Nuclear physicist and U.S. cable TV presenter (of *Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion*), Dr. Franklin Ruehl contacted Blather this week, to ask:
‘Did ETs zap the Deep Space 1 ion engine? Were alien remote viewers involved in this act of extraterrestrial sabotage? Would this be a possible item for Blather?’
+Dr. Ruehl+
The very nature of the last question ensured its inclusion in this week’s issue.
Dr. Ruehl forwarded Blather an article from *Wireless Flash* which covers his claim of sabotage, and his theories on how the probe was disabled using *either* lasers or ‘psychic powers’. The motive? Ruehl reckons that the space brothers don’t like pesky earthlings nosing around in their stuff, specifically Asteroid 1992 KD, ‘because it may be the site of an alien outpost’.
Sharp Retort
There’s not a shred of, dare we mention it, *evidence* to go along with these claims… or if there is, the good doctor isn’t showing his hand. Not that this an isolated incident – we note that in Fortean Times 64:42 (August/September 1992), Steve Moore made a sharp retort towards Dr. Ruehl’s claims of space-alien involvement in the construction of the Sphinx.
Back in October this year he piped up with the engaging concept of ‘ghosts of dead aliens’ haunting the alleged and infamous crash-site at Roswell, New Mexico. Peter Gilstrap wryly mentions that ‘Ruehl has written countless columns and articles for noted scientific publications’ such as the *National Enquirer*, the *Sun*, the *Weekly World News*, and the *National Examiner*.
So why would Dr. Ruehl come seeking support from Blather, a publication not known for its temperance, sympathy or charity towards ‘Saucerheads’ or unfounded claims of an extraterrestrial nature? Perhaps, as a certain Himalayan columnist said to Blather recently – ‘Some people just don’t get it’.
Metallic Grit
Meanwhile, NASA’s *Deep Space 1* press release of November 25th makes no mention of extraterrestrial involvement, merely mentioning that such shutdowns are unsurprising for new ion propulsion units, and that the ‘engine probably shut itself off when it was started two weeks ago because of metallic grit or other contamination between the two high-voltage grids at the rear of the advanced engine.’
So, metallic grit or aliens?
*References*
Email from Dr. Franklin Ruehl to Blather, Saturday November 28th 1998
UFO Researcher: ‘E.T.s may have sabotaged engine on NASA Probe’
*Wireless Flash* VX3 for Monday, November 16th, 1998
NASA Deep Space 1 official site
The Unofficial Mysteries From Beyond the Other Dominion Webpage (dead link)
*Martians and Ghosts and Conspiracies — Oh My!*
Peter Gilstrap, *The New Times Los Angeles*, July 16th 1998
Will Dr. Franklin Ruehl find fame through the paranormal?
*Ghosts of dead aliens haunting Roswell crash site?*
Globe Daily October 12th 1998
Saucerheads (c) Bruce Lanier Wright
+Indomitable Irishry+
Despite worrying our little heads about the price of cultural stereotyping, the tax-free wages of sin, and stage-Hibernianism, Blather has decided to resurrect the Hon. Declan Foley’s take on last year’s Sligo UFO hoax, when great black triangles were reported to have been seen by the mother of ‘Hans Rosenthal’ near W.B. Yeat’s grave in Drumcliffe (turns out that ‘Hans Rosenthal’ was the name of an apparent acquaintance of Yeats in Paris). Although exiled in places Antipodean, Mr. Foley seems to be a native of Co. Sligo.
From: Declan Foley (dfoley@netstra.com.au)
Subject: re Rare sighting of UFO by Hans Rosenthal’s mamma.
Deer surs,
Dem two eejits dat replied to Paddy Bruen and Austie Gillen is the greatest pare of lyres I ever heard in me life. The ony time dey were on the strand was when there mudders took dem be the hand, and dats a fact!
Dis hear UFO yer man is talkin about was seen be meself and Dermot McLoughlin, the retired cemetery Superintendent from Sligo Cemetery. He was opening a grave in Drumcliffe one moonlit night in October of 1985, I tink, it cudda been ’86. Anyway, I was sitting on a flag headstone supervising him. When the bloody tombstone heaved up with a groan, and a voice said “Yer to bloody heavy to sit here, Feck off somewhere else” McLoughlin looked over and asked who said dat?. I couldn’t answer I was so dumfounded.
The next thing we saw was the door in Ben Bulben Mountain opening and out come about five thousand horses with men riding them, spears in hand and them whooping and yahooing like nobody’s business. Some had a fine cut of a woman attached to them! Ye know yerself!! Then we saw the ghost of “Mind your own business” from Mail Coach Rd., coming along on the stagecoach with a headless driver. The coach stopped beside us and the headless driver said “We are going to Austie’s for a drink, he is concocting a magic lantern to show UFO’s to frighten the shite” out of the Americans, especially the relatives of Mrs Rosenthal.
And this is the factual story of what those people saw that fateful day. There is absolutely no truth that any army other than the FCA were involved [Irish Reserves]. The Irish Army were on their annual leave in the High Court claiming compensation under the Blind Pensions Act of 1654. The Garda Siochana in Sligo/Leitrim had all rang in with Blue Flu – Moya!
Sworn on a stack of bibles, skool books(dog-eared), grandmother’s graves, grandfather’s graves etc. etc.
PS I have a selection of false teeth left over from my embalming days, Suit all sizes of mouths – big to small, send a stamped addressed package and two hundred [Australian] dollars.
For more info on the headless horseman, Blind Paddy Healy, Caruson Finan and others please contact the undersigned –
x
*Notes*
*Beyond Ben Bulben* – Declan Foley’s site
*Under Ben Bulben* by W.B. Yeats
Blather’s *Sligo UFO Hoax page*
+Hail Eris! Death of a Discordian Nonprophet+
On November 28th, 1998, the reported death occurred in Atlanta, Georgia of Kerry Thornley, a.k.a. Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst and Ho Chi Zen, co-author of the *Principia Discordia*, and an acquaintance of Lee Harvey Oswald – they served in the same U.S. Marine platoon.
In 1968, Thornley was accused of involvement in the Kennedy assassination by Jim Garrison, the notorious District Attorney of New Orleans. He was a co-founder, with Greg Hill, of the of the Discordian Society, ‘which is based on the worship of Eris, the Goddess of Chaos, discord, confusion, bureaucracy and international relations. They have no dogmas, but one catma.
The catma is that everything in the universe relates to the number 5, one way or another, given enough ingenuity on the part of the interpreter’ (Pope RAW).
‘And so it is that we, as men, do not exist until we do; and then it is that we play with our world of existent things, and order and disorder them, and so it shall be that non-existence shall take us back from existence and that nameless spirituality shall return to Void, like a tired child home from a very wild circus.’ (*Principia Discordia*)
Interview with Robert Anton Wilson which adds fuel to the Discordian fire from *Firing the Cosmic Trigger*
ZENARCHY by Kerry Thornley
*The Principia Discordia* (How I Found Goddess & What I Did To Her When I found Her) (ascii)
*The Principia Discordia* (How I Found Goddess & What I Did To Her When I found Her) (html and graphics)
