Page 42 - 201011 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - November 2010

NASA, Fakes and Cover-ups Nick Redfern's book set to advance of the space shuttle and space there's "no convincing evidence" of alien redefine NASA history on technology.The reported discovery by NASA of visitors. Some search for hope, hostility some intelligently-designed structures on the moon, Mars, UFOs surface of the Moon and Venus also form part of Christopher French, a University of his book. "But that is not all: behind the scenes, there is a very different NASA; a darker and London psychology professor who studies By Nagesh Narayana shadowy NASA," he writes. paranormal beliefs, says some UFO believers International Business Times Redfern, who has extensively written are drawn to the idea that aliens are contacting about issues like visit of aliens in Mexico, lake humans. "It would just make the world a more monsters in scotland, vampires in Puerto Rico, interesting place," he says. In a radical twist to NASA's accomplishments, werewolves in England, ETs, Bigfoot, and For some, belief in extraterrestrials British journalist and author Nick Redfern has crashed UFOs in the United States, is now "takes on a spiritual dimension," French says. raised many questions on the space agency coming out with his new book which is likely to Stephen Diamond, a clinical and efforts in exploring outer space, including the hold NASA accountable or at least issue forensic psychologist in Los Angeles, says the Apollo moon landings, the controversial face on clarifications. need for meaning can be satisfied by UFOs. "It's Mars, UFO sightings and other secret space Redfern is a familiar face on the History a questing for something to believe in that goes programs Channel’s “Monster Quest” and “UFO beyond ourselves" and is especially potent in In his new book, The NASA Conspiracies, Redfern blames high-level cover- Hunters”; the National Geographic Channel’s times of cultural upheaval and economic crisis, he says. “Paranatural”, and the Syfy Channel’s “Proof ups by the National Aeronautical and Space Positive” and writes for UFO Magazine, Fate, "People need a sense of beauty in life, Administration eversince it was established in Fortean Times, and Paranormal Magazine. and a sense of mystery and awe," Diamond 1958 and illustrates how it failed to tell the truth His research took him to Puerto Rico in says, and the "sense of dread" that accompanies to the world about its space missions. "All the while, behind the open, friendly face of NASA search of the blood?sucking Chupacabras; to the notion of alien beings also can be tantalizing. Roswell, New Mexico to explore the truth is a dark and mysterious, ominous world, a behind the famous UFO crash of 1947 and to "People who view the world as a hostile world littered with high-level cover-ups," he Wisconsin in pursuit of the infamous Mothman. place are more likely to think extraterrestrials says. Originally from England, he runs the will be hostile," says Douglas Vakoch, a Some of the cover-ups that he said American office of the British?based Center for psychologist who leads a SETI Institute project NASA resorted to in the past include the claims Fortean Zoology in Arlington, Texas. His center to compose messages that could be sent in reply that the Apollo moon landings were faked in an probes such extinct or unknown animals as to a signal from extraterrestrials. The institute effort to show technological superiority over the former Soviet Union which was billed "Sputnik Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the uses astronomy in its Search for Extraterrestrial Chupacabras, sea?serpents, and the Abominable Intelligence. crisis". Snowman. [] A 2008 Scripps Howard News On the controversial face on Mars, which many believe to be a carved structure Service/Ohio University poll of 1,003 adults created in the remote past by long-extinct, Probe into alien life forms found that 56% believe it is very or somewhat indigenous Martians, he says the huge structure picks up steam likely that intelligent life exists in other worlds. One in every 12 Americans say they have seen which stares eerily into outer?space and a mysterious object in the sky, it found. resembles an Egyptian Sphinx?like face. NASA Tales that 'really curl your hair' says it is merely a natural mesa, but for others, By Judy Keen, USA TODAY Those who are convinced that UFOs it is evidence that, millennia ago, Mars was home to a now?long?extinct race of beings that Bryan Fains still thinks the blue object exist have their own theories about people who won't acknowledge their existence. built the mighty face. "Is NASA engaged in a he saw skittering across the sky above Cliff Clift, international director of the cosmic conspiracy to conceal the truth, or is the Centreville, Va., on Nov. 3 might have been a huge face simply a trick of the light? " he UFO. Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), which investigates reports of sightings, says admitting questions the world's renowned space agency. Although the object that Fains captured "that there is an intelligence more advanced On a widely reported incident of UFO on cellphone video was later identified as a crash at Roswell, he questions whether "NASA remote-controlled glider plane outfitted with than we are is really an affront to (skeptics') intelligence." is guilty of hiding evidence that UFOs have LED lights, he's just not sure. "It seems He says he and his grandmother saw a visited our world, and that NASA’s own impossible that we're the only ones in this UFO in 1953. astronauts have seen UFOs? Does NASA have universe," says Fains, 29, a warehouse worker. Clift's group collects about 500 reports a in its secret possession proof that UFOs have "Whatever it was, I've never seen anything like month. Of those, he says, about 100 can't be crashed to earth and, along with their alien it before." readily explained and 15 "really curl your hair." crews, are secretly hidden at top secret NASA Recent sightings have revived a debate In one recent case, he says, a farmer and facilities? Has NASA censored its own that has stirred skepticism and research for two MUFON investigators say they saw a UFO photographs to hide the facts about alien generations. Were lights over El Paso in and a 3-foot-tall alien creature in the Southeast. visitations? " October skydivers with flares or extraterrestrial Further, he alleges that Deep Throat-like aircraft? Were objects over New York City this Jeff Peckman, who led the effort to put NASA sources have earlier attempted to blow fall balloons or alien visitors? Was the Denver's UFO measure on the ballot, believes the federal government is covering up decades the lid on NASA’s most guarded secrets and California mystery plume really a jet contrail? of alien visitations. His explanation for non- cites the tragic explosion of the Space Shuttle Fascination with unidentified flying believers: "Some people are just afraid of the Challenger in January 1986 on which he says objects seems unabated, though there are limits: the FBI opened a secret file that was packed Denver voters on Nov. 2 rejected a ballot unknown" and choose to ignore "overwhelming" evidence. with reports, witness testimony, and measure that would have required the city to Former Air Force captain Robert Salas documentation that examined a key issue of develop a protocol for welcoming aliens. didn't believe in UFOs until 1967. He was in an sabotage of the Shuttle. Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic underground missile launch facility in Montana "The FBI has now declassified its files magazine, says there's no tangible evidence of on the affair, and which tell an extraordinary visits from other planets. "The evidence is so when guards outside spotted strange lights in the sky. Then all the missiles shut down. and strange story of psychics, secret?agents, fleeting, so thin, so fraught with human error," Salas believes extraterrestrial visitors shadowy terrorist groups and more," he says he says. "People have fantastic imaginations." disabled them to highlight the dangers of defending his writings. George Mason University astronomer nuclear weapons. Redfern has also pondered the Harold Geller says Venus and Jupiter might be Salas thinks there was another message: allegations that NASA has a secret space responsible for recent sightings. "The more "We're here; we're real." program that runs parallel to its publicized reports picked up by the media, the more people Fain is waiting for proof. [] missions and has access to technologies far in report seeing such apparitions," he says, but