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Thursday, March 03, 2011

The truth is out there

I am not entirely clear why the National Archives chose this day to release thousands of documents about close encounters. They have certainly attracted attention, far more it has to be said that the referendum on Assembly powers also taking place today. Nevertheless, the stories that are revealed are quite entertaining.

The Daily Telegraph says that the phenomenon of extra-terrestrial encounters and alien abduction was discussed at the highest level of government and security services worldwide, including at the United Nations (UN), the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was even the subject of a debate in the House of Lords.

The paper says that the files reveal that in December 1977 the government used its influence to talk down a call by Grenada president, Sir Eric Gairy, for a UN agency to conduct research into UFO sightings:

Gairy eventually withdrew his proposal but continued his campaign for a full UN debate on UFOs - calling on the UN General Assembly to make 1978 "the year of the UFO".

One of the 35 newly-released files shows 15 unidentified aircraft were detected on radar approaching the UK between January and July 2001 in the months leading up to 9/11.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) received just one UFO report (with no radar corroboration) on September 11 itself.

Other highlights include:

* Claims that the Home Office had emergency procedures for dealing with landed and crashed satellites and UFOs.

* Details on RAF interception policy during the Cold War - when aircraft were scrambled on a daily basis to intercept Warsaw Pact aircraft approaching the UK coast.

* US policy files on UFOs, including CIA papers discussing the use of UFO reports for "psychological warfare".

* An alleged UFO sighting by crew of HMS Manchester off the coast of Norway and how the logbook recording the incident could not be recovered.

* One report describing a "War of the Worlds" incident in 1967 that, for a few hours at least, was treated as a potentially real "alien invasion" of the UK.

The RAF were flooded with calls from the public reporting six small "flying saucers" discovered in locations in a perfect line across southern England from the Isle of Sheppey to the Bristol Channel.

Four police forces, bomb disposal units, the army and the MoD's intelligence branch were all mobilised before it emerged the saucers were a 'rag-day' hoax by engineering students from Farnborough Technical College.


My favourite is the man who believed that he may have been abducted by aliens after seeing an unusual aircraft one evening and experiencing a period of missing time. It is suggested that he forgot to put his watch forward an hour at the start of British summertime.
Comments:
Slightly off topic but i've been thinking: what powers / responsibilities need to be devolved to make a parliament?

what is the technical differance between the two?
 
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