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frogmarch

(12,226 posts)
Thu Apr 12, 2012, 09:09 PM Apr 2012

Kicking the Hornet’s Nest (UFO-related article)

http://devoid.blogs.heraldtribune.com/12935/kicking-the-hornets-nest/

Dr. George Michael clearly had no idea what he was stepping into last month when he submitted a favorable review of Leslie Kean’s UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go On the Record to eSkeptic, the online newsletter of the Skeptics Society. Boy, was he in for an education.

“I would’ve hoped they would’ve been more open-minded instead of going ad hominem and calling me clueless and stupid,” said Michael from Montgomery, Ala. That’s where he teaches nuclear counterproliferation and deterrence theory, at the Air War College, as an associate professor. “I know they categorically reject UFOs, I just didn’t know how deep it went.”

...

For Bad UFOs blogger Robert Sheaffer, Michael’s review was “totally uncritical,” “fawning,” “either completely clueless, or else complicit in Kean’s attempts to mislead.” The title of his rebuttal — “The Day The Skeptical Society Wasn’t Skeptical” — would’ve been more accurate if “Predictable” had been the last word in the headline, because the prevailing reaction among the insular Skeptics was a sense of betrayal. As Fortean Times contributer Peter Brookesmith lamented, “How come the review was published by eSkeptic at all?”

Being limber enough to challenge the status quo of one’s own belief system is the true measure of skepticism (small “s”). One of the original organizational Skeptics, Marcello Truzzi, abandoned the group he co-founded when he realized it was becoming an entrenched ideology. (emphasis mine – frogmarch)

...

Yesterday, Shermer published Michael’s rebuttal to Sheaffer’s rebuttal and Sheaffer’s subsequent rebuttal to Michael’s rebuttal. But the real question here is: Will Shermer evolve into a true skeptic and risk agitating the disciples again by making the same “mistake” twice?


The review by George Michael of Leslie Kean’s book, which I’d also posted in LongTomH’s thread, Leslie Kean asks” “Is this the case UFO skeptics have been dreading?”:

http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/12-03-28/

Michael’s book review certainly caused a ruckus in the Skeptics community. As the Herald Tribune article stated, “Unfortunately, the concept of alternative perspectives was as alien and disruptive to eSkeptic readers as a tossed Coke bottle to Stone Age bushmen.” In the article, a clip from The Gods Must Be Crazy follows that statement.

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Kicking the Hornet’s Nest (UFO-related article) (Original Post) frogmarch Apr 2012 OP
IMO, there is overwhelming evidence for ET visitation of earth, though mainstream "proof" is lacking NoMoreWarNow Apr 2012 #1
I’m skeptical (small “s”) of frogmarch Apr 2012 #2
Not ONE of these Air Force employees over the years have came forward with all this PROOF? Well.. Logical Apr 2012 #4
what proof do you want? NoMoreWarNow Apr 2012 #8
Wow, where is all the REAL evidence...... Logical Apr 2012 #3
Yes, real evidence is needed. frogmarch Apr 2012 #5
I agree with you 100%, but..... Logical Apr 2012 #6
There are surely frogmarch Apr 2012 #7
it seems to me you are just giving your opinion, and not even a very balanced one NoMoreWarNow Apr 2012 #9
U are wrong again.... Logical Apr 2012 #10
Interesting video. Quantess Jun 2012 #11
 

NoMoreWarNow

(1,259 posts)
1. IMO, there is overwhelming evidence for ET visitation of earth, though mainstream "proof" is lacking
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 12:24 PM
Apr 2012

But that's because the intelligence community, which controls the media, actively suppresses the evidence at the same time putting out a lot of disinfo on the topic. In general, it never fails to amaze me how some people can so adamantly deny the mere possibility of ETs visiting the earth. It's one thing to be skeptical, but another to have such a closed-mind on the topic.

frogmarch

(12,226 posts)
2. I’m skeptical (small “s”) of
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 01:56 PM
Apr 2012

the idea that ET is visiting Earth, but I don’t dismiss the possibility out of hand. There are some real wackadoodles (to put it mildly) in the UFO community, but I wish the debunkers would stop lumping together everyone who thinks it’s possible ET could be zipping around out there. Sure, some of us are stupid and gullible and some of us are just plain nuts, but some of us are reasonably intelligent and sensible people who would just like to know the truth, one way or the other.

Unexplained UFO sightings and UFO reports, especially those made by experienced airplane pilots and other reliable witnesses, warrant investigation. Instead of scoffing at such reports and dismissing them outright, scientists and other qualified people should investigate them. I don’t know if there’s a cover-up of information going on pertaining to UFOs, but I know there’s a lot of scornful pooh-poohing by people who claim to be skeptics but who are really just die-hard debunkers.

 

Logical

(22,457 posts)
4. Not ONE of these Air Force employees over the years have came forward with all this PROOF? Well..
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 03:59 PM
Apr 2012

they could not even keep the Manhattan Project secret. You think they could keep the UFO stories from leaking?

It is a fun and exciting area. I wish it was true with all my heart. But it is not. Aliens have not visited earth.

 

NoMoreWarNow

(1,259 posts)
8. what proof do you want?
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 06:08 PM
Apr 2012

What kind of proof do you seriously expect they could offer?

Anyway, look up the Rendlesham Forest incident. There is damn good evidence there.

 

Logical

(22,457 posts)
3. Wow, where is all the REAL evidence......
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 03:50 PM
Apr 2012

People do not get it. Just because a seasoned pilot says they saw a UFO does not mean they saw a ET.

Real evidence is needed!!!! Not just weird lights and personal accounts.

We expect real evidence with medicine, engineering, etc. Have skeptics been wrong before? Yes. But the scientific method is the only way to judge things. Not feelings or whims.

The proof of ETs has NOT increased even with more Cameras and Videos and technology. That is the same with ghosts, etc.

ETS are not visiting earth. I think there is life on other planets, but they cannot visit us.

frogmarch

(12,226 posts)
5. Yes, real evidence is needed.
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 04:12 PM
Apr 2012

That is why properly investigating unexplained sightings reported by reliable people is important.

You state that ETs are not visiting Earth. I say ETs are probably not visiting Earth.

You say you think there is life on other planets, but they cannot visit us. I too think there is life on other planets, but I do not know whether they can visit us.

 

Logical

(22,457 posts)
6. I agree with you 100%, but.....
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 04:18 PM
Apr 2012

I have not seen any evidence to make me even think it is possible they are visiting earth.

There is no more proof of ETs visiting earth than there is of ESP or Ghosts.

Anything is "possible" but we don't really discuss those things with no real evidence.





frogmarch

(12,226 posts)
7. There are surely
Sat Apr 14, 2012, 04:50 PM
Apr 2012

natural phenomena (and I don’t mean ETs) that we know little or nothing about, and I have an idea that at least some unexplained sightings could be placed in this category.

This UFO was identified as a sprite: ( http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/745032/red-sprites-and-blue-jets )



Amazing, isn’t it? I wish all seemingly credible UFO sightings could be investigated and the UFOs properly identified.

I don’t know if charged plasma can follow airplanes, but it’s been observed traveling along electrical power lines. Maybe pilots reporting UFOs following them are being “stalked” by plasma.

 

NoMoreWarNow

(1,259 posts)
9. it seems to me you are just giving your opinion, and not even a very balanced one
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 06:12 PM
Apr 2012

you can't do experiments with UFOs. It's a different standard of proof than with science. The preponderance of evidence AT MINIMUM says there is something out there we don't understand, that the govt is keeping secret from us, and that is beyond our current technology.

 

Logical

(22,457 posts)
10. U are wrong again....
Sun Apr 15, 2012, 10:07 PM
Apr 2012

You can scientifically analyze the UFO evidence. And when you do it fails!

Quantess

(27,630 posts)
11. Interesting video.
Thu Jun 21, 2012, 01:34 PM
Jun 2012

I am so glad I am not one of the people in the video! I have to think they have difficult lives.

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