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by Clark C. McClelland, former ScO, Space Shuttle Fleet, Kennedy Space Center, Florida (1958-1992) Artist credit of eyewitness account: R. Schmidt Prior to the fateful launch of the space shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986, I had the honour and pleasure of sharing conversations with several members of that crew. During one of many pre-mission preps for the Challenger mission, I came upon Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at launch complex 39. I had an assignment to assess some problems at the Launch Control Center (LCC) and needed to access the main drawing files. A file operator was there and I went to her for assistance. Ellison walked in on our conversation and we exchanged greetings. Jokingly, I asked him if he had important business with her, and he said "yes, Clark" with a big smile. I told her to help Lt. Colonel Ellison first, and I would wait. She opened a plastic bag that had a packet of goodies for this very important customer. Ellison "loved" those chocolate-peanut butter brownies that she baked for him when he was at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on training assignments. Many astronauts at the KSC knew of my interest in the study of possible Extraterrestrial (ET) intelligence, and my association with Major Donald Keyhoe, Dick Hall and the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP since 1958), and the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), at Cape Canaveral and KSC. Another evening while off-site, I once again accidentally came upon Ellison. He asked if I could give him an opinion regarding a topic that was sparking his curiosity. Ellison had a great interest in ET life and asked me my belief concerning aliens, and if I believed they have been here on earth? His question caught me by surprise. As we walked slowly towards our destinations, I briefly explained what I had learned since 1947, the initial year I entered my UFO research. I briefly related what I knew regarding the Roswell case and that I had become more aware of it many years later at the Cape through several discussions with ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency) personnel who were at White Sands Proving Grounds near Roswell, New Mexico in July, 1947. These men had worked directly with Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team of German Scientists who were at that base at that time. Onizuka said he was aware of that case. I then told him my belief that life does exist among the stars and that it has visited earth throughout human history. He smiled in agreement. I thought to myself, what else does he know? Soon it became very clear. Onizuka asked me if my surname had any connection with McClellan Air Force Base in California? I said not as far as I was aware. I asked him why? Ellison said he had a surprising experience along with other USAF aerospace flight engineers and pilots while on military training duty at McClellan AFB, about eight or nine years prior to his astronaut training. He and this group were at this base for specialized training when they were directed to report to a viewing room. As they were seated, the room darkened and a movie began without the usual official introduction by a USAF officer. They were all startled when a view of a facility similar to a medical examination room appeared on the screen and small bodies were observed lying on slabs. He heard several excited comments by the other officers seated near him. The small, strange looking creatures were humanoid in shape, and appeared similar to those described by alleged witnesses at the well-known Roswell site in the Southwest USA in 1947. They all had large heads, large eyes, slight torsos, arms, and legs. They did not appear to be of earthly origin. Ellison then said, " Clark, my God, these highly trained officers and I were shocked by what we saw. We were not made privy to what we would see until it happened. We were all caught off guard. Perhaps it was a test of our psyche to determine our overall reaction. Well, we were all caught by surprise ". Needless to say, I was also caught off guard hearing this revelation from a highly intelligent USAF officer and NASA astronaut. One who flew his initial space mission 51-C in the space shuttle Discovery a highly classified U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) mission under top secret conditions. It made me wonder what else Ellison knew, or perhaps had seen, during his first shuttle mission and USAF career? I said "that’s amazing, Ellison! Were all of you given any opportunity to question what you saw?" He said, "No! We were then asked to exit the room and continued our scheduled technical activities as if nothing special had occurred. In my opinion, I have considered the possibility that the group was evaluated for individual reactions to what they saw. Perhaps it was a planned USAF psychological test for military reasons. Who knows, NASA may have evaluated it in my selection as an astronaut in 1978. You know, what would my reaction be if I actually saw an alien being"? We arrived at our separate building destinations and briefly discussed his approaching second space mission in Challenger 51-L. He said he was anticipating a successful flight with Judy Resnik, Christa McAuliffe, and crew. I asked if we could discuss this topic again; and he agreed. Unknown to us both, this would be the last time we would speak. He, Judy, Christa and the other crew members would be making their final mission on January 28, 1986. I was at the Kennedy Space Center and watched in disbelief as they and space shuttle Challenger fell into the Atlantic Ocean. Upon leaving KSC for the night after being on duty for about 15 hours, I was driving home to my Port St. John Apartment when the disaster finally caught up with my emotions. I pulled to the side of the main NASA causeway crossing the Indian River and sobbed my eyes out for about ten minutes. God, how horrible it was, and still is to this day, in my memory. God bless you Judy Resnik, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Gregory Jarvis and Ronald McNair. Thank you God for the honour of knowing all of them. And, please, if you would - - - make sure Ellison gets those chocolate-peanut butter brownies up there in heaven.
source and references: http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2007/08/29/01731.html |
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Yet again, a photo of an object that was not seen at the time of the taking of the picture, even though I had scanned the sky well when I took the shot. There were no birds, planes, or other objects visible in that portion of the sky at that moment.
The picture was taken at 1:25 pm, 8/29/07, facing south. Family and friends were at the local city park for my daughter's sixth birthday and I thought the clouds were lovely, so I took this shot. I think it bears a strong resemblance to a previous photo I sent you, now archived in UFO Casebook Magazine #266. And as well the one in Issue #260! I wonder if these events are random, or perhaps attached to some aspect of my consciousness. My previous photos have involved strong intent, and intuitional hunches. I wonder if this photo-sighting could be associated with the intensity of this day. Not only was it my daughter's birthday, but in the late evening her grandfather moved on after a battle with Pancreatic cancer. I downloaded the photo into my computer and noticed the object a couple of hours after receiving the news. Thank you again for keeping the disclosure ball rolling B J! Love, Blessings, and Abundance, Frank W. Dunlap Shaman/Chef Talent, OR
source and references:
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The first report to come to my attention came from UFO Casebook Forum member, MikeyBlitz of Great Notley, Essex, who, along with a friend, reported a fleet of unidentified flying objects. Below is a photograph of the objects taken by MikeyBlitz.
The very next day, I received a report from Richard from the Netherlands, who reported that "The same objects were seen over Hoogkerk in the Netherlands on the evening of Sunday, August 26, at 21:40. We got the report from a man via a newspaper from Groningen.
I just put the report on the website www.niburu.nl and saw the Essex report on Ufocasebook when I was checking some facts. I was shocked. This is no coincidence. Compare the pictures… they are the same objects. Below find the photograph of this sighting." 
The Casebook Forum began investigating the sighting, and I received the following information from Forum member castles4me.
I found these other sightings that were similar to the Essex and Netherland sighting -- also on Mikey's thread, check it out, we have pretty much proved that the Netherland photo is identical to the Essex photo.
I was checking some other UFO sites for corroborating sightings. Found these that were interesting all at ufoinfo.com
August 26th 2007 : Capel, Western Australia http://ufoinfo.com/sightings/australia/070826.shtml UFOINFO Sighting Form Report Location: Capel Western Australia Date: 1:20am 26/08/2007 Approach Direction: west Departure Direction: west Witness Direction: south east Description: saw a bright star like object moving ahead of a pack of other star like objects all moving together approx 20 in total was not satellites looked like swarm of birds flying together Color/Shape: bright star like leader with other more faint star like Height & Speed: out of atmosphere August 24th 2007 : Lausanne, Lake Geneva UFOINFO Sighting Form Report Location: Lausanne, Lake Geneva, Switzerland Date: 08/24/2007 11:55pm local time Approach Direction: moving slightly from west to south southeast Departure Direction: south southeast Witness Direction: south Description: From within Lausanne, watched 10-17 (depends on which photo I'm post-checking on) round orange lights move in sky - movement was not synchronized - from west to, what at the moment was east. Appeared to initially be over Lake Geneva in the direction of the moon. Objects faded from view, presumably moving to the south southeast. Total sighting time was at least 20 minutes, but objects left view one by one. This seems very similar to the sighting dated July 22, 2006 reported by another eyewitness. Color/Shape: orange lights, round Height & Speed: at minimum 3000 meters above seas level, as they were over Chablais Alps across Lake Geneva TV/Radio/Press: no, but many on the street also saw this... I will keep up to date if in the news on Monday. See Switzerland photo below:
August 26th 2007 : Benfleet, Essex, England UFOINFO Sighting Form Report Location: benfleet essex south east england Date: 26/08/2007 21:00 - 22:00 Approach Direction: from southend to the north Departure Direction: benfleet to north Witness Direction: facing southend Description: 50 plus bright orange objects/lights slow moving. groups of 10-14 at a time. Looking like the objects were moving upwards. Color/Shape: orange objects (we have photos) Height & Speed: 2000 feet TV/Radio/Press: dont know August 27th 2007 : Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England UFOINFO Sighting Form Report Location: Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK Date: 08/27/07 22.05 GMT Approach Direction: From North East Departure Direction: To South West Witness Direction: South Description: Whilst sitting in my back garden star watching after a BBQ, I saw approximately 20 small mettalic grey objects in V formation moving quickly across the sky silently. They had a very feint glow. This could have been caused by moonlight as it was practically a full moon. My first impression was they were a flock of migrating birds but the objects were not moving relative to each other and held a straight V formation, and didnt see any flapping of wings. More significantly these "birds" were very quick and had straight edges. I called my partner out from the conservatory to see them, pointing at them, and she confirmed the sighting, describing them as approx 15 to 20 small silent planes in formation. The Duration of the sighting was approximately 4 seconds, the objects covering approximately a third of the night sky in that time. My garden has tall trees either side so the rest of the night sky is obscured. We have had many reports of UFOs in south bucks local press recently which I had put down to UFO balloons or sky lanterns, but having released these personally in the past, I can confirm these objects were quicker a different colour and shape, and nothing like them. I would be very interested if any one else saw something similar. Color/Shape: Grey Mettalic, Slight glow. Height & Speed: Difficult to judge, Would say low below 1 mile in height, speed faster than a plane.
Then, on August 31, I received another report from Essex with photograph, from my good friend, Sam, of www.alienationsam.com, who supplied this report.
Second Witness to Essex Sighting Comes Forward Written by Sam Willey You may remember our report on the Essex Fleet Sighting well it seems that there was a second witness to this extraordinary event. I had not checked my emails for around 4 days and when I looked I noticed a message sent to me on August 27th 2007 by someone from Essex who saw presumably the exact same fleet of objects witnessed by Mike Blitz. Here is the message I received from Stan Redman about what he and his wife Denise saw: "At 9:05 on Sunday 27th August (yesterday) my wife looked out of the window and saw a couple of orange balls in the sky. She called me to look at them. By the time I got to the window I could see about a dozen and counting. We ran outside to get a better look and by the time we got outside the sky was full of them moving south to north in a wide band before gathering at a point in the sky and then ascending at a phenomenal speed out of the atmosphere. Over a twenty five minute period there must have been hundreds of them in a constant stream. I have a Minolta Dimage Z3 camera with 10xOptical zoom and I took a lot of pictures which I am having analysed at the moment. I have attached one of them to this mail. This picture shows my hedge and lamppost in the foreground and the formation of orange globes ascending. I have some camera shake as I was excited and nervous but I hope I can have them authenticated in the near future. I have some unbelievable shots but I am having them watermarked before posting them to newsrooms." I would like to thank Mr. Redman for kindly emailing me his report along with a photograph Alienationsam.com will try to gain more photographs for posting. http://www.alienationsam.com/news/2007/essexsighting2.html See photograph below:
Here is an enhanced, close-up comparison of the four photographs...
Keep in mind, that there are factors that alter the photographs as far as being compared: distance from objects, atmospheric conditions such as clarity, and moonlight, type of camera used, and its settings.
source and references:
UFO Casebook Forum member-MikeyBlitz
UFO Casebook Forum member-castles4me
Richard-www.niburu.nl
www.ufoinfo.com
www.alienationsam.com
www.ufocasebook.com
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Mystery solved! The strange lights spotted in the north Essex skies at the weekend were sky lanterns released at a wedding, it was confirmed today.
Stapleford Abbotts firm SkyLanterns.com said it was hired by a bride and groom to launch the miniature hot air balloons at a reception held at Crabbs Barn in Kelvedon.
The venue is a stone's throw from the A12, where dozens of motorists stopped to gaze heavenwards after spotting them hovering above the road on Sunday night.Company boss Grant Barry said the floating illuminations, a feature of celebrations for centuries in China, were increasingly in demand for weddings and parties in the UK. Some readers who contacted the Gazette about the lanterns raised fears they could be a fire risk, especially if they landed on thatched roofs. But Mr Barry said "a little common sense" was enough to prevent accidents with the devices, which are created by placing lighted candles inside fire-resistant plastic bags. Gazette reader Stan Redman contacted us via our i-witness section with pictures of the mysterious lights over the A12. He wrote: "I witnessed the orange balls over a 25-minute period starting at 9:05pm on Sunday evening. There were several hundred (maybe more) over this period. The balls were traveling south to north before accumulating at a point in the sky then turning east and ascending rapidly. They appeared to be travelling slowly, however, two aircraft appeared to be circling the phenomenon and this allowed me to judge the speed and altitude a bit better. They were travelling faster than the aircraft and at a much higher altitude. I captured several photos of the lights with a digital camera. The pictures suffer from camera shake so are not perfect. On one picture you can see my hedge and lamppost which gives some perspective and the objects starting their ascent one at a time. On the second picture I captured what appeared to be a bolt of lightning." 2:31pm Tuesday 28th August 2007
source and references: http://www.essexcountystandard.co.uk/news/iwitness/iwitnessnews/display.var.1647673.0.north_essex_ufos_were_definitely_lanterns.php |
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Actor Keanu Reeves signs for sci-fi remake 27 August 2007-Robert Wise’s sci-fi classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still, is next to be pushed headfirst into the big Hollywood remake blender. The 1951 tale of first contact is up for a contemporary retelling using the wonders of Technicolor and CGI, and who better to take on extra terrestrial duties than Keanu Reeves, star of one of the most successful science fiction franchises of all time? Taking over from Michael Rennie, Reeves is to star as Klaatu, the alien envoy who foolishly emerges from his spaceship to talk to the assembled American military without first deploying some clever alien shield. Predictably, one of Uncle Sam’s finest responds by putting a bullet in him (a mere fleshwound, but still) and ticking off Gort, the all-powerful robot enforcer who can melt tanks with a nod of his domed head. It might seem like a rather odd bit of casting (surely someone like David Strathairn would be way cooler), but then remaking the film in the first place is rather curious from the get-go. Throwing unwarranted CGI at a film like this seems like the recipe for an Independence Day clone - which is good or bad depending on your point of view and/or age. Either way, Scott Derrickson, all eyes are now upon you. James Dyer
source and references: http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=21008 |
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7th August 1968-Only seven years after the Betty and Barney Hill abduction, the New England states would again host an alien abduction. Buff Ledge Camp in Vermont would be the site of a visitation by four UFOs which would appear, make revolutionary aerial maneuvers, and alter the lives of at least two young people. Buff Ledge was a girls camp located north of Burlington on Lake Champlain. During their tenure as summer camp employees, Michael Lapp, a sixteen year old maintenance man, and 19 year old water ski instructor Janet Cornell were relaxing at a boat dock on a slack day. On this particular August afternoon, the swim team had a made a trip to Burlington to compete in a meet, and the camp was virtually deserted. Late in the afternoon, the two friends were enjoying the view of the sun setting over the water, when a bright light appeared in the darkening sky.
At first, Michael thought they were being treated to a beautiful, close up view of the planet Venus. All of a sudden, the glowing light began to move downward, and ever closer to Michael and Janet. The object, at first a round glow, now began to flatten out as it came even closer. Michael shouted, "Wow! Venus is falling." As the two steadfastly watched the light, three smaller lights seemed to drop from the larger one, which quickly moved up and disappeared from sight. The three smaller objects began to move over the lake. They were obviously under intelligent control. The objects put on a show for Michael and Janet, doing zigzag maneuvers, loops, and then descended like falling leaves. The three objects now moved even closer to the two baffled teenagers. After forming a triangle, two of the objects pulled back. Michael would later recall a sound "like a thousand tuning forks" when the two left the third craft alone. The one remaining UFO passed over Michael and Janet, then shot upward and momentarily disappeared. It very soon reappeared, tilted to one side, and dropped into the lake. A couple of minutes seemed to pass before the object reemerged from the water, and began gliding straight toward them! The object was now close enough to see a transparent dome occupied by two childlike creatures. Michael would describe the beings as having elongated necks, big heads, and no hair. Their eyes were also large, and extended around the side of their heads. Michael began to sense a kind of mental communication with the two beings. Watching them intently, Michael slapped his knee, and to his surprise, one of the occupants mimicked his movement. The craft now moved directly overhead, and shot a beam at Michael and Janet. Grabbing Janet's shoulder, Michael pulled both of them on their backs on the dock. Suddenly, Michael was overcome with the fear of being kidnapped. He remembers screaming, "We don't want to go!" The light from the beam was so bright that Michael recalls being able to see the bones in his hand, like an X-ray. The two teenagers both later related that the beam had a "liquid" feeling to it, and gave them the sense of free floating. Their next conscious thoughts would be that of staring at the object again from the dock. The sky was now totally black, and Michael wondered how long he had been in this one spot. Looking at Janet, he could see that she was in a trancelike state; drowsy and disoriented. They now heard the welcome sounds of the swim team returning from their meet in Burlington. The UFO now moved upward into the black sky, flashed its light beam repeatedly, and then vanished from sight. Strangely, Michael and Janet did not discuss what had happened to them, not now, and not for the next couple of weeks, when camp season ended. Maybe the strange things they had seen over the lake this evening were just optical illusions. Maybe they weren't. After their summer camp jobs were over, Michael and Janet went their separate ways. During the next five years, Michael rarely thought about that night. But in time, he began to have disturbing dreams...dreams about being kidnapped; abducted...against his will. The dreams would come... like they did... then the dreams would vanish...like they did. It would be ten years after his harrowing experience that Michael made a decision to contact the Center for UFO Studies, and search for answers. Investigator Walter Webb was assigned to the case, and after hearing Michael's story, suggested regressive hypnosis to help rid him of his emotional strife and the frightening dreams. During Michael's hypnosis, he vividly recalled his experiences on that night in August 1968. He remembered how the beam of light lifted him into the crafts interior; how he entered a bigger craft, and how he saw Janet lying on a table being examined. The small beings shined a light into her eyes, scraped her skin, and took fluids from her body. "The aliens all looked alike, Michael recalled, and had those large eyes, a mouth without lips, no ears, and two small openings for a nose." Michael also described the beings as having three pointed, web-like digits for fingers, and their bodies felt "damp and clammy." The aliens related to Michael that their mission was to "make life like ours...other places." Janet also underwent the regression, and her descriptions only went to verify Michael's. She recalled feeling "cold" on the examining table, with something "pulling her hair and pinching her neck." The abduction of Michael Lapp and Janet Cornell certainly falls within the general pattern of abductions reported by many others. To confirm the facts of their fantastic story, Webb located several other members of the camp who had witnessed the strange lights over Lake Champlain the very night of the abduction! Two other employees reported a similar experience which had occurred earlier that same summer, when they observed unidentified flying objects hovering over the lake for about twenty minutes. Although Michael and Janet's experience was not reported for ten years after the fact, it is still a well documented case of alien abduction. author, B. J. Booth sources: WEBB, Walter N.: Encounter at Buff Ledge, 1994.
(last update, 08-30-07)
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