Month: June 1997
Planet Earth – Wired to the Moon?
The entire planet, it would appear, has lost the plot. In this morning's newspapers, on the Web and in my email, the quota of bizarre news surpassed what I usually see in a week. June 24th was the 50th anniversary of Kenneth Arnold's sighting of UFOs over the Cascade Mountains, which has sparked off a crazy amount of media interest in the lead up to the Roswell Incident 50th anniversary. On the same day, the USAF released their GAO Inquiry report, Roswell Report: Case Closed, followed by an announcement to the effect that they are not going to investigate the Phoenix UFO. Col. John Haynes told reporters at a Pentagon press conference: "If you're interested in the Arizona question, I suggest that you contact the local authorities in Arizona and see what they have to say, because the Air Force no longer does any investigation of UFOs." The Phoenix UFO...
Dr. Death Rides Again
Yes, euthanasia advocate and unlikely hero Dr. Jack Kevorkian has once more escaped the clutches of justice, after his fourth assisted suicide court case ended in mistrial. Dr. Death He was tried in Iona, Michigan, USA, for assisting in the suicide of Loretta Peabody, a 54 year-old woman with multiple sclerosis, and practicing medicine without a license (his Michigan license was suspended in 1991). Mrs. Peabody was cremated on August 30th, 1996 after her death had been ruled natural. There was no autopsy. A week later, police seized a video showing Kevorkian conversing with Mrs. Peabody and asking her to sign the consent form. On the tape, Mrs. Peabody said: 'I can't go to the bathroom. I can't get in my refrigerator, I don't want to do this anymore. I can't do this anymore.' Kevorkian, 69, who acknowledges being present at 45 deaths since 1990, has been tried for three,...
Sligo UFO hoax, Wexford antelopes, exploding Kerrymen and belated poltergeists
This week's Blather is going to be a mish mash of Irish topics which have been meandering about in my head, waiting patiently to be spooned out to the masses. Spaceman Pass By The Hills Above Glencar On Thursday 22nd of May, The extremely Rev. Joe McNally of Fortean Times alerted me (via the Forteana mailing list) of an apparent UFO sighting in Sligo, on the west coast of Ireland. The report appeared on various Usenet groups. It was titled 'Huge UFO Over Ireland' and was posted by one 'Hans Rosenthal', and told of his mother phoning him from Sligo to tell him about 'triangle shaped craft of huge size flying over the northwest coast of Ireland'. The craft were seen by climbers on Ben Bulben, frightened livestock, and passed directly over Drumcliff Graveyard, burial place of the poet W.B. Yeats. There were numerous witnesses, and although the news never...