1. as many astute posters have pointed out, "UFO" itself has no judgment on whether they are li'l green men or not; it is likely EVERYONE has seen a "UFO", literally speaking... that it has become a perjorative (much like 'conspiracy theorist') is the fault of 'our' (sic) media and unthinking nekkid apes...

2. IF you are not a palinist-type fundie, then you realize the universe is some billions of years old, and it seems likely (if not certain) that precious US are not the only ones in the whole wide universe...

3. given that we are not likely to be alone, and given that the odds of us being the FIRST (chosen?) people are remote, then it is almost certain that there are civilizations much older and more technologically advanced than we are...

4. so, ultra-rational scientificatin' nimrods who INSIST that either faster-than-light or other means of traveling between star systems is 'impossible', are simply not being rational...

in case you do not know, there are numerous credible, mainstream, serious physics theories which allow for various means of getting around the universe without too much trouble (shit, we've almost got crude 'teleportation' working!); it hardly seems 'irrational' to posit that far more advanced science/technologies may find even more practical methods of interstellar travel...

(not to mention, that chauvinist human beans project their own limitations onto unknown others: why couldn't a civilization take to space in more conventionally driven spacecraft that take generations to reach their goal ?)

5. IF we COULD practically travel interstellar distances, WOULDN'T WE ? (for no reason other than we could) wouldn't we do just like we do on earth: study the new species ? shoot'em with tranquilizer darts ? take samples ? zip around to do field surveys ? put specimens in formaldehyde, etc, etc, etc ?

we do all that shit HERE, and you're telling me that if we could zip over to alpha centauri we wouldn't hover around, kill and 'mutilate' various species, subject the local flora/fauna to various 'tests' and shit ? ? ?

...AND that other species who could do the same to us would not do so ?

6. i am about tired of the tired 'explanations' for various phenomena that portray it as some unconscious or hidden 'wishful thinking' on the part of the observers... while i am sure such stuff happens (stupid nekkid apes make up stupid fucking shit they believe in ALL THE TIME, regardless of 'stress' or society's zeitgeist, or whatever other psycho-babble horseshit 'explanation' a person wants to use...)

for example: i am a 'conspiracy theorist' because conspiracies (of all types) happen all the time, AND drive much of the actions of society and gummint... however, it is only fringe 'conspiracy theories' WHICH THREATEN ACCEPTABLE MEMES which are tarred and feathered with mainstream ridicule and shorthand dismissal by NAMING IT a mere 'conspiracy theory'...

REAL, PROVEN 'conspiracy theories' which reinforce or establish the mainstream-approved memes are referred to as 'facts' and 'reality', NOT dismissed or ridiculed as the mere 'conspiracy theories' they are...

i DON'T want to disbelieve that lee harvey oswald killed president kennedy by his lone nut self because i have some desperate psychological need to have an ordered universe where 'lone nuts' can't screw up the world at any random moment... i DON'T want to believe the 'lone nut' scenario because: A. various gummints and deep political factions HAVE PERFORMED political and other assassinations that they essentially 'get away with' ALL THE TIME; B. IF you actually look into the case, you will become suspicious of the preponderance of 'failures' of the investigators, 'accidental' changes of key testimony, numerous critical contradictions, and other anomalies that are simply NOT 'explained' or excused by normal nekkid ape incompetency and mistakes; C. oswald was no 'lone nut'; D. hoover and other deep political players who may not have had any direct involvement in the conspiracy to kill kennedy, had PLENTY of reasons to lie, destroy evidence, alter testimony, produce fake documents, and otherwise muddy the waters and cover their tracks to keep their (at least) incompetency from being known...

in short, close-minded morons who INSIST that alien UFO's are 'impossible', don't know what the fuck they are talking about...

art guerrilla

aka ann archy

eof

scatch the dirt...

throw a few seeds...

sprinkle a little water...

weed some...

and produce amazing stuff ! ! !

tigrrlily, i'm not sure what 'organic' farming methods you are basing your 'till baby till' theory on, but methinks you are not really understanding what is going on...

the author was wise to point out the VERY salient fact of living on farmland with productive soil; as many posters pointed out, they may have a few strikes against them depending on their micro environment...

one of the primary lessons i learned from reading a book on organic farming by shepard smith, was that gardeners (farmers) are REALLY raising good soil, NOT crops...

IF you amend and buildup your soil properly, rotate and lay fallow, use cover crops, etc, vegetable plants will grow themselves with minimal trouble, year after year... IF you have crappy soil, you can artificially pump out some crops using a 'miracle-gro' regimen, until you toxify the soil with salts, and wring every last ounce of goodness out of the dirt... but it will never be the longterm, healthy, productive soil that good organic and soil-amendment practices will promote...

with good soil, veggies are happy to provide for us...

art guerrilla

aka ann archy

eof