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Filer's Files #4 -- 2001, MUFON Skywatch Investigations
George A. Filer, Director, Mutual UFO Network Eastern
 

"AND AN ANGEL RIDES IN A WHIRLWIND AND DIRECTS THIS STORM!" GOD BLESS YOU
ALL, AND GOD BLESS AMERICA," were the closing comments of President George W.
Bush's inaugural address. In recent weeks we discussed angels as being God's
messengers in unidentified flying objects. In a short speech the President
twice quotes this passage that an angel rides in a whirlwind and directs this
storm. He promised to tell us about UFOs if elected, is it possible he has
already? It is interesting that our new President should choose to use these
statements and discuss that we are guided by a power larger than ourselves.
He says, "We will build our defenses beyond challenge. We will confront
weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors."
He plans on building an antimissile system sometimes called 'Star wars.' The
whirlwind in the Bible generally refers to the restless and sweeping
destruction sure to overtake the wicked. He states, "And this is my solemn
pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity."
This was a powerful speech from an apparently religious man and to understand
him it will be prudent to become acquainted with the Bible. The Book of
Ezekiel 1-4 states," Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of
the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness
was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out
of the midst of the fire. "

PHOTO CONTROVERSY -- Whenever photos are found of UFOs or possible alien
activity a controversy develops between those who are convinced they are
real, hoaxed, or just cases of mistaken identity. Often the actual identity,
and motivation of the photographer is more important than the details of the
actual photograph. Two recent photos, one of a Chinese missile launch and
the so-called Alien Choir are causing concern. The investigation is just
beginning, and there may be mundane explanations for both photographs. Some
people suggest I should not mention them until the investigation is over,
realistically that can take years. My readers ask for the latest reports and
investigation may or may not prove they are factual. A report a few hours
old is much easier to investigate than one weeks or months old. We only have
to prove one case to prove that UFOs are real. MUFON investigators are
standing by to interview the photographer in Alabama. The original
photographers in China or Alabama have not shown a willingness to let us
interview them. These two cases are discussed in more detail below. UFOs
have been seen in Connecticut, Georgia and Texas. Practically everyday, I
talk to sincere people who see or photograph unidentified flying objects in
our skies. I personally chased them while in the Air Force and had them on
my aircraft radar. Something unknown is flying in our skies, being an
optimist I think they may be helping us. Although, accidents may occur when
we get in each others way. When I get a call from a farmer in Canada or an
architect in New Jersey who have spotted a UFO, and they describe the same
craft including the rust on its side, I'm convinced they are seeing the same
object. When they see the a photo taken in Mexico years ago they identify it
as the same craft. When President Bush flew jet fighters for the Air
National Guard, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw a UFO since there were many
operating in Texas at the time. Many people's lives are changed forever by
the experience.
Watch the skies particularly before sunrise and at sunset. You might be
surprised what you see.

CHINA SHENZHOU SPACE LAUNCH AND UFO INVESTIGATION

BEIJING -- China's state television announced that the Shenzhou II spaceship,
which blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest
China's Gansu Province on January 9, 2001, in the country's second test of
its future manned spacecraft, returned to Earth on January 18. Nick Balakas
wrote that the Shenzhou Spacecraft photo discussed last week, was actually an
earlier daylight test of the rocket powered "escape tower" that is attached
to the Shenzhou spacecraft itself and is mounted on top of its tall Long
March rocket booster." The Shenzhou II spaceship launch was actually at
night. "As for what the bell shaped object is, I do not know although it
does remind me of a small weather balloon which may have been released just
before the escape tower test." Jeff has done a great job in picking out
unknown or unexplained objects in space but this picture of a bell shaped
object in the atmosphere is certainly no evidence of a UFO monitoring the
launch of Shenzhou-2. Thanks to Nick Balaskas

Author Whitley Strieber also wrote, "The picture you have on your web site as
the launch of the Shenzou-2 rocket is apparently a test of an escape tower,
probably of the Shenzou-1 module. It is possible that the object seen is the
Shenzou-1 capsule descending on its parachute. Thanks to Whitley Strieber Go
to http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/shenzhou.htm to
confirm.

Jeff Challender responds, "While looking at the photos of the launch, I
noticed a bell or pyramid shaped object flying next to the space launch
during the flight to orbit. At first I considered that it might be a piece
of the launch shroud which protects the space craft during ascent. That must
be ruled out since in the picture it can be seen that the escape tower
rockets have just been fired. These must be clear before the shroud can be
jettisoned. "Further research has indicated that I was a bit hasty in my
mistaken belief that the photo was of the Shenzou 2 launch. I stand
corrected on this point. I must disagree with Mr.Balaskas concerning his
explanation for the UFO. I have seen many a weather balloon in my home area.
  We live but three miles from McClellan AFB, and the object displays none of
the characteristics of such a balloon. Where is the instrument package
carried by the balloon? There is none. Balloons also have a pronounced
"inverted onion" shape, and the object's shape is nothing like that. What's
more, the "bells" seen during STS-101 were in space, where there are no
balloons. I still say the object in the rocket picture bears a striking
resemblance to the "bells" seen during STS-101. I don't see anything like a
parachute. There are no shrouds, nor is there a canopy. The parachutes used
by the Chinese on their capsules are quite colorful and would be difficult to
miss. The official Chinese space agency photograph can be seen at
www.filersfiles.com. Thanks to Jeff Challender.

Editor's Note: It appears the Chinese have released photos of several
launches causing some confusion. The daylight photo is probably the Shenzhou
1, which looks almost exactly like the 2. It is interesting that the Chinese
should release a daylight photo of an earlier launch showing what appears to
be a UFO? There is nothing that appears to be missing from the rocket, such
as shrouds or escape test tower, the two deployed aero-panels, rockets or the
reentry vehicle to account for the unidentified bell shaped flying object.
The Shenzhou is listed as 3.35 meters in diameter while the UFO appears to be
  about five meters or about 20 feet in diameter. In another released photo
the reentry vehicle is about three meters (10 feet) in diameter and hanging
below a huge parachute. I agree with Jeff that there may be an unidentified
flying object flying below the test rocket that is larger than in diameter
than any part of the Shenzhou. The photographer may have a mundane
explanation but China nor the Beijing Evening Post have not explained what
the object is. Instead the photo is published with only "Escape Tower Test"
explanation. We should remember that the Chinese are very clever and have
officially asked the United Nations to study UFOs. They report their fighter
aircraft attempt to intercept the UFOs, and that airliners have had midair
collisions with them. The US has provided the chief obstruction to this
study.

ALABAMA ALIEN CHOIR IMAGE

Australian researcher Barry Taylor writes, "I strongly suggest that the image
not be called a HOAX. This indicates that the photographer and researchers
involved deliberately and knowingly falsified the evidence presented. After
close examination of the image, I am fully convinced that this is not the
case. I consider that the illumination was actually at the scene when the
image was taken by the photographer. This makes this case, "a
misidentification and misinterpretation of the image in question." I have
looked for obvious signs of 'pasting' within the image, and have found none.
The larger 'background' pixels are consistent throughout the whole image.
The smaller pixels within the brighter illumination areas are also consistent
with the way the illumination is displayed. Strong contrast creates the
'pixel boarder' around the 'Alien choir' illumination. Firstly, when scaled
to the daylight image, the "Alien Choir" aligns with the tree trunks and
lower branch outline against the wall of the white house positioned above the
garage roof in the image. Now study the "False Color Enhanced" image
(fcolor~1.jpg ) This image shows the make-up of the "falloff" of the
brightness of the illumination as the effect of the trees trunks and branches
interfere with the edges of the main illumination.

The concentric rings of color indicate the way the light fades from the
brightest to the dullest. The "Heads and necks" of the "Alien Choir" are
caused by gaps in the branches, showing the reflected light off the wall of
the house behind the trees. Vertical Movement in the Image. I am not sure,
by I think a Digital camera was used to take the original images. The 'pixel
scatter' around the electric wires in the daytime image, and the pixel
'glitches' and abnormal color pixels in the night image seems to indicate a
digital camera. Digital cameras use a 'Progressive Scan' feature when
viewing to frame your scene to photograph. As you slowly move the camera,
you can see the image in the view finder 'jumping' as the progressive scan
feature is working. The vertical distortions seen in the 'Alien choir' image
could have resulted when the photo was taken 'between progressive scans of
the image in view.' This would show up in the resulting image as the top
half of one image blending in with the lower half of the second image during
slight movement during progressive scan within the camera. [slight elongation
of brightest features, especially under low light conditions] I hope careful
study of my findings will also convince you that this explains the truth
behind the 'Alien Choir' image. Barry Taylor UFO Researcher Australia.
stingray@nor.com.au

Bruce Maccabee writes, "Here is a comment from another Bruce: the picture
appears to have been jiggled vertically during exposure. All images have the
same sort of vertical stretch. This means that the Shapes pf the images are
not the true shapes of the light sources. I don't know what made the light
sources, perhaps a UFO, but IMHO the image shapes do not represent the true
shapes. Also, overexposed images are always larger than they would be
without overexposure, so the brightness is another cause for image
distortion. Supposedly there is no light normally at that location. But I
would like to see a nighttime photo taken under identical conditions by a
reputable investigator.
The photo is still under investigation. Thanks Bruce Maccabee
brumac@compuserve.com

Marilyn Ruben says that, "In response to the various questions forwarded from
you or your readers over the "alien choir" photograph, I have addressed many
issues at the web site on page http://www.abduct.com/photos/pn010.htm or
http://www.abduct.com/photos/pn007.htm
Thanks to Marilyn Ruben

Editor's Note: I felt the photograph should be investigated in much greater
detail. Perhaps even more important is the integrity of the photographer
since advancements in computers and photography make almost any photo
suspect. MUFON State Director s Tom Sheets and investigator John Thompson
have offered their services in investigating this case. I personally think
the case is important because of the report of the humming power lines, and
the green colors in a digital photo. It is important to attempt to duplicate
the scene at night. Security lights or transformer arcing might explain the
photo. Other similar photos are turning up.

CONNECTICUT HEXAGON SHAPED OBJECT

MONROE -- On Jan 16, 2001, at about 7:30 PM, a resident of Newtown was
traveling on Route 25 near Monroe. A hexagonal shaped object flew across the
roadway in front of her. The object was about as long as a commercial jumbo
jet, and was a dark gray or black in color. This witness saw some sort of
'ridges' on the bottom surface, with a blue/green light at each of 5 points,
and a small red light on the 6th point. There are similar hexagon type
reports on file for Georgia and Pennsylvania. In 1992, Corinth Georgia
investigation by John Thompson MUFON/ISUR- Hexagon shaped object with 3
triangular lights at each corner, hovering; 28 Sept 99, Chatsworth Georgia,
investigation by Tom Sheets MUFON/ISUR. Thanks to Tom Sheets, ISUR Board,
SD-MUFONGA.

MARYLAND UFO SOUNDS

SILVER SPRINGS -- Five years ago in August at 8:00 PM in Wheaton, my wife and
I heard the sound of a large slow craft pass directly over our top third
floor apartment. The sound was similar to the Rense recreation except
instead of a wavering treble pitch component going up and down, there was a
pulsing HUMM of ~ G 2 octaves below middle C and about 2-3 pulses per second
there were also more undertones than overtones)*. As a classically trained
musician I am accurate in sound memory. Two other sightings in this area
over 6 years have produced another large disk and one triangle which I
previously reported with some excitement due to the fact there was a live
re-enactment of the craft using a helicopter with hanging lights within 2
hours of the initial triangle sighting. I feel an obligation to my old
friend Alan Hynek to report what needs to be reported. Regards Don Hakman
j12_lanl_underg_facilities.htm

GEORGIA UFO INVESTIGATIONS

Tom Sheets MUFONGA State Director writes, Field Investigator Olivia Newton of
Lilburn is currently training and supervising the personnel of Georgia's
foremost haunting and paranormal scientific investigation group. On the
night of November 26, 2000, a group of investigator's were returning from a
case in Walton County. Ms. Olivia was driving one portion of the team, with
additional members in a second vehicle. About 8:30 PM, they were driving up
Good Hope Rd. when a series of lights in the SW sky drew their attention.
Upon closer observation, it appeared to be a double row of brilliantly
glowing pearl like spheres, a reddish orange to amber in color, hovering in
the sky about 1 mile away. She indicated that they were aspirin size at
arm's length (AAL) and in a straight line. As everyone turned to look, and
while seeking a spot to pull off, some trees obscured the view and the
objects had then disappeared. Total event duration was about 1 minute.
There have also been some other reports of unusual objects on the East side
of Atlanta. She has extensive investigative experience with a world renowned
university academic who specializes in paranormal research.

On January 3, 2001, MUFONGA investigators Carl and Helen Thim were driving
west on Hwy 54 just outside of Fayetteville proper. At 5:32 PM, twilight
conditions, Ms. Helen noticed a glowing object in the sky about 30 degrees
off of  the SW horizon. Closer observation revealed it to be acorn shaped
with a rounded top, about thumbnail size AAL, and glowing with a yellowish
light, also appearing to have a mist like vapor at the top. As they
continued westbound in traffic, she observed it to begin a slow descent of
about 5 degrees, leaving what appeared to be a misty trail tracing the
descent. She pointed this out to her husband Carl who was trying to drive
and observe. About this time, they reached the central area of town and
noticed 2 jet like contrails in the sky near the object. These contrails
appeared to circle in the sky as if in reaction to what was being observed,
but no aircraft were seen. About this same time a helicopter was observed
flying north away from Fayetteville. Ms. Helen added that before their
visual was lost, the object did a Z shaped maneuver. Upon arriving home, she
phoned the Fayette County Sheriff's Department and spoke to Sheriff Randall
Johnson. He advised that their agency had received no other calls regarding
the object. The Thims were later perplexed, Carl observed the object to be
of a definite silver disc but Helen did not. This team has conducted several
excellent investigations and are widely respected. They both are former
aerospace employees, Carl being seconded from Boeing to the Pacific Missile
Range for 5 years and working as an electronics specialist in our manned
space program. He is currently a senior instructor with one of the largest
aviation corporations in the world. There are similar cases in which two or
more reliable witnesses in close proximity observe the same phenomena, but
each describe different object types and/or different details. High
strangeness in Dixieland, God's country.

We continue to receive inquiries about MUFONGA from law enforcement officers
in several regions of Georgia. John Bodin, our south Georgia DD who is also
with the Peace Officer's Association of Georgia, recently advised me that a
follow-up article to the original piece for the Peace Officer's magazine
would be welcome. I will be working on that a little later. MUFONGA
historian and FI Michael Hitt wrote an excellent article on the Milledgeville
UFO event from 1967 (MUFON Journal Dec00), which involved several law
enforcement officer witnesses. He later spoke with retired Milledgeville
Chief Eugene Ellis who was also a witness and a central figure when various
'officials' arrived to investigate. Michael suspects that there was a
certain 'twisting' of the facts by these  'officials', which varied from the
astute and correct observations of the police officers i.e. the truth. We've
made arrangements for John Bodin to sit down with Chief Ellis and debrief him
in detail about  the events from those days in 1967. Being that we three
are from the Georgia law enforcement community, the Chief will no doubt have
some  revelations for us. John Bodin indicated he will be carrying a court
stenographer with him for that debriefing. Thanks to Tom Sheets, FSA Scot,
SD-MUFONGA, ISUR Board

TEXAS SIGHTINGS

CANYON LAKE -- ..Michael Harman writes, My wife and I saw an object over the
lake and were a little scared, but my wife confirmed what I was seeing. It
hovered over our house, and made its way over the lake. Two nights ago at
10:00 PM, this object got really close to the water and within seconds a huge
spotlight was cast upon it by the Corp of Engineers that are stationed next
door. Two minutes later, four helicopters come out of nowhere surrounding
this object. The object got bigger as the copters came closer. Within a few
minutes of maneuvering, the object disappeared. I proceeded to call the Corp
of Engineers and they stated that nothing happened, no copters had landed and
no spotlight was projected. I took digital pictures but they did not come
out too well, but you can see the copters. The colors shining from this
object were very bright and colorful. I've seen this exact object 10 to 12
times in the last two years. The object camouflages as a star, almost going
undetected. I always thought it was a probe from the army base in San
Antonio checking the air quality, water, etc.  This adventure took almost
four hours. Its now 12:30 AM, and its back and brought two more that are
hovering around the lake. "This is just too weird for me." If anyone wishes
to investigate this on-going event, I suggest renting a small boat and
spending a night out on Canyon Lake and you'll likely see a UFO up real and
close. There's a lot happening in the state of Texas, See our "60 Years of
Texas Sightings" database. Visit the web site at:
http://ufo-pi.homepage.com/index.html  www.homestead.com/ufopi2/index.html
Thanks to Mike Harman

CANADA GOVERNMENT RELEASES 100 UFO SIGHTINGS

HBCC UFO Research writes, You and your readers may be interested to know that
I received 98 pages from the Canadian National Defense through the Freedom of
Information Act. These reports are sightings of objects dating from 1995 to
1999, which were reported and gathered by the Canadian Government. I have
most of them placed on my web site at http://www.homestead.com/ufo3/ufo.html
  yogi@glacierweb-bc.com

CANADIAN MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SPEAKS AT CONFERENCE

WHITEHORSE, YUKON -- Ms. Louise Hardy, Canadian Member of Parliament who
spoke at the Yukon UFO Conference on October 14, 2000, stated, "Well I'd
like to thank Martin Jasek for inviting me and I want you to know how hard he
has worked on this. He's come to my office at different times over the
years to let me know what work he was doing, the reports that he was
compiling and I was impressed with how serious Martin was and the fact that
he has a very scientific background, and he wanted to bring the study of
unidentified objects to the forefront and to a more normal area because it
does come with stigma, and I know that. I've had a few nudges and winks when
I tell people that I'm coming to the UFO Conference. But I remember being a
teenager, and the curiosity we have. I think drive and curiosity are so
important because it is bout wanting to know what it is that is around us,
not just our own lives, not just our own planet. We know that there's a
wider world out there and I see this work as people coming together to
investigate and study that wider world so I hope everybody enjoys the
conference and I hope that you know that you are on the cutting edge here!
There's not too many places that have UFO Conferences so congratulations!"
Louise Hardy, M.P., Yukon. Thanks to EcoNews Service -
http://www.ecologynews.com/ Prague Ecotoday@aol.com

GERMANY TRIO SIGHTS TRIANGULAR UFO

FREIBURG -- On Monday, January 1, 2001, at 12:25 AM, Dr. Jann Arende, a
physician and amateur astronomer, his wife and his sister-in-law were
watching the New Year's celebration fireworks from a lofty hillside in the
suburbs west of Freiburg, a city in southern Germany. "The sky was almost
clear and visibility quite good," Dr. Arende reported, "When walking back
down the hill at about 12:25 AM, we suddenly noticed a flickering object
approaching from the east. The object appeared somewhat oval or triangular
in shape. The color was yellow or orange, with a glistening or flickering of
the color across the object. It then appeared as if the object were hovering
up in the sky. The size was about one-quarter of the full moon." "The
object moved slowly and stealthily towards us at great altitude. It took
one minute for the object to reach a point directly above us. We heard no
sounds. The color continued to flow across the object. When the object had
reached a point roughly above us, it stopped moving and remained motionless
at a point close to the star Capella. "After about three to four minutes, it
started to move north. The (departure) speed was similar to its speed during
approach." "When the object halted above us, we started running home to get
our binoculars. Viewing it as it went away, the object seemed smaller in
size and retained its flowing orange color.  The shape appeared to be
similar to a triangle with a convex rounded base. At that point, the object
disappeared."  Thanks to UFO Roundup Volume 6, Number 3 January 18, 2001
Editor: Joseph Trainor http://ufoinfo.com/roundup/

NEW NASA SHUTTLE VIDEO OF UFOs IN SPACE

Jeff Challender has prepared a new tape of various UFOs that were caught on
recent Shuttle video footage. Jeff has over an hour long tape of UFOs shot
in space. Jeff spends hundreds of hours watching the shuttle broadcasts from
space and is now an expert on NASA missions and even those onboard the
shuttle are unlikely to see what Jeff does. Using Jeff's directions you will
be able to learn the difference between space junk, ice crystals and real
UFOs. One segment has 24 UFOs watching the shuttle from space. I feel
confident we could go into a court of law and convince any jury that there
are UFOs moving at high speed around the Earth. Send $25 to: Jeff Challender
2768 Mendel Way - Sacramento, California 95833-2011

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Files is copyrighted 2000 by George A. Filer, all rights reserved. Readers
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