27 September 2012

"¿UFOLOGO?"


I must say that this name was never to my liking.
It is a mixture of two languages ​​word Ufo (English) and logo (Spanish) as already arguably not correct. -

In Spanish, the correct term should be "ovnílogo", but it appears that in this way is not very good so it is usually used in the other way ... and so many people call themselves.

But who is authorized to "qualify" or grant any of these two titles anyone?

Currently no one.

In any discipline there are institutions, bodies or authorities that grant degrees and other qualifications that apply to these disciplines or specializations. That is right.

On the subject of UFO research, there is no one who is authorized to do so.

That is why anyone can call themselves in that way and unfortunately that's what happens.

It is also true that the press, in reports, interviews etc., due to ignorance, often called his interviewees thus without knowing the degree of knowledge or orientation on the issue that they have.

Thus contactees, mystics, charlatans and others are often introduced as "ufologists" ...... something that they do not deny.

Misuse of the term only serves to further complicate the serious study of the phenomenon, as it mixes indiscriminately all who are in any way related to the subject: those who study it, those who exploit it commercially and those who have make it become a kind of religion....

Who should be called that way in the event that the term were valid?

Only those who are dedicated to investigate UFO cases and study the phenomenon in general, using the scientific method and have years of experience in the field.

No one else.....

Personally I meet those conditions, but I would like to define myself as a scholar or researcher of the UFO phenomenon and not a term that, for the moment, is not supported by anyone ...

I think it is the right thing.

German Vazquez

¿UFÓLOGO?


Debo decir que esta denominación nunca fue de mi agrado.

Es una palabra mezcla de dos idiomas Ufo (ingles) y logo (español) por lo que ya de por sí podría decirse que no es correcta.-

En español, el término correcto debería ser “ovnílogo”, pero parecería ser que de esta forma no queda muy bien por lo que usualmente es usado de la otra manera…y así se hacen llamar muchas personas.

Pero, ¿quién está autorizado a “calificar” u otorgar alguno de estos dos títulos a alguien ?

Actualmente no hay nadie.

En cualquier disciplina existen instituciones, organismos o autoridades que otorgan los títulos o acreditaciones que correspondan a dichas disciplinas o especializaciones. Eso es lo correcto.

En el tema de la investigación del Fenómeno Ovni, no existe nadie que esté autorizado a hacerlo.

Es por ello  que cualquiera puede autodenominarse de esa manera y lamentablemente eso es  lo que ocurre.

También es cierto que la prensa, en reportajes, entrevistas etc., por desconocimiento, suele llamar a sus entrevistados de esa forma sin saber el grado de conocimientos u orientación en el tema que tienen los mismos.

Es así que contactados, místicos, charlatanes y otros, muchas veces son presentados como “ufólogos”……cosa que estos no desmienten.

El uso inadecuado del término solamente sirve para complicar más aún el estudio serio del fenómeno, ya que mezcla en forma indiscriminada a todas las personas que de alguna forma están relacionadas con el tema.

Los que lo estudian, quienes lo explotan comercialmente y aquellos que lo han convertido en una especie de religión....

¿Quiénes deberían ser denominadas de esa manera en el caso de que el término fuera valido?

Únicamente aquellas personas dedicadas a la investigación de casos ovni y al estudio del fenómeno en general, que utilizan el método científico y poseen años de experiencia en la materia.

A nadie más…..

Personalmente creo reunir esas condiciones, pero me gustaría que se me definiera como un estudioso o investigador del Fenómeno Ovni y no con un término que, por el momento, no está avalado por nadie…

Me parece lo más correcto.

German Vázquez

24 September 2012

CHINA AND THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE


Under the misleading title of “We are not alone”, an affirmation that cannot be done so far, Simon Parry, writing for the China Daily Hong Kong edition, reported that:

Space exploration has become a national priority for China - and a Hong Kong scientist appointed to an international body searching for alien life says he is confident many of us will live to see the first evidence of extra-terrestrial life.

It was at the opening of the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Beijing that it dawned upon Professor Sun Kwok, the University of Hong Kong’s dean of science, just how seriously China takes the quest for space exploration.

There have been few more opportune times, either, to be involved in the search for alien life, Kwok believes - and at the Beijing assembly, he was elected vice-president of the International Astronomical Union's bio-astronomy Commission 51 for the next three years.

The commission is a dedicated body of scientists searching for evidence of extra-terrestrial life and Kwok - believed to be its first Chinese member - is convinced it is a search that will be rewarded within the lifetimes of many people alive today.

"My guess is that we will find evidence of life outside our planet within 50 years - but it might be as soon as 20 years," he said.

"When I say life I don't mean aliens, or ET walking around. Most likely what we are looking for now are micro-organisms - bacteria. We have very strong indications that there is a good chance we will find extra-terrestrial micro-organisms very soon."

Kwok's work is in the field of bio-astronomy, or astrobiology - a relatively new scientific field that involves the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe. Commission 51 is at its cutting edge.

Those who want to believe versus those who investigate

Mr.Parry  ends its article with a reference to a group of Chinese UFO enthusiasts.  

“For a growing number of believers in Hong Kong, alien life isn't out there silently waiting to be found: It's already found us and it's hovering above us, watching our every step.

"Lots of people see UFOs in Hong Kong," said Thomas Tsui, one of the group's organisers.
It is not surprising that there are many “ufos” flying over China. It would be interesting to know exactly their identity or their point of origin.

As space exploration becomes an increasingly hot topic, the Hong Kong UFO Club has seen its membership grow from around 150 a decade ago to some 2,500 today, including its Facebook followers.
 
As for the search for alien life by scientists, UFO club members are somewhat ambivalent at the prospect of a breakthrough. "Scientists always need evidence, but we don't need evidence," said Tsui dismissively. "We already believe what we believe."

Surely, they –as many others throughout the World—can choose to believe, instead of apply a cold and logical reasoning, and the scientific methodology. In other words, they can believe instead of investigate to reach the truth whatever it could be.

It’s easier, but it is totally useless.

Photo: "something" indistinguible over Hong Kong, provided by the UFO Club. 
(Excerpt of the Daily China article by Milton W. Hourcade)

CHINA Y LA VIDA EXTRATERRESTRE


Bajo el engañoso título de “No estamos solos”, una afirmación que hasta ahora no se puede hacer, Simon Parry, escribiendo para el China Daily en su edición de Hong Kong, informó que:

“La exploración espacial ha llegado a ser una prioridad nacional para China –y un científico de Hong Kong nombrado para un organismo internacional que busca vida alienígena dice que tiene confianza de que muchos de nosotros viviremos para ver la primera evidencia de vida extraterrestre. Esto ocurrió en la apertura de la Asamblea General de la Unión Astronómica Internacional en Beijing que llevó al Profesor Sun Kwok, el decano de ciencia de la Universidad de Hong Kong, a darse cuenta de cuán seriamente China toma la búsqueda de la exploración espacial.

Tampoco ha habido momentos más oportunos para implicarse en la búsqueda de vida extraterrestre, piensa Kwok  --y en la asamblea de Beijing, fue electo vice-presidente de la Comisión 51 sobre bio-astronomía de la Unión Astronómica Internacional, por los próximos tres años.

La comisión es un dedicado cuerpo de científicos que buscan evidencia de vida extraterrestre y Kwok  --que se cree es el primer miembro chino— está convencido de que es una búsqueda que va a ser recompensada dentro de la vida de muchas personas que viven actualmente.
Supongo que encontraremos evidencia de vida fuera de nuestro planeta dentro de 50 años, pero podría ser tan pronto como de 20 años”, dijo.

Cuando digo vida no quiero significar alienígenas, o ET andando por ahí. Lo que ahora estamos buscando mayormente son micro-organismos, bacterias. Tenemos muy fuertes indicaciones de que hay una buena posibilidad de que encontremos micro-organismos extraterrestres muy pronto.

El trabajo de Kwok es en el campo de la bio-astronomía, o astrobiología –un campo científico relativamente nuevo que abarca el estudio del origen, evolución y distribución de la vida en el universo. La Comisión 51 está a la vanguardia en eso."

Quienes quieren creer versus quienes quieren investigar

El Sr. Parry culmina su artículo con una referencia a un grupo chino de entusiastas de los Ovnis.

Para un creciente número de creyentes en Hong Kong, la vida alienígena no está ahí fuera silenciosamente aguardando ser encontrada: ya nos ha encontrado y está sobrevolándonos, observando cada uno de nuestros pasos.

“Cantidad de personas ve OVNIs en Hong Kong,” dijo Thomas Sui, uno de los organizadores del grupo.

No sorprende que haya muchos “ovnis” sobrevolando territorio de China. Sería interesante saber exactamente su identidad o punto de origen...

A medida que la exploración espacial llega a ser un tema cada vez mayor, el Club OVNI de Hong Kong ha visto crecer sus miembros de unos 150 hace una década a aproximadamente 2 mil 500 hoy día, incluyendo a sus seguidores en Facebook.

En cuanto a la búsqueda de alienígenas por los científicos, los miembros del Club OVNI son un tanto ambivalentes sobre el pronóstico de un descubrimiento. “Los científicos siempre necesitan evidencia, pero nosotros no necesitamos evidencia” dijo Tsui despectivamente. “Nosotros ya creemos lo que creemos.”

Sin duda, ellos –como muchos otros en todo el mundo—pueden elegir creer, en lugar de aplicar un razonamiento frío y lógico, y la metodología científica. En otras palabras, ellos pueden creer en lugar de investigar para llegar a la verdad cualquiera sea ella.

Es más fácil, pero no sirve para nada.
   
Foto: un "algo" indiscernible sobre Hong Kong, proporcionada por el Club OVNI.
(extractado del artículo del China Daily - traducción Milton W. Hourcade)

19 September 2012

“EXTRATERRESTRIAL CONTACT” by The History Channel


It is not enough for the already mostly conspiranoic, commercial, mythic, and even religious panorama of the current Ufological environment in Latin America, to be in such state of disarray, that now comes the commercial History Channel with a very biased “documentary” series on TV.

We put carefully aside those serious and sober investigators and scholars who –not surprisingly—in their vast majority have not being contacted to participate in this project.

From the very beginning, starting with its title, this video work is condemned to fail.

If you are just a good journalist, you will avoid to be so biased. But this is not a failure of the script, on the contrary, it is done on purpose, with all the intention to appeal to that mass of people who already believes in extraterrestrials, who devours videos, faked photos, magazines, books and all the commercial paraphernalia that goes around the UFO subject, but that is not ready to deal with it on scientific basis, with reasonable doubts, and with a logical way of thinking.

The host of the program reiterates many times the idea of “aliens” and “extraterrestrials”, accordingly with the script.

To give the impression of a real documentary, there are –in the first chapter that is the one we have been able to see so far—a couple of very brief  declarations –just a paragraph or two—taken from serious people. For this we want to mean, people who do not make their living exploiting the UFO subject, or military personnel.

Besides that, the interviews with Jaime Maussán (quite moderate in his words, it is fair to recognize), the impulsive Jose Ademar Gevaerd pretending to validate the faked photographs of the Trindade Island, and Alfred Lambremont Webre, with his ludicrous invention of Exopolitics, make of what could have been a serious documentary, a real mockumentary.

Now, we think that we are obliged to go beyond the mere interest to make a commercial product and entertain the people in general. We have to wonder what the real purpose of this TV series is.

Why it comes out now and why in Latin America?

Why it starts saying that UFOs are seeing every day when that is not true for the vast part of the world, but apparently true for certain countries in Latin America, namely, Argentina?

Why to contribute to create a psychosis around the idea of the activity of extraterrestrials?

Who could be behind this video work? Who benefits from it?

If we do not pose and think ourselves about these questions we would be very naïve!

It is possible that Latin America, and/or certain countries are currently being sweep by certain artifacts flying very high in the night and sometimes during daylight.  Artifacts of no conventional shape, maybe drones that could be taking images, getting communications, etc. over the region, due to different reasons.

These reasons go from: the existence of foreign facilities of sophisticated space technology placed in Latin America territories (Argentina is one example), new military installations, flights of airplanes used to smuggling illegal drugs, weapons, people, analysis of natural resources, etc.etc.

Given certain political parameters, some nations interested to know about all those things are aware that if they were to ask permission from certain governments to do that surveillance activity, they won’t be allowed.

Therefore, because it is in their real interest to do so, there is not better cover-up that to boost the old clever idea started by the military intelligence about 60 years ago. “Let’s make believe the Latin American masses that they are visited by extraterrestrial beings, that what they are eventually seeing in their skies are that are going around”….

Speculation?  Oh yes! But quite honestly, think twice…Maybe it is not the “truth” that you would like to admit, maybe is something a little bit difficult to swallow, but putting aside any fantasy or mythical idea, this way of thinking is extremely reasonably.

And if we have it in mind, then there is an explanation for the production, edition and broadcasting of this particular video series to Latin America.

Meanwhile, the series will continue. Some UAPSG members and friends have been interviewed.

We are pretty sure that they faced their interviews in very good faith not knowing the final product that the History Channel would present.

Milton W. Hourcade, MDiv. [this article represents only the personal opinion of the author]