UFOs: skeptics, disclosure, and contact

[pigfarmer]

Military's UFO-Hunting Aerial Surveillance System Detailed In Report

Military’s UFO-Hunting Aerial Surveillance System Detailed In Report​

A GREMLIN system is first being used to establish baseline data of aerial activity around a sensitive site so that anomalies can be better spotted in the future.
Howard Altman

DoD document

The Pentagon provided new details today about how its deployable, readily reconfigurable suite of sensors called GREMLIN works to help set the stage for figuring out what unidentified objects in our skies are and are not, if they appear at all.


In its annual report released on Thursday, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) shared a graphic that gives us our best look yet at what its GREMLIN system is. It was developed by Georgia Tech Research Institute specifically to help gather data about so-called unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. That’s the DoD’s new parlance for what used to be called UFOs.

When AARO last discussed GREMLIN back in March, the office said the system was designed to provide “hyperspectral surveillance to try to capture these incidents.” However, no details were given about what kind of sensors were being used to capture data across different areas of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously.

Now deployed, GREMLIN includes 2D and 3D radars, long-range electro-optical/infrared sensors, GPS, satellite communications, aircraft tracking systems and radio frequency spectrum monitoring. It all feeds into a central node where the data can be fused to get a better sense of what’s out there. The system is something of an integrated air defense apparatus ‘in a box,’ allowing for multiple sensor types and open-source data to be captured on single targets within its view.
AARO began using GREMLIN “for detecting, tracking, and characterizing UAP,” the report notes. “GREMLIN demonstrated functionality and successfully collected data during a test event in March of 2024. The next step for GREMLIN is a 90-day pattern of life collection at a site of national security.”

AARO’s official logo. (DoD)

One of AARO’s first missions for GREMLIN is to help establish a baseline for what would be considered normal activity, especially because so many UAPs have been reported either through sensors near military installations or by pilots. According to today’s report, nearly half of the 485 UAP sightings reported from May 1, 2023 to June 1, 2024 came from locations near U.S. military assets and sensors at home and abroad. This could be due to the objects being tasked to surveil those locations or due to sensor bias, as these areas are more heavily monitored than others, or more likely a mix of both.
East Asian seas were the hottest spot, providing 100 reports of which AARO resolved 40 as balloons or drones. AARO placed the remaining cases in Active Archive due to insufficient information to facilitate analysis, the report states.
“Right now we have this geographic bias where we are getting reports near the national security sites, but we also have a bias from pilots and other security personnel,” AARO’s new Director Jon Kosloski told reporters today. “So we want to have a better understanding of what normal looks like near those national security sites, and then eventually we’ll be expanding our baseline investigations to other areas in the US to look at what normal looks like away from national security sites.”

AARO
Kosloski refused to divulge where GREMLIN is located.
“It’s currently deployed, he explained. “We’d rather not say exactly where it is, because we want it to be an unbiased test, and don’t want to invite folks to come and do flyovers and test against the system.”
The location was chosen, he added, “because of the environment. We expect there to be a lot of variety in the types of things that we’re going to see. And there have been UAP reports in that general area. And we’re trying to build a baseline.”
Once a pattern of life is established, the report suggested that AARO could use that to go back over some of the 444 cases placed in the Active Archive “because they lacked sufficient data to facilitate analysis.”
All told, AARO found that 49 cases during the reporting period were objects like balloons, birds and drones. “An additional 243
cases were recommended for closure as of June 1, 2024, pending peer review,” the report pointed out. “These cases also resolved to prosaic objects including balloons, birds, UAS, satellites, and aircraft.”
“AARO determined 21 cases merit further analysis by its IC [intelligence community] and science and technology (S&T) partners,” the report acknowledged.

AARO
One thing AARO did not find was any indication that UAPs are either extraterrestrial or from an adversary here on Earth.
“AARO has discovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial beings, activity or technology,” Kosloski said. “None of the cases resolved by AARO have pointed to advanced capabilities or breakthrough technologies.”
Just because no evidence has been found of breakthrough technology does not mean the possibility doesn’t exist, he emphasized.
“There are definitely anomalies,” Kosloski explained. “We have not been able to draw the link to extraterrestrials.”
“We’re not ruling it out,” he added.
Though the report found that there were 18 incidents of drones near U.S. nuclear infrastructure, weapons, and launch sites, Kosloski said there is no indication that either those or reported UAPs belonged to adversaries.
“We have not been able to correlate any UAP activity to adversarial collection activities or advanced technologies,” he posited.
The report also didn’t cover the drone incursions over Langley Air Force Base last December we were the first to report back in March. You can read more about it in our exclusive story here.
“It was known to be UAV activity, so we were there in a supporting role, but it was not our responsibility to address that,” Kosloski stated.

AARO’s new Director Jon Kosloski (DoD Image)
As it has been since UFOs first burst into the public’s consciousness back in the 1950s, the stigma of reporting them continues to keep people from coming forward to say what they’ve seen. Kosloski said he is concerned that could give adversaries an opening to collect data over sensitive locations. This is something TWZ has long highlighted as a major strategic awareness failure.
Kosloski is “concerned that somebody could use the potential stigma to try and take advantage of that. If there is a stigma associated with reporting UAP, then that’s an opportunity for the adversary to maybe conduct collection operations and not have folks report on it. But we haven’t seen evidence of that yet.”
In an effort to help diminish the stigma of reporting UAPs, Kosloski said AARO is working with partners in the intelligence community and other government agencies to downgrade the classification ratings of incidents to make them more available to the public. Video of some of the cases AARO has discussed publicly will be released on Nov. 19th.
“But there are interesting cases that I – my physics and engineering background and time in the IC – I do not understand, and I don’t know anybody else who understands them,” he said.
“The hope is that we will be able to release as much of that content as we can to the public so that we can get help in resolving them,” Kosloski commented.
More quickly and accurately identifying what some of the objects are is the hope for GREMLIN as well.
AARO has been under heavy ridicule by some proponents of UAP action, with claims that it is part of a coverup and has not executed its duties in good faith. Kosloski has taken over the office from its previous head, Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, who has repeatedly stood by his office’s investigations and methods.


The release of AARO’s latest report also comes a day after another UAP was held on Capitol Hill, with witnesses making claims that appear at odds with AARO’s past findings, especially in regard to secret UAP recovery programs.
Another congressional hearing on November 19th will put AARO and its latest findings specifically in the spotlight.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com

 

[nivek]

Police collect wreckage of 'octagonal-shaped UFO' shot down by a US F-16 fighter jet​

Newly released documents have revealed that Canadian police collected debris of a UFO that was shot down over Lake Huron last year.

The object was taken down on February 12, 2023 by a US F-16 fighter jet, marking the third such incident over North America that month.

Witnesses described the object as 'octagonal' with strings hanging off it before the jet fired two missiles, striking the UFO that then slowly descended into Canadian waters.

Documents obtained by CTVNews.ca stated that 'wreckage' was found on 'the shoreline of Lake Huron' weeks after search efforts were suspended.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) partnered with the American and Canadian Coast Guard to conduct a brief search following the incident.

By February 16, it was called off due to 'deteriorating weather and the low probability of recovery, according to an RCMP statement.

But the partially redacted emails acquired by CTVNews.ca revealed that the RCMP collected 'both material and a module' from the site of the incident roughly three weeks after the object was shot down.

National security officials have criticized the effort for a 'lack of transparency.'

'The module is from a company who sells weather monitoring equipment,' a senior RCMP member told a Canadian military brigadier-general in an email sent on March 13, 2023, according to CTVNews.ca.

'It will be analyzed to determine if there is anything unusual with it but I suspect not given the size. Whether or not it is from the shoot down is uncertain,' the email continued.

An RCMP spokesperson further confirmed the debris collection in a statement to CTVNews.ca.

'The RCMP confirms that debris was recovered from the shores of Lake Huron, and we continue to work in close collaboration with our domestic and international partners in furthering the investigation,' the spokesperson said Friday.

'As the investigation is ongoing, additional details cannot be provided at this time.'

The RCMP would not confirm whether the debris was ever definitively linked to the Lake Huron object, and Canada's Department of National Defense also declined to comment, CTVNews.ca reported.

Iain Boyd, director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder, said that the lack of transparency could be because the US and Canadian governments were embarrassed of shooting down objects that did not pose national security threats.

'To have expended significant military time and resources to shoot down benign objects does not look good, even though there may have been many factors we are still unaware of,' he speculated to CTVNews.ca.

'I am not surprised that the Canadian government did not share more information about the Lake Huron debris.'

The incident, and three others that month, occurred just days after the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon on February 4, which garnered widespread media attention.

The other two were downed in Alaska and Yukon, Canada.

All three were reported to be smaller than the Chinese balloon, which measured 200 feet tall, according to US General Glen D. VanHerck.

The balloon carried an underslung payload described as a 'technology bay' that was roughly the size of two to three school buses.

It flew across North America from January 28 to February 4, 2023, passing over Alaska, western Canada and the contiguous US before it was shot down by the US Air Force off the coast of South Carolina.

Analysis of the debris determined that the balloon carried intelligence-gathering equipment, but it did not appear to have sent information back to China.

The three UFO incidents that followed did not appear to be related to the Chinese balloon, and there was no evidence to suggest that they were surveillance vehicles from any other country, President Joe Biden stated on February 16.

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[nivek]

Bombshell video shows UFO swarm 'completely unaffected' by missile attack outside military base​

A swarm of UFOs that were completely unaffected after being hit by missiles outside of an Afghanistan military base was caught on a jaw-dropping video (on the link).

On Friday, 'The UFOs subeddit' - a forum for UFO discussions where people can talk about sightings, experiences, news and investigations - shared the full 10-minute version of the infamous video.

The video begins with the camera scanning the flat land outside of the military base before zooming up on the distant mountains, where four black dots hovering in the sky can be seen.

A few moments later, the camera captured the mysterious orbs more closely - and it appeared as though they were dripping fuel beneath them.

A short-range missile could then be seen entering the frame from the top right before striking through two of the levitating orbs - seemingly ripping right through them.

The dots appeared to explode after being struck, but the debris seemed to quickly dissipate into the air revealing the orbs were actually unharmed.

Many viewers of the footage initially believed that the peculiar dots were either training targets or flares.

But just as the video time stamp neared the six-minute mark, the camera switched from FLIR - a type of camera that uses thermal imaging to create an infrared image of a scene - to normal vision.

The quick camera switch revealed the orbs as glowing multi-colored dots that rigidly moved in a spatial relationship with each other.

Bright pink, orange, purple and yellow colors pulsated from the orbs as they slowly moved in unison around the sky.

Hundreds of Reddit users took to the comments to share their reactions - many admitting they had seen something similar.

'Myself and one other saw exactly this in Afghanistan,' one user wrote. 'The difference was they shot up into the sky in sequence one after another. We both acknowledged what we saw and agreed we wouldn't tell anyone else because we'd get laughed at.'

The user then singled out the commenters who believed the dots were flares, noting that when he experienced something similar he initially thought the same thing himself.

'Four illuminated dots appeared in the sky and moved down in unison, descended slowly,' he added. 'They then stopped around 100-150 meters altitude and hovered for a couple minutes, looking like they were moving in small circles.'

'They then gained elevation faster than anything I've ever seen move (literally it was like a streak of light). They disappeared either through cloud cover or the lights were put out.'

'My eyes were opened to a few things that night and I became a more open minded person,' he wrote.

(Much more on the link)

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[pigfarmer]

Canadian MP Larry Maguire Urges Canadians to Sign UAP Transparency Petition - The Debrief

Screenshot

Canadian MP Larry Maguire Urges Canadians to Sign UAP Transparency Petition​

Chrissy Newton·November 22, 2024

A new petition is urging the Canadian government to establish a national task force and standardized protocols for UAP investigations, advocating transparency, public trust, and international collaboration.

Conservative party member Larry Maguire is no stranger to actively petitioning the Canadian government for UAP transparency. Recently, Maguire published a petition on the Canadian Parliament of Canada House of Commons Chamber website, asking Canadians to sign a UAP transparency petition before Jan 19 at 2:17 p.m. EST.

Labeled as e-5178 (National defence and military operations) and initiated by Benjamin Bruce Schofield from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the petition sponsored by Maguire establishes the grounds for why they are asking Canadians to take action. These include recent discussions about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) highlight the need for a coordinated and transparent approach in Canada, and how UAP-related information is scattered across departments, leading to inconsistent responses.

“I was approached by Benjamin Schofield who initiated the petition and I agreed to act as its official parliamentary sponsor,” Maguire told The Debrief. “It’s great to see some grassroots advocacy on this topic and it ultimately aligns well with my long-standing efforts to push for UAP transparency.”

The petition also argues that Canadian allies, like the United States, have made significant strides with dedicated offices and public reporting mechanisms, and Canada could benefit from similar efforts to enhance national security, public safety, and scientific understanding.

Both Maguire and Schofield advise that the citizens of Canada should call on the government to take action regarding UAP, urging the establishment of a National Task Force on UAPs, comprising representatives from the Department of National Defence, Transport Canada, Public Safety Canada, and scientific experts, to investigate, analyze, and publicly report UAP activities. They also request the development of standardized protocols for UAP reporting and investigation to ensure timely information sharing across government and scientific bodies for consistent and effective responses, and advocate for creating a secure, centralized public reporting system for UAPs that is accessible to all Canadians and has regular updates to promote transparency and public trust.

“In general, Canadians want their government to be transparent, and this extends to UAP,” Maguire said. “I’ve heard from folks across the country who want some forward momentum on determining the origin and intent of UAP. In order to achieve this, we need the coordinated and transparent approach this petition calls for.”

The petition also calls for active engagement in international collaborations for UAP research and study, leveraging collective expertise and data from allied nations to better understand these phenomena.

“I have always been clear that our current approach to UAP monitoring is haphazard and leaves too much room for speculation,” Maguire said. “At the end of the day, the main call behind this petition is for a coordinated and transparent approach to determine the origin and intent of UAPs.”

Asked whether he was concerned about potential stigma or skepticism surrounding UAP research, and what approaches might be most effective in addressing it, Maguire said that he feels more work is needed to help overcome stigmas that currently still hamper UAP reporting.
“Stigma has always played a role in limiting the advancement of important research on this topic. As more and more reputable individuals come forward and share what they know, such as the recent congressional hearings in the US, the public will have more opportunities to engage with the facts and reconsider how they might view this issue,” Maguire said.

“In Canada, this will hopefully include recommendations from the Chief Science Advisor’s upcoming Sky Canada Project,” he added.
MP Larry Maguire is the second Canadian politician to step forward and actively ask for government UAP transparency since Former Minister of Defense Paul Hellyer went public in 2005 with his positions on the issue, which included his belief that the U.S. government and other world powers have had ongoing interactions with extraterrestrials

Starting in 2021, Maguire has called for further investigation into UAPs and advocated for an official response from the Canadian government to address the potential national security implications.

“Transparency is important to all of us,” Maguire told The Debrief. “We should expect our public institutions to coordinate with one another and be transparent with the public in general, but especially when we’re talking about UAP reports in our skies.”
“The excessive secrecy is absurd,” Maguire also said. “By making information publicly available, it will help scientists and researchers analyze the data and cross reference it with other opensource material.”

“A scientific plan and adopting best practices within government are important for building public trust,” Maguire said.

This article was updated on 11/23/24 to include statements from MP Larry Maguire.

 

[nivek]

Latest drone footage captures 'sophisticated' UFOs interacting with each other over New Jersey​

The latest footage of bizarre drones in New Jersey captured several craft orbiting each other over Somerset County, while at least 12 counties have reported sightings.

The video, released this week, shows three 'mystery drones in the air' as two move extremely close as if they are interacting with each other and the third hovered for 'about 15 minutes.'

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said Monday night that the drones are 'very sophisticated, explaining: 'The minute we get eyes on them [the drones], they go dark.'

'I don't blame people for being frustrated,' Gov Murphy continued, adding that he had spent most of Sunday coordinating on the issue with both the White House and the US Department of Homeland Security in the hope of getting answers.

He said that the state received 49 sighting reports on Sunday night alone, with hundreds of locals sharing experiences on social media platforms.

On Monday, Picatinny Arsenal, the Army facility in Morris County, confirmed it has had 11 sightings of 'UFOs' over in its airspace in recent weeks.

The sightings, which began in November, have included reports of multiple craft flying over the same areas each night and reports of 'car-sized' drones, the kind not usually used by hobbyists, over some areas.

(More on the link)

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[nivek]

Mysterious drones are 'changing time' on clocks in New Jersey as locals fear they're being targeted by UFOs​

As waves of loud, car-sized mystery drones continue to buzz over New Jersey, one family reported that the craft changed time on their car's clock.

The family of Morris County locals said they were following one of these seemingly terrestrial UFOs in their vehicle, only to experience the odd effect on their car's electronics as the unexplained craft 'hovered above them.'

'The clock in their car changed time,' according to one Fox News reporter who spoke to the unnamed family. 'They say the clock went back to normal after they drove off.'

While local law enforcement in Morris County has issued a statement asserting that 'there is no known threat to public safety' at this time — the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a ban on drone flights over sensitive areas in state.

Last Tuesday, the FBI described the sightings as only 'possible drones' and 'a possible fixed wing aircraft' in its efforts to get to the bottom of the night flights.

But residents within the eight-and-counting New Jersey counties where the strange craft have been sighted are also taking matters into their own hands with over 17,000 trading notes on the sightings in a dedicated Facebook group.

One local software engineer, who specializes in radio communications, believes the temporary alteration of the car's clock is a clue to the origin of these mystery drones.

'Many newer cars get their clock time from GPS satellites since that's one of the most accurate time signals you're going to get in a vehicle,' the engineer, Rich Dunajewski, posted to the Facebook group.

'If these are using GPS jamming or spoofing,' Dunajewski explained, 'then it's plausible the car would follow the signal and change the clock to match whatever signal is coming from the drone/plane.'

(More on the link)

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[Rick Hunter]

Many people visited by MIB in John Keel's writings reported that the visitors were fascinated by clocks and the concept of telling time, like it was unheard of where they came from. Also, clocks often stopped working permanently when the MIB came to visit.

 

[pigfarmer]

the concept of telling time, like it was unheard of where they came from

I've worked with people like that

 

[Dejan Corovic]

Many people visited by MIB in John Keel's writings reported that the visitors were fascinated by clocks and the concept of telling time, like it was unheard of where they came from. Also, clocks often stopped working permanently when the MIB came to visit.

On planets that are orbiting x2 suns, like in original Star Wars, time would have little meaning because trajectory of the planet would be so complicated that it would be very difficult to make mechanical devices early in their culture development.

 

[nivek]

NASA astronaut spots 'two metallic spherical orbs' flying by his airplane over Texas​

A former NASA astronaut has come forward to reveal that he personally witnessed 'two metallic spherical orbs' whizz by his plane this August while flying above Texas. Leroy Chiao, who served as the commander of Expedition 10 to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2004 and 2005, was 9,000 feet in the air when objects 'zipped' on the left side of his airplane. He said one flew on top of the other and each was about three feet in diameter.

'It's just kinda dumb luck that they didn't hit me,' said Chiao. The former NASA astronaut estimates that the orbs were only 'about 20 feet away.' 'It could've been a bad result, if they had actually hit me,' Chiao said. 'It happened so quick, there wasn't even a chance to get scared.' The NASA veteran, now an engineering consultant and entrepreneur, told NewsNation that the strange metallic orbs appeared to evade detection. 'It wasn't on radar,' he noted, 'Air traffic control certainly didn't alert me. '[And] it wasn't on my display that shows other airplanes that are participating with the [Federal Aviation Administration] FAA-required transponders. I don't know what it was,' the baffled former astronaut confessed.

Above, an example of a 'metallic sphere' weather balloon included in a 2023 report by NASA's UFO advisory panel

(More on the link)

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[pigfarmer]

I attached the paper if you want to read it. This is what caused me to post this:

“As a social scientist fascinated by the UAP phenomenon, I was disappointed by the grave scarcity of studies that examine the social aspects of it,” Dr. Raveh explained, “especially as official reports (by NASA and others) confirm that about 95-98 percent of UAP sightings have conventional explanations, thus suggesting that patterns of UAP sightings are rooted in human and social behavior.

Not such a bad point, is it? So says The Devil's Advocate. To be perfectly honest and not mired in preconceptions, yeah this is worth a look. We are stuck on what people see not who sees them. A fresh p.o.v. In mundane topics that would be accepted without question. A little schmeer of sociology sounds refreshing.

I am not saying the phenomenon isn't real or that this explains all UFOs or anything about alien visitation but the knee-jerk defensive reaction will probably make it seem so.

“Surprising Link” Between UAP Sightings and Economic Conditions Revealed in Controversial New Research

New research reveals a surprising connection between Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) sightings and financial conditions across the United States, according to a study by a team with The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Dr. Ohad Raveh of Hebrew University and Dr. Nathan Goldstein of Bar-Ilan University have introduced innovative methods of measuring public interest by analyzing UAP reports, which they say has revealed “a surprising link between UAP sightings and macroeconomic conditions at the U.S.-county, state, and national levels.”

Their findings challenge conventional metrics for assessing economic behavior, revealing how UAP sightings align with financial trends, inform policymaking, and provide insights into public adaptation to economic shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and shifts in monetary policy.

In an email to The Debrief, Dr. Raveh explained what motivated he and Goldstein to explore the potential connection between UAP sightings and economic conditions.

“As a social scientist fascinated by the UAP phenomenon, I was disappointed by the grave scarcity of studies that examine the social aspects of it,” Dr. Raveh explained, “especially as official reports (by NASA and others) confirm that about 95-98 percent of UAP sightings have conventional explanations, thus suggesting that patterns of UAP sightings are rooted in human and social behavior.

“This inspired undertaking a deeper examination, pursuing an unconventional hypothesis which ties sky viewing to economic attention,” Raveh said.

Key Findings on UAP Sightings​

The researchers analyzed data from The National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), which spans over 20 years and is tracked across the United States. Raveh and Goldstein discovered that UAP sightings tend to occur more frequently in wealthier areas, but also tend to increase during economic downturns and decrease during periods of economic stability in those same regions.

This, they say, suggests that interest in unusual events like UAPs fluctuates based on broader societal conditions, especially during times of uncertainty.

“The counter-cyclicality on its own may point at various behaviors, ranging from, say, mental breakdowns, to extended leisure time; i.e., when unemployment rises, for example, the extent of UAP sightings increase because people may have more time on their hands, or otherwise they may be affected by the mental stress involved with unemployment,” Raveh explains.

“The key point, however, is that the patterns of UAP sightings are not only counter-cyclical, but they also exhibit a positive correlation with wealth cross-sectionally; i.e., at any given point in time, the extent of UAP sightings tend to be higher in wealthier regions, going against a mentally-related hypothesis,” he added.

“This opposite correlation across the two dimensions (cross-sectional and temporal) is rather consistent with patterns observed using traditional measures of economic attention, and hence supports an attention-related interpretation,” Raveh said.

When asked why NUFORC data was used for this study rather than other UAP databases, Raveh said the NUFORC data “is one of the two major reporting centers of UFO sightings in the U.S., reporting the details of sightings across the U.S. for decades; in addition, as noted in the paper, it is also the source that the FAA recommends reporting to when observing an unexplained phenomenon in the sky, strengthening its validity.”

Raveh emphasized that this study does not claim UFO data is inherently more important than other data sources. “We do show that other possible attention measures, such as, for instance, Google searches, do not match the patterns observed via traditional measures of macroeconomic attention,” Raveh said.

“However, we encourage the application of our proposed approach to other potential measures that may be useful in the attempt of measuring public attention.”

UAP Sightings During COVID-19 Lockdowns​

The study also highlights how the COVID-19 lockdowns affected UAP reporting. During periods of restricted movement, UFO reports increased, suggesting that people’s limited mobility led to greater attention on unusual phenomena.

“Previous studies have shown that COVID-19 lockdowns represent quasi-natural experiments for shifts in public attention. Observing corresponding changes in UAP sightings via these quasi-natural experiments strengthens the hypothesized nexus between these sightings and public attention,” Raveh explained.

The study found that in regions where UFO sightings are more common, people reacted less strongly to changes in economic policies. This suggests that shifts in public attention can influence economic outcomes. The researchers propose that tracking UFO reports can offer unique insights into how public attention fluctuates over time and across different regions.


Raveh believes policymakers could use insights from this research to better understand national and regional economic responses during periods of heightened stress or uncertainty.

“This research introduces a new potential measure for public attention, which has geographic and temporal coverage that goes beyond those of traditional measures. To the extent that policymakers seek to account for public attention in their analyses, especially at specific locations, or at relatively high frequency over time, our approach may help them do so,” Raveh said.

Criticism and Alternate Perspectives​

While the study suggests a correlation between UAP sightings and economic trends—including the idea that wealthier areas might have more expendable time for skywatching—critics may argue that the connection is not necessarily causal, and that data limitations and the potential impact of false sightings could distort the findings.

Dr. Eric Haseltine, a former intelligence officer and neuroscientist, voiced skepticism about the study’s findings in an email to The Debrief.

“During times of upheaval, such as pandemics, wars, and recessions, conspiracy theories abound for two reasons,” Haseltine said. One, he argues, is because “Humans hate uncertainty, which causes major anxiety, and are thus drawn to anything that makes sense of what is happening.”

Secondly, Haseltine said that “Humans hate feeling out of control, as happens during upheavals, so they are attracted to anything that creates the illusion of understanding, predictability, and controllability.”

While Haseltine and others may find flaws in the reasoning behind the research, overall, Raveh maintains that similar to research detailed in past studies on public attention, “ours as well supports the notion that increased public attention helps mitigate negative economic shocks,” adding that “a better understanding of public attention, to which our study seeks to contribute, may help in coping with the impact of future economic shocks.”

The recent paper by Raveh and Goldstein, “Looking up the sky: unidentified aerial phenomena and macroeconomic attention,” appeared in the journal Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications on December 18, 2024.

 

[pigfarmer]

I debated what thread to put this in.

I never heard of Shawn Ryan or his podcast and found this at random. John B Alexander is (to me) a fascinating fellow and I've heard several interviews with him. They're all very similar and relate the same info.

This one's different. I am an hour in and this makes little mention of his more esoteric work. The host is apparently former special forces and a CIA contractor and has been asking about his experiences in SF in Vietnam. Maybe he's more responsive to this host as he shares a similar background - there are things he clearly does not like to revisit.

JBA is 86 and is 100% dialed in and clear. Good GOD I had no idea this man has done this stuff, I've never heard these details anywhere before. I'll listen to the rest of it in pieces over a couple days and know it will get into JBA's later history that we are probably more familair with.


View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/96-col-john-alexander-military-applications-of/id1492492083?i=1000645026597

 

[pigfarmer]

I know I just posted this here somewhere but this really, really is worth repeating and I hope someone takes the time to at least take a quick peek.

This could go into any other thread we have going about life after death, UFOs, cryptids, interspecies communication, shamanism, war and military interest. Essentially JBA will tell you this is all about consciousness. He is extremely precise and literally takes a question away from it's source, frames it so we understand what the question is and then dissects it. He would be one tough cookie to get into a debate with.

I never heard of Shawn Ryan but after a while I realized his interview technique is actually a bit more thorough that it might seem at first, he seems to always remember to circle back around to make a point. Having read the books there are a couple of times where I just said out loud ' he already answered that' a couple of times but this **** is pretty deep and SR is entitled to be a little confused.

It's long. Prohibitively long in fact. I just listen to the audio version while I am working on something else and let me tell you, my interest did not wander one second. We've all heard bits and pieces of what he has to say. This is a beautiful summation of .... Everything.

This man has literally been everywhere and knows all the key players. I read two of his books but they only help understanding what he's saying, they're not strictly required


View: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/96-col-john-alexander-military-applications-of/id1492492083?i=1000645026597

 

[Alien UFO]

However, in China, there are more skeptics. Even most of the so-called UFO enthusiasts are a group of people who take a hackneyed conspiracy theory as the truth and become so obsessed that they go to extremes. Once you question them, they will launch all kinds of personal attacks and insults against you... (Most netizens on the Internet in China are like this. They are very hostile and extremely aggressive. In recent years in our country, views such as the theory of false history, the Illuminati, the so-called Jews controlling the whole world and various racist ideas have been widely spread on the Internet, and they have a large number of followers...)

 

[pigfarmer]

In other words, nothing that much different than anywhere else. These past few years have been an epic ****storm everywhere.

Skeptics come in many flavors as do Believers. Nothing wrong with either as long as it isn't some knee jerk reaction. Unfortunately that's what you just described.

 

[pigfarmer]

I have Astonishing Legends on n the background and they are speaking with James Fox about his new documentary. I'll have a look tonight.

At about the one hour mark I hear Fox say something I've heard him say before. They were talking about all sorts of salacious UFO stuff and I heard Fox rattle off Hudson Valley and Phoenix Lights as concrete examples of whatever he's trying to prove.

I am not a fancy film maker and have found that the famous case he's referring to right here is the Hudson Valley is absolutely not what it is made out to be. I'd be willing to bet there's more to the Phoenix Lights story than is immediately apparent but only the 'sexy' details get repeated.

Typically the attendant nonsense in that case exceeded whatever the actual sighting was, exactly like Hudson Valley, and will forever taint it.

This is a classic case of a public figure in ufology shoe horning something that doesn't fit into a package that we like, that says the stuff that we want to hear. Cases like Hudson Valley are canon now to people who have never been here and don't want to hear actual facts that contradict the accepted narrative.

The people who have had genuine encounters deserve better than repackaged pap.


View: https://podcasts.apple.com/bt/podcast/the-program-with-director-james-fox/id923527373?i=1000680397754

 

[pigfarmer]

I've been banging the 'no proof' drum pretty hard as of late, basically just to elicit an reaction. I actually believe that but like most things there is endless room for nuance, shades of grey. Not the little grey alien grey, more a Rustoleum grey, a gloss I'd think.

I watched James Fox's The Program last night. It's well done, entertaining, obviously biased and there were parts that had me alternating between wanting to vomit and wanting to scream at the TV. Having Eric Davis' Admiral Wilson notes read into the congressional record on this topic with Corbell and Knapp sitting right behind him - with The Beard nodding gravely through it all. OMABB.

Hal Puthoff, another figure from Day 1 that turns up like a bad penny everywhere. He's being awfully glib when making provocative statements about what he can't talk about. Also, he's not commenting on the Adm. Wilson notes because, AFAIK, Davis is his employee and he probably knows it was an attempt at a screenplay.

This was entertainment, I paid $6 for it and that was the goal, not The Truth About Flying Saucers. My point(s) being that there are those who promote the government conspiracy for their own reasons, not because they actually believe in it. Puthoff seems to enjoy the innuendo and intrigue, perhaps a tad too much.

Truth be told, I think George Knapp is cool as hell and I'd love to sit and get a couple of drinks into that man and chew the fat a while. I just don't care for his more recent behavior and association. He has real credentials, his associates do not.

 

[karl 12]

Can someone save or mirror this page?

It's been taken down more times than I've had hot dinners.

HOW TO DEBUNK JUST ABOUT ANYTHING

 

[pigfarmer]

here you go

 

[nivek]

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Internet divided as 'egg' UFO retrieval video airs on TV​

NewsNation aired the footage that 'clearly showed' the object dangling in a sling from a helicopter on Saturday night. The alleged craft was about 20ft long and resembled the UAP encountered by the Navy off the east coast of the US in 2015, suggesting a connection between these unidentified objects, NewsNation reported. It was pointed out in the video that the object had no markings, being 'perfectly smooth', and no 'visible' means of propulsion or way to look inside.

After the segment aired, Redditors had mixed opinions on the footage's veracity, although many were impressed by what they saw. 'This is pretty cool. I don’t know what you guys were expecting of a nighttime retrieval. This is actually more clear than I thought it would be. It helps to lower expectations,' one wrote.

Another said: 'I had a feeling that the video would be somewhat ambiguous. I'm not sure this is gonna move the needle without more substantiating evidence. I think it's great, personally, but this isn't gonna convince Joe Taxpayer.'

'Probably is real. But you aren’t going to convince people with this. To claim this is any different from any other sketchy video already seen (outside the gimbal & go fast) is a stretch & hardly going to make anybody new sit up & take notice. Too bad,' another wrote.

(More on the link)

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