PLEASE NOTE:
*
CCNet, 35/2003 - 27 March 2003
-------------------------------
"The studies have shown that the space option is realistic
and that it should be considered seriously in the context of
current and future efforts to deal with the NEO threat. They have
demonstrated the interest of the proposed scientific
investigations, provided feasible technical solutions and
explored cost-effective ways to implement them. Currently a
programme providing the necessary level of resources for the
immediate development of
this missions is lacking, both in ESA and elsewhere."
--Andrés Gálvez, ESA
"The conclusions of the OECD Workshop are in the form of
recommendations that will be presented to the OECD GSF plenary
session next June. The document has not yet been finalized and
therefore cannot be reported here; however, a few comments on its
"spirit" can be made. A first important point is that
the NEO threat is recognized as real, although of very low
frequency. The consequence of this finding is that actions should
be taken to try to better understand the nature of the
problem."
--Andrea Carusi, President, The Spaceguard Foundation
(1) ESA CONTINUES STUDYING MISSIONS TO SAFEGUARD THE EARTH
ESA Media Relations <ContactESA@esa.int>
(2) THE RESULTS OF ESA'S CALL FOR PROPOSALS: "LET'S CONTINUE
STUDYING"
Tumbing Stone, 23 March 2003
(3) ESA: GREAT IDEAS - BUT WE HAVEN'T GOT NO MONEY (PERHAPS WE
SHOULD ASK THE U.S. TO PAY)
Tumbing Stone, 23 March 2003
(4) THE OECD MEETING AND THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN NEO RESEARCH
Tumbling Stone, 23 March 2003
(5) JAPAN TO LAUNCH MUSES-C ASTEROID MISSION ON MAY 9
Jiji Press, 26 March 2003
(6) UK/IRELAND NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING DUBLIN, 8-11 APRIL 2003
Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
(7) TOO FEW LUNAR METEORITES?
Nick Sault <nsault@jadeworld.com>
(8) AND FINALLY: THE UGLY TRUTH BEHIND THE WAR AGAINST SADDAM
Suff, 21 March 2003
=========
(1) ESA CONINUES STUDYING MISSIONS TO SAFEGUARD THE EARTH
>From ESA Media Relations <ContactESA@esa.int>
Paris, 26 March 2003
Press Release
N° 19-2003
ESA Studies Missions to Safeguard the Earth
Early on the morning of 30 June 1908, the vast forest of western
Siberia was illuminated by a strange apparition: an alien object
streaking across the cloudless sky. White hot from its
headlong plunge into the Earth's atmosphere, the intruder
exploded about 8 km above the ground, flattening trees over an
area of 2000 square kilometres.
Despite the huge detonation, equivalent to a 10 megaton nuclear
warhead (about 500 times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic
bomb), there were few if any casualties in the sparsely populated
taiga. If the Tunguska object - probably an asteroid about
twice the size of a tennis court - had exploded over London or
Paris, the list of casualties would have run into millions.
Fortunately, cataclysmic events caused by incoming near-earth
objects (NEOs) are few and far between. Current estimates suggest
that a 50 metre Tunguska-like object is likely to collide with
the Earth once every 100-300 years [interesting: I guess ESA is
simply not up-to-date with the lastest research, BP]. A 1 km
object, which typically arrives every few hundred thousand years,
could wipe out an entire country. An impact in the ocean would be
no better, generating enormous waves (known as tsunamis) that
would devastate coastal areas thousands of kilometres away.
An increasing awareness of the potentially disastrous
consequences of such impacts has driven recent efforts to detect
and categorise the larger Earth-threatening objects. However,
much more needs to be done if the millions of Tunguska-like
objects are to be found and catalogued. Only
then can advance warning of pending impacts be provided and
measures be taken to reduce the threat.
Despite the introduction of increasingly sophisticated search
programmes in various parts of the world, the search for objects
heading our way needs to expand into space. Only
space-based observatories can provide the all-sky coverage
required and detect Earth-crossing objects that would normally be
hidden in the glare of the Sun.
In July 2002 the general studies programme of the European Space
Agency (ESA) provided funding for preliminary studies on six
space missions that could make significant contributions to our
knowledge of NEOs.
"The six proposals were selected because the mission
concepts would help to answer essential questions on the NEO
threat, such as how many there are, their size and mass, and
whether they are compact bodies or loose rock aggregates,"
said Andrés Gálvez, head of the Advanced Concepts Team at ESA's
European Space Research Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the
Netherlands.
"This information, as well as other data, is needed before
appropriate mitigation procedures can be developed," he
said.
"There are two broad categories. The observatory missions
are able to detect and track many more NEOs than can be seen from
the ground. This enables astronomers to calculate their orbits
and predict whether they will offer a threat to the Earth far
into the future."
"The flyby/rendezvous missions are designed to look at a
small number of NEOs in great detail, sending back information on
their size, composition, density, internal structure and so
on. This is important because we need to know as much as
possible about how they will behave if we try to divert them from
a collision course with Earth."
The six missions under study were:
ˇ Don Quijote: This proposal involves the launch of two
spacecraft to test technologies required to deflect an asteroid
heading towards Earth. The 'Hidalgo' spacecraft will be targeted
to impact a 500-metre-diameter asteroid at a relative speed of 10
km/s. Its companion, known as 'Sancho'
will deliver a number of sensors to the surface of the asteroid
and observe from a safe distance what happens during and after
the high speed collision. This will provide valuable information
on the NEO's internal structure.
ˇ Earthguard 1: A proposal to mount a "hitchhiker"
telescope on a spacecraft en route to the inner Solar System,
e.g. ESA's BepiColombo Mercury orbiter. The telescope would
detect Earth-crossing asteroids larger than about 100 metres,
which are very difficult or impossible to detect with
ground-based telescopes.
ˇ EUNEOS: A medium-sized telescope mounted on a dedicated
spacecraft platform that would search for the most dangerous NEOs
from inside the orbit of Venus. Its main goal is to detect 80% of
the potentially hazardous objects down to a few hundreds of
metres in size. It is estimated that this could be attained in 5
years. By systematic re-detection of the objects, their orbits
would then be determined with high accuracy.
ˇ ISHTAR: In addition to measuring the mass, density and surface
properties of an NEO, this spacecraft would probe the interior of
an NEO in order to study its structure and internal strength.
This would be done using radar tomography, a new technology that
uses ground-penetrating radar to make images of the interior of a
solid body.
ˇ SIMONE: A fleet of five low-cost microsatellites that would
each fly by and/or rendezvous with a different type of NEO. Each
spacecraft would carry a suite of scientific instruments that
would provide valuable insights into the nature of large
asteroids (400 - 1 000 metres in diameter) with different
physical and compositional properties. Low-thrust ion propulsion
would be used to rendezvous with each target.
ˇ Remote observation of NEOs from Space: A space-based
observatory to carry out remote sensing and detect physical
characteristics of NEOs, such as size, composition and surface
properties.
"We now have a number of excellent proposals that are both
feasible and affordable," said Franco Ongaro, head of ESA's
Advanced Concepts & Studies Office.
"These phase A studies by industry and academia, which were
completed in January 2003, provide a valuable framework for
developing future missions. They will now be discussed within the
Agency and with ESA's international partners in order to
determine how best to proceed."
LINKS:
ESA NEO studies: http://www.esa.int/gsp/completed/neo/index.htm
ESA Advanced Concepts Team: http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/index.htm
For further information, please contact:
ESA Media Relations Service
Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155
Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690
============
(2) THE RESULTS OF ESA'S CALL FOR PROPOSALS: "LET'S CONTINUE
STUDYING"
>From Tumbing Stone, 23 March 2003
http://spaceguard.ias.rm.cnr.it/tumblingstone/issues/current/eng/main.htm
On June 2002, ESA has selected 6 different and complemetary space
mission projects about NEOs for a Phase A study (see T.S. number
15). By february 2003 the companies, universities and research
institutes that presented the initial proposals, carried out the
studies for preliminary mission analysis and design and presented
these results in a public conference held in ESRIN, Frascati.
The 6 studies, funded by ESA's General Studies Programme, were
carried out with the technical support of the Spaceguard Central
Node, which is now hosted by ESA and has started its activity to
support ESA's Science Programme in all issues related to NEOs.
Click on the images below to read a short resumé of the final
descriptions of the 6 projects. In these pages you will find
images, videos, interviews to the project managers and other
interesting documents. http://spaceguard.ias.rm.cnr.it/tumblingstone/issues/current/eng/main.htm
============
(3) ESA: GREAT IDEAS - BUT WE HAVEN'T GOT NO MONEY (PERHAPS WE
SHOULD ASK THE U.S. TO PAY)
>From Tumbing Stone, 23 March 2003
http://spaceguard.ias.rm.cnr.it/tumblingstone/issues/current/eng/interviews.htm
An interview with Andrés Gálvez, ESA's representative in charge
of following the 6 projects
1) A comment on the final results of this call for missions.
Which results have been achieved ?
"Previous work had already pointed at the advantages of
observing and studying NEOs from space. It is now clear that this
possibility should be regarded as a necessary complement to
ground-based observations. The studies have shown that the space
option is realistic and that it should be considered seriously in
the context of current and future efforts to deal with the NEO
threat. They have demonstrated the interest of the proposed
scientific investigations, provided feasible technical solutions
and explored cost-effective ways to implement them."
2) A final comment on each of the 6 projects. What are the
chances for one (or more) of these 6 projects to pass to Phase A
and become a real ESA mission?
"Currently a programme providing the necessary level of
resources for the immediate development of this missions is
lacking, both in ESA and elsewhere. It is clear to everyone that
this is a global threat that should very likely be dealt with as
international cooperation venture, possibly involving different
space agencies and international organisations. The studies are
therefore as building blocks in such context, and hopefully they
will be taken as such when a programme is created. The mission
concepts that have been assessed are complementary to one
another, they all address issues of the outmost importance. Of
course, there are scientific priorities, and also technical and
financial constraints that will determine which one of them is
developed first. In my opinion, as NEOs is threat that can
potentially affect everyone and that is easily perceived by the
general public, it is important to involve laypeople throughout
the project, as much as possible. The importance of public
support should not be underestimated."
3) Do you think that any of the technologies developed in these
projects may find some further application (for example in other
scientific projects or in industrial applications)?
"They will definitely find application in the design of
future space missions, and they will indirectly contribute to
developments of many other fields. The most obvious example that
I can think of is process control. In order keep the operation
cost as low as possible these missions will require a high degree
of autonomy. Therefore simple and reliable fault-tolerant control
software algorithms will be used, that could have many
applications both in industry (e.g. automated processing and
manufacturing) and everyday life (e.g. transportation)."
4) What was your personal role in this project? Which main
difficulties did you meet on your way, collaborating both with
scientists and industries?
"I was managing the technical aspects of the study from ESA
side, and I tried to provide advise and guidance so that the
studies can be as useful as possible in later phases i.e design
and development, and more immediately, to help us define ESA's
next steps on this subject. I had never worked before which such
a large number of specialist of all backgrounds in the context of
a single project. Before starting I though that it might be
difficult for us to communicate with such a large group and to
transmit them our views, and even for them to communicate among
themselves. After all everyone has different approaches to each
problem and this is of course reflected in the way they work as
part of a team. But from the very beginning of the project all
these concerns proved to have no basis, everyone had a very open
attitude and seemed to understand that the cooperation between
different disciplines is essential for the success of project
like this one. For me personally, working with them has given me
an insight into many NEOs and space mission design related
disciplines, and it has also been an interesting experience from
the personal point of view, I have certainly enjoyed working with
them."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An interview with Giovanni Valsecchi, Director of the SCN
1) What are the scientific objectives of the 6 projects? Can you
comment on their importance?
"The missions can be grouped in two sets of three: a first
one, consisting essentially of space-based observatories, aimed
at physical studies in the IR (the Alenia study) or at discovery
(EUNEOS and Earthguard). IR observations from space have already
shown their potential in the past, so they would be an important
tool to increase our knowledge of the various sub-populations of
NEOs. The possibility of making optical discoveries from a
vantage point inside the orbit of the Earth cuts down
substantially the time to find a given large fraction of the
potentially hazardous objects, even of small size, and solves the
problem of discovering objects with orbital geometries not
favourable to the discovery from the Earth
The second groups of missions is aimed at in-situ studies, in
each case using innovative concepts, in order to obtain the
scientific knowledge about the targets that is relevant for the
planning of mitigation actions.
In the case of Don Quijote, apart from the gathering of
information on the internal properties and of the dynamical
state, an actual deflection experiment is planned, in order to
test the actual procedure in case it were needed.
ISHTAR uses an innovative radar to obtain detailed information on
the interior of a couple of asteroids, to make it possible to
understand the best deflection strategies.
SIMONE takes a different approach: since the population we are
studying is so numerous, the idea is to use a fleet of small,
relatively inexpensive spacecraft to explore a larger number of
them, say five. The in situ exploration would be less deep than
in the cases of the other two missions, but this would be
compensated by the larger number of bodies explored."
2) On behalf of ESA scientists of the Spaceguard Central Node
have followed all the six studies; what has been their role?
"Since ESA had never before dealt with NEO mission studies,
they have felt that the involvement of SCN people, with their
specific experience in this rapidly evolving field, could help
the ESA technical people, as well as the industrial and
scientific mission teams, in the development of the studies.
Thus, each study has been followed also by a member of the SCN,
in addition to the ESA personnel that normally has this
task."
3) In some cases (Don Quijote, EUNEOS, Earthguard) SCN people
were involved also "on the other side", as scientific
consultants: what has been the role, in this case? And what would
the role of the SCN in case one of these missions were funded?
"In all these cases the SCN people involved have studied how
the data would be disseminated to the scientific community. In
the cases of EUNEOS and Earthguard, they have studied how the
ground-based follow-up work should be ccordinated, to maximize
the benefits of the space-based discoveries, while in the case of
Don Quijote we have also helped with the target selection."
4) Has the planning of these space based observations contributed
to better understand the necessity and the possible results of
ground-based observations with current and planned large
telescopes and surveys?
"The studies of the discovery missions have shown the
superiority of the discoveries from space, especially for some
orbital types, like the Atens and the IEOs, and that substantial
results can be achieved in reasonably short time. A space based
IR observatory would have a great efficiency in enlarging, in a
short time, the sample of NEOs for which physical information is
available.
The in-situ missions would allow to check, with direct
observations, the inferences made starting from the results of
ground-based observations, allowing to understand the strengths
and the weaknesses of the latter, and helping to plan the
deflections of different types of objects."
Copyright 2003, Tumbing Stone
============
(4) THE OECD MEETING AND THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN NEO RESEARCH
>From Tumbling Stone, 23 March 2003
http://spaceguard.ias.rm.cnr.it/tumblingstone/issues/current/eng/oecd.htm
by Andrea Carusi, President, The Spaceguard Foundation
On January 20-22 the Organization for the Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) has organized the "Workshop on
Near-Earth Objects: Risks, Policies and Actions". The
Workshop has been held at ESRIN, the ESA facility located in
Frascati (Italy). This initiative has been taken by the OECD
Global Science Forum (GSF), a branch of OECD dealing with
scientific topics of a global nature, based on a proposal of the
delegation of United Kingdom as a follow on of the UK NEO Task
Force Report.
The Workshop was not intended as a scientific meeting. Rather,
its main purpose was to bring together people with very different
backgrounds, such as representatives of the Civil Defense and
Space Agencies, policy makers, opinion makers, and scientists,
and let them interact for a few days on this topic that is
receiving increasing attention in the scientific community, but
that is still not considered as a real issue by most of the
governments. The goal, as declared in the title of the Workshop,
was to examine what is the level of risk that NEO impacts may
represent for the human population as compared to other, more
common natural hazards, and to discuss what type of actions the
governmental organization should take to cope with it.
The conclusions of the Workshop are in the form of
recommendations that will be presented to the OECD GSF plenary
session next June. The document has not yet been finalized and
therefore cannot be reported here; however, a few comments on its
"spirit" can be made. A first important point is that
the NEO threat is recognized as real, although of very low
frequency. The consequence of this finding is that actions should
be taken to try to better understand the nature of the problem,
depending on the local characteristics of individual countries.
As an example, some countries could be more sensitive than others
to tsunamis of even moderate intensity, such as the ones that can
be caused by the impact in the oceans of objects of 200-300
metres in size.
A second point that has been raised is that the scientific
investigations on all phenomena related to impacts should receive
more attention and, in the end, more funds. The link between
scientific research and civil defense initiatives has been
stressed, because the science findings are essential to
characterize the risk and to indicate the most effective ways of
planning mitigation measures.
A third point concerns international collaboration. It is clear
that impacts are a potential hazard that involves, by its very
nature, many countries; actions should therefore be taken to
improve the international collaboration both in finding the
objects and in analyzing possible countermeasures. As an example,
it has been remarked that an observing facility located in the
Southern Hemisphere would be of great value, not because
discovery of at least some of the dangerous objects would
otherwise be impossible, but because a Southern search programme
would allow to shorten the time needed to complete the inventory.
This last remark has been already fruitful. Recently, several
scientists working on NEOs have completed a Pilot Program at the
ESO facility in La Silla (Chile). The purpose of this program was
to test the performances of ESO instrumentation and the
possibility to use it for a large European project. The program
made use of the 2.2m Wide Field Imager as a discovery instrument,
and of the New Technology Telescope for follow-up. The results
have been very encouraging: in a run of two night at the 2.2m and
one night at the NTT, two new NEOs have been discovered. The most
relevant result has been that this run has shown that the ESO
instruments may represent a very valuable addition to the current
efforts, because they can go very deep (about the 22nd magnitude)
while scanning a large portion of the sky. The use of a very
powerful instrument for follow-up, such as the NTT, would further
increase the efficiency of the system.
Based on these results, a meeting has been held in Rome on March
3-4, in order to discuss the possibility of setting up a large
European programme involving ESO. The prospects are rather good
because ESO has clearly stated its interest. The programme could
include using the 2.2m for an extended time (about 10 nights per
month) and the other instruments (NTT, VLT, VST) for follow-up,
both astrometric and physical. The programme would involve all
European countries interested in NEO research, and should be
supported not only by ESO, but also from the individual
governments and by the European Commission.
We are still at a very preliminary stage of definition of a full
proposal. However, the most interesting aspects of this project
are that it would be located in the south and would extend the
discovery activity down to objects in the 200-500 metres range,
thus acknowledging the invitations already made by several
international institutions, like the Council of Europe, the
United Nations, and now the OECD.
Copyright 2003, Tumbing Stone
=============
(5) JAPAN TO LAUNCH MUSES-C ASTEROID MISSION ON MAY 9
>From Jiji Press, 26 March 2003
Tokyo, March 26 (Jiji Press)--Japan plans to launch an M-V rocket
carrying a MUSES-C asteroid research spacecraft on May 9, a
government space research institute said Wednesday.
The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, a body under
Japan's Science and Technology Ministry, said it has received
approval for the launch from the Space Activities Commission. The
launch of the No. 5 M-V rocket will be the first since the
unsuccessful launch of the No. 4 M-V rocket in February 2000. The
No. 5 M-V rocket was originally scheduled to be launched from the
Kagoshima Space Center, southern Japan, in November or December
last year, but the date was postponed for technical reasons.
The MUSES-C spacecraft will conduct scientific observations and
collect samples from asteroids passing close to Earth.
===============
(6) UK/IRELAND NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING DUBLIN, 8-11 APRIL 2003
>From Jacqueline Mitton <aco01@dial.pipex.com>
ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS NOTICE
26 March 2003 Ref. PN 02/07 (NAM2)
Issued by: RAS Press Officers
Dr Jacqueline Mitton
Phone: +44 (0)1223-564914 Fax: +44
(0)1223-572892 (Except 6 - 11 April)
E-mail: jmitton@dial.pipex.com
Mobile phone: 07770-386133
Peter Bond
Phone: +44 (0)1483-268672 Fax: +44
(0)1483-274047 (Except 7 - 11 April)
E-mail: PeterRBond@aol.com
Mobile phone: 07711-213486
National Astronomy Meeting Press Room phones (8 -11 April only):
+353 (1) 677
7608
+353 (1) 677 7683
FAX +353 (1) 677 7566
2nd ANNOUNCEMENT: NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING 2002
TUESDAY 8 APRIL TO FRIDAY 11 APRIL 2003,
AT DUBLIN CASTLE, IRELAND
The UK/Ireland National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) 2003 in Dublin
Castle begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday 8th April and runs through to
4.00 p.m. on Friday the 11th of April. A linked Solar Physics
meeting is running in parallel, commences on Monday 7th April
when sessions will be in Trinity College. The organisers are
expecting a record attendance, in excess of 500.
REGISTRATION Media representatives are invited to
attend free of charge. Registration is available in advance
through the web site at http://star.arm.ac.uk
(click on link at top, "Registration") or at the
registration desk on arrival.
PRESS ROOM There will be a press room in Room in
C110, on the ground floor of Dublin Castle Conference Centre.
Access is from the reception area at the Conference Centre
Entrance from the Great Courtyard. It will be staffed by
Jacqueline Mitton and Peter Bond (see contact details above). The
press room will be open from 8.45 a.m. to 5.45 p.m. Tuesday -
Thursday and 8.45 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. Friday.
PRESS NOTICES AND ABSTRACTS During the week before the meeting we
expect to distribute by e-mail about 20 press notices on topical
and newsworthy presentations. They will also be available on the
password-protected media pages of the meeting web site at
http://star.arm.ac.uk/nam2003/Press.html
Media requiring access to that page should contact Jacqueline
Mitton or Peter Bond for the password.
THE FULL CONTENT OF EACH PRESS NOTICES IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01
A.M. ON THE DAY OF RELEASE. There will be releases on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday.
Short scientific abstracts of the selected newsworthy
presentations are already on the web page above through the
password-protected link in red "Embargoed Press
Notices". Full press notices will be posted here as they
become available.
Our selected highlights include work on black holes and gamma-ray
bursts, cosmology and remote galaxies, X-ray pulsars, possibly
the coolest supergiant star, space weather, asteroids, and
archeoastronomy in Ireland.
THE NAM The National Astronomy Meeting (normally held
annually) is one of the most important regular gatherings of
astronomers in the UK. In 2003, it is being held for the first
time in Ireland, at the invitation of the Astronomical Sciences
Group of Ireland. Sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society
(RAS) and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
(PPARC), the NAM will be attended by more than 500 professional
astronomers and doctoral students from the UK, Ireland and
beyond.
============================
* LETTERS TO THE MODERATOR *
============================
(7) TOO FEW LUNAR METEORITES?
>From Nick Sault <nsault@jadeworld.com>
Hi Benny
The article " TOO FEW LUNAR METEORITES" presented a few
conundrums, I must say. Firstly, I can understand the claim
that there's a 50% chance that debris ejected from a lunar impact
will come to Earth, because the Earth represents such a huge
gravitational sink at the lunar distance. But the claim
that it should be "10 times better odds than for an arrival
from Mars", staggers me somewhat and someone might have to
explain to me how the Earth, which is just a point in the sky
seen from Mars, could attract such a large proportion of Mars
ejecta.
Secondly, perhaps the reason that we get no more ejecta from the
moon, which is for the most part hundreds of times closer than
Mars, is the frightening prospect that perhaps the much more
massive Earth diverts debris away from the moon, thus making
impacts on the moon far less frequent than on Mars. If this
should be the case, then counting lunar craters is going to come
up with a serious underestimation of the likely impacts on
Earth.
Nick Sault
=============
(8) AND FINALLY: THE UGLY TRUTH BEHIND THE WAR AGAINST SADDAM
>From Suff, 21 March 2003
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2346716a4560,00.html
UFOs are Saddam's secret - UFO watchers claim
By MARTIN DAVEY
President Bush decided to attack Iraq because he was scared
Saddam Hussein would use technology from a crashed alien
spaceship, UFO watchers claim.
But the dictator doesn't want "Dubya" getting his hands
on the space-age technology, says a professed Kiwi UFO expert.
He and his fellow space-case managers say a UFO crashed in Iraq
in 1998.
Top American secret agents have been worried since then that
Iraqi president Saddam would break it down to find out how to
build his own spaceship and weapons, they claim.
Wellington UFO believer Bre said President Bush wouldn't be told
about the spacecraft.
"Normally the president of the USA doesn't have a security
clearance high enough to be in the know about all the Black
Operations projects.
"You have to have MK Ultra clearance, before you are given
access to such things as reverse engineering alien
technology," Bre said.
George Dubya's father George Bush senior - who was president
during the last Gulf war in 1991 - was a former head of the CIA.
Apparently he told his son.
And somehow Bre - who doesn't have a last name - has found out
about the UFO conspiracy.
"Bush senior was privy to info that he wouldn't normally
have access to," Bre told Truth.
The Americans should be careful in case Saddam already had alien
weapons technology, Bre said.
"I imagine Saddam would delight in knocking the USA's
airforce out of his skies," he said.
He forwarded Truth an email from an American UFO watcher.
She claimed President Clinton almost attacked Iraq in 1998 after
Saddam threw out United Nations weapons inspectors.
But Clinton decided against it at the last minute.
He was scared Saddam already had alien technology, she claimed.
Copyright 2003, Stuff
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CCNet is a scholarly electronic network. To
subscribe/unsubscribe, please contact the moderator Benny J
Peiser < b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk
>. Information circulated on this network is for scholarly and
educational use only. The attached information may not be copied
or reproduced for
any other purposes without prior permission of the copyright
holders. The fully indexed archive of the CCNet, from February
1997 on, can be found at http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/cccmenu.html.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in the
articles and texts and in other CCNet contributions do not
necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the
moderator of this network.
--------------------------------------------------------------------