May 30 2008

Alleged Alien Video to be Shown Today

Published by under Uncategorized
Comments: 21

Jeff Peckman wants to convince the world that extraterrestrial aliens are indeed visiting the earth. He promises us proof in the form of a stunning video that he will show the press today. However, the press is not allowed to record or rebroadcast the video.

Peckman said the general public will have to wait to see it because it’s being included in a documentary by Stan Romanek.

OK, I can understand that if someone had compelling video of an ET they would want to maximize their personal profits. That would be a valuable commodity. Of course someone in possession of a fake video of an ET would also be so motivated. Remember that alien autopsy video?

The Rocky Mountain News reports:

“It shows an extraterrestrial’s head popping up outside of a window at night, looking in the window, that’s visible through an infrared camera,” he said. The alien is about 4 feet tall and can be seen blinking, Peckman said earlier this month.


Honestly, that sounds rather lame. It also prompts a number of questions. Why was this alien peeping through someone’s window? Who took the video and why did they have an infrared camera not only handy but set up to record the alien encounter? What this sounds like is a perfect setup for a faked alien video. I predict the quality of the video (distance, focus, clarity) will be just good enough to evoke the sense of an alien but not good enough to distinguish the creature in the video from some special effect (puppet, guy in a costume, CG).

In other words – scientists and skeptics will yawn, the media will treat this as a fluff piece, and UFO true believers will add this to their pile of second-rate, poor quality evidence they find so compelling.

Peckman promises to present “other related credible evidence” proving aliens exist. This, of course, prompts the question of how this one man came into possession of all this credible evidence that has eluded the scientific community for half a century. Peckman is using this publicity stunt to launch an “ET initiative.” He thinks that Denver needs an ET Affairs Commission to prepare for the eventual arrival of alien visitors. Peckman, I think, needs a new hobby.

I personally have nothing against the notion that alien civilizations exist and might want to visit the Earth one day, if they knew we were here. I simply think there is no compelling evidence to say they are already here.  An objective look at all the evidence suggests a psychocultural origin, not an ET origin. Yet many people get caught up in the UFO mythology. It truly is a modern religion, with aliens playing the roles of demons and angels. There are UFO cults, like the one that has sprung up around Swiss farmer Billy Meier – complete with holy texts revealed to the profit, who is privileged among humanity to sit with the gods.

As yet there is not a single piece of credible evidence – nothing demonstrably alien. I seriously doubt if this video will change that. But I am willing to take an objective look at any new evidence and judge it according to its own merits. What I ask of Peckman and any others who wish to be taken seriously is that their evidence be presented in a scientific manner. That means we need transparency and documentation. We need to know who made the video, when, with what equipment, and we need the original media on which it was recorded. We want to investigate the location and the individuals involved.  Peckman can protect his interests, but if he wants to be viewed as anything other than just another UFO crank, he needs to be completely forthcoming. We’ll see.

And while I am open to what he has to show, I am not holding my breath. Call me a skeptic.

21 responses so far