Pope Benedict XVI to set up exorcism squads

According to Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist for the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI wants to set up exorcism "squads" to deal with what he is calling the rampant growth of Satanism. The decision was made due to the rising concerns among Church officials over growing interest in Satanism and the occult.

According to Father Amorth each bishop will be provided with a group of priests who are experts in performing exorcisms and more will be trained as needed.

This has me wondering if a group will be sent to the Diocese of Fresno to assist Bishop Steinbock in any reported exorcists? Not that any information would be released to the public as this information is kept confidential. Given the fact that Fresno is considered the Bible Belt of California, I wonder if there will be a rash of reported possessions? You know us Catholics, we find anything bad to be evil and possessed.

More Chupacabra sightings in Texas

It seems once again that Texas is the hot spot for supposed Chupacabra sightings.

An animal control office in Hood County, Texas shot and killed a creature that was hairless and didn't look like anything he had ever seen before. But that wasn't the only creature that was seen. Another creature with similiar characteristics was spotted and killed several miles away.

The animal control officer was quick not to say whether he killed the legendary goat sucker or not. The animal was sent away for DNA tests (most likely at tax payers expense) before he makes a decesion. He did say he knew whatever it was it wasn't normal. Another officer stated that it was nothing like she had ever seen before.

To me that the creature shown in the video is either a coyote or dog suffering from mange, which would explain the lack of hair. As for the emanicapted look, that can be explained by both the mange and the fact the creature was problably starving (which would explain why one was in the barn, most likely it was searching for food).

I found it a bit humorous that the reporter was looking for a "pack of Chupacabras" at the end of the video and the rancher said if he was a Chupacabra, that a certain clump of trees is where he would live. Part of me was hoping something would have jumped out when he investigated the clump of trees, but alas nothing happaned. Hopefully when the DNA tests comeback showing that this was nothing more than an animal with mange people will realize that these aren't Chupacabras. But that has happened before and nothing has changed. Meanwhile the real Chupacabra is in Puerto Rico laughing at all the imposters in Texas and the rest of the Southwest.

Thanks to Brodiemash over at the DumbDrum for sending me the video.

Drunk Australian bitten trying to riding crocodile

Crocodile Dundee this guy was not.

In Australia a drunken man broke into a zoo after being kicked out of a pub (how drunk do you have to be in Australia to get kicked out of a pub?), climbed into a crocodile enclosure and tried to ride a 16 foot long saltwater crodile named "Fatso". Surprisingly enough Fatso didn't take to kind to this latched onto the man's leg and tore out several chunks of flesh.

Saltwater crocodiles are known for not letting go once they bite, but authorites say due to the cooler weather Fatso was a bit slower (being a reptile and cold blooded) and let the man go. Somehow in his drunken and now injured stupor he was able to climb back over the fence and headed back to the pub. He was then taken the hospital where surgery was done to repair the wounds he recieved from Fatso.

One has to wonder how many cans of Foster the man had before he decided to ride Fatso.

Full source: BBC News

A drunk man who climbed into a crocodile enclosure in Australia and attempted to ride a 5m (16ft) long crocodile has survived his encounter.

The crocodile, called Fatso, bit the 36-year-old man's leg, tearing chunks of flesh from him as he straddled the reptile.

He received surgery to serious wounds to his leg and is recovering in hospital, police say.

He had been chucked out of a pub in the town of Broome for being too drunk.

The man, Michael Newman, climbed over a fence and tried to sit on the 800kg (1,800lb) saltwater crocodile.

"Fatso has taken offence to this and has spun around and bit this man on the right leg," Sgt Roger Haynes of Broome police told journalists.

"The crocodile has let him go and he's been able to scale the fence again and leave the wildlife park."

Malcolm Douglas, the park's owner, said that the crocodile was capable of crushing a man to death with a single bite.

"The man who climbed the fence was fortunate because Fatso was a bit more sluggish than normal, due to the cooler nights we have been experiencing in Broome," said Mr Douglas.

"If it had been warmer and Fatso was more alert, we would have been dealing with a fatality."

"No person in their right mind would try to sit on a 5m crocodile, Saltwater crocodiles, once they get hold of you, are not renowned for letting you go."

The man staggered back to the pub bleeding heavily.

Pub manager Mark Phillips said staff told him that the man reappeared at about 11pm with bits of bark hanging off him and flesh gouged out of his limbs.

"They said he had chunks out of his legs and things like that," Mr Phillips told The West Australian news website.

An average of two people are killed each year in Australia by aggressive saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 7m (23 ft) long and weigh more than a tonne.

Architect sees ghost and is now a believer

I love stories like this. A professional who has no belief in the paranormal has an encounter with a ghost and suddenly his view on things change. Apparently the architect that is working on the remodel of a thetear in Bristol, England has seen the original manager, Sarah Macready, who had worked there over two hundrend years ago and has haunted the place ever since her death.

The encounter was during lunch and he saw a woman with black hair wearing a white dress as he climbed the back stairs. As soon as he said something she disappeared. The architect, Andrzej Blonski, had never believed in ghosts before this experience, but does now. He also believes that the she is pleased with the work since she smiled at him when he first saw her.

But this isn't the only occurnece that happened to Blonski. He's also caught a whiff of a woman's perfume that smelled like lavender. Others have smelt this and some of those who have seen Macready associate the scent with her.

Macready isn't the only spirit who haunts the theater. There is also the ghost of a boy who died in the paint shop in an accident in the 1950's and an 18th Century actress, Sarah Siddons, has also been seen in the theater.

Full source: BBC Bristol

By Robin Markwell

The ghost of Sarah Macready appeared to Andrzej Blonski as he climbed the back stairs at lunchtime.

He says she was wearing a long, white crinoline dress, had black hair and a pretty face. When he tried to speak to her she vanished.

Mr Blonski told the BBC that he has never believed in ghosts and - prior to their meeting - was not aware of her legacy at the Bristol Old Vic.

"The thing that really got me was that she smiled - she was a friend and then she vanished," he said.

"But then I was really very, very happy - at the moment I'm quite emotional about it because I think that if there is a ghost, it's someone who cares about this building."

The architect believes that her smile is a sign that she approves of the current redevelopment work taking place in the theatre.

Andrzej Blonski says he has sensed ghostly presences on the stairs before, and caught a whiff of lavender perfume.

This distinctive scent has also accompanied some of her previous appearances since her death.

A security guard in the 1980s smelled lavender in the air while on patrol along the passageways below the auditorium. The Alsatian dog by his side froze and started barking.

The guard also says he heard a woman's voice tell him to "get out" and he felt her breath on his face.

Andrew Stocker, who gives tours of the Bristol Old Vic, said Sarah Macready's hard work was part of the key to the theatre's early success.

"She was an actress originally - she had an affair with William Charles Macready. He married her and he basically gave her the keys to the theatre and she worked here for over 10 years.

"She was a lady that ran this building seven days a week and she was an incredible lady."

The project manager from the team redesigning the Bristol Old Vic had a more shocking experience. Mr Blonski says that he was physically pushed. He ran away and now will not use the "haunted" staircase.

Sarah Macready is not the only spirit said to haunt this old playhouse. The ghost of a boy who died in an accident in the paint shop in the 1950s has been spotted as well as the 18th Century West End actress Sarah Siddons.

Mr Blonski says he feels the building is alive with its past: "It's got a very strong spirit - the spirit of the people who have passed through it and I connect to that. Somehow this place has got to me."

More info on the Fourth of July weekend Clovis UFO

As I had reported yesterday, KMPH Fox 26 had reported that several strange lights were seen over the Fourth of July weekend. One of the main points of the story, and what started the call ins to KMPH was a sighting in Clovis. I was able to find the original MUFON report and apparently the event occured on July 2, 2010 (reported on July 3, 2010) and whatever happened, it terrified the witnesses.

The event started when one of the witnesses daughters came back into their house screaming a plane was going to hit the house and they should run to safety. Her father ran out of the house to see what was going on. He too started yelling that something was going to hit them and they should run.

The witness who made the report ran out of the house with her son. She goes on to state they never saw or heard anything but were so focused on escaping. The husband told them to stop behind some trees as he was afraid the object was about to hit the house. When nothing happened he told them to keep running as he headed back towards the house. He came back in his truck and said the object had just vanished.

According to both the father and daughter, who were the ones to actually see the object, it had two bright lights on it and made no sound whatsoever and they described it's movement as teetering back and forth a bit, but the lights were always horizontal to each other. The husband was also able to make out the silhouette of the object and describes it as as large as their back pasture.

I can't say what these people saw without talking to them myself. I know the skeptics out there want to just say it's a low flying plane, but I'm giving this family the benefit of the doubt. They live in a rural area of Clovis and I imagine they are familiar with aircraft on final approach to the Fresno airport. I don't know what they saw, but whatever it wa, it was real and scared the hell out of them.

MUFON Report: 2 bright lights huge object no sound thought we were going to die.

Im not sure how long it lasted because we thought we were going to die but you will understand in this description. It felts like minutes but I know it was seconds because we really thought we were going to die! Here is the story:

I am reporting this in sadness because of this event my dog died! My daughter went to get the dogs from outside to bring them in (she's 15) and she ran screaming "get out a plane is going to hit us" "run" and she was hysterical. Me my husband and my son and I went running downstairs and my husband went to the backdoor (running) to investigate because my daughter is very meek and quiet and never screams. The next thing I know my husband is yelling "run" "its gonna hit us" and he started praying to God that we lived and if not take us to Heaven and let it be quick.

We ran straight out the door as fast as our legs would go. Myself and my son never heard or saw anything we were just running for dear life. My husband told us to stop behind the trees because he thought at any moment it would hit and we wouldnt get much father ( didnt atually even think we would make it out the front door) and we live in the country so its all mostly open space in front of us. When nothing happened after a few seconds he told us to keep running as I horrifyingly saw him turn back toward the house.

We kept going hurrying down the road and as we went we were trying to call our dogs that had escaped with us. My husband returned in his truck to state the object simply was gone/vanished he had no idea where it went but it never hit our house or flew over us and not a single sound was heard. So we continued the search for our dogs however one was struck by a car and killed.

Later when I spoke with my husband and daughter I was informed it had 2 bright lights and was up in the sky they could see the back neighbors house below it and it made no sound and teetered a little back and forth but the lights were always horizontal to eachother. This object made no sound what so ever and my husband said he saw the silhouette and it was as big as our back pasture across and very dark.

I am very saddened but wanted to report this because weird things have occurred before here that we never mentioned to people. Like for one instance our laser pointer lights (we would play with our dogs with) when we would point them in the field they would disappear at some points but would be seen all the way to the orchards at other points and we always laughed that it was like something invisible was sucking up the light at that spot. Im now truely scared and wanted this reported in the case something happens to us.

Now it is time for me to grieve. I am afraid to sleep. I truly believe it must have landed in our pasture but everything appears normal. Something very wrong happened here tonight...please help!! Has anyone else ever experienced this?

KMPH 26 reports UFOs seen in Fresno over the Fourth of July weekend

Apparently over the Fourth of July weekend strange lights were seen in the skies and according to witnesses they weren't fireworks. One family in Clovis reported seeing a cigar shaped craft flying over their house. Another was able to videotape something strange in the sky that, according to them, didn't look like any normal type of aircraft.

To be honest I don't know what to make of this story. The fact that these sightings occurred over the Fourth of July weekend has me wondering if some reports were mistaken for some illegal fireworks (which there were plenty of) that were shot into the sky? Now I'm not trying to discredit anyone outright, just trying to look at the overall picture.

As the news said, they received several reports of strange lights or objects in the sky. I didn't hear anything through my usual channels, but that doesn't mean that there weren't reports filed. I'm curious as to what others have seen and if they collaborate with what the person in Clovis saw?

Iran bans the mullet

For his sake, I hope this gentleman never plans a trip to Iran.

Iran has been known for doing some pretty bad things lately (and I use the term bad lightly). From the recent presidential elections and ensuing riots, the whole nuclear energy fiasco, and the complete bullshit about the Holocaust never actually occuring, Iran has done some pretty bad stuff. After I read this story I almost changed my mind. Then I realized it's Iran.

Apparently they are banning several hairstyles and one of those is the ever popular mullet. Now normally I'm for freedom of expression (Which really isn't a right, read the First Amendment people. Speech, religion, and assembly.), but the fact that they are banning the mullet is probably the best thing that country has done in a long, long while (actually given their human rights violations probably the only thing). Maybe others will take note and follow the example that Iran had started. Imagine if Chowchilla banned the mullet? The amount of haircuts that needed to be done could jump start their economy.

The only downside to the mullet being banned in the area is one less reason to go to the Fair. I guess we'd have to be content to just eating anything that was 2000 calories and deep fried.

Full source: guardian.co.uk

Phil Daoust, reporter

Imagine a country where a man with a ponytail could have it cut off by the cops, as could one with a mullet, or one whose hair was slathered in gel, fancifully spiked, or simply too long. Repeat offenders would face stiff fines, while their barber-accomplices would have their shops closed.

It may sound like paradise, especially if your own crazy-haired days are behind you. It's actually the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose cultural ministry has just unveiled (although that's perhaps not the most appropriate word in this context) a list of approved hairstyles in an attempt to free the country of "decadent" western cuts.

Jaleh Khodayar, who's in charge of the government- backed Modesty and Veil Festival, explains that the styles "are inspired by Iranians' complexion, culture and religion, and Islamic law".

It's not all good news for fans of the short back and sides, however: 1980s-style floppy fringes are acceptable, as are quiffs. And, worryingly, there seems to be a lamentable softening of Iran's hard line on goatees.

Former police officer watches as alien children vanish

Anyone who knows me that I only fear two things when it comes to the paranormal. Being abducted by a UFO and ghostly children, or just creepy children in particular. So when I read this story and saw that both of my fears had been combined into some good ol' fashion nightmare fuel I knew I had to share.

An ex-police officer, giving his name as Nick R, stated that while he was driving home one night after work he saw an orange oval light in the sky that he knew could not be the moon. He parked his car at his flat, went inside and then came out about 10 minutes later for a smoke.

As he was smoking he looked out onto the fields that were on the back side of where his flat was at. There, in the darkness, he saw what he thought were children "messing about". As he was watching the "children" the orange globe appeared in the sky and the the children disappeared.

Nick R then reflects that perhaps those were not children that he had seen, but in fact alien beings and they somehow returned to the craft.

Now I don't smoke. But if I saw what this guy did I would start smoking the entire pack to calm my nerves down. Then I would have ran back inside and found the nearest bottle of bourbon. Yeah I'm a wuss, I know.

Full source: Herald 24 UK

Paul Christian, Reporter

A FORMER police officer saw a UFO, and what he thought were children that “disappeared all of a sudden”, while driving from Hertford to Puckeridge.

The sighting was in July last year, but has only emerged within the last few days on a UFO-watcher’s website.

In his tantalising account the ex-cop, who identified himself only as Nick R, wrote: “I saw whilst driving along the A10 going home one evening after work north a light which was not the moon, orange and oval in shape. I drove into my parking space in Puckeridge and went into my flat. Faffed about for about 10 minutes then went outside for a cigarette.

“I saw something which I have never told anyone about. My flat was in Cambridge Court in Puckeridge backed on to fields. I saw in the twilight what I thought were kids messing about. No, as the light faded around 21.30 the orange globe appeared in the sky. I was at this time watching something on TV, then went outside for a fag again.”

Chillingly he raised the prospect of seeing alien beings that he initially thought were “children”, in the field – a so-called ‘close encounter of the third kind’.

He added: “I know that area is a flight path from Stansted, but that was strange.

“The children disappeared all of a sudden. I lived there for one-and-a-half years, and never experienced anything like that.”

In reply to the post another site user wrote: Intrigued by your report, am interested in sightings on either 25/26th of July in this area seems to be a pattern.”

He suggested Nick R report his sighting on another site dedicated to serving and retired police officers’ sightings of UFO-related phenomena.