and as to the credentials of the party reporting the incident.

We have delayed release of this case, principally because an investigation was begun almost immediately after our receipt of the initial report, and because we were hoping to obtain addition documentation about the sighting, before it could be concealed, or destroyed.

At approximately 16:30 p.m. (Central) on Tuesday, November 07, 2006, Federal authorities at O'Hare Airport received a report that approximately a dozen witnesses were observing a small, round disc-shaped object, metallic in appearance, which hovered over Gate C 17 at that airport.

The object was first spotted by an employee, working on the ramp, who was engaged in "pushing back" Flight 446, departing Chicago for Charlotte, NC. The employee reported to his supervisors that the object appeared to be almost directly above his location at Gate C 17, it appeared to be perfectly round, and that its size was approximately equal to a U. S. quarter, held at arm's length. The object had a metallic appearance, according to the first witness, and it appeared to him to be spinning.

The first witness apprised the flight crew of Flight 446 of the existence of the object above their aircraft, and we believe both the pilot and copilot were witness to the bizarre object, as well. The witness also contacted his supervisors, who also witnessed the object, which was visible for approximately 2 minutes.

At the end of that time, the object was seen to suddenly accelerate straight up at a very rapid pace, and it "shot" through the solid overcast, which was at 1,900 feet at the time. The witness added that the object appeared to leave a "hole" in the clouds, where it had streaked upwards through the overcast.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration were apprised of the event at the time it was occurring, and personnel in one, or more, of the towers at O'Hare may have witnessed the object, possibly with binoculars. The FAA apparently reported that the object was not visible on radar, lthough that fact has not been confirmed at the time of this writing.

We hope to be able to release more information about the incident at some time in the near future. In the meantime, we would like to invite anyone who may have been personal witness to the event to submit a report of their sighting, using our Online Report Form. We would be most grateful if you would indicate in your report where you were located, at the time of the sighting, and what the object looked like, from your vantage point.

More . . .

See Also:

A UFO at O'Hare? Some Pilots Thought So

In The Sky! A Bird? A Plane? A ... UFO?

Did This Train Collide With a UFO?

UFO Photographed Over Algarve

Mysterious lights in Algarve skies

The Resident
11-16-06

     AN UNIDENTIFIED Flying Object (UFO) was spotted in the Algarve over the weekend, no less than three times in one night.

Miguel Horta and Noel Rodrigues, two friends and residents of Altura in Castro Marim, claim to have spotted a rotating object emanating blue and red light over their backgardens.

Miguel Horta, a 29-year-old receptionist, was leaving his house to go to work when he saw an object in the sky hovering over his back garden.

“It was travelling at a great speed and then suddenly slowed down and hovered. It emanated red and blue light as it rotated” he said.

Earlier that evening his friend Noel, a lifeguard from the same area, had shown him a picture of a strange object he had seen from his balcony. Miguel immediately called Noel to describe what he had just seen. Intrigued by their sightings, Noel decided to stay up into the early hours of the night, hoping to get a photo of the mysterious object. At 2am the lights appeared again and Noel captured an image of an object that looks eerily similar to what is now termed a flying saucer.

An hour and 45 minutes later, it appeared for a third time to the amazement of Noel, who later showed his photos to Miguel. “We both knew that what we saw was a foreign and strange object” he stated.

The sighting is the second in the Algarve in the past three months. In September, a holiday maker registered several sightings from September 8 until September 15, while staying at the Vale do Lobo resort.

More . . .

See Also: SPAIN: UFO FLOTILLA PHOTOGRAPHED OVER SPAIN?

UFOs Light Up The Sky

The Welwyn & Hatfield Times 24
11-15-06

     TIMES Territory became a hotbed of UFO activity last weekend with dozens of residents spotting mysterious lights in the sky.

The WHT reported last week that several people had reported seeing a "spacecraft" around Hatfield and WGC.

But only now - after our newsdesk was swamped with calls from eye-witnesses - can we reveal the full magnitude of the event.

Readers young and old claim to have seen bright orange lights flying smoothly in a triangular formation, pulling off manoeuvres that no 21st century aircraft could achieve.

Many people who found themselves staring at the night sky last Friday, Saturday and Sunday initially believed they were about to watch a catastrophic air crash.

The WHT contacted Luton Airport to check if there could be a more rational explanation for the phenomena.

But a spokeswoman confirmed that, to her knowledge, there had been no scheduled fly pasts of planes or helicopters through the area.

Here is a selection of eye-witness reports from Welwyn Hatfield residents:

Lauren Sullivan, of Barnard Green, WGC, was enjoying a bonfire party on Sunday night with around 10 other friends when she spotted the lights.

She even managed to capture the moment on video camera although the footage is too dark to print in the paper.

She said: "Logic said it must have been something like a firework but it just didn't go out.

"I'd like to think it was a UFO and I do like watching things about them on TV. I'd like to believe there's something out there!"

Jo and Frank McNally, of Sweet Briar, WGC, were on their way to a party on Saturday night when they pulled their car over to watch the lights.

"They went right over the top of us," said Jo, 36.

"There was no noise or anything. We just stood there in total disbelief. It's the kind of thing you never think you will see.

"We got to the party and everyone was like 'yeah right!'. Nobody believed us!"

Sally Metcalfe, 43, of Heronswood Place, WGC, said last Friday night was the second time her family had seen an Unidentified Flying Object this year.

"We were so rattled by what we saw," she said. "And I'm not the type of person who drinks a lot or hallucinates!"

Anthony Hawkins, 33, of Newfields, WGC, was walking to a friend's house on Sunday evening when he spotted the lights flying in a V formation.

He said: "They were about half-a-mile away and 100ft off the ground at a guess.

"I phoned my wife to tell her and she said 'don't be so stupid, it's a firework!' But I know what a firework looks like.

"This is basically what a UFO is, 'unidentified'. There might be some rational explanation but I couldn't work out what."

Amateur astronomer Rob Bentley, 45, of Mount Way, WGC, said he was used to watching satellites re-entering Earth's atmosphere but what his family witnessed last Sunday night was totally different.

"I've never seen anything like this before," he said.

"It gave me a cold shudder at first. Then I thought it had to be a helicopter but there was no noise. My kids were gobsmacked."

Christine and Alan Evans, of Moorlands, WGC, saw the lights late on Sunday night.

"My husband saw it first," said Christine, 65.

"Being an ex-policeman he knew it wasn't a helicopter or firework. We both rushed to the window and said 'God, there's going to be an air crash!'. But nothing happened and there was no noise.

"I promise you we weren't drinking! It was amazing."

Your questions answered

WITH so many baffling UFO sightings last weekend, we asked American UFO investigator Chris Augustin to shed some light on the matter.

Are the orange lights our readers have described a common occurrence in UFO sightings?

Many people have reported seeing such orbs of light. There have been a lot of sightings in the past several months where witnesses described formations of lights just like these.

They have been spotted flying in a triangular formation of between three and 12 lights - is this 'common'?

One of the most common shapes that UFOs are reported is a triangular shape. Many times, these are very large triangular craft, that fly silently, or sometimes emit a low humming sound. The large triangular crafts have been seen worldwide, but became prevalent in Belgium in the late 80s early 90s.

Any idea what they are? Actual space crafts? Balls of energy?

With many other sightings, these balls of light are identified to be individual objects, they tend to fly back and forth, sometimes merging or separating with other lights, but tend to move in an organised formation for long durations. These lights can number anywhere from one to dozens.

How many sightings are there roughly a day?

On average, the number of UFO sightings reported to MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and NUFORC (National UFO Research Center) per month are around 250 to 300. This is just in the US.

What would you say to sceptics to convince them UFOs exist?

The first thing I ask people is if they accept the possibility of life on other planets. There's life on this one so, mathematically speaking, it'd be impossible for it not to exist elsewhere.

Once that issue is resolved, I present the multitude of evidence that has been collected. Every year, there are literally thousands of sightings reported, photographs taken, videos recorded, radar trackings identified, etc, that show UFOs performing manoeuvres that would be labelled impossible by conventional aircraft.

Many of these sightings can be explained away by traditional means, but it's that small percentage, where no explanation can be found that begs the question.

Do you subscribe to the well-known conspiracy theories that governments know about it/use alien technology/Area 51/Roswell, etc?

There's no doubt in my mind that our world powers have such knowledge. The Roswell crash gave our military and government some very advanced technology that they have been reverse engineering for years. I have personally visited Area 51 twice in the past few years.

Check out Chris's website at http://www.aliensthetruth.com

Open to alien attack

REPORTS of UFOs over Welwyn Hatfield come just days after a Government advisor warned our planet was open to an alien attack.

Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence UFO project from 1991 to 1994 was speaking after it was revealed his former department was being closed down.

He told Sky News there had been a series of "highly credible" alien sightings and landings in the UK.

"The X-Files have been closed down," he said.

"Frankly we are wide open. If something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now it will be ignored.

"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge.

More . . .

See Also: UFOs Recorded on Video in The Pennygate Area