Darwin at the Throne

Besides introducing one of the greatest theories in history, Charles Darwin's On The Origin of Species apparently makes for great bathroom reading.

A first edition of Charles Darwin's Origin Of Species, which was kept on a toilet bookshelf, is to be auctioned.

It is hoped the book, which was bought about 40 years ago in a West Country shop for a few shillings, will reach £60,000 in Tuesday's sale.
The book was kept on a bookcase in a guest lavatory at the owner's family home in Oxfordshire.(link)

The True Meaning of Christmas

Forget about the Christmas tree, the colorful lights, the snowmen, stockings hung with care. Forget about Santa Claus, his reindeer, the north pole. Forget about Yule logs, Christmas caroling, fruitcake and gingerbread houses. These are the mere trappings of Christmas. They serve only to provide the mood. To set the ambient lighting. To fill the air with the incense of joy. But they don't represent the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is all about Jesus, and the more the better. Break it down: Christ + mas = more Christ. In particular, we celebrate Christmas by giving presents to each other. In the past, secular and religious organizations have both complained that Christmas has devolved to a marketing tool by the big retail corporations. But what they fail to understand is that the giving of presents is a special recognition of the greatest present of all: Jesus gave us the ultimate gift (i.e. his life) to wash away the sins of mankind with his blood. In the years that followed (though the evidence for this is shaky), the newly minted Christians celebrated this event by cutting and spilling their blood. It was the least they could do - until infection set in. The somewhat deadly practice (for its time) gave way to the ritual exchange of gifts. This practice had the advantage of not killing the celebrant while simultaneously jump starting capitalism (ultimately giving rise to the United States).

While cutting is now a dangerous practice among troubled teens, the vestiges of the original tradition can be seen in the gift wraps and the bows used to ornament Christmas presents. Traditional Christmas colors are red and green, which symbolizes both colors of blood (e.g. see Hemoglobin and Hemocyanin). A red bow is symbolic of a bloody rag.

The classic Norman Rockwellian version of Christmas has families coming together over the holidays to share in the human bondage of love and feast. Nevertheless, this tradition evolved from the early Christian families gathering together to shed blood in the presence of one another, to symbolically absolve one another of sin. Today, we conclude Christmas by exchanging gifts, as if saying one to the other, "I sacrifice a part of me for you, that I may forgive you and cleanse you of your past sins." Giving gifts, sacrificing a small part of yourself, naturally makes you feel better, much like Jesus must have felt ascending into heaven.

If all this sounds like a contrived explanation, I have taken my cue from the American Family Association, an organization that describes themselves as an association of American families. They seek to promote the biblical truth underlying the culture of American families and they have been waging a war against the war on Christmas by leading a boycott against retailers who fail to say the word "Christmas" loud enough in their seasonal promotions. Think The Gap and Old Navy. And Banana Republic. In the AFA's recent call to arms, they are explicit about what makes Christmas special:

Christmas is special because of Jesus. It's not just a "winter holiday." For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself.

So Christmas is not about Cola drinking Polar Bears, mistletoe, or chestnuts roasting in an open fire. It's about exchanging presents. It's about absolving sins through personal sacrifice by way of a $50 Macy's gift card. It's about capitalism and the absolution of sin. It's about more Jesus. This is the biblical truth according to the AFA.

(h/t Think Progress, AFA Misfires in the War on Christmas)

Religion Going Down The Toilet

Are fundamentalist preachers getting crazier every day, or has it always been this way. Here, Pastor Steven L. Anderson shows us how he's a manly man doing manly things, like pissing standing up.



(via Pharyngula and Jesus' General)

Saving Spirit

The Mars rover Spirit has been stuck in a sand trap since 1889. That would be Sol 1889...or 1,889  days on Mars. On that fateful day, Spirit had been limping along, driving backwards, dragging it's left front wheel which had seized up many Diemos's and Phobos's ago (i.e. many moons ago). The fine engineers at JPL have been working on a plan ever since to free Spirit. They've even come up with their own logo and website devoted to the task. Meanwhile, Spirit has been busy taking in the scenery, snapping some pix, and going through a bout or two of amnesia. But the day has finally arrived. For today, NASA will finally put their plan into action and start sending commands start Spirit moving again. They have several different possibilities to go with, and will be choosing the best action as they get results back from their previous efforts. Among the final, last-ditch effort attempts will be to use the Microscopic Imaging Arm to help push (or pull) its way out. But lets hope it doesn't come to that.

Good luck JPL, NASA, and Spirit.

Bill Maher Was Only Joking

Remember when Bill Maher tweeted "If u get a swine flue shot ur an idiot"? Turns out, he was only joking! For one, he said it on Twitter, so that should have clued you in. Moreover, he's a comedian, for gods' sake! Get it? A comedian who tweets? You didn't really think he was serious, did you? Never mind that he's been as outspoken as Jenny McCarthy against vaccinations and used his HBO show as a platform to rail against the evil pharmaceutical companies. When he tweets, don't take him seriously. At least, that's the excuse he's giving at The Huffington Post:

For example, I recently joined Twitter Nation -- what can I say, Demi Moore is a very convincing salesperson -- and what everybody told me about Twitter was that it was supposed to be whatever stray thought or thing just happened to you -- you know, for people who find blogging too formal and stuffy.

But apparently it's taken very seriously, because there was Scott Pelley on 60 Minutes asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services what she thought about the fact that "Bill Maher told his viewers anyone who gets a flu shot is an idiot."

Well, not quite. It was twittered, which I guess doesn't make a huge difference, but as 60 Minutes is the last bastion of TV journalism, accuracy is appreciated. And I see that counts for Twitter, too -- my bad -- so yes, some people are not idiotic to get a flu shot. They're idiotic if they don't investigate the pros and cons of getting a flu shot. But, come on -- it was a twitter from a comedian, not a treatise in the New England Journal of Medicine, that's not what I do.

He continues on by saying that he's "representing an under-reported medical point of view" in this country. And there are so many of those, are there not? I look forward to the time Bill Maher corrects the under-reporting of homeopathy, phrenology, and aromatherapy. Or does Maher consider only his points of view to be under-reported? Bill Maher suggests that our problem is in not having a strong enough immune system in the first place, probably due to all the junk food we eat. As if eating enough spinach will make you strong enough to fight the H1N1 virus. I wonder what nutrition plan he would suggest to people with AIDS? Perhaps an all-natural vegetarian meal followed by an after dinner joint?

Maybe he's on to something. After all, he claims to know enough about vaccinations:

Michael Shermer wrote me an open letter and felt I needed to be told that "vaccinations work by tricking the body's immune system into thinking that it has already had the disease for which the vaccination was given." Thanks, Doc, I thought there might be a little man inside the needle. Yes, I read Microbe Hunters when I was eight, I have a basic idea how vaccines work.

Yet if he really understood how vaccines work, he wouldn't have wrote the HuffPo article. When exposed to certain viruses, the immune system adapts and "learns" how to fight them so that when the virus returns years later, you don't get sick. Contrary to Maher's implications, no amount of farm fresh spinach or broccoli will teach your immune system how to fight off a virus. That's simply not the way it works. What Maher is really getting at is what the medical community has known about for decades: clean, healthy, stress-free living gives your immune system the ability to more effectively respond to viruses - to fight off those viral agents it already "knows" about, as well as to quickly learn and respond to those it doesn't know about. Of course, you'd much rather have an immune system with a large "memory" of viral agents for faster response. Which is what vaccinations are all about.

And if you think Maher is really trying to set himself apart from all the other anti-vaxxer whackos, think again:

In addition, my audience is bright, they wouldn't refuse a flu shot because they heard me talk about it, but if they looked into the subject a little more, how is that a bad thing? If they went to the CDC Web site and saw what's in the vaccine -- the formaldehyde, the insect repellent, the mercury -- shouldn't they at least get to have the information for themselves?

He is using the same scare tactics that the anti-vaxxers use. Formaldehyde, insect repellent, mercury, oh my! Go to the CDC website, says he. Just look at all the crap they put into a vaccine, says he. Then read further to find out what these ingredients are for, check out the low dose rates, and see what effect they have on the human body, says he. Or...wait. No, he didn't say that. Nothing but lions and tigers and bears for Bill Maher.
The problem with Bill Maher is not his musing about big pharma doing shady things to make a buck. That's a discussion worth having. After all, corporations respond to shareholders uber alles. No...Maher's problem is thinking he has science on his side. Like George W. Bush, he's thinking with his gut on this one.

But then again, maybe we shouldn't take him too seriously. Maybe he was only joking in his HuffPo article. He is a comedian after all.

Concerning Bodies Floating in a River

An article in the NY Times from March 1882 reads thusly:

The Moniteur Scientifique Quesneville publishes these alleged statemens of a Parisian ravageur concerning human bodies floating in the river: "I always know beforehand if it is a man or a woman. If the body has the face upward, it is that of a woman; if it floats on its belly, with the nose in the water, it is that of a man. I have remarked that a man who has been thrown into the water after being assassinated reappears on the surface much earlier than one who has fallen in by accident or has drowned himself. The time the body remains beneath the water shows whether it is a case of suicide or of murder." These curious pieces of information are valuable in proportion to their truth, and they would appear to require verification.

I applaud the New York Times for their skepticism. "Valuable in proportion to their truth" is my new catch phrase when arguing with Intelligent Design proponents. Yet I feel a note to their editor of the Journal of Science and the Times is warranted with their uncritical reporting of Mr. Varley's latest invention:

"Mr. C. E. Varley, the eminent physicist, has patented an improved divining rod for ascertaining the presence of metallic veins underground."

I shall send a telegraph straight away.

Best Jon Stewart Clip

For me, this was the funniest clip ever from Jon Stewart. It's called the 11/3 Project and is a dead-on parody of Glenn Beck. But not only is it extremely funny and accurate...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The 11/3 Project
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

...it has a Feynman diagram!

The Endangered Yet Naughty Kakapo

The Kakapo (Owl Parrot) is a flightless parrot that wanders New Zealand. There are only 90 left in the world. They way this fellow reacts, it's not hard to see why. But despite his state of confusion, the real source of his demise is the introduction of other species by man over the past several hundred years.



It's a coincidence that I ran across this video over at The Intersection. I started out there reading Mooney's and Kirshenbaum's take on Jerry Coyne's review of their book, Unscientific America (which I have yet to read). This spat has been going on awhile. I'm also reading Jerry Coyne's book, Why Evolution is True (which I highly recommend). He devotes a chapter to biogeography, explaining the differences in the diversity of creatures between continents and islands, noting the difference between continental islands (i.e. those that broke away from larger continents millions of years ago), and Oceanic Islands (i.e. those that rose from the sea via vulcanism). He also devotes a chapter to vestigial traits. The Kakapo happens to be featured in both.

Long live the Kakapo.

Hilarious - The Dawn of Man

Just saw this at Primate Diaries. It is all so clear now.

Bill Maher Denies Being A Nut

Bill Maher denies that he's a nut for opposing vaccines. Just go to the CDC website, he says. Look at all the chemicals in vaccines, he says. Aluminum. Mercury. Formaldehyde. OK. Bill Maher's not a nut - he's Jenny McCarthy!



(via Hot Air)

Time Lapse of Ares X-I Assembly

NASA's Ares X-1 test rocket has been rolled out to launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for launch at 8 a.m. on October 27. While NASA's future is up in the air, it is still proceeding along its timeline for sending humans back to the moon as a stepping stone to Mars. Their orders are basically to continue until otherwise directed. The following is a really cool time lapse video of the Ares X-I being assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). As always, NASAWATCH will have the latest updates.

Not a Jot of Evidence

Ben Goldacre has a good recap of the so-called evidence the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has provided in support of its suit against science writer Simon Singh. When Singh claimed in his now famous article that there was "not a jot of evidence" to support the claims made by the BCA, the BCA provided a list of 19 articles that supposedly backed them up. They do not and Ben Goldacre shows why here. Goldacre's last paragraph sums up the article:

There are huge, endless debates to be had on our libel laws, on the risks they pose to the public by stifling access to information, and on the changes that could be made. But, for today, know this: there is no good evidence that chiropractic is effective for the conditions claimed by the BCA....

Malicious Characters

On October 14th, the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) issued a press release in response to Simon Singh's being granted leave to appeal the libel suit brought against him by the BCA. Singh, they argue, has been claiming the issue is one of freedom of speech whereas they see it as a simple libel case when Singh claimed they promoted 'bogus' treatments. In the original article, Singh said

The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying - even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.

Obviously not happy with the latest ruling, the BCA said in their press release:

The BCA supports and would never seek to stifle legitimate open scientific debate. However, this action is actually a simple libel claim based on the fact that the BCA was maliciously attacked by Dr. Singh in the Guardian newspaper.(link - PDF)

In essence, the BCA has stated publicly that Singh's criticisms regarding the BCA were designed specifically with the intent to cause harm with no scientific or legal justification backing them up. That is, the BCA has said Simon Singh is a malicious character, from which we can imply that all his writings in the past and the future are not to be trusted because they may have been written with other goals in mind than simply to inform the public. Or in other words, Simon Singh is not a reputable character. I don't believe it, but their are some who may buy into it, and therefore Singh's reputation may have been damaged by the BCA. The excellent blog, Jack of Kent, argues that it is Singh who might have grounds to sue for defamation. Funny how the tables turn in this case.

The BCA updated their press release to tone down the nastiness, to say that "the BCA was libeled by Dr. Singh" rather than "the BCA was maliciously attacked by Dr. Singh". Still, their original words are out their in the public domain. As the British courts have noted, it doesn't matter what they intended to say - it matters what they said, an argument that has been used against Singh himself.

(H/T:  Bad Astronomy)

PZ Myers and Mr. Deity

I've been a big fan of Mr. Deity from the beginning. Now they've launched their best episode ever!



PZ Myers as the science advisor to Mr. Diety. Great concept. And Myers' acting ain't half-bad either. Kudos to both of them!

Simon Singh Update

Some good news on the Simon Singh libel case against the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). The courts have given him leave to appeal his case, which he formerly 'lost' when Judge Eady construed Singh's use of the word 'bogus' (as in chiropractic deals in 'bogus treatments') as libelous against the BCA. Upon appeal, Lord Justice Laws has found Mr. Justice Eady's interpretation favored rights of reputation over rights of free expression. Left unsaid was that the BCA's highly public case against Singh has done more to tarnish its reputation than Singh could ever have done by himself (i.e. singhle handedly).

Singh isn't out of the woods yet. He had been granted permission to appeal the case. He still has to win the appeal.

Mr Justice Laws described Eady’s judgement, centred on Singh’s use of the word “bogus” in an article published by the Guardian newspaper, as “legally erroneous”.

Laws also pointed out that Eady’s judgement had conflated two issues — the meaning of the phrases complained of, and the issue of whether the article was presented as fact or fair comment.

Laws said there was “no question” of the “good faith” of Singh in writing the article, as the matter was “clearly in the public interest” (link).

Seemingly, Singh's strategy must now be to convince the appeals court of his 'good faith' and that 'bogus' was not meant to deride, but to describe (again in good faith) that chiropractic treatments do not rise to the standards of effective medical treatment.

As for me, I'll take a Lord Justice Laws over a Mr. Justice Eady any day of the week.

Translating Google's Barcode Doodle

The Google Doodle for today is a barcode. When translated, it reads "Google (ding!)" That's right - it ends with the sound of a little bell, like the typewriters and teletypes of days gone by. Here's how to decipher the barcode:

1) Examine both the bars and the whitespaces.

2) Define the smallest width as a one, the next widest as a two, etc.

3) Widths range from 1 to 4.

4) Write your sequence of numbers in groups of six.

5) Decode the meaning of each group with the Code 128 barcode symbology character set.

6) Note that some codes have two different meanings, depending on the context.

Examining the above barcode, we determine the width series of bars and white spaces as:

2-1-1-2-1-4-2-1-1-3-1-3-1-3-4-1-1-1-1-3-4-1-1-1-1-2-2-1-1-4-2-2-1-1-1-4-1-1-2-2-1-4-1-2-2-1-1-4-2-3-3-1-1-1-2

Break these up into groups of 6 (the last is actually 7 numbers) and apply our Code 128 conversion:

2-1-1-2-1-4   Start code B (the start of the barcode)

2-1-1-3-1-3   = G

1-3-4-1-1-1   = o

1-3-4-1-1-1   = o

1-2-2-1-1-4   = g

2-2-1-1-1-4   = l

1-1-2-2-1-4   = e

1-2-2-1-1-4   = (the BEL character)

2-3-3-1-1-1-2   = Stop

And that's all there is to it!

(Update - The Google Operating System blog has a faster way to decode by uploading the barcode image to OnlineBarcodeReader.com - but the output doesn't let you know about the bell).

Scam Alert: Cornelia Dassault

If you received a Cornelia Dassault letter, then you are a smart person. How do I know? Because you took it upon yourself to go online to do some research. You want to know if the letter is valid or if it is a scam. You are suspicious of things that sound too good to be true, and that is something that will serve you well for the rest of your life. You are a skeptic and it just saved you some money.

The CORNELIA DASSAULT SCAM has been around for over a year. I first wrote about it here, and since then have received numerous comments and emails from people around the world who have received a letter inviting them to become rich - for a small fee. Although there are variations in the scam, basically this is how it works:

You receive a letter from some rich person, usually a Dr. Grant from the Netherlands. He has recently visited a psychic who told him that, to avoid future misfortune, he must give some of his money away. The psychic takes his hand and he feels something like a small electrical shock. The psychic, named Cornelia Dassault and given the title 'Master of All Ancestral Secret Formulas', tells him that she has a vision of who must receive some of his money - and that person turns out to be you. Dr. Grant, who is officially known as the 'President of the Multi Millionaires Club', writes you and says he will send you the money, usually in the form of two or three checks. All you have to do is fill out some information - very personal information - so he knows who to send the money to or where to deposit it. Also, he invites you to purchase, for a very small fee, a small charm called 'The Great Trigger of Wealth'. All you have to do is think about what you desire most for one minute each day. With the charm, you will be able to win at gambling, make money in the stock market, etc.

That is the essence of the Cornelia Dassault scam. If you have received a similar letter, DO NOT RESPOND! If you do, you will have provided these scammers with your personal information as well as money for a small, useless charm. Your name will go on a list of gullible people and you will be inundated with letters, emails, and calls from other scammers. There only purpose is to separate YOU from your money.

In his letter, Dr. Grant writes that this is the first time he has written to anyone he has not yet met. That is a lie. Although this letter writing scam may have started in Ireland, it has made its way to SOUTH AFRICA, MEXICO, MALAYSIA, NEW ZEALAND, BELGIUM, AUSTRALIA, ALGERIA, PHILIPPINES, and NORWAY. This is a very large letter writing campaign. These people would not be doing this if they were not making money. If they send out 100 letters, all they need is one person to send them money - then they have enough money to send out 1000 letters. Maybe ten people respond, and before long they are sending out hundreds of thousands of letters, with thousands of people responding. DO NOT BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!

Here are some interesting comments I have received:

Scam is in new zealand, received a letter via post mail today.. Dr. Grant is apparently working with IES (international express services) and they are asking that people send a fee of $120 to receive a financial package with value of over $1000.. the document if someone doesn't know any better is extremely well done.
----------
It is now Australia. Carsten Kruger lives in the USA and Cornelia Dassault wants to help me as well. It is all in Australian dollars - 3 cheques for $5,000 after you pay $55. Oh and Dr Grant has moved to The Netherlands - PO Box 40215 in Maarssen.
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Cornelia Dassault wants to help me as well. 3 cheques for $5,000 after you pay $55. But you another $5000, making it a total of $20K. Dr Grant has moved to The Netherlands.
Well worth the read...very clever and it will suck people in.
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It seems that these people's scam has traveled all around the world. I just received such a letter this morning. Martin Felder, Financial Director of Club of Mutimillionaires, informs me about 3 checks of $5,000.00 each as a donation from a Mr. Carsten Kruger the Dr. A. Grant reiterates this happy event then introduces Cornelia Dassault and another check for $5,000.00 from Cornelia plus "The Greater Trigger of Wealth" for a 'symbolic' amount of $40.00. I live in the Philippines.
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I received the same letter 20 minutes ago and it made me so excited. God answered my prayers, that is my initial reaction. But it made me think who will give me this much these days. Then I opened my computer and try to search for cornelia. Bingo! I found that it is fake and just a scam. I wonder who are the people who have been a victim of these kind of scams. Thanks for this kind of information as it really help.
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My best friend got sucked into the first of many steps which will get her,wait for it...$7 million dollars.She is only out about $100 CAD but they wanted more for her to go further(always a red flag for me). Also from the Netherlands with only a post office box# and not even a phone# on a single paper. Thank you for posting this as she was going to keep sending cash...

While it is nice to imagine that, some stranger is going to give you a lot of money for no reason, that is not the way the world works. In the REAL WORLD, there are overwhelmingly more people who want to take money FROM you than give money TO you. They work hard at this. Think about it. You would not give your money to a stranger without expecting something in return. Maybe you're buying clothes or food. Or maybe you willingly give your money to a charity, knowing that they will use it to help other people. But what motivation does someone have to give you money without expecting something in return? Do not delude yourself into thinking that you've lived a good life, been nice and helpful to other people, and that, in some sense, you deserve this good fortune. Perhaps you do, but it won't be coming from a stranger. Not Dr. Grant. Not Cornelia Dassault. There are greedy people behind these scams and they don't care what your personal situation is. But they know they can make money off the gullibility of others. Unfortunately for them, they won't be taking your money because you were wise enough to do the research. You were skeptical.

Here are some other links for more information on this scam:

'Supernatural' Letter Scam Warning
Customer beware as 'psychic' gift scam targets Irish homes
Club of Multimillionaires Complaints
Customer beware as 'psychic' gift scam targets Irish homes
Cornelia Dassault and the President of the Multi-Millionaire's Club

Aliens Get Foxy

Back in 2006, the aliens landed and told the world which internet browser they preferred - FIREFOX. Using advanced technology, they inscribed the Firefox logo in an oat field near Amity, Oregon. Unfortunately for ET enthusiasts, some local Firefox fans quickly claimed all the credit, describing in detail their plans and methods. They would have you believe such a thing can be done with only rope and two-by-fours. Their elaborate, attention-garnering efforts even went so far as to include 'photos' and 'videos', which, as we all know, are easily faked with proper terrain generating software, Photoshop, and iMovie.

Firefox IS an outstanding browser, but who are we to deny the aliens their credit?


View Larger Map

A collection of crop circles found on Google Earth can be found at the Rodsbot website, which includes over one thousand 'strange' maps.

Judge: "The blondes are fickle"

In an attempt to mediate a dispute between two arguing attorneys over the composition of an all-male jury, Justice William Morris of New York's First District Municipal Court settled the matter by calling for a jury comprised of both men and women. Said the judge,

I think the best way to settle this matter is to call a jury of both men and women. I am sick and tired of hearing you men argue about the relative merits of jurymen, so I'll put a quietus on both of you by making up a jury of three women and three men to adjudicate this controversy.

This decision is particularly noteworthy (I'll explain why shortly). Upon looking across the courtroom, the judge continued

There will be no blondes on this jury either. The blondes are fickle.

Three brunettes were chosen to make up half the jury. One of them protested

Judge, I've got to hurry home to get dinner for my husband.

To which the court accommodated, saying

That's a very important duty, next to this and we will expedite matters so that you may perform your task here and at home.

The unabashed sexism is NOT what makes this noteworthy. Rather, this is an account of the first mixed-sex jury empaneled in the state of New York, occurring in March 1921. In and of itself, this is a fascinating glimpse into the history of the sexes. Apparently, blondes were at a disadvantage even back then.

See the original story here (pdf warn).

Would You Like to Ride in My Beautiful, My Beautiful UFO?

Hundreds of mysterious lights glide across the night sky. Far below, the wary eyes of Americans, trained for suspicion, track the objects. A 911 call is made. A terrorist attack? More likely, an alien invasion. What else could it possibly be? A more mundane explanation is unavailable, so the incomprehensible becomes likely.

Take, for instance, the recent reaction in Greenwich, CT:

It wasn't a bird, a plane or Superman, but residents of downtown Greenwich thought a myriad of lights in the sky just may have been an unidentified flying object passing overhead Saturday night.

The bright, moving lights in the sky caused several people to call police to report a possible UFO sighting. Some reports indicated there had been 30 to 40 individual lights glowing in the night sky.
(...)
"These were being propelled," said Urda. "If it was an air current, the balloons would have been very lethargically moving along."

Urda said the "intense" orange lights were traveling in pairs, and sometimes threesomes. Urda estimates he saw 30 to 40 go by.

"They kind of disappeared into the clouds all at the same spot," said Urda. "I was standing there in total amazement."

Similar sightings were reported in Norwich, UK:

As previously reported, Sarah Browne, who first contacted the paper after spotting the light, described the light as being “silent” with no aircraft noise, smoke or trail.

Trudy Gray, who lives near Aylsham, said she had seen a similar light the Tuesday before at about the same time. She said: “It was a continuous orange light, quite high up, going in straight line with no sound, no nothing.”

And in Southport, UK

Emergency services raced to Wyke Cop on Sunday night after residents reported a ball of fire falling from the sky.

Fearing the plummeting fireball was a light aircraft or microlight, search and rescue teams patrolled the area whilst ambulances stood by, though nothing was found.

And in Taunton, UK (Somerset)

And Jane Merchant from Taunton said she was relieved after reading other people's reports of a UFO sighting and claims she saw a similar flickering light “moving briskly and quietly across the sky”.

“Every time I've mentioned my experience no one's taken me seriously,” she added.

Invariably, these UFOs are described as silent, reddish-orangish glowing lights moving briskly - sometimes in a straight line, sometimes erratically. They are reported as moving too slow for a plane, too quiet for a helicopter, yet too fast for a balloon or an oriental sky lantern.

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