 Welcome to the May 2007 round up of news and views on UFOs, alien abductions, crop circles, ghosts, the paranormal, the unexplained, the weird and the wonderful.
Roswell
On or around 2 July 1947 something crashed in the desert near Roswell in New Mexico, USA. The military said that they had recovered a flying disc, but quickly retracted the statement and claimed that the object that crashed was just a weather balloon. As we approach the 60th anniversary of this most famous of all UFO incidents, media interest in the story is growing. On 10 April 2007 Channel Five screened a new investigative documentary on the mystery, entitled The Roswell Incident: The True Story. I was featured extensively in this documentary, which examined the various theories about Roswell and featured the testimony of believers and sceptics alike.The programme was made by Love Productions, who also made Bermuda Triangle:The True Story.
Crop Circles 2007
The first crop circle of 2007 has appeared in a field near the town of Devizes in Wiltshire, at the heart of crop circle country. It was found on 15 April 2007 but may have been made some days before and gone unnoticed. The formation is in a field of oil-seed rape, which flowers early and is where the first formations of every season tend to appear.The large but fairly uncomplicated formation can be viewed on the popular www.cropcircleconnector.com website.
Nick Pope - The Man Who Left The MOD
Reality Films have brought out a full length DVD entirely devoted to an interview in which I discuss my government research and investigation into the UFO phenomenon. Nick Pope - The Man Who Left The MoD runs to over one hour and is probably the most in-depth interview I have ever given. The DVD covers the history of the MoD UFO project, details the methodology of official UFO investigations and talks about some of the politics and personalities of government UFO research. I also discuss Roswell, Rendlesham Forest, the Cosford Incident and a number of lesser known UFO incidents, as well as delving into some more specialist material on quantum physics and psychology. The DVD can be ordered from Reality Films via their www.real2can.com website or on Amazon.
The Mystic Arts
On 12 and 13 May 2007 London Olympia is hosting The Mystic Arts Festival. Billed as an exhibition covering the spiritual, psychic and paranormal, there will be something for everyone here. Featuring stalls, lectures and workshops with everything from mediums, psychics and healers, to crystals and ghost hunters, this mind, body and spirit exhibition looks well worth a visit. Check out www.themysticarts.co.uk for more details.
9/11
On 5 April 2007 I took part in a three hour debate about 9/11, on the James Whale radio show on TalkSport. The other participants were former MI5 officer Annie Machon, author Ian Henshall and researcher Tim Sparke. We discussed and debated the various conspiracy theories that surround 9/11 and took calls from listeners who wanted to have their say. I defended the US Government view on 9/11, so things got a little lively and I got a bit of a rough ride from callers. I received a vast number of emails following the show. While many conspiracy theorists believe that I still work for the MoD in some sort of undercover role involving spreading disinformation, being called a Zionist was a first, even for me.
Alien Autopsy Inquest
As mentioned last month, Philip Mantle, formerly Director of Investigations at the British UFO Research Association, has written a book entitled Alien Autopsy Inquest.This is the first book devoted entirely to the story of the alien autopsy video promoted by Ray Santilli in the Nineties. Philip Mantle has probably done more than anyone else to investigate the video and this fascinating book features interviews with all the key players and experts, not just from the world of ufology, but from fields such as photography, special effects and medicine. Does the video show the autopsy of an extraterrestrial from the Roswell crash, or is the figure a deformed human being? Is the video an outrageous commercially motivated hoax, or could it be part of a government disinformation programme? Philip Mantle tells the story of the video from the first rumours of its existence to the Ant and Dec comedy film that established it as part of popular culture. Given the influence of the alien autopsy film on ufology, this is an important book for researchers. My only criticism is that the book lacks an index, which is essential with a data rich non fiction book of this sort. That criticism aside, this is a book that everyone with an interest in ufology should read. Check out http://www.publishamerica.com/ for details of how to order the book or go to Amazon or similar sites.
Shape The Future
The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts has supported the production of a booklet entitled Shape The Future. The booklet has a tagline - Super Loos, UFOs and Rollercoasters: Why Engineering Will Transform The Future. The booklet is the brainchild of University of Oxford student Tsz Fok and is aimed at encouraging students to take up engineering in their studies and career. The Royal Academy of Engineering is also supporting the venture and has provided 5000 copies that will be distributed to schools, colleges and other interested organisations and individuals. The booklet includes short essays from people like Sir James Dyson, Professor Kevin Warwick, Carol Vorderman and Lord Sainsbury, the former Minister for Science and Innovation. All those involved were asked to write an article inspired by the same questions: What is the one thing you would like engineers to achieve in the next 50 years? How would that have an impact in shaping the future? I contributed an article on space travel which referenced my UFO-related work at the MoD. Aside from the core aim of interesting students in science, technology and engineering, I hope this is the sort of thing that will build bridges between science and ufology, as well as encouraging a new generation of well-educated young people to look at the UFO phenomenon with open minds.
The Life And Death Of Planet Earth
Already available in the USA and published in the UK this August by Portrait, The Life And Death Of Planet Earth is the new book by geologist and astronomer double act Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee. Their previous book Rare Earth was an interesting and controversial examination of whether or not we are alone in the Universe. This new book has the subtitle How Science Can Predict The Ultimate Fate Of Our World and explains in detail how and why the Earth will come to an end. Ed's Note:
Nick Pope has written four books. Open Skies, Closed Minds is an overview of the UFO phenomenon with the emphasis on his official Ministry of Defence research and investigation. The Uninvited is an overview of the alien abduction mystery. Operation Thunder Child and Operation Lightning Strike are science fiction novels about alien invasion, incorporating UFO and abduction data. All four titles are available from most good bookshops and all the usual Internet book sites.
Nick Pope has a website, which can be accessed at www.nickpope.net |
