Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Exposing PseudoAstronomy(Episode 90, Oct 21, 2013): Investigation into Billy Meier’s Alleged Foreknowledge About Jupiter & Saturn



 I’ve been doing some research on and off for this episode for quite awhile and finally had enough to post it: Episode 90: “Investigation into Billy Meier’s Alleged Foreknowledge About Stuff About Jupiter and Saturn.” The shownotes for this episode are extensive with lots of references. It’s been scheduled as Episode 90 for about two months. I decided to do it because I found it an interesting scavenger hunt, despite the fact that UFO-related posts are among my least-read blog posts.

The blog entry I reference towards the end of the episode is from January: “How Astronomers Are, According to Popular Press, Constantly Discovering the Same Thing.” I recommend looking through it because it’s a good example that has nothing to do with the Meier case where even peer-reviewed, professional science papers will sometimes ignore work that has shown the same “new” thing before, and it’s a good example of how press releases can play up various “discoveries” … even if they’ve been made before.

The podcast episode also has a few notes at the end, and there’s some feedback clarifying the discussion about why oxygen isotopes are important for understanding where objects formed in the solar system.
Given what’s happened in the past when I’ve talked about Meier’s material, I’m going to reiterate my comments policy: Comments need to be on-topic, and I make the final decision of what comes through; I do not owe you an explanation if your comment is not posted, my comments policy is pretty clear. Any comment to this post needs to be specifically about this podcast episode.

If you’re going to dispute material in it, you need to provide specific references and be specific about what you are disputing. You need to be succinct. That means no lengthy essays. That means no posts with numerous links to random stuff. That means no links to videos about trees — no embedded videos period, I will remove them and I will remove posts that are simply a bunch of random links to Meier material, especially if they do not support the specific thing you are refuting / referencing. That means not debating whether trees in a video are real or models.

This episode is specifically about certain claims about Jupiter and Saturn, whether those claims/statements were true, and whether it was known or openly speculated before Meier’s writing that they were true or existed, which is what the claim is for Meier’s prophecy: “… with literally dozens of other such documented examples of Meier’s having published specific, accurate information years, and even decades, before terrestrial scientists, the case must be recognized as being authentic based on these irrefutable facts alone.” It is not the claim that this stuff was known on Earth but Meier didn’t have access to that information so he still got it from ETs — and if that’s what is going to be claimed now, then that is an unfalsifiable and unverifiable claim and is moving the goalpost.

Listen/Download: PsuedoAstro_90
Source: Exposing PseudoAstronomy podcast

Friday, October 18, 2013

“And the Gods land again and again …” : Forecasting the future within new religious UFO movements on the Internet (Sep 23, 2003)



Abstract:
The Internet has become a rich field of varied representations of religious movements in its own right. Alongside the diverse websites of larger religious movements, there is also a huge Internet presence from individuals that see themselves as religious. This is an innovation due to the fact that it is now possible and relatively easy to create an international Internet presence without great expense. Technical innovations and special interaction processes pervade these religious representations and even impact the content of websites on the World Wide Web. This dissertation considers two different groups in the context of the Internet and examines their forecasting of the future: The Ashtar Command Movement (Ashtar-Command-Bewegung) and the FIGU Community (FIGU-Gemeinschaft). These groups are presented in very different ways on the Internet: The Ashtar Command Movement appears as a network of many diverse individual websites that vary greatly in form and content. In contrast, the websites of the FIGU Community represent the image that a highly structured community seeks to portray. Common to both groups is the belief that extraterrestrials are of central relevance to the history of mankind and that they will also have an important role in the future. In investigating both groups it was necessary to first consider some particular problems connected with the Internet, such as data collection, ways of communication, and manipulation of data. Using this foundation, it was then possible to identify and analyze websites that deal with forecasting the future and extraterrestrials. This identification process was necessary to describe the web background of the Asthar Command Movement and FIGU Community websites and to classify, for example, some important markers concerning beliefs of progression and degression. It became clear that many new religious movements on the Internet consider extraterrestrials as a real and serious matter. To explore the websites of the Ashtar Command Movement in terms of forecasting the future it was necessary to classify this dynamic movement using structural characteristics in order to narrow down data. The analysis of both movements in terms of forecasting the future shows that there are different forms of forecasting and most of them use different topoi that stem from the European history of religion. Scenarios of degression mostly prevail within the FIGU Community while scenarios of progression for mankind exist in the Ashtar Command Movement. Extraterrestrials generally have a catalytic function in both scenarios. On the methodological side, this dissertation enters new territory concerning ways to explore religious movements in many respects. Some new methods were developed to collect and analyze data from new religious movements on the Internet. These methods take account of the technical form and the content of the websites. Above all, however, it was also necessary to create new ways of describing dynamic religious movements on the Internet. These methods are not only building blocks for analyzing new religious movements on the Internet; they are also of major significance for general discussions within the science of religion.
Download the book: here(only german)
Source: Gernot Meier

Inception Radio Network(Oct 16, 2013): California MUFON interviews Michael Horn




California MUFON Radio Highlights Michael Horn’s Presentation of the Alien Encoded Pictographs Channeled Through Billy Meier. Later on Wednesday, October 16th at 11pm EDT, the genial prolocutor and voice of California MUFON Radio, Lorien Fenton, looks for savvy researcher Michael Horn to underscore the true relevance of alien communication with mankind through the works and…

Listen/Download: here
Source: Inception RN

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Merseyside Skeptics Society - Be Reasonable (Episode #9, Sep 30, 2013): Michael Horn



This month on Be Reasonable we speak to American UFO researcher Michael Horn. Michael is one of the most vocal and prolific supporters of Billy Meier – the Swiss septuagenarian who claims to have been visited by aliens regularly throughout his life, and claims to have concrete evidence of their existence.


Listen/Download: Episode 9
Source: Merseyside Skeptics Society