Rick Hunter
Celestial
I would add further that, if conventional science doesn't already have an explanation then it's just crazy talk!
It is really hard to know what folks were describing in biblical times; they may well have seen real UFOs or they could have been natural phenomena or symbolic allegories, or a mix of those things. Ignoring the "airships" and "mystery aeroplanes" and phantom Zeppelins, etc., for a bit, right after WWII and through the '50s and '60s, UFO reports that are pretty much identical to what is seen today by the military, were reported in the US --and also around the world. The devices showed up over nuclear sites and missile testing areas and intercepts were attempted. Tic Tac like objects were reported and also photographed (Mainbrace, Florence stadium, etc.), and there were mass sightings and long observations through telescopes, binoculars and theodolites. In some cases as in Australia, the objects were seen to return and were observed by many for days. Small fast metallic spheres just like "Go Fast" were seen, and of course many saucers too. In Portland, Oregon, a couple of days before Roswell, UFOs were seen all over Portland --hovering over Oaks Amusement park before shooting off and at various places around the city. There was even an all-cars police alert, and many of the police saw them for themselves --some of whom were former WWII pilots, and they described them as shiny chrome-like discs that had to have been remote controlled. later there were the repeated flights over the US Capitol building --when they were caught on radar while seen visually by the pilots. UFOs were seen all over the world in a variety of shapes that would just about perfectly fit the blacked out list of UAP shapes in the report released recently and available on the Black Vault.
So here is a thought experiment...
How was such a technology, fully-formed suddenly flying around after WWII all around the world? No one had that kind of technology then --the SR-71 was primitive compared to what these small objects were capable of. Let's consider the possibility that these are some sort of modern devices; i.e. developed by China or Russia or the USA. Where is the evidence for development of revolutionary propulsion technologies? The spy networks have apparently been totally unaware of them or the government would know what they were. Why would China fly these objects over all of our military installations, etc., in our own waters and over our continent --where they could be captured and create a huge incident or even WWIII? We all are only now developing hypersonic missiles --why bother wasting all of that money on them and aircraft carriers if we have devices like UFOs? Where do they take off from and where do they go to? Especially the HUGE UFOs --does anyone see them take off or land? If they were ours, or Chinese or Russian, or from Timbuktu, why wouldn't those in the know tell government agencies to cease and desist --"they are ours" not doing so could be a very serious thing. The best route would be for the government to say --"That is a top secret US technology and we can't talk about it" --that would put the fear into China and Russia. Or they are "Chinese" that would get TONS of funding. They are behaving in the way they do, because they KNOW they are not an earthly technology and don't want to talk about it --unless they are forced to --which is exactly what is happening. They could release the better evidence they say would compromise our sensor abilities --but they won't, because ot would be clear that the objects aren't from here. Of course they are going to release footage of real earthly drones in the mix that give plausible deniability and sows doubt about what they are --Nothing else makes any sense.
UFO reports that are pretty much identical to what is seen today by the military, were reported in the US --and also around the world
You are right Pigfarmer, all the weird accounts of alien sex and the steampunky riveted Flash Gordon rocket ships are also part of the early UFO narrative. And of course many of those sightings were of tests of secret terrestrial aircraft, and no doubt the UFO phenomenon was used as a cover for those activities. I also think that there are a lot of people who just wanted to jump on the UFO bandwagon --contactees, and space brother folks, and that still goes on today. It reminds me of all of the hack medical devices that sprung up when electricity or radioactivity were being discovered. Topics that are little known or just being discovered attract folks like that and also the mentally ill. And today, I agree, many UFO sightings are likely caused by drones, including those hyped by Corbell (though apparently in that case there are witnesses who say that there is no way those were drones). There will likely be more of that kind of thing. We'll have to see what happens with NASA and the military and private scientists "looking into it" now. hopefully with the immunity now offered for military folks to come forward, there will be events which will cause a turning point, since the cat is already out of the bag and flying around. Things are SO screwed up in the world right now, that revelations about a non-human intelligence couldn't mess things up much more....Only because the ones that fit the current narrative have been cherry picked to appear that way. I think the reports of cigar shaped objects with portholes, flames, rivets and all that should not be left by the wayside. Same for reports of contact with Venusians, Nordics and the reports from South America of troll like beings who come here for sex. Well who can blame them ? Some serious supermodels come from there. Can't pick the peas out of the stew because it's all what's on the menu. In that context it isn't surprising that the military of various eras engaged in a cold and sometimes warm war would ignore a lot of that. Also not hard to see why the military of any previous era would fail to contend with a phenomenon that is startling but hasn't been overtly provocative - and even if it was they seem ill equipped to deal with it.
Even the UAP Task Force drew a line at reports from about 20 years ago so they don't go off in the weeds. There are some cases that will always be unexplained. Even in empirical research there are always a few flyers that don't fit into the model.
What's relevant is what's happening now and the reason for the change has absolutely nothing to do with UFOs except to overcome the military's own institutional dismissal of the topic. There really are weird goddamned contraptions flying around now that are very terrestrial; and very much a threat that simply didn't exist until relatively recently. Wasn't the source of the objects Corbell was hyping that were menacing Navy destroyers off the west coast last year found to be drones off some commercial Chinese owned catamaran?
The fact that such exotic tech didn't exist decades ago is probably why reports were so easily dismissed. The game has changed in a new way and even if drones and so forth can't match the performance characteristics claimed, so what ? Having a centralized, organized reporting system with some sort of congressional oversight to look at the big picture and members of the DoD at all levels with access to a reporting system minus the stigma is common sense. A practical response to the problem. Some kid marching in rectangles around a base somewhere on guard duty might be more inclined to report weird lights nearby than say, his dad or grandad would have in the exact same situation. Maybe once this has gone on for some time statistical analysis will reveal a pattern that we can't see now - one that supports the extraterrestrial theory. In the meantime it might actually catch people spying and looking to steal technology because nobody disputes their existence at all.
Here's something to kick around. The missile bases were shut down in what, '67 or ''68 ? If the Godless Commies of that era could make drone swarms like we say at the Olympics don't you think the military at the time would have reacted very differently ?
Balloons. Lots of freakin' balloons of all sorts. Still use them. Interesting read here - oh, and have a look at this. Some very, very interesting information there that sounds almost familiar. Betcha there are balloons that can carry all sorts of things.tests of secret terrestrial aircraft
Standard issue for any UFO case. I bet there are at least a few who believe Fife Symington trotted a real alien out in front of the cameras(though apparently in that case there are witnesses who say that there is no way those were drones
I think skepticism is good too! I myself am skeptical of many popular aspects of the UFO phenomenon. But I remain open-minded abut them, as you do, about UFOs, generally. I suppose I should use the word "debunkers" more often, when I refer to individuals who refuse to even entertain the possibility that UFOs might be some sort of advanced non-human technology, and that all witnesses are either lying or delusional about what they have seen. It comes down to a preponderance of evidence or proof beyond a reasonable doubt, for many. At this point there is a great deal of circumstantial evidence and not a lot of physical evidence (that has been released, anyway), and after so many years of UFO encounters where the objects have been seen on radar and visually and even have been shot at, that is pretty amazing in itself. We may not get the kind of repeatedly testable evidence that hard science requires --especially if what is observing us is far more advanced than ourselves. In court cases, hard physical evidence is not always available --or required for a conviction. That doesn't mean that that UFOs don't exist, though. In fact if the observers were intent on destroying us, we'd probably be long gone before that kind if evidence was in the offing. "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"; that kind of evidence is what hard science needs to come along with the show --it always does.. And that's how science should work. Even now there is constant controversy around all kinds of scientific topics, and there should be and always will be. But that still doesn't mean that a particular phenomenon isn't real. Even if the government released pictures of debris with analyses of the structure of the materials, many scientists would not accept it without studying it for themselves. Just as instant experts on debunking forums assume that they know more about what trained pilots have seen from their cockpits and on their instruments --without ever having set foot in a fighter jet --getting it all from online manuals. And they NEVER look at historical accounts of UFOs (even from a couple of decades ago), to try to understand the phenomenon better. That's not science.Skepticism isn’t a bad word. It’s healthy. The yin to Belief’s yang. Knee jerk dismissal is no different than wide eyed acceptance. They should keep each other in check.
Capt. Kirk has done done speechifying on this as it relates to Good, Evil and transporter accidents. He also asked God why he needed a starship when the believers around him were ready to toss God the keys …..