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Methane Missiles and Comet Tales

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Methane Missiles and Comet Tales PSYCHIC VIBRATIONS ROBERT SHEAFFER Methane Missiles and Comet Tales as the Deep Mystery of the vicinity of comet Hale-Bopp. As you (When cartle suddenly die and get Bermuda Triangle finally been may know, that comet promises to be a chewed up, if the rancher speaks Hsolved? According to one dramatic sight when it passes through English, space aliens will get die blame, Richard Mclver, who claims to be a gas the inner solar system this spring. In but if die rancher speaks Spanish, it will and oil expert and former industry con- 1995, Art Bell, the wild-story-spinner of be the work of El Chupacabras. While sultant, it has: monstrous-sized bubbles late-night radio, claimed to have infor- visiting Art Bell's site, don't neglect to of methane gas escaping from a suppos- mation that Hale-Bopp, one of the check out his "Ghost Page.") edly huge underground deposit locked largest comets ever discovered, was on a Enter Courtney Brown, an associate in sediment under the ocean's floor, collision course with Earth. NASA was, professor of political science at Emory occasionally released by earthquakes or of course, covering up the horrific news. University in Atlanta who, now that he fissures or whatever. He gave the follow- Somehow, that danger faded quietly has tenure, can spout whatever nonsense ing highly technical explanation to the away, soon to be replaced by the Saturn- suits his fancy. In his new book, Cosmic National Enquirer (August 13, 1996): Like Object. No sooner was its discov- Voyage, Brown explains how he and oth- "Imagine shaking a giant soda can. The ery reported by the conspiracy-oriented ers have used "Scientific Remote ocean would fizz and boil with gas." amateur astronomer Chuck Shramek Viewing" (SRV) to retrieve data from Any ship that happened by would, he last November 14, dian he was put on great distances and across time. He has suggested, sink instandy into the pock- die air by Art Bell, whose syndicated discovered evidence of not one but two ets of methane. Furthermore, "sailors show "Coast to Coast" is heard through- distinct species of intelligent alien would be gassed because methane is poi- out the country, to tell people all about beings, the "greys" and the "Martians," sonous, or the ship would be blown up it. "There are some very strange and the latter group being humanoid. Brown if the methane got ignited by a heat weird aspects to this comet [Hale-Bopp) is the director of the Farsight Instirute source or spark on board." Well, I guess which officials seem reluctant to tell us for the Advancement of Scientific that explains that. But what about the about or discuss," states Shramek on his Remote Viewing, and an old buddy of supposedly mysterious disappearance of web page. "The orbit of the comet is Art Bell, so he undertook a further inves- airplanes as well? Even air travelers are at very strange—as if some intelligence tigation of the mysterious interplanetary risk, according to Mclver: "As the had engineered a comet to get our atten- interloper. Brown sent a crack team of lighter-dian-air bubbles soared into die tion." The claim may well be preposter- three professional remote viewers to air, they would destabilize any planes ous, but Bell is no fool: he keeps pulling zoom up and out from their armchairs to flying overhead by causing tremendous in top ratings coast-to-coast. Bell put a the vicinity of Hale-Bopp for a close-up turbulence—or engulf them in a fireball couple photos of the SLO on his web look at the alleged SLO. "Professional 1" if die methane exploded." It all sounds page (http://www.arrbell.com), which saw a large, dense magnetic object, like "swamp gas" to me. look remarkably like ordinary photo- "powerful, ominous, and centrifugal," graphic artifacts. Frankly, Bell's collec- and declared that "the Galactic Council, But if flying over the Bermuda tion of photos of El Chupacabras (an Triangle isn't scary enough, there is amazing monster supposedly responsi- always that large, mysterious "Saturn- ble for cattle mutilations in Latin Robert Sheaffer's World Wide Web page for Like Object" (SLO) that astronomers America) look much more interesting. UFOs and other skeptical subjects is at reportedly have sighted hovering in the httpJIdtbunker. com/- sheafferlufo. html SKEPTICAL INQUIRER March/Apnl 1997 23 or some higher order, is watching very fact that this was discussed on die Art But even if the scares about the giant interested." "Professional 2" discerned Bell show is enough in itself to raise sus- methane bubbles and die Saturn-Like that the target involved "glowing physi- picions." He calls Art Bell's show "the Object ultimately turn out to be false cal energy," which was deduced to be a Weekly World News of the late-night-radio alarms, there is still die menace of the climate-controlled space capsule. talk-show circuit." Hale has determined "demon seeds," whose picture also "Professional 3" confirmed that the dial the SLO photographed near the appears on Art Bell's web site. According object is indeed a spaceship, describing comet is in fact a star of magnitude 8.5 to the accompanying text, these seeds, if it as "hard, .smooth, and rounded," known as SAO 141894, seen distorted by planted, "will produce a meat-eating adding that "at times it emits energy." diffraction effects. (See the complete plant that will take over your entire But not everyone is impressed by analysis on the comet's official homepage yard." But having seen our share of hor- these observations. Alan Hale, co-discov- at http://www.halebopp.com, as well as ror movies, we are wondering: Why erer of the giant comet, says "the mere Alan Hale's article in this issue.) would it stop there? D CSICO kth Anniversary Conference 1 "Science in the Age of (Mis)lnformation" T 1f\% W TAPES First World Skeptics Congress No. of Price Per Session • • Qty Session* Session Title Tapes Session Total 1 Opening/Welcoming Remarks $7.95 2 Role of the Media in (Mis) I n f o r m i n g the Public 2 $15.90 3 CONGRESS ADDRESS—Leon Lederman $10.00 4 The Growth of Anti-Science 2 $15.90 5 CONGRESS LUNCHEON—Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files $10.00 6 UFOiogy $7.95 7 Astrology $7.95 8 Homeopathy $7.95 9 Therapeutic Touch $7.95 10 Chiropractic $7.95 11 Creation/Evolution $7.95 12 KEYNOTE ADDRESS—Stephen Jay Gould 2 $20.00 13 Parapsychology: Recent Developments $15.90 14 CFI LUNCHEON—Sir John Maddox $10.00 15 Mechanisms of Self-DeceptJon $7.95 16 Alternative Health Cures $7.95 17 Philosophy and Pseudoscience $7.95 18 Psychoanalytic Theory and Therapy $7.95 19 Critical Thinking in Education $7.95 20 Spiritualism, the UB Expose $7.95 21 The Paranormal in China $7.95 22 AWARDS CEREMONY AND ENTERTAINMENT (Steve Allen) $10.00 23 World Skeptics Update 3 $23.85 COMPLETE SET $242.85 TOTAL ORDER _l Bil me Q Check or money order enclosed Charge my Q MasterCard • Visa Plea se make checks payable , Card # Exp. to CSICOP and return to: • Signa ture CSICOP I 1 P.O. Box 703 Name' Amr •erst, NY 14226-0703 ! • Addrc>S S /»^l it card orders may call i City State Zip tol Toll-free 1-800-634-1610 • Phon a or FAX (716) 636-1733 2 4 March/April 1997 SKEPTICAL INQUIRER .
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