Popular Mechanics, famous for taking issue with 911 conspiracy theories in their publication Debunking 911 Myths (Dunbar & Reagan, 2006), issued a new article yesterday that deals similarly with alleged “NASA UFOs” featured in dozens of UFO videos circulating on the web. Astronaut Mario Runco and former NASA mission specialist Thomas Jones, were interviewed for the piece, and both say they have no “illusions about the likelihood of dispelling NASA-related UFO myths, particularly when (Martyn) Stubb and others are able to collect and repurpose an ever-growing catalog of footage.” Stubb and others make regular use of NASA footage, which as a work of the US Government exists in the public domain, for such purposes.
“There’s no way to keep people from using public domain footage for silly purposes,” Jones tells PM. “If a shuttle beams back 10 hours of Earth views each day, there are bound to be images and scenes that are misunderstood or taken out of context.” Author Erik Sofge tells us that “If anything, it’s the lack of context that many UFO theories and proponents rely on. The clips posted by Stubb and others, whether they originate with NASA or a less credible source, tend to be framed only by a short title, with little or no attempt at reporting.” In a slightly humorous statement by Runco, who notes “that anyone could have simply e-mailed or called him, to ask for his side of the story, instead of simply posting a 13-year-old video and jumping to extraterrestrial conclusions”, he warns that “I’d want the credit: Mario Runco was the first person in history to conclusively document the existence of an extraterrestrial civilization. Why would I ever want to keep it secret?”
You may read the article in its entirety by clicking here.
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