The Diaz Contact Claims

One morning in January 1981, Mexican photographer Carlos Diaz pulled into a deserted car park at Ajusco Park near Mexico City. He was on an assignment for a magazine, and had arranged to meet a journalist who was yet to arrive. Diaz sat in his car, preparing his camera for the job ahead. Although it was early in the morning, the air was thick with humidity which made even sitting still uncomfortable. Impatiently, Diaz began to look at his watch. Suddenly, his attention was caught by a strange yellow glow coming from the valley below him. At first he thought it was a forest fire, but, an instant later, the source of light revealed itself to be a large, orange, oval-shaped UFO, slowly hovering about 30 metres from his car.

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Unable to believe his eyes, Diaz quickly grabbed his camera. With it resting on his steering wheel, he began frantically firing off shots. Then, without warning, the whole car began to shake violently. Diaz got out of the vehicle and took two more photographs before the craft sped up vertically into the sky, leaving Diaz in a state of shock. This encounter marked the beginning of what was to develop into one of he most fascinating and long-running contactee cases in the history of UFOlogy. Today, the case remains among a small minority of alledged extraterrestrial encounters to be supported by verified film documentation that has stood up to the scrutiny of a range of experts.

KEY ENCOUNTER

Indeed, the apparent credibility of Diaz's claims has attracted the attention of some of the world's top UFO researchers, including German author Michael Hesemann and abduction researcher Dr John Mack. Both concluded that Diaz's story is completely credible. Hesemann echoes the views of most researchers when he states: 'The Carlos Diaz case is the most important case of documented alien-human contact to have emerged in modern times.' Certainly, at the time of his initial encounter, Diaz little suspected what was to come. The transition from a run-of-the-mill UFO sighting in an area now acknowledged as a UFO hot-spot, to one of the key cases of recent years did not occur until weeks later. In the days that followed this January sighting, Diaz remained preoccupied by his experience. Unable to forget what he had seen, he repeatedly returned to the Ajusco Park location, hoping to secure more pictures. After a succession of fruitless visits, Diaz began to think that he was wasting his time. But then, on 23rd of March, his patience was rewarded.

RETURN TRIP

While roaming the greenery, Diaz was again alerted to the presence of a UFO by an orange glow, which he could see only dimly through the fog and rain that had saturated the forest in Ajusco Park. As he climbed up the walls of the valley, he managed to position himself within 45 metres of the object. Diaz watched the 'craft' hovering above him, eminating a bright orange light. It was, he said, dome-shaped with a smooth ring in its centre. This, claimed Diaz, was covered with a number of half spheres, each around one metre in diameter. Crouching behind some rocks, Diaz thought his actions had gone unnoticed, but, as he continued to watch the craft, he felt someone grab his shoulder from behind. Diaz immediately fainted, and, when he awoke, it was dark and the UFO was gone. He was shocked to discover that, despite heavy rain, his clothes were completely dry. At that point, he knew something strange had happened to him. When he returned to his car, Diaz noticed another car parked in front of him. At this point, Diaz claimed, a humanoid entity with fair hair approached him and told him that if he wanted to know more about what he had just experienced, he should return to the same spot at noon the following day. Apparently, when Diaz returned the next day, he discovered the same entity sitting on the grass. Diaz claimed that the being then turned to him and explained that it was he who grabbed his shoulder the previous day. Before leaving, the being also told Diaz that he had come from inside the craft and that Diaz would gradually recover his memory of what had happened while he was unconscious. Sure enough, over the next few months, Diaz's memory returned, piece by piece.

According to his account, he recalled the craft hovered directly over his head. As he attempted to touch the craft, his hand seemed to pass through the yellow light and he seemed to merge with it. The next thing he recalled was seeing the craft parked on a platform inside a giant cave. Diaz was filled with awe when he remembered what he had seen inside: 'It was full of stalagmites, some of which were carved into what appeared to be Mayan sculptures,' he stated. 'I saw many people in the cave, some of whom waved to me and, in a state of shock, I waved back.' Apparantly the being Diaz had encountered in the park then led him to a smaller cave which contained seven glowing, egg-shaped orbs, one of which Diaz was invited to step into. On entering, Diaz could at first only see yellow light.

But then he found himself surrounded by the image of a forest. 'I could see all the details of the forest as if I was walking through it,' said Diaz. 'I couldn't touch anything, but I could feel the temperature and moisture. I could see and experience everything, yet I wasn't physically there.' His guide then told him that the orbs were also a system for storing information and that certain data had been imparted to him. Diaz was then returned to the ship and, in time, to the park.

CONTINUING CONTACT

According to Diaz, this was only the first of a series of contacts with the same beings, which continue to this day. Since 1981, Diaz has stated that his experience inside the orbs has enabled him to 'travel' to different regions of the Earth's ecosystem - forest, desert, jungle, shoreline, even Arctic areas - with his ET contact. Through this contact, Diaz claims to have been imbued with an awareness of the interconnectedness of all life and the need to preserve our environment. To many UFOlogists, especially those who have had their 'fingers burnt' by alledged contactees before, these claims may appear far-fetched. However, Diaz is seen by many researchers as a highly reliable source, not least because of the strong body of photographic evidence he has amassed to support his claims.

INDISPUTABLE PROOF?

Mexican TV journalist and UFOlogist Jaime Maussan, who has been at the centre of UFO investigations in Mexico since the wave began in 1991, believes that Diaz's UFO photographs are among the most impressive he has seen. Maussan took Diaz's photographs to Jim Dilettoso, an image processing expert at Village Labs, in Tucson, Arizona, who concluded they were genuine. After satisfying himself he was not dealing with a hoaxer, Maussan visited Diaz at his hime in Tepoztlan, Mexico. There, he spoke to a number of other witnesses who claimed to have seen exactly the same type of UFO. The apparent credibility of the Diaz case has also attracted UFO researchers from further afield, who have attempted to glean insights into the alien agenda from Diaz's contactee claims. German author Michael Hesemann, who first interviewed Diaz in June 1994, is convinced of the credibility of Diaz's story. 'Not only is he contacting these beings through encounters on the ships,' says Hesemann, 'but he claims to be meeting these beings socially, since he believes some of them are living among us.' However Hesemann explains that, according to Diaz, the beings are reluctant to fully disclose their origins. 'Apparently,' says Hesemann, 'they did, however, explain that they have been visiting Earth for thousands of years, and are particularly interested in our evolution which, compared to their own, has happened at a much faster rate. They are trying to learn why.'

Another UFO researcher intrigued by Diaz's case is Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, John Mack. Mack has a long history of dealing with abductees and contactees and believes that the Diaz case is among the most convincing he has come across. in his book Passport to the Cosmos, he states: 'Out of all the experiencers I have worked with, it is Carlos Diaz who seems to have developed the richest understanding of the interconnected web of nature. Diaz's experience of connecting with living creatures is so intense that he seems literally to become the thing he is describing.' Diaz's experience, Mack claims constitutes an 'awakening', a process which, he says, is common in abductees. Diaz told Mack that his contact with the ETs had instilled in him a need to preserve the environment and the ability to 'enjoy a beautiful planet'. Whether or not an extraterrestrial influence was involved, Diaz's new-found concern for the environment has certainly become a driving force in his life. he has repeatedly and passionately conveyed this environmental warning publicly, most notably at a UFO conference in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1995. Diaz has revealed that he had been informed through his contacts that the civilization of the visiting extraterrestrial, like ours, had been threatened by its own history of destruction, but had somehow managed to survive. He remains convinced that his contacts' disturbing prediction for our future is only too real - a prediction that states with near certainty that humanity, on its current course, is headed for total extinction.

ALIEN MESSENGER

This outspokenness, coupled with the public nature of his experience, has le Diaz to assume visionary status in both his home town of Tepoztlan and UFO circles. however, Diaz has been quick to dispute this, claiming that he is not a unique visionary, but merely 'a messenger'. The real nature of Diaz's current incarnation aside, for many UFOlogists, the Diaz case remains among the most convincing on record. Indeed, few UFO reports exist that boast such impressive and abundant photographic evidence. And fewer still have emerged that have stood up to the scrutiny applied to Diaz's images.

PERFECT PICTURES

Expert analysis of Carlos Diaz's UFO pictures has been extremely thorough. Mexican UFOlogist Jaime Maussan gave the original transparencies to Professor Victor Quesada at the Polytechnical Institute of the University of Mexico for examination. Quesada stated: 'We were shocked to discover that the spectrum of light from the object was unlike anything we have ever seen, it broke all previous parameters and didn't match anything in our data banks. The light was extraordinarily intense. There was no evidence of superimposition or a hoax. We estimated the object to be around 30 to 50 metres in diameter.' Interestingly, the photographs were also analysed by Dr Robert Nathan at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Nathan, a notorious UFO sceptic, stated that he could find no evidence of a fake.

Certainly, for many who have examined the three images, the first shot is the most impressive. In it, the orange glowing craft can be seen through the windshield of the car, and light from the object is reflected both off the car's bonnet and off the metal guard rail by the side of the road. These, in particular, are details that experts claim are extremely difficult to fake.

VIDEO EVIDENCE

Mexican UFOlogist Jaime Maussan was so intrigued by Carlos Diaz's account of his experiences that he provided him with a video camera and asked him to see if he could record the UFO on tape when it next appeared. A few weeks later, Diaz awoke at 5 a.m. and grabbed his camera. he walked out and waited. Apparently, within minutes, the craft appeared and hovered over the house, where Diaz filmed it. When Maussan saw the remarkable footage, he asked Diaz if he could get even closer to the craft while filming. Two months later, Diaz was once again able to film the craft, which this time hovered directly above him, without moving.

However it is Diaz's third attempt to capture the craft on video that is the most spectacular. In this footage, Diaz having mounted his camera on a tripod, walks to the bottom of a field waving a flash light. Responding to this, the craft suddenly materializes directly above Diaz's head and sends beams of light down towards him. Then, the unidentified object remains motionless for 30 seconds, before blinking out. It is universally recognized that this video contains some of the best UFO footage ever taken. - The X Factor

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NOT A HOAX!

As a historian, cultural anthropologist, UFO researcher, author and film producer I investigate the Carlos Diaz contact case for seven years. Since I wanted to be sure before I publish the case that any possibility of a hoax can be excluded, I did not only travel to Mexico twelve times for on-site field investigations, but also consulted leading experts in the US, Belgium, Germany and Italy, including

* Prof. Corrado Malanga, University of Pisa
* Prof. Manfred Kage, University of Mannheim
* Prof, Auguste Meessen, University of Louvain
* Bob Shell, editor "Shutterbug" Magazine, phototechnical consultant
of the FBI
* Dr. Robert Nathan, Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA, Pasadena
* Jim Dilettoso, The Village Labs.

None of these photo technical experts found any evidence of a hoax in the films and footage shot by Diaz. Field investigations were performed also by Prof. John E. Mack of Harvard, who spent three days in Tepoztlan and extensively talked to the witness, his family and local eyewitnesses. We were able to verify that over 50 % of the population of the city of Tepoztlan, in which Diaz lives, about 12.000 people, saw the very same type of object filmed and photographed by Diaz, a fact confirmed by the mayor of Tepoztlan. The Air Traffic Controllers of Mexico City's International Airport confirmed on camera regular UFO sightings over the area of Tepoztlan. Several researchers who visited the place, including Dr. Roberto Pinotti, saw the very same ship Carlos filmed and photographed.

Therefore the personal opinion of Mr. Pascal Lopresti, who was never known as a UFO researcher in Mexico (actually he served as a translator and organizer for Italian stigmatist Giorgio Bongiovanni) is completely invalid. It was nice of Carlos to show him some new material, which is in my possession for over a year, but it has no news value. Nor does any of Lopresti´s "conclusions".

According to Carlos Diaz, "the aliens" are living among us for thousands of years. They live there as normal Mexicans, drive in terrestrial cars, have TV sets and cameras and maybe even tripods. Therefore it is not a big surprise if one of them had a tripod he lent to Diaz - nobody claimed it was an extraterrestrial tripod!

But Lopresti is just wrong when he claims: "Carlos Diaz has always refused to allow the video to be analyzed". He gave me a copy a year ago, I analyzed it frame by frame and I will publish it in our upcoming documentary "Ships of Light" which will be presented at the International UFO Congress in Laughlin in March 2001. Even a bigger mystery to me is Lopresti´s "conclusion": "No human being from this planet can board a plasma ship with his/her physical body and a camcorder." How the hell does he know? Is Lopresti an Extraterrestrial?? Or how can he make such a claim with the certainty of a dogma? We don't even know if the ship really consists of plasma (although it looks like plasma), "plasma-ship" is just a metaphor, so how can he ever make such a statement?

Lopresti calls himself an "investigator". To my knowledge, he has no education or background to make such a claim. He claims to be the co-organizer of the Acapulco-conference, which was ONLY set up by Jaime Maussan and his team of Tercer Milennio and Los Vigilantes. Lopresti´s job was that of a translator for Giorgio Bongiovanni. Therefore, the one who obviously seeks attention by big claims seems to be Lopresti, not Carlos Diaz.

Every investigator who ever met Carlos was impressed by his willingness to share his material. Diaz was never interested in money. He is very poor but he never charges anything, When Bill Hamilton claims that "Carlos does video work and films weddings and celebrations", it is just not true. Carlos did work as a wedding (still) photographer as a young man but never did that with video.. He just has the Camcorder given to him by Jaime Maussan. He doesn't have an external microphone, no light, no editing equipment. He did not even have a monitor to view what he shot before I bought him a TV set three years ago.

Bill Hamilton criticized that the object on the films "descended in a jerky movement". This happens very often in UFO cases, we call it "falling leaf movement", a detail mentioned by many eyewitnesses in Tepoztlan and elsewhere. The UFO was obviously NOT lowered by a cable, since its movements never had a center. He criticized the "static interior illumination" of the object - Jim Dilettoso called it "coherent light" and made a parallel to laser light. Besides the fact that on one film the center of the object is pulsating and the object increases and decreases its brightness, the "uniformity" of the light of the craft indicate a light quality very different from that of an illuminated model or lamp. In that case namely the light would be most intense in the center and less at the edges. No, the object is not moving with the wind. The tree's movement in one film is completely untypical for wind movement, since it is too shaky, and seems to be caused by the ship. In the sequence with the object firing a beam down to Earth, the beam's light is too strong and too condensed to be that of a flashlight.

In one case Diaz filmed a craft right behind a tree, partially covered by it. We were able to identify the tree and verify it's diameter and distance from the camera. From our calculation, the object's diameter must have been at least 60 feet... too big for a hoax with a small model!

As a historian, cultural anthropologist, UFO researcher, author and film producer I investigate the Carlos Diaz contact case for seven years. Since I wanted to be sure before I publish the case that any possibility of a hoax can be excluded, I did not only travel to Mexico twelve times for on-site field investigations, but also consulted leading experts in the US, Belgium, Germany and Italy, including

* Prof. Corrado Malanga, University of Pisa
* Prof. Manfred Kage, University of Mannheim
* Prof, Auguste Meessen, University of Louvain
* Bob Shell, editor "Shutterbug" Magazine, phototechnical consultant
of the FBI
* Dr. Robert Nathan, Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA, Pasadena
* Jim Dilettoso, The Village Labs.

None of these photo technical experts found any evidence of a hoax in the films and footage shot by Diaz. Field investigations were performed also by Prof. John E. Mack of Harvard, who spent three days in Tepoztlan and extensively talked to the witness, his family and local eyewitnesses. We were able to verify that over 50 % of the population of the city of Tepoztlan, in which Diaz lives, about 12.000 people, saw the very same type of object filmed and photographed by Diaz, a fact confirmed by the mayor of Tepoztlan. The Air Traffic Controllers of Mexico City's International Airport confirmed on camera regular UFO sightings over the area of Tepoztlan. Several researchers who visited the place, including Dr. Roberto Pinotti, saw the very same ship Carlos filmed and photographed.

Therefore the personal opinion of Mr. Pascal Lopresti, who was never known as a UFO researcher in Mexico (actually he served as a translator and organizer for Italian stigmatist Giorgio Bongiovanni) is completely invalid. It was nice of Carlos to show him some new material, which is in my possession for over a year, but it has no news value. Nor does any of Lopresti´s "conclusions".

According to Carlos Diaz, "the aliens" are living among us for thousands of years. They live there as normal Mexicans, drive in terrestrial cars, have TV sets and cameras and maybe even tripods. Therefore it is not a big surprise if one of them had a tripod he lent to Diaz - nobody claimed it was an extraterrestrial tripod!

But Lopresti is just wrong when he claims: "Carlos Diaz has always refused to allow the video to be analyzed". He gave me a copy a year ago, I analyzed it frame by frame and I will publish it in our upcoming documentary "Ships of Light" which will be presented at the International UFO Congress in Laughlin in March 2001. Even a bigger mystery to me is Lopresti´s "conclusion": "No human being from this planet can board a plasma ship with his/her physical body and a camcorder." How the hell does he know? Is Lopresti an Extraterrestrial?? Or how can he make such a claim with the certainty of a dogma? We don't even know if the ship really consists of plasma (although it looks like plasma), "plasma-ship" is just a metaphor, so how can he ever make such a statement?

Lopresti calls himself an "investigator". To my knowledge, he has no education or background to make such a claim. He claims to be the co-organizer of the Acapulco-conference, which was ONLY set up by Jaime Maussan and his team of Tercer Milennio and Los Vigilantes. Lopresti´s job was that of a translator for Giorgio Bongiovanni. Therefore, the one who obviously seeks attention by big claims seems to be Lopresti, not Carlos Diaz.

Every investigator who ever met Carlos was impressed by his willingness to share his material. Diaz was never interested in money. He is very poor but he never charges anything, When Bill Hamilton claims that "Carlos does video work and films weddings and celebrations", it is just not true. Carlos did work as a wedding (still) photographer as a young man but never did that with video.. He just has the Camcorder given to him by Jaime Maussan. He doesn't have an external microphone, no light, no editing equipment. He did not even have a monitor to view what he shot before I bought him a TV set three years ago..

Bill Hamilton criticized that the object on the films "descended in a jerky movement". This happens very often in UFO cases, we call it "falling leaf movement", a detail mentioned by many eyewitnesses in Tepoztlan and elsewhere. The UFO was obviously NOT lowered by a cable, since its movements never had a center. He criticized the "static interior illumination" of the object - Jim Dilettoso called it "coherent light" and made a parallel to laser light. Besides the fact that on one film the center of the object is pulsating and the object increases and decreases its brightness, the "uniformity" of the light of the craft indicate a light quality very different from that of an illuminated model or lamp. In that case namely the light would be most intense in the center and less at the edges. No, the object is not moving with the wind. The tree's movement in one film is completely untypical for wind movement, since it is too shaky, and seems to be caused by the ship. In the sequence with the object firing a beam down to Earth, the beam's light is too strong and too condensed to be that of a flashlight.

In one case Diaz filmed a craft right behind a tree, partially covered by it. We were able to identify the tree and verify it's diameter and distance from the camera. From our calculation, the object's diameter must have been at least 60 feet... too big for a hoax with a small model! - Michael Hesemann - Duesseldorf/Germany

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Ships of Light: The Carlos Diaz Experience

Summary: According to experts it is the best documented UFO contact case in the history of the phenomenon. With certainty it is the most carefully investigated extraterrestrial encounter.

THE CASE

In the early hours of March 23, 1981 Carlos Diaz, a young photographer from Mexico City, drove into the Ajusco National Forest in the "zona vulcanica" south of the capital. A magazine had commissioned him to take pictures of a sunrise in the mountains, and for this he has chosen a well-known vantage point. He parked his car, waited for the sun to dawn. Suddenly he saw an orange light shining up from the slope in front of him. First he thought it was a fire, but then he recognized a yellow-orange dome. It was a UFO! Immediately he grabbed his camera, shot a first photo, when the disc was just facing him. In this moment, the engine of his car went off. Diaz shot his second picture before he jumped out of the car, just to see and photograph how the disc was shooting off with high speed.

When he got the photos back from the lab the same afternoon, Diaz knew that he did not dream. This experience never let him off. As often as possible he returned to the Ajusco National Park. But only two and a half month later, on a rainy day, he saw the orange glow again, this time coming from the top of a hill. He parked his car, climbed up the muddy volcanic rocks, when he eventually saw the object hovering in front of him. Deeply moved by what he saw, he suddenly felt someone touching his shoulder. In the same moment he fainted. When he recovered, the rain had stopped and the object had disappeared. Completely bewildered, he climbed down the hill, back to his car…

In the following month, Diaz started to remember step by step what had happened to him during that "missing time". More than that, a friendly contact developed between him and the pilots of these mysterious "Ships of Light". Carlos decided to move into the valley of Tepoztlan, 40 miles south of Mexico City, where these objects were seen since man can remember. He was able to take several more spectacular photos. And he had further encounters which taught him why these beings come to this planet and how worried they are about all life, all living beings on Earth.

Ten years later, the sun was darkened over Mexico. During the eclipse of July 11, 1991 thousands of witnesses saw strange craft in the skies. The prominent TV anchorman Jaime Maussan investigated the sightings, commissioned a scientific analysis of UFO footage. Carlos felt that the moment has come to go public with his experience. He contacted Maussan who was deeply impressed by the quality of his photos. More than that, he tried an experiment. He gave Carlos, who could not afford one, a video camera. He was not disappointed. Only three days later, Carlos presented him the first film. Three more followed within the next five month. They all show the same "Ship of Light" which was also on his photos, in breathtaking maneuvers over the valley of Tepoztlan. One time it came so low that it filled the whole frame of the camera.

CONCLUSION

Thousands of eyewitnesses, radar observations, photos and films which stunned the experts and a contactee with a high degree of personal integrity – the Carlos Diaz experience can indeed be called one of the most important UFO contact cases in the history of the phenomenon. For this reason, the researchers investigated it as careful as possible – and waited seven years, until every aspect was put under scrutiny, before they published it. Never before so many international experts were consulted in the investigation of a UFO contact case. All researchers who met him were impressed by the honesty and sincerity of Carlos Diaz, an impression shared by his neighbours, his family, the mayor of Tepoztlan. Nobody in Tepoztlan ever questioned his experience since every second of the "Tepoztecos" has seen these objects, too.

The case will be one of the most important for the UFO research of the 21st century, because it goes far beyond sightings, contact and evidence. The Carlos Diaz experience indicates a direct connection to the ancient civilization of the Maya, one of the oldest and most mysterious cultures on the American continent. It gives us explanations about the propulsion and navigation of extraterrestrial craft. But in its center stands a message, which concerns all of us, an urgent call to save and protect life on Earth, which is endangered by us, to inherit our children a living planet. When we eventually learn to love and respect life, Diaz is convinced, a contact "with them" will be inevitable.- Michael Hesemann - Duesseldorf/Germany

Click for video - Ships of Light - The Carlos Diaz UFO Experience - Part 1

Click for video - Ships of Light - The Carlos Diaz UFO Experience - Part 2

Ships of Light - The Carlos Diaz UFO Experience, 2 DVD Special Edition

Armageddon, Alien Rescuers and the Magic Mountain

As many of my readers know, I have been following the phenomena at Bugarach for several years...starting when the fledgling 2012 Mayan Doomsday theory was gathering steam. Since then, the people of Bugarach have endure an onslaught of those who believe the 'Magic Mountain' (Pic de Bugarach) is a place of refuge if the Doomsday scenario ensues. I have posted previous post including interesting history of the location:

Doomsday 2012: Thousands queue for UFO rescue at Pic de Bugarach

Thousands of "New Agers" are flocking to the village of Bugarach in France to prepare for the end of the world on December 21. The people are expecting that aliens will come to save them from doomsday apocalypse by beaming them aboard their spaceships.

The villagers at Bugarach, with a population of just over 200, are bewildered at the steady stream of New Agers ("esoterics") arriving daily in vans with camping equipment. The motley collection of esoteric New Age groups converging on Pic de Bugarach all share the belief derived from the Mayan apocalypse theory that the Mesoamerican Long Count calender predicts, in connection with special astrological alignments, the end of a 5,125-year cycle of history on December 21, 2012.

According to The Inquisitr, the pilgrims, already over 20,000, believe that when Doomsday comes on December 21, aliens will appear in UFO ships at Pic de Bugarach to rescue all people awaiting them in the area and fly them off safely to a place of dawn of a new age and era. BBC reports that for years, there have been rumors circulated on Internet that Pic de Bugarach is home to powerful aliens and that on apocalypse day, December 21, the top of the mountain will open and the UFOs will emerge to rescue those gathered in the area.

UFO cults and the mystery of Pic de Bugarach

The Pic de Bugarach at 1,230 metres, is the highest in the Corbieres mountain range and many believe that mystical forces, energies and powers are resident at the mountain, like the biblical Mount Sinai. According to The Independent, "New Agers" have been making pilgrimages to the mountain because they believe it has special mystical "magnetic waves." Rumors authenticating the sacredness of the site also claim that the late French president Francois Mitterrand flew to the peak by helicopter. Other rumors claim the Nazis and later Israel's Mossad have carried out mysterious digging rituals at the peak.

The mountain is called the "upside-down mountain" because, according to geologists, its top layer is an overthrust from the Iberian plate, and is older than the bottom ones. According to French tradition, the mountain inspired Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The Independent reports that a man called Jean, who set up residence in the forest at the foot of the mountain a few ago, in preparation for the end of the world, said: “The apocalypse we believe in is the end of a certain world and the beginning of another. A new spiritual world. The year 2012 is the end of a cycle of suffering. Bugarach is one of the major chakras of the earth, a place devoted to welcoming the energies of tomorrow.”

French authorities jittery

The local authorities have grown nervous about the goings-on in the area, fearing the possibility of a mass action such as suicide. They have asked the French government to move troops into the area for security. According to The Independent, more than 100,000 are expected to come to the mountain in time for the 21 December "beaming up" of believers aboard UFOs. BBC reports that a special parliamentary committee has warned that the sects may commit mass suicides in 2012 if the spaceships do not come to save them. A report alleges some people have bought land in the mountains and are planning to building bunkers where they may survive the expected catastrophe at the end of the world. The Independent also says there have been reports of strange "rituals" at the site, with "esoterics" climbing to the top of the mountain, some naked, carrying a strange ball with a golden ring strung together by a thread.

BBC reports the local mayor, Jean-Pierre Delord, confirmed that sect members have been ascending the mountain to conduct secret rituals and strange ceremonies in outlandish white outfits. Others have been holding secret meetings in the forest near the village.

BBC reports a wall painting depicting the expectation of the "esoterics" at Bugarach. The painting shows a UFO picking a man off a mountain top.

The mayor says the villagers are worried about these goings-on: “We’ve seen a huge rise in visitors. Already this year more than 20,000 people have climbed right to the top, and last year we had 10,000 hikers, which was a significant rise on the previous 12 months. They think Pic de Bugarach is ‘un garage à ovnis’ [an alien garage]. The villagers are exasperated: the exaggerated importance of something which they see as completely removed from reality is bewildering. After 21 December, this will surely return to normal.”

And of course, entrepreneurs are busy making profits, with American travel agents offering special one-way deals to Armageddon. - digitaljournal

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The Village and the Magic Mountain

telegraph - The mayor of a picturesque French village has threatened to call in the army to seal it off from a tide of New Age fanatics and UFO watchers, who are convinced it is the only place on Earth to be spared Armageddon in 2012.

The farming village is in the region of the Cathar castles, situated on spectacular rocky outcrops. Regarded as heretics by the Catholic Church, Cathars sought refuge in these castles in the 13th century when Pope Innocent III launched a full scale crusade against them.

The village lies next to the Pic de Bugarach, a rocky peak which, at 1230 metres, is the highest point of the Corbières range of hills. The peak is dwarfed however by the nearby Pyrenees and offers splendid views of the range.

Made of limestone with galleries of caves beneath it, the peak is a geological oddity, since its top layers are millions of years older than its bottom ones, making it an "upside down mountain".

The peak of Bugarach has been shrouded in mystery, with various claims that it houses aliens in cavities beneath the rock.

The internet abounds with tales of the late President François Mitterrand being curiously heliported onto the peak, of mysterious digs conducted by the Nazis and later Mossad, the Israeli secret services. There is talk of the area, near to the Cathar castles, holding the Holy Grail or the treasure of the Templars. A visit to Bugarach is said to have inspired Steven Spielberg in his film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind – although the actual mountain he used is Devil's Tower in Wyoming.

Nostradamus, the French apothecary from Provence, is said to have stayed in the area and found the "vibrations" of Bugarach to be positive.

Others say Bugarach is where Jules Verne found the entrance and the inspiration for A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

In the past few months, the quiet village has been inundated by groups of esoteric outsiders who believe the peak is an "alien garage".

According to them, extraterrestrials are quietly waiting in a massive cavity beneath the rock for the world to end, at which point they will leave, taking, it is hoped, a lucky few humans with them.

Most believe Armageddon will take place on December 21, 2012, the end date of the ancient Maya calendar, at which point they predict human civilisation will come to an end. Another favourite date mentioned is 12, December, 2012. They see Bugarach as one of perhaps several "sacred mountains" sheltered from the cataclysm.

"This is no laughing matter," Jean-Pierre Delord, the mayor, told The Daily Telegraph.

"If tomorrow 10,000 people turn up, as a village of 200 people we will not be able to cope. I have informed the regional authorities of our concerns and want the army to be at hand if necessary come December 2012."

Mr Delord said people had been coming to the village for the past 10 years or so in search of alien life following a post in an UFO review by a local man, who has since died. "He claimed he had seen aliens and heard the humming of their spacecraft under the mountain," he said.

Recently, however, interest in the site had skyrocketed, said the mayor, with online UFO websites, many in the US, advising people to seek shelter in Bugarach as the countdown to Armageddon commences.

"Many come and pray on the mountainside. I've even seen one man doing some ritual totally nude up there," said Mr Delord.

Sigrid Benard, who runs the Maison de la Nature guesthouse, said UFO tourists were taking over. "At first, my clientele was 72 per cent ramblers. Today, I have 68 per cent 'esoteric visitors'," he said.

Several "Ufologists" have bought up properties in the small hamlet of Le Linas, in the mountain's shadow for "extortionate" prices, and locals have complained they are being priced out of the market. Strange sect-like courses are held for up to €800 a week. "For this price, you are introduced to a guru, made to go on a procession, offered a christening and other rubbish, all payable in cash," said Mr Delord.

Valerie Austin, a retired Briton from Newcastle who settled in Bugarach 22 years ago who said the alien watchers were spoiling the village atmosphere.

"You can't go for a peaceful walk anymore. It's a beautiful area, but now you find people chanting lying around meditating. Everybody has the right to their own beliefs, but the place no longer feels like ours." She said alien watchers planted strange objects on the mountainside.

Recently she found a black virgin statuette cemented to the rock face.

Although she described the alien claims as "total rubbish", she said there was nevertheless something special about the place.

"It has a magnetic force in the scientific sense of the word. There is a special feeling here, but if I really believed the world were about to end, I'd have a whale of a time over the next two years" rather than look for salvation, she said.

Bugarach is in the Languedoc-Roussillon, the world's largest wine growing region.

Looking For A Great Gift Idea?

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The Bugarach Mountain Incident - Contactees Predicted Chilean Earthquake

Near Bugarach, Aude, France on August 26 2009 at 11:30 pm local time:

The witnesses, Mr. & Mrs. Alain & Marie-France, had visited the nearby site Rennes-le-Chateau which overlooked the village of Bugarach and the nearby valley. They had a perfect view of the mountains and following the advise of a friend they begin signaling at the mountains using their flashlights. (They were curious due to the high amount of UFO activity and other phenomena in the region).

Soon the husband, Alain distinguishes strange lights over the mountains; these lights appeared to be projecting a beam over the grounds as if searching for something. The couple was intrigued since the lights did not correspond with any known natural explanation. Shortly after, Alain & Marie decide to leave their observation post and use a small country road to reach their lodgings. However, they decided to stop for one last observation and as they exited the vehicle, they suddenly saw on the roadside a “luminous entity” that seemed to move by floating above the ground.

Marie-France described the appearance of the entity as human in form and normal size. She remembered being not very ‘dense’ but instead very bright. The entity seemed to be encased in a very bright white light which was not dazzling combined with bright spots of green fluorescence. The entity’s head was conical in shape. Alain could only see an armless humanoid form within a large ball of light moving at ground level. According to the two witnesses the being was about ten yards away, it was therefore clearly visible. The observation lasted for about a minute and then the entity approached the couple and suddenly disappeared in plain sight. Marie-France noted that the disappearance of the entity coincided exactly with a strong feeling of fear she felt in seeing it approach them.

After this encounter with the luminous entity, Alain and Marie-France return to their vehicle. A little further along the road they saw three ‘discs’ of light floating in waves over a nearby field. According to Marie-France, the discs looked like ‘pancakes’ with a hole in the center, ‘like the rings of Saturn’. The ‘rings’ were flat with no apparent external structures. Alain described the ‘devices’ as oblong, bright but with shades of gray. The objects moved horizontally, in slow ‘wave’ like motions resembling the movements of ‘Manta rays”. According to the witnesses the ‘rings’ were several meters in diameter.

The third part of the testimony of Alain & Marie-France is probably the strangest.

After seeing the floating discs over the field, they both go home in a state of shock. Later that night while asleep Marie-France reports that four distinct thoughts cross her mind, “We are beings of light”, “It is dangerous for us to make direct contact with you”, “February 28 2010, there will be a disaster”, “You have to help many people in need.” Marie felt that this was some sort of telepathic message and worries about the supposed impending ‘disaster’. No specific location or extend of the disaster was given. Deeply intrigued by their experience, Marie-France and Alain decide to return the next day to the same place they had seen the luminous entity. Upon arriving at the location Alain sees numerous balls of lights of all sizes hovering on the side of the road and floating near the trees, he believes that there were at least 100 of these spheres. Shortly after he feels a ‘strong flow of energy’ that seems generated by the spheres of light that then quickly surround their vehicle. They then feel a ‘sense of movement’ and chills through their backs and kidney area, their legs are numb. The vehicle appears to be encased in some sort of ‘energy bubble’. Alain then feels that his is being ‘prodded’ and possibly undergoes a physical examination. For her part, Marie-France feels a sense of internal vibration in her body resembling that of a very mild electrical current. The phenomenon lasts a few minutes and then stops abruptly. After the encounter both Marie’s and Alain’s watches have malfunctioned. - Les Confins

NOTE: This site is well known for reporting mysterious events and anomalies. Bugarach Mountain “is suspected of sheltering within a giant lake that is the home of an alien base”. The locals frequently spot strange moving objects over the summit and military maneuvers prevent access to the south side of the mountain area. Magnetic fields are said to knock out mobile phones and laptops permanently.

A powerful earthquake struck Chile on February 27 2010 and devastated large areas and killed hundreds of people.

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The Bettex Affair

The death of the Daniel Bettex, in, on or under Bugarach, has become a local legend. Outside of France, it is known of, but details of the events are often scant or missing from the accounts. As such, it is largely unreported.

Bettex was one of those who, since 1960, were attracted to the mountain and carried out curious investigations. Various prospections of the area were carried out, often discreetly. Often, these expeditions led to rumours, sometimes to entire fabrications. In some cases, a written report was produced, but that did not mean there was no room for amazement or further questions. Some left behind sufficient evidence that opened up even more questions, though in all these cases, a clear revelation was never on the cards.

Most of the routes of these stories take us back to the Cathars, even though it is the story of Daniel Bettex, a Swiss citizen who was a security officer at Geneva airport. Bettex contacted the Cathar organisation that had been founded by Déodat Roché. In his correspondence with the organisation, he enquired about places where he could begin his research. He desired remote locations, so that he was left undisturbed. Roché thus advised him to study the sector of Bugarach, which had been little prospected by other members of his organisation, even though it was known that the Cathars referred to the mountain.

A rumour circulates all the quicker if it is known as a secret. Thus, one statement went that Mr. Bettex was searching for the Ark of the Covenant, that he had located it, as evidenced by his photographs: it was under Bugarach! It was also stated that Bettex was a member of the Rosicrucian order. This assertion is not easily verifiable, but it seems that he was indeed a member of a secret organisation – which was more discrete than the Rosicrucian movement. But the question remains whether his membership had any bearing at all on his research that he carried out in Bugarach… How he came to research Bugarach is known: Roché pointed it out to him…

Another rumour stated that General Moshe Dayan had become personally interested in Bettex’s research. With such notorious Israel officials now apparently interested in him, Bettex’s public profile went up with several points… and the rumour of the Ark of the Covenant became more and better known. It is even stated that the General had contacted Bettex personally, warning him, advising him, to stop everything if he discovered the artefact, and especially not to touch anything… Bettex must surely have been familiar with his Bible, which clearly spells out the dangers of touching the Ark… it did not require the general to point this out.

To this end, Roché also recommended to Bettex that he contacted Lucienne Julien, then secretary-general of the organisation. The latter kept up a close correspondence with Bettex, specifically as he progressed in his Bugarach research. We learned the details of Bettex’s adventures through her.

Bettex’s research progressed, filing through files while he was in Switzerland, and on the ground when he descended to the South of France during his holidays. Initially, he studied the old registers that existed on the area, which had details of mining activities and contained information on the underground resources of the local and surrounding community. Bettex was grateful to Julien, as her local standing opened many public and private archives, which she apparently opened and gratefully shared with Bettex.

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The Myth of Agartha

The legends speak of hollow ground, Agartha and traditions of an underground grid, made of natural or man-made tunnels. The story of Atlantis is never far removed from these and various legends speak of installations, either under the ocean or the land, in which certain Atlanteans were able to survive the cataclysm that was said to have ended their civilisation. At the bottom of forgotten cavities, sometimes flooded, whole or part of the secrets of this legendary civilisation were said to exist.

There are many accounts of accesses to this underground empire. One finds these legends in French provinces like the High Loire (Pradelles), Ariège (Miglos), the Pilat (Annonay), the Ardeche (St Pierreville) the Maritime Alps (Falicon), Provence (the plate of Clansaye, Baux of Provence), etc., to only quote the best known.

Though details and aspects may differ, in essence, each story follows the same structure. Normally, it is an animal or a small child that falls in the opening and is found again, sometimes days later, in perfect health. But if this befalls children, it turns out they have no memory of their adventure. Sometimes, the missing person is an adult – a hunter, a shepherd, a poacher and in one case even a magistrate – who is discovered after a missing period of time. His beard has grown, but he has no memory of what happened to him. Two accounts speak of two men who had undergone this trial, returning with entirely bleached hair! Also, the people who stumbled into the darkness of the underground were never equipped with lighting, but somehow managed to move in this darkness, even being able to find an exit. Sometimes, the entrance is said to be guarded by a creature; sometimes, it is said that there are phenomenal treasures about… finally, there is often a story present of a gigantic underground lake, or of major rivers feeding them. But it seems that they are possible to be traversed, even to follow them, without knowing where they might go.

NOTE: the following link is a must read - Jean de Rignies and the Bugarach - it includes comments to my previous narratives, the reader's insight and their personal experiences with Jean de Rignies...Lon


Alien Interaction Communication with Extraterrestrials

Ufo Joe: Rescue 2012

Just the Facts?: Rihanna's UFO Hobby -- WTF? Bitten by Dead Snake / Missing Genitals / Report Stolen Cannabis

Rihanna reveals UFO hobby

With her gorgeous looks, successful music career and a chilled out attitude, if we were to ask you what one of Rihanna’s hobbies were when she was a young girl, we doubt you would’ve answered: UFO spotting.

However, Rihanna has hinted that her role in new movie Battleship wasn’t her first time confronting alien life-forms. The We Found Love singer’s father would get her to sit on the porch of her home in Bridgetown, Barabados and try to spot the crafty creatures when she was little. Rihanna says,

"My dad used to make me sit outside on the steps all night long looking for UFOs flying by, and I had to do that for years…I didn't see any but I saw a falling star once and I was like, 'Yessss, dad! Come and see, it just darted'."

Own A Part Of Your Favorite Celebrity!

Well it wasn’t a revelation we were expecting, but it’s what the star let us in on at the photo call for her role in new movie Battleship. The singer has decided that she wants to dip her toes into the big bad world of acting, and her debut shows the Bajan beauty starring as Petty Officer Cora Raikes. Battleship is a film that follows Rihanna and her fellow U.S Naval Officers as they try to control and defeat an alien attack, funny that. - monstersandcritics

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Dumb ass of the week...decapitated poisonous snake bites man who put his finger inside its mouth

There were some scary moments for a homeless man in downtown Mobile on Tuesday when he was bitten by a venomous snake. It happened near the intersection of Marion and Jackson streets near a homeless encampment. 41-year-old Bo McMahon was playing with the decapitated head of what’s believed to have been a cottonmouth snake when he was bitten.

He initial refused medical treatment, but paramedics had to be called back after he began to show side effects from the venom. A friend of McMahon described the incident.

“I saw it swimming down along the creek and everything. And, I ran down and hit it with the machete and killed it and brought it up. He picked the head up and stuck himself right in the finger with it,” the man’s friend said. The friend said McMahon purposefully stuck his finger in the snake’s mouth.

“He put his finger in there and all of a sudden the nerves, I guess, and it bit down on his finger.” The men discarded the snake by throwing it back into the creek. McMahon was transported to USA Medical Center for treatment. He was treated with anti-venom and released. - fox10tv

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WTF? Missing Genitals - Accused Cripple Escapes Lynching in Nigeria

An Hausaman, a cripple on a wheel chair who allegedly took the genitals of four youngman Friday, March 16, along Rumuola axis of Aba Road was rescued by the police whose quick intervention saved the man from being burnt alive.

Eyewitnesses told National Network that the first man's penis was allegedly taken from him when he offered money to the cripple who prior to the incident, was sitting comfortably in his wheelchair. Having been dispossessed of his manhood, the man now shocked, and in a terrible fit of anger, reportedly started beating the cripple and in the process brought him down from his wheel chair.

Seeing him in that state, three other youngmen, the eyewitnesses went on, came to help him by putting him back in his wheel chair. That was when the second bombshell occurred. The boys having come in contact with the cripple said to be wearing all sorts or amulets in his waste, purportedly had their penis vanished.

“The shouts of, he has stolen our prick rented the air, which attracted great crowd, some of whom joined now in beating the Hausa cripple and eventually succeeded in burning his wheelchair”, they further told our reporter.

Before he could be lynched, police reportedly arrived on the scene and took them, that is, the four boys and the cripple to the Divisional Police station, Kala, along Mile 4, Ikwerre Road, Port Harcourt.

Reporters who were following the story spoke to the DPO of the Police Station, a very Polite Officer, who immediately ordered his junior officers to bring the boys into his office so that they could be interviewed. On entering his office, the DPO ordered them to pull down their trousers, so that the alleged missing genitals could be confirmed. When they did that, it was seen that their genitals were intact, although they complained that they were lifeless. One of them particularly complained that since the incident took place he had not been able to urinate even though the urge to urinate had been there.

Not wanting to take chances, and insisting that the boys’ manhoods must be confirmed working or lifeless, the DPO ordered one or two of his junior officers to take them to a hospital so that a doctor could examine them.

When this reporter called the DPO before going to the press on Monday, he was confident that the boys are normal, having been examined by a doctor.

His confidence he told National Network, was boosted by the fact that the boys had not come back to the station to complain again. Subsequently, the Hausa cripple who allegedly perpetrated the act, he said, had been released on bail. - nationalnetworlonline

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Dumb ass couple of the week...couple call police after their cannabis farm is stolen

A bungling couple called police to report a theft from their house – £10,000 worth of cannabis. Officers arrived at the home of Colin Roberts and Mandy Coghlan to be greeted by a smell of cannabis. They quickly established that the cannabis had been stolen and Roberts was arrested for production of the drug. But that angered Coghlan who grabbed a loaded air pistol and pointed it at one of the police officers. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Roberts took the cannabis to alleviate his pain from Crohn's Disease.

Now Roberts and Coghlan have been handed 12-month prison sentences, suspended for two years. Officers found a "gazebo set up" in an upstairs bedroom with 16 pots with just stubs left as the rest of the cannabis plants had been harvested. There was also 46.33 grams of dry skunk cannabis. The court heard the potential yield of the plants and value of the drugs was about £2,000.

Roberts, aged 47, of Bond Street, Tunstall, who has previous offences for drugs matters including cultivation of cannabis in 2009, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis. Coghlan, of the same address, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to producing cannabis and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. They accepted there was an element of commercial supply in the growing of the cannabis. Joanne Wallbanks, mitigating for Roberts, asked Recorder Patrick Thompson to give her client a chance.

David Bratt, representing Coghlan, said her role in producing the cannabis was lower than Roberts. He added she acted on the spur of the moment with the firearm. "It was just a foolish act of crass stupidity," added Mr Bratt. As well as the suspended jail terms, Roberts must complete 240 hours' unpaid work and Coghlan must work with alcohol and drug support service Adsis for 12 sessions. - thisisstaffordshire

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Vicar hospitalized with potato up his bottom

A vicar claims a potato got stuck up his bottom after he fell on to the vegetable while hanging curtains in the nude.

The clergyman, in his 50s, told medical staff at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital that the accident was definitely not due to a sex game.

He had to undergo surgery to extract the spud from his backside, according to The Sun.

A&E nurse Trudi Watson said: 'He explained to me, quite sincerely, he had been hanging curtains naked in he kitchen when he fell backwards on to the kitchen table and on to a potato.

'But it's not for me to question his story.'

She went on to reveal other objects removed from people's derriére, including a cucumber, a Russian doll and a carnation. - metro

Just the Facts?: UFO 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' -- Apollo 11 Rocket Engines Found -- Rare Black Fox

...'somewhere over the rainbow'

Friday evening March 23rd, 2012 [item moved/CMS/nd] appeared a beautiful double rainbow. It lasted for maybe 10 minutes, and I was able to get my camera and snap off about 30 pictures. In only one of them, "within" the rainbow, was a black "line" with a black "aura" around it in the purple section of the major rainbow! The pictures from six seconds before and twelve seconds later of essentially the same perspective did not exhibit such an anomaly, and so I know it was not a camera anomaly. I did not notice the object until I downloaded the images from camera to computer. A single cropped image at 100% of the cameras resolution accompanies this report. I find such interesting in comparison to a similar circumstance event on November 10th, 2010, [item moved/CMS/nd] also reported to MUFON, I took pictures of a beautiful sunrise and in different images UAPs were also later noticed to have been captured. - MUFON

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Rare black fox spotted in English countryside

The moment a rare black fox was spotted in the British countryside. The prized shots were taken by amateur photographer John Moore, 58, to prove to his friends he had really seen the unusual creature. It is believed to be only the second time a black fox has been spotted in the British countryside.

John’s wife Cheryl, 64, first spotted what she thought to be a black sack blowing in the wind last week. John then spotted it for himself last Thursday but it has disappeared by the time he managed to get his camera out. He then spent four days watching for the black fox, which has a distinctive white-tipped tail and is believed to be one of just a handful in the country.

John, who took the pictures on Monday, said his friends thought he was imagining the black fox. He said: “When we spoke to people they didn’t believe us. They though we were talking about some kind of mythical creature. They thought we must have been mistaken and just seen a stray dog.

“I was desperate to get a good picture to prove we had seen it. From these pictures there is no mistaking it.” John believes there may be another black fox living near his home in Bassingbourne, Cambs., but is yet to capture a shot of it. The black fox is in fact a red fox which is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particularly dark.

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Amazon Founder Finds Apollo 11 Moon Rocket Engines On Ocean Floor

When NASA's mighty Saturn V rocket launched the historic Apollo 11 mission to land the first men on the moon in 1969, the five powerful engines that powered the booster's first stage dropped into the Atlantic Ocean and were lost forever.

Lost, that is, until now.

A private expedition financed by Amazon.com founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos has discovered the five F-1 rocket engines used to launch Apollo 11 into space on July 16, 1969 and is drawing up plans to retrieve one or more so they can be publicly displayed.

"I'm excited to report that, using state-of-the-art deep sea sonar, the team has found the Apollo 11 engines lying 14,000 feet below the surface, and we're making plans to attempt to raise one or more of them from the ocean floor," Bezos wrote in a statement posted to the Bezos Expeditions website. "We don't know yet what condition these engines might be in - they hit the ocean at high velocity and have been in salt water for more than 40 years. On the other hand, they're made of tough stuff, so we'll see."

Bezos said he was only 5 years old when he watched with rapt attention when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made their historic voyage to the moon. But it was only recently that a question struck his mind.

"A year or so ago, I started to wonder, with the right team of undersea pros, could we find and potentially recover the F-1 engines that started mankind's mission to the moon?" Bezos wrote.

It was then that Bezos began planning what his website billed as the F-1 Engine Recovery expedition.

If one of the Apollo 11 F-1 engines is ultimately recovered, it will be turned over to NASA, Bezos added.

"Though they've been on the ocean floor for a long time, the engines remain the property of NASA. If we are able to recover one of these F-1 engines that started mankind on its first journey to another heavenly body, I imagine that NASA would decide to make it available to the Smithsonian for all to see.," Bezos wrote. "If we're able to raise more than one engine, I've asked NASA if they would consider making it available to the excellent Museum of Flight here in Seattle."

Bezos stressed that at no point will public funds be used in the F-1 engine recovery project. The entire effort is a privately-funded expedition, he wrote.

"NASA is one of the few institutions I know that can inspire five-year-olds. It sure inspired me, and with this endeavor, maybe we can inspire a few more youth to invent and explore," Bezos added.

The Apollo 11 project is not Bezos' only space-themed project. His private spaceflight company Blue Origin is developing a commercial spaceship capable of flying people to and from Earth orbit. That project has received some NASA funding to push its space capsule plan forward.

Only three Saturn V rockets remain today, and only one is assembled from entirely from flight-capable hardware. The 363-foot (110.6-meter) tall boosters on display at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Fla. and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. are comprised of flight, test and replica components. The Saturn V at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas is built entirely from leftover flight hardware.

Additional standalone F-1 engines, which never flew, are displayed across the nation, including in Washington, D.C. at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. In total, NASA launched 65 F-1 engines, five per flight, on 13 Saturn V boosters between 1967 and 1973. - space

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Espresso Machine for the Car Makes Its Debut

Caffeine-addled commuters take note – it’s now possible to get your morning coffee fix from inside your car.

The 2-pound Handpresso Auto mobile espresso machine plugs into a car’s cigarette lighter socket and fits in a cup holder. After you provide the water and a pod of coffee, the gadget delivers 16 bars of pressure to produce a shot of espresso in two minutes, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

Nine bars of pressure is typically considered adequate for making espresso, but purists could be turned off by having to use pods instead of freshly roasted beans ground just before brewing.

Handpresso shipments will hit the French market in April, and it’s too soon to say whether the invention will go stateside, company spokeswoman Catherine Nielsen, told Businessweek.

Nielsen said her husband, Henrik Nielsen, invented the product and died three months ago.

A video on Handpresso’s site demonstrates what’s probably the best method for playing barista in one’s car. - nbcnewyork

NOTE: I'll bet my daughter buys one of these...Lon

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Hiker Attacked By Lion Is Saved By Bear

A hiker has described how he was attacked by a mountain lion while walking in the US - only to be saved by a bear.

Robert Biggs, 69, was walking in north-central California when he spotted a mother bear accompanied by a yearling and a newborn around 40ft away from him.

He watched the animals for a few minutes before turning to walk back up the trail and then a mountain lion pounced, grabbing his backpack.

Mr Biggs had seen the mother bear (not pictured) several times before

Mr Biggs told the Paradise Post: "It must have been stalking the little bear. It was on me in seconds."

He tussled with the cat and hit it on the head with a rock pick he had been carrying but it still clung on.

The walker said he was only saved when the mother bear approached him from behind, grabbed the lion and ripped it from his bag.

The two animals fought for a few seconds before the cat ran away.

The bear then also left, leaving Mr Biggs behind with bite marks, scratches and bruises but otherwise unhurt.

The hiker had walked the same trail several times before and seen the mother bear and its cub twice, even playing "patty-cake" with the youngster.

He is certain the mother bear that saved him during the attack by the lion is the same as the animal he had seen before because he recognised her markings. - Sky

Pawleys Island Legends and Hauntings

Historical ghost stories abound in South Carolina, but one of the oldest and most famous is the story of the Gray Man of Pawleys Island, a coastal community in Georgetown County. Several versions of this story exist, but all say the apparition appears before major storms to warn the island’s inhabitants of approaching danger.

The oldest version begins with a young woman from Colonial Charleston, the daughter of a prominent family. She had many suitors, but would not choose among them because she was in love with her wild and reckless cousin. Both sets of parents objected to the match and discouraged it by sending the young man to Europe. News soon arrived from France of his death in a duel. Brokenhearted, the young woman went into mourning, refusing to see suitors or other callers.

A year later, a young wealthy rice planter from the Waccamaw area visited the family. A recent widower, he fell in love at first sight with the still grief-stricken girl and sought her father’s permission to court her. The father agreed, but told the young man the sad story of her previous romance. Eventually, the young planter won her hand and the couple married. The newlyweds wintered on a large estate on Waccamaw Neck and summered on Pawleys Island.

During the Revolution the planter served as a captain under Francis Marion. While away fighting the British in the summer of 1778, his family moved to the summer home on Pawleys Island. One evening, a violent storm foundered a ship off shore. The slaves saw one survivor stumble out of the surf. The slaves told him their master was away, but that the mistress would provide him with shelter until the end of the storm. They took him to the summer house and gave the stranger food and dry clothes. When the mistress of the house came to greet him, she fainted. The mysterious stranger cried out and ran from the house, disappearing into the storm. He was her lost love thought dead many years before. It was later learned he died of yellow fever and exposure while trying to find his way south to Charleston. It is said he still haunts the island in the vicinity of this old house, a shadowy "Gray Man" warning islanders of storms and the perils they bring.

Often, investigation into documented history reveals discrepancies that can cast doubt on the accuracy of legends like that of the Gray Man. The discrepancy here lies in the date of settlement on Pawleys Island. Recent historical research indicates the island resort is of a more recent vintage than the one described in the story. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the term "seashore" described the eastern edge of the mainland. The summer residences of the rice planters tended to be along this eastern edge of the mainland or on North Island near the mouth of Winyah Bay. Historical records, including maps and plats, do not document any settlements or homes on Pawleys Island before 1822. The "Pawley or Allston House", which is of construction of the late 18th or 19th century, does not appear on any plats of Pawleys Island until after 1858. It is speculated that the house was built and used on the mainland and moved to the island via a causeway built in 1845. - Pawleys Island (A Lowcountry Tale)

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Pawleys Island sits along the coast and is home to small cottage homes, inns, and one very famous spirit. The story is always the same - the Gray Man warns residents to flee the island from an impending hurricane.

The legend tells a tragic love story. A young man returning from a long absence was eager to see his fiancee. He rode on horseback from Georgetown, SC to Pawleys Island. The young man was so eager to see his beloved young girl that he decided not to follow the road, but take a short-cut across the marsh. In this untraveled marsh the young man’s horse fell in quicksand, both horse and rider were killed. The young girl was devastated and began to forlornly walk the beach, mourning her lover. One windy summer day, she saw a man dressed all in gray approach her and recognized him as her dead fiance. He told her to get off the island immediately because there was danger. Without another word, he vanished. The young woman told her parents what she had seen and they fled to the mainland. That night the hurricane came ashore destroying nearly every home on the island. The home of the young woman was left somehow untouched by the storm as though it had been protected by an unseen force.

The first recorded sighting of the Gray Man is from the hurricane of 1822 that hit Charleston and caused over 300 deaths on the outlying islands.

In 1893 the Gray Man appeared to the Lachicotte family. He was silent, but his meaning was clear. The family fled the island and survived the storm. This hurricane, called the Sea Islands Hurricane, killed an estimated 1,500 people and Lachicotte’s surely would have been part of that tragic number.

October 1954 found Bill Collins and his new bride honeymooning on the island. Around 5 AM Bill heard a knock at their door. Too early to be anything unimportant, Bill answered the door. Before him stood a man in rumpled gray clothing and a gray hat which hid his features. He said that the Red Cross had sent him to tell them to leave because a big storm was coming. Bill could smell salty brine on the man’s clothing and heard the urgency in his voice. Suddenly the man in gray disappeared leaving Bill stunned and shaken. Bill and his new wife left the island and Hurricane Hazel struck soon after as a Category 4 storm. Hazel eventually killed 95 people and destroyed 15,000 homes.

September 19, 1989 residents of Pawleys Island, Clara and Jack Moore were walking along the beach. They saw a man dressed all in gray suddenly appear among the dunes. He approached them, then vanished. This was warning enough for Clara. She and Jack packed bags and fled inland. Two days later Hurricane Hugo struck the coast as a Category 4 storm killing 76 people along its path and causing $10 Billion in damage.

Often when the Gray Man is seen the homes of his audience will be left completely untouched by the storm while the neighboring homes are decimated. Is the Gray Man somehow protecting these homes? If his warnings were not heeded, would the homes and residents truly be destroyed? For people who have seen the Gray Man it is without question - he came to warn them and if they hadn’t listened their lives would’ve been taken by the storm. - excerpt from hauntedlowcountry.com

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One version of the story is that a plantation owner's daughter was spending the summer on the island, and awaiting the arrival of her fiancé. He returned safely, but, when he was taking a shortcut, his horse fell into quicksand. They both died. She was devastated and began to walk the beach. One wind-filled day, she saw a man in grey approach her and recognized him as her dead fiancé. She ran to him, but before she could reach him, the ocean swept him away.

When her father learned about this, he took her to a hospital in Charleston. She was found to be sane. The next day, a hurricane hit the island, leaving death and destruction in its path.

Another version is that when she saw him, he told her to get off of the island immediately because there was danger. Then, he vanished. When she told her parents, they left the island the following morning. She was a sensible woman and did not have flights of imagination. That night, the hurricane hit. While most of the island's homes were destroyed, theirs was untouched.

Another version is that he is the ghost of Plowden Charles Jeannerette Weston, the original owner of the house on the island, the Pelican Inn. He was born in 1819 and schooled in England where the family moved temporarily so he could have a decent education. After the rest of the family returned to the island, Plowden stayed in England to attend Cambridge. He fell in love with Emily Frances Esdaile, one of his close friend's sisters.

Mr. Weston was staunchly anti-British and disdained royalty. Emily's father was a baronet. Plowden was afraid that his father would not approve of the marriage, so he sailed to Georgetown to tell him about the marriage plans. His father agreed to the marriage. Emily's father gave the couple a dowry of 7,000 pounds. Plowden's father gave them a dowry of 70,000 pounds and houses in London and Geneva.

The couple married in 1847. They lived at Hagley Plantation, another gift from Plowden's father. Off of the shore was Pawleys Island and the couple made plans to build a summer home there. This was when Pelican Inn was built. They built a chapel on the land that could seat two hundred slaves.

Plowden had Southern sympathies and when the Civil War began, he was company commander of the Georgetown Rifle Guard, Company A, Tenth Regiment. The couple entertained the men in his regiment and their ladies at the Pelican Inn. He developed tuberculosis and died shortly before the war ended. - Guiley, Rosemary Ellen - 'The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits' / Huntsinger, Elizabeth - 'Ghosts of Georgetown: Pelican Inn of Pawleys Island'

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In 1849 Dr. Allard Flagg moved into his new home, The Hermitage, on Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. He soon invited his widowed mother and 16-year-old sister, Alice, to live with him. Alice Flagg was a beautiful young girl with long, thick auburn hair and bright brown eyes. Dr. Allard Flagg and Alice’s other brother, Dr. Arthur were affluent doctors courting sisters of perhaps the most wealthy and upper-class family in the lowcountry.

While on a shopping trip in town Alice met a young lumberman and over the next few months they fell deeply in love. The young man came to call on Miss Alice at The Hermitage one day but was met by Dr. Flagg in the garden. After speaking with the man for some time Dr. Flagg realized the man’s low station and qualities and sent him away before he could speak with Alice.

Outraged by her brother’s treatment of her beau, Alice agreed to meet the man in secret and they soon became engaged. When Dr. Flagg saw the plain gold band on Alice’s finger he demanded Alice return it and forget about the young man. He wished her to find a young suitor who was of their social stature. Alice agreed to return the ring but instead hung it on a ribbon and secreted it around her neck beneath her dress.

To help Alice forget her young man Dr. Flagg sent Alice away to boarding school in Charleston. Alice had loved Murrells Inlet and disliked everything about the elite, highborn society of Charleston. She refused to forget her love but reluctantly accepted her new surroundings, although never removed the young man’s ring hanging beneath her dress.

Late one night Alice fell seriously ill. The physician concluded that she had contracted malaria and instructed the school to contact her family immediately. Dr. Flagg sped to Charleston in his carriage but found Alice in a delirious state. Despite the night being stormy, he packed her things and laid her in his carriage for the journey back to The Hermitage.

When the girl was lifted from the carriage Dr. Flagg found that she was much worse. She drifted in and out of consciousness all night long, often clutching at her chest where she knew her young man’s ring still hung. By morning Alice could not fight the illness and she fell silent and died. Her body was dressed in her favorite long white dress, but when Dr. Flagg discovered the ring her removed the ribbon and threw it out onto the marsh. Alice was buried at All Saints Cemetery near Pawley’s Island. A plain marble slab covers her grave. The engraving on the stone consists of only one word - Alice.

Although more than 150 years have passed, the ghost of Alice Flagg is still occasionally seen in her lovely white dress coming in and out of the front door of The Hermitage and walking the cemetery at All Saints Cemetery. Whether she’s seen at the house or the cemetery she’s always clutching one hand to her chest, hoping her ring will be returned.

The report of the ghost of this young girl walking the salt marsh graveyard searching for her ring brings many romantics to this site. Vistors often bring flowers and small tokens of remembrance in hope of contacting Alice and calming her heart-sick soul. - excerpts from coastalguide.com

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