Thursday, July 29, 2010

Spain: The Verb "Abducir" is Now Official





Spain's Diccionario de la Real Academia Española (the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, or DRAE, as it is sometimes called) has taken a further step into the 21st century by formally accepting the verb "abducir" (to abduct) into the Spanish language.

"The verb to abduct," states an entry in Spain's Onda Cero blog, "was made fashionable by television series such as "The X-Files" and has made a space for itself in the dictionary. One can be abducted by an "alleged extraterrestrial creature" or an excellent writer may "abduct readers with his/her novels."

Last decade, controversy swept across Spanish ufological circles when the DRAE included the word "ufología" (ufology) into its hallowed pages, defining it as "Simulacro de investigación científica basado en la creencia de que ciertos objetos voladores no identificados son naves espaciales de procedencia extraterrestre" that is to say, "A pretense of scientific investigation based on the belief that certain unidentified flying objects are spaceships of extraterrestrial origin."

So we welcome "abducir" to the pages of the Royal Academy's dictionary with a glass of the finest intoxicant from Zeta Reticuli. ¡Salud!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Peru: Alleged UFO Photographed Over Pacopampa

INEXPLICATA readers aren't fond of photographs of "blurfos", but here's one from Perú. According to Argentina's Contexto website, Elmer Burga, a researcher with the "Asoprovida" UFO group, has presented a photo -- taken a year earlier -- of an unusual object flying over Pacopampa in the department of Cajamarca.

According to Burga, the photographer was shooting the landscape in an effort to find "significant environmental changes" due to local mining operations. Upon downloading the digital files to the computer, an unusual object was clearly visible:

http://www.contexto.com.ar/uploads/2010/07/27//size1_18786_ovni.jpg

A bird in flight? A spot on the camera lens? Visitors from another world? You decide.

Argentina: A Possible UFO Landing?




Our colleague Luis Burgos of Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía reports that two of his organizations members -- Nelson Polanco and Nahuel Jaramillo -- have discovered "a new and probable UFO landing site in La Plata" and gives us this photographs of a UFO sighting over Carhué. More information on the possible CE-2 will be provided as the investigation progresses.

Argentina: The Lagoon Creature









































The Lagoon Creature: A Unique Argentinean Photo?
By Luis Burgos – Fundacion Argentina de Ovnilogia

From the days of the legendary Kappas, the “cane field beings” mentioned in Oriental writings down to the numerous events in which similar entities have been seen prowling Argentinean lakes, the constant remains the same: Water. It should suffice to recall the “suspected” case involving Wilfredo Arevalo in Lago Argentino (Santa Cruz) in the early days of ufology (1950) or the strange visitor of Villa Carlos Paz (Cordoba) in the vicinity of Lago San Roque (1968) or the famous and controversial Balvidares case (1973) in a lagoon at General Pinto, Buenos Aires Province, or even the startling manifestation of a tall entity to fishermen (1978) at Dique La Florida (San Luis), or the contact experience of Fermin Sayago (1980) in Santa Rosa (La Pampa) or the humanoid chase experienced by Modesto Coleman (1992) around Laguna del Pescado in Victoria (Entre Rios), to begin to understand that the reality of strange beings associated with water, as shown by the case histories, surpasses any sort of speculation.

In early 2008, when the country was about to undergo a massive UFO wave -- foretold by this author by means of the Decimal Hypothesis, tallying 550 reports through that year, a figure that cannot be questioned – a member of FAO had a unique experience at Laguna del Monte, located 140 kilometers southwest of the city of Buenos Aires. A place known for water sports and fishing, this body of water is a mecca for tourists, especially in the summer. This is where Nelson Rocha Polanco, his sister Rossana Rocha and their friend Nora decided to go. Once settled in, they got their fishing tackle together. It was a summery evening, January 29, 2008, and there weren’t many people using the campgrounds. Around 23:30 hours, they saw a strange source of light in the center of the lagoon, resembling flashes.

Minutes later, their astonishment increased considerably when they saw a sort of “luminous silhouette” suspended over that sector of the lagoon. It vanished later on. The three vacationers throughout the night and into the following day remarked upon this unusual event. Even so, Nelson Polanco spoke with the campground’s watchman, but was unable to find any corroborating witnesses.

The surprises continued on the next evening. Rossana walked way to locate a fishing line among the reeds, and her screams alerted Nelson and Rosa: a luminous, spherical white object, making no noise whatsoever and small in size, hurtled against her, nearly driving her into a state of shock. Polanco himself managed to see the object as it flew at low altitude, hugging the shoreline. This event, along with the previous evening’s events, hastened the group’s departure from Laguna del Monte.

Mr. Ivan D., 38, a resident of southern Greater Buenos Aires, in the district of Almirante Brown, owns a business in Capital Federal, and he commutes daily. One day in May 2010, he contacted this author to provide an unusual item in his possession: the alleged photo of an ET. In this state of affairs, and as is our custom, we offered to have our experts analyze the photo and dispel any doubts. Thus, Patricio Barrancos contacted the experiencer and received the material for study. According to Ivan D.’s story, on March 14, 2010, during Holy Week, he decided to spend that time with his family at Laguna del Monte. He headed for that destination with his wife Vanina, his two small boys, 2 and 8 respectively, and the rest of the family – a total of eight. Once settled beside the lagoon, he took several photos with his digital camera.

Between 14:00 and 16:00 hours that afternoon, he took several shots of the landscape and his family. The only thing that Ivan D. found unusual that afternoon was an “unusual roiling of the waters” not very far from the shore, taking place under a considerable dark cloud covering that part of the lagoon.

After returning home, he checked the photos taken that day on his computer. The photo taken of his 8-year-old son at 15:56 hours – who cannot be seen, as the boy darts behind a tree – leaves him bewildered. A strange and enigmatic silhouette – with no human characteristics – “appears” on the lagoon’s edge at a certain distance from the family group and to the left of the image. He reaches his own conclusions, certain that whatever it is, it isn’t a “normal” person. After reviewing the material, out of all the photos taken that afternoon, it is the only one that reveals the strange figure.

Therefore, any research on the photo was from this moment onwards in the hands of experts. The first study was performed by Patricio Barrancos and the second by Jorge Figueras, both with FAO (Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogia). The photo in question stood up to the efforts of both analysts.

Let us see the conclusions reached by Figueiras on the photo: the image is correct. The silhouette is visible in both thumbnails, and thumbnails cannot be hoaxed. The initial analysis by Patricio Barrancos is flawless and nothing further can be done, as the contour of the photo is “burned” by glare.

It is possible to create a hoax with “a cardboard or wood silhouette, or something similar, but the problem is the glare. It could also be done with mirrors reflecting sunlight on the figure and against the last tree. The problem is that this effect can be achieved with a minimum of three large mirrors (since the tree cannot be hoaxed – it is quite real). All of this requires tremendous ingenuity (worthy of Steven Spielberg) and adding ideal elements. Furthermore, if someone had created such a scene at the lagoon, it would have been in all of the country’s TV channels and newspapers, telling the story of how the apparition was added to the photo or else used to lend weight to the case...I am saying that it can be done, but I don’t think that someone has the ingenuity, elements and desire to do such a thing. And if we find someone with a similar notion, it would be someone able to do it on a computer, and would avoid such efforts. Nor has it been made by a computer. The image is clean and lacks any traces of editing. Furthermore, we have the two thumbnails in the photograph’s code, and these cannot be tampered with.”

The strange entity – with anthropomorphic outlines and apparently tall stature, according to the distance calculations in the image – falls into the classification of Grey entities. Loathsome aspect, triangular head and prominent eyes. A curious cloudiness, in this case, surrounds the upper part of its head, or else is emanating from the creature itself. The absence of a neck is very noticeable, almost as if separated from the head. In its left hand it gives the appearance of carrying something fastened to its body, around the waistline, and its clothing resembles a diving suit that sags around the knees. According to the location on the photo, the intruder was either in the water or above it, and was looking at the witness himself – that is to say, Ivan – as the photo was being taken.

The witness’s reliability, plus the contributions made by both experts, lend authenticity to the photographic material, making it a relevant case in National Ufology. A series of personal situations experienced by Ivan himself after the photo was taken, which are common to those who have had close encounters of the third kind, even if in this case only a photograph was involved, have kept this case open and in a state of active investigation on our part.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Guillermo Gimenez, Planeta UFO)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Venezuela: Luminous UFO Over Western Caracas

Source: Ovnivenezuela
Date: 07-21-2010


Venezuela: Luminous UFO Over Western Caracas

Caracas, 21-07-2010. Between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20, several people witnessed the dizzying flight of an alleged luminous flying object, of strange appeareance and behavior, from various parts of Caracas.

According to a telephone report from one witness, who did not disclose her identity perhaps due to the brevity of the sighting, her own excitement or fear, the UFO was "circular and and issued a reddish-yellow light that covered it completely, increasing and diminishing by intervals."

The UFO, which appeared to be over the western sector of the city, "not very high up in the sky" was seen with a certain degree of difficulty due to the cloudiness that covered that part of the airspace, "but the intensity of its light kept us from losing it from sight."

She said that only a few minutes after catching the attention of those who passed through the area at that precise moment, the UFO "took a downward boost and then shot upward", vanishing before their eyes.

"I don't know what it is, but a commercial or military aircraft doesn't behave like that, clearly," she said excitedly.

From Plaza de la Concordia, also in the capital city's central area, Luis Maureira reported seeing a similar phenomenon at approximately the same time, but from his own home and in the company of his spouse. The object, he explained, had a "reddish cast" and looked like "a large star".

There have been no reports of photos or video evidence. There are no airport reports on irregularities. According to a report from the deck personnel and duty team at the Maiqueta Airport control tower, no incidents or aerial anomalies were reported at the time.

Airport officials explained that a luminous phenomenon would not have been recorded, given that the radar systems employed only detect the presence of metallic bodies. Furthermore, their visibility reaches a 360º angle from their location in the state of Vargas, extending to the Tacagua Range in western Caracas, far from the place where the sighting occurred. Airport runway personnel did not report any irregularities either.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Hector Escalante, Ovnivenezuela)

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Uruguay: Strange Object Photographed During Parade



Source: Diario El Pais
http://www.elpais.com.uy/100721/pciuda-503130/ciudades/fuerza-aerea-investiga-foto-de-ovni-tomada-durante-la-caravana-celeste
Date: 07-21-2010

Uruguay: Strange Object Photographed During Soccer Parade

Fan Took Photo from Avenida Libertador

The Uruguayan Air Force is currently analyzing an image depicting a strange object in the sky during the welcoming ceremony for the Uruguayan soccer team on Tuesday, July 13. The photo was taken on Avenida Libertador.
“Since the bus that carried the players was passing by my workplace, I went out for a few minutes to welcome them and take a few photos. I took some photos of them and before leaving, I took a few panoramic shots of Avenida Libertador, because it was truly impressive to see so many people in one place, celebrating. At night, when I downloaded them to my computer, I saw that there was a strange dot in the sky in one photo. When I enhanced it, I saw that the dot was semicircular in shape and had several orbs underneath it,” the author of these images to EL PAIS, preferring not to disclose their name.

The Air Force, through the Comisión Receptora e Investigadora de Denuncias de Objetos Voladores No Identificados (CRIDOVNI) received the image yesterday for analysis and to determine whether the “spot” may be an actual UFO.

Coronel Arial Sanchez, the Comission’s director, told El Pais that no anomalies were recorded on July 13 in the national airspace, which was “very controlled” due to the fact that jet fighters belonging to the Air Force participated in the Uruguayan soccer team’s festivities. In any event, Sanchez says that a scientific investigation will be carried out with Air Force professionals and that the endeavor will yield precise data on the provenance of said object.

“We have never dismissed the extraterrestrial hypothesis, but we also know that they could be physical particles or luminous manifestations,” acknowledges the colonel.

The Air Force analyzes an average of four photos per month, showing strange objects. At least three monthly reports are received from people who claim having seen a UFO. “There are some images that do not merit an analysis, because information is missing or because an insect or bird is readily seen in the photo. The photo or video is not a determining factor in any case, rather, simply a contribution, as there currently exists the potential to make hoaxes.” CRIDOVNI has analyzed 2100 cases in the past thirty years, and no explanation was found for 40 of them. “We have found truly strange objects, especially those reported by pilots or observers.”

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Guillermo Gimenez)

Dim All The Lights: UFOs and Blackouts















Dim All The Lights: UFOs and Blackouts
By Scott Corrales

Summer can be the cruelest season when the mercury soars past the hundred degree mark and the nights are almost just as hot. Without an electric fan or air conditioner, sleep can be reduced to an incessant tossing and turning. The Spanish town of Bollullos (Huelva) was certainly a perfect example of this unrelenting heat in the month of July 1975, when what little relief offered by mechanical cooling devices was interrupted by a sudden, unexpected blackout.

The power outage had occurred at eleven o'clock in the evening, prompting locals to look out their windows for a possible explanation. Three local youths had gone to the movie theater in search of some relief from the heat, only to find their enjoyment interrupted by the blackout. With nothing left to do, the dejected trio returned home, only to have a startling encounter with the unexplained.

Francisco Esquivel, Diego Sanchez and Diego Salas suddenly became aware of a strange yellow ball of light at the edge of the road--the only source of light amid the surrounding darkness. It appeared to be hovering above the power lines.

Cautiously, the driver slowed down to allow his vehicle to coast gently past the unknown object. In a newspaper interview with Spanish journalist J.J. Benítez, Francisco, the driver, said that the object's fuselage shone with a metallic sheen, surrounded by an aura of bright white light. He added that he felt the strange presence was "trying to drive them away" by hurling flashes of light in their direction.

This did nothing to allay his curiosity: Francisco got out of his car to take a closer look. Just as he did so, the high voltage lines began producing a shower of sparks. Fear gripped the driver and his friends, and they sped away from the area even as their car's engine began to sputter and die. Running into town in a panic, they told anyone who listened what they had seen: a UFO had been responsible power outage.

The Great Northeastern Blackout

One of the earliest factual cases of UFO interference with the flow of electricity to our residential areas occurred in November 1953, a football-sized UFO stormed down from the heavens over New Haven, Connecticut. The mini-UFO proceeded to smash through a billboard close to a residential area and head skyward after the impact. Lights all over the neighborhood dimmed as the event took place. Tamaroa, Illinois, also had its lights cut by a giant hovering UFO in 1957. Porto Alegre, Brazil, was plunged into darkness on August 30, 1954, and the city of Rome had lost power on August 3, 1958. In 1962, an UFO touched ground at Eureka, Utah, not far from Stead AFB and left a nearby power substation inoperative for 40 minutes until the object took off.

Was it inconceivable for UFOs, with their apparent interest or thirst for electricity, to affect even larger population centers? On November 9, 1965, twenty-nine million residents of the northeastern United States, and millions more in Canada, were plunged into darkness as electricity was affected by a mysterious source. At five thirty p.m. on that fateful day, thousands of terrified New Yorkers were trapped in subway tunnels and within elevators in the heart of skyscrapers. No one was spared the event, not even military bases.

The blackout spread like an ink stain from the Niagara Falls area to the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Utica and the smaller communities along the Great Lakes in a matter of minutes. Shortly after, it grew to encompass the states of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont. In a country still in the throes of the Cold War, and with the Cuban Missile Crisis a fresh memory, it was first feared that the blackout heralded nuclear armageddon. An airline pilot allegedly exclaimed that the vision of utter blackness on the ground below him made him think it was "the end of the world."

Radio stations, operating on backup power, were able to keep the frightened population calm, although news items in the broadcasts made reference to "trouble up north" without providing any specifics. A private plane instructor north of Syracuse,NY reported seeing a colossal fireball hovering above the quarter-million volt lines of the Niagara Mohawk Station in Clay, NY. Precisely at that time, operators in the New York City area registered a massive onrush of power to the north, perhaps drawn by the "fireball". The blackout occurred minutes later.

Thousands of witnesses in the darkened cities and countryside would later claimed to have seen strange lights crossing the skies with impunity on that fateful evening. Others reported seeing "fireballs" hovering over power transmission cables, changing in color from blue to orange to green.

The official explanation given at the time was a relay break in the massive Sir Adam Beck Plant No.2, located a few miles to the north of Niagara Falls. According to experts, the break allegedly overloaded the U.S. lines and the load detectors failed to perform according to design -- a fact which was never satisfactorily explained.

The entire Northeastern U.S., plunged into darkness, commanded global attention. Not so the equally mysterious blackouts that followed: New Mexico, Texas and Mexico itself suffered unexplained power losses in later weeks: On December 3rd, Ciudad Juárez in Mexico and the major cities of the American Southwest were left in shadow as Socorro, NM (a UFO mecca), Holloman AFB, White Sands Missile Range and other sensitive installations were rendered inoperative. Blame was placed on a pair of defective units somewhere in New Mexico--however, local witnesses claimed to have seen a glowing object over the power station.

In 1979, author Yurko Bondarchuk accused Canadian prime minister Lester Pearson of covering up the UFO aspect of the Great 1965 Blackout. Bondarchuk cites the explanation offered by Dr. James McDonald that the explanation given about a broken relay as the cause of the power outage was a cover. The prime minister, suggests the author, must have believed that disclosing the real source of the blackout was unwise."UFOs," writes Bondarchuk, "create sudden power surges in transmission lines as the craft flies overhead...in theory, these power surges could produce blackouts of massive proportions." (National Post, 2003)

A Precursor to the 1965 Blackout?

The age of the great UFO-induced blackouts continued throughout those troubled years. A harbinger, perhaps, of would happen later on across the northeastern U.S., were the three separate power failures of September 23, 1965 in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca -- fifty miles away from Mexico City.

The Ultima Hora newspaper indicated that the blackout had been caused by a large luminous flying saucer which crossed the heavens over the city--an inverted soup-bowl device which was seen not only by thousands of citizens but by city mayor Emilio Riva Palacios, who was attending the opening of a film festival with members of his cabinet. The lights went out during the showing, and upon going outside, the city fathers were treated to the sight of the massive object's glow, which reportedly filled the entirety of Cuernavaca valley.

But the force behind all these aerial phenomena appeared to be take a shine to Mexico City itself, with its juxtaposition of massive colonial structures, modern skyscrapers and ancient ruins: it chose the 16th of September, the one hundred fifty-fifth anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain, to manifest half a dozen luminous objects over the city's skies, casting downtown Mexico City into unbreakable gridlock as drivers left their vehicles to take a better look at the phenomenon. Newspapers reported that aviation authorities had received in excess of five thousand telephone calls from people asking if they had also seen "flying saucers". On September 25, a citizenry weary of craning their necks skyward endured another leisurely display of the unknown as a vast luminous body passed overhead, remaining motionless for a while before shooting out of sight at a terrific speed. Only days later, two smaller objects would buzz the gilded dome of Mexico's Palacio de Bellas Artes, a turn of the century structure that dominates La Alameda park. The early evening sighting was witnessed by a few dozen people waiting at a bus stop; they described the objects as "enormous luminous bodies with intermittent sparkling lights."

By this point in time, some of the world's major newspapers had picked up on Mexico's saucer situation. Paris's Le Figaro reprinted an editorial from Italy's Corriere della Sera on the subject: "Mexico City International Airport has officially recorded, of late, some three thousand cases of mysterious apparitions described in detail. At nightfall, people gather on the terraces and balconies of their homes to search the skies...a clamor of voices can occasionally be heard, saying: "There goes one! Can you see it?" Invariably, what follows is this: traffic is paralyzed on neighboring streets, since drivers also want to partake of the spectacle. The roadways grind to a halt, leading to monstrous traffic jams. After a while, witnesses to tho the event are willing to swear that the presence of platillos voladores causes engines to stall and plunges homes into darkness. Throughout Mexico, the number of blackouts has been inexplicably high..."

Candles and Flashlights

Respected Argentinean author Roberto Banchs mentions the July 4, 1968 blackout that darkened the entire sector of Tigre (province of Buenos Aires). During this incident, a number of witnesses reported seeing a UFO. A woman named Isabel Gómez stated that the object "seemed to emit light. It was the only lighted object at the time." A few months later, the city of Chascomús was plunged into darkness. Mrs. Blanca Davis witnessed a UFO measuring some 7 or 8 meters in diameter hanging motionless in the air, directly above the town square. "When we looked toward the west," she reported, "we saw two [more] discs and another one which gave the impression of being ready to land. Suddenly the UFOs headed toward the lagoon area, from which twenty more objects appeared, flying from north to south at fantastic speeds." Banchs reports that electricity was restored the moment the objects disappeared.

The 1968 wave of UFO sightings, which extended from the Dominican Republic to the island of Puerto Rico, also caused a series of blackouts. On August 11 that year, police officers in the town of Yauco on the island's southern coast were startled to see "a brilliant moon-shaped object which lit up the area completely. The following day, a similar object was seen in the neighboring Dominican Republic by residents of Puerto Plata and Sosúa. According to researcher Sebastián Robiou, the minute that the locals saw the phenomenon approach, they would hurry up to find "candles and flashlights, since electricity always failed whenever the objects flew over their homes."

UFOs and blackouts plagued Argentina again in January 2001, when the La Voz del Interior newspaper ran a story about the harrowing experience suffered by a local motorist named Julio Salguero. At 3:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, Salguero was on his way home in the town of Corralito, cutting across the community of Rio Tercero to save some time.

"We were calmly driving along," said the driver, "when suddenly my wife screamed: "Be careful!" and we saw a light heading straight for us. I hit the brakes. What I could see was a round, very powerful light, like a welding light, over a meter in diameter. It seemed to be heading straight for the car, but it suddenly stopped and backed off. It remained at the hight of the power cables that are now at the side of the road, moving up and down," he explained. "The light lit everything up for a few minutes, without any exaggerations, as if it were broad daylight, due to its intensity. It then rose some 30 meters into the air and suddenly vanished. Neither I nor my family can state which way it went, because we'd be lying. What we saw is that it vanished suddenly, like a light being switched off."

Salguero and his family were startled to hear that the strange object they had seen over the high-voltage lines had deprived the town of Corralito of electricity on a night without storms or high winds, and even more so when they discovered that nearby Rio Tercero had lost power at exactly the same time they had their experience. "As far as I know, no reason for the power outage has been found," he said.

Argentina has not been the only South American nation bedeviled by blackout-causing UFOs: in the Summer 1998 issue of the Samizdat newsletter, Brazilian researcher Oriel Farías told the world about the incredible and still little-known UFO wave that covered northeastern Brazil and which centered on the town of Guarabira. According to Farías, the outstanding characteristic of the '98 flap was the sheer variety of objects reported, ranging from standard disk-shaped craft to massive objects projecting powerful beams of light. "Lengths of 30 meters have been reported, the size of a 20-storey building," he writes.

The Guarabira "invasion" began on March 3, 1998 and was spearheaded by 26 UFOs flying over the city at 6:45 p.m., when the lights went out in Guarabira, and lasting until 3:45 a.m., when power returned to the city. This blackout remains unexplained to this day.

Lights Out in Puerto Rico

UFO and paranormal activity ran almost non-stop throughout the 1990s after a decade of inactivity. Earlier saucer flaps had created their fair share of electromagnetic interference with automobiles and aircraft, and even some widespread power outages

In September 1977, residents of the Colobó sector of Loiza, P.R., were treated to the sight of a UFO flying low over the local beach at around 8:30 p.m.. The object, according to Sebastian Robiou, made an occasional buzzing sound and then "shut off and disappeared". When interviewed, the same residents noted that the lights browned-out in the sector while the UFO was in evidence.

Fifteen years later, residents of the Mayagüez Terrace development ran out of their homes in response to the shouts of students from the nearby university, who were reacting to the sight of a spherical UFO crossing the skies in the general direction of Cerro Las Mesas. The orange-hued sphere materialized after having apparently been the cause of a blackout which affected a considerable part of the city for a few minutes.

Puerto Rico can also boast the distinction of being the only place in the world where a blackout was deliberately caused by the authorities to disprove the presence of the UFO phenomenon in the island's UFO-ridden southwestern corner. Since 1987, reports had pointed to UFO activity in the vicinity of a shallow lagoon known as Laguna Cartagena: all manner of solid craft and intriguing "lights in the sky" had been seen in the area, and in some cases, emerging from and vanishing into the water, leading many to believe that an "alien base" must exist underground in the Lajas Valley.

On October 2, 1991, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) left hundreds of homes without electricity for thirty minutes. Ramón Montalvo, an engineer at the PREPA plant in San Germán, claimed that the unusual lights vanished from the darkened sky "the minute the power was cut off." Lt. Rafael Rodríguez of the Lajas police argued that the blackout proved the lights believed to be UFOs were merely the reflections on the lagoon's surface.

The authorities went to the extreme of placing a series of large reflectors on the crest of nearby Mt. Candelaria. The experiment failed miserably -- no such reflection was seen, despite official claims. Any individual armed with a map would have noticed that the lights on Candelaria, twenty miles away, could not possibly account for the situation being experienced on an almost daily basis by the residents of the Lajas Valley.

In mid-March 1992, residents of the Puerto Rican city of Trujillo Alto were roused from their sleep by an unearthly noise and a spectacular display of blue light. The light changed to other colors of the spectrum in rapid succession as two powerful searchlights scanned the darkened surface from above. Hundreds, if not thousands, of residents were able to see a massive UFO hovering directly over a local power substation. The airborne goliath began drawing electricity from the substation in a stunning visual display that filled onlookers with awe.

Equally awed were the technicians from the local power utility, who reported early the next day to repair the burned out substation: according to estimates, the UFO had caused well over a $250,000 in damages that could not be readily explained, such as the molten transformer terminals and the inoperative automatic breakers which should have prevented such a tremendous loss of current.

They Said It Couldn't Happen Again

Computer screens suddenly went black as the hum of 21st century civilization suddenly stopped to be replaced by an unaccustomed silence. The time was 4:11 p.m. on August 14, 2003.

In a matter of minutes, battery-powered radios would report that a widespread blackout had plunged New York city into darkness for the third time in forty years, and at precisely the worst time of day, as tens of thousands of office workers were getting ready to return home on one of the hottest days of an otherwise unremarkable summer. The problem affected not only the Big Apple, but a wide swath of territory stretching westward: Toronto, Lansing, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester...the litany of affected cities included major urban concentrations and minor villages. Politicians rushed to occupy their places before the cameras to assure the population that the blackout of 2003 was not an act of terrorism and that power would be restored soon.

The blame game started almost immediately, with New Yorkers blaming Canadians, and placing the blame on a "lightning bolt" which had allegedly struck a power stations. The blame then shifted to an alleged fire at a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, and so forth. The Great Northeast Blackout of 2003 had affected fifty million people and as of this writing, no official explanation has been put forward.

Is it perhaps naive to ascribe this blackout to the UFO phenomenon, especially as no reliable reports have come in? According to the National UFO Reporting Center, New York state alone reported 703 sightings since the beginning of 2003 (with heavy activity in June and July) so something unusual could conceivably happened. Forty-eight hours after the blackout, it was suggested that a strange "power inversion" along the Lake Erie Loop had caused the blackout, but no explanation had been put forth as to the external force capable of causing the phenomenon. The fact remained that "a huge field of electricity dropped out and drained north," in the words of an Associated Press teletype. Could this have been one of the UFO-induced "massive surges in power" that Yurko Bondarchuk mentioned in his book?

As far as the cause is concerned, it seems as though we will remain in the dark for a long, long time.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Reflections on the UFO Phenomenon


Reflections on the UFO Phenomenon

By Oscar A. "Quique" Mario, CEUFO


The UFO presence is, in of itself, an unknown phenomenon that obsesses many, is of no interest to others, and is treated with indifference by a significant segment of the population. Within this framework, it is important to acknowledge the fact that there are places where the phenomenon occurs massively on any given day of the year. Conversely, there are places where it is practically unknown.

Man (as always) endeavors to be the protagonist, removing the subject from center stage to place himself in the limelight, either rebuffing or praising the phenomenon. Both stances are equally harmful when it comes to gaining an understanding of the phenomenon, and they are also harmful for unwary readers who come across an article by sheer chance, and form their opinions according to the author.

UFOs are not a matter of faith, of believing or not believing, but rather, of coldly analyzing their origin and understand the reasons for their manifestations on Earth.

To understand the phenomenon, one must try to see it firsthand, with genuine eyewitness accounts, gathered at the places where they occurred and not analyzed from thousands of kilometers away.

A new antinomy and interpretation is suggested here by field investigators and desk researchers.

There are alleged "enlightened" researchers, self-proclaimed "skeptics" who from their armchairs qualify and disqualify cases that have taken place anywhere in the world, without the slightest knowledge of the mindset of the people they are discussing.

With thirty years of field investigation experience behind me, I have also resorted to reading many "reports" and interpretations made by "illustrious" characters, betraying a complete lack of knowledge of the area where the cases took place -- the weather, for example -- and they were far from experiencing either heat or cold at the scene of the events.

In one instance, I was in the midst of an interview with the witness to a well-known case when I received a phone call from a "desk researcher" who was trying to secure details to pass them along as "an exclusive" to the major media. The difference here can be found in that the field researchers involves him/herself in the condition of the witnesses to an episode related to the phenomenon, using the technical support offered by scientists, cross-checking data with past cases, and being in constant consultation with experts in order to find an explanation to the event.

It is essential for researchers to be humble when faced with a case, and this position must be assumed in particular by the "renowned" researchers who say yea or nay, discussing things they never saw, that happened hundreds or thousands of miles away and which do not fit into their presumably scientific mindset.

At this point, individuals of this sort become part of the constellation of "opinion-givers" who seek to create a myth around a subject that is considered highly natural in some places, given their unusual frequency.

As long as trends (which are man-made) rage between existence or non-existence, belief or disbelief, the phenomenon continues to make its presence felt in some regions more than others -- and there is no answer to this, either.

Perhaps the time has come for humans to cease considering ourselves at the center of the universe, and humbly accept that our understanding is limited, and that it is possible that somewhere else, in another place, perhaps distant, perhaps less so, one or many civilizations are wondering the same thing.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Colombia: UFO Over Belén

Source: El Colombiano
Date: 07-10-10


Colombia: A UFO Over Belén
By Juliana Uribe and Jaime Alberto Villegas Echeverri

Jaime Villegas was closing down his business for the night at Belen Altavista around 8:45 p.m. last Sunday when red and orange lights in the sky drew his attention. A block away from the store, he came across a group of people who, looking upward, wondered about the true nature of the strange object hovering over Loma de los Bernal.

Mr. Villegas ran back to the store, grabbed a camera, and tried to capture the phenomenon that had everyone open-mouthed and breaking out in goose pimples.

The unidentified flying object remained in place for half an hour. Natalia Villegas, a cousin of Jaime who lives at Loma de los Bernal, remarked subsequently that the lights were hovering over her building, “casting a great deal of light but making no sound at all.”

The twenty people who were gripped by their curiosity – including Jaime – remained until the UFO began to move, and vanished into the night.

Villegas returned home and with his photos, tried to find something on the Internet that resembled [the object] and found a You Tube video that coincided with the characteristics of the object recorded by the camera: images of another UFO seen on June 20th of last year over the city.

A Possible Explanation?

German Fredy Marulanda, head of air traffic control for Aeronautica Civil, explains that “in many instances, the speed and altitude of flights create optical effects that may confuse people on the ground, who view them in a distorted manner. Add to this the fact that the night causes a loss of depth of field. Therefore, distances do not match what the eye is seeing.”

Comments from Readers

“Alleged manifestations of the UFO phenomenon have become frequent over our territory. The majority of explanations offered by aeronautical authorities speak of optical illusions, but this is a worldwide phenomenon, manifestations having different sizes and shapes. The lead us to believe that we are not alone. Here’s an image I took over Barrio Manrique in previous days, and what’s interesting is that the image shows something that remained static for about an hour and half. I would not care to speculate if it was an object or optical illusion, but we must be certain that anything is possible in such a dynamic and unforeseeable universe.” – Juan Carlos Giraldo.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU)

Monday, July 12, 2010

Argentina: Alleged Humanoid Figure Reported

Sebastian Aranguren, writing for the July 12 2010 edition of Diario Popular, discusses an unusual photo of an "invisible humanoid" whose presence was captured only by a digital camera after the waters of Laguna del Monte were inexplicably stirred as if by an external force.

The photo was taken by an anonymous businessman from the city of Almirante Brown. Luis Burgos of the Fundación Argentina de Ovnilogía and his photo analysis team have determined that it is a "clean" image showing no signs of manipulation. "There are very few photos of humanoids in the world," Burgos is quoted as saying, "and this case acquires major significance in national ufology."

The photo was taken on March 14 of this year -- Easter Sunday -- at 15:56 hours by "Ivan" (surnames withheld) in the company of his wife and children.

Diario Popular's blog has disabled the photo copy function. Those interested in seeing the "Laguna del Monte Humanoid" for themselves can click http://www.popularonline.com.ar/nota.php?Nota=532479# -- the FAO researchers say the image shows a neckless figure wearing a sort of diving suit that sags at the knees. "The intruder appears to be standing on the water itself, looking back at the eyewitness.

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Argentina: UFOs Buzz Atucha Nuclear Power Station












Source: Planeta UFO
Date: July 1, 2010


Argentina: UFOs Buzz Atucha Nuclear Power Station

Argentinean ufologists have disclosed the presence of unidentified flying objects over the Atucha Nuclear Power Station in Zárate. New methods shall be developed to obtain further details.

Mysterious phenomena, considered by researchers to reflect the presence of intelligent, major anomalies over the Atucha Nuclear Power Station, have stirred the interest of fans of such events.

A report in Diario Popular reports on the existence of UFOs over Zarate, and the increase in such activity. Cristian Soldano, a field researchers, maintains that the area has become “a place for constant phenomena” in which pulsating UFOs (also known as “flash” UFOs) are known to have a significant presence.

Researchers are hoping to develop new methods to obtain further details on the objects buzzing Atucha.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Guillermo Gimenez, Planeta UFO)

Chile: Incandescent Object Falls to Earth
















Source:RadioBioBio.cl
Date: 5 July 2010

Chile: Incandescent Object Plunges from Sky over Puerto Montt, Puerto Varas
By Christian Leal

Seldom do we get the chance to photograph one of the most striking phenomena that our universe has to offer: the entry of a strange body into the terrestrial atmosphere.

The images and video were sent by Ricardo Vargas from Puerto Montt although other users such as Christian Munoz also confirms having witnessed the descent around 8 a.m., although from Puerto Varas.

It is more than likely just a meteor, that is to say, a space rock falling toward earth without fully disintegrating, forming what we romantically dub “shooting stars”. However, burned-out satellites and boosters fall to earth, generating flames during the process.

What is it, really? That’s up to you. But don’t forget to make a wish, just in case.

(Translation (c) 2010, S. Corrales, IHU. Special thanks to Liliana Núñez)