Pansophia; Pg. 2

Wednesday, February 12, 2003
WINNIPEG (CP) - From white cylinders in British Columbia to an object with windows and flashing lights near Inkerman, N.B., last year was a banner one for sightings of unidentified flying objects over Canada.

      "In 2002 we had the largest number of separate events for a single year in the history of collecting UFO data for Canada," Chris Rutkowski of Ufology Research of Manitoba said Wednesday. "We have some extraordinary cases in Canada last year reported literally from one end of the country to the other." Since 1989 his group has been compiling reports from across Canada.

      There were 483 UFO sightings reported in 2002 - almost 30 per cent more than in 2001 and a 250 per cent increase since 1998.

      That's a record if 1993 is excluded when one celestial fireball contributed to a high of 489 reports that year, explained Rutkowski, who added that 154 of them were easily explained because of the fireball.

      "Overall it's fascinating to see that the number of cases in Canada rose so dramatically last year," he said.

      There is no easy explanation for the increase, he added.

      Rutkowski said one of the strangest unexplained sightings occurred in January 2002 near the tiny community of Inkerman, N.B.

      "A large object with flashing lights and brightly lit windows flew slowly and fairly silently over a highway," he said.

      "A couple stopped their car and watched it as it moved down behind some trees."

      It was one of the sightings he looked into personally.

      Overall, British Columbia was once again the place to be in 2002 to see a UFO. The province produced 176 sightings, more than Ontario and Quebec combined and up from 123 in 2001.

      B.C.'s numbers represent a third of all UFO sightings in Canada. Rutkowski said part of the reason is likely due to two UFO organizations in the province which have done a good job encouraging reports, although he suggested that doesn't tell the whole story.

      "I don't think that the increase can be ascribed completely to the fact people are looking up a little more or know where to report."

      Many of the reports from British Columbia come from the north of the province, not the densely populated south.

      "In the Yukon there (also) still seems to be an extraordinarily high number of cases," he noted.

      The Yukon produced 20 reports last year and has consistently produced about that many or more since 1998.

      Ontario produced 128 reports last year, Alberta 51, Manitoba 36, Quebec 34, Nova Scotia 23, Saskatchewan 6, New Brunswick 4, Newfoundland 3 and Nunavut 2. Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories were UFO-free zones in 2002.

      In general, more UFOs were reported in late summer than any other time of the year, although February also produced a peak.

      About 18 per cent of all UFO reports remained unexplained but only about seven per cent were what researchers consider high-quality cases. Most sightings involved at least two witnesses and lasted approximately 15 minutes.

      Rutkowski and the other researchers who helped compile the report don't draw any conclusions from the sightings and don't suggest alien spacecraft are visiting planet Earth.

Oldest human footprints discovered in Italy Thursday, 13 March 2003 Markings in hardened volcanic ash, dubbed "devils' trails" by local Italian villagers, have been confirmed as the oldest-known footprints ever made by humans. The fossilised hand and footprints belong to three early humans who were probably climbing down the side of the Roccamonfina volcano in southern Italy about 385,000 to 325,000 years ago, report a team of Italian palaeontologists in today's issue of the journal, Nature. "We believe that these tracks are the oldest human footprints found so far," said Professor Paolo Mietto of the University of Padua in Italy, who lead the research. "They are made by hominids who had a fully bipedal, free-standing gait, using their hands only to steady themselves on the difficult descent." "In some of the prints, the impressions made by the heel and ball of the foot are clear, and there are even small depressions that can be interpreted as toe impression," he said.	They were made by primitive humans that walked upright with a free-standing gait and used their hands to steady themselves. Three tracks with prints show curve or zizgzag patterns. The prints, embedded in fossilised volcanic ash, are about 20 cm (eight inches) long and 10 cm wide and belonged to primitive humans who were about 1.5 metres tall. He added that older footprints of hominids, or human-like ancestors, that were made by more distant ancestors, date back 3.5 million years and were found in petrified volcanic ash at Laetoli in northern Tanzania. Reuters, Agençe France-Presse


Date: 2003-04-01 Wicca's Wicked Appeal Among the Young Journalist Carlo Climati Calls for "Culture of Commitment" as Response ROME, APRIL 1, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Among the esoteric phenomena listed in the Vatican's recent document on New Age is a form of witchcraft gaining popularity among the young. To better understand the phenomenon, ZENIT interviewed journalist Carlo Climati, whose book "Young People and Esotericism: Magic, Satanism and Occultism" has just been published in Spain. The book is already a best seller in Italy and Latin America. Q: What is Wicca? Climati: It is a neo-pagan cult that originated in the Anglo-Saxon world and appears as a sort of "good witchcraft." It is neither a sect nor an organization with specific leaders and structures. It is simply a current of esoteric thought that any person can follow without any particular commitment. Q: What does this current of thought suggest? Climati: It is a mixture of paganism, magic and superstition. In addition, it gives exaggerated veneration to nature, to the point of divinizing and adoring it. Wicca followers believe in reincarnation, which they regard as an "evolution of the soul." They practice a series of magic rites: from enchantments of love to ceremonies to become rich or "attract money." At times they turn to spirits, non-physical entities or pagan gods, such as praying to the horned god. Q: Why does Wicca appear as "good witchcraft"? Climati: Because Wicca followers say that they don't want to harm anyone and that they reject Satanism. However, from my point of view, Wicca cannot be regarded as a positive cult. In some cases, it suggests rituals that seek to exercise power over people. However, human beings are not puppets who can be controlled as one wishes. Another negative aspect is that of superstition. Wicca followers are convinced that stones, herbs and the wind contain particular energies capable of producing effects on daily life. Thus they end up by becoming slaves to objects, amulets and talismans. Q: Is it true that Wicca is popular among young people? Climati: Unfortunately, yes. Some movies and telefilms have made Wicca popular. Some magazines for adolescents also speak of it frequently, proposing it as a kind of "alternative religion." Girls in particular are fascinated by the idea of being "good witches," and they use Wicca rituals to solve problems of daily life. They shut themselves in their room and prepare real ceremonies with candles, incense and little altars dedicated to some strange divinity.	Q: Do you think this has risks? Climati: The risk of hiding behind Wicca is clear. It is the invitation to believe that there is a "good magic," a kind of "ally" to resolve the problems of everyday life -- a life that, in the case of many young people, is dominated by loneliness, the absence of conversation in the family, difficulties with studies and with the first steps in the working world. When one is alone it is easier to be a victim of magic and superstition. One latches on to everything, including an amulet. From my point of view, Wicca finds fertile ground in the life of many young people who are often faced with difficult family situations, lack of communication, silence, disappointments and uncertainty about the future. Q: What effect can Wicca have on young people's behavior? Climati: In the long term, there is the risk of spreading lack of commitment among young people. They trust something that is outside their own life to resolve a problem. Young people refuse to be committed to achieve an objective, leaving everything in the hands of the so-called energies of some ritual or amulet. It is the law of "I want everything now." Do I like a girl? Instead of winning her over by being pleasant and tender, the Wicca follower will turn to a magic rite. Do I have doubts about the future? Instead of using his head to find an intelligent solution to the problem, he entrusts himself to Wicca. The same thing happens with school and university examinations. Q: Is it possible to help young people so that they will not be exposed to such risks? Climati: It is necessary to foster a new "culture of commitment" that values the little efforts of daily life to achieve a particular objective. If one wants to succeed in attracting a girl, one doesn't have to buy an amulet but give her a bunch of flowers. In addition, it is opportune to promote a "culture of limits," that is, to make young people understand that they cannot have it all. It is necessary to be able to set one's own limits. If I don't succeed in having the love of a boy or girl, it is of no use to turn to Wicca to change the situation. I must accept this little failure and submerge myself again in daily life, seeking with new enthusiasm to find my real love. A healthy rediscovery of the culture of limits and personal commitment could undoubtedly help young people to be stronger, to face life better, to overcome uncertainties and fears, and not have to turn to Wicca superstitions.


UFO sightings increase sharply in 2002 and once again B.C. leads Canada SCOTT EDMONDS Canadian Press Wednesday, February 12, 2003 WINNIPEG (CP) - From white cylinders in British Columbia to an object with windows and flashing lights near Inkerman, N.B., last year was a banner one for sightings of unidentified flying objects over Canada. "In 2002 we had the largest number of separate events for a single year in the history of collecting UFO data for Canada," Chris Rutkowski of Ufology Research of Manitoba said Wednesday. "We have some extraordinary cases in Canada last year reported literally from one end of the country to the other." Since 1989 his group has been compiling reports from across Canada. There were 483 UFO sightings reported in 2002 - almost 30 per cent more than in 2001 and a 250 per cent increase since 1998. That's a record if 1993 is excluded when one celestial fireball contributed to a high of 489 reports that year, explained Rutkowski, who added that 154 of them were easily explained because of the fireball. "Overall it's fascinating to see that the number of cases in Canada rose so dramatically last year," he said. There is no easy explanation for the increase, he added. Rutkowski said one of the strangest unexplained sightings occurred in January 2002 near the tiny community of Inkerman, N.B. "A large object with flashing lights and brightly lit windows flew slowly and fairly silently over a highway," he said. "A couple stopped their car and watched it as it moved down behind some trees." It was one of the sightings he looked into personally. Overall, British Columbia was once again the place to be in 2002 to see a UFO. The province produced 176 sightings, more than Ontario and Quebec combined and up from 123 in 2001. B.C.'s numbers represent a third of all UFO sightings in Canada. Rutkowski said part of the reason is likely due to two UFO organizations in the province which have done a good job encouraging reports, although he suggested that doesn't tell the whole story. "I don't think that the increase can be ascribed completely to the fact people are looking up a little more or know where to report." Many of the reports from British Columbia come from the north of the province, not the densely populated south. "In the Yukon there (also) still seems to be an extraordinarily high number of cases," he noted. The Yukon produced 20 reports last year and has consistently produced about that many or more since 1998. Ontario produced 128 reports last year, Alberta 51, Manitoba 36, Quebec 34, Nova Scotia 23, Saskatchewan 6, New Brunswick 4, Newfoundland 3 and Nunavut 2. Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories were UFO-free zones in 2002. In general, more UFOs were reported in late summer than any other time of the year, although February also produced a peak. About 18 per cent of all UFO reports remained unexplained but only about seven per cent were what researchers consider high-quality cases. Most sightings involved at least two witnesses and lasted approximately 15 minutes. Rutkowski and the other researchers who helped compile the report don't draw any conclusions from the sightings and don't suggest alien spacecraft are visiting planet Earth.	"As with previous studies, the 2002 Canadian UFO survey does not offer any positive proof that UFOs are either alien spacecraft or a specific natural phenomenon," notes the report. "However, it does show that some phenomenon, which is often called a UFO, is continually being observed by witnesses." (CP) - Here's a list of some unidentified flying objects sighted by Canadians in 2002: Jan. 12, 2002, 9:40 p.m., Inkerman, N.B. - A couple in a car watch a large object with flashing lights and brightly lit windows fly slowly and silently over a highway. Dozens report sightings about the same time. - March 28, 2002, 10:30 p.m., Hamilton, B.C. - A pale-coloured light rises from a mountain, then disappears. It repeats this performance several times. - April 7, 2002, 1:57 a.m., Hudson's Bay, Nunavut - The aircrew of a cargo plane watch a small light grow in size to become a jagged ball, then fizzle out. - May 7, 2002, 11:23 p.m., Winnipeg - A fuzzy patch of light is seen and photographed near the Big Dipper by an experienced astronomer and physicist. It was not a comet, cloud, or any other known phenomenon. - May 26, 2002, 11:44 p.m., Winnipeg - Three people watch a dark object with three red circles on its underside silently glide across the sky. - July 28, 2002, 10:00 p.m., Smithers, B.C. - A barrel-shaped silver object flies across the sky towards the southwest. - Aug. 13, 2002, 1:00 a.m., Waterville, N.S. -Twelve witnesses watch two luminous silver objects fly silently over an RV park, then one of the objects angles sharply away and is lost to sight. - Aug. 13, 2002, 2:15 a.m., Cow Bay, N.S. - A huge, slow-moving black triangular object appears to block out the sky. Inquiries with radar operators confirm a large unknown object had flown over the area at that time. - Aug. 23, 2002, 7:00 p.m., Houston, B.C. - A shiny white cylindrical object flies overhead and is videotaped. - Sept. 1, 2002, 8:47 p.m., Molega Lake, N.S. - Two witnesses watch an object with rectangular slit-like lights and a large red flashing light fly slowly eastward. - Sept. 22, 2002, 3:13 p.m.,Vancouver - A small orange object moves slowly in the sky, changes direction and shape, and is observed for hours by more than a dozen people. - Oct. 22, 2002, 10:25 p.m., Granisle, B.C. - An orange disc-shaped object hovers over a mine, then slowly rises and flies north until it's out of sight. © Copyright 2003 The Canadian Press