Experts meet to discuss Maya calendar, debunk end-of-world stories
As the clock winds down to Dec. 21, experts on the Mayan calendar have been racing to convince people that the Maya didn't predict an apocalypse for the end of this year.
Some experts are now saying the Maya may indeed have made prophecies, just not about the end of the world.
Archaeologists, anthropologists and other experts met Friday in the southern Mexico city of Merida to discuss the implications of the Mayan Long Count calendar, which is made up of 394-year periods called baktuns.
Experts estimate the system starts counting at 3114 B.C., and will have run through 13 baktuns, or 5,125 years, around Dec. 21. Experts say 13 was a significant number for the Mayans, and the end of that cycle would be a milestone — but not an end.
Fears that the calendar does point to the end have circulated in recent years. People in that camp believe the Maya may have been privy to impending astronomical disasters that would coincide with 2012, ranging from explosive storms on the surface of the sun that could knock out power grids to a galactic alignment that could trigger a reversal in Earth's magnetic field.
Mexican government archaeologist Alfredo Barrera said Friday that the Mayas did prophesize, but perhaps about more humdrum events like droughts or disease outbreaks.
"The Maya did make prophecies, but not in a fatalistic sense, but rather about events that, in their cyclical conception of history, could be repeated in the future," said Barrera, of the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Experts stressed that the ancient Maya, whose "classic" culture of writing, astronomy and temple complexes flourished from A.D. 300 to 900, were extremely interested in future events, far beyond Dec. 21.
"There are many ancient Maya monuments that discuss events far into the future from now," wrote Geoffrey Braswell, an anthropologist at the University of California, San Diego. "The ancient Maya clearly believed things would happen far into the future from now."
"The king of Palenque, K'inich Hanaab Pakal, believed he would return to the Earth a couple of thousand years from now in the future," Braswell wrote in an email to The Associated Press. "Moreover, other monuments discuss events even before the creation in 3114 B.C."
Only a couple of references to the 2012 date equivalency have been found carved in stone at Mayan sites, and neither refers to an apocalypse, experts say.
Such apocalyptic visions have been common for more than 1,000 years in Western, Christian thinking, and are not native to Mayan thought.
"This is thinking that, in truth, has nothing to do with Mayan culture," said Alexander Voss, an anthropologist at the University Of Quintana Roo, a state on Mexico's Caribbean coast. "This thing about looking for end-times is not something that comes from Mayan culture."
Braswell compared the Mayan calendar, with its system of cycles within cycles, to the series of synchronized wheels contained in old, analogue car odometers.
"The Maya long count system is like a car odometer," Braswell wrote. "[The odometer on] my first car only had six wheels so it went up to 99,999.9 miles. That didn't mean the car would explode after reaching 100,000 miles." - Fox News
I've had several "paranormal" experiences. All my life I have "seen" things that probably should have scared the wits out of me, but only served to make me even more curious. The one that remains the most vivid in my memory happened one night in a house we had lived in about 5 years ago (which has since been torn down) in Waukegan, Illinois. Our landlady's (Phyllis) parents had built the house when she was a little girl, and had both died in the house. Lee (my ex husband) was sleeping on the couch in the living room and I was sleeping in our bedroom, which had no door and faced the living room. I woke up hearing a creaking noise, and thinking it was Lee coming to bed, sat up. When I looked into the living room, the rocking chair was slowly rocking - I could see a hazy figure of an old man standing in front of it, looking toward my mother in law's room. I had seen things like this before, and prefer to show respect for the dead and let them go about their business. I never felt scared - until the next day when I asked the landlady about her parents. That was when I got to learn that her father had died in that chair, and her mother had died in my my mother in law's bedroom. After that I always kinda just felt like I was an intruder in someone else's home, even though I never saw anything else after that. The landlady's husband must have seen or known something as well - within a week of Phyllis' passing, he had the place leveled. So that's how it ended, and you know, I still get a creepy feeling whenever I drive past the lot where my house used to be. D.
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Knocking at the Tomb
Knock, knock, knock! The bell has just gone twelve, and there is the clang again upon the iron door of the tomb. The few people of Lanesboro who are paying the penance of misdeeds or late suppers, by lying awake at that dread hour, gather their blankets around their shoulders and mutter a word of prayer for deliverance against unwholesome visitors of the night. Why is the old Berkshire town so troubled? Who is it that lies buried in that tomb, with its ornament of Masonic symbols? Why was the heavy iron knocker placed on the door? The question is asked, but no one will answer it, nor will any say who the woman is that so often visits the cemetery at the stroke of midnight and sounds the call into the chamber of the dead. Starlight, moonlight, or storm—it makes no difference to the woman. There she goes, in her black cloak, seen dim in the night, except where there are snow and moon together, and there she waits, her hand on the knocker, for the bell to strike to set up her clangor. Some say that she is crazy, and it is her freak to do this thing. Is she calling on the corpses to rise and have a dance among the graves? or has she been asked to call the occupant of that house at a given hour? Perhaps, weary of life, she is asking for admittance to the rest and silence of the tomb. She has long been beneath the sod, this troubler of dreams. Who knows her secret? - Myths and Legends of Our Own Land - Complete
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Ghost Taps, Pookas, and Other Creatures of the Night
By Varla Ventura - My recent appearance on Coast to Coast with George Noory on the topic of vampires and werewolves, brought on some interesting callers, many of whom mentioned the duende, a sort of Latin American version of a goblin or sprite. And maybe this late-night interview and callers sharing stories of mythological beings, real life ghosts, and other paranormal phenomena opened the gates to a new encounter with what I believe was another episode of "The Haunted Nursery."
Three nights ago my slumber was interrupted not by the crying wails of the Baby Ventura but rather a gentle tap on my forehead. When I opened my eyes, a bit confused, I looked around to see what had made midnight contact with my face: a pillow? An errant arm or hand of my beloved? No and no. I even wondered if a drop of water had mysteriously fallen from the ceiling. As I was contemplating the possibilities, the spot on my head still cold from the touch, I heard a very gentle laugh from the baby, who, upon inspection, was sleeping peacefully. And then just moments later a steady tapping began in the kitchen (down the hall but still relatively close, it's a small apartment). I listened, a little breathless. Tap tap tap. What was it? The fridge churning? The wind rattling the windows? Tap tap tap. Pause. Tap tap tap. Pause. This went on for two or three minutes, something that sounded like a cupboard opening and closing. Keep in mind I've lived in this apartment for nearly ten years, and this sound I had heard only once before: I was in the middle of a radio interview, which happened to be on the topic of the paranormal, and heard something similar coming from the kitchen. It lasted about two minutes and then left. Nothing until just the other night.
The next night I listened intently to the noises of the night to hear it replicated. Nothing. And the next night. Nothing. So I was left to wonder, was this a playful tap from one of the inhabitants of the Haunted Nursery? Or perhaps it was another type of creature altogether?
When dealing with the spirit realm, some may tell you, all bets are off. The creatures that lurk, in the dark of the night, aren't always ghosts or ghoulish apparitions. Countless volumes of folklore, especially Irish and Welsh mythology, detail dozens of creatures that lurk under bridges, besides roadways, on beaches, and beneath the hydrangea in your garden. Pookas, for example, are sometimes mistaken for horses or even rabbits. For one of my recent books, Taming the Pooka, Celtic Tales of the Trickster Fairy: Magical Creatures, A Weiser Books Collection I read a great deal of W. B. Yeats. Yeats was a scholar of Irish folklore as well as the occult. In 1911 he became a member of The Ghost Club -- a paranormal research group, one of the first of its kind! It would not surprise me to hear that Yeats himself encountered a Pooka whilst roaming the country roads, warm from a pint at the pub.
Maybe I'm just overtired, or all the stories I've been reading are getting to me. Because I heard something, quite distinctly, go bump in the night. - THP
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The following article was forwarded by long-time humanoid researcher and colleague Albert S. Rosales. The full narrative will be presented in four parts...enjoy!
Long ago it became clear that the Soviet Empire had begun to crumble long before the bizarre and indeed incredible article in the Soviet daily, Tass on Monday October 10 1989 detailing an account which shocked many in the west due to its bizarre nature, of course that was the report of an alleged landing of a UFO in a park in the Soviet city of Voronezh and even stranger still the fact that unusual looking humanoids exited the craft and apparently interacted with several local children which were apparently the main witnesses of the event. Later research by Russian researchers Genrih Silanov, Fyedor Kiselyov, Yuriy Lozotsev and Alexander Mosolov proved that there had been dozens of other close encounters and incidents in an around Voronezh starting in August through January 1990, the results were published in a book appropriately called “UFOs in Voronezh” published in 1990.
Before these events both leaders, Reagan, and Gorbachev spoke about the possibility of an alien invasion of earth and pointed out that if that happened all the nations of the earth would unite and do away with their petty political and geographical differences. Already in the spring of 1989 Hungary had begun to dismantle its fortified border with Austria, a clear signal that the division of postwar Europe was coming to an end. And before the astounded eyes of the world by the end of the year, on December 22 1989 to be exact the Brandenburg Gate in East Berlin is opened.
After the unprecedented wave of close encounters with humanoids and UFOs during the decade of the 70’s, 1980 signaled a clear slowdown of reports or encounters, they had not completely gone away but there seemed to be less interest and hence less reports of UFOs and their occupants. This trend appeared to last until the end of 1988 and the beginning of 1989 when reports of humanoid encounters exploded, but in undoubtedly unexpected locations, mostly the whole territory of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In my files alone I have over 500 high strangeness and humanoid encounters for 1989, more than half from the former Soviet Union, and for 1990 I have over 600 reports, again more than half from the former Soviet Union. As the wall crumbled interest in UFOs and aliens appeared to increase on a daily basis in this vast territory of hundreds of ethnicities with many accounts of bizarre encounters being published by local government controlled newspapers and other cases published by private researchers in their Samizdat newsletters. The wave of encounters, of all types, began in the former Soviet Union at the end of 1988 and lasted well into late 1997. I will concentrate today on 1989...a year that heralded many changes and marked ‘the return of the humanoids’.
The next event is beyond high strangeness, perhaps several levels or so, but it seems to have been the norm in most of the reported cases of contact in the former Soviet Union. There is no exact date only that it occurred in the summer of 1989 and again the witness was military personnel in this case a submarine officer:
Location. Far East, Russia
Date: Summer 1989 Time: daytime
A Soviet Naval Submarine officer, D.A. had gone on a hunting expedition into the taiga and ascended to the top of a hill when they noticed something resembling a rolled up waterproof canvas-tent. Having forgotten their own at home they helped themselves to this seemingly abandoned tent. They prepared to spend the night there near a bonfire. Soon they noticed a strange cloud that hovered over them for a long time. The cloud was very low, just below head level, & perpendicular to the ground. D.A. struck the “cloud” with his fist and felt a strong repellent force. Then, taking a running jump he flew shoulder first into the cloud. After flying through the cloud the witness found himself in an unknown location. While on the hill it had been evening and cold, the place where he was now was covered with bright sunshine and hot, he also felt hot sand under his feet. Instead of bushes he saw trees resembling palms. He could not see a river anywhere but saw what appeared to be a large ocean; he was apparently standing close to seashore. Soon D.A. saw an “amazing car” approach his location, he had never seen such a similar vehicle before. There were 3 persons in the vehicle, a man and two women. They greeted the witness in perfect Russian and invited him for a short drive. He agreed, feeling no fear just curiosity. Soon they arrived at what appeared to be a kind of “laboratory.” When they entered the lab the strangers called him over “Hey military man” (he was wearing a military shirt) and kindly asked him to take some “tests”, which he agreed to do. He was asked many different questions which D.A. patiently answered. He then dared to ask the strangers who they were. He was told that they hailed from the 21st century (what year?) and added that if he wanted he could stay with them. D.A. refused mentioning his wife, family and children. “Well, many people disappear (!)”, said the strangers and soon brought him back into the very same blanket-like cloud that hovered close to the ground at the same location. There D.A. asked another question, “Here we have many troubles, changes, “Perestroika” etc”, what will happen?” The stranger then assured him that everything would be fine. He passed through the cloud without any hindrance and appeared in the same hill. His friend met him in a very excited state, screaming, “Where have you been? Didn’t you hear me calling you?” He was obviously very irate. They then both sat near the fire and talked about what had occurred. Suddenly a wave of fear swept over the men, and both gazed towards the bushes; they believed that the origin of the fear was located within those bushes. D.A.’s friend took out his rifle and yelled to whomever he thought was hiding behind the bushes, threatening to shoot him or it. Nothing was heard in response. He shot into the bushes and the fear suddenly dissipated. (12)
In the above case the ‘strangers’ whoever they could have been apparently knew of the changes that were occurring or about to occur soon. The next case was reported by one of the first western UFO researchers who traveled to the former Soviet Union after the fall of the curtain that was of course the veteran Jacques Vallee. The case is indeed bizarre and has more of a supernatural slant than an ‘extraterrestrial’ context.
Location. Gorky Province, Russia
Date: Summer 1989 Time: evening
In a remote wooded area the daughter of a forester was sitting on a windowsill in her cabin with her back to an open field when suddenly two black-gloved hands grabbed her by the waist and tried to drag her outside. She turned her head and saw that arms were apparently holding her alone, seemingly attached to a vague and diffused area. Her dog began howling and rushed towards the window. She was then released, her father then arrived armed with a gun, but the intruder had by now already gone. (13)
The next case in our list was one of the first cases that appeared in the western media but was mostly ignored it again involved a number of children just like the Voronezh events of September:
Location. Konantsevo, Vologda region, Russia
Date: June 6 1989 Time: afternoon
A group of children playing outside the village observed an approaching luminous sphere in the sky. The sphere landed on a meadow and rolled next to a nearby river. The sphere then seemed to split open and a tall headless figure with long arms and wearing dark clothing emerged. At that moment the sphere vanished and the being began walking towards the village, but he also seemed to fade away. Moments later three more similar spheres landed and similar beings emerged and they also became invisible. (14)
The next case involves strange figures that appeared to have the capability to ‘walk on water’.
Location. Kharovsk, Vologda region Russia
Date: June 6 1989 Time: night
45-year old V. A. Kurkov and his son were fishing on a local lake on a boat about 300 meters from shore. The weather was bad, with strong wind and large waves. Suddenly they saw what appeared to be two human like silhouettes. At first Kurkov did not pay much attention to them, and thought that there were some strange fishermen who dared to fish in the center of the lake in the middle of a storm. Then he stood up and didn’t see a boat under the strange “fishermen” which appeared to be standing right on the surface of the water at full height. Both men watched stunned as the shiny figures appeared to approach their location, walking on the water. Suddenly the man-like figure that was closer became extremely shiny. The light was so bright that it hurt the witnesses’ eyes, as the figures began flashing brightly the two men turned their boat around and began moving to shore. Then the figures transformed into a bright light that floated along the coast of the lake and disappeared. (15)
The next case comes from the city of Leningrad (soon to be known again as St. Petersburg) and it involves a type of very tall almost gigantic humanoid type entity which was very frequently reported during the 1989-1990 wave, it was also one of those instances in which a technique known a ‘biolocation’ was used by researchers. http://biolocation.com/theory.htm
Figure 2. Type of humanoid frequently reported during the 1989-1990 wave in the former Soviet Union.
Location. Leningrad (St Petersburg) Russia
Date: June 19 1989 Time: 01:00 a.m.
Tamara Mikhailovna Krasikova a worker at the local “LenKarz” plant was sitting on a bench near house number 70 on Farforovskiy Street. To right of the houses is the Leningrad-Moscow railway. The sky was dark and covered with clouds, there wasn’t anybody else around. Suddenly from the railway station a woman about 35-years of age, in a dark green jacket carrying a handbag approached and said, “I shall sit a while, I will rest before going home”. So both women sat talking. The last train soon past by them. Suddenly from above house # 64 a red light began flashing illuminating half of the houses in an eerie red light. Both women then arose from the bench thinking somebody had flung something burning from one of the trains. However as they watched closely they saw a saucer shaped craft quickly descending from the sky. Before touching the ground, the saucer put down two landing props and landed on them. At once, the top of the saucer-shaped craft began expanding, inflating like a rubber ball. Light from the landed saucer illuminated the surroundings like daytime. Suddenly near the saucer a very tall figure or humanoid appeared. Where it had come from the women could not be sure because of the strong light. Near this first humanoid a second similar figure but much shorter appeared and near them two or three similar smaller figures were moving. The women could not see any exact features as a result of the blinding light. The tall alien figure then separated from the other figures and walked towards the direction of the two women. Terrified the women in the green jacket turned and ran from the area. However Tamara Krasikova who also wanted to escape was unable to move because of her weak legs. So she remained where she stood. The tall alien figure quickly approached and then passed by Krasikova totally ignoring her. The humanoid was twice the height of a normal man (3.5m). He had a powerful body, with wide shoulders, a short neck with a large head but of normal proportion to the rest of the body. The humanoid’s face was wide, white and smooth. His chin was round. On his eyes the humanoid wore black rectangular glasses or goggles. The alien’s forehead was not visible since it was covered by a skintight helmet or hood; the ears were also not visible. The humanoid’s hands were normal and it was wearing black gloves. It bent its legs as it walk like a normal human, but the humanoid’s feet were larger than a normal human resembling large flippers. When the alien’s feet touched the ground, red shining balls rolled from under its feet and then disappeared. The witness didn’t remember hearing any sound or noises, everything seemed silent. The humanoid did not stop near the witness and continued to walk between some nearby houses using very long strides. He walked between houses 64 and 66 and looked to the right and then the left before continuing on quickly disappearing from sight. Krasikova tried to see where the giant had gone to but could not see him anywhere. Krasikova then went home and looked out the window and everything was now gone, the saucer, the humanoids, and the light had disappeared. Around the same time a worker at the local plant had seen a figure of huge height wearing black tight-fitting overalls.
Biolocation research conducted in the area by V.P. Kochegarov and L.K. Grokhov revealed the presence of several abnormal areas which had not been connected with the described events. A number of local residents observed a luminescence in the sky and other flying objects with caused strong interference to local television telecasting. (16)
While the next case did not actually involved a humanoid or even a humanoid entity it illustrates the types of events being reported almost on a daily basis throughout the vast territory of the former Soviet Union, there was undoubtedly something weird afoot during the time of incredible changes occurring in the region at the time:
Location. Near Togliatti, Russia
Date: June 26 1989 Time: 21:15
A strange sight was reported by several witnesses in the area as they spotted in the storm clouds an almost perfect square ‘hole’. A bright beam of light appeared around its perimeter it flared up and then went out in flash. After that in the square ‘window’ on the clouds a picture appeared. It was of a landscape of a bay bounded by a low ridge, surrounded by forested hills. A chain of sand dunes next to the waters is also visible. Over this ‘foreign’ world the sky appeared to be lit up much brighter than ours. Within 15 minutes the field of view is slowly rotated in the horizontal plane, hiding the hills and waters of the bay. Suddenly above in the foreign sky appeared a set of black dots, which are not possible to see in detail, soon the clouds began to move covering up this strange opening. (17)
The next case describes a type of entity that was reported on very few occasions in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the 1989-1990 wave, we are talking of course about ‘grays’ or gray type entity very popular in western abduction accounts specially in the U.S.A. The fate of the witnesses is also a matter of concern:
Location. Near Vladivostok, Russia
Date: July 1989 Time: unknown
12 witnesses observed the appearance of strange entities cavorting on the seashore near the city of Vladivostok. The witness reported that the appearance of the creatures was “repugnant”. The witnesses described the entities as typical “grays” about 1 meter in height, with absolutely hairless heads, and lipless mouths. At first the witnesses thought they had stumbled upon a group of circus freaks dwarfs but upon closer inspection realized that they were indeed totally alien in nature. During the next 7 years investigators for VAUFON attempted to track all 12 of the witnesses with startling grim results. 3 of the witnesses had been killed in car accidents, 5 had been diagnosed with brain tumors in which two had already required surgery. Two others were located in a mental institution, and the two remaining others had apparently disappeared without a trace. (18)
The next case is again from the former Soviet Republic of the Ukraine and is from the Crimean Peninsula which had more than its share of bizarre encounters and sightings:
Location. Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine
Date: July 1989 Time: 04:00 a.m.
The 50-year old female witness living in the western part of town in a multi-storied house suddenly felt strong chest pains and walked to the balcony for a breath of fresh air. Suddenly she noticed a globe-shaped object descending from the sky to a nearby yard. The object was about 3-5 meters in diameter. Three humanoid figures stepped out of the object and walked off to different sides of the object. The aliens were tall, about 2 meters in height, dressed in tight-fitting silver suits. More details could not be seen since it was dark and the witness was dozens of meters away. Five minutes later all three aliens returned to the object, entered it and the craft zoomed up and vanished. The witness apparently woke her husband who apparently also witnessed the event. (19)
The following event is one of the first cases reported in the Voronezh region and it involves a theme that was repeated on numerous occasions in dozens of contacts reported in the 1989-1990 wave, that of dire warnings of upcoming ecological disasters on earth, or enormous unavoidable earth changes:
Location. Semidesyatnoye, Khokholskiy area, Voronezh region Russia
Date: July 1989 Time: afternoon
Farm equipment operator Fedor Ivanovich Molokanov was out in the fields operating a tractor when suddenly and without any apparent reason the engine stalled. He exited the cab and looked under the hood to check what the problem was. Suddenly he heard a voice coming from behind him, “Your machine is Ok, I made it stop working, and I wanted to have a talk with you.” Turning around he was confronted by a figure wearing silvery overalls, bronze-colored boots and a helmet on his head. The humanoid was about 3 meters in height, and looked strangely one-dimensional. The stranger spoke again, “Your planet---was the most excellent planet known to us in this part of the universe.” And then he added cryptically, “However you have brought it to a disastrous state. Life on Earth will die. In 20 years an ecological disaster awaits the earth (2009?).” He told the astonished witness that if he agreed to go with them, he would be saved. The witness demurred, explaining to the stranger that he was an old sick man of 60 years. The stranger then pointed out that in his planet the average lifespan was 130 years. Terrified the witness waved his hands angrily and told the stranger to leave. Moments later the humanoid pointed a tube-like device toward the witness and then walked into a nearby landed semi-transparent bluish object, a hatch opened on the object and a hissing sound was heard, the humanoid entered the craft and sat on a chair then craft then soundlessly melted into the sky. After the encounter, Molokanov refused to leave the house for several days and was taken to the local hospital suffering from hypertension. He only told his closest associates what had occurred. (20)
The next case is also from a former Soviet Republic, this time the Baltic country of Estonia:
Location. Kohtu, Harju County Estonia
Date: July 1989 Time: evening
A woman and her adult daughter were watching TV when they heard a loud knock at the window. Looking at the window they saw the upper body of a man. They thought that the intruder must have been standing on a ladder. Both women approached the window and obtained a closer look at the man. He wore a dark gray diver’s suit, which had a broad white band that ran over his shoulders and arm. The tall figure was quickly retreating from the window moving diagonally away. They could not discern any facial features. At one point the strange figure turned around with its back to the witnesses and seemed to quickly glide away from the area. (21)
The next case is also from Rostov-on-Don and appears to have involved the type of humanoid known in familiar UFO parlance as a “Nordic” type entity:
Figure 4. Sample of Nordic type 'alien' entity.
Location. Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Date: July 1989 Time: 2100
A local woman named Natalya Vladimirovna living in the Chkalova area of the city, noticed a bright green light in the sky, it was funnel shaped broader at the top and narrower at the bottom, it shed light towards the ground. Over the light she noticed a round oval-shaped or disk-shaped object, encircled by a rim, with a blue greenish circumference and several (9-10) blue lights on its surface. Natalya’s 5-year old son later told her that he saw a huge disk with a cabin that landed on a nearby copse. The disk landed on 3 props, it had sloping edges and a flattened cupola on top. Several humanoids dressed in black coveralls exited the craft and were doing something near it. The boy described the humanoids as being human like, tall and with blond hair (Nordic type). Both witnesses possibly experienced abduction and missing time. (22)
The next report is one of the best known contact cases from the Ukraine and the former Soviet Union during the period of 1989-1990.
Location. Kiev, Ukraine
Date: July 4 1989 Time: afternoon
Two women, one named Vera Ignatenko, and a young girl were walking along a canal near some woods when they saw three men approaching on a strange silvery “boat” in the canal. The beings were man-like, wore shiny collarless suits, both had identical pale faces, long golden hair, and large radiant eyes. The beings approached the trio and spoke in pure ancient Slavic language (a defunct language spoken in old Russia) apparently wanting the witnesses to come with them to their “planet.” The beings claimed that they took one person from earth each day. The beings then walked with the women to a nearby hovering silvery barrel-shaped craft with an antenna on top. The women attempted to run away but could not, feeling a tingling sensation and were unable to scream either. The beings apparently decided against taking the three women and released them, they then entered the object via a stepladder. Before leaving, the beings demonstrated a holographic model of the solar system with a tenth planet to the witnesses and warned that electromagnetic emissions from and radio signals being transmitted into space attracted many negative alien cultures who are arriving on earth uninvited with the aim to exploit the planet for their own interests. The craft then left quickly and silently. Ignatenko was to have further contacts. (23)
The next case details another contact case this time from the former Soviet republic of Georgia; it involves some bizarre elements as similar cases were now coming from all corners of the ‘Empire’:
Figure 5. Description of entity in the Georgia contact case.
Location. Mtacminda Park, Tbilissi, Georgia (USSR)
Date: July 4 1989 Time: 2100
The main witness was driving a girlfriend home when he experienced car trouble. He left to get water for the radiator and upon returning the girl was gone. Near the park he saw a woman that was apparently trying to stop the car, he kept driving looked back and the woman was gone. He kept driving when the engine of the car suddenly stopped again. He exited the car and felt a strange oppressive atmosphere in the air. He then began to walk on the dark road. Suddenly 200 meters ahead he noticed a landed silvery disc-shaped object standing on three metallic legs. The craft was surrounded by multi-colored lights and at the bottom there were stairs and illuminated windows. Standing 15 meters away from the craft were four three-meter tall man-like figures. The witness felt attracted to the figures, and was not scared, he kept walking towards them. One of the figures approached the witness and attempted to establish contact, speaking in Russian the humanoid asked several questions. The humanoids wore a silvery uniform that completely covered them except for their faces, a dark belt, and dark boots. They had dark oval eyes and very small noses. The witness indicated that he was late getting home, one of the humanoids then entered the object and retrieved a strange hand held device with different colored lights and hieroglyphic like inscriptions. The witness was made to understand that it was some type of phone and apparently he was able to dial his home number. The humanoid then took the instrument away and walked back into the object. Coming out he told the witness that they wanted him to go with them. Inside the object the witness saw a TV like apparatus, where he apparently was able to see his internal organs working. After a while one of the humanoids told the witness that he was free to go home. He exited the object and sitting in his car saw the object retrieve the stairs and lift into the air. Emitting a low humming sound the object shot quickly away. The car then started and the witness drove home. The witness noticed that all four humanoids had a red colored bulb in their chest area that was apparently used as a transmitting and translating device. (24)
As the year 1989 progressed appeared it appeared that things were getting out of control in more ways than one in the former Soviet Union as the following report illustrates:
Location. Solnechny Perm region, Russia
Date: middle of July 1989 Time: unknown
At a summer camp several children encountered humanoids with large eyes in a wooded area. One of the boys threw stones at one of the creatures, but was shot at by some type of beam or laser that set the surrounding fields on fire. None of the boys were apparently injured. Around the same time motorists in the same area reported seeing what appeared to be the figure of a girl walking on a road as they approached it they were horrified to see that it was a creature with a bear-like snout instead of a face. Children at nearby Kukushtane reported seeing a landed saucer-shaped type craft and several “Minotaurs” walking around it. (25)
The next case is from another of the former Soviet Republics turned independent country in this case, Belarus, which was not immune to the changes and other anomalous events in the region:
Location. “Belevic” State Farm, Mogilev, Belarus (USSR)
Date: July 25 1989 Time: afternoon
The witness, Vasily Zaitsev had driven his tractor to the edge of a birch forest near the farm in order to pick some mushrooms. After finishing he came out and was surprised to see at about 200 meters away a bronze colored object shaped like a child’s top, flattened on top and bottom hovering at about 4 meters from the ground. Thinking he might be hallucinating he rubbed his eyes but the object was still there. Near the object stood two beings both about 2 ½ meters tall also wearing shiny bronze colored uniforms. While Vasily watched, his hair stood on end and afraid he hid behind a nearby haystack and watched the scene from there.
The two beings stood around for a while and then returned to their hovering craft. Soon there was a sound like a muffled exhaust and the mysterious object moved sideways, gained speed and disappeared from sight. Later Zaitsev and a co-worker searched for traces of the object and found none. (26)
As the month of August came along things were evidently becoming stranger and the reports appeared to become more outlandish and unbelievable. This is from a region that before 1986 there were few known reports (in the west) and even fewer reports of humanoid encounters, of course with a few exceptions thanks to the work of pioneering researcher Felix Ziegel. The following reports illustrate the absurdity and incredible bizarre nature of the alleged contacts:
Figure 6. Perhaps what the Russian female entity looked like.
Location. Sharya, near Yaroslavl, Russia
Date: August 1989 Time: 10:00 a.m.
Two witnesses, including E. V., were collecting mushrooms in a field when they suddenly came upon an injured hare. One of the witnesses picked up the hare to see what was wrong when she heard English speech from behind her. Looking up she saw a woman wearing a gray suit and brown boots. She had European features with long flowing brown hair and gray skin. While attempting to communicate with the stranger E. V. was unable to understand her and heard various incomprehensible dialects. Then the woman appeared to press something invisible on her breast, and immediately the witness heard different speech in several languages, Georgian, Baltic and finally in Russian. The woman said, “Do you love animals?” The witness said yes and began petting the hare then fed it some pastry. She offered the stranger a pastry, which she gladly accepted and ate, she then asked the witness what it was, since she had founded very tasteful. The woman then turned her attention on the mushrooms and asked for some for her to take. At this point the witness noticed a man standing nearby, similarly dressed. The woman made a gesture to the man not to approach. One of the witnesses then invited the strange woman to come with them, but she declined. Soon a luminous screen with images appeared on the woman’s breast and she ordered the witnesses to turn around and walk away, not to look back. Obediently they did and as they walked away they perceived a strong vibration. When they turned around both strangers had disappeared. A local inspector had reported seeing a strange “cloud” exhibiting bizarre behavior over the forest. The next day, footprints clearly showing the strangers footwear were discovered in the field. (27)
Location. Vologda region, Russia
Date: August 1989 Time: daytime
Vyacheslav Gorbunov who collected pitch in the swampy areas of the region for the manufacture of turpentine and other chemicals lived in an isolated cabin when one day, in broad daylight he encountered a strange humanoid creature that approached him, the witness was not frightened and reported that the appearance of the humanoid reminded him of a “dolphin”. He had blue skin and was slightly taller than an average human. The humanoid communicated with Gorbunov through telepathy and was invited to a nearby clearing where a round silvery object stood on the ground. Once inside Gorbunov met another peasant woman who had been apparently also invited onboard. Soon the humanoid approached both Gorbunov and the unknown woman and invited both to accompany them to their planet to “live” there. The woman immediately agreed, but Gorbunov refused and told the humanoid that he had family in Odessa and could not leave them behind. In a few minutes Gorbunov and the humanoid exited the silvery object and the witness found himself in a totally different location apparently in another planet, where he saw numerous peaceful scenes, of children playing, meadows and water fountains. Soon Gorbunov asked to be returned home and the aliens deposited him back near his cabin in the forest. After returning home Gorbunov was no longer a recluse and decided that his mission in life was to help people, in less than 2 years he began to draw beautiful surreal scenes apparently of otherworldly landscapes from alien planets. His paintings were exhibited in numerous locations throughout the Russian Federation. (28)
We are left to ask, What became of the ‘peasant’ woman who decided to remain behind? This next report also involves a military witness:
Location. Olga settlement, Balyuzak Peninsula, Russia
Date: August 1989 Time: 2200
The witness, soldier P. Ivus was outside washing his military vehicle when she noticed at about 300-400 meters away a bright light in the forest area. Soon out of the forest, a figure stepped out. It seemed to move rapidly rocking from side to side; its height was about 2.30 meters, with long dangling arms, and a head directly on its shoulders with no visible neck. It was wearing a tight-fitting white one-piece suit. The witness watched in shock unable to move as the figure pass behind a knoll. Then from another direction three more similar figures appeared, these moved about rather quickly, seemingly scrutinizing the fields. At this point a friend of the witness drove up in a car and honked several times, this apparently frightened the creatures, which soon disappeared into the forest. The next morning the witness found large tracks or footprints in the soft soil measuring about 45 cm in length. (29)
12. S. Sanina “Molodezh Moldavii” (Youth of Moldova) 1990, “Iks” (UFO Newspaper) Mahachkala Dagestan # 1
13. Jacques Vallee, UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union
14. Timothy Good, UFO Report 1991
15. Vladimir G. Azhaha, PhD, NLO “From Where and Why” Moscow 1991
16. N.N. Shadrin
17. “Avesta” Research group, Samara Russia
18. Alexander Rempel, VAUFON
19. Anton Anfalov, Yuriy A. Pugachyov
20. S. Pylev, Genrih Silanov, Fedor Kiselyev, Yuriy Lozotsev & Alexander Mosolov Voronezh UFO research group.
21. Erkki Alo Kirde, Igor Volke, Estonian UFO Network
22. Igor V. Kolomiets and Anton A. Anfalov
23. Timothy Good, UFO Report 1991
24. GUFOA (Georgian UFO Association)
25. Yaroslavl Group, FSR Vol. 35 # 3
26. M. I. Pakovsky “Mogilev Truth” November 4 1989, http://miger.ru/mogilve.html
27. UFOZONE Russia
28. Snezhaha Pavlova in: Anomaly website
29. UFOZONE Russia, Vladimir G. Azazha PhD
That's a classic line you'll hear from extraterrestrials in science-fiction, but what if the roles were reversed? Were Bill Clinton and JFK preparing their talking points for a meeting with creatures from another galaxy? History reveals more government buzz about aliens than you might think.
Several world leaders, including Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan reported seeing unexplained things in the skies. Others made it clear when they entered the Oval Office that they wanted all the files on what the military might know about alien visitations.
Study: Omega-3 Supplements May Actually Affect Aging
PROBLEM: It's an eternal and irreversible certainty that as we get older, our telomeres shorten. Every time a cell divides, a bit of the chromosomal end-piece is clipped off, our DNA diminishing in length; aging, cancer, and our ultimate demise following closely behind. If we can't preserve our fleeting youth, can we at least save our telomeres? And -- let's be honest, here -- can we do so without making any major lifestyle changes?
METHODOLOGY: Researchers at Ohio State University put adults (over one hundred of them, middle-aged and older, mostly overweight but otherwise healthy) on a four month regimen of already-known-to-be-good-for-us omega-3 supplements. The pills, derived from cold-water fish like salmon and cod, were administered in two different doses, while a control group received placebos.
RESULTS: Members of both groups given the real stuff had longer telomeres than the sugar pill group -- a promising sign. But differences in telomere length reached statistical significance when looked at as a function of the lowered ratios of omega-6 fatty acids to omega-3 in the experimental groups' blood.
The fish pill groups also had a 15 percent reduction in oxidative stress, the disease-causing condition behind science's much-enthused over endorsement of red wine and dark chocolate.
CONCLUSION: Getting enough omega-3 fatty acid to change the balance of oils in your system may help preserve the length of your telomeres, with the potential to reduce the risk of age-related diseases.
IMPLICATIONS: Something as simple as a nutritional supplement, these results suggest, can significantly affect the aging process. These findings come on the heels of another result published from this same experiment, which associated omega-3 fatty acid supplements with lowered inflammation. Looking back at this first phase of analysis, the researchers believe that the reduced inflammation is likely responsible for the changes now observed in the subjects' telomeres.
Americans tend to have ridiculously high ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in our blood -- we eat lots of eggs, chicken, and nuts and far fewer amounts of fish (this study didn't look at the effects of omega-3 from plant sources). Unless we can convince everyone to convert to the Mediterranean diet (which, incidentally, everyone should totally consider), boosting our omega-3 intake is an easy way of reducing this ratio from its average of 15-1 to what the authors suggest would be much more beneficial ration of 4, or even 2, to 1. - TheAtlantic
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Bees 'producing M&M's colored honey
Since August, beekeepers around the town of Ribeauville in the region of Alsace have seen bees returning to their hives carrying unidentified colourful substances that have turned their honey unnatural shades.
Mystified, the beekeepers embarked on an investigation and discovered that a biogas plant 4km (2.5 miles) away has been processing waste from a Mars plant producing M&M's, bite-sized candies in bright red, blue, green, yellow and brown shells.
Asked about the issue, Mars had no immediate comment.
The unsellable honey is a new headache for around a dozen affected beekeepers already dealing with high bee mortality rates and dwindling honey supplies following a harsh winter, said Alain Frieh, president of the apiculturists' union.
Agrivalor, the company operating the biogas plant, said it had tried to address the problem after being notified of it by the beekeepers.
"We discovered the problem at the same time they did. We quickly put in place a procedure to stop it," Philippe Meinrad, co-manager of Agrivalor, told Reuters.
He said the company had cleaned its containers and incoming waste would now be stored in a covered hall.
Mars operates a chocolate factory near Strasbourg, around 62 miles away from the affected apiaries.
Bee numbers have been rapidly declining around the world in the last few years and the French government has banned a widely used pesticide, Cruiser OSR, that one study has linked to high mortality rates.
France is one of the largest producers of honey within the European Union, producing some 18,330 tonnes annually, according to a recent audit conducted for national farm agency FranceAgriMer.
Ribeauville, situated on a scenic wine route southwest of Strasbourg, is best known for its vineyards. But living aside winemakers are about 2,400 beekeepers in Alsace who tend some 35,000 colonies and produce about 1,000 tonnes of honey per year, according to the region's chamber of agriculture.
As for the M&M's-infused honey, union head Frieh said it might taste like honey, but there the comparison stopped.
"For me, it's not honey. It's not sellable." - Telegraph
Just in time for Halloween, the owners of the home made famous in the spooky 1970s film "The Amityville Horror" are dramatically slashing the asking price on their Toms River, New Jersey, colonial, which was used for exteriors in the film.
The decision wasn't triggered by demonic activity, however. Apparently, another frightening "D" word was to blame.
"My husband and I are getting a divorce," said Odalys Fragoso, who bought the house with her husband Jose Fragoso in 2001. "It's not that the house is haunted or anything. We had wonderful times in that house."
The couple purchased the house for $795,000. Originally listed last year at $1.45 million, the four-bedroom, three-bath home is now going for $955,000 -- a bargain, according to the agent.
"If there were a curse on it, I wouldn't be in it," joked Donna Walesiewicz, the broker selling the 3,370-square-foot residence. "It is what it is, a nice old stately home."
The horror film, about an apparently haunted house, spawned several sequels.
It was also the perfect place for Hollywood producers, who used it as a double for the real Amityville house when shooting the 1979 movie. The film, based on Jay Anson's 1977 best-seller, featured buzzing flies, ghostly eyes, blood pouring from the walls and a satanic voice warning a visiting priest to "Get out!" The film starred James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger.
The story has its origins in the real-life tale of the Lutz family, who purchased a house in Long Island, New York, in December 1975. The Lutzes' reports of strange and horrific experiences became the heart of the book and film.
The "Amityville" franchise has since churned out an ample supply of sequels over the past 30 years, from a 3D version to a 2005 vehicle for Ryan Reynolds.
Fragoso's waterfront homestead, built in 1920, is nowhere near the Lutzes' old haunt -- about 100 miles and a state line away -- and is anything but scary.
Spread out over half an acre, it boasts a furnished basement, a lounge in the attic, hardwood floors and a two-car garage. There's also a pool and a dock.
"The property alone, being on that river, you have that southern exposure, it's just a beautiful home," said Walesiewicz.
How can the price be reduced a half-million dollars in only a year? Nothing suspicious about it: Walesiewicz said it's a sign of the times. "The housing market has dropped tremendously," she said. "That's why people are coming down and buying homes in cash. They aren't making money in other investments. They are putting it in real estate."
This isn't the first time the price has been reduced. Last year it dropped from $1.45 million to $1.35 million before the house was taken off the market in October.
Fragoso rehung the "for sale" sign again in May, this time for $1.25 million. Even then, the house drew little interest.
The Toms River, New Jersey, house was used for some of the film's exterior shots.
Odalys Fragoso, 51, who is in the middle of divorce proceedings after 33 years of marriage, said the house was appraised this summer for $1.1 million, but the judge told her and her husband they had to lower the price. Which is why it's now at $955,000, she said.
Dozens of fans of the movie have appeared at her doorstep over the years, taking pictures and asking questions. "They were thrilled that they filmed the movie there," Fragoso said.
She also never sensed the house held any sinister secrets or apparitions. "I never felt anything, nothing whatsoever. I was just happy that we were buying the house because we saw the potential of it," Fragoso said. "It's not haunted, not at all." - CNN
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I read a great deal of W. B. Yeats. Yeats was a scholar of Irish folklore as well as the occult. In 1911 he became a member of The Ghost Club -- a paranormal research group, one of the first of its kind! It would not surprise me to hear that Yeats himself encountered a Pooka whilst roaming the country roads, warm from a pint at the pub.
- Highly recommended!
