Captain's Update

8/21/02

Well, that didn't take long.

Just as Mike Bara predicted in his First Officer's update last night, already the forces of the Empire have tried to launch a preemptive strike to distract the crew from the task at hand. Due to this new development, we have decided to delay the release of our new Odyssey IR data until next week, August 29th, 2002. At that time, we will have several web reports and of course I will be making an appearance on "Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell."

The reason for this is due to a charge made in the Enterprise chat area last night by Noel Gorelick, a.k.a. "BAMF." Gorelick last night strongly implied that he "might" have altered the supposedly "raw" data that was released by NASA on July 24th, 2002. We wish to emphasize that this delay is not so that we can check out his claims -- we have every confidence that they are false -- but rather that we can consult other members of our team and address this issue specifically in our reports. The implication of this -- that he may have knowingly altered or degraded government data paid for by the public in order to create confusion -- or any other purpose -- constitutes not just a scientific, but a legal, fraud and must be addressed. There have been other claims made as well, to the effect that the Odyssey IR data is "useless" because it has not been calibrated. This is also a very overblown claim, and one we will put rest when the time comes. While we are more than satisfied that these claims are false we nevertheless have decided that such an implication deserves an appropriate, and considered, response.

Some of our readers have written and expressed concern that we may have had "one put over on us." We wish to make very clear there is no reason at all to consider that this is the case. In fact, we had anticipated just such a line of attack from the regressive crowd, and have already amassed an arsenal of data to falsify these claims. However, we would be negligent if we failed to take such a serious charge seriously. So we, the team, will do just that.

Let's just take a moment to think this through. If the data isn't useful for scientific purposes, then why did NASA release it at all? And the supposed "fact" that it was not properly "calibrated" didn't stop NASA from making scientific conclusions of their own in their image caption and press release, did it? In fact, this data was so good that NASA saw fit to declare the Face "a normal geologic feature," of Cydonia. In that, at least, we concur. Where we have always parted ways with NASA is in the interpretation of just what is "normal" and "geologic" at Cydonia.

So the bottom line is that if its good enough for NASA, it's good enough for us.

But, a careful rereading of the caption shows that "BAMF" also seems to have inadvertently (?) contradicted his own bosses.

To wit:

"The calibrated and geometrically projected data from all of the nine surface-viewing filters are shown in this figure."

Hmm. We interpret this statement as a binding declaration that the data has already been properly calibrated, the boiler-plate fine print at the bottom of the page notwithstanding.

The truth is, this is nothing more than preemptive damage control on their part. They're just trying to delay the inevitable by creating a distraction.

Now, while we can admire "BAMF's" noble desire to fall on his sword for his cause -- and his bosses -- (whoever they may be ...), we think perhaps he will find that the sword is somewhat sharper than he has been led to believe. Suffice it to say, Mr. "Bad-A** Mother -F****r, that while depositions and arraignments can be mildly unpleasant, they pale in comparison to spending a significant portion of your days in a FPMITAP.

Suffice it to say that when the time comes next Thursday, we will thoroughly deconstruct this diversion, just as we did with last year's MOLA fraud that NASA tried to put over on the public.

So while we all have to wait a week to this job properly, rest assured it will get done.

There is however, some other news to report today.

Yesterday, FACETS lead council Peter A. Gersten (http://www.pufoin.com/pag/) attempted to contact Jim Garvin, chief scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program by telephone. Gersten left a message, and later received a return phone call from NASA spokesman Don Savage informing us that Garvin would hereafter only be communicating with us through the Agency's lawyers.

We should, all of us, take this as a very significant development.

For one thing, it confirms yet another tidbit of information provided by "Deep Space," our inside source. He had told us that "the lawyers had taken over" behind the scenes at NASA months ago. This of course is a phase of the process that should embolden us all. The truth is, the lawyers take charge in a given situation only when it reaches a specific point. Usually, the point at which an individual or entity realizes they are in big trouble.

The truth is, we have them on the run, and we take most of the "noise" alluded to above to be a rather pathetic attempt at damage control. The game has just about run its course. They know it, and we know it, and they are just looking for the softest spot to land at this point.

The data that we have is comparable to previous information we have put out only in one sense -- both are somewhat explosive, but this new data compares to our previous work about the same way an H-bomb compares to a common kitchen match.

The situation is akin to that near the end of World War 2. The major difference being that in this case, both sides are well aware that we have "the bomb."

Let us be clear here. We are more than prepared to go war. We are more than loaded for bear to do so. But we'd prefer not to have to resort to a scorched Earth policy. Our powder is dry, but clearly, "they" have let us see that they're sweating.

We are demanding nothing more than the other side's unconditional surrender. While we are not in any case willing to consider terms, we are prepared to let it be known that those who cooperate from this point out, who play the game straight and provide us with valuable -- and truthful -- information, will be spared. We are willing to be forgiving, inclusive and generous. But to those who seek to continue the obfuscation in a vain effort to delay the inevitable and stave off an end game we both know is in it's final phases, we shall be merciless ...

So to those of you still clinging to a desire to fight this out to the bitter end, consider this your one and only warning -- your single shot across the bow. This is nothing short of your own personal version of Star Trek's Kobayashi Maru, the no-win situation. Are you going to go down with the ship, and take your friends, colleagues and co-workers with you? Or, are you going to do the truly noble thing and admit the game is up ... ?

You've got one week to think it over. But remember, when the countdown ends ...

Time's up.