Original 'Earth Stood Still' was UFO acclimation?

[UM-Bot]

Image credit: 20th Century Fox

Steve Hammons: The original 1951 movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still" was part of a public acclimation program about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation, with involvement by the U.S. Air Force, according to an alleged transcript of a 1981 intelligence briefing to former President Ronald Reagan.

The transcript, reportedly provided by current and former members of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) through an intermediary, was posted on the internet Oct. 30, 2007.

Reagan allegedly received the briefing at Camp David, Maryland, between Friday and Sunday, March 6 and 8, 1981. Other top advisors to Reagan were also said to be present.

It was claimed in the 2007 internet posting that the briefing was presented by a CIA contract employee who worked within a group of "caretakers" who reportedly safeguard records and resources about the issue of extraterrestrial visitation to, and activities on Earth.

The transcript includes discussion of U.S. Government efforts to both deceive and inform the public about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitation.

View: Full Article | Source: American Chronicle

[PhoenixBird88]

I can see the probability in it. Pretty cool, though, if its true they need to just come out and say so.

I cant understand the usefulness in keeping the public in the dark on the who UFO/ET subject unless they are just trying to keep some highly advanced technology secret from the rest of the world.

Then again, other governments have reported contact, so whos to say the US has one up on anyone else?

[Uversa]

I cant understand the usefulness in keeping the public in the dark on the who UFO/ET subject unless they are just trying to keep some highly advanced technology secret from the rest of the world.

Not being able to understand is no reason to not believe it. We have absolutely no idea (if they are indeed keeping it secret) what their motives would be.

[PhoenixBird88]

Not being able to understand is no reason to not believe it. We have absolutely no idea (if they are indeed keeping it secret) what their motives would be.

I know this....I never said I didnt beleive it, I just stated that the fact of the matter that they are keeping secrets of some sort made no sense to me.

[Fluffybunny]

I cant understand the usefulness in keeping the public in the dark on the who UFO/ET subject unless they are just trying to keep some highly advanced technology secret from the rest of the world.

I think the way people would respond is a good reason:

The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938 and aired over the Columbia Broadcasting System radio network. Directed and narrated by Orson Welles, the episode was an adaptation of H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds.

The first two thirds of the 60-minute broadcast was presented as a series of simulated news bulletins, which suggested to many listeners that an actual Martian invasion was in progress. Compounding the issue was the fact that the Mercury Theatre on the Air was a 'sustaining show' (i.e., it ran without commercial breaks), thus adding to the dramatic effect. Although there were sensationalist accounts in the press about a supposed panic, careful research has shown that while thousands were frightened, there is no evidence that people fled their homes or otherwise took action. The news-bulletin format was decried as cruelly deceptive by some newspapers and public figures, leading to an outcry against the perpetrators of the broadcast, but the episode launched Welles to fame.

Some listeners heard only a portion of the broadcast, and in the atmosphere of tension and anxiety leading to World War II, took it to be a news broadcast. Newspapers reported that panic ensued, people fleeing the area, others thinking they could smell poison gas or could see flashes of lightning in the distance.

Professor Richard J. Hand cites studies by unnamed historians who "calculate[d] that some six million heard the CBS broadcast; 1.7 million believed it to be true, and 1.2 million were 'genuinely frightened'".[1] While Welles and company were heard by a comparatively small audience (in the same period, NBC's audience was an estimated 30 million), the uproar was anything but minute: within a month, there were 12,500 newspaper articles about the broadcast or its impact, while Adolf Hitler cited the panic, as Hand writes, as "evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy."[1]

Later studies suggested this "panic" was less widespread than newspapers suggested. During this period, many newspapers were concerned that radio, a new medium, would make them defunct. In addition, this was a time of yellow journalism, where newspapers were not held to the same standards as today. As a result, journalists took this opportunity to demonstrate the dangers of broadcast by embellishing the story, and the panic that ensued, greatly.[2]

Robert Bartholomew and Hilary Evans suggest in Panic Attacks that hundreds of thousands were frightened in some way, but note that evidence of people taking action based on this fear is "scant" and "anecdotal." Indeed, contemporary news articles indicate that police were swamped with hundreds of calls in numerous locations, but stories of people doing anything more than calling the authorities typically involve groups of ones or tens and were often reported by people who were panicking themselves.

Later studies indicate that many missed the repeated notices that the broadcast was fictional, partly because the Mercury Theatre (an unsponsored "cultural" program with a relatively small audience) ran opposite the popular Chase and Sanborn Hour over the Red Network of NBC, hosted by Don Ameche and featuring comic ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and singer Nelson Eddy, three of the most popular figures in broadcasting. About 15 minutes into the Chase and Sanborn program the first comic sketch ended and a musical number began, and many listeners began tuning around the dial at that point. According to the American Experience program The Battle Over Citizen Kane, Welles knew the schedule of the Chase & Sanborn show, and scheduled the first report from Grover's Mill at the 12-minute mark to heighten the audience's confusion. As a result, some listeners happened upon the CBS broadcast at the point the Martians emerge from their spacecraft.

Many listeners were apparently confused. It must be noted that the confusion cannot be credited entirely to naïveté. Though many of the actors' voices should have been recognisable from other radio shows, nothing like The War of the Worlds broadcast had been attempted in the United States, so listeners were accustomed to accepting newsflashes as reliable.

Compounding the problem is that the working script had only three statements concerning the fictional nature of the program: at the beginning, at 40 minutes, and at the end. In fact, the warning at the 40-minute mark is the only one after the actors start speaking in character, and before Welles breaks character at the end. This structure is similar to earlier Mercury Theatre broadcasts: due to the lack of sponsorship (which often included a commercial message at the 30-minute mark during an hour-long show), Welles and company were able to schedule breaks at will, depending on the pacing of a narrative. Furthermore, the show's technique of jumping between scenes and narratives made it hard for the audience to distinguish between fact and fiction, so it is understandable that they were no more likely to perceive the three statements of the fictional nature of the program as being 'outside' the narrative, than they were to perceive the introduction (and subsequent interruption) of the music as being 'inside' the narrative.

While War of the Worlds was in progress, some residents in northeastern cities went to ask neighbors what was happening (many homes still did not have telephones). As the story was repeated, rumours began and caused some panic.

Contemporary accounts spawned urban legends, many of which have come to be accepted through repetition. Several people reportedly rushed to the "scene" of the events in New Jersey to see the unfolding events, including a few geologists from Princeton University who went looking for the "meteorite" that had fallen near their school. Some people, who had brought firearms, reportedly mistook a farmer's water tower for a Martian Tripod and shot at it.[3]

Initially Grover's Mill was deserted, but crowds developed. Eventually police were sent to control the crowds. To people arriving later in the evening, the scene really did look like the events being narrated, with panicked crowds and flashing police lights streaming across the masses.[citation needed]

Some people called CBS, newspapers or the police in confusion over the realism of the news bulletins. There were instances of panic throughout the US as a result of the broadcast, especially in New York and New Jersey.[4]

Seattle CBS affiliate stations KIRO and KVI broadcast Orson Welles' radio drama. While this broadcast was heard around the country, it made a deep impact in Concrete, WA. At the point where the Martian invaders were invading towns and the countryside with flashes of light and poison gases, a power failure plunged almost the entire town of 1,000 into darkness. Some listeners fainted while others grabbed their families to head into the mountains. Others headed for the hills to guard their moonshine stills. One was said to have jumped up out of his chair and, in bare feet, run two miles to the center of town. Some men grabbed their guns, and one Catholic businessman got his wife into the car, drove to the nearest service station and demanded gasoline. Without paying the attendant, he rushed to Bellingham, WA (50 miles away) to see his priest for a last-minute absolution of sins. He reportedly told the gas-station attendant that paying for the gas "[wouldn't] make any difference, everyone is going to die!"

Because phone lines as well as electricity were out, residents were unable to call neighbors, family or friends to calm their fears. Of course, the real story was not as fantastic as the radio drama: all that had occurred was that the Superior Portland cement company's sub-station suffered a short-circuit with a flash of brilliant light, and the town's lights went dark. The more conservative radio-listeners in Concrete (who had been listening to Charlie McCarthy on another station), calmed neighbors by assuring that they hadn't heard about any "disaster". Reporters heard soon after of the coincidental blackout of Concrete and sent the story over the newswire and soon the town of Concrete was known world-wide.[5]

Edgar Bergen and Don Ameche, who were continuing their Chase & Sanborn Hour broadcast on NBC, are often credited with "saving the world". It is said many listeners were reassured by hearing their tones on a neighbouring station.Link

[chaoszerg]

I think the way people would respond is a good reason:

I agree.

Most people seem to assume they will have nerves of steel if such a thing as alien contact took place.

[PhoenixBird88]

I think the way people would respond is a good reason:

I would no doubt s-*** my pants as well if I were to hear of an alien INVASION ATTACKING the planet.

But finding out that aliens exist or aliens are here to bring a message would be a completely different story. As long as they are not hear to enslave or destroy us, I see no valid reason to keep things in the dark. In fact, I think the human race needs to know we are not so significant and special in the universe. Our egos have gotten too big for our planet's sake.

I think it would unite all people of the world for the most part.

Then again, if the secret is kept due to the fact that they are indeed here to kill or enslave us, or even experiment on us...im not so sure if I would want to know anymore. But we should still be told, nevertheless. If our species is going to be killed off, lets do so in a blaze of glory!...so to speak. Lol.

Edited December 20, 2008 by PhoenixBird88

[keithisco]

I think the Ego's belong to the govenments, not to the general population

We are being "nannied" now as we have always been. People with no right to do so, determine what we are told, yet who are these people? They are the very ones who should not be told anything because they are incapable of facing the real world and its problems. They are the very same people who order others to kill and be killed.

I believe in the idea that mankind is composed of the essence to be good but this is perverted by "Big" money and "Big" interest.

[Drakus]

There is no doubt that the human race should know of any contact, of any degree... but that's the ideal world in which we most definitely do not live in.

I listen to a lot of radio and read a hell of a lot about this and other subjects and there's one thing that's almost certain, i try to balance out what i think is sometimes mass paranoia with facts and what history tells us but more often than not it becomes obvious that there are people around the globe that appear to be pulling strings and nudging events this way and that for some personal gain.

I'm not firmly on the illuminate, fraternity, knights templar and one world government boat as of yet, but I'm certainly standing on the dock wondering about it.

Disclosure of ANY kind would undoubtedly be the single most important event in recorded history. The implications are huge, even if it's a mere non-random repeatable observation of a signal from deep space, let alone a visitation of any kind.

IF it's true, IF the upper echelons are aware of this and deem disclosure immanent, it would take time to "prime" people for this. It only makes sense considering the lengths that they appear to go through to "dumb down" the public en masse currently. It's a very real possibility that this would cause a massive upheaval at many levels of society, it would get the questions and accusations flying left right and center, it would stir peoples imaginations and thinking process past the usual "what am i having for dinner tonight" and "damn i just lost 10 points of my credit score"... Not to even mention the religious connotations.

In short even the simplest of disclosures on a small scale could start the ball rolling. Personally i don't think people are ready for it as a whole, but i could be wrong... it could quite possibly be that the organizations tasked with public perception and so on have done there jobs all to well over the years and even full disclosure would be met with the attitude of "oh that's nice, anyway who's winning the football game?".

But do think about what we've seen most recently including the pope's statement on the belief in extra terrestrials not negating the belief in God and the British release of previously classified documents relating to UFOs to name just a couple...

Hadden: The powers that be have been quite busy lately, falling over each other to position themselves for the game of the century, if not the millennium...

[Contact 1997]

Morpheus: You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

[The Matrix 1999]

One thing I do know though, a little knowledge can be a dangerous and powerful thing especially if that fragment of an idea can be viewed as fundamental to our very place in this universe... and if the public at large REALLY started thinking for themselves and started looking beyond the ends of their own noses and asking the real questions in life and realize that theres far more of "us" than there is of "them" then there would be a power shift in this world. Even the smallest snowflake in the right place can cause an avalanche to fall back on a well used metaphor.

So I guess the question should really be: "are THEY ready to tell it"? Rather than "Are WE ready to hear it"?...

[MysteryVy]

for political and military purposes, i dont think the government should disclose any findings or technological advancements regarding extraterrestrials or UFOs, whatever. It's only common sense to keep secret your awesome laser cannons and death rays and energy efficient flying aircrafts from your enemies.

a valid theory on the roswell incident is that it STILL could have been a weather balloon, and that the government made it seem like a crashed UFO so that other nations would not suspect anything of us. so using the UFO excuse can be of use some times.

but for our purposes and public relations, satisfy our curiosity god damnit!

[Lt_Ripley]

people go nuts after winning superbowl games , the world series , blackouts and losing court cases....... of course they'd go nuts over that kind of news.

[DONTEATUS]

people go nuts after winning superbowl games , the world series , blackouts and losing court cases....... of course they'd go nuts over that kind of news.

Well the Day the Earth stands still just may come in the form of not a movie but a quick melt down from the lack of protection from our mangnasphere thingy-ma-gig! And as for the new movie its not as bad as they report on it! Not great but it does have a statment.Dont mess with Gort! p.s Good to see ya LtRipley

[Leah G.]

It would do the people of the Earth good to learn for a fact that we are not the only ones in the Universe. Everyone already suspects. Some may not be ready but some are, some are already convinced and others in complete denial. It would be amazing to see how fast the wars would stop if everyone knew. Of course, we would expect them to cure all of our problems like children. If they are peaceful creatures, they probably have a non interference policy. If they aren't peaceful, we would have already been eaten, taken over or destroyed. It may not be the government that wants it to be a secret, it might be them.

[MysteryVy]

It would do the people of the Earth good to learn for a fact that we are not the only ones in the Universe. Everyone already suspects. Some may not be ready but some are, some are already convinced and others in complete denial. It would be amazing to see how fast the wars would stop if everyone knew. Of course, we would expect them to cure all of our problems like children. If they are peaceful creatures, they probably have a non interference policy. If they aren't peaceful, we would have already been eaten, taken over or destroyed. It may not be the government that wants it to be a secret, it might be them.

Im just wondering but, what good will it do for people exactly? and how would knowing this deter wars?

Thank you

[Leah G.]

Im just wondering but, what good will it do for people exactly? and how would knowing this deter wars?

Thank you

Maybe if people realized we are not the only people or beings they would hopefully be kinder to themselves and others, realizing that the world just got smaller. War, well it's pretty useless anyway. If people could respect each other and agree on a few key issues, the issues that aliens from another world could help us with. While not giving us the technology to destroy ourselves or other species, including them, until a time that the human race is grown up enough.

On the flip side, if we find out that the aliens are not our friends it would unite us as never before and there would be no time or use in fighting among ourselves. We would have to pull together to survive. Of course this all rests on the premise that they would be talking to us, not on the premise of the Roswell crash theory.

If your talking about the Roswell crash theory, then I agree with you. But I thought this thread was about alien contact not a crash. Did I misunderstand something? I just reread the thread and it's all over the place. Maybe I wasn't talking about what you were.

Did I answer your questions?

[Drakus]

for political and military purposes, i don't think the government should disclose any findings or technological advancements regarding extraterrestrials or UFOs, whatever. It's only common sense to keep secret your awesome laser cannons and death rays and energy efficient flying aircrafts from your enemies.

a valid theory on the Roswell incident is that it STILL could have been a weather balloon, and that the government made it seem like a crashed UFO so that other nations would not suspect anything of us. so using the UFO excuse can be of use some times.

but for our purposes and public relations, satisfy our curiosity god damnit!

There are a few "holy grail" findings when it comes to life, contact from an extraterrestrial race or even finding signs of life elsewhere in the universe, intelligent or otherwise is one of them. Debatabley THE most important discovery that mankind can make next to conclusive proof of God (many people already claim to have PERSONAL conclusive proof of God and that's fine, I'm talking undebatable "lands in times square" kind of proof for believer and skeptic alike).

Governments categorical should not have the right to withhold information of contact. I don't care about military or political purposes, this information supersedes any small contingent of people that are on the whole elected to govern our daily affairs. This is a discovery for mankind, not to be wrapped in secrecy by the few power hungry warmongers that appear to be elected time and time again in this day and age.

I would agree with Hatch on some points he makes and it could quite well be that if and when disclosure takes place and if (and that's a big IF) they are of Superior intelligence and sufficiently benevolent, they would take the decision out of the hands of the powers that be here on this little planet and present themselves to everyone. It might also possibly be that as of now they have a non interference policy (much like the prime directive in Star Trek) and they're mainly just observing, military and government agencies, and those unknowns that almost certainly exist higher up on the ladder, possess the resources and the means to know more about this than the public.

As for the middle paragraph in your statement on the Roswell incident, I don't quite know what you mean here. The working theory after the military shot themselves in the foot over this is that they're full off ISH. But I'd ask you a question in response, Do you think that by the government making it look like a crashed UFO incident it garnered more or less attention than saying it was a weather balloon? Because to me a weather balloon is quite unassuming, saying it was a UFO to take focus off the fact that it was just a weather balloon is kind of back asswards

$0.02

Edited December 21, 2008 by Drakus

[Bez]

first of all. that movie was awful.

but i think theres a difference between an invasion and contact....either way, many would panic, and lots would welcome with open arms and even some would call them gods or something to that effect.

[DONTEATUS]

first of all. that movie was awful.

but i think theres a difference between an invasion and contact....either way, many would panic, and lots would welcome with open arms and even some would call them gods or something to that effect.

This is the paradox,Many would welcom with open arms and the Governments of the world would just Blast away,and the rest would just sity and type nonsences about it on the internet. So in many ways this is why I belive they are just sitting in there FLT ships and watching re-runs of Lucy.

[TheMostShady]

Aliens, ETs, Ufos are all real! I know because I been interested in discovering the truth for like over 10 years now. I have been reading books, articles, etc to learn more about them. In conclusion I believe they are real. Not only do I believe they are real, I believe I've seen a few ufos.

Also - my little brother swears to me, that he was staring down one in our room a few years ago. Well see what happened was I was downstairs watching tv and he was asleep in the room. I heard him running to the stairs. I ran up only to find him crying and pointing to the room. I ran to the room and found nothing. Years later he still has no doubt he's had an encounter with an alien. We live near the mountains in a small village too, just fyi.