Touched By An Angel? Angel on the hospitals security monitor?

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Touched By An Angel? = at the bottom of this pagePhantoms and Monsters MUFON Sighting Report: UFOs Over Eastland County, Texas - Photos Posted: 24 Dec 2008 07:19 PM CSTWitness statement: I have already sent this report to Steve Hudgeons of MUFON in Texas. I am reporting it here, for your records.On Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008 at approximately 3:43 a.m., I took my dogs outside, in the back yard of our farm house, and as I am always looking at the sky, I saw an object SSW of my location. It was 60 degrees above the horizon, at an elevation of at least 5,000 ft. (my best guess). It was probably somewhere over, or just south of the small town of Cross Plains. The object was blinking white and red lights in rapid succession. There was also a hint of green color. At first I thought it was simply a brilliant star, or Venus but that observation changed. I carry my digital camera with me, just in case. I snapped several photos but only one came out. I apparently snapped the photos when the object would momentarily go dark. However, as you can see by the one image I managed to capture, that the object is clearly discernible. To the naked eye, the object was elongated, like a disk or triangle. The craft(?) stayed in the same spot in the sky for the 20 minutes I viewed it, then it vanished into the fast moving clouds, though it momentarily lit up a cloud as it was enveloped. The object made no noise. As for how I felt, well, as long as they are "up there" and not chasing me into the house like one did last month, I felt fine, still do.Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008, 9:55 p.m.- Observed object earlier in the evening, as I came home from the grocery store in Cisco. As I drove home headed SW on Hwy 206, a bright object was located in the SW, approx. 60 degrees above horizon, near where Venus would be. However, there was a dark bank of high clouds above and behind the object, so Venus was not visible until well after I got home at 6:50 p.m.. I was soon briefly able to see both Venus and the object, then lower clouds moved in and both Venus and the object disappeared. I called my husband who is 45 miles north of me and he could see it too, though he could not make out what it looked like. To me, I could see 3 lights blinking together, on and off. Total viewing time of first sighting: 25 minutes.Later that evening at 9:55 p.m., I took my dogs outside and the object was again observed at approx. 80 degrees above horizon, due south. In 3 hours it had moved to the east. I could make out 3 distinct white lights together in a horizontal position. The object had 3 lights that seemed to flash together, with a brighter or lesser degree of intensity. The object was static and I observed it long enough to snap one picture, then the object blinked out to total darkness and was gone, yet I could still see the stars that were behind the object at the time. A few minutes later, clouds moved across that area of sky and I gave up searching. Total time of observation for the second sighting was about 3 minutes.I am located approximately 50 miles east of Dyess AFB, and approx. 95 miles west of Air Force Plant 4 (formerly Carswell AFB).The 1st photo shows the object I witnessed on Dec. 21, 2008 and the 2nd photo is for Dec. 23, 2008.__Would you like to comment and discuss this posting? Go to Phantoms and Monsters Wiki and become a member of this unique network. Start a page on this subject or add your input to an existing page. We also send updates at TwitterCryptid Felines of Southeast America Posted: 24 Dec 2008 02:46 PM CSTCryptid cat sightings are a worldwide phenomena. For decades, there have been accounts of large black cats roaming the countryside of Great Britain. As well, recent mutilations of horses and livestock in Australia have prompted fear that undocumented large cats also dwell on the continent.Over the past few years, there has been an increased number of large cat sightings recorded throughout the United States, especially in the mountainous regions. Most descriptions have been similar to those of cougars or panther-like creatures, large muscular felines with long tails. Though, many of the reports proved to be that of a large feral cat or an oversized pet.Before European settlers set foot in North America, the native Cherokee tribes of Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia spoke of the fearsome Wampus Cat that roamed the land. This was said to be the result of a woman who had disguised herself in the skin of a mountain lion and spied on the men of the tribe as they sat around the campfire telling sacred stories on a hunting trip. When the woman was discovered, the tribe's medicine man punished her by transforming her into a half-woman, half-cat. Supposedly, this creature still lives.In the early 19th century, the Wampus Cat was reported to roam the Southern bottomlands and described as ". . . an impossibly hideous critter said to have the head of a man, the body of a wildcat only larger, and the soul of a demon." The Wampus Cat was known to lurk along murky river bottoms and feast upon hapless hunters, fishermen and travelers and anybody else who wandered too far away from civilization. Wampus Cat stories and sightings became less and less frequent after the War Between the States.Old American South books and newspapers state that "Wampus" was a name used for an unknown monster cat as well as other mystery animals. The word catawampus (cattywampus), which means "Cater-Cornered; slant wise, or Evil; malicious" in the American Heritage Dictionary, seems to be a neutral piece of evidence.Last year, a reader from Knoxville responded to an inquiry I made concerning the Wampus Cat and other mysterious large cats:“During the school year, my girlfriend lives in Strong Hall on the University of Tennessee campus. One night while we were at her place, I was talking about how I was walking back to my dorm (Greve Hall) with a friend of mine. I was beside him, but very slightly ahead. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what appeared to be a man in a black cloak walk up to my friend and sort of lean into him, almost like he was going to put his hand on my friend's shoulder. Only when his hand fell on my friend's shoulder, he simply disappeared. I will admit that during this time I was a bit tired from studying for an exam, and my friend says he felt nothing, but that's neither here nor there.”“After telling my girlfriend this story, she told me that during the first week of school she looked out her ground-floor window toward the corner of 16th and Cumberland, and saw what appeared to be a human-sized cat walking on its hind legs, with glowing eyes. I don't remember the details she gave me, as far as how long it was there or how long she saw it.”“It should be noted that my girlfriend is from Minnesota and I have no reason to believe she would try to trick me by reading about the Wampus Cat and then trying to pretend she saw it. We're very close and I have no reason to believe she would lie to me.”Granted, this could have been a dorm party induced phantom, but I think the writer was serious. There are recent accounts of large cat sightings in the south that have an unusual twist.Recently, an unknown predator mauled a pit bull and killed two puppies in Brunswick County, North Carolina and residents fear it's the same animal that killed three dogs in September 2007. The county's animal control agency investigated the animal's tracks, droppings and other clues but couldn't determine what attacked the dogs. Locals call the unknown animal the 'Beast of Bolivia'. Some residents and experts said the predator may have been a wayward panther or cougar, or even a wolf because 3-inch paw tracks were found at the scene. There have been no reports of noise during the attacks which seems strange since this is a residential area. As well, the beast has never been seen.In an earlier incident, a man was taking pictures of alligators in the North Santee River in South Carolina with a digital camera. Later when he returned home and looked at the images, he realized there was a black panther watching him. He stated that he never witnessed or heard the animal for the entire time he was at the river.For years there have been stories of Black Florida Panthers prowling in our wilderness, but there's never been any official record they exist. A rare Black Bobcat was captured and researchers at the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary say they now know what people were referring to when they said they saw the panther."For years, people here in Florida have talked about Black Florida Panthers. First of all, Florida Panthers are basically a Cougar. There has never ever been a Black Cougar or a Florida Panther ever found. No record of them, no pictures, no hides, no skins, nothing. but still we hear these stories of black cats that lurk in the wilds of Florida. Maybe we have kind of found that missing piece of the puzzle and we now know what everybody's been talking about when they say, 'I saw a Black Panther in the wild.' But really they saw a Black Bobcat."The sanctuary says they'll be working with the state to run DNA and blood tests. They want to make sure there's official documentation that the Black Bobcat exists... even if the Black Panther does not. The sanctuary plans to return the Black Bobcat to the wild.Mystical cats or just wayward species? If there were no legends, the world would be much duller. Many people consider the Bigfoot or Sasquatch a legend or myth. I’d say just as many people consider the hairy hominid a fact. Is there a valid paranormal dimension in cryptozoology? What do you think?__Would you like to comment and discuss this posting? Go to Phantoms and Monsters Wiki and become a member of this unique network. Start a page on this subject or add your input to an existing page. We also send updates at TwitterPlastic Surgeon Used Human Fat From Liposuction as a Biofuel Posted: 24 Dec 2008 11:17 AM CSTA Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who claims to have turned fat, extricated in liposuction, into biofuel for his car has skipped town after US officials raided his surgery in an investigation into his procedures. Dr Craig Alan Bittner, who runs the Liposculpture clinic on Rodeo Drive, said that he had created “lipodiesel” with his patients’ excess subcutaneous fat. The cosmetic surgeon told Forbes.com that he used the blubber to power two cars including his four-wheel-drive Ford. Dr Bittner is under investigation by the California Department of Public Health because it is illegal in the state to use human medical waste to power vehicles.He reportedly wrote about the practice on his website, lipodiesel.com, which has since been shut down. "The vast majority of my patients request that I use their fat for fuel - and I have more fat than I can use,” he wrote. "Not only do they get to lose their love handles or chubby belly but they get to take part in saving the earth.” But a spate of recent lawsuits filed against the surgeon by patients who claim he let his unqualified girlfriend and assistant carry out surgical procedures that allegedly left them disfigured uncovered the doctor’s fat-fueled activities. According to his website Dr Bittner is currently volunteering “in a rural clinic outside Bogota, Colombia”. The patients claim that they found Dr Bittner via the internet and arranged pre-operative consultations at his office, but instead of Dr Bittner conducting the consultation, it was his office manager Darcy, according the the Beverly Hills Courier.In addition, WIRED magazine cast doubt on Dr Bittner’s claim that he used the lipodiesel to power his girlfriend’s Lincoln Navigator – which it said does not have a diesel model. It said the whole scheme could be a hoax inspired by the film Fight Club, in which Brad Pitt’s character Tyler Durden uses waste from liposuction to make soap. Dr Bittner left a message on his clinic’s website on November 20 to tell clients he was moving to South America to volunteer at a small clinic “where I can help those most in need.”Scientific Proof That Religion Decreases Brain Activity Posted: 24 Dec 2008 11:09 AM CSTIn America there’s a feeling of Christmas. But that’s not the only winter holiday going on. Jews are lighting Hanukkah candles, Muslims recently feasted on Eid al-Adha, and pagans celebrated the solstice. So it’s a good time for researchers to consider spirituality—from a scientific point of view. One experience central to major religions around the world is that of transcendence, the idea of almost losing a sense of self to the feeling that there’s something bigger out there. Now scientists at the University of Missouri say they’ve located that experience in our brains. All the people studied, from Buddhist monks in meditation to Francescan nuns in prayer, experience this transcendence. And they all have decreased activity in the right parietal lobe of the brain. That area has to do with senses such as orienting yourself in the space around you. The study was published in Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science. Interestingly, people with injuries to the right parietal lobe report increased levels of spiritual experiences. The researchers are quick to say that this connection doesn’t minimize the role of religion, and that religious or spiritual experiences might decrease activity in that region and thus increase that special feeling of transcendence. Just in time for the holidays.__Would you like to comment and discuss this posting? Go to Phantoms and Monsters Wiki and become a member of this unique network. Start a page on this subject or add your input to an existing page. We also send updates at TwitterTouched By An Angel? Posted: 24 Dec 2008 09:35 AM CSTVisit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the EconomyA 14-year-old girl with a history of serious health issues lay dying of pneumonia in a hospital room. But as her mother waited for the girl to take her last breath, an image of bright light appeared on a security monitor. Within an hour, the dying girl began a recovery that doctors are at a loss to explain.But Colleen Banton, the girl's mother, has an explanation. “This was an image of an angel,” she told NBC News in a story reported Tuesday on TODAY. She credited the apparition with saving the life of her daughter Chelsea.No hopeThe incident happened in Charlotte, N.C., in September. Chelsea had been born five weeks prematurely with developmental disabilities and had battled serious health problems all her life. She is particularly susceptible to the types of pneumonia infections that had taken her to death’s door.Told that there was no hope for Chelsea, Colleen Banton had just instructed doctors to take her daughter off life support and allow nature to take its course when the apparition was seen.It would be another two months before Chelsea finally left the hospital to return home, where she is about to celebrate her 15th birthday as well as Christmas. Her mother is convinced that Chelsea was saved by divine intervention.“It’s a blessing,” she told NBC News. “It’s a miracle.”Banton took a picture of the television monitor on which the image appeared. Some who look at it would describe it as a flare of reflected light. Others — including nurses who were on duty as well as Banton — say the three vertical shafts of light are indisputably an angel.‘They walk amongst us’Banton is hardly alone in her belief in angels. “I think angels really do exist,” the Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook told TODAY’s Ann Curry after watching the report on the Bantons’ experience. “They protect us. They walk amongst us.”Cook was joined by Rabbi Irwin Kula, who looked at angels as more of a metaphor for the unexplained wonders that life brings."Albert Einstein said there are two ways to look at the world: as if everything is a miracle or nothing is a miracle,” he said.Angels do not play a large role in the Jewish faith, but they have a prominent place in Christianity, which teaches that an angel told Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Cook said she believes that angels are messengers from God. “They bring the message of hope,” she told Curry.According to some polls, 75 percent of all Americans believe in angels. That level of belief varies with geography and political affiliation, with more Republicans than Democrats and more Southerners than Northeasterners believing in the existence of the heavenly messengers.The high level of belief is unique in the developed world. In Canada, Great Britain and Australia, the same polls say, belief in angels does not exceed 40 percent. Being open to wonderKula said whether you believe in angels or not, there is a deeper message in Banton’s story.“The real question is: Can we be open to wonder?” the rabbi told Curry. “Even at the very last moment, the very darkest moment, can we actually be open to the new possibilities that are always there?”Angels, Kula said, “can be anything.” In that sense, he said, one could say that someone who just shows up when you most need a hand can be seen as a very real angel.“You’re having a bad day, and a child comes up to you and smiles and right away you feel better. Is that an angel or is that a child smiling?” Kula said.Cook had to wipe away a tear of joy after watching Banton’s story. It is particularly appropriate, she said, coming at the Christmas season during a year in which many people are experiencing economic hardship.“People are looking for a miracle right now,” Cook said. Some, like Colleen Banton, feel they’ve found one.__Would you like to comment and discuss this posting? Go to Phantoms and Monsters Wiki and become a member of this unique network. Start a page on this subject or add your input to an existing page. We also send updates at Twitter