The food industry spent more than a billion dollars in its successful campaign to defeat a European labeling plan designed to make it easy for consumers to identify healthy and less healthy food options.
Under the proposed "traffic light" plan, which has already been adopted by some European supermarkets, foods would be marked with a series of prominent green, yellow or red circles representing different key nutrients. A red light would mean that the product should be consumed only occasionally, a yellow light would mean the product could safely be consumed in moderation, and a green light would mean the product was good to consume in quantity.
Concerned that such a plan would turn consumers away from sugary drinks, salty snacks and other foods labeled with a number of "red lights," the food industry poured €1 billion ($1.2 billion) into lobbying the European Parliament to reject the scheme.
Food industry lobbying had previously convinced the parliament's environment committee to reject the plan, by a 32-30 vote.
The traffic light plan would be an important contribution to efforts to reign in obesity, said Monique Goyens of the consumer group BEUC.
"Consumers have a right to clear and easy-to-understand information on packaging," Goyens said. "At a time when one in five Europeans are obese, there should be no reason not to empower individuals to improve their diets if they so wish."
But instead, the parliament adopted an industry-backed plan that will put calorie, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar and salt content on the front label of foods, with reference to the daily recommended intake per 100 milliliters or 100 grams.
Supporters of the traffic light plan -- who include medical associations, anti-obesity advocates, consumer groups, and a majority of British shoppers -- expressed anger at the decision.
"They prefer complex labels that make it far harder for shoppers to really understand what's going in their basket," said British MEP Glenis Willmott.
I can't say for sure, but lately there's been a lot of news that, if looked at collectively, could be interpreted as pointing in that direction.
It seems as if everyone from the Vatican to the military to scientists conducting the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, or SETI, are getting on the ET bandwagon.
Just last week, in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, the International Academy of Astronautics' SETI Permanent Study group created new guidelines for how earthlings should best handle official contact with extraterrestrials.
"The guidelines were and still are: Do good science and don't cry wolf. Make sure that what you're about to announce is, in fact, what you think it is," Jill Tarter, director of the SETI Institute's Center for SETI Research in California, told AOL News.
"In the case of the first protocol, it was: Don't respond until there's some consensus, a) that we should respond; and b) when we respond, who's going to speak for Earth and what are they going to say?
"We originally took that to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, and it's duly filed away. When we presented that, we suggested that the U.N. might want to be proactive, and to think about the fact that this might happen."
For decades, SETI scientists, using radio and optical telescopes, have searched the heavens for proof that we're not alone in the universe. In the new SETI guidelines, the protocol for confirmation of an alien intelligence is clearly laid out:
"If the verification process confirms -- by the consensus of the other investigators involved and to a degree of certainty judged by the discoverers to be credible -- that a signal or other evidence is due to extraterrestrial intelligence, the discoverer shall report this conclusion in a full and complete, open manner to the public, the scientific community and the secretary-general of the United Nations."
Last November, Tarter was a participant at a Vatican-sponsored astrobiology conference -- a gathering of international scientists and religious leaders who considered the idea that life may exist elsewhere in the cosmos. In fact, a Jesuit astronomer, Jose Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory, had previously suggested that the idea of "brother extraterrestrials" would not conflict with Catholic doctrine.
"It was all about the question of life in the universe, and how we might find it, or life of a different kind -- weird life -- on this planet," said Tarter.
Tarter, whose work formed the basis of the character portrayed by Jodie Foster in the 1997 movie "Contact," suggests religious groups would be fine with the idea that Earth is not the only inhabited planet around.
"People say, 'Oh, my God, it's the end of religion if you detect a signal,' and I think organized religion is a lot more flexible than that," she said. "It's been around for millennia. Our view of the universe has changed hugely, so I don't think that this would be the death knell or the singularity in organized religion."
It's also hard to escape all the recent UFO items in the news.
Two months ago, the National Archives of England released UFO-related documents, including some that revealed how former Prime Minister Winston Churchill reportedly covered up wartime accounts of UFO sightings because he feared they might create a panic among the population.
Later this month, we'll find out how the European Union will finally respond to Italian Northern League leader Mario Borghezio's request, made in June, that EU member governments disclose their UFO files and establish a European UFO commission.
Ten days ago, at the National Press Club in Washington, several former Air Force officers came together, offering testimony of their experiences with UFOs at nuclear weapons sites, both in the U.S. and abroad, going back several decades.
An upsurge of UFO reports in China this year has prompted a planetary astronomer at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to speculate that "contact between humans and extraterrestrial life will, hopefully, come this century."
Last week's announcement of the discovery of an Earth-like planet in our galactic neighborhood created a stir in the scientific community as well as the media.
While Tarter is engaged in the search for radio signals from possible distant civilizations, she acknowledges the significance of finding a planet that may harbor only primitive life forms.
"The universe is appearing to be more bio-friendly as we get closer to having a real Earth analog," she said. "It's really nice to see something that's about Earth-sized in an orbit that might, in fact, allow there to be a temperate and water-filled area on the planet."
And this week, British researchers hope to find alien life forms closer to home, in Earth's upper atmosphere, a prospect Tarter finds intriguing.
"There could be, in fact, another shadow biosphere on Earth where there's a different form of metabolism that might not use DNA, or might use different bio-solvents -- it's actually not completely out of the question."
Tarter suggests that life might even be found in non-Earthlike habitable zones, in places where "extremophile" organisms may thrive -- life forms that may actually require hazardous conditions."As we've looked at extremophiles and looked at our own solar system better, we appreciate that," she said. "There might be life under the ice of [Jupiter's moon] Europa, and that could happen in other planetary systems. The nice thing is that we're getting close enough to it being science -- that we can actually go after the details and not just have to tell a story. It's really exciting."
So, does all of this -- SETI, Vatican, UFOs, high-atmosphere microbes -- or any of this signal a coming extraterrestrial disclosure?
Maybe I'm just tying a string of alien beads together that are leading nowhere, but I can't help wondering.
A "Bigfoot" research association in central China's Hubei Province said Saturday it plans to launch a global recruitment drive seeking members of a high-profile search team for the ape-like creature in the Shennongjia Forest Region.
The association, made up of more than 100 scientists and explorers, is hoping the expedition could end the long-running debate on the existence of the legendary half-human, half-ape figure, nearly 30 years after the last organized expedition to seek the mysterious beast in the early 1980s, said Luo Baosheng, vice president of the Hubei Wild Man Research Association.
Altogether more than 400 people have claimed to have seen Bigfoot in the Shennongjia area, but no hard evidence has been found to prove its existence.
According to witnesses, the creature walks upright, is more than 2 meters tall as an adult and has a gray, red or black hairy body.
The team members should be between 25 and 40 years old. With good physical health, they should also have a basic knowledge of biology and know how to use a camera, said Luo.
Preference would be given to those who have outdoor experience.
"Most importantly, we want the team members to be devoted, as there will be a lot a hard work in the process," he said.
However, there is no specific timetable yet for the expedition as the association is still in talks with several companies and institutions about the funding of the expedition which will cost at least 10 million yuan (about 1.5 million U.S. dollars), said Wang Shancai, an archaeologist with the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who is also a member of the association.
Located deep in the remote mountains in Hubei, Shennongjia Nature Reserve has long been rumored to be the home of the elusive creature known in China as the "Yeren," or "Wild Man."
China organized three high-profile scientific expeditions for Bigfoot through the 1970s and 1980s. Researchers found hair, a footprint, excrement and a sleeping nest that were said to be Bigfoot's, but none of which could conclusively prove its existence.
Over five years after the London bombings of July 7, 2005 took place, an inquest set up to explore the attacks has declared on day one that any deviations from the official version of events has no basis in evidence.
Hugo Keith QC, counsel to the inquests team, dismissed any notion that British intelligence agencies had any knowledge of the plot, that anyone other than the four named assailants were involved
As reported in the London Independent, Mr Keith said: “There is no evidence at all that we have seen to suggest that the bombers were duped in some way or that they did not know that they were going to die, or even more absurdly that they did not know that they were carrying explosives at all.”
The counsel stated that he felt compelled to address the notions of “conspiracists” who have written to the inquests team, “in order to dispel myths about the attacks.”
“There is, we feel, a danger that the continuation of such claims might needlessly distress the bereaved families as well as distracting attention away from the issues that we have identified as being worthy of further investigation.” Mr Keith added.
There was no mention of the quite impossible notion that a disaster preparedness firm was conducting drills of the bombings on the underground in the exact same locations at the exact same times as the real attacks on 7/7.
There was mention of the fact that foreign dignitaries, such as Benjamin Netanyahu, has prior knowledge that the bombings were going to take place, as did Scotland Yard.
There was no mention of the fact that the man initially named as the Mastermind of the attacks was an MI5 asset, as highlighted by US terrorism analysts.
There was also no contextual mention of historical precedents of government directed false flag bombings, such as the now widely acknowledged Operation Gladio.
Of course, this is not what the inquest was set up to do. It will function, for the next five months as a confirmation of the official version of events.
Both MI5 and the Metropolitan Police have ensured that information they have deemed sensitive will be kept secret.
“MI5 proposed that the coroner, Lady Justice Hallett, sit in private to hear highly classified material. And Scotland Yard has asked that some of the images and footage of the aftermath of the attacks be withheld from the public because officers fear that they could be used as propaganda by extremists.”
The inquest also has no jury.
Does this sound like an independent and transparent process or just another whitewash?
Recently, reports of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) have been occurring frequently in China. On July 7 this year, more than 20 flights were postponed at Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, because of a sighting. Whenever such reported sightings occur, Wang Sichao, a research fellow at the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, is much busier than usual. In addition to studying the sightings, Wang, who started work on UFOs nearly 40 years ago, has to check and reply to mail about UFOs from all across China. Lately, Wang predicted "great events" concerning UFOs were going to come out in China in the next two years. In an interview with Beijing Review, he shared his views and stories with reporter Tang Yuankai. Edited excerpts follow:
Beijing Review: Why did you make such a prediction? What's your basis?
Wang Sichao: First, I'd like to say something about the conception of "great events about UFOs." It does not mean large numbers of UFOs but refers to events of credible facts backed by observation. But these facts cannot yet be explained by existing scientific knowledge or natural phenomena. Through 39 years' investigation and research, I found that in years ending with the numbers 1, 2 or 7—such as 1971, 1981, 1991, 1982, 1992, 2002, 1977, 1987, 2007—great UFO events would happen. So, I think 2011 and 2012 will be another two active years.
In recent years, what kinds of UFO phenomena have happened in China? In which areas of China? Was there ever anything like the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
Many kinds of UFOs have appeared in China in recent years, in appearances such as bolide, light spot, spiral, fan, bright star, flying rod, ball lightning and V-shaped. UFO events occurred more often in the north of the Yangtze River. But there were exceptions. For instance, a V-shaped UFO appeared over Nanjing on January 10, 2006.
During the last century, there was also something like Close Encounters of the Third Kind in China. But it was similar to what happened in other countries and lacked reliable evidence.
In your opinion, why, for decades, has there been no significant progress in UFO studies domestically and overseas?
UFOs are a worldwide mystery of over a century. In 2007, Nick Pope, former head of the British Government's UFO Project, said over the last 60 years, the British Ministry of Defense had been working on the mystery all the time, but no answer could be found. Governments and military departments of the United States and France have also had difficulty progressing in UFO exploration.
Why, for 60 years, was there no progress in UFO studies? The reason is that a UFO only appears randomly and often disappears rapidly in a few minutes. By the time large professional telescopes are started up, it has already disappeared. So, we can only rely on information from occasional sightings or encounters by observers. For decades, domestic and international practice has shown it is difficult for military departments alone to study UFOs.
Like ghosts in the air, UFOs are mysterious and varied. There have been discussions and controversies for decades about the existence of UFOs. Some scholars assert a UFO is an optical illusion, while others think UFOs do exist as objects. So, exploring UFO phenomena is really an interesting matter.
What stage is China at in the study of UFOs? Is there any cooperation with international colleagues?
China is already walking in the forefront of international UFO research and exploration. At present, with plenty of credible, verifiable observation reports, China has entered a quantitative analysis stage of study. We also carried out academic exchanges with colleagues all over the world.
How do you conduct UFO research and what tools and methods do you employ? Can you tell us something about your research achievements?
In order to overcome the difficulties in UFO study, I introduced quantitative analysis methods into the field. In the last 39 years, based on my work at the PMO and my personal observation experiences, I have made quantitative analysis of some of the great UFO events by employing spherical astronomy and physics.
In the past decades, a large number of experienced astronomy amateurs have appeared in China. They are scattered throughout the country, and form an efficient observation network. Once a UFO event occurs, the PMO where I have been working will receive huge amounts of observational data from amateurs.
As for me, with years of field observation experience and six years of study in astrophysics at Peking University, I can figure out flying height, direction, and speed and the position of substellar point (the point on the earth at which the star is in the zenith at a specified time) by employing spherical astronomy methods based on several high quality sighting reports about a UFO event from different locations with sufficient distance, and analyze the mechanism of the event by physical methods.
Tracking UFOs
Since 1971, I have been engaged in conducting in-depth investigations and quantitative and semi-quantitative scientific analysis to at least 20 spiral, fan and light-like UFO events. I found many strange flying objects appeared at a speed much lower than first cosmic velocity in the space between 130 km to 1,500 km from the Earth's surface. Some even flew at a speed as low as 0.29 km a second, 4 percent of the first cosmic velocity at the flying height, and flew at the height of around 1,460 km for 25 minutes. The facts show those UFOs may possess anti-gravity ability, or they would have fallen to the Earth.
I classified the more than 100 typical UFO events that occurred in the last 39 years into 10 or so types. I paid more attention to UFO events observed at the same time but from more than two different locations. I found seven types of these events could be explained through existing natural phenomena and knowledge, including objects that look like bolides, light spots, bright constellations, flying point clusters, bright stars, or flying sticks. Eight types still cannot be explained from existing knowledge, including spiral-, fan-, spindle-, ball-, or V-shaped objects, or those that look like balls of lightning, strange vehicles or flying saucers, of which spiral-, fan-, light ball- or flying saucer-shaped objects may be related to extraterrestrial craft.
What do you think we should do to further the exploration for UFOs?
Designing and manufacturing a new type of special telescope is very necessary. As a UFO is only met by chance and disappears rapidly, a special telescope with a small aperture may be better for observations. More such telescopes should be made and installed in different observation stations, so as to form an observation network. Once a UFO appears, immediate and networked observations would be carried out, thereby achieving a leap in observation accuracy, depth and quality. At the same time, more accurate quantitative analysis should be employed on the basis of observation.
For human beings, what is the significance of UFO studies?
First, we hope to explore extraterrestrial civilizations. If we find solid evidence about alien spacecraft visiting the Earth through further observation and analysis, it would be as significant as Columbus Christopher's discovering the New World. Second, we need to explore unknown natural phenomenon and laws. Third, it would be of great significance to national defense and economic development. Fourth, finding out the truth about UFOs would also be helpful for dispelling the public's superstitions and misconceptions.
At present, scientists do not have any concrete evidence about aliens. But many scientists believe aliens exist. Does this mean the question is not whether there are aliens, but when they will contact us?
Yes. Astronomers all over the world are now intensifying their efforts to explore extraterrestrial life and civilization. As long as we have open minds about scientific exploration of the unknown and employ multiple methods, the contact between humans and extraterrestrial life will hopefully come this century.
• Pakistani diplomat launches scathing attack on White House
• European intelligence claims raised terror alerts 'nonsensical'
A US terror alert issued this week about al-Qaida plots to attack targets in western Europe was politically motivated and not based on credible new information, senior Pakistani diplomats and European intelligence officials have told the Guardian.
The non-specific US warning, which despite its vagueness led Britain, France and other countries to raise their overseas terror alert levels, was an attempt to justify a recent escalation in US drone and helicopter attacks inside Pakistan that have "set the country on fire", said Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the high commissioner to Britain.
Hasan, a veteran diplomat who is close to Pakistan's president, suggested the Obama administration was playing politics with the terror threat before next month's midterm congressional elections, in which the Republicans are expected to make big gains.
He also claimed President Obama was reacting to pressure to demonstrate that his Afghan war strategy and this year's troop surge, which are unpopular with the American public, were necessary.
"I will not deny the fact that there may be internal political dynamics, including the forthcoming midterm American elections. If the Americans have definite information about terrorists and al-Qaida people, we should be provided [with] that and we could go after them ourselves," Hasan said.
"Such reports are a mixture of frustrations, ineptitude and lack of appreciation of ground realities. Any attempt to infringe the sovereignty of Pakistan would not bring about stability in Afghanistan, which is presumably the primary objective of the American and Nato forces."
Dismissing claims of a developed, co-ordinated plot aimed at Britain, France and Germany, European intelligence officials also pointed the finger at the US, and specifically at the White House. "To stitch together [the terror plot claims] in a seamless narrative is nonsensical," said one well-placed official.
While Abdul Jabbar, a Briton, and others killed by an American drone strike on 8 September in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's tribal areas, were heard discussing co-ordinated plots, including possible "commando-style" attacks on prominent buildings and tourist sites in European capitals, security and intelligence officials said the plots were nowhere near fruition.
The officials did not deny the men, and other foreign-born jihadi recruits who travel to the tribal areas for indoctrination and training, represented a potentially serious threat. "You have discussions about all sorts of things – that does not necessarily mean there is anything concrete. It is not easy to set up groups," said one counter-terrorism official.
By making it clear that the US drone strikes were pre-emptive, and were not in any way combating an imminent threat, European officials raised fresh questions – this time directly involving a British national – about the legality of the attacks, which could be viewed as assassinations.
They said Washington was the "driver" behind claims about a series of "commando-style" plots and that the CIA – perhaps because it was worried about provoking unwelcome attention to its drone strikes – was also extremely annoyed by the publicity given to them.
The plot claims, which western intelligence agencies were aware of for months, were leaked last week to the American media.
They were followed by a spate of what security and intelligence officials said were exaggerated claims in the British media, a US state department warning to American citizens to be vigilant when visiting Britain, France, and Germany, a "tit for tat" warning by France to its citizens visiting the UK, and alerts issued by the Swedish and Japanese governments.
Thomas de Maizière, Germany's interior minister, publicly expressed his scepticism about the US terror warning, saying he saw no sign of an imminent attack on Germany. He described the danger to Germany as "hypothetical".
The sharp rise in US unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas, coupled with several cross-border raids by American helicopter gunships that culminated in the killing of two Frontier Corps soldiers last week, was destabilising Pakistan, Hasan said.
"Why are they putting so much pressure on us? It is a threat to the democratic system … But people in Pakistan feel Washington does not care." American actions were "obviously" linked to Obama's decision to set a timetable for leaving Afghanistan. The US leader had "jumped the gun" and now "the Americans are in a hurry".
He said fears were growing in Pakistan that the US was planning a bombing campaign using fixed-wing aircraft as well as drones in North Waziristan.
Hasan said Washington politicians failed to understand how much the US needed Pakistan in the "war on terror". Nor did they realise that public anger over repeated US infringements of Pakistani sovereignty could boil over into attacks on American personnel and interests that the government might not be able to control.
"The government does not want to go down this road," he said. "But people feel abused. If they [the Americans] kill someone again, they will react. There is a figure that there are 3,000 American personnel in Pakistan. They would be very easy targets."
Hasan said American personnel stationed at the Pakistani air force base at Jacobabad, on the border between Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, could be vulnerable if the situation deteriorated further. The US requested the use of Jacobabad, and other bases at Dalbandin and Pasni, after the 9/11 attacks, and has maintained a military presence there ever since.
Another Pakistani diplomat said Jacobabad was the main centre of operations for CIA and US army drones, which are ultimately controlled from America. "They have hangars there. That's where they fly from and that's where they return."
The drone operations began in June 2004 with the tacit, reluctant agreement and involvement of the Pakistani authorities but were now in effect running beyond Pakistan's control, the diplomat suggested. "We have always denied it in the past. But everybody knows this is happening. We need to wake up," the official said.
A US official said: "Our allies have been briefed on the nature of the threat and the intelligence that led to the travel alert and everyone understands this cannot be taken lightly.
"To try to ascribe any political motivation is misguided and irresponsible."
The interior of the Earth, some believe, is home to strange races of technologically advanced beings. Who are they and where are the hidden entrances to their subterranean cities?
Many readers of the paranormal and the unexplained are familiar with the theory that the Earth is hollow. The idea is based on the ancient legends of many cultures that say there are races of people - entire civilizations - that thrive in subterranean cities. Very often, these dwellers of the world beneath are more technologically advanced than we on the surface. Some even believe that UFOs are not from other planets, but are manufactured by strange beings in the interior of the Earth.
Who are these strange races of beings? How did they come to live inside the Earth? And where are the entrances to their underground cities?
AGHARTA
The network. One of the most common names cited for the society of underground dwellers is Agharta (or Agartha) with its capital city of Shamballa. The source for this information, apparently, is The Smoky God, the "biography" of a Norwegian sailor named Olaf Jansen. According to Agartha - Secrets of the Subterranean Cities, the story, written by Willis Emerson, explains how Jansen's sloop sailed through an entrance to the Earth's interior at the North Pole. For two years he lived with the inhabitants of the Agharta network of colonies who, Emerson writes, were a full 12 feet tall and whose world was lit by a "smoky" central sun. Shamballa the Lesser, one of the colonies, was also the seat of government for the network. "While Shamballa the Lesser is an inner continent, its satellite colonies are smaller enclosed ecosystems located just beneath the Earth' s crust or discreetly within mountains."
How and why they went there. The many cataclysms and wars taking place on the surface drove these people underground, according to Secrets: "Consider the lengthy Atlantean-Lemurian war and the power of thermonuclear weaponry that eventually sank and destroyed these two highly advanced civilizations. The Sahara, the Gobi, the Australian Outback and the deserts of the U.S. are but a few examples of the devastation that resulted. The sub-cities were created as refuges for the people and as safe havens for sacred records, teachings and technologies that were cherished by these ancient cultures."
The entrances. There are allegedly several entrances to the Kingdom of Agharta throughout the world:
Kentucky Mommoth Cave, in south-central Kentucky, US.
Mount Shasta, California, US - the Agharthean city of Telos allegedly exists within and beneath this mountain.
Manaus, Brazil.
Mato Grosso, Brazil - the city of Posid supposedly lies beneath this plain.
Iguaçú Falls, border or Brazil and Argentina.
Mount Epomeo, Italy.
Himalayan Mountains, Tibet - the entrance to the underground city of Shonshe is allegedly guarded by Hindu monks.
Mongolia - the underground city of Shingwa allegedly exists beneath the border of Mongolia and China.
Rama, India - beneath this surface city is a long lost subterranean city, they say, also named Rama.
Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.
King Solomon's Mines.
Dero Caves, ?.
North and South Poles.
NAGAS
The people. In India there is an ancient belief, still held by some, in a subterranean race of serpent people who dwell in the cities Patala and Bhogavati. According to the legend, they wage war on the kingdom of Agharta. "The Nagas," according to The Deep Dwellers, "are described as a very advanced race or species, with a highly-developed technology. They also harbor a disdain for human beings, whom they are said to abduct, torture, interbreed with and even to eat."
The entrances. While the entrance to Bhogavati is somewhere in the Himalayas, believers assert that Patala can be entered through the Well of Sheshna in Benares, India. Says William Michael Mott in The Deep Dwellers: "According to herpetologist and author Sherman A. Minton, as stated in his book Venomous Reptiles, this entrance is very real, with forty steps which descend into a circular depression, to terminate at a closed stone door which is covered in bas-relief cobras. In Tibet, there is a major mystical shrine also called 'Patala,' which is said by the people there to sit atop an ancient cavern and tunnel system, which reaches throughout the Asian continent and possibly beyond. The Nagas also have an affinity with water, and the entrances to their underground palaces are often said to be hidden at the bottom of wells, deep lakes and rivers."
THE OLD ONES
The beings. In an article entitled "The Hollow Earth: Myth or Reality" for Atlantis Rising, Brad Steiger writes of the legends of "the Old Ones," an ancient race that populated the surface world millions of years ago and then moved underground. "The Old Ones, an immensely intelligent and scientifically advanced race," Steiger writes, "have chosen to structure their own environment under the surface of the planet and manufacture all their necessities. The Old Ones are hominid, extremely long-lived, and pre-date Homo sapiens by more than a million years. The Old Ones generally remain aloof from the surface peoples, but from time to time, they have been known to offer constructive criticism; and it has been said, they often kidnap human children to tutor and rear as their own."
THE ELDER RACE
The beings. One of the most controversial tales of inner Earth dwellers is the so-called "Shaver Mystery." In 1945, Amazing Stories magazine under the editorship of Ray Palmer ran a story told by Richard Shaver, who claimed he had recently been the guest of what remained of an underground civilization. Although few really believed the story, any many suspect that Shaver may actually have been psychotic, Shaver always averred that his story was true. He contended that the Elder Race, or Titans, came to this planet from another solar system in our prehistoric past. After a while of living on the surface, they realized our sun was causing them to age prematurely, so they escaped underground, building huge subterranean complexes in which to live. Eventually, they decided to seek a new home on a new planet, evacuating the Earth and leaving behind their underground cities populated by mutated beings: the evil Dero - detrimental robots - and the good Tero - integrated robots. It was these beings that Shaver claimed to have met.
The entrance. Despite the enormous popularity of the Shaver Mystery in Amazing Stories - Palmer milked it for all it was worth, and then some - the location of the entrance to this underground world was never divulged.
Far fetched? Absolutely. Entertaining? You bet. There are still many, however, who believe that these underground civilizations exist and that strange races still populate them. Yet rarely do you hear of anyone mounting an expedition to seek these hidden entrances and confront the inhabitants of the hollow Earth.
