- COOPER: Well the Mexican Air Force is releasing infrared
video of unidentified flying objects surrounding a surveillance plane.
There it is.
-
- Some say the shapes appear to change direction. The pilots
who saw these images could be heard yelling, quote, we are not alone?
-
- So, what do you think, is this a close encounter from
a UFO as some are claiming? Joining me now from Los Angeles is Michael
Shermer, publisher of "Skeptic" magazine. Michael, thanks for
being on the program. You have seen the videos. What do you think was really
going on?
-
- MICHAEL SHERMER, SKEPTIC MAGAZINE: Well, first of all,
a couple interesting things about this clip is that you'll notice the symmetry
of the image, the three dots are exactly parallel to each other on the
right and then there they are on the left and the one on the far right
matches the one on the far left. So that's an in lens, or in camera effect
there. That isn't 6 objects, that's 3 being mirror imaged.
-
- This is an infrared camera and, in fact, as I got the
reports, the pilots didn't see that when they were up there. They saw it
later. When they were shown the footage of the infrared camera. Of course,
you are not looking at infrared when you're in the cockpit.
-
- COOPER: So, you don't think it's something in the sky,
you think it's something in the camera or in the plane?
-
- SHERMER: I think there's probably something in the sky
that's being duplicated. What that is probably a flare or a series of flares
or possibly one of these pilotless drone planes that the military are using
these days. And I think it's probably being duplicated that way and then
being reported. It's hard to say, because the images are hardly blurry.
-
- COOPER: I know you're a skeptic, you think this reminds
you of this incident I think back in 1997 the famous Phoenix light incident.
What happened there?
-
- SHERMER: That's right. The Phoenix lights turned out
to be a series of flares launched by the local Air Force base and there
you go, they kind of seem to appear out of nowhere and hovered for quite
a long time. And later it was determined that's what they were.
-
- But to people at dusk and at night, it's really hard
to tell how far away something is. How big it is, how fast it's moving
or not moving. And so what happens when the mind is not clear, it fills
in with its own imagination as to what is going on with size, movement,
that sort of thing. Then these stories get exaggerated with the retelling.
-
- COOPER; Well, there's also this guy Billy Myers we're
going to quickly show -- he claims to have taken a lot of UFO photos. We're
going to show some of them. What do you think is going on with him.
-
- SHERMER: Here I think these are faked. I think there's
little doubt in my mind they are fake. It's not difficult to fake UFO photographs.
We've done it. And I think either these are actual objects that are being
misinterpreted or faked objects that are being exploited for people's belief
in UFOs.
-
- COOPER: It's a fascinating subject. Michael Shermer,
appreciate you being on. Thank you.
-
- SHERMER: You are welcome.
-
- http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0405/12/acd.01.html
-
-
- Comment
- From L. Rubim
- 5-18-4
-
- Dear Jeff,
-
- It was with great amusement I have read Michael Shermer's
interview with CNN about the Mexican UFO incident....but I guess after
all, people like him make a living out of debunking and "skepticism".
I don't know much about flares but I guess the movement of the objects
was too linear to be a simple flare...and once again here we are, they
are actually ignoring the crew's account of the event and the footage itself.
-
- Again, I would also expect, and it is reasonably to expect
so, that a pilot or a crew would know the difference between a flare and
a solid object/aircraft and its size. He also goes on to say that the objects
are actually three being mirrored....even if that was the case, the "three"
objects still have a very linear motion, consistent with an object under
control.He also says that they saw the objects later, not when they were
up there.
-
- Not entirely true, I personally and honestly speaking
found it a bit difficult to make out who's voice is who's throughout the
footage of the IR camera, but if something is true, is that the total amount
of the objects were detected (11) by the IR imaging system AND while the
crew was in the air. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. If there
is something that makes the footage so amazing is its spontaneity - one
can hear the voice of the the person in charge of the IR system counting
the number of objects during an exchange with the crew. Mr Shermer is not
debunking nor practicising true skepticism, he is simply lying. Once you
remove vital details from an account to make it fit your views, that's
what you are doing, lying.
-
- The crew was made aware of the number of objects while
in the air, regardless of if they had seen the objects in the footage or
not.Fact. The systems used record things in real time.Fact. FLIR systems
are known as being life long reliable.Fact. Also his mention of the Phoenix
Lights is way off. I mean, if the case was that it was simply some flares
sent up by the airforce, why were the people who asked for enquiries mocked?
A simple question demands only for a simple answer...and it's one which
the flare theory does not fit.
-
- Then again Mr. Shermer has to live somehow. But it is
only shameful to live off lying and concealing the truth from people, even
when it is before their own eyes.
-
- I say, these days be skeptic of the skeptic. Or at least
the one's like Mr. Shermer.
-
- Kind regards,
-
- L. Rubim
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