It's official. No such things as UFO's

[niallmac]

This UK study has apparently explained every sighting in the history of recorded time.
Strong work!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4981720.stm

[Solon]

1. I believe in UFOs as much as I believe in Strangers. n/t

[fearthem]

2. Sorry, I don't buy it -- personally saw one in Hawaii about 20 years ago.

[niallmac]

4. I thought the story so ludicrous I left out the sarcasm smiley.n/t

[Caution]

9. From the article and report

People who claim to have had a "close encounter" are often difficult to persuade that they did not really see what they thought they saw. The report offers a possible medical explanation.

"The close proximity of plasma related fields can adversely affect a vehicle or person," states the report.

"Local fields of this type have been medically proven to cause responses in the temporal lobes of the human brain. These result in the observer sustaining (and later describing and retaining) his or her own vivid, but mainly incorrect, description of what is experienced."

There are, of course, other causes of UFOs - aeroplanes with particularly bright lights, stray odd-shaped balloons and strange flocks of birds, to name but a few.

Yet, it will be difficult to convince everyone that there is a rational explanation for all mysterious movements in the sky.

Some UFO-spotters believe governments will always cover up the truth about UFOs, because they are afraid of admitting that there is something beyond their control.

[Garbo 2004]

37. "Plasma related fields?" What's that? What causes them? There are no

UFO's because plasma fields distort people's perceptions? That sounds more intriguing than UFO's. We shouldn't think that UFO's exist, but we should think that plasma fields exist in nature that render our perceptions unreliable and result in UFO sitings. This bears more investigating or at least elucidation.

I can see it now: both the Libby and Rove defense teams now will claim that they didn't lie, rather their "misperceptions" were caused by local plasma related fields which are often found to exist in Washington, D.C.

[Mojorabbit]

38. I saw one twenty five years ago

I'll never forget it. I know it sounds loopy but there it is.
On edit, my boyfriend at the time was with me and saw it too. We pulled off the road to watch it.

[KAT119]

41. Irrefutible evidence abounds!!

Go to http://www.disclosureproject.org

We need a few courageous Cabinet members to disclose the truth of UFO's before 'Butch' brings our house down!

We would have free energy, end of poverty worldwide-end of wars and hostile maddness-greed-dictatorships etc.etc.

Stephen Greer has written key books e.g "Disclosure", videos of press conferences w 400/ top military and airport personnel etc.

He has a new book out I've heard.

[kanrok]

3. Well that answers that.

I've never seen anything to make me think otherwise. I have spoken to otherwise sane and normal people who swear they have seen UFO's (and ghosts for that matter...another phenomenon that escaped my perception). It's not my place to judge. If people want to believe, then go at it. Until I see it for myself, I will remain skeptical. It would be interesting to see how many people at DU claim to have seen UFO's (and ghosts)though.

[fearthem]

7. Well, it wasn't just me , my son saw it as well as others reported..

sightings all over the island for a period of about three days; the Honolulu newspaper ran a story on it and the Navy and Marine bases said it wasn't one of their aircraft. All I know is what I saw and before that, I was a skeptic as well.

[movonne]

10. I have seen neither, but I believe all things are possible...I do believe

that there is life on other planets and could be far more advanced than we are (and looking around at this world that would not take much)..

[niallmac]

11. My stance exactly.

I have not personally experienced UFO's but I have heard enough to know I cannot discount the phenom at this point.
My closest encounter was an Air Force Major, family friend, who's squadron of F-15's took evasive action
in the presence of something strange enough to make them do so. Weeks later when I asked about the event he scowled and mumbled that he was
told by superiors it was a russian rocket booster re entering the atmosphere and that was all. He is a good soldier and just
didn't talk about it anymore. I really don't think F-15 pilots are that naive about the sky. I hope not.

[SoFlaJet]

12. I felt exactly

like you do-until I saw one with my own two eyes in November 1997-the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my 50 years on this planet.It was friggin' gigantic and made not a purr or whisper with lights that I can only describe as unearthly.There ARE no lights with the hue that this craft had.Needless to say-I am now a believer.

[JuniperLea]

20. My sister saw one and describes it just as you have

Huge, quiet, with lights she couldn't describe.

I took my kids to a park in Lomita, CA sometime in the early 80's. I was watching my sons climb, on all things, a spaceship shaped climbing apparatus. I noticed about a dozen round, white objects very high in the sky. Too high for birds, too static for balloons, moving nothing like airplanes. They moved around in the same spot, darting around, changing altitude and direction very quickly, for over an hour. Suddenly, they all darted off. The next day I read reports of UFO sightings in San Pedro, a neighboring city, which included police officers, teachers and students at the local high school.

It was in the paper... it must be true. Ha!

I'm open to the idea.

[fearthem]

23. That's the same description for my experience....

huge, quiet, lights; I can only add "hovering."

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. but, how do we explain Condi Rice? Tom DeLay? Doug Feith?

Come on, those POS are not human. There have to be aliens.

[CJCRANE]

8. Of course...

"they" want us to believe that aliens don't exist...because they rule the planet!!!

:tinfoilhat:

[onehandle]

6. I concur. The time and energy to get here would be a waste.

If other intelligent beings had the power and resources to get here, they wouldn't be low profile about it.

No UFOs have ever been here.

[JuniperLea]

15. I think your assumptions are... assumptions

Our power and resources are our own and may not be anything like what may be out there. Low profile? Would you make a "big scene" with idiots like Earthlings who are intent on blowing themselves up?

I think it arrogant and ignorant to assume that out of all the planets and solar systems in the world, that we are the only "intelligent" life form.

We don't know anything in our own world compared to what there is to know. To assume we know enough about the ENTIRE world to make such conclusive statements is absurd.

I wonder why the UK felt it necessary to release such a report right now.

[IChing]

24. why the UK felt it necessary

Computer Hacker and UFO coverup BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4715612.stm

[JuniperLea]

26. Interesting

Very. It's hard to know where to begin with this one. The main thing, I think, is that our government is inept. They can't even keep a "bumbling nerd" out of classified computer systems.

[librechik]

21. They are time machines=space machines

my theory is they only project a 3d sim of themselves into our world, a sim capable of collecting research, perhaps. That's why no evidence, and the sudden appearance/disappearance of certain types of UFO. They just wink out.

[Octafish]

35. Jacques Vallee theorizes interdimensional travel.

Like you, librechik, the reports indicated something more than simple vehicles. Vallee says he'd be disappointed if all they were turned out to be space travelers.

[Zodiak]

25. You cannot know that

Proving a negative is illogical.

[JuniperLea]

28. I think that's why the poster said it was his/her "theory"... n/t

[Zodiak]

30. I must've missed that

was it said upthread?

ON EDIT: I was responding to onehandle's assertion that no UFOs have ever been here.

The time machine hypothesis was intriguing, and did not prompt my reply.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

29. That assumes we know everything there is to know in the universe....

...is that what you're claiming?

[alarimer]

33. I believe there is a rational explanation for "UFO"s

They are simply unidentified. It requires no supernatural or alien explanation. Some atmospheric phenomenon, top secret aircraft, things like that. Read Carl Sagan or others on this issue. Anecdotal evidence does not constitute proof. Where is the proof? Some piece of a machine that is not of earth origin would help for starters. Don't give me the excuse "well the government has taken all the evidence". How convenient.

[OKNancy]

13. Please edit your post - subject line

to: UFO study finds no sign of aliens

LBN rules state the article title and subject line must match exactly.
Thank you

OKNancy
LBN Moderator

[niallmac]

46. Sorry. Too late to edit the post now I guess.

Thanks for reading the article though!

[Lerkfish]

14. actually, UFO's definitely and provably exist.

since UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object, even a frisbee qualifies until someone identifies it.

UFO has become colloquial for aliens, but in reality the term UFO is perfectly usable to label anything as yet unidentified, even if it is perfectly within the natural and scientific realm.

so, the assertion "no such things as UFOs" is patently false.

however, the assertion "no such things as aliens", while likely true as far as we know, it unprovable at the moment, because it would be proving a negative. Even if you debunk all such sightings, aliens could still exist regardless, but have never been properly sighted.

:shrug:

my own opinion is that the universe is too vast and diverse to assume life only exists on earth. Hell, for the matter, life on earth is constantly evolving and changing, so to limit life is short-sighted. LIfe will find a way under the right conditions, and the right conditions, statistically, have to exist on a myriad of planets.
Now, having said that, I have some trouble with the idea of aliens bothering visiting here. As the last 32% backwash republicans demonstrate, we aint the sharpest tools in the shed.

:)

[OKNancy]

16. Note :

that's why it's really important to have the subject line be the same as the article.
As you point out..the article does not say there is no such thing as Unidentified Flying Objects it says: UFO study finds no sign of aliens

[JuniperLea]

22. I think they are saying exactly that

The 400-page report puts it like this: "No evidence exists to suggest that the phenomena seen are hostile or under any type of control, other than that of natural physical forces."

Seems to me they are saying that there is nothing unidentified about them... they are the result of natural physical forces.

[Solon]

17. That's the reason for my first response...

Same justification for believing in UFOs, I don't know everyone on the planet personally, so I see strangers all the time, same as UFOs, don't know everything flying in the sky, so they are UFOs to me.

[JuniperLea]

18. Jimmy Carter saw one...

Many pilots have seen them...

I don't think we know enough to make any conclusive statements.

It is mathematically impossible to rule out the existence of other life forms in the world. And when we try, we generally do it in "Earthling" terms, which quite possibly have no bearing on the issue.

Some of the most intelligent people in the world believed in the possibility.

[Up2Late]

19. If UFO don't exist, then where're all these Illegal Aliens coming from?

Answer me that, Mr Smarty pants! :sarcasm:

Illegal Aliens GO HOME! E.T. GO HOME!

[zalinda]

27. I've seen a few UFO's

Once in the early 60's when we were ice skating late at night, I saw 2 lights in the sky. There was not a sound, and the lights were close together like car headlights and about the same size as if the car was parked a block away. It didn't scare me, I had just read an article about a flying car, and thought that maybe that's what it was. Okay, I was like 11 or so, so I thought it was possible. I still remember the night night though.

Then in the 70's I saw a light in the distance that started mid-sky and then went down below the horizon of the buildings. The strange thing was they way it disappeared. It flew right, then down, then right, then down, then right, then down and so on until it went behind the building. I don't know about any of you, but I have never seen or read about any air craft that could do that.

There have been a few other things, but those 2 still stand out after all these years.

zalinda

[tiredofbush_co.]

31. absurd to think otherwise

I really find it absurd that someone can even fathom that we are alone in this universe. I cannot even wrap my mind around how big this universe actually is. Let alone the theory that we (humans) were the only ones who happened to develop. Not possible.

I personally have not seen any (that I know of.) But I am a pilot working on getting commercial rating. We are told(not officially)that if we do see something report it to ATC (Air traffic Control) and move on with your life. Who knows what happens with the info then. It is not looked kindly upon by airlines if pilots go out into the public talking about what they see int he skies. Especially if it happens to do with UFOs.

Certainly, some kind of alien life form is visiting us. Who, what, or why is a question that will be answered eventually I would assume. But when it comes to our lovely government, I fear they know as little as we do.

[newyawker99]

42. Hi tiredofbush_co!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Gidney N Cloyd]

32. Works for me.

[Octafish]

34. So. They've identified Them?

Photo by Rex Heflin. Please note how the object seems to disturb the ground directly underneath.

http://www.scientificexploration.org/jse/abstracts/v14n4a4.php

[rocktivity]

36. And they've felt the need to keep this secret because...?

This report could have put the end to the argument six years ago. Why NOT make it public--why continue to keep us in dark it they believe UFOs are a hoax?

:shrug:
rocknation

[Jade Fox]

39. Do you WANT me to zap you with my killer eye-beam rays?

I can do it right through the computer, you know.;)

[FearofFutility]

40. Does anyone remember the UFO sighting

in Colorado sometime in the 1990's. Tons of people saw it and it was covered by the today show. All people interviewed saw the exact same thing. It scared the crap out of me.

[incapsulated]

43. I saw something in Florida many years ago...

That would be very difficult to explain and I've looked for explanations.

Unless someone can tell me what small but clear object in the sky can fly at great speed in many directions including vertical straight to horizontal.

Honestly, if it was something I don't understand, I'm willing to be educated.

[Kailassa]

44. If there was no such thing as alien space-craft,

why would governments care whether or not we believed they exist.

When is the last time a government issued a statement proving the non-existance of the mole people?

I have no time for belief either way, all that matters here is experience and evidence. But the regular government denials do more to convince me that such things may exist than all the reports of sightings do.

[niallmac]

45. Oh how damned funny! That is a great post!

Why oh why indeed!?
:rofl: :rofl:

[caty]

47. How do they explain pictures of UFOs drawn in caves many

centuries ago? And, paintings that were painted with UFOs in them that are also centuries old.

[Guy Fawkes]

48. Is it just me, or does this look like a lamp?

[anarch]

49. yeah, it does

I thought the caption was pretty funny, though..."some sightings may be attributed to meteors" and we get this picture? Are they just taking the piss out of the report, or what?

[Nikia]

50. I had been told a second hand account

In which the person saw an object commonly termed "UFO" and bodies of what were believed to be aliens in a government facility.
My neighbors in junior high were also allegedly abuducted by aliens, although they were both drunk at the time.