Concerning _Skeptic's corner._, RON TAYLOR said to TROY H. CHEEK in UFO:
 THC>> You're assuming that if tangible alien evidence was found, preserved, 
and
 THC>> made public, it would be accepted as such.
 RT> 
 RT> Yes, I suppose so.  But then I would have to consider ANY evidence,
 RT> wouldn't I.  What tangible evidence, certified alien or otherwise,
 RT> is available to substantiate a UFO event?
Alleged implants, saucer debris, objects damaged by UFO's or aliens, personal 
injuries caused by UFO's or aliens, etc.  Please note that "alleged" is meant 
to apply to all the items listed.
 RT> There is lots of talk about I-beams, little grey people, implants,
 RT> radioactive/magnetic fields, etc... but where are they.
Mostly in the possession of the people who collected them, who are mystified 
that all the people who claim to want proof continue to ignore them every 
time they say they have proof available.
Background:  a post went around a while back concerning a "sting" operation 
in England where police broadcast a fake message stating that a UFO had 
crashed in a certain location.  When several people showed up at the crash 
site asking about the UFO, they were promptly arrested (hint: don't take your 
police scanner with you when you visit England).
My alleged point:  a couple of the skeptics here immediately classed these 
people as UFO fanatics with reality problems, as who else would go out to see 
a reported crashed UFO?  It seemed to me, and still does, that it's more 
likely they were simply thrillseekers or, possibly, skeptics who were 
actually willing to look at proof when it was presented.  Naturally, the 
skeptics here didn't see it that way.
 RT> They always seem to belong to someone else (a fellow I know?)...
All the UFO's I've seen were out of arm's reach, else some might belong to 
me. I've not, to my knowledge, been abducted by aliens or government 
researchers or anybody else.  My own personal opinion is that, assuming that 
UFO's really are alien spacecraft and somebody really is abducting people, 
these event soccur much less often than is commonly claimed, and the few real 
stories (if any) get repeated and expanded upon ad infinitum.
 RT> have been lost...
Which happens to a lot of things not related to UFO's.  I'd love to show you 
the meteorite which landed in my grandfather's field back before I was 
rn...
 RT> mysteriously disappeared...
Probably just got lost, although some alien artifacts reportedly disappear on 
their own (angel hair, slime).  I *might* encountered angle hair once, but 
didn't know what it was at the time, so I didn't take any samples.
 RT> were taken by strangers (this one REALLY blows my mind)...
Or by law enforcement officers or alleged government investigators.
 RT> but no one has anything to even be tested, much less tested positive 
alien.
One poster in this echo several years ago had an alleged implant that he 
offered up for testing.  He found that none of the people clamoring for proof 
were willing to pay for such testing, and no lab was willing to do it for 
free.  He also found that no lab was willing to guarantee that the implant 
would not be destroyed in the testing process.  I.e. a "destructive test" 
which would probably consume the entire sample, leaving no possibility of a 
duplicate test at another lab to verify the findings of the first.
(Which spawned a lengthy argument in and of itself.  Would a single lab test 
which clearly showed something to be of alien origin but destroyed the sample 
be sufficient?  My slant on the subject was that people would automatically 
assume the lab made an error, deliberate or accidental, no matter what the 
prestige or past reputation of the lab and/or scientist performing the test.)
Another factor is that some skeptics simply do not believe that a person 
could start out a skeptic and then, though exposure to evidence or 
circumstances, be convinced that UFO's are anything other than misidentified 
mundane objects. So convincing one skeptic, or a thousand, or a million, will 
not suffice, as the remaining ones will simply lump those who were convinced 
by evidence in with those who believed without any.
 
   >> o error?  Any type of alloy, isotope ratio, functioning electronics, 
tc
   >> that can run tests on, we can also create in the first place.
 RT> 
 RT> I'm not a scientist, but my understanding is that isotope ratio testing
 RT> is a reliable way to ascertain origin. How 'bout it George???
I'm not a scientist, either, but I did take quite a few physics and chemistry 
courses.  Naturally occurring isotope ratios are used in several areas of 
science to determine place of origin, time since an event, rainfall levels, 
etc. The key word, however, is "naturally".  It's also possible to change the 
isotope ratio, such as in uranium when it is enriched.
Which is a whole lot of words to wade through (and I apologize for not taking 
the time to make this message short) to get to this question:  Specifically 
what evidence would be necessary to convince you that UFO's were of alien 
origin, or that alien abductions actually take place? 
... "The Unabomber was turned in today by his brother, the Unasquealer..."
--- JetMail 0.99beta22
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