Empire of the Odd

Another rant by Aaron Sakulich

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“When Barney Broom began renovating his cottage he did not expect to be confronted by a pair of black eyes staring from a cloudy jar.But the mysterious discovery of an alien in his attic has spooked the 54-year-old screenwriter and bewildered extraterrestrial experts, who yesterday suggested the US military could be involved.”

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I was bumming around the Internet today as I often do. I stopped by the usual suspects, nothing very much new in those places. I happened to wander into binnallofamerica.com. It’s a small but growing voice in the UFO biz, a relatively balanced one as voices go. I have it on the “skeptics” shelf but tha’s not really fair. Binnal himself seems a bit skeptical but sits on the fence a whole lot. Not that I hold that against him. Binnall is a good place to catch up with what’s actually happening on Coast to Coast. Truthfully I have very few opportunities to listen any more.

But I ran across The Wrath of Joe, The rantings and ravings of the world’s newest superstar theologian, Joe Vee.

I haven’t read too much of Mr. Vee’s stuff yet, there’s How Americans Succeed in Ruining EVERYTHING!!!, Jeff Rense : My Loathing Wakes for Thee and finally, a little essay entitled, Far and Away, the Biggest Problem for Ufology is its Supporters.

‘“In the wake of the ABC Ufo special, a lot of Ufologists, Ufo buffs, and people just plainly interested in all things strange and absurd are wondering, and rather anxiously so, just what the future holds for Ufology. Like waking up naked next to a stranger after a harsh night of drinking, the morning after was a full blown blitz to figure out what happened, how it happened, and what to do. The world’s most renowned Ufologist, Stanton Friedman, was meticulous disparaged, his reputation literally assassinated. For a moment, we were all, for better or worse, with volition or not, standing atop the carcass of Friedman.’

The Odd Emperor thinks he’s in love!

More seriously, this guy got his finger on something.

Give a ufo fanatic a phone and a phone line and all standards of rationality, common sense and decency are tossed out the window. Says Vee. Not to mention a computer with a fast Internet pipe. The term UFO fanatic is about as spot on as any I could come up with. It aptly describes a small but growing trend in the field’€mostly in the fringes. These are not people you would normally see speaking at a UFO convention or interviewed on Coast to Coast. I say not usually but there have been exceptions.

Vee goes on to say.

The Ufo fanatics uphold whatever theory they subscribe to with fervor, displayed in a manner akin to religious zealotry. This is not merely a matter of possible visitation or some otherwise unknown phenomenon, for the Ufo fanatic, profound religious/spiritual, however said or unsaid they might be, are at play, as such, the Ufo fanatic engages in a polemic notable of any religious fundamentalist. Indeed, Ufology devolves from a para-science, to a religion on the fringe. The memorized and recited litanies and mantras of evidence, cover-up and conspiracy, the rabidity with which they defend the Ufo presence among us and viciously deride any skepticism of alien existence, and the fanatical adhesion they’ve placed into whatever spiritual dimension they subscribe to, most often a garbled new-ageism in which the aliens are our avatars, such rabidity so as to concoct a universal religious conspiracy against the aliens (the Vatican being a leading culprit)-and of course, expressed in a disjointed and rambling mode-bears the hallmarks of a religious belief, albeit one on the very fringes of sanity, hence the comparison to fundamentalism.

This has got to be my main beef against some of these so-called researchers (really UFO fanatics) out there. It’s not their complete and utterly ridicules double standards. It’s not that they defend their beliefs with a fervor that’s spectacular while all the time claming that they have a balanced, open minded agenda. It’s not the open personal attacks, (which do nothing for their agenda but tends to further my own, One day they’ll figure that out.)
Open minded? Most of the vocal UFO proponents out there are about as open minded as Pat Robertson after his third double latt’a at Starbucks. Some of the more extreme ones could give lessons to the Taliban. The term Religious fanatic so often comes to mind when I deal with these people that I’m starting to think Susan Clancy might be onto something when she says that the UFO business is the leading edge of a new religion. It sure seems that way sometimes.

Anyway, I’m impressed with Joe Vee’s take on this, whoever he really is. It’s a refreshing change from the usual carbohydrate laden crap out on the UFO fairway. Alas his column seems to be no more but you can still read his ravings at http://www.binnallofamerica.com/thewrathofjoe.html

Share and Enjoy!

I was alerted to this web page by the Empress et-al. She started shouting at her computer the other day (never a good sign.)

But it was not a virus, or a lost file, some random application crash or even the dreaded “I can’t print.”

No, it was this page, God Hates Fags. God hates fags is one of those web pages that you have to see to believe. Think that Landover Baptist (a christen parody page) is wacky? God Hates Fags is the real thing. God Hates Fags is the web page of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topica Kansas. The brain-child of Fred Phelps, a “five point Calvinist.”

Calvinism alone is one of those toxic offshoots of the Catholic Reformation that should have sputtered and perished. Done away with like the idea that breaking people over the wheel is a good way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Five point Calvinism? Imagine the Taliban wearing cowboy hats and running around picketing funerals.

What? Can’t imagine that? Take a look at this web page. These folks sound like they are seriously sick to the point that, I almost cannot believe them. But this is not a parody, it would be funny if it was.

Like their so called love crusade at the funeral of Coretta Scott King. where they preach that she’s even now tormented by ETERNAL HELLFIRE (the words eternal hellfire must always be in all caps.)

They bring children to the pickets, have them hold up signs reading GOD HATES THE USA and other such kind words.

Although I must say, Fred Phelps and the Odd Emperor do agree on one thing. He thinks that George W. Bush has done more to propel this country to doom and into the wrath of god than anyone one else. I can’t argue with that!

You know what though? Given the choice of eternal hellfire, (sorry ETERNAL HELLFIRE) and living in eternity around the likes of Fred Phelps? At least the company in hell would be much more interesting.

The Odd Emperor’s been caught in a dilemma. strangely enough, it’s One I knew was coming, one that I anticipated and now that’s here I feel strangely elated an not a little bit relived.

Some of you out there are probably telling yourself that I’m lying and so on. That’s just fine, please keep telling yourselves that. You also don’t need to read any further and you are not welcome to come back here.

Ever.

I know you will though.

Last week my bro Alfred Lehmberg sent a comment containing a whole smacking lot of personal information. It also contained some out and out lies. You can read an edited version of the letter here.

My first impulse is to laugh this off, pretend it didn’t happen. “So what?” I said, “the editor’¢s name has been attached to the Odd Empire web page for a long time now.”

My second thought is to sanction Lehmberg for making an attempt at publishing such a thing, (on my dime too! I have to commend him on having the nads to do that!)

But I didn’t do either, I stepped back for a moment, took a deep breath and thought about the implications.

On the one hand the letter speaks the truth. It describes a real person. One with a job, a home, family, and friends. On the surface the information seems harmless. I mean, big deal! It’s quite easy to get personal info on people via the internet. Heck my web logs tell me all kinds of stuff about who’s visiting the Odd Empire and where they come from. Before some of you react in horror at this idea, remember that *all* web servers do this, even the free ones.

It’s one thing getting personal info, it’s quite another thing to spray it around in such a reckless manner. Attaching someone’s name to the terms slander, libel liar or lying is nothing short of defamation. See, those things impinge directly on reputation and unsupported they are by definition libel themselves. This is why the writer of the letter remains anonymous (more or less.) They know that such an allegation unproven and unsupported amounts to an offence to the persons named in the allegation.

What the letter really says is this;
‘“Look at what you have to lose now Odd Emperor if you keep speaking like this– I will take your home, your job, your family away from you. I will do these things and urge others to do this to you if you do not shut your mouth.”

Such letters are simply and completely an attempt to silence people. An implied threat. A cowardly plea for The Odd Empire to shut down, shut up and go away.

Well so I thought about it. This is what I decided.

Screw you! Bring it on!

You don’t like what I have to say? That’s sad for you my friend!

Some of you out there think that slinking around in the shadows is a good way to sway opinion? You think lying about paranormal stuff, UFOs, this and that is going to validate your own beliefs? You think telling lies about people will silence them?

And that letter is full of lies. I would address the author of the letter but Mr. Lehmberg didn’t supply me with his source. By doing so he has in a legal sense become author of the letter whether he meant to or not.

Shame on you for supporting that sir!

The Odd Empire is nothing less than a litmus test, an illustration at how far down the rabbit hole some “researchers” are prepared to go in search for validation. Now we all want validation and certainly the Odd Empire seldom provides this. It’s not my purpose to sit around and say “ooh you are so wonderful and your outer space theories are SO out of this world! They have to be true. Marry me?”

Nope, the Odd Empire is about what I really think. You don’t have to like it, you don’t have to read it!

The Odd Empire didn’t start out that way. Truthfully it was a bit of a joke at first. I was writing little blurbs in my bookmark folders. A friend thought they were funny and suggested that I start publishing them. So I did, end of story.

Over the years I”ve encountered people who have implied that I”m doing something wrong. A couple have gone so far as to say that I’m libeling them. No one has made the allegations stick, if I am truly libeling that can be easily proven but so far no one has come close.

In those cases I have a specific method for working out differences, its called communication. I very carefully describe how this is done on the Empire of the Odd web page.

So far as my commentary goes, I call it directly as I see it. If  I’m wrong you have the privilege of commenting or complaining. If I go across the line you have the right *and the opportunity* to protest.

If I libel you have the right to take legal action.

You do not have the right to say that I liable, or stalk or harass without support. You do not have the right to say that I’m insane, that I’m evil, that I’¢m stupid, an idiot, pathetic or any of the other vile crap you people have flung at me. You can tell me that my *words* are stupid et-al, you have a right to say that all you want.

But the other stuff? You have to prove such things because they are specific legal definitions. Stating them without support is *itself* a clear example of defamation by way of the published word I.E. libel. Attempting to attach names, employers and personal information to such allegations a clear attempt at harassment.

Think about this.

Please comment if you like.

Thanks for listening!

Aaron Sakulich writes in the Triangle

There are, every once in a while, stories that stand out for some reason. Perhaps they are well told, or have clever twist endings, or provide some sort of sorely needed moral guidance. The story of Betty Andreasson stands out mostly because it is one of the strangest things I have ever heard, and I would not feel that I would be exaggerating were I to call it the pure, undiluted, distilled essence of weirdness.

Betty Andreasson, in 1967, was not the kind of person you’d expect to see in this column, a housewife in New England. She lived a fairly normal and uneventful life, until one day when a surprise visit by unexpected guests thrust her into the limelight of the UFO enthusiast community.

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The entry in James Galliard’s ECETI news service begins;

I have not verified this object and I am open to anyone else who
has more information. I would use your own judgement on this one and
do what every research you can.

(signed) James

LISTEN UP PEEPS!!!!!!!!! THIS IS FOR REAL!!!!!!!

(from) OH MY GOD

FIRST, LET ME SAY …TO YOU DEBUNKERS stay out of thsi thread. …this is not the time to be disputing what is coming……the Tracking station from Russia and Ecaudor SOUTH American are tracking a monsterous ,huge object with a big cloud of dust around it….and all of the South American TV stations are carrying this stiuation and are advising everyone to get prepared…..also they are saying could and most likely will be a Huge Earthquake ….estimated time of arrive of thie object that will be vivible to the Southen Hemisphere will be around FEB 6…. the impact of this object is yet unknown but could cause masswive quake around the
San Franciso area fracturing the
San Adreas Fault and are telling people to prepare…..anyone who can speak Spanish please go to the TV. stations of UNVISON,,,,GALAVISON….TELEMUNDO….TVCHILE……..SURPEURO ……VENNEZULA….THIS IS NOT A joke….PEEEPS…..WAPTPUERTORICO…….. ONe man was interviewed and wanted to have CNN ..MSNBC And Affilate stations to put this on thier networks ,,,,but the man said that he could not do it because he would be arrested under the Partiot act ..here in the Us. MORE TO COME…..

Heh!

The entry comes from an Internet forum called Godlike Productions, http://www.godlikeproductions.com/
UFOs, Conspiracy Theories, Lunatic Fringe.
I think James can relax. The sky’s probably not falling just yet…..
Then again!

Very good review located here.

ABDUCTED: How People Come To Believe They Were Kidnapped By Aliens. By Susan A. Clancy. Harvard University Press. 155 pages. $22.95.The possible existence of creatures from outer space has been sparking humankind’s imagination for millennia. Although there are representational differences between beautiful blond Greek goddesses and macro-cephalic grays with black wraparound eyes, extraterrestrials share an important trait: They are intellectually and spiritually superior to mankind.

London: One of Britain’s most haunted houses will become the country’s first ghost school, aimed at giving the public a chance to decide whether things really do go bump in the night. Jason Braithwaite, a cognitive psychologist and neuroscientist from the University of Birmingham will run the course in March. A self-confessed sceptic about the paranormal, Jason said the idea was to teach people to apply genuine scientific skills so they can decide for themselves what lies behind the phenomena that appear to have no rational explanation.

This would be pretty cool. If they actually follow up with what they are promising.
This seems to be related…

I meant to get this out the other day but I’ve been wading through yet another round of hate mail from Alfred Lehmberg. (Yes that’s a lame excuse, I’m really in the middle of a couple of fascinating books. …)

Exopolitics has it’s own journal! Hurry hurry! Step Riiiight up!

“The Exopolitics Journal is an online resource established for individuals wanting to study the key actors, institutions and processes associated with the extraterrestrial hypothesis. It will become a valuable source of information for anyone wanting to understand the political implications of multiple sources of evidence concerning the extraterrestrial hypothesis that our Earth is currently being visited and monitored by extraterrestrial races.”

Or it might become a laughingstock in the academic journal business, kind of like the novel Touched by Venom is in the genre fiction world. (this book is known as the first “venom cock” novel in subgenre fantasy. )

Really! Don’t get me wrong. I think UFOlogy needs a good peer reviewed *scientific or academic* journal. Not another woo-woo web publication by a bunch of grown men who think they talk to space aliens.

What’s astounding is the credentials of Exopolitic head honcho Michael E. Salla PhD.

So who is this Michael E. Salla PhD?

Dr. Michael E. Salla has held academic appointments in the School of International Service, American University, Washington DC (1996-2001), and the Department of Political Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (1994-96). He taught as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, Washington DC., in 2002. He is currently researching methods of Transformational Peace as a Researcher in Residence in the Center for Global Peace (2001-2003) and directing the Center’s Peace Ambassador Program which uses transformational peace techniques for individual self-empowerment. He has a PhD in Government from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an MA in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He is the author of The Hero’s Journey Toward a Second American Century (Greenwood Press, 2002) and co-editor/author of three other books, and authored more than seventy articles, chapters, and book reviews on peace, ethnic conflict and conflict resolution. He has conducted research and fieldwork in the ethnic conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Sri Lanka. He has organized a number of international workshops involving mid to high level participants from these conflicts. He has an academic website at http://www.american.edu/salla/

http://www.exopolitics.org/Study-Paper-4-PF.htm

He’s also got a big interest in mystical-homeopathic stuff and merkaba, sacred geometry. I guess that I can’t hold that against him. His academic record is certainly impressive, especially in the UFO field.

The first article in the Exopolotics journal? “The History of Exopolitics: Evolving Political Approaches to UFOs and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis

It turns out this is more a survey into the history of UFOs in the United States. Pretty much gleaned from a number of popular books and web pages.

The second article is entitled; “Exopolitics and Religion” (nuff said methinks.)

The third? “The Long-Term Government Covert Educational Program on Alien Visitors”

“I think that galactic societies have a “prime directive” that limits interference with lesser-evolved species such as we. The main reason alien liaison is increasing now is because our planet is being transformed to support a new world order. This process involves the evolution of the soul. The new order is destined to support a learning process that is one step beyond the human experience of free-will choices. It is the experience of learning to develop unconditional love of others. I think this outcome is unlikely unless the selfish or negative souls stop re-incarnating here. I hope, for the sake of our stressed environment, that we will get this kind of divine assistance. If this happens, then the new world order can become what Jesus described as heaven on Earth.”

And so on. Anyway, it’s a UFO lovefest hup hup hup! Bring on the cotton candy and the dog-faced woman!

Even Stanton Freidman weighed on this issue. In a letter I sniched from Paul Kimball’s web log, Freidman writes;

Dr. Michael Salla [has] participated in several conferences and seems to believe every whistle blower and contactee story ever told. His excuse for accepting the tales without evidence to support them, and in face of evidence that they are baloney, is that since the government covers up things about UFOs, they would, of course, also make it impossible to verify claims of the whistleblowers and, therefore, the claims must be true. So he is a big fan of Robert Lazar, all of Dr. Steve Greer’s sources, Colonel Corso, Sergeant Clifford Stone, ‘Dr.’ Michael Wolf Kruvant etc…

I still maintain that, although Exopolitics is a laudable idea it’s ultimately a big fat dead end. Just like most of UFOlogy. Seems to me that the society of any alien species will be so unlike our own that communication itself will be difficult. Politics? We can’t even figure out politics between our own nearly identical cultures, say the one in the US vs the one in Iran (for example.) Exopolotics with a million year old star traveling culture? Don’t make me laugh! It’s human-centric nonsense of the worst sort. If such a species were out there I suspect that they would just drop an asteroid on Humanity and then poke around in the rubble for any valuables. Or else they would check us out to see if we were fact ‘mostly harmless’ and leave us alone with our planet busting toys. Why would they want meaningfully sexual contact or whatever rot the contactees report. I mean, how Star Trek!

But, before even going down this road, don’t the Exopolitical people think it would be a good idea to have a few aliens? You know. If you’re going to go to all the trouble to write impressive sounding papers, don’t you think it’s a good idea to have a subject to write about? A real subject? Otherwise, aren’t we just spinning our wheels a bit?

But perhaps (as weird Al says and you know who you are Lehmberg) I’m too clueless to conceive of aliens. Weird Al and posse doesn’t know me very well. I’m fond of musing on the subject, very fond as a matter of fact. But, I also like to stay rooted in the real, the stuff that I can feel around me. That and my imagination which *is mostly not-real!* It’s speculation people! Stop treating your imagination like it’s a freaking fact!

You will all get along so much better!