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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Fortean / Alternative News: The Sideshow - 'Finding Bigfoot' or Hoaxing Bigfoot

The Bigfoot Sideshow Continues

The following was posted recently by Loren Coleman from Cryptomundo on the Sanger Paranormal Society Facebook page in reference to their complaint that Coleman posted their photo of a supposed Bigfoot 'imprint' prior to a scheduled press conference:

You leaked the photo. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. First off, Jeffrey and David, don’t complain to me about all the publicity, notice, and comments you are getting. You put out a press release. That means you wanted publicity. You leaked, released, forgot you posted, and so forth your photo. Fair use and public domain come into play. After your press release, what, did you think people would sit on our hands and not investigate? Now you have national AOL News attention because I told them about your press release, and you are “pissed” at me? OMG. Get a grip. This is what you wanted and now you aren’t happy it is not developing in the fashion you scripted it in your head? This is media attention. You wanted media attention. You should be thanking me, not cursing me. Would you rather you were given the silent treatment? Gosh. You can’t put out something, not take responsibility for it, and then blame everyone else for reacting to it. Think about how you are reacting to this, and chill out.

Huh? Maybe a case of envy and/or rivalry...or simply resentment for what may be another stunt that further diminishes the reputation of Bigfoot research? The press conference is scheduled for June 23rd, 2011. Is this just another chapter of the Bigfoot sideshow or is this more than speculation? We'll soon see.

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'Finding Bigfoot' Hoax Exposed - By the Cast!

The TV show Finding Bigfoot has a lot of critics debunking the evidence that the legendary cryptid really exists. That now includes the people who appear on the show itself.

Cast members from the TV show have commented in various online forums that they are bugged by the heavy-handed editing done by producers of the series, and are not happy that they seem to be putting false words in their mouths. To say nothing of using tricks to make their actual findings more seemingly groundbreaking.

Critics of this kind of documentary-style Reality TV shows have pointed to programs about the Paranormal which seem to build on the gullibility and limited experience of viewers. The phrase "what the hell was that?" is becoming a catch-phrase for the practice.

It derives from the many characters in these shows who utter the phrase as they respond to perfectly normal, and easily explained, phenomenon caught on camera. Usually through night-vision FLIR lenses and "filming" ghosts or the famed Sasquatch itself. This seems to be the case in the latest example of rigged Reality TV.

Cast member and BFRO leader Matt Moneymaker says, in response to a question about one particular scene with typically grainy footage, "... the thing I ran after up the hill was a human — someone who was sneaking around us in the woods trying to watch the production in progress. I said so repeatedly and vehemently at the time, for the cameras, but they edited out all of that in order to make it seem unclear what I was chasing after."

That seems to be all the proof needed. Looks like Reality TV itself is the next Sasquatch. Someday everybody will try to prove it really does exist - by Tom Rose - Gather

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Climate change disasters can be predicted

Climate change disasters, such as the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, dieback of the Amazon rainforest or collapse of the Atlantic overturning circulation, can be predicted according to University of Exeter research.

Writing in the journal Nature Climate Change, Professor Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter shows that the 'tipping points' that trigger these disasters could be anticipated by looking for changes in climate behaviour.

Climate 'tipping points' are small changes that trigger a massive shift in climate systems, with potentially devastating consequences. It is already known that climate change caused by human activity could push several potential hazards past their 'tipping point'. However, it is often assumed that these 'tipping points' are entirely unpredictable.

Professor Lenton argues that a system of forecasting could be developed to enable some forewarning of high-risk tipping points. The approach he outlines involves analysing observational data to look for signs that a climate system is slowing down in its response to short-term natural variability (which we experience as the weather). This characteristic behaviour indicates the climate is becoming unstable, and is a common feature of systems approaching critical thresholds known as 'bifurcation points'.

Professor Tim Lenton of the University of Exeter said: "Many people assume that tipping points which could be passed as a result of human-induced climate change are essentially unpredictable. Recent research shows that the situation is not as hopeless as it may seem: we have the tools to anticipate thresholds, which means we could give societies valuable time to adapt.

"Although these findings give us hope, we are still a long way from developing rigorous early warning systems for these climate hazards." - sciencedaily

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Gators escape...still at-large

Eight alligators are still free after 17 escaped from an alligator farm in Citrus County Saturday.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, an investigator received a call from a local nuisance-alligator trapper, saying eight 4- to 6-foot alligators had been captured over four days.

The alligators were found in a housing development, but the investigator found a gator farmer nearby.

According to an FWC statement, "the alligator farmer was surprised to learn that of his 18 alligators, only one remained in the enclosure."

They had escaped by digging a hole under a fence.

The farmer, who had a license for the farm but now has surrendered it, was cited for maintaining wildlife in an unsafe/unsanitary condition. He had 20 animals, two of which died.

Eight alligators are still missing; the recaptured alligators have been sent to permitted farms. - firstcoastnews