As Rick noted in his news, the first eight 'UFO files' (of 160!) from the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) have been released to the public via a specially created website at the National Archives. The files are downloadable PDFs, but also on site you'll find extra information and context from Nick Pope (via a vodcast) and Dr David Clarke (a podcast and introductory PDF guide). Only trouble is that you might find accessing the website (and/or material on it) rather difficult - the server appears to be getting hammered, no doubt a consequence of being a news story across the globe (do a Google News search for 'British UFO' and you'll find around 350 articles from today...who says ufology is dead?).

In this story for the BBC, David Clarke sums up the released material:

As I leafed through hundreds of official UFO report forms it became obvious the vast majority of sightings could easily be explained. For example, staff and customers at a pub in Tunbridge Wells reported seeing a UFO with "red and green flashing lights" moving across the sky. When asked to describe the direction of movement their answer was "Gatwick".

Aircraft, bright stars and planets, satellites and space debris all stand out as the most common explanation for UFO reports. A small number have been revealed as hoaxes or hallucinations.

But a hard-core of 5-10% continues to defy explanation. Despite the mystery that continues to surround those that remain "unidentified", the papers reveal how little time and effort was spent by the MoD to investigate them.

I'll post in a little more detail once these PDFs have inched their way down the Intarweb pipes and onto my computer.

My PC is now a planetarium thanks to WorldWide Telescope, free to download. Mind-blowing stuff, it makes Google Earth look stone age. My god, it's full of stars!

• The (alleged) history of the the British secret service and the Occult.
• The British MoD will release its UFO files over the next four years. I bet they're saving the best for 2012.
• One report describes a UFO above Waterloo Bridge.
• Phoenix Lights witness breaks his silence on the 1997 UFO event.
• The crew of a recent Space Shuttle mission believe aliens exist.
• Rear Admiral Gilles Pinon wrote an open letter requesting UFO disclosure to French President Nicolas Sarkozy (original French and English translation).
• The Vatican's chief astronomer, Father Funes, says it's ok to believe in aliens.
• Strange lights in the sky and a mystery sphere recovered in Alabama.
• Brazilian Antonio Alves Ferreira recorded an interview with his alien abductors over 20 years ago, and you can listen to it courtesy of Forgetomori.
• Connie Littlefield eloquently argues that criminalisation of LSD failed to get it off the street, and only succeeded in killing legitimate research.
• Giant space vegetables could feed the world. Or we'll feed them.
• Keeping pets is good for your health. We'll make great pets, but we're horrible pet owners (images from animal shelters may upset some viewers).
• Dog missing for a week is located by a psychic, stuck in a hole. The dog that is, but I hear sitting at the bottom of a well is good for focusing ESP.
• Einstein called religions "childish" in a personal letter dated January 3 1954. A year later, he found out if he was right or not.
• The ghost of a little girl is spooking drivers in the UK.
• Her phantom grandmother is spooking half of Asia.
• For 20 years, parapsychologist Caroline Watt has investigated the unexplained from her Edinburgh University lab.
• It's very fitting that fellow Scot Billy Connolly stars in the new X-Files film.
• A short piece on the crystal skulls, the mystery and the controversy.
• Thieves stole a crystal skull on display in a New Age store in California. It belongs in a museum!
• They love the Indiana Jones movies, but most archaeologists wouldn't want to work alongside a real version of Indy. You call this 'archaeology'?!
• Did ancient civilisations possess the ability to levitate massive stone megaliths?

Thanks Greg, Kat, and Tori.

Quote of the Day:

“If they keep crashing stuff into the moon, the moon's gonna get pissed off, and the tides'll change, and all the women'll start PMS-ing together. Then you guys are going to f*cking regret it.”

Tori Amos

Was Graham Hancock on the right track with his book The Sign and the Seal (Amazon US and UK)? A news story doing the rounds provocatively announces that German archaeologists may have traced the Ark of the Covenant to a temple in Ethiopia - claiming that they have found the remains of the palace of the Queen of Sheba, which has within it an altar "that may have held the Ark":

Professor Helmut Ziegert, of the archaeological institute at the University of Hamburg, has been supervising a dig in Aksum, northern Ethiopia, since 1999. "From the dating, its position and the details that we have found, I am sure that this is the palace," he said.

The palace, that is, of the Queen of Sheba, who is believed to have lived in the 10th century B.C. After she died, her son and successor, Menelek, replaced the palace with a temple dedicated to Sirius.

The German researchers believe that the Ark was taken from Jerusalem by the queen — who had a liaison with King Solomon — and built into the altar to Sirius.

"The results we have suggest that a Cult of Sothis developed in Ethiopia with the arrival of Judaism and the Ark of the Covenant, and continued until 600 A.D.," an announcement by the University of Hamburg on behalf of the research team said.

Interesting story, although other archaeologists are skeptical. Not to mention my own cynicism about the timing of the story, coming shortly before Indiana Jones makes his long awaited reappearance...

A strange assortment to get you through the week...

• Robert McLuhan riffs on my post about magicians and the paranormal in his Paranormalia article "The Illusionists".
• The Societe Perillos looks deeper into the Bloodline controversy in "Blood on the Dancefloor".
• Also, the Grail Seekers blog writes up the Bloodline press conference last week.
• Mac Tonnies writes about "UFOs, Aliens and Consciousness" on his SETI.com blog.
• Filip Coppens takes you on an esoteric tour of St. Edmund's Masonic Church
• Anthony North's latest post at Beyond the Blog is "Coincidence and the Thought Path".
• Sam Harris appears to be back in skeptic Randi's good books again, going by the Big R's latest newsletter.
• Nick Redfern gives his "3, 2, 1 of UFO Hatred" at Culture of Contact.
• Speaking of Nick, GhostMysteries.com has a feature interview with our favourite punk ufologist.
• UFO Digest features Brad Steiger's article "Rudolf Steiner and the Legacy of the Star Gods".
• The latest eSkeptic newsletter has two articles being skeptical of climate change skepticism.
• This week's Binnall of America audio interview is with S. Miles Lewis, discussing a wide range of esoteric topics.
• Also, Richard Thomas discusses "The Esoteric Worlds of Dr Who" in his column at Binnall of America.
• Paul Kimball offers a little ufological critique in "Ufology and Perspective".

Enjoy!

Good name for a band don't you think? I've just posted a TED talk by legendary mycologist (mushroom researcher) Paul Stamets which is well worth checking out. The man is an absolute expert in the field (although perhaps more famous for his specific literature on 'magic mushrooms'), so much so that he almost comes across as a mad scientist with his fresh ideas (when you see his idea of ant-killing fungus - replete with mushroom popping out of the head of a dead ant - you sort of get stuck between saying "that's cool" and "that's scary). A good watch all the same, and less than 20 minutes viewing time.

A bit of everything today.

• Zahi Hawass reveals secrets of the Valley of the Kings.
• Legends say the ancient Maya possessed 13 crystal skulls which, when united, hold the power of saving the Earth. In the jungles of southern Mexico, the priests of the Lacandon, the last unassimilated Mayas, still worship the skulls. More on modern-day Mayas.
• Ex-Python Terry Jones uncovers 17th century conspiracy.
• 1,000 ancient tombs found in Colombia. Photos.
• Unearthing a legend: How James Curle became Scotland's most celebrated archaeologist, thanks to a Roman treasure trove on his doorstep.
• Breaking the Time Barrier: Clive Gamble revisits the moment at which archaeologists realized that human prehistory was far longer than biblical scholars had imagined.
• Catholic Church approves new Marian apparition. Expert explains criteria for making the Vatican's grade.
• Pagan prisoners win right to keep magic wands in cells.
• Data from one of Columbia's disk drives survived the shuttle accident.
• Private Space Station Prototype Hits Orbital Milestone.
• Ancient sea creatures dolled themselves up with diamonds from outer space.
• The facts behind the mystery of Morgellon's Disease.
• Families will make case for vaccine link to autism.
• The woman who remembers everything.
• Biofuel and other derivatives from sugarcane overtake hydroelectric power as an energy source in Brazil.
• With UK petrol prices at £1.25p a litre (converting for us yanks, that's $9.77 per US gallon), a growing number of Brits are home-brewing biodiesel - for as little as 15p a litre.
• Kick the oil habit and make your own ethanol.
• There's no place like a $2 billion home.
• Speculate to accumulate: Foodcrops? Self-sufficiency in food? The IMF and WTO had a better idea.
• Intellectual view: Full Marx if you can see history repeating itself.
• Emotional view: Gravediggers of the world unite! Capitalism Must Die...
• Spiritual view: 'Spiritual balance', not the nation-states' notion of 'freedom', is the goal of American Indian people.
• The urge to burn books: Why use violence when you can get people to forget about reading through sheer cultural indifference?
• Bloodline: two - reviews.
• Five science fiction movies that get the science right.
• Scientists know better than you - even when they're wrong. Greg begs to differ. So does Chris Hedges...
• Render unto Darwin that which is Darwin's.
• Matrixation: Would you ever leave the holodeck? Really? Interesting comments. What would you do?

Thanks, Greg.

Quote of the Day:

If patterns of ones and zeros were like patterns of human lives and death, if everything about an individual could be represented in a computer record by a long string of ones and zeros, then what kind of creature would be represented by a long string of lives and deaths?

Thomas Pynchon

The latest issue of New Dawn magazine has been released, and as usual there are a few free articles to give you a taste for the entire mag.

• "The British Occult Secret Service": Since the days of Queen Elizabeth I the British secret service has had a strange relationship with the world of magic and the occult - Michael Howard investigates.
• "The Financial Tsunami (Part 1)": Author and economist F. William Engdahl takes a behind the scenes look at the economic collapse now underway and the origins of the global financial system.
• "G.I. Gurdjieff & the Hidden History of the Sufis": Victoria LePage sheds light on the little known influence of the Sufi mystical tradition and its connection to the remarkable spiritual teacher George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff.
• "The Masters of Gary Renard": Around Christmas of 1992, Gary Renard had an extraordinary life-changing meeting with a man and a woman who claimed to be ascended masters. Richard Smoley investigates his incredible story.
• "In Search of Invisible Masters": The arcane lore of the East tells of an ancient community of wise men who possess divine knowledge and mystic powers. Mehmet Sabeheddin examines the role played by Hidden Masters in the Western esoteric tradition.

Full details, including subscription instructions, at the ND website.

Last week I posted the music video for "Birds of a Feather", by Australian prog-rock bank Cog. Just wanted to mention that I'm really digging the entire album Sharing Space, and would recommend it to anyone looking for some good music - these guys are definitely plugged into the source. Not as heavy-riff oriented as their debut album The New Normal, but the new album instead uses more dynamics and isn't afraid to rock out when it suits the song - to me, a definite progression. The album was co-produced with Sylvia Massey, who has previously worked with Tool (Undertow) and System of a Down. Can't say enough good things about this band, if they stick at it they will be huge. Hopefully they put more 7+ minute songs on their next album, because they are killer at them.

Get your hands on the album, or at least a track or two - perhaps start with the first single "What If" which has the prog-rock feel but is single-length. And make sure you give it some listens, because - as with all great music - it takes a while to really get the songs. As I always say, support good music! Probably the best way to get it in the U.S. would be via iTunes, use the link on the Cog website (let me know if it's not available in the States). It would be great to see Cog get some serious support from a big U.S. label, what they've produced so far on a virtual shoestring has been impressive - so spread the word. I'll try and post a full review next week.

...And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

P. McCartney

• 5 days after the devastating cyclone, Yangon, Myanmar’s capital is still a city paralyzed. And with more rains to come and the initially rebuffed foreign aid only now starting to trickle in, many fear the conditions will only worsen (more here and here). If you’d like to help those affected by the storm, here are a few links to a few agencies assisting the people of Myanmar.
• The still-erupting Chilean volcano, “Chaiten” causes thousands of evacuations. Meanwhile, local farms and animals are increasingly threatened by the white ash falling from the sky. More photos here. A satellite photo of the eruption, here. Chile has given holdouts a new ultimatum…
• Amazonian rainforests threatened by clean air... And no, that’s not a typo.
• Dubai entrepreneur redefines the meaning of horsepower.
• No, you aren’t going crazy, Saturn *is* waving at you.
• New findings show Mercury’s ‘iron snow’ helps maintain it’s magnetic field. Sadly, ironic snow is still waiting be discovered.
• Wanna make $17,000 (US) the easy way? NASA study on the effects of microgravity will pay you 5k a month to lie in bed. Sam Lowry need not apply.
• What do ‘Clowns on Velvet’, and a Lithuanian Zappa statue have in common? Oddly enough...it’s Baltimore. And in case you haven’t heard / seen enough of Frank as of late, here’s a little ditty from 1976… ‘Peaches en Regalia’.
• Octocube has arrived. All hail Octotube. Wait, what is Octotube?
• No wonder the time-stream’s been crowded... the Steampunks have gone mainstream!
• Magnetic bracelets may be a bust, but magnetic rocks may be the key to finding life on Mars, (microscopically speaking, of course).
• Contrary to popular belief, a new study claims. the Sahara dried out over thousands of years vs. abruptly. I didn’t actually see it happen, but I know a guy…
• Tell me ‘lyes’, tell me sweet little ‘lyes’… If you’re in the market for a new method of corpse removal, alkaline hydrolysis may be your answer.
• And while we’re on the subject of things-to-do-after-you’re-dead, here’s a little something from the 'too surreal not to be real' file. I give you… the reanimated mouse-jacket.
• Why are all the bats dying in the Northeast? Looks like 'The Joker' may finally be getting his way…

Thanks to R.P. Junkie & Kat and G. Lee!

Quote of the Day:

A mind is like a parachute… It doesn't work if it's not open.

Frank Zappa

In a recent commentary for the Guardian, skeptic Susan Blackmore shared her thoughts on the death of LSD researcher Albert Hofmann. Readers may be surprised by some of what she wrote:

I am grateful, too, that it was Albert Hoffman who discovered LSD. And this is one of the most curious facts about this most curious drug. Hoffman had already had mystical experiences long before he took LSD, and was therefore well placed to appreciate the deeper significance of its mind-altering effects. There are very few chemists of whom that could be said.

Robert McLuhan has already posted his own thoughts at Paranormalia in his entry "Trip Down Memory Lane":

I wonder what she means by 'deeper significance'. It's always interested me that Blackmore combines an interest in Buddhism - she meditates and follows the practice of mindfulness - with an aggressively materialist view of consciousness that owes more to Richard Dawkins than Stanislaf Grof. As I understand it she belongs naturally to the school of thought that sees in the neurological correlate, that is the fact of altered brain chemistry engendering transcendent experiences, the 'final nail in the coffin of religion' - in fact I seem to remember coming across that dread cliché somewhere in her writings recently.

I think what Blackmore is referring to is not so much the ontological status of mystical experiences though, but more the fact that such experiences do have practical value as well - even if you want to define it as psychological rather than spiritual. So, while Blackmore appears to follow the reductionist line, she also practices Zen - but for her the 'illusion of self' refers to the personality arising out of physical neurons, not to some transcendent quality of the material universe. Other identities from the skeptical/materialist school of thought have been similarly open, such as Sam Harris, who professes an interest in 'rational mysticism'. Coincidentally, I'm currently reading John Horgan's excellent book Rational Mysticism (Amazon US and UK), and he devotes plenty of ink to the thoughts of Susan Blackmore:

Blackmore has had flashes of the mystical self-transcendence referred to in Zen as kensho. In fact, she includes her out-of-body experience back at Oxford among them. She views that experience as a hallucination, but a profoundly meaningful one. She has taken to heart the lesson imparted to her toward the end of her journey, that no matter how much we learn and grow, there is "always something more". As a result of that lesson, she views mystical experiences not as ends in themselves but as way stations on a never-ending journey.

Horgan's book is a great place to start in learning more about the apparent oxymoron that is 'rational mysticism'. I'll try and reference a bit more over the coming weeks.

The time to awaken, is NOW.

• Are Olympic Games really that important? And what is the price a nation is willing to pay for them? Let’s review the case of Mexico, 1968—China, pay attention.
• Some say that Regina, the Queen of Mexico, died on that terrible day of 1968, in order to awaken our nation and the rest of the world. Who knows?
• You need a lot of green to afford this green: Tesla Motors opens doors to the rich and famous.
• Ever wondered how much energy you waste at your home? With this little gadget you can stop wondering. You think Al Gore has one of those?
• Ok, you really wanna help the enviroment? Drop that doughnut and start eating bugs.
• New in-body wi-fi could notify doctors of heart attack, but might compromise privacy… like letting strangers know WHO is causing your ol’ ticker to work in overdrive, for starters.
• If you see someone lighting a cigarette, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. Secondhand smoke exposure can cause cell damage in 30 minutes.
• We do live in a ‘Plastic World‘. And our children’s children’s children might pay a harsh price for it.
• Ghosts and smell of victims haunt survivors of the Burma cyclone.
• Idaho team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle. Guess the cat did win after all…
• Platypus looks strange on the inside too. I mean, honestly! What was God thinking??
• Science has finally looked into Yogi & Boo boo’s criminal antics. Next time will be Top Cat’s turn.
• The Knitta movement: Guerrilla grannies? Official site here.
• A picture of your face might not be worthy of belonging to the MOMA collection, but how about your DNA?
• Astronomers found a solar system that looks like ours. Kind of an old link, but we here at TDG think its importance may be easily underestimated; besides most of you were probably partying during Spring Break, right?
• Did Earth once have multiple moons?
• Check out SETI’s new tool to snoop on ET’s private e-mail.
• “Right Stuff” John Glenn says Space Shuttle flights should be extended.
• Aerospace engineer applies for patent on flying saucer powered by ionised plasma and helium. Sorry guys, his name is not Zefram Cochrane.
• Peak oil might explain lack of alien evidence. But I thought those evil reptilians were after our water!
• Stick to Bigfoot & aliens, but if you start messing around with the “J” man, you might enrage some conservative bloggers, like the guy behind BLOODLINE just did. Also, see Loren Coleman’s response.
• Blogging: a direct threat to the very fabric of society… if you live in Cuba, that is.
• Whiz kid helps make groundbreaking archeological discovery. As a prize he will get one year of TDG news free of charge—the rest of you will start paying, BTW ;-)

Thanks Kat & Rick

Quote of the Day:

"To the land of the eagles its queen shall return
the prison of the Moon she'll be required to break
guardians of other times at her side will come
and joined all together battle they will give.

From the book "Regina: 2 de Octubre no se olvida",
by Antonio Velasco Piña

The hype and controversy surrounding the documentary film Bloodline has reached maximum levels in the lead-up to the first screening of the film in New York this Friday. Film-maker Bruce Burgess appeared on both Nightline and Good Morning America (click links to watch videos) to discuss the Da Vinci Code-like discoveries his team have allegedly made over the past few years. Some of the video presented includes footage of the discovery of a mummified body beneath a 'Templar' shroud. Bruce will also be appearing on Fox and Friends this weekend.

However, doubts about some of the discoveries have been increasing in the Rennes le Chateau research community, with this National Post article even quoting our good friend Andy Gough (from the Arcadia website) on some of the issues at hand:

The Internet hype is that Mr. Hammott has solved Sauniere's riddles -- that the Holy Grail has been found and is now held at a secure location by Hollywood producers -- but Mr. Gough said Mr. Hammott's behaviour after finding the bottles suggests a stronger interest in publicity than discovery.

"If you or I discovered a bottle that we thought contained great secret parchments and messages and codes, wouldn't you open it? But no, they bring it back to London and take it to a symposium in Glastonbury, and open it in public, and everyone says, 'Oh, that's red felt-tip pen. I didn't know they had soluble ink at the turn of the last century.' It looked totally implausible. Then, all of a sudden, there's three or four more bottles. And there's spelling errors. The priest [Sauniere] spells his [own] name wrong. It goes from bad to worse ... It's like an Easter egg hunt," Mr. Gough said.

The Rennes le Chateau Research Resource website has a detailed list of concerns about the discoveries presented in Bloodline, and the Arcadia forum has an evolving discussion with input from some of the key protagonists (or is that antagonists? You be the judge).

People familiar with the tale/myth of Berenger Sauniere's alleged world-shaking discoveries should be used to all this cut and thrust, controversy and innuendo - after all, it's been going on like this for decades. Which is why I think a lot of readers will enjoy this insightful essay by Mariano Tomatis Antoniono: "ARG as a new model for Rennes-le-Château phenomenon: Alternate Reality Game and the theories about the treasure of Bérenger Saunière". I'm also currently reading Jacques Vallee's interesting JSE paper on the anatomy of a great hoax (using the Philadelphia Experiment as an example), and I might post on the similarities to be found there at a later point.

One door may have closed, but another will open. If only I could find the lightswitch in the dark...

• Exploring the Buddhist temples of Kamakura, Japan.
• Bedouin and breakfast: staying at a desert camp in Oman's Wahiba Sands.
• Carpet of stone: Westminster Abbey's 13th century mosaic floor.
• The mystery of Stonehenge hinges on unusual blue stones.
• Comedian Bill Bailey fell in love with Stonehenge as a lad.
• The Newark Holy Stones are fake, but there's a reason behind the conspiracy.
• Archaeological treasures abound in Ireland, but many are left exposed and neglected.
• A 1200-year-old Viking trading settlement has been discovered in Ireland.
• Archaeologists have unearthed two stone circles, possibly 5000-years-old, on the moors near Manchester.
• On separate continents, two cultures were building pyramids: Giza in Egypt and Caral in Peru.
• Dutch scientists say a reversal of the Earth's magnetic poles is long overdue.
• Is Dr Who gay? He might swing both ways, he does have two hearts.
• In 2015 a NASA spacecraft will fly into the Sun's corona. Ain't no Sunshine.
• Two US astrobiologists propose covering the moon in mirrors and reflecting sunlight to attract the attention of ETs. That's why they crashed at Roswell.
• As Tom Cruise spins with Oprah, ex-Scientology kids bravely tell their stories.
• Researchers have found a way to mimic marijuana's pain and anxiety relief, without the side effects and legal issues. So instead of growing it naturally, we'll be paying Big Pharmaceuticals a fortune for artificial chemicals?
• The 2008 Global Marijuana March recently took place, but you won't see mainstream media sources turn up in a Google news search.
• Taking an ayahuasca trip: hallucinogenic tourism and sage advice.
• The Pentagon will build a $5billion tourism and commercial centre in Baghdad, including shopping mall, Disney-style amusement park, and golf course. Imagine Falling Down if Michael Douglas was a Wahabi muslim.
• An excellent editorial on the problems of religious sensivity and free speech. It's not what you say, but how you say it.
• New terrorism early-warning system will use psychics, but it's not the first time.
• The forgotten history of WWII Japanese balloon bombs.
• Burma cyclone update: officials estimate up to 80'000 people were killed by the cyclone and tsunami. Almost twenty years of Junta oppression, including the violent crackdown last year, and now Nature. If you want to help, Medicins Sans Frontieres, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme are good places to start.

Thanks Greg, Kat and Perceval.

Quote of the Day:

"Please use your liberty to promote ours."

Aung San Suu Kyi

There's a fascinating article at Technology Review, by Nick Bostrom (previously known for his speculation that we are living in a simulation), titled "Where Are They? Why I hope the search for extraterrestrial life finds nothing." In the article, Bostrom argues that our failure (thus far) to find life on Mars might just be a good thing - because if life was prevalent throughout the cosmos, then the silence of ET civilisations suggests that the 'Great Filter' which stops civilisations from reaching a highly advanced stage might be ahead of us:

This would mean that some great improbability prevents almost all civilizations at our current stage of technological development from progressing to the point where they engage in large-scale space colonization. For example, it might be that any sufficiently advanced civilization discovers some technology -- perhaps some very powerful weapons technology -- that causes its extinction.

I don't agree with some of the logic in the argument, but all in all it's certainly a piece that gets you thinking - from issues to do with evolution and life's beginnings, through to techniques of space colonisation. And Bostrom's "Great Filter" is such an interesting topic, it may just become a catchphrase heard in many future dialogues about the possibility of alien life.