UFO ROUNDUP Volume 6 Number 19
Volume 6
Number 19
May 10, 2001
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
UFO FLAP ERUPTS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
A large number of reddish-orange fireball UFOs have been sighted in and around Mt. Gambier, in the state of South Australia, during the past few weeks.
Sightings of the mysterious fireballs have been most common near Mt. Gambier, Point McDonnell and Pelican's Beach, S.A., in Australia.
According to Australian ufologist Trevor Raynor, "Newspapers have again been filled with stories from lots of people who have sighted these orange-red fireballs. All of the sightings have been in South Australia. The local Mt. Gambier radio station was also inundated with calls In fact, they had an 'hour' dedicated to people to call in and tell or talk about what they had seen."
"Then it was a 'white cloud type' object that was seen, but that thing remained where it was, and there were no other clouds in the night sky over Mt. Gambier."
The sightings are being investigated by Trevor Raynor and director Charmaine Ballam of the Australian UFO Research Network-South Australia.
There was a UFO sighting elsewhere on the island continent last week.
On Sunday, April 29, 2001, at 3 a.m., Michael Hodge was in Wangaratta, in Victoria state, when he saw " a UFO approach from the northeast."
""Me and my mates were at my house when we saw a big black disc," Michael reported. "There was lots of moonlight so I saw a bit. It was large and circular with a round pod at the front end. It was 300 feet (90 meters) off the ground and moving at approximately 400 kilometers per hour (250 miles per hour) It slowed to 60 kilometers per hour (36 miles per hour) and then flew away to the southeast." (Email Form Report). And thanks to Diane Harrison of AUFORN for the South Australia reports.)
UFO SURPRISES A TRACTOR DRIVER IN SOUTHERN SPAIN
On Friday, April 13, 2001, Jesus Maldonado, 40, a tractor operator at Finca Buenavista farm near Alhama de Granada in southern Spain, "boarded his tractor and began plowing. At 8:30 a.m., he became aware of an intense light towards the east. At first he thought the light belonged to a motorcycle owned by one of the farm's goatherders, who was coming over for a chat."
"Suddenly, the light went off, and he was able to see a truncated conical object rising from the ground to an altitude of three meters (10 feet). The object might have been three meters (10 feet) in diameter and two meters (6 feet, 6 inches) tall. Its appearance was metallic and of a reddish-orange color."
The object "was able to split into two parts--the lower (segment) roughly one-third of the object, and the upper part, roughly two-thirds of the object, which rotated very slowly from left to right. The object had no windows and no lights and lacked signs or emblems on its structure."
"The UFO was 200 meters (660 feet) away from Maldonado." The field was filled with barley. However, because the Spaniard had only started plowing, most of the field was full of stubble from last year's crop.
"Maldonado stopped the tractor's motor and observed the object. Something appeared to protrude from the center of the object area," but at an oblique angle which prevented him from seeing it clearly.
"The object began to fly towards the witness, moving along at an exasperatingly slow rate of speed. The witness was standing on slightly higher terrainas the object moved towards him, and it was also rising very slowly to match the terrain. Maldonado suddenly felt afraid and stated, 'I didn't know whether to start crying or to run away.'"
"The object placed itself at a distance of 50 meters (150 feet) from the witness, stopping its forward motion and beginning to retreat from him at a maddeningly slow rate of speed. It went beyond its (original) landing point and placed itself over a neighboring farm known as La Polilla. It then stopped and began heading towards the witness once again. However, when it passed over him, heading west, it was now quite high in the air."
"The witness kept watching it as the object rose very high into the sky and departed." (Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, auto de los libros, Chupacabras and Other Mysteries y Forbidden Mexico; y Antonio Salinas de la Sociedade de Investigaciones Biofisicas para esas noticias.
TWO UFOs HOVER NEAR MONTE CALVO IN ITALY
On Sunday, April 29, 2001, at 9:15 p.m., the male witness and his 12-year-old brother were standing on their porch at the foot of Monte Calvo in Italy's Aquila province when they both noticed "a bright star approaching from the west."
The pair described the UFO as "resembling a white light like a small-voltage flashlight (torch in UK and Australia--J.T.) The light hovered near the summit of Monte Calvo (mountain). After a few minutes, it was joined by another bright white light. Then the two lights moved in tandem to the left. The lights continued to move from west to east" before vanishing. (Grazie a Alfredo Lissoni di Centro Ufologico Nazionale d'Italia per questo rapporto.)
UFO SQUADRON PASSES OVER NEW PARIS, ILLINOIS
On Sunday, April 29, 2001, at 6:45 p.m., Thomas H. was out in the backyard of his home in New Paris, Illinois. As he glanced towards the southeast, he saw several small "aircraft" heading his way.
Tom took a closer look, and his eyes widened in amazement. "Approaching from the southeast were many black discs. (At that distance) They looked like birds, and they flew from side to side but without turning. The objects were black and disc-shaped, and their estimated speed was 90 miles per hour (144 kilometers per hour). They looked to be very, very high up, maybe 200 miles (320 kilometers), right up there at the edge of space. The halted and then retreated to the southeast." (Email Form Report)
HOVERING UFO SEEN IN SOUTH POINT, OHIO
On Friday, April 27, 2001, at 3 a.m., Patricia P. was walking through the Sheridan Mobile Home Community in South Point, Ohio when she and her companions noticed an unusual object in the southern sky.
"We were walking home from my brother's house, which is about four trailers away from ours," Patricia reported. "There was a UFO that was hovering over the top of some trees."
"As we looked up, it took off, leaving a bright orange residue (luminous trail--J.T.). It took off really fast and was going straight (north) for the hillside, and by the time it reached the hillside, it was gone. If it had been a plane, it would have crashed. The object had lights that went on and off like a plane's (navigation) lights." (Email Form Report)
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OR FREAK ACCIDENT?
On Thursday, April 26, 2001, at 2 p.m., three-year-old Brendan Miller was sitting in the playscape area of his day care center in Bristol, Connecticut when something strange began to happen.
His shirt suddenly caught fire.
Connecticut "Consumer Protection Commissioner James Fleming was on hand Monday (April 30, 2001) and tried to set a piece of paper on fire, using the mirrored dome responsible for setting three-year-old Brendan Miller ablaze."
"Thursday the little boy was sitting in the dome at 2 p.m. The dome bounced the sun's rays onto Brendan's shirt, setting it on fire, giving him second degree burns. Jade Cyr saw Brendan burning and rolled him on the ground to put out the fire."
"'It didn't make sense. I don't know how he could have caught on fire. But at the time, I really didn't think about that too much., i guess, just out of instinct, I did what I had to do,' Cyr said."
"On the day after the freak accident, a (state) fire marshal recreated the same conditions. In thirty seconds, the temperature went from 72 degrees (Fahrenheit) to 250 degrees (Fahrenheit). All the while, the dome itself never got hot. The Family Center replaced the dome the same day."
"Investigators were on the scene, testing the removed dome to determine what happened."
"'We hoped we'd got a jump on it for the safety of the neighborhood kids,' facilities manager Paul Dailey said."
"The mirrored dome has been taken down and replaced with a clear plastic one."
"Meanwhile, little Brendan Miller is recovering. His mother says he was a little leery about being out in the sun but is doing fine." (See the MSNBC webpage for May 1, 2001. Many thanks to Louise A. Lowry for this item. Also the New London, Conn. Day for April 27, 2001.)
(Editor's Note: Bristol, Conn. has a long history of Fortean phenomena. In July 1907, two "waterspouts" or small tornadoes miraculously appeared during a clear summer day over Occum Lake. In June of 1908, a little over a year later, a cylinder-shaped UFO hovered over the same lake for 20 minutes and was seen by hundreds of people.)
(Editor's Comment: Congratulations, Brendan! Three years old, and you're already a celebrity--the first male human being known to have survived an SHC event. That ought to be good for at least one guest appearance at a future Fortean Unconvention.)
BLACK HELICOPTERS FLY OVER HOUSTON
Numerous black helicopters performed aerial maneuvers over Houston, Texas on Saturday, April 28, and Sunday, April 29, 2001.
Craig Y. reports, "For the past two days, I have sighted black military helicopters flying around the Willowbrook Mall area of Houston."
"The choppers flying around for the past couple of days don't just pass through. They circle a couple of times, then fly off somewhere else, returning to circle the area every couple of hours. They seem to discontinue around 10 p.m."
"Any idea what they might be looking for? I called the newspaper and a couple of TV stations last night to report the activity , and to ask if they knew, and they basically told me to stop being so paranoid." (Email Form Report)
(Editor's Comment: Don't feel bad, Craig. The chemtrail spotters are being told the very same thing. Hmmmmm--looks like the black helicopters are active again.)
HOLLYWOOD ON TRIAL?
"That 'wascally wabbit's' past is too wascally for the Cartoon Network."
"The cable net, which is planning an extensive Bugs Bunny retrospective next month, has decided to leave out a dozen Bugs 'toons because they are considered too racially charged."
"In one episode, Bugs parodies a blackfaced Al Jolson. In another he calls a buck-toothed Eskimo a 'big baboon.'"
(Editor's Comment: Remember the one set in the South Pacific in which Bugs hands out disguised grenades to Japanese soldiers, saying, "Here's one for you, monkey face. Here's yours, four eyes." And then there's the episode in which Bugs steals the fig leaf from an unfortunate person of color. My, my, what a "hate criminal" that wascally wabbit is!)
"Originally the Cartoon Network planned to air the 'toons with a disclaimer but Warner Brothers, which owns Bugs, According to the Wall Street Journal, WB was more worried about the impact on the company's extensive merchandising. But Bugs is not alone. Many vintage WB cartoons featuring unflattering portraits of minorities have been withdrawn from the airwaves."
Yes, Hollywood is running scared. The distinguished character actor, Elmer Fudd, Bugs's co-star in many cartoons, also appeared in blackface and actually conducted a blackface orchestra in a minstrel show at the end of one cartoon set in Canada. Fudd is reportedly considering the retention of Johnnie Cochrane as his defense attorney, saying, "Like I told Bugs in 1955, I may be cwazy, but I ain't going to Alcatwaz."
Another star who may be in trouble with the thought police is Cheetah, 68, who was Johnny Weismuller's co-star in several Tarzan movies from 1934 to 1944. Cheetah was born in Nigeria in 1933, came to the USA as a baby and is now retired and living in Florida.
Jomo Umgawa, assistant deputy UN undersecretary-general for the investigation of hate crimes, denounced Cheetah as "a traitor to the sacred cause of African unity" because he had appeared in a film in which "white Euro-cultural oppressors flogged people of color."
He also charged the simian actor with having been a Nazi sympathizer in World War Two.
"I have seen a 1943 black-and-white film of Cheetah making a radio broadcast to an appreciative Nazi audience," Umgawa said, "Afterwards, Cheetah stood up and gave the Nazi salute."
Confident of acquittal, Cheetah said he was "ready for my day in court at the Hague" and promised "the biggest show since the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925," which took place in Tennessee. (Believe it or not, this actually appeared in USA Today for May 7, 2001, "Bugs Bunny docked for racism," page 1D. Well...not all of it. The parts about Elmer and Cheetah are strictly satire, a concept which I'm certain is completely wasted on the United Nations and the rest of the politically-correct crowd.)
From the UFO Files...
1954: AN UNUSUAL HOUSE GUEST IN PERU
The city of Ayacucho in southern Peru is most famous for being the site of the last battle for independence in South America. The battle was fought in 1824. Approximately 130 years later, in 1954, another event occurred, this time at the height of a South American UFO flap.
I first heard this story in July 1973, when the Keohans and I took our ramble through the Andes, from Huancayo to Cuzco. This was "Ancient Astronaut Summer," and while in Ayacucho, I heard the story of a couple named Jimenez and the mujer fantastica they had seen in their house.
It was May 1954, which is mid- to late-autumn in Peru, possibly a Saturday because the Jimenez couple--we'll call them Carlos and Anita--had gone to the Mercado (open-air Indian market--J.T.) to do some shopping.
Carlos and Anita Jimenez lived in a two-story house on the Calle 28 de Julio (street), south of the Plaza de Armas and La Compania church. Their house was Mediterranean or Spanish Colonial in style, built around a central courtyard . The only windows facing the street were on the second floor. A locked door provided the only access to the interior courtyard from the street.
Having walked home from the market, Carlos unlocked the outside door. They carried their groceries into the kitchen, and, while they were stocking cupboard shelves, sharp=eared Anita heard a noise upstairs. She went to the foot of the courtyard stairs leading to the second-floor balcony. She listened carefully. No, she hadn't been hearing things. There it was again--a sound like soft footsteps.
Her husband joined her. "What is it?"
"Somebody is up there," she whispered.
So up the stairs they went, with Carlos in the lead. They examined all three bedroom's on the floor--their master bedroom, the guest bedroom, Anita's mother's bedroom--and the family chapel. No sign of any intruders.
As they walked past their own bedroom, Anita had a strong feeling that someone was in there. She grabbed her husband's arm, put her left index finger to her lips and had him flatten against the stucco wall. They waited breathlessly for almost a minute. And then they heard the soft footsteps inside their bedroom. Together Carlos and Anita rushed through the open doorway. Then they stopped short, gaping in astonishment. Standing on the other side of the bed was a beautiful young woman. She looked shocked at first. Then her expression was a blend of frustration and dismay.
Carlos wasn't exactly a big help to the Policia Municipal. He said the intruder was "very pretty" with "an impressive bosom." Anita, on the other hand, provided a wealth of details. She described the intruder as 1.7 meters (5 feet, 6 inches) tall and slender, with a honey-gold tan and an exuberant mass of curling and wavy auburn hair. She had golden hoop earrings and sandals to match. And her attire was a bit skimpy for the Andes. Anita described it as "an avocado-green French swimsuit (bikini--J.T.) and a bolero jacket of the same color with elbow-length sleeves." The intruder had what looked like a white plastic cast on her left forearm.
Anita broke the silence, "Who are you? What are you doing in our house?"
"How did you get in here?" Carlos asked.
The intruder looked at them both for a long moment, then replied in halting Spanish. "Me llamo Jelu. No estoy de aqui." ("My name is Jelu. I am not from around here.")
Then the intruder lifted her left forearm. The Jimenez couple saw twinkling multicolored lights flashing along its length. The woman began tapping it as if it were a typewriter.
Instantly a wall of fine red mist appeared between them and Jelu.
Getting frightened, Anita said, "I'm calling the police!"
Ignoring them, Jelu turned and faced the stucco wall behind the bed. She began tapping her thick plastic wrist device again.
Carlos rounded the bed, one hand reaching out to detain her. "Un momento, senorita..."
But as his fingers made contact with the mist, he let out a scream and tumbled to the carpet. Anita rushed to her husband's side. White-faced and gasping, Carlos tenderly cradled his stricken hand. His fingers and thumb were covered with small red blisters.
"What did you do!?" Anita shouted.
Suddenly, a circle of golden light appeared on the wall, as if there was a hand-held flashlight on the other side. The light circle swiftly grew until it reached from the floor to the ceiling. The light was soft and resembled "oil floating on water," Carlos later told police.
The intruder stepped into the light--and vanished.
The red mist disappeared, as well.
With his wife's aid, Carlos sat on the edge of the bed, gritting his teeth in pain. Rushing to the bedroom window, Anita said, "I'll get help."
As she pushed open the latticework shutters, Anita got another surprise.
Before she could cry out, she saw the intruder several meters down the street, heading north towards La Compania church. Anita blinked in disbelief. The woman had left only 20 seconds ago. How could she have gotten down the street? Indeed, if not for that towering auburn hairstyle, she never would have recognized Jelu. For the intruder was now wearing typical Andean clothes--a voluminous dark skirt, a cardigan sweater and a black knit shawl.
"Help! Help! We need a doctor here!" Anita yelled from the upstairs window. And pointing at the intruder, she added, "Stop her! She's a thief! She broke into our house!"
Jelu looked back only once and quickened her step.
"Carlos, she's right outside!" Anita said, running for the bedroom doorway. Favoring his injured hand, Carlos followed suit. The couple reached their front gate just as Jelu reached the plaza. Shouting, they charged up the street, followed by curious neighbors, only to watch haplessly as Jelu flagged down a colectivo, hopped into the back seat and sped away (Editor's Note: A colectivois a sort of itinerant taxicab that follows a set route around a Peruvian city.)
The police visited the Jimenez house and interviewed the couple. No one had tampered with the door's lock, and there were no items missing from the premises. The officers thought the couple had been victimized by "a crazy woman" acting out some burglar fantasy.
The Ayacucho residents who told me this story insisted that the incident had taken place during a major UFO flap in South America. I was not in Ayacucho long enough to confirm the Jimenez story. But I did find a mention of a major UFO sighting in the neighboring country of Bolivia.
In 1955, Frederick O. Hehr, a California businessman who was living in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, mailed a photostat of his diary to British Ufologist Harold T. Wilkins.
Hehr wrote, "Curious discoidal object seen in the skies today (May 6, 1954). It was low on the southern horizon and looked like a discus, perfectly circular with bright color, Got a glimpse of it as it moved away from La Paz."
So there the matter rests. If any of our readers in Peru have any more information about l'affaire Jimenez, send us an email at UFO Roundup. (See the book Flying Saucers Uncensored by Harold T. Wilkins, Citadel Press, New York, N.Y., 1955, page 234.)
Well, that's it for this week. Join us in seven days for more UFO and paranormal news from around the world, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you then!
UFO ROUNDUP: Copyright 2001 by Masinaigan Productions, all rights reserved. Readers may post news items from UFO Roundup on their websites or in newsgroups provided that they credit the newsletter and its editor by name and list the date of issue in which the item first appeared.
