Unsorted4
Quotes for Skeptics: UFOs and Related Topics
R
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:42:24 AM

skepticsanalysis
The Objectivity of Science: Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Skepticism
Rochus Boerner, 2003
The progress of science depends on a finely tuned balance between open-mindedness and skepticism. Be too open minded, and you'll accept wrong claims. Be too skeptical, and you'll reject genuine new discoveries. Proper skepticism must be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Unfortunately, much of what comes out of the "skeptical" community these days is not proper skepticism, but all-out, fundamentalist disbelief. Such skepticism can be called pseudo-skepticism, pathological skepticism or bogus skepticism.
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:40:41 AM

skepticsanalysis
Anomalistics - On Some Unfair Practices towards Claims of the Paranormal
Marcello Truzzi, 1998
The reception of unconventional or extraordinary claims in science has come under increasing attention by sociologists and historians. Scientific anomalies have sparked scientific revolutions, but such claims have had to fight prejudices within science. This essay offers scattered reflections on the adjudication process confronted by protoscientists (science "wannabes") wishing admission into the scientific mainstream. My comments here are not intended in support of proponents of the paranormal (for I remain a skeptic, as defined below) but to help produce a more level playing field and a greater fairness that might help all scientists.
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:38:49 AM

Unsorted4
Confessions of a Fortean Sceptic
Jerome Clark, Magonia 12, 1983
In this piece from 1983, well before the revival of the Roswell case, Jerome Clark talks a lot of sense about belief and scepticism, and warns us about "Soldiers' Tales, or the Horrendous Secrets I Learned in the Services". Wise words, even more relevant today after the outpourings of Roswell rumours.
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:32:43 AM

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War of the Words
Peter Brookesmith, Fortean Times, July 2001
Sceptics hate debunkers hate true believers hate sceptics hate... PETER BROOKESMITH dissects the great and unbridgable divide between wilful believers and stubborn sceptics. R
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:30:23 AM

skepticsanalysis
Marcello Truzzi on Zeteticism
Marcello Truzzi
Despite serious philosophical and sociological questions about how well the system works, I believe in the process of science and scientific progress. Science is a self-correcting system. Encouragement of fair play and due process in the scientific arena will allow that self-correction to work best. A diversity of opinions and dialogue is extremely important. We cannot close the door on maverick claims. R
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:26:29 AM

skepticsanalysis
Skeptical Organisations and Magazines: A Guide to the Skeptics
Skeptical Investigations
R
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:19:56 AM

skepticsanalysis
Myths of Skepticism
Michael D. Sofka
What is a skeptic? If you ask a skeptic you're likely to get an answer that involves science, rising tides of nonsense and debunking the paranormal. If you ask a UFOlogist, or a parapsychologist, you are likely to hear something about negative naysayers and closed minded critics. In this article, I'm interested in how skeptics define themselves, and the accuracy of those definitions. Skeptics form a sub-culture in western society, and like all cultures they have their own core set of beliefs and mythology. It is those myths that interest me, as a skeptic. R
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:16:11 AM

skepticsanalysis
Against Excessive Skepticism: Collected Quotes
Large and extensive collection of quotes.
Posted on 3/7/2004 2:09:22 AM

Unsorted3
Paranormal News - UFOs
Paranormalnews.com
Up-to-date news archive of UFO-related articles in newspapers and media around the world.
Posted on 3/6/2004 11:01:11 PM

Astronauts
Mission: Identify those flying objects
The Sacramento Bee, January 14, 2003
Sacramento man well-known among UFO trackers for his careful scrutiny of NASA flights. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:59:02 PM

Unsorted4
In Their Own Revealing Words (Quotes on UFOs)
Mega-Genius
A pervasive and vigorous campaign of cover-up, disinformation and ridicule on the subject of "flying discs" has been conducted by an extremely highly placed faction of the U. S. Government for over half a century. Nevertheless, revealing statements have occasionally been made by renowned and responsible individuals who have been in unique positions that enabled them to have some inside information on the subject. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:56:05 PM

Unsorted3
Para-Normal.com - UFO Section
Para-Normal.com
Up-to-date everyday news and information on a variety of paranormal subjects. Includes a UFO photograph gallery and video gallery.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:52:27 PM

GEPAN-SEPRA
SEPRA - Service d'Expertise des Phénomènes Rares Aérospatiaux (CNES - Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales)

Posted on 3/6/2004 10:52:12 PM

Unsorted4
1952: Year of the UFO
Bruce Maccabee
FIFTY YEARS AGO, during the most amazing flap of flying saucer sightings in the USA (and the world), the Air Force ALMOST admitted that at least some sightings of UFOs/saucers were sightings of objects not made here. However, when that opportunity arose during a large press conference in late July, instead of admitting that the Air Force couldn't explain all sightings and that some "high officials" were seriously considering the "interplanetary hypothesis," the Air Force (General Samford) said everything could be explained as natural phenomena, effectively slamming the lid down on the UFO subject. But what the Air Force said privately was a different matter. This report tells the story of what happened in that amazing year.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:51:08 PM

Unsorted4
Peruvians seek discovery and profit in UFOs
LUCIEN O. CHAUVIN, Miami Herald, Sept. 28, 2002
Of all the officers in all the armed forces of the world, perhaps none has a more unusual job than Peruvian air force Cmdr. Julio Chamorro: to investigate -- and perhaps prove -- the existence of UFOs. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:46:43 PM

Unsorted4
Two Forteanisms: Scientific Vs. Fringe
T. Peter Park
I believe there are two basic types of Forteans, espousing two distinct basic types of Forteanism or paranormalism. They are what I call fringe Forteans versus scientific Forteans. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:45:00 PM

Unsorted3
X-PPAC - Extraterrestrial Phenomena Political Action Committee
X-PPAC is the first political action committee in history to directly target the politics of UFO/ET phenomena. Its primary mission is to end the government embargo of facts confirming the presence of extraterrestrial life forms in our world and to form a partnership between our government and the American public to create policy.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:43:02 PM

Unsorted4
On Materialism as Science Dogma
Neal Grossman, Dept. of Philosophy, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago - to appear in Journal of Near Death Studies
(The following essay focuses on the Near Death Experience (NDE) as evidence that science has -- to its detriment -- become a dogmatic belief system wedded to reductionist materialism rather than being a neutral, objective method for investigating reality of any sort. One could effectively substitute the three letters "UFO" for "NDE." The advantage of dealing with NDE is that there is no doubt whatsoever as to the existence of the phenomeon; the interpretation, of course, being another matter.)
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:42:59 PM

Unsorted4
The UFO Evidence: Burdens of Proof (Skeptical)
Jim Giglio and Scott Snell, Board Members, National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS)
The arguments made here are not conclusive. We cannot say with certainty that our planet is not being visited. We can, however, note that those who support the idea of ET visitation have always had a heavy burden of proof, a burden that has only grown heavier as time has passed. We skeptics, who find this idea implausible, have a lighter burden, and it gets lighter with time.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:41:48 PM

Presidents
Extraterrestrial Politics in the Clinton White House (1993-2001) and the Laurance Rockefeller Initiative
Grant Cameron, Presidential UFO
Records from the Clinton Office of Science and Technology Policy related to UFOs, extraterrestrial intelligence and the Laurance Rockefeller Initiative. This paper is an attempt to provide an overview of what is contained in the collection, as well as provide a bit of background of what was going on related to UFOs in the Clinton White House outside of these documents which only with The Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is only one arm of the White House.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:40:43 PM

Unsorted4
Contactees, Cults and Cultures
David Stupple & William McNeece
Religious cults traditionally have been a source of amusement to outsiders; but since the Jonestown mass suicide, amusement has changed to fear. Correctly sensing that cult organizations are inherently unstable, cult members are assumed to be irrational. In so many words, the man-in-the-street, and the research scientist alike, openly wonder: "What is wrong with these people that they think strange thoughts and act in a bizarre manner?" In this paper we argue that this pathological model of cult membership is both gratuitous and inaccurate. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:38:23 PM

Unsorted3
Strange Days... Indeed - The UFO Radio Program Archives
Strange Days... Indeed
Selected audio archives from the weekly radio program on UFOs, Strange Days... Indeed. Guests include David Jacobs, Ted Phillips, Daniel Sheehan, Terry Hansen, and Leslie Kean.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:35:43 PM

Unsorted4
Extraterrestrial Psychology
Richard Hall, 1998 (NICAP)
If we suppose that UFOs carry visitors from elsewhere (extraterrestrial intelligences, or ETIs for convenient shorthand), why are they here? Does the accumulated data provide any clues as to their interests or purposes? Seeking answers may be akin to tea-leaf reading, but we now have 40 years of descriptive information. If we analyze the circumstances of UFO sightings it might be possible to discern some patterns that reveal something about ETI psychology.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:32:38 PM

CropCircles
The Crop Busters
The Sunday Times Magazine, September 15, 2002
For years, crop circles have been taken as seriously as UFOs and fairies. Now, not only have the weird patterns arrived in Hollywood, but scientists are trying to solve the mystery. And the answer may lie in the soil. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:29:24 PM

RecommendedReading
A UFO Bibliography
Charles McGrew
This bibliography is excerpted from one done for the now-inactive Internet mailing list "UFO-L" by myself and others. As you will see, they range from the fairly goofy to the pretty useful. Ones I think are good for the serious researcher are marked with [Recommended]. But that's just my opinion. A number of these books can be found in good libraries; some are issued (or reissued) in paperback, and some you'll just have to haunt used-book stores -- or used-book mail-order companies -- in hopes of one turning up. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:28:23 PM

Unsorted4
Faking UFO Photos for the Twenty-First Century (Skeptical)
Tom Callen, Skeptical Inquirer, Sept 2003
For a modern planetarium show, an astronomer/program producer created a variety of fake UFO images as a way of showing audiences how easily such photos can be done.
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:24:53 PM

Unsorted4
A man in two minds (Carl Jung)
Adam Phillips, The Guardian
Deirdre Bair's diligent biography of Carl Jung reveals his divided personality, but the more we know about him the less real he becomes, says Adam Phillips R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:22:47 PM

china
Aliens Among Us? Half of the entire Chinese Population Believes in UFOs
Pravda, Russia, Jan 2004
Hundreds of scientists and engineers conduct thorough studies of the unidentified phenomenon. According to Chinese ufologists, aliens live among humans. Ugologists also claim that recently aliens started to show more interest in China. Most recent UFO was spotted in Nanking, China. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:20:16 PM

Unsorted4
The New 'Area 51'
Jim Wilson, Popular Mechanics
The Air Force has abandoned top-secret testing at its once most secret test site. We know why and we know where they moved it to. R
Posted on 3/6/2004 10:15:28 PM