Could It Be A UFO?

Eagle Vale resident Shawaan Peck took this photo on an early Winter morning last year.

He took the photo on his mobile phone and rushed inside to grab his handycam but claimed when he returned the ''glowing objects'' in the sky had disappeared.

This week, there have been reports of UFO sightings in Chipping Norton and Mr Peck believed that was what he captured in this shot.

``I've seen freaky things before, but they've been satellites or shooting stars,'' he told the Advertiser.

``But this thing, I was like hello? what's that?

``I thought it was just weird...I don't think we're alone.''

He said he included the street light in the shot to compare the objects with.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/yjwfrq3

UFOs Over Sydney - The Intergalactic Neighbours Drop By

THEY emerged from a blazing light in the clouds, descending on a busy Sydney street before zipping off silently into the sunset.

Just what - or who - propelled the strange flying discs across the sky may never be known. But while the close encounter was over in seconds, it was enough to convince mother-of-two Fiona Hartigan that she'd just seen a UFO. And she has the photos to prove it. Ms Hartigan yesterday said she had just got out of her car on Sunday evening to snap a few sunset photos when the amazing events began. "As I was about to take the picture this black object appeared and then it started to move," she said.

"It started off about 800m away but it came closer - to about 400m - and then two other little round things appeared from this bright orange light above. "There was no noise. It was calm and peaceful but it was very weird." Ms Hartigan said the main UFO then "shot off" above Governor Macquarie Drive at Chipping Norton, with the smaller UFOs zipping away in the opposite direction. "I don't know how to explain it - I'm still totally bewildered," she said.

To the sceptic, Ms Hartigan's photo might show a speck of dust on the lens or something small floating in the air close to the camera. But close encounters like Ms Hartigan's came as no surprise to UFO Research NSW spokesman Doug Moffett: "It could be some electrical anomaly that no one has ever seen, it could be an extra-terrestrial craft, it could be something else.

"There does appear to be a blur around the image, which could just be the way it's shaped, or - and this is pure speculation - it could be due to its propulsion system. "Whatever the case, it's an opportunity to learn something new." Mr Moffett said there were between 1000 and 1500 UFO sightings in Australia every year, "but that is just the tip of the iceberg". "Why would anyone make these stories up? They are setting themselves up for ridicule," he said.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/yj3awqw

Facing The Important Issues In Ufology

If you've been around in the UFO field for some time now, you will have realised what a whirlwind ride this subject can take you on. However, over the years you may have come to learn, like many others before you, that finding answers to your questions about ETs is not the real goal of your quest. The goal for many, and we believe for our civilization, is not to find the answers but to ask the right questions, for it is only in the work of unearthing the right questions that we will create the impetus within our civilization to take us forward into galactic citizenship.

The years that researchers have spent taking reports from the public, interviewing witnesses, conducting investigations, reading, researching etc, are important steps and have built the foundations for the future of UFO research. However, the UFO subject has a way of acting like a boomerang for many of us. When we stray too far from it's centre it returns us to our personal entry point, which for many has been reports of extraterrestrial worlds and ET societies that function with no war, far less disease (in some cases no disease), how various ETs govern their society by the people and for the people, how those societies handle the issue of longevity and their great reverence for all life.

Curiously, questions about extraterrestrial life have a funny way of turning us inward to question life on Earth. Moreover, we're challenged to reassess our understanding of life, where it comes from, how we respond to it and how tolerant we can be of other lifeforms which may be very different from us. In it's own way the UFO subject prepares us for open contact.

The process of how our present civilization can get from where we are now to the ET model before us contains the most important social questions of our time. No wonder the UFO cmmunity keeps avoiding them, but these are questions we need to face if we are to take the next step towards understanding both our inner and outer worlds.

Are You Willing To Be An Avatar?

Avatar the movie is a unique combination of cinematography, characters and storyline combining all three in a magical way to plants seeds that will hopefully germinate many questions about our own future as a species. Set light years away from Earth on Pandora where Earth corporations are mining a rare mineral that will solve Earth’s energy problems, a former marine comes face to face with the unexpected. Because the atmosphere on Pandora is toxic to humans, the Avatar program has been created where genetically created bodies suited to the atmosphere have been grown and human consciousness can be downloaded into the drivers seat of these bodies thereby enabling humans in Avatar bodies the freedom to move about freely in Pandora’s atmosphere.

Whether it meant to or not, right up the movie asks questions about the possibility of transferring consciousness from one body to another, thereby exploring immortality. What would it be like if we could change bodies when the one we were using was no longer useful? What if you could retain memories from one lifetime to another? How would that affect your “getting of wisdom” in a very long life? Can humans remain at our current level of development and become immortal? What would happen if we discover the technology to transfer consciousness before we gain the wisdom of extending the existence of people who use this to human detriment?

This is an issue raised by contactees who claimed to communicate with ETs far older than us and much further along in their social development. Could they have been using bodies suited to earth’s environment all along? As we progress down this avenue, and if we are successful at pulling off this technology in the future, how will it change our perspective of life, of All life, in the universe. Will we eventually see with the penetratingly spiritual eyes like the Na’vi people of Pandora?

Until that time, would it be best to develop a peaceful mentality so that when we do gain longevity, through whatever means, we won’t be unleashing harmful human behaviour in our corner of the universe. If so, how do we as a civilization change from a military power driven perspective to the spiritual perspective shared by the Na’vi? Would that be in our best interest anyway? And what are the steps towards gaining a deep reverence for all living things, to being in touch with what drives our humanity? How do we humans return to life as part of nature while healing our mental and emotional abstinence from it? All issues raised by the Na’vi lifestyle.

While some in the UFO community are blathering about not going to see the movie because they consider it portrays humans as a blight wherever they go, they’ve failed to identify Avatar as a unique film that is very relevant to the ET issue and that it should be mined for it’s riches. Wouldn’t it be a surprise if we could actually learn something from it?

Northern Territory Attracted UFO Watchers In 2009

It seems that people are still very much interested in the UFO phenomenon and following leads wherever they may take them. In a story posted on the Northern Territory News website today it's claimed that almost 25,000 people flocked to the story posted by this news service in August 2009 when Territorian, Alan Ferguson, made a splash and caught the medias attention with his UFO footage.

Northern Territory News also stated that another story posted in April 2009 entitled Mum Spots Latest UFO attracted around 58,000 hits, and the Muscle Car UFO Hoon story received just over 40,000 views with many of these from the US. The story goes on to say : One of the best things about the internet is that you can track where your audience is coming from, what stories they are interested in. There's no guesswork, it's all there in the stats. For example, the Netherlands are particularly interested in UFOs over the NT - over 7,000 Dutchies visited ntnews.com.au to read what was going on with our little green friends.

Regardless of the genuiness of the stories it appears we just can't get enough of them.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ydgnw8d

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at UFO Research Queensland Inc

Olivia Newton-John says she has seen a UFO

Singer actress Olivia Newton-John is intrigued by UFOs and even claims to have seen one. The Grease star says she saw a UFO when she was 15. The Sun quoted her as saying "I have seen one when I was very young. It was unidentified and it was flying." The 60 year old recollected the scene and said the dazzling object moved across the sky at "amazing speeds". She also admitted her fascination for them and said "It's true. I'm intrigued by them."

Olivia feels most Britons believe in UFOs. She said, "I've seen so many shifts in belief systems over the years. In England most people now think UFOs are possible. Twenty years ago how many people would have thought that?"

http://tinyurl.com/yak8xg5

Scientists, Skeptics and Ufologists Will Always Disagree - And It May Be Genetic

We know that the majority of scientists think evidence for the existence of UFOs is full of holes despite the high level of military and government whistleblower testimony. Adding to the weight of this disclosure is the testimony from astronauts, police, space engineers and astronomers, yet many scientists continue to remain in denial. The UFO community scratches it’s head wondering how it will ever get through such rigid blindness. But it may well be impossible according to New Scientist magazine (print edition 10/10/09) which dedicated ten pages to consciousness. It just may not be possible getting through such denial and the reason is it’s those pesky genes that prevent new information being integrated into certain individuals grey matter.

In a piece about altered states, and in particular hypnosis, some studies hint at our ability to be hypnotized as being deeply ingrained. “When 50 people were re-tested [for their hypnotisability] on the Stanford scale after a 25-year gap, their scores stayed remarkably consistent.” James Horton at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville has even found physical brain differences: highly hypnotizable participants had a 30% bigger rostrum, a part of the brain thought to help focus attention. A few studies have also shown that hypnotisability may be hereditary, and some researchers – including Amir Raz of McGill university in Montreal, Canada – are trying to track the genes involved.

Curiously, most of the scientists interviewed for the article stated they were only mediocre on the hypnotisability scale. No surprise there since scientists tend to dissect, criticize and evaluate which is completely opposite to a hypnotic state of mind. Personally I’ve found that people who make the best hypnosis subjects tend to be more right brained than others and female. A right brained individual will be more creative since right brained activity is associative, synthesizing many things into one expression, whereas left brained activity pulls apart information, breaking it down into smaller clumps of data for observation and analysis. So we have synthesis versus analysis – or more simply said, putting together versus pulling apart.

Our brain dominance plays an important role in forming our behaviour, perspective and beliefs. So those who are left-brain dominant (for want of a better expression) will be drawn to the scientific, and if a higher degree of dominance is experienced it’s only natural they will go further and become a “skeptic” which is a deeper expression of left-brain behaviour. So no matter how much you try to “get through” to a skeptic it’s just not going to happen.

Now we could wait and be patient until the next generation is born, but unfortunately if this is genetic then it will just keep repeating itself, so don’t bother holding your breath. Darn those pesky genes!

Earth Calling

During the month of August, 2009 a total of 25,880 messages were collected from the public by the Australian Cosmos magazine website in an initiative to celebrate Australia's National Science Week and the International Year of Astronomy. Supported by NASA, the CSIRO, and the Australia's Science Minister, it was a way of making people aware of the role science plays in our society. The messages were collected by the project then converted into binary code and beamed into space at noon on Friday August 28, by the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla.

It was reported that the signal was equivalent to using the combined transmission power of 300 billion mobile phones. It took two hours to send the transmission but it will take two decades before it reaches it’s destination around December 2029. While it’s no news flash for the UFO community that life exists elsewhere besides planet Earth it is extremely important to observe that no less than 1000 newspapers in different languages reported the initiative and more than 9,917 blogs around the world discussed it and linked to the site. Cosmos magazine reported that Visitors to the site reached 254,620 in the 13 days the site collected messages, and visitors read 1.25 million pages, from messages left by participants to articles on exoplanets and astrobiology.

Putting aside for the moment that this was a HUGE publicity stunt by the editor to prop up flagging magazine subscriptions (did we say that out loud?), the exercise demonstrates the clear and overwhelming interest by members of our population in communicating with life outside this planet. This is probably not what the cover-up merchants want to read but hey, too bad. If ET is listening, now would be the time to step up any initiatives to strike up a conversation with the common earthman in the street. Will we get a response from ET? Scientists believe they will have to wait decades to find out but we already know the answer, don’t we.

This is our favourite message from the hopeful future: We come in peace. If you are out there, please respond. We want to be friends. We are all different and we can't wait to meet you! From the children of Earth. Class 4M, Castle Cove Public School, Australia

Cosmos Under Fire

The August/September 2009 issue of Cosmos Magazine (issue 28) devoted 21 pages to a special feature entitled "Mass Delusions" which among other things claimed to "explore delusional behaviour, from the global financial crisis to alien abductions" and claimed to explain that it is the way our brains are wired that causes “some people to believe in UFOs, apparitions and homeopathy”.

The opening sentence of the feature began with the question “why do people believe in phenomena such as UFOs, alien abductions, psychic surgery and ghosts, when the evidence is so scant and unconvincing?” What?! The evidence may be unconvincing to some - but SCANT? I think not. Obviously Wilson de Silva, editor provocateur, is living under a mushroom. Scant evidence of the UFO phenomenon? He’s got to be kidding.

The article goes on to infer that we’re all suffering from collective delusions complete with “false or exaggerated beliefs that arise spontaneously , spread rapidly in a population, , and temporarily affect a region, culture or whole nation.” This mass hysteria, which apparently we suffer from, contains many factors that “contribute to the rise and spread of such collective delusions, such as rumors, extraordinary public anxiety or excitement, shared cultural beliefs or stereotypes, and amplification of these by the mass media, as well as reinforcing actions by authorities such as politicians, the police or the military.” Huh?

But wait – there’s more. Carl Sagan, now deceased born again UFO supporter turned skeptic, (no he hasn’t reincarnated) is quoted as saying that “the scientific method and the clarity it brings can help us overcome our fuzzy thinking. Thinking critically and clearly,” he says , “is the means…by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.” The article goes on to quote Sagan as arguing, “it is far better to grasp the universe as it really is, than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.”

Well right back at you Carl.

Next in de Silva’s list of quotees is retired stage magician, skeptic and founding member of CSICOP, James Randi who states “that real science searches for the truth through rigorous methods; it strives to leave no questions unanswered; it provides solid evidence any other researcher can reproduce. Criticism and questioning is encouraged and constantly leads to an evolution of science in the face of new evidence.” (cough, splutter) Who can disagree with that, if it actually ever occurred. All I ask is that people like Randi and his skeptical following stand in front of a mirror when they spout such insights.

But is the real argument here whether science, and inevitably scientists, are doing what they proclaim, or is the real issue about the psychology of those with different perspectives not being able to escape the instinctual need to harass, debunk, bully and inevitably ostracize people in the UFO community who think differently and challenge their rusty herd mentality? To explore this let’s ask ourselves how a skeptic might handle a claim about UFOs from a magician. What if the UFO community held up an opinion from such a person to support an argument for the reality of UFOs? Don’t you think they might ask how the opinion of a stage magician claiming to be a “scientific investigator who exposes the falsities of pseudoscience” (see www.randi.org) can be offered to shed light on anything of a paranormal nature? I think they would. No strike that. I KNOW they would and they’d scoff loudly in the face of those who entertained such “silliness and delusion”.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, it seems de Silva remains unaware of credible witness testimony when it comes to the UFO phenomenon, although he does present a mascot photo of Edgar Mitchell with the caption “Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell has claimed there is a US government cover-up about alien visitations” but that’s as far as he appears willing to go in debunking a witness who holds 3 science degrees, one of which is a PhD, plus 4 honorary degrees in engineering (see www.edmitchellapollo14.com/edmbio.htm). Perhaps if Dr Mitchell had a background in magic de Silva might go further.

The feature goes on to include the debunking of Crop Circles, stating, “it’s hard enough to conceive why intergalactic aliens would opt to write in grain fields rather than public parks or on a piece of paper.” This is where Randi chimes in with his thoughts that , “the irrefutable evidence, of course, is that crop circles are hoaxes, perpetrated by pranksters, artists and children.” Predictably, Randi points to “the adventures of Doug Bower and Dave Chorley, who came forward in the early 1990s to admit they were behind the original crop circles that kicked off the craze in Britain.” He seems to have conveniently forgotten that the crop circle phenomenon came to public attention in the last 1970s and botanical documents containing descriptions of such formations date back to the 1800s. This only covers the English speaking world so we have no idea how long such things may have existed in locations like China, South America or Africa.

It goes without saying that obviously hoaxes exist. We also know that human teams of people will go out into the fields and create this land-art for reasons not associated to hoaxing per-se. Whatever the driving force there seems to be a phenomenon within the phenomenon that makes us want to talk to each other in this manner. Now THAT’S weird!

But I digress. Apparently getting a skeptic to look at the evidence for genuine formations is a hard act to fulfill as David Guest, plant pathologist and agricultural scientist at the University of Sydney, proclaims there is no documented evidence to be found anywhere. Has Glass actually asked for this documentation or merely made a flying visit to the web site of BLT Research in Massachussetts, the worlds largest crop circle site that uses scientific methods to test plant samples. My guess is it was a quick visit followed by a declaration of debunking.

Honestly, after reading this feature which also explores the so-called “delusional” results of homeopathy and chiropractic manipulation, one wonders how long this magazine will remain in circulation when it’s contents fly in the face of the public who are living better lives because of these modalities. But I digress.

Cosmos is obviously written by skeptics with a cause - or is it a vendetta? Either way skeptics need to realize that it is THEY who are the minority group here. As they have clearly demonstrated through their own behaviour, that their fragile psyche would be the first to crumble into a jibbering heap if ET did make open contact.

I don’t know if they realize it but from my perspective skeptics appear to be stuck and unwilling to move forward in this great learning curve we call life. Their behaviour is dishonest, uncivil, discourteous, unhelpful and invalidating to others. The skeptical approach aims to destroy the social bonds that naturally form when we behave in the opposite manner. It’s as if they subconsciously realize this and lash out at others as a form of compensation. If they were honest enough to look deeply within themselves they might realize it is they who have isolated themselves from the greater tribe of humanity. In their effort to ostracize others through their condescending behavior they have actually ostracized themselves and inevitably suffer the consequences of their invalidation. Ultimately they have become their own victims.

OZ SETI on the ball?

Left: Dr Ragbir Bhathal

It warmed our little hearts to read an article in todays Australian newspaper about OZ OSETI (o for optical) and the opinions of various Australian astrophysicists on the search for ETs. Ragbir Bhathal, an astrophysicist at the University of Western Sydney, who teaches the only university-based course on SETI in Australia, went on record stating that "for an advanced civilisation, radio wave technology would be old hat". He also waved a red flag in the face of Shostakian views adding, “our failure to pick up any interstellar signals so far could mean that advanced civilisations are using a communications technique still not discovered on Earth.”

He further suggested that, “we are nowhere near being able to put a sensible figure on how common life may be". Ah, the sweet sound of humility and an open mind. Be still our beating hearts.

On the other hand, Ain de Horta, a project scientist with the Australian SETI Institute, proposed that “we're counting on the physics being the same elsewhere in the universe”, and spouted the usual Shostakian view that there are “UFO nuts out there”. Well, we may be a little nutty but we’re certainly not out there. However we feel we can forgive de Horta today (having a warm and fuzzy moment) because while he’s rubbing intellectual shoulders with the likes of Ragbir Bhathal, we feel certain that the chip on his shoulder will be worn away sometime in the future.

Let there be light.

Full story at http://tinyurl.com/owfu7k

Northern Territory UFOs

A Territory mother has backed up claims unidentified flying objects have returned to the Top End after she photographed two "discs of light" in the sky.The mother-of-three, who wished only to be known by her first name Kym, took the photo as she watched the dark rain clouds roll towards her Palmerston home last month.Kym said the image was taken on her mobile phone and that she didn't notice the strange lights in the clouds until she downloaded her pictures on to her computer.

She took many photos and even some video footage on her phone but said the UFOs only appeared in the one shot."It's hard to tell what it is - it's very strange," she said."There was some lightning at the time but the shape of these lights is different.""If it was streaks you'd think it was lightning but these are circles."I thought it could be a street light reflection in the screen of the mobile I took the photo with but the street lights aren't on."

Her story follows that of Territorian Alan Ferguson, who told in the Northern Territory News this month how unidentified flying objects had returned to the skies above his Acacia Hill home.More Territory UFO picturesMr Ferguson put the rural suburb, 50km south of Darwin, on the international map last year when he first photographed UFOs flying around his home.He said he quickly grabbed his camera on seeing a bright silver flickering object in front of a cloud last month.The skywatcher said the UFOs seemed to appear when it was hot."Those aliens - they must have some pretty good airconditioning in those things, hey," he said.Kym said she had never had any previous encounters with UFOs."I've never really thought about them or had a view on them," she said."But my motto is never say never - anything's possible."

Source: Northern Territory News April 21, 2009
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/04/21/46371_ntnews.html

Goodbye Albert

On the morning of the 29th January 2009, UFORQ received a phone call from Albert Pennisi's goddaughter, who informed us that Albert died last Sunday morning 25th January, 2009. Albert, of Tully Saucer Nest fame, died of a heart attack after he had attended a church service.

The funeral took place on Friday 30th January at St Clares Church, Tully, Queensland. The family asked that no flowers be sent, but instead please make a donation to the church.
Email for details znclare@qldnet.com.au

Albert was to turn 90 that week and a party had been organised for him by his family at the local bowls club.

Alberts wife Amy died some years ago. Albert has 4 children, two of them, Shane and Adrian, accompanied Albert who attend the UFO conference in Brisbane in 2006 to update the public about other UFO occurrences on his property in Queensland.

More details of the Tully Saucer Nest case at http://www.uforq.asn.au/casefiles/tully.html

Another UFO Sighting - In Australia!

Source: Harlow Herald 24 - Stevenage, England, UK
http://tinyurl.com/8bmtao

The Herald's article about UFO sightings on New Year's Day has reached a global audience.

Australian Yvonne Vincent contacted the Herald newsroom this week to tell us about her own UFO experience on January 1. She wrote: "I read your article as I typed in UFO 1st Jan 2009 after I saw a UFO on this night. I have not even contacted my local news. It was great to read your article it is fantastic!

I am a 30-year-old young woman. I live in Donvale, Victoria, Australia. My male friend, 37, and I went to McDonald's to get drive thru McCafe latte around 9.40pm our time. On my short drive home I saw a fireball sphere in the sky. In Donvale, which is about 14km from Melbourne. I thought it was a meteor rock on fire.

I drove left into Shirvington Place a street off Doncaster Road and watched it for a good two and a half minutes. I kept asking my friend what was it and he was stunned jumping out of my car, we watched it. The streets were quiet it was a dark street anyway. Watching the fireball it seemed not very far away, quite close actually. It was orange and yellow flames inside a perfect, perfect sphere. There was no glow around it and no sound. There was no trail behind it, it just moved as a perfect sphere that looked like a fireball.

I did not panic any longer when it changed direction so accurately and sharp. It then began to lift through the low thin cloud and we watched it still so bright fly into the distance until my naked eye could see no longer."I called my father who lives half hour from me. It was a few minutes before 10pm our time when I saw it. I had rung dad at 10pm.

This was no plane, helicopter, light reflection after a small drizzle of rain on a cool January night. It was an unidentified flying object!"This was what the people saw in that town your article explains. I called dad the other day for him to look up your news article. I am convinced it is the same - on the same day - understandably there is time difference but that is fast to travel across the world like that if it is the same one.

No-one here in my local paper seems to have said anything or in our Herald Sun. No-one came out of their house to look at what we saw, a lot of people were on holiday and it was quiet as most people went out the night before.

Recently I read about some orange lights in another town in UK hitting wind turbine! "I was a person whose response would be more of a 'yeah right' attitude to such a thing. It was such a privilege and honour to see such a beautiful sighting in the sky. It was scary to begin with but then just amazing! It changes perspective on life to be more open minded and I am a deep thinker most of the time really anyway so this is very interesting."

'Muscle Car' UFO Hoons Over Australia

Source: Daily Telegraph - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
http://tinyurl.com/9j5qev

A MYSTERIOUS blue car-shaped UFO has been spotted as it flew across a cloudy wet season sky over northern Australia. But in the words of amateur photographer Mark Schmutter, 79, "It does look like a car but what would a car be doing up in the sky?"

Mr Schmutter said he snapped these shots as he was standing on the ninth-floor balcony of a friend's CBD apartment in Darwin just before 6pm earlier this week. "I decided to go out on the balcony and take some shots of Darwin," he said. "I just held the camera up and I saw this thing flash through the sky and I thought 'Oh my goodness what was that?', and then it came back again so I hit it with the camera."

He said he saw the object move across the sky about the speed of a plane - then it flew straight upwards before it disappeared into the sky. "But it wasn't an airplane, no noise ... it was a fair way away, you know, but I didn't hear any noise." Mr Schmutter, of Lyons, said he had no idea what it was - be it a strange, newfangled aircraft or a UFO shaped like a muscle car. "I've got no idea about aliens, but anything's a possibility, isn't it?"

Defence spokesman Stephen Mullins confirmed no Defence aircraft were flying in the area at that time Tuesday night. The Top End Flying Club last year suggested many of the local sightings of UFOs could actually be Sigma-4 ultralight aircraft - informally dubbed the flying sperm - which fly slowly and with little noise. The club's Mark Christie said the blue object didn't resemble any of their aircraft though. He said at least one of the photos looked to be altered with the object cut and pasted on to the background. But Mr Schmutter insisted none of the pictures had been 'Photoshopped' in any way. He said he was hoping someone could tell him what it was he caught on camera.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/9c6x3z
WE had a bumper year for aliens in which UFOs were seen over the state's South Coast and flying saucers popped up on Google Maps - now fresh sightings have emerged suggesting there is plenty of activity in the skies over NSW.

Last June an unnamed Nowra alien addict reported seeing a military helicopter following a UFO over the local golf course.

And in December our story on how a Daily Telegraph reader spotted what appeared to be a flying saucer hovering near the Sydney Harbour Bridge while checking out Google Maps caused a web sensation. See the picture.

But that's not all. Turns out the Campbelltown-based UFO and Paranormal Research Society of Australia - one of 30 UFO research groups around the country - has been busy cataloguing even more sightings.

Gallery: UFOs ... are they out there?

The society's NSW close encounters database - full of sightings emailed in by avid alien watchers - reveals that last November a Blacktown man saw a range of cigar and diamond-shaped craft speeding through the night sky over two hours.

"They would be from the south horizon to the north horizon in under a minute," the witness wrote. "Sometimes they would stop mid-flight, float for a bit and move in a different direction. Others would move vertically and they looked unlike anything I had ever seen. "I must have seen at least 50 instances of the objects, having about eight or nine visible at the same time." The witness continued: "At first I thought it might have been military training from the RAAF base at Richmond, but there were no squadrons and no set pattern to any of the crafts' flights."

It wasn't the only strange craft spotted over Sydney's west, either. Less than two weeks ago another alien spotter saw something in the skies over Leumeah - while hanging out the washing. The unnamed observer reported a "sudden fly-by of a spherical object from southeast to northwest". It was reportedly white and semi-transparent, with murky centre. The writer added: "Airborne debris or any other airborne artefacts can be possibly be ruled out as the direction of travel was inconsistent with wind direction."

UFO special: Videos of Aussie sightings

Worldwide, it appears 2009 is picking up right where 2008 left off on the phenomena front. Just this week a wind turbine was mysteriously wrecked on an English farm - and locals say it was hit by a UFO they claim to have seen and heard. Watch the video on the right.

Locals in Conisholme, Lincolnshire, were reportedly woken by a 4am smash that ripped one of the turbine's 20m blades clean off after strange lights were spotted streaking towards the towering 88m generator. There was no trace of the missing blade.

UFO Research NSW spokesman Doug Moffett is sure a growing number of people believe alien life is possible. "I guarantee that you would know someone who believes in extraterrestrial life," he said. "But they're not going to come out and wave a flag in the middle of Pitt St because you know what would happen - if you jumped up in the middle of your lunch room and said 'Hey guys I saw a UFO last night' they would just bag you out."

If You Eat Your Vegies Will You Make Contact With ET?

Here it is, approaching Christmas, a time of year when we kick back, take a breath and ponder over the years UFO events. Sometimes you get so busy with the “doing” that its easy to forget the “being”. And while we’re on the subject, can someone tell us how you have to “be” to make contact with ET? There’s a few theories floating around that, when you weigh them up, don’t really make any sort of sense.

For example, There’s the “spiritually developed people will make contact with ET” theory. Well some people believe that ET is a bit picky and choosey over who they contact. Not for them the drunken bum in the gutter, they prefer the human who is well on their way to spiritual enlightenment – presumably this will make it easier on the ETs, somehow. But don’t worry, ET can still use those bums in the gutter in their breeding program, apparently.

Then there’s the theory that humans must be ‘pure of body’ to make contact. This means no eating meat or sullying ourselves with drugs and alcohol (some believers even deny themselves sex…egads). Apparently having a pure body makes contact more desirable. Hmm. Making contact with ET is starting to sound more and more like joining a Buddhist monastery, huh.

But why DOES ET put so many caveats on making contact? Why are they concerned with our spiritual development and our physical state of being? What would it matter? We’re here, we’re mean, and we’re not very green. They either want to meet us or they don’t, and how long do they plan to wait until we make ourselves presentable? Why hang around, taunting us with their presence, if we’re too distasteful to make contact with?

Well in our not so humble opinion, as we perch in our ivory tower, it’s all human projection. As far as we’re concerned ET gives bugger-all about our “development”. We’re sure they have concerns about their emerging galactic neighbours but they’ve had a long time to learn to cope with those who may not be up to scratch.

So in the spirit of the season, we suggest that ET show us some tenderness and mercy and stop beating around the bush. Make yourselves overtly known to humanity, love thy fellow, um, being and get on with it. It’s what Christmas is all about! Isn’t it?

The Truth Is Out There

Source: Weekender, Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. 6 November, 2008
http://www.theweekender.com.au/features_det.php?id=288

It’s a question most people have pondered at one time or another: Are we alone in the universe? As UFO sightings again hit the headlines, it’s clear there is no easy answer or explanation. But one Sunshine Coast research group, based in the centre of an “alien hot spot”, has spent the past decade looking to the skies for answers.

Words GREGORY STANTON

Our minds often dismiss aliens, UFOs and paranormal activities as absurd. But there are many who believe. They carefully document, research and share their experiences and encounters with phenomena that are not easily explained. They believe there really is something out there. Paul Boulton is just one such person who, after “cross-referencing forever”, has developed a lifelong fascination with UFOs and the paranormal. “There is so much that’s not known,” he says.

A psychic therapist who works out of Montville, Paul’s main area of work is emotional trauma, including clients with instances of alien encounters (previously called alien abductions), although the number of such treatments is miniscule. He is also a member of private research group UFOria, based in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The “diverse” group (he won’t elaborate any more to protect its privacy), now in its 11th year, meets every two weeks to consider sightings on the Sunshine Coast, generally regarded by UFO researchers as a hot spot of activity.

The airspace above the hinterland is reportedly used by an abundance of extra-terrestrial craft, but also by military and commercial aircraft. “Our goal is to create a safe forum to allow people to discuss what they’ve seen and felt,” Paul says. “If someone tells me they have seen an unidentified flying object, then I have to work out whether they have seen a galactic ship, a military black-ops project, otherwise known as an alien replication vehicle, or a terrestrial-based alien culture’s vehicle. There is also the possibility of misidentification of something else. ‘Unidentified’ adds to the mystery.“The number of encounters is difficult to calculate, but the individual feels emotionally helpless and insecure,” Paul continues. “Because of the memory blocker factor, people are frequently hovering between ‘Did it happen?’ and ‘Will people believe me?’ It’s only after a long time of contact that people may feel I’m safe to talk to. “Usually, when people try to integrate back into society after an encounter, it’s not unlikely they’ll live a solitary life because of our limited world view and the naivety of our mindsets. It was real for them but not in the wider view.”

According to Paul, UFO sightings are statistically on the rise worldwide. UFO stories began circulating more readily after the infamous Roswell incident in 1947, where several eyewitnesses spoke of an unexplained aircraft crash in the US state of New Mexico. An initial press release from the Roswell Army Air Field on July 8, 1947, said personnel had recovered a crashed flying disc. It was later denied by the Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force. Despite evidence to the contrary, the public was told it was nothing more than a weather balloon.Further clouding the issue was the fake video that surfaced, supposedly depicting an alien autopsy. In 2006, the promoter of the film, Ray Santilli, revealed the footage was not entirely genuine.

Brisbane-based association UFO Research Queensland lists 72 reported sightings last year on its website. Functioning since 1956, the number of reports so far this year looks set to eclipse that figure. A reason for higher sightings could be the prevalence of hand-held recording devices to capture a sighting, with the ability to instantly upload to internet sharing sites.“The importance of this is that (the image) hasn’t been filtered,” Paul says, alluding to the ever-present threat of a cover-up. “The goal of the disinformation community is to keep the public in a state of uncertainty and confused anxiety. They attempt to suggest the topic is only of interest to the lonely and unhinged.” This goes hand in hand with media coverage.

“It’s a funny topic,” he says. “If a person is not responsive to it, I end up looking like a loony. Authenticity is the key.”There are plenty of believers. Former US president Jimmy Carter filed a UFO sighting in 1973. Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell is one who strongly believes in alien activity while pop star Robbie Williams has made headlines of late with talk of contact and plans to become a ufologist. In May, British Government files released under Freedom of Information laws recount UFO sightings compiled by the Ministry of Defence between 1978 and 2002. Of particular interest are the corroborated witness accounts by air traffic controllers, pilots and policemen.

Movies and popular culture play a major role in complicating matters, from the tinfoil helmets of Signs to the kind of hostile invasion seen in everything from The War of the Worlds to blockbuster Independence Day. “There’s a big problem with disinformation coming from the movies,” Paul says. “We seem to have the cultural capacity of chickens: we shoot it first then do an autopsy, rather than thinking how we interact with aliens. That anxiety filters down through public thought. Anxiety is an amazing thing. They can rule with massive insecurity in the public.”Conspiracy theories are synonymous with UFOs and aliens. It is said upper echelons of governments have been using alien-inspired technology for decades. Folkloric events such as the Philadelphia Experiment and Montauk Project in World War II supposedly investigated time travel and invisibility. Since then, technology has advanced to proportions similar to the film Men In Black.

It is with a wry smile Paul suggests viewing the 1997 film, minus the hostile alien nature, as a documentary. But governments deny any cover-up.“That’s what anyone is up against in trying to present their findings,” he says. “This keeps everyone under a limited Newtonian view.” It has been estimated one in every 50 people in the US has had contact with extraterrestrials and UFOs. “When you’re looking at more than 301 million people, that’s a lot of people,” Paul says, although he suggests memory blockers are in use. Paul proffers that aliens live among us and have done so for centuries, alluding to the amazing feats of ancient Egyptian and Mayan civilisations as examples.

Sharing a view with many, he implies some aliens can invisibly cloak themselves, and look human. But there is no malicious or hostile intention.Former emergency doctor from North Carolina, Dr Steven Greer — who Paul calls a credible expert in the field — filmed more than 450 personal accounts and testimonies from willing military, corporate, intelligence, government, scientific and aviation personnel in a 2001 venture, The Disclosure Project. “After researching the UFO topic for more than 20 years, I have never read such well-researched first-hand accounts on the topic of UFOs, extra-terrestrials and their vehicles, life forms and their intentions and interactions with humanity,” Paul says.

“The overall theme is no threat or harm is meant to us.”As a researcher of the paranormal, Paul is not averse to investigating the unusual. He recently escorted Bill Homann, the custodian of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull, on its Sunshine Coast visit. The skull, discovered by F.A. Mitchell-Hedges in Belize in the 1920s, was brought to Australia by Duncan Roads from the Montville-based Nexus Magazine and was the main event at a conference at Twin Waters last month. While in the company of the skull, Paul noticed it resonated with people who were intuitive and open, often to startling effect. One example was an elderly woman who was able to dispense with her cane. But for Paul, UFOs and alien encounters are more than just intriguing. “There’s a bigger picture truth,” he explains. “If you look at where we are as a planet, we are quarantined in the solar system. We are at the end of a cul-de-sac. This means we are visited, but it also means we are subjected to a lot of disinformation.” One way or the other, the truth is out there.

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THE X-FILES From the files of UFOria

A woman driving home at midnight from Maleny notices a disc-shaped craft about 7-10m wide fly nearly 15m above her car for the entire journey. When she turns into her street, it flies ahead and hovers across from her house. She watches as the craft moves slowly away.

UFOs are often reported coming out of the ocean off Coolum.

One couple is visited by a large craft with a strong downward draft above their home. The power from the craft causes the house to shake violently and several household items break. They don’t recall anything afterwards.

A UFO is seen travelling slowly through the hinterland at Witta. It comes from the Lake Baroon direction and lights up the ground as it flies. It hovers quietly in front of the witnesses’ house.

Some people came out of their house late one night to watch the moon land in a nearby field. They remember nothing else for several hours.

Various blinking lights and unexplained glowing in the sky have been reported over Tewantin, Flaxton, Tinbeerwah, Cooroy and elsewhere on the Coast.

UFO Witnesses Require An Apology and Reconciliation

Aboriginal reconciliation has been a hot topic in Australia for years now. The Australian government has finally agreed upon the unique status of indigenous Australians and their need for recognition, respect and understanding in the wider community.

However there is another group of people whose needs remain unaddressed and this is the collection of witnesses who have experienced UFO sightings or close encounters with extraterrestrials and/or their vehicles.

Over the years these people have been forced to live with their experiences in secret without the support they require from society. Their experiences remain invalidated by the wider community due to it’s lack of education about the existence of extraterrestrial life. This is a result of the various authorities and institutions that our civilization requires to act as its guide, and who indeed have this knowledge, and are withholding it from the general public. The true reason for this remains complex and elusive, and without full disclosure can only be speculated upon at best.

Nevertheless, the results are the same. A group of people within our society remain unrecognized, disrespected, humiliated and invalidated. They’re forced to live with a secret so profound that it drives wedges within their families often leading to family breakdown, estrangement and/or divorce, as well as loss of status among their friends, workmates or peers. The escalating stress caused by this lack of understanding of their experiences by others often leads to the manifestation of illness, behavioural problems or drug abuse in order to cope with experiences that far exceed the range of usual human experience.

They turn to voluntary UFO organisations - which lack manpower, funding and skills - to find answers to the meaning of their experiences. In Australia this situation has been compounded by the fact that in January 1994 the Australian Department of Defence advised they would no longer receive reports of UAS (Unusual Aerial Sightings), and members of the public seeking to report UAS to the RAAF would be referred to civilian UFO organisations.

This policy change, which the DOD claimed was the result of declining reports to the RAAF, came the same year UFO Research Queensland Inc received 512 reports from the public. The following year it received 813 reports, the most reports received in one year since the establishment of the organisation in 1956. Due to the overwhelming amount of these reports UFORQ and other similar organisations around the country continue to struggle to meet the needs of witnesses.

This situation is unsatisfactory. The authorities and institutions responsible for withholding the relevant information that can educate the public about the extraterrestrial situation need to face their responsibility to the people and come forward with the truth. It’s time to validate witness experiences by releasing what it knows to the public. If people like Dr Edgar Mitchell, the 6th man to walk on the Moon, who stated in a public interview last week that ETs exist, then so can others. (listen to interview here

http://www.kerrangradio.co.uk:80/Article.asp?id=804160&spid=)

It’s time these witnesses were allowed to come in from the cold and be part of society once again. The greater public will only accept these people and their experiences in a new context which includes the reality of extraterrestrial existence within the public mind. The eradication of ridicule and rejection can only be achieved through reeducation via a campaign of raising public awareness of the subject. Civilian UFO groups can only do so much given their voluntary status and lack of resources, so the reeducation of the public needs to come from those who can provide these resources.

Many actions are required from governments, the media, the UFO community and the greater public, but many people have to work together.

To date, the global UFO community has been willing to work towards reeducating the public but this has had minimal success. It’s now time for larger groups to become involved and help the hundreds of thousands of witnesses world wide to be accepted within society. Only with the help of this larger group will this be achievable. All aspects of community must be cared for without exception.

Tracking The Unknown

The Satellite News, Brisbane. June 25, 2008

Do you believe in aliens? Jindalee residents study extraterrestrial life.

Do aliens really exist? Jindalee residents Martin and Sheryl Gottschall have no doubts the cosmos is filled with extraterrestrial life attracted to the sunshine state. The local skywatchers are members of UFO Research Queensland, a voluntary, non-profit association established in 1956 to receive, record and research UFO sightings.

They claim the existence of a large body of well-attested sightings so unambiguous, the only reasonable inference is that extraterrestrial vehicles are flying through our atmosphere, landing on the ground and entering our oceans.

The Brisbane-based group also provides support to individuals whose alleged encounters with UFOs have left them distraught, confused and searching for answers.

The married couple believe governments across the world will no longer be able to keep UFOs as an ‘X-file’ from society as the number of alien witnesses continue to increase.

Mr Gottschall, who is the organization’s sighting officer, said he had studied UFOs for the past 40 years after his ex-wife sighted one the size of a bus in front of their Adelaide home in the 1960s. “My wife was about to hop into her car when she saw the UFO in front of her. She yelled out to me but for some reason I ignored her”, he said. “When I finally went out it had disappeared but I believed her because of the look on her face.”

Also a consultant mechanical engineer, Mr Gottschall said he wanted to understand the science behind what made UFOs hover above the ground without making a sound. “About 20 years ago I realized that the craft is able to manipulate both space and time,” he said.

Unlike her husband who has had just one sighting, Mrs Gottschall has had four. “I’ve had sightings at Mt Gravatt, Wivenhoe Dam, Ipswich and above the Gateway Bridge,” she said. “I can’t explain why I have seen so many while others haven’t seen any. I guess some people just have an encounter prone personality type.”

Mrs Gottschall said she had also encountered an unknown life form in 1990. “I saw three small grey beings standing at the end of my bed,” she said. “As soon as I saw them I pulled the sheet over my head and started to pray. The next thing it was morning.”

Mrs Gottschall said she became fascinated with paranormal activity while hosting home bible-study groups about 20 years ago. “I started reading the bible because I questioned what our reason for being was,” she said. “I soon noticed a strong parallel between experiences of those who believed to see aliens and those who believed to see angels.”

UFO Research Queensland holds one meeting open to the public each month. The next meeting is on this Friday from 7.30pm at the Australian College of Natural Medicine, corner of Brunswick and Water Streets, Spring Hill.