| The Beatles released a song called Fool on | | | | 2006. |
| the Hill in the late 1960s. Music journalists | | | | |
| at that time said that the British rock group | | | | III. Maybe They Came To See The Sears Tower? |
| wrote the song after being disillusioned by | | | | |
| the shaman of a religious sect. The Fab Four | | | | On November 7, 2006, a disc shaped UFO |
| traveled all the way to India to meet a man | | | | hovered above O'Hare International Airport |
| they were told was very spiritual, hoping he | | | | near Chicago. It was seen by a number of |
| had the answers to what they were religiously | | | | people and photographed. Despite the fact |
| seeking. Instead, they found a cult leader | | | | that some of the witnesses were pilots and |
| that isolated himself from the world while | | | | others were airport personnel that would tend |
| enjoying the fruits of his female followers. | | | | to know the difference between a UFO and |
| It was alleged that he tried to proposition | | | | incoming or outgoing conventional aircrafts, |
| one or more of the female members of their | | | | the event was barely mentioned by the local |
| entourage which included wives and girl | | | | media. Even some in the UFO research |
| friends. | | | | community took weeks to report the |
| | | | information they received about to anyone |
| The Fool on the Hill seems to envision a | | | | outside of a disinterested press. |
| person with access to everything that sees | | | | |
| nothing. What he does see, he doesn't bother | | | | Over the past seven months since the O'Hare |
| to try and understand. Have we become the | | | | incident, a series of alleged 'computer |
| fools on the hill when it comes to what is | | | | malfunctions' have occurred at airports all |
| happening around us? I think many of us have | | | | over the USA. These technical problems were |
| and that's what the government counts on to | | | | sometimes accompanied by very odd weather |
| keep information from us that they deem as | | | | conditions. During May and June of 2007, |
| too sensitive for public consumption. That | | | | things really picked up with computer outages |
| may be the real explanation for a series of | | | | affecting major airports in Chicago, Atlanta, |
| bizarre events that have occurred over the | | | | New York City, Newark, Boston, Pittsburgh, |
| decade. These events may involve Alien life | | | | Denver, Los Angeles and other places. |
| forms. | | | | |
| | | | On June 8, 2007, the FAA reported that the |
| I. It All Began With the 1997 Phoenix | | | | huge number of flight delays, cancellations |
| Sightings | | | | and other problems that occurred on that |
| | | | particular date were due to a software |
| Things started to get strange in 1997 when | | | | malfunction in their computers located near |
| unexplained lights and a huge triangle craft | | | | Atlanta, Georgia. However, if that were true, |
| appeared over Phoenix, Arizona. Despite | | | | why has the situation continued and gotten |
| photos, video and competent witnesses, the | | | | worse long after those problems were fixed? |
| amazing events were explained away as | | | | The weird weather continues and now Airlines |
| military flares and everyone bought that | | | | report that their computers all seem to be |
| lackluster explanation. Local politicians | | | | malfunctioning as well. |
| seemed unconcerned about the lights and | | | | |
| tended to ignore or censure others that were. | | | | IV. When in Doubt, Blame the Terrorists and |
| Despite putting out the SPACE PEOPLE GO HOME | | | | the Weather |
| sign, the Phoenix area received a whole new | | | | |
| set of visits during the summer of 2006. | | | | Although they are still ignoring the weird |
| | | | weather and any UFO reports that come their |
| Once again strange lights began to dance in | | | | way, even the major news gathering |
| the skies over the Phoenix area. Just like | | | | organizations are tiring of the 'computer |
| before, the media all but ignored any | | | | glitch' explanation for what's been happening |
| explanations except those offered by the | | | | at most of the airports. While they consider |
| military. Politicians again balked at the | | | | themselves too credible to blame or even |
| idea of alien spacecrafts flying over their | | | | consider Aliens or a government cover-up of |
| heads, with one important exception. Fife | | | | UFO activity for all this, I guess they are |
| Symington, the man who was Arizona Governor | | | | conspiratorial-minded enough to consider |
| when the original Phoenix Lights event | | | | holding terrorists responsible. However, the |
| occurred in 1997, admitted that he took the | | | | experts disagree. |
| entire thing too lightly and had seen a huge | | | | |
| triangular UFO himself at that time. | | | | Non-government terrorism experts that help |
| | | | protect large corporations from cyber attacks |
| II. Couldn't They Just Have Left a Message on | | | | say that the Terrorist explanation doesn't |
| Clinton's Voice Mail? | | | | wash. They point out that it's always been |
| | | | easy to spot the signs of a cyber attack, but |
| Sometimes I wonder if Aliens watch the TV | | | | harder to track down those carrying it out. |
| signals we end up beaming into space or patch | | | | None of the usual cyber attack warning signs |
| into the internet and for a quick read of the | | | | exist in the case of the airport or airline |
| latest news from Earth? If so, they would | | | | computers. In the words of one cyber attack |
| have to come to the conclusion that there is | | | | expert appearing on Fox News, "The terrorists |
| no intelligent life here, especially when | | | | want to kill us, not make our flights arrive |
| politicians make self-serving statements | | | | an hour late. And then there is that strange |
| about them. I imagine that at least some | | | | weather. |
| Aliens might not have been amused if they saw | | | | |
| him speak on TV or were able to read the | | | | I recently received several emails from a UFO |
| comments made by former U.S. President Bill | | | | Researcher named Steve Tobias. He provided me |
| Clinton in 1995 (according to an article | | | | with some very interesting information after |
| written by Carlton Stower that appeared on | | | | reading my article about the unusual |
| the Dallas Morning News website): | | | | coincidences of June 8, 2007. In that article |
| | | | for the International UFO Society Newsletter, |
| "It was a snow-covered December in 1995 when | | | | I pointed out that it seemed bizarre how the |
| President Bill Clinton, visiting Northern | | | | primary news gathering organizations managed |
| Ireland in support of the country's new and | | | | to spend an entire day following Paris Hilton |
| fragile peace process, spoke to a large | | | | around with cameras and helicopters when |
| gathering that had arrived for a Christmas | | | | almost all the east coast airports had been |
| tree lighting ceremony. The president opted | | | | brought to a stand still by computer problems |
| to dismiss politics and keep the mood of his | | | | and bizarre weather conditions. |
| speech light. At one point, he drew laughter | | | | |
| as he referred to a letter he'd recently | | | | Tobias sent me some Weather Channel Maps |
| received from a 13- year-old boy in Belfast. | | | | which appear to show unusual objects being |
| "Ryan," the president said, "in case you're | | | | tracked a few hundred miles off the coast of |
| out there, here is your answer: No. As far as | | | | New England. The objects appeared in |
| I know, no spaceship crashed at Roswell, New | | | | conjunction with some very unusual weather |
| Mexico, in 1947. And if the Air Force | | | | conditions and the alleged computer problems |
| recovered any extraterrestrial bodies, they | | | | that virtually shut down airports. Other maps |
| did not tell me." | | | | show the same thing happening in other parts |
| | | | of the USA. |
| Perhaps the Aliens had the last laugh and | | | | |
| their answer to such dribble came in the form | | | | When it comes to looking at all this, I have |
| of the Phoenix Lights and subsequent | | | | tried to exist in a mental No Man's Land |
| sightings that occurred nationwide for years | | | | between the Galactically Stupid and the |
| afterward. If so, they wasted a lot of gas to | | | | Completely Conspiratorial. This allows me to |
| get here and should have just called | | | | retain some journalistic credibility, |
| President Clinton or left a voice mail | | | | investigative objectivity and attempt to |
| message for him. Because just as the 1997 | | | | explain the unexplained in the most |
| Phoenix sightings were dismissed out of hand, | | | | reasonable way possible. But like the old |
| the ensuing UFO events were largely ignored | | | | saying goes, "If it looks like a duck and |
| with claims of computer enhanced photographic | | | | quacks like a duck, it's a duck." If it looks |
| trickery and video fakery becoming the newest | | | | like a Dodo bird and sounds like a bad |
| and most popular tools in the Skeptics | | | | impression of Rush Limbaugh, it's a local |
| Toolbox. It stayed that way until just after | | | | News Reporter or television Station Manager. |
| the new wave of Phoenix UFO sightings during | | | | |