Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Fedot Streletsky
[REGNUM] An unhealthy obsession with aliens and everything related to them has long plagued Americans and is only growing. As of the end of 2025, 47 percent of US citizens firmly believe that aliens from other planets have visited Earth. In 2012, by comparison, this figure was 36 percent.
Moreover, this confidence seems to be deliberately fueled by both pop culture and government officials and organizations. In particular, the Pentagon, for some purpose, regularly publishes packages of classified documents, including invariably murky photographs and videos, as well as testimonies from people who have definitely seen something in the sky.
That is, nothing irrefutable or truly sensational is ever discovered there. Nevertheless, American workers await each such revelation, like gifts from Santa Claus, with great anticipation and a sense of wonder.
And every time a miracle doesn't happen, they don't lose their confidence at all, instead explaining it away by saying the government is still hiding the truth. But sooner or later, it will come to light. And then...
In fact, it's more appropriate to speak of not just certainty, but genuine faith. This isn't just a figure of speech: modern researchers are increasingly coming to the conclusion that the widespread fascination with unidentified flying objects resembles—to put it mildly—a new religion.
Religion, let's say, not in the full sense of the word and not in the usual sense. Although it should be noted that the very definition of religion is the subject of heated debate. Be that as it may, a number of characteristics are evident.
According to the ideas of modern cognitive religious studies, any religious ontology is based on the idea of the existence of super− or non-human intentional agents that possess counterintuitive properties, access to strategic information, and are also capable of interacting with a person in a way that is understandable to him and motivating behavior aimed at strengthening faith.
Aliens certainly meet the above criteria. There are some doubts, however, about their access to strategic information (in other words, contextualized omniscience). At least, the numerous stories of contacts of varying degrees generally contain nothing to confirm their having such access.
Now let's move on to simpler arguments. Of course, belief in UFOs is very different from traditional religions: no priests, no universally accepted doctrines, no sacred texts, no centralized authority.
At the same time, the alien cult takes on many of the functions usually attributed to religion. Specifically, it organizes communities of believers (all those Raelians, the Universe People, and even Scientologists), generates narratives of revelation, and, among other things, promises the coming of an omnipotent being from the heavens, after which our world will effectively end.
It's not a given that aliens will kill everyone and blow up the Earth with a giant laser. However, this option is being considered. But the implication is that if alien visits move from the realm of myth to the realm of reliable fact, it will change and upend everything.
Americans—not all of them, of course, but a significant number—are passionately hungry for this. So much so that the seemingly mundane word "disclosure" has acquired a certain connotation in recent years, making it an indispensable attribute of the UFO cult and the entire discourse surrounding it.
It is no coincidence that Steven Spielberg's new film, which has just arrived in foreign cinemas (just before the Pentagon's latest wave of disclosures), is called Disclosure Day.
Last year, a documentary film, The Age of Disclosure, consisting largely of interviews with American government officials, was released. It surpassed the Oscar-winning film Battle by Battle and other recent hits in terms of views on Prime Video streaming. And it was highly praised by Steven Spielberg, too.
In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that Spielberg played a key role in the formation of the UFO religion. With his 1977 film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, he, if not started this process, then at least catalyzed it.
Both the revelation and the coming motifs were present, but they were presented in a strictly realistic manner. Thus, the film removed the alien theme from the realm of purely entertaining science fiction plots like Star Trek, Superman, and other cheap B-movies, radically reimagining the image of aliens and imbuing them with divine attributes.
A few years later, in 1982, Spielberg continued to push this same line even more insistently (but also in a more veiled form) in the film E.T. In it, a character descending from the heavens gathers followers around him, performs miracles, and is persecuted by the authorities, only to ascend to heaven in the end.
Tellingly, no one suspected anything. But the UFO religion's position grew even stronger. And then came The X-Files, led by UFO prophet Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny. He had a literally iconic poster on his office wall with the well-known slogan: "I want to believe."
This caption, along with the series' tagline—"The Truth Is Out There"—have become the central tenets of the UFO religion, succinctly capturing its essence. That's why the fact that the documents published by the Pentagon contain (and likely cannot contain) anything that would prove the reality of aliens is irrelevant.
Faith requires no proof. And a person who wants to believe strongly enough cannot be dissuaded from their faith. Because the truth is always out there. The question, therefore, is not whether there is life on Mars, but why exactly Americans are so obsessed with aliens.
The classic psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung wrote the following about this back in 1958 in his book "UFO: A Modern Myth": "In the threatening current situation of the modern world, when people begin to see that life itself on the planet is at stake, the fantasy that creates projections rushes beyond the boundaries of earthly institutions and forces - into the heavens, into interstellar space, where the former arbiters of human destinies, that is, the gods, once lived."
As we can see, nothing has changed in the "current situation" over the past nearly 70 years—and the above explanation remains as relevant as ever. Although many other, more specific, interpretations have emerged since then.
“Alien abduction stories provide an expression—in a deliberately softened and less politicized form—of… feelings of exclusion and alienation from the nation’s achievements, particularly from the US project of global expansion and dominance,” says, for example, an American researcher named Bridget Brown.
And yet, the dominant factor in the formation of UFO religion seems to be the influence of culture, which in a post-secular society partially—and in some cases, almost completely—replaces traditional religions, giving rise to hyperreal religions in their place.
According to the definition of Australian sociologist Adam Possamai, hyperreal religion is a simulacrum of religion, created on the basis of popular culture or in symbiosis with it, which serves as a source of inspiration for believers or consumers.
In short, it's not surprising that in a society where pop culture, having transformed into a vast, steaming pile of simulacra, has permeated every aspect of life, including politics, people lose touch with objective reality and begin to worship empty idols, distancing themselves from traditional religions. As a result, they place their hopes on aliens as saviors and confuse the divine with science fiction.
After all, things can be different. Take that category of adults, primarily members of the liberal intelligentsia, who stubbornly maintain the habit of evaluating the world through the prism of J.K. Rowling's books. And they are guided by them in much the same way that believers are guided by the Bible.
And this is happening because secularization is secularization, postmodernity is postmodernity, but the need for myths, faith, and spiritual practices hasn't disappeared and, apparently, never will. So, poor Americans are left to seek all of this wherever they can.
#1
The Department of War just released the third tranche of records under PURSUE. The first tranche was released on May 8, 2026. Scroll down to view the third tranche, released on June 12, 2026.
#3
....Dr. Carl Sagan - yeah, the guy had his own issues, but he was pretty smart - wrote his final book, The Demon Haunted World, not long before he passed.
The point of the book was that we are the most technologically advanced civilization we know of...but we are also the most superstitious, and he included UFOs in that.
And his point was simple - in the world where cameras watch 24/7, in day or night, not ONE of these things has ever been seen on one of these cams. Lotsa footage from Government sources, though.
#4
I've tried to listen with an open mind. But the leap from, 'What the Hell is that?' to 'it MUST be aliens!' is a pretty long and mainly unsupported one.
That and nothing says they traveled over 1,000 light years across space undetected like crashing the bus in NM.
Something unknown? Sure, we've only been in the air at all for a little more than a century. But unknown really means unknown, not a secret code for aliens. Short story way to long, Spielberg acts more like a guy with something to sell than something to reveal.
#6
An unhealthy obsession with aliens and everything related to them...
Not surprisingly, I actually agree with Fedot Streletsky on this one.
Until an actual outer space allen and the not build on earth or vicinity spacecraft is shown and freely accessible to the public, I will say this is a whole bunch of "Whoo Whoo" crap.
The real question is what are they trying to deflect our attention from?
#11
^ I've had that. Usually with polyester briefs in a Santa Ana
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/17/2026 13:18 Comments ||
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#12
Spielberg acts more like a guy with something to sell than something to reveal.
I think you just got Spielberg's number.
Yeah, I watch Ancient Aliens. I find it much more entertaining than a lot of the crap on TV these days. I might even watch Spielberg's movie. That doesn't mean I'm waiting for ET to come to Earth like the second coming of Jesus, solve all of our problems and make everything wonderful.
One of the most prominent UFO researchers, Jacques Vallee, speculates that the government is happy to let us believe in extraterrestrial vehicles and has even created illusions of UFOs to distract us from what they're doing. I wouldn't put it past them.
In the absence of better evidence I'll remain agnostic, not about God, but about ET. But if ET is real, he's likely to be a messenger from God.
Either that or they'll be like the graphic:
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/17/2026 14:27 Comments ||
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#13
And Frank, I think you'd be a lot more comfortable in cotton.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/17/2026 14:31 Comments ||
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#15
I just saw Disclosure Day, with three other boomers. All four liked it. Some interface with religion, but more about government coverup, to protect us, doncha know. Worthy of Spielberg.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/17/2026 17:09 Comments ||
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I still remember one incident, from Chapter Four, about Green Fireballs. As they watched, the object seemed to
approach their airplane head on, changing color from orange red to green. As it became
bigger and bigger, the captain said, he thought sure it was going to collide with them so he
racked the DC-3 up in a tight turn. As the green ball of fire got abreast of them it began to
fall toward the ground, getting dimmer and dimmer until it disappeared. Just before he
swerved the DC-3, the fireball was as big, or bigger, than a full moon.
Burned into my memory, I guess.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/17/2026 17:38 Comments ||
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#17
If these extraterrestrials have really been visiting visiting earth for decades or more they certainly would have to be preternaturally tidy and clean.
So far no technological artifact with an extraterrestrial isotopic signature has been found and presented to the public, be it a machine or even something trivial like some scrap metal, screws, bolts, fibers, plastic wrappers, tin foil etc.
In this instance absence of evidence strongly implies evidence of absence.
#18
#8. We had something similar near our lake. Enough of the sightings that MUFON sent a crew here. I filmed one near one of our bee yards 2 months ago. They are out there.
But to the movie. Did anyone else notice the Christphobic ranting direction? Pure schit.
#2
Talk about a green light for universities to raise tuition fees with "guaranteed" student loans. And heaven help those who co-signed the loan agreement.
[FoxNews] The Trump administration has wisely recognized that national security and trade are inherently intertwined. If our trade partners to the north and south cannot or will not secure their side of the fence against fentanyl precursors, human smuggling and illicit trade that undercuts American workers, they cannot expect a seamless path into the American market. It’s that simple.
The northern border, in particular, has become a sieve for organized crime. While the world watches the Rio Grande, cartels and Chinese state-linked actors have found a more polite entry point through our northern neighbor. Billions of dollars in illicit products are being transshipped through Canada, bypassing standard inspections and gutting the U.S. economy.
Of course, current trade data doesn't account for these shadow economies draining the American treasury. We need a dedicated task force focused entirely on dismantling these smuggling pipelines and holding Canada responsible for its lax policies. National security demands that we stop treating trade agreements as static documents and start using them as active tools for law enforcement.
#1
Been waiting a long long time for somebody (any body, but especially one named Trump) to go after the trafficking coming out of Canada. Why are they so special? Ottawa needs to be put on notice yesterday that this will not be tolerated.
[AfricanArguments] From the beginning of Sudan’s war, the strategy pursued by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its supporting network relied on one central assumption: that the Sudanese military leadership could be rapidly neutralized, forcing the collapse of the military institution and allowing for a swift takeover of the state.
Public statements made during the opening days of the conflict reinforced this impression. The expectation seemed to be that senior military commanders would either surrender quickly or be eliminated altogether, creating political paralysis and institutional breakdown within days.
At the time, such calculations may have appeared reasonable to some observers. Sudan was already facing severe political instability, economic decline, post-revolution fragmentation, and tensions inside the military establishment following the collapse of the former regime.
In fact, the strategy may have had a realistic chance of success during the first days of the conflict. Had senior military leaders been captured or killed, the political and institutional consequences could have been completely different. The problem was not necessarily the initial assumption itself, but the absence of a credible alternative once that assumption failed to materialize.
But political instability is not the same as institutional collapse. The two are often confused, particularly during moments of revolutionary upheaval.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] The FSB Directorate for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol has declassified documents on attempts by Nazis and their collaborators to bury partisans alive in Kerch quarries. This was reported by the agency's press service on June 16.
This concerns materials from the NKVD of the Crimean ASSR on the underground garrisons of the Adzhimushkay and Starokarantinsky quarries. During the occupation of Crimea in 1941, partisan detachments were trapped by the enemy in dungeons and catacombs.
"Details of the struggle between the Nazi invaders and their accomplices against members of the V.I. Lenin partisan detachment in the Adzhimushkay quarries during the first occupation in November–December 1941, and the attempts to exterminate them by burying them alive in dungeons, have been revealed," the report states.
The investigation was conducted by an NKVD task force in early 1942, immediately after Kerch's liberation from the German-Romanian occupiers. The agents identified those involved in the massacres and gathered evidence of the treason of the occupiers' collaborators and the genocide of the Soviet people.
"NKVD investigators meticulously proved the suspects' guilt, relying on their cross-examinations and confrontations, adhering to the legality of the investigation, which is evident from a general analysis of the protocols and other documents," the press service quoted Sergei Tkachenko, associate professor at the Vernadsky Crimean Federal University and a candidate of historical sciences, as saying.
The materials also contain information about the Kerch partisans, who remained steadfast under occupation. They continued to conduct reconnaissance of enemy positions and transmitted data to Red Army headquarters.
Following the investigation, the occupiers' collaborators were convicted. The Kerch partisans were nominated for various awards, including posthumously.
Previously, the FSB declassified the criminal case file of Nazi executioner Günther Max Müller, who participated in the extermination of Donbas residents during the Great Patriotic War. He was an investigator for the punitive field police squad of the Wehrmacht's 17th Army, arresting, interrogating, and executing residents of Stalino, Artemovsk, and Konstantinovka, recruiting agents and sending young Soviet citizens into slavery in Nazi Germany.
Russia commemorates Genocide Remembrance Day on April 19. On this day in 1943, the USSR issued a decree that for the first time formalized the Nazi policy of exterminating civilians in occupied territories.
#1
The Cask of Amontillado A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.
[Breitbart] China is building a weapon that could bring the United States to its knees without firing a single shot. It’s taking over global pharmaceutical development – and gaining unprecedented control of the medical innovations Americans depend on.
Chinese companies account for nearly a third of drugs currently in development, and China recently surpassed the United States in conducting clinical trials. By 2040, China is projected to be responsible for over a third of new FDA approvals.
If one of those trials produces a life-saving breakthrough – like a cancer cure or pandemic vaccine – China could hold it hostage to extract concessions from the United States. America can’t afford that risk. We need to build a biotech sector that can outcompete China and not depend on it.
Our first step should be to end the foreign free-riding that is steadily undermining America’s biotech sector.
For decades, wealthy nations have used price controls to suppress what they pay for innovative medicines. As a result, drugmakers struggle to recoup the massive costs of research and development – which often exceed $2.6 billion for just one new drug – and are forced to shift much of that burden onto the U.S. market.
That has produced a global imbalance. America drives the lion’s share of pharmaceutical innovation, but American patients pay far more than foreign ones for the same drugs.
That imbalance isn’t just unfair. It adds to America’s biotech vulnerability. When foreign governments underpay for U.S.-invented medicines, they effectively drain revenue from American innovators, preventing these companies from investing in the research and manufacturing capacity needed to outpace China.
The United States must demand that trading partners pay their fair share. It should start by launching a Section 301 investigation into other countries’ abusive drug pricing practices. That would immediately signal that Washington is serious about ending free-riding and unlock a broader suite of trade enforcement tools to bring foreign countries to the negotiating table.
From there, the United States could pursue more agreements like President Trump’s recent deal with the United Kingdom, in which the UK committed to paying more for innovative medicines. If other wealthy countries like Japan and Germany agree to do the same, it would both strengthen the financial foundation of U.S. biotech and allow domestic prices to fall.
At the same time, policymakers must reject the impulse to simply copy other countries’ price controls. That wouldn’t end free-riding but instead would entrench it – with devastating consequences for innovation.
Adopting foreign-style price caps would inevitably force drugmakers to scale back research and development, ceding the next generation of treatments to China. It would also strip away America’s negotiating leverage, preventing negotiators from securing fair pricing abroad.
There are better ways for policymakers to reduce drug costs. Ending foreign free-riding would allow prices to fall naturally.
China’s growing advantage in biotechnology is a glaring strategic gap. But there is still time to close it.
If U.S. policymakers act now to strengthen America’s biotech sector and end foreign free-riding, they can ensure America stays competitive – and continues to lead the world in medical innovation.
#6
Like most things invented and designed in the US, our political and business "elite" have farmed it out to other nations and drained our innovation and productivity for short term profit and power. Now that bill is coming due and we are found to be broke.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
