Fortean / Alternative News: The Real Men in Black and 'Anonymous' UFO Hack

Evidence, Famous Cases, and True Stories of These Mysterious Men and Their Connection to the UFO Phenomena

Author: Nick Redfern
Subject: UFOs
ISBN-13: 978-1-60163-157-2
Pages: 256
Dimensions: 5.25 x 8.25 inches
Format: Paper
Price: $15.99

The Men in Black were elevated to superstar status in 1997 in the hit movie of the same name. Although the Hollywood blockbuster was fiction, the real Men in Black have consistently attempted to silence the witnesses of UFO and paranormal phenomena since the 1950s.

In The Real Men in Black, author Nick Redfern delves deep into the mysterious world of these mysterious operatives. He reveals their origins and discusses classic cases, previously unknown reports, secret government files, and the many theories that have been presented to explain the mystery.

Highlights of The Real Men in Black include:

*The story of Albert Bender, the first man to claim an encounter with the Men in Black;
*The involvement of the MIB in the Mothman saga that dominated the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the 1960s;
*Encounters with the MIB at the site of one of the world’s most famous monsters: Loch Ness;
*Exclusive interviews with leading researchers of the MIB phenomenon.

The Real Men in Black website

You can order the book at New Page Books - The Real Men in Black

Nick's website is at www.nickredfern.com.

**********


The FBI has requested a DNA sample from "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski as part of its investigation into the 1982 deaths of seven Chicago-area people who took cyanide-laced Tylenol from packages that had been tampered with, officials said Thursday.

Kaczynski, who pleaded guilty in 1998 to setting 16 explosions that killed three people and is serving a life sentence in federal prison, has declined to voluntarily provide a DNA sample.

Chicago FBI spokeswoman Cynthia Yates said the FBI is seeking DNA from Kaczynski and "numerous individuals," although she wouldn't provide details about any of the others. She declined to say whether the agency would try to compel Kaczynski to give a sample, but in a motion filed in California court, Kaczynski said he was told the FBI would try to force his hand.

John Balasz, Kaczynski's attorney, said he thinks the FBI wants Kaczynski's DNA simply to rule him out as a suspect in the Tylenol case.

"You've got to ask the FBI how serious they are. I think it's probably more that they want to exclude him," he said.

Balasz said he's "completely convinced" that Kaczynski had no involvement in the case.

The U.S. Marshals Service is currently auctioning off items seized from Kaczynski's home. Ahead of that auction, he filed the court motion in California asking the court to order the government to keep certain items taken from his cabin in 1996, including journals that could prove his whereabouts in 1982 and other evidence that could clear him in the Tylenol case.

In a response filed Monday, federal prosecutors said the courts lack the jurisdiction to enter such an order. They also noted that Kaczynski hasn't been indicted in connection with the Tylenol investigation "and no such federal prosecution is currently planned."

Kaczynski, who's in federal prison in Colorado, said in his motion that the officials who notified him of the FBI's request said the agency was prepared to get a court order to compel him to provide a DNA sample. He said he would provide one "if the FBI would satisfy a certain condition that is not relevant here," but doesn't elaborate.

Balasz said he's told the government they'll have to get a court order to get the DNA sample.

The Tylenol case involved the use of potassium cyanide and resulted in a mass recall. Kaczynski said he has "never even possessed any potassium cyanide."

In a space of three days beginning Sept. 29, 1982, seven people who took cyanide-laced Tylenol in Chicago and four suburbs died. The deaths triggered a national scare and a huge recall, and eventually led to the widespread adoption of tamperproof packaging for over-the-counter drugs.

In 2009, federal agents searched the Boston home of James W. Lewis, who served more than 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Tylenol maker Johnson & Johnson demanding $1 million to "stop the killing." Lewis has denied involvement in the poisonings.

The Tylenol poisonings case has stymied investigators for all of its nearly 30 years, and no charges have ever been filed in the deaths.

Helen Jensen, a former nurse who accompanied investigators to the home of one of the victims, said she hopes this latest news isn't a dead end like so many before.

"It sure would be nice to finally get some end to the whole thing, for the people that are survivors," she said, adding that she still occasionally talks to the grandmother of a 12-year-old girl who died. "It's all very tragic; her whole family was destroyed by it." - nypost

**********


Online hacker group Anonymous has sent out a call-to-arms for its latest prank: attempting to convince the world (or alien enthusiasts, more like) of the existence of men form outer space.

At 8pm on May 22, anyone in on the idea is encouraged to report the same UFO sighting ("a triangle of about 8 yellow lights in the sky") to the relevant hotline or website of their choice. The idea is that the sudden influx of identical reports will convince UFO buffs that contact is finally about to be made.

Meanwhile, KISS star Gene Simmons has softened his opinion on the hackers, a direct contrast to his views when they hacked his site in October.

“I think they mean well, I think it’s misdirected,” Simmons told defamer.com.au. “You’re talking about very bright young people who really have a chance to enter the mainstream and make some money for themselves and climb the ladder of success. If you tear down the structure there’s no where to go.”

Anonymous crashed the bassist's websites in revenge for a speech he gave urging artists to sue copyright violators into submission.

According to Simmons’ lawyer, the attack left his sites down for days and cost the rocker as much as $US25,000.

His October threat read:

"We will sue their pants off.

"First, they will be punished.

"Second, they might find their little butts in jail, right next to someone who’s been there for years and is looking for a new girl friend.

"We will soon be printing their names and pictures.

"We will find you.

"You cannot hide."

Simmons said Anonymous hadn't attacked him again.

“They know I’m being watched,” he said in reference to a recent FBI raid on the home of a Washington 15-year-old boy suspected of being part of the group who attacked his site.

“I have big watch dogs.”

**********


The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project and a symbol of China’s confidence in risky technological solutions, is troubled by urgent pollution and geologic problems, a high-level government body acknowledged Thursday.

The statement came as technicians were certifying the very last of the dam’s array of generators as suitable for hydroelectric generation, the final step in a contentious 19-year effort to complete the project in defiance of domestic and international concerns over its safety as well as threats to the environment, displaced people, historical areas and natural beauty.

According to official figures, the venture cost China about $23 billion, but outside experts estimate it may have cost double that amount. The dam has been plagued by reports of floating archipelagoes of garbage, carpets of algae and landslides on the banks along the vast expanse of still water since the 600-foot-tall dam on the Yangtze River was completed in 2006. Critics also have complained that the government has fallen far short of its goals in helping to resettle the 1.4 million people displaced by the rising waters behind the dam. Continue reading at China Admits Problems With Three Gorges Dam

**********


Japan's seabed shifted by as much as 79 feet (24 meters) in an east-west motion during the giant March 11 earthquake—the largest earthquake movement ever recorded, scientists say.

But that doesn't mean that it's the largest such shift ever to have been caused by an earthquake, cautioned Chris Goldfinger, director of the Active Tectonics and Seafloor Mapping Laboratory at Oregon State University.

The March earthquake was, however, the first time that scientists have directly measured such a slippage thousands of feet of underwater.

"Any magnitude 9 earthquake will have similar values," said Goldfinger, who was not part of the study team.

For instance, the 2004 Sumatra earthquake may have moved the seabed by as much as 100 feet (30 meters), he said by email.

GPS Technology Tracks Fault Movements

For several years, a team led by Mariko Sato of the Japan Coast Guard has been monitoring particular spots along the Japanese fault that produced the recent earthquake.

Scientists had placed transponders on the seabed. Using high-precision sonar techniques, the researchers could then record the transponders' locations from research vessels, whose own locations were carefully tracked by GPS satellites.

This two-step technique is necessary, because GPS signals cannot reach the seabed, Sato said by email.

Shortly after the Japan earthquake occurred on March 11, the scientists returned to measure the changes.

"This is the first time a great subduction earthquake has been directly observed in the submarine part of the fault, which is where most of the action takes place," noted Oregon State's Goldfinger.

"We normally have to infer slips from onshore GPS," Goldfinger said. "Being able to measure it directly is very useful. It confirms the ability to model it from shore. It will help quite a lot in refining such models."

Understanding Future Tsunamis, Earthquakes

Overall, the more we learn about such earthquakes the better, Goldfinger added. Pre-2011 tectonic models, for example, did not predict a big earthquake around the site of the March epicenter near the east coast of Honshu island, Japan. (Read more about earthquake prediction.)

Furthermore, such research is useful in understanding tsunamis, research leader Sato said by email.

"It is important to continue monitoring seafloor movements in order to evaluate the risks of future earthquakes and tsunami." - NatGeo

**********

Photo: C. Struthers

More new species - including a "straightened-out seahorse" - have been found in New Zealand's largest scientific expedition exploring the Kermadec Islands.

Scientists say the pipe fish, a white creature with "striking" orange spots, is probably new to science and while only small, represents a significant find.

"We have two species that I'm pretty confident are new to science - a little left-eye flounder and a pipe fish, Auckland Museum marine curator Dr Tom Trnski says.

"We suspect the flounder doesn't grow very big as the largest one we have collected is just 10 centimetres long, but it's a pretty wee thing.

"Probably the most exciting find is the pipe fish. Pipe fish are related to sea horses, and are really just like a sea horse that has been straightened out."

The team, which includes experts from the Department of Conservation, Te Papa, NIWA and Australian Museum, have also recorded a number of species new to New Zealand.

These include a shark, a zebra lionfish, a tropical banded eel, a blackspot sergeant and a tropical goatfish.

New species have also been found on dry land.

Department of Conservation botanist Dr Peter de Lange has found three species of filmy ferns that are new records for the Kermadecs.

Confirming the new species may take months, as the material is sent to experts around the world to be identified.

New Zealand's subtropical Kermadec Islands group lie 1000km north east of the North Island.

The expedition has been focusing its attention around Raoul Island, and the small islands nearby, at the northern end of the Kermadecs.

It will now move south to Macauley Island, and over the next eight days the expedition will carry out surveys around the four southern islands in the island chain. - stuff.nz