Page 28 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - October 2015

28 Mysterious ‘Sky City’ Over China
Mysterious 'Sky City'
Photographed Over China
The (UK) Independent noted this week that
“extraordinary cloud formations … appear to
have created an apparition of a floating city.
Footage of the phenomenon appears to show
towerblock-like formations over the city of
Foshan in the Guandong province of China,
apparently bringing many people to a standstill
in the street. It reportedly lasted only a few
minutes before disappearing.”
This is not the first time that a “cloud
city” has appeared, and there are perfectly
natural meteorological mechanisms that can
create such an illusion. Under certain conditions
clouds can isolate and obscure the foreground of
an area so that a tall object (a mountain or
buildings, for example) can appear to be
floating in clouds.
Because the base or foundation -- the
part we are most familiar with since they're at
normal eye level -- is hidden from view, the
“floating” object may seem deceptively high
above the horizon. Such images won’t appear
high in the sky, of course, but they don’t need to called experts have no idea what a mirage
in order to seem mysterious.
Robert Sheaffer, a longtime skeptical
UFO researcher, told Discovery News that “in
2011 the reports of a 'floating city' reportedly
seen at Huangshan City, China, were simply
sensationalized reports of a very ordinary
phenomenon. The river Xin’an was at flood
stage, and mists arising from the river made
buildings seen downriver appear to be floating
above the mist. It was a simple optical illusion,
nothing more.” Sheaffer discussed that incident
in his Bad UFOs Blog.
Some have suggested that the Foshan
image is of an optical illusion called a fata
morgana, which can make distant objects appear
to float in air -- but only near the horizon, not
high in the sky as seen in the photo. The image,
however, doesn’t seem to be a meteorological
optical illusion but instead a computer-
generated one.
Real, Fake, or Really Fake?
While many have suggested a short
video of the event is legitimate, others
immediately called shenanigans. In the
discussion over whether the image is real, a
curious, twisted-logic middle ground emerged:
The sky city is not real, but neither is the photo
faked.
The “Inquistr” noted:
”Conspiracy theorists believe … the floating
cities could be apparitions resulting from tests
of the latest Project Blue Beam technology to
see how residents of cities would react. Project
Blue Beam is a popular conspiracy theory that
claims that NASA will soon attempt to
inaugurate the Illuminati-sponsored Satanic
New World Order (NWO) agenda under the
authority of the Antichrist by using
holographic image projection technology to
simulate the second coming of Christ, or a
space alien invasion of Earth.”
If the conspiracy theorists are right, the Chinese
government knows exactly how thousands of
Foshan residents will react to the startling image
of a huge city in the clouds: All but one of them
will completely ignore it.
The fact that there appears to be only a
single, short video of the amazing minutes-long
sight -- which would have been witnessed by
hundreds or thousands of people -- is strong
evidence of a hoax. Surely such an amazing and
startling image would have been captured in
photos and videos by dozens of other witnesses,
but none have emerged. Of course if the image
were created on one person’s computer, then it
would only appear in videos released by that
person.
Sheaffer agrees with the hoax
explanation, noting that the new video is “being
promoted by low-credibility sources, claiming
that the ‘floating city’ was seen again, this time presidents, Amelia Riekenberg and Donna
well up in the sky, not just above the horizon.
The video appears to be a composite of two
separate images, where a city in the clouds was
added to an ordinary scene on the ground. The
idea that it depicts a mirage shows that the so-
actually looks like, or how it is formed.”
On his website, Metabunk researcher
Mick West provides a detailed photographic
analysis and explanation of how the image
might have been composited. Faked photos
have become routine on social media, with
dubious images of something weird or
mysterious circulating every few weeks. Last
week it was a faked photo and video of the
Jersey Devil, a few months earlier it was a faked
image of a Lizard Man, and so on.
It’s easy to lament or overestimate the
public’s gullibility in spreading these hoaxes,
but of course sharing a weird image on social
media isn’t the same as endorsing it as
authentic; most people share them as something
funny or silly to comment on, along with cat
photos and silly memes. While a few have taken
the photo seriously, most people know that
floating sky cities are found only in fiction. []
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publisher@xchronicles-newspaper.com
School Bans Halloween
Parties Citing Diversity
Students from different cultures
have previously felt left out so
they held a harvest festival
instead, education officials say.
A New Jersey primary school has banned
Halloween parties, citing community diversity.
Officials at Seth Boyden Elementary
said some students from different cultures had
felt left out at previous parties.
Principal Mark Quiles and two PTA co-
Upton, sent a letter to parents saying about 20%
of the pupils did not participate last year.
"One of the strengths of Seth Boyden is
that we are such a diverse community, with
many cultures represented, and that we truly
value each one," they wrote, reports NJ.com.
Seth Boyden also cancelled Halloween
parties last year, but scrapped the decision after
an outcry.
Suzanne Turner, spokeswoman for the
South Orange and Maplewood school district,
told Sky News no Halloween parties had been
planned at the school this year.
She said Seth Boyden had held a
"harvest festival" instead to be more inclusive.
"Some students in previous years have
stayed at home on Halloween or have attended
school but did not participate in the activities,"
she told Sky News.
No parent at the school had complained
about the holiday, she said.
The New Jersey Department of
Education told Sky News it had no state-wide
policy on school Halloween parties.
Spokesman Richard Vespucci said:
"Local school boards made this decision and
they are accountable to the people who elected
them and appointed them in their community."
A Connecticut school district was
criticised earlier this month after it cancelled
Halloween activities because of diversity
concerns.
Milford officials rescinded the ban as
thousands of people signed a change.org
petition condemning the move.[]