Well, Luminon, you are clearly one wild and crazy guy.  By any chance, do you know of the Festrunk Brothers?

 

 

Well actually, probably only the rest of the old farts on the forums got the joke. It was a late 70's recurring comedy routine about two Chezch immigrants who had no clue of American culture.

 

Speaking personally, I would like to hear more about who you are and less about what weird stuff you are interested in. I am a psychiatric social worker and I get a hefty dose of weird just walking in the front door at work.

 

I would also like to hear more about your culture. Honestly, very little has made it over here and that was certainly heavily influenced by political considerations over the years. Apparently, your country is a bleak and very polluted place where everyone is more or less half asleep at the best of times. Asa is to be expected because you only pretend to work so that the state can pretend to pay you, which really doesn't matter because there is nothing to buy anyway.

 

Your turn. Would you tell me what you have heard about life in America?

 

Yes, in these times America was viewed as a rotten, immoral place full of great, slightly perverted pleasures where everything is allowed. Similar opinion is now in the Muslim world.

 

I am an intellectual guy with a great curiosity and interest about everything. Everything, from global political situation,  through programming to details of mating ritual of a deep sea flatfish (and humans too). A nerd, you would say, I'd say a person who has a brain and is not afraid to use it, but perhaps should be. I suffered a lot from being not social, this is why, after a few nervous breakdowns when I wasn't too far from shooting everyone around, I have estabilished a living philosophy of tolerance, sincerity, diversity, harmlessness, cooperation, good will and detachment. This is why I'm not offended by most of things other people are, they're trifles to me. This is also exactly what Creme says, I can agree from my own experience with everything he wrote about it, I have seen how valuable these qualities are. I am also a bit distrait, careless, and perhaps too modest, which reflects on my often stubble face and cheap clothes from Vietnamese shops. I love to create things, whether it is a literature, computer game, picture, or a wooden shelf box on my table, where my laptop is placed. I can often put everyone around to laughter, though I don't exactly know how. Usually by an unusual, spontaneous reaction on something, or my strange kind of humour. So this is about my fairly improved personality after years of suffering, disillusion, catharsis, meditation, and breaking of glamour. There is still a long list of fixes that have to be made, like more of a confrontation with the beauteous gender, sports and work qualification, but it seems that the potential of getting into encyclopedies is there.

 

It's a tiny, overcrowded, heavily industrialized country, but it's not bleak, unless you have to live here. It's a paradise for tourists, because everything here is incredibly diverse, like miniaturized. This is why it's very diffcult for me to generalize anything. It's the only culture I know personally, so you would have better to read the observations of foreigners first (which are hilarious for me as well) and then ask me about specific things. You can find these here:
http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/trapasy/
http://www.svu2000.org/issues/index.htm
And specially:
http://www.ce-review.org/thematicarchives/czech/ta_czechsociety.html
A lot of that is a harsh criticism, but justified one. As for a bit obscure information, the Czech Republic is not a democracy. There can be no true democracy without a participation of people, and here, the participation is very low, and if high, then ignored and disencouraged by media. It seems more like a despotism, a private binge of the parliament and senate which we all here must pay.

 

I have heard that America is one hell of a country. There are very big tent cities of homeless people in every city, no social system for them, no affordable healthcare, except of charity organizations like Remote Area Medical. On the other side, I have heard that other Americans have twice as big fridges as we have, and five times as full, and yet they can just let them be and go to restaurant for a dinner. These Americans are often big people who actually needs to read the silly writings on all the heaps of things they buy and throw away afterwards. (warning: may contain peanuts - a pack of peanuts) An American person can throw away any food without regret, which is a shame, when 10 millions of people per year dies from hunger. Instead of walking for 100 meters they go that distance by a car. Children are brought up without any discipline, but then they are forced to compete with other children, they're like little Pokemons of their parents. (this is also a problem in Japan and wherever the American culture steps) Furthermore, I know that nowadays it's becoming less like that, but a few years ago it was made sure that all the nation believed in evil terrorists attacking them for no reason and that America is the best country in the world ever, destined to be a master over all nations and a global policeman. This is why Americans here are viewed as a barbarianic conquerors, a paranoid, militant nation which can't be trusted, or as a new Nazi Germany on it's quest for Lebensraum (or Oilensraum perhaps) - a major source of all evils in the world. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the latest effort to estabilish a military bases here to aim missiles at the harmless, peaceful Iran and Russia are only a confirmation of that.

This is the popular bad opinion about America. However, USA has also a good, loving, mature personality, which can save the world. It manifested itself only briefly before, as the Marshall Plan which rebuilt the Europe after WW2. But when America manages to bring this quality up again, it will save the world, which desperately needs it.

 

 Interesting description Luminon.  Are you sure you're not actually from Canada ?

Ah, thank you Luminon. People in other countries simply don't understand America and I suspect that we don't really understand other countries any better.

 

Let me take the peanut thing as an example. The fact is that I have not seen that one but I have to say that it is fairly likely. You should read the instructions that are included with our various products. For example, we have instructions included in every box of condoms. How hard can it really be to figure out how to roll a rubber thing down your dick? Apparently we need to be told. One box that I bought a while back had 13 steps to use one. Umm....

 

Affordable health care? Yah, we have it if you can afford it. Don't ask me how that makes sense, in some weird way it does. I have a great plan where my employer pays 75% of the insurance regardless of how it goes down. So I am told to pick the cheapest of 8 different options.

 

I had the cheapest insurance a few years ago. Then I slipped on ice on my way to work. I ended up having to pay USD $40 three times a week for therapy into August. After that, I switched to the most expensive plan that I can get. My employer still pays 75% and my payroll deduction is a bit larger but if I ever get hurt again, I will only pay USD $10 per week for the same service. Mind you, only 80% of us have health care at all. Except that we give free health care to the other 20% of us. Of course the free health care sucks. It sucks differently from the paid health care.

I'm not from Canada, not even genetically. But from esoteric point of view, Canada's national soul ray is the same as my own personality ray, so there may be some similarities. I have a friend artist and musician there. I also like Canada somehow, it seems like a good place to live to me. Not only to me, Canada is being flooded by Gipsy refugees who are escaping like crazy from local high welfare benefits to Canada's even higher welfare benefits Guess why CZ citizens needs visa to enter Canada. But we generally don't regret that much. There's a local joke:

News line: Romania was struck by extreme earthquakes! 50 000 Romanians dead! USA sends 100 millions of dollars! Germany sends 100 millions of euro! Czech Republic sends 50 000 of new Romanians! 

Thanks a lot, I sometimes really need that. It takes some effort to control my responses (and to leave out some really tempting, ingenious sarcasm ) but this is how I really feel that this is right. I do a lot of things because I feel they're right, because I believe that the personality is a tool to change the world, which must be developed and purified, usually through overcoming of diffculties. (of which there's no shortage here) Such is a philosophy of personal evolution and many people follows it purely intuitively, without reading any esoteric theory at all. This is a quality within us all, not a narrow path for the chosen ones of a particular religion. I actually have an impression that the RRS itself expresses the qualities which are typical for a correct esoteric discipleship or aspiracy.

I think it would be interesting for you to know how do I see the skeptical community as such. I will talk about the 5th ray of Concrete knowledge and science. This ray was, according to esoteric theory, brought here out of it's normal schedule over 100 years ago to influence the humanity to develop a technically and scientifically advanced civilization, which will serve as a good, solid basis for future development. But every ray has two modes of expression - perfect and imperfect, virtues and vices. The virtues, the great achievements of science are known to both of us, so there's no need to mention them. Now I will describe the vices, the glamours (emotional illusions) of the 5th ray. The quote is from Creme's book The Art of co-operation.

The 5th ray type, especially those with the 5th ray on the mind and physical-brain level, are so withdrawn into the mental plane, that they are very critical of those who do not see what they see. They see clearly, but in a very limited way, on a very narrow range. They are rather arrogant about their ability to see clearly, forgetting about the world of which they see nothing at all which exists outside of their limited viewpoint. Many scientists are very influenced by the 5th ray. Modern technology is a 5th ray phenomenon. There is a very sharp, clear insight into a small area and a complete lack of awareness of the bigger world, the world of different levels of consciousness. Most scientists are against any esoteric viewpoint at all. It never occurs to them that there is more to the world than they can see in the microscope and measure.

(...) All these ray-types have virtues; I am talking only about the glamours. We do not need to talk about the virtues because they will always be positive. The glamours, the vices, are the destructive tendencies.

Obviously, we have here a community of skeptics, having less or more of 5th ray in their personal make-up. A personality is the area where the vices of rays can be expressed. From time to time, a religious people comes, for whom is typical the 6th ray of Idealism and devotion. (and fanaticism and bigotry) Because the 6th ray is currently being switched off as it did enough of damage on Earth in last millenia, I welcome the skeptics' noble effort to intellectualize the theists. But here also comes my effort, to show the 5th ray personalities that there are other, also valid and important qualities of the world than the skepticism and theism, that the world is much bigger and diverse. This can be hopefully achieved by a direct, honest and polite approach... Sometimes a bit humorous analogy comes to my mind, (for those who listened closely to the RRS shows) that I can behave well in relation towards a skeptic. Then when my real identity of an esotericist is revealed, the skeptic may be surprised that I am not a baby eater as esotericists are thought to be

Sure. I don't say this is a true opinion or that I believe in all of this. (I guess that it is too much generalized) This is a popular bad opinion which people here expresses when they need a common topic for the whole family at a festive dinner. Slandering of the invaders is a popular thing here, we've always had a plenty of them I am curious how much that opinion is true now.

I know, such a writings appears on goods at shop because of one dumbass who gets an accident and then sues the company for hundreds of millions, not that they would be generally needed. But it's surely entertaining to other nations

 

Wow... 120 USD per week, you say? That's 2400 CZK per week, and 9600 CZK per month. If I would have to pay this, I'd have 50 USD left from my monthly payroll.

I once broke my wrist. I had no special insurance at all except of a mandatory health insurance at a state-owned insurance company. I went to a doctor, he fixed my wrist for free, then after the gypsum was put down I was visiting a therapy for free and then my wrist was healed. Indeed, nowadays there is more of things paid - if you aren't sick and you need a check-up paper, it costs a few tenths of USD, and the visit costs 1,5 USD before they even look at you, but these are recent inventions. (specially the 30CZK fee which decreased a number of visitors per 50% )

In fact, the commercialism is a factor diminishing both availability and quality of life as such, and healthcare as well. There is nothing wrong with paid healthcare, as long as everyone can pay it. But if you couldn't, you would talk about it completely differently. I believe that healthcare should be made one of basic human rights, because those who need it the most, the poor, can least afford it. There is a way how to have everything for free, food, shelter, healthcare and education. There should be absolutely no commercialism and competition in social services at all! The competition always means one winning at the detriment of many, it is thus inevitably destructive. The way to have the public good for "free" is, of course, the sharing. In every company, industrial let's say, there is a tremendous profit which ends up in a pockets of a few people. The workers gets a miserable salary and from this they have to pay taxes, food, shelter, healthcare and education. If we set a maximum wage limit, and we share the profit of the industry, then everyone can get paid better and the remaining majority of excessive money will be put into the public service - for things like a free healthcare or building of roads, let's say. The sharing is always more profitable than competition, it is constructive, not destructive. The sharing makes justice and justice makes peace. In peace there is no social unrest and thus there are no expenses to keep the unrest calm by force. The price of forceful, unjust order is more expensive than the price of peace and must be paid every year.

 

Well, as for the flooding, you have to see it in measures of our small nation and Canada's even smaller number of people who are allowed to immigrate, but in that range, it's true. Last year there had been 853 requests for asylum in Canada, and almost half of them were Romes. But it's still nothing to Mexican immigrants, of whom there was allowed about 9000 last year. So it's a good deal - we get rid of some of our local Indians, and Canada won't mind it too much. Not that I would have a personal problem with Romes (I don't live in the city nor near them) but their closed communities have a real problems and thus causes also problems to others around and my friends knows a lot of stories.

What beliefs, please? I'm curious. 
Technically, I don't know much about beliefs. I usually act with conviction which comes from experience. So theoretically, if there is a new, unusual experience or more of them, the person may see this as a rational necessity to accept this as a fact. And the result may look like as a newly created belief, while it may be not.
On the other side, it definitely is a new belief, if something unusual happens to a person, and he somehow assumes for no reason, that it was done by a guy called Jahweh who created the Earth in 6 days 6000 years ago and has a strange liking in killing of his or other people's sons. I really don't like that kind of assumption.

Well, the need is definitely there - we are in all kinds of crises we can think of, people suffer, and they search for a way out. In that process, a lot of less or more succesful attempts is done, and among them, a beliefs may appear. For example, Scientology was created by a highly charismatic and influential sci-fi writer who claimed that his religion can increase a quality of life and unfold one's full potential. Generally speaking, our quality of life is very low and our potential is wasted, thanks to the commercialization, so the answer is, that we need to start ANEW, somehow.

 

Personally, I would look up what NASA has to say about it, not to mention the websites of reputable observatories, and websites run by noted astronomers.

I'm not an astronomy freak, but I know enough to do that before posting anything about the thread-post, or the thread-poster.

As to the web sites that the thread-poster referred to, I'm not familiar with them, but as I'm not an astronomy freak that's not surprising. ON THE OTHER HAND... blogs and similar amateur shit are not what I think of as reputable sites that I would use to formulate any opinion. And from what I saw of the links referred to in the thread post, there seemed to be an abundance of such links, and none which pointed to anything I would anticipate I would have been even remotely familiar with.

The discovery of a new star is not too exciting to me, and the brightness of anything can be altered. The articles and blogs that I gave a very cursery reading of, did not appear to be of the quality that even mentioned up front, such vitals as the distance of the star from Earth, what solar system it's in and the like.

Hubble would certainly be another site that would be one to check out such stuff, for those that are interested in reliable untouched pics.

How is this thread still alive?

All right, oh lord of conventional thinking. If you think that people capable of using camera and computer are stupid enough to not manage a simple task of visual comparison, your confidence in humanity must be very low indeed. As for me, a sudden global epidemy of  stellar hallucinations is beyond my belief. I saw what I saw, I was there, and not only me.

Ok, fourth explanation: it's no burning globe of hydrogen, it's UFO called "the (Xmas) Star". This is why it appears, does a colourful light show over a location for a time and then disappears. It's a sign, a symbollic repeating of the "star of the East" which according to the legend guided three wise men to the newborn JC. Of course, there is a lot of signs related to other cultures and traditions (and also these completely unrelated).

The civilizations does exist in about 2150 years cycles. We have a lot of legends from the beginning of our culture, which was about 2000 years ago. Now we are in a transitory, critical phase when the old civilization dies and we have a task of building a new one, with a new ways of thinking, acting and living. This transitory time is thus rich with signs of all kinds to awaken the humanity's self-awareness and to start the new civilization, because the only alternative is self-destruction.
It is thus beneficial to raise a discussion on our media about the plentiful miraculous events, signs on the sky and land, new trends in society and a breakdown of the old systems and methods. The global interest in ecology and charity is a first sign of humanity's maturing, but such a tendencies must be constantly supported and encouraged.

The event is probably still going on, and even if not, there are news which needs to be passed down to more people.

 

So basically, you feel smart if someone disagrees with you, (like me) and you also feel smart if someone agrees with you. (like when someone confirms your thoughts)  Well, that's ingenious

I should not care if anyone agrees or disagrees with me.

 

It's a shame there is no evidence yet of any kind of UFO light appearing. Let alone the lack of existence of any large amount of people mentioning or talking about it.

 

The only thing I have heard about lately is swine flu. If there was some kind of mystical thing in the sky it'd be news everywhere.

 

 

No evidence, no prominent firsthand accounts, and  bunch of blurry photos means....it's on the same level of existence as Santa and Bigfoot.

Luminon, you are doing a lot of damage to any serious investigation of these mysteries and non-conventional studies by your extremely uncritical acceptance of such really poor 'evidence'. It makes it so much easier to dismiss the whole subject area, when you present as evidence such obvious misinterpretations of very simple effects. 

I am not saying I take any of it seriously myself, but if there really is something worth investigating, you are really damaging the prospects of anyone bothering to look into it.

 

 

Controlled his visibility or escaped people's notice?

As for the existence, if photographs and videos are not good for you, you can watch the sky for yourself. But the occurence of people seeing them, let the UFOs alone, is regional. Almost all people I know saw UFO. There are some places where their maneuvers are more frequent, but generally, they're on all our skies. The problem is, that when the UFO is not moving, it is often mistaken for a star, and when it's moving, then for an airplane or satellite. Only seeing it to move in various directions can catch an attention more easily. We are otherwise conditioned to remove from our mind anything which does not fit with our upbringing and beliefs. Nobody is open-minded. We think we are, (which is a delusion) but practically nobody is. No skeptics, no atheists, no freethinkers. Not even me, I only have a broader experience to which I can compare things. It even reaches into our brain's sight sense. I don't know how it is with women, but some guys really notices only what they know of in advance.
 

 

This is a big, unfortunate delusion. Thinking that if it is something important, you'd already know about it, is a completely unjustified assumption. The media behaves strictly according to market forces, otherwise they do not survive in concurence. Specially the big media. They show only what is easy to sell, easy to make profit. But an old, still unsolved, unpredictable and uncontrollable mystery is not beneficial for the consumer mentality, specially if it would turn an attention to some important things. What would a visitors of outer space think, seeing us killing each other, causing misery to billions of our own brothers and sisters? This is a kind of question which does not fit with the profitable consumer mentality, which the market forces must maintain, in order to survive and thrive. This is no conspiracy, it is simply a blind market mechanism, which we equally blindly follow. Just business.
(The "Star" was as far as I know featured only in local newspapers, like in Norwegia)

 

It wouldn't be the first time Carter's name has been attached to a bogus claim. It reminds me of that US ambassador you cited who seems to have no record of working in the State Department.

 

No, I was just having a bit of sarcastic humour.

This is what I wrote to ClockCat. You are conditioned to see camera lens artifacts. You can not seriously imagine a possibility of UFO's existence, and this sub-consciously interferes with your examination of available materials, testimonies and even the sky observation.

 

My conditioning is different. I saw Venus, Jupiter, airplanes and so on, but when I was a young, unconditioned child, I also saw a genuine UFO, together with my younger brother. My subconscious mechanism allows the existence of UFO. I have a real interest to differ which photographs or videos are UFO, and which are a normal objects. But you are not capable of that, though you think so. You are conditioned to dismiss everything except of a direct, close encounter, which is very unlikely to happen.

 

You can differ a somewhat open-minded person from a closed-minded person very simply. A somewhat open-minded person is able to take some responsibility on himself for it being true or not, and to sacrifice some time and effort to that cause. A closed-minded person, a vain skeptic, will refuse to undertake any responsibility, but will only wait for results which will 100% surely not endanger his position in front of other vain skeptics.

I'm sorry if this is offensive, but among a skeptic-only community it is easy to not see your mistakes and limitations. Nobody is perfect, not even skeptics are. Realizing your limitations is the first step to overcome them.