2003

The Planet X Saga: Nancy Lieder

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New! (May 12, 2003):
Nancy Lieder has lied about me to try to make me look bad. I don't think it'll work though. :-)

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Ms. Lieder runs the website ZetaTalk, where you can find her story in detail (though perhaps not in complete detail; many interesting aspects of her history appear to be missing). She claims to be channeling aliens, called "Zetans" (short for Zeta Reticulans, aliens from the star Zeta Reticuli). These aliens are telling her that a large planet will sweep by the Earth next year, flipping the Earth's axis and killing about 90% of the human population.

As usual, it's difficult to know where to start with such a statement. First, I am no big believer in channeling. This, for those not in the know, is when spirits, aliens, or whoever, are telepathically communicating with a living human. I have never seen any evidence whatsoever that that this is actually happening. I will simply send you to James Randi's website where he debunks quite firmly people who claim to speak with the dead, and other dearly and nearly departed entities.

Second, I have a difficult time believing that benign aliens are communicating with us, trying to warn us of impending disaster. If they really cared about us, how about taking a few humans to safety? Or doing something to divert the disaster?

Third, I don't see any evidence for a planet coming by in May 2003. More on that below. Fourth, I don't see how a nearby passage of a planet can flip the Earth's axis. We'll see more about that below as well.

Do you remember the amazing comet Hale-Bopp that graced our skies in 1997? I sure do. It was the brightest comet in decades, sporting a tail visible to the unaided eye, and was seen by billions of people. Billions minus one, evidently, for Ms. Lieder refused to go out and see it. Why? Because she claimed, as channeled by aliens, that Hale-Bopp did not exist! Here is a quote from her that was posted on the Usenet newsgroup alt.alien.visitors:

The Hale-Bopp comet does not exist. It is a fraud, perpetrated by those who would have the teeming masses quiescent until it is too late. Hale-Bopp is nothing more than a distant star, and will draw no closer.

Now, you can find this quote on her website in her archives. The interesting thing is that on her site, the first two sentences above have been edited out! She claims in numerous places that her predictions are never wrong. I guess if she goes back and edits them, then she can make them right after the fact. This, to be blunt, is cheating. You can also read more odd statements made by Ms. Lieder stored in Google's archives (and the original quotation from her about Hale-Bopp is also in the Google archives.

So, Ms. Lieder claimed that (the to her nonexistent) Hale-Bopp was a distraction, a part of a disinformation campaign by Those In Charge so that the teeming masses wouldn't worry about Planet X. Guess what: she was wrong! The comet did indeed pass us by in 1997, and was seen by more people than any comet in history. As I said, though, Ms. Lieder herself didn't view it. You can read the whole story here. It's pretty funny, actually.

Years ago, I decided to ask Ms. Lieder a question. If her aliens were so advanced, then perhaps they could tell us something about Jupiter that we didn't know, but that would be revealed to us when the Galileo probe arrived at Jupiter (I posted this to the newsgroup in October, 1995, before the probe reached Jupiter). They have such an advanced technology, this should be easy enough for them. Her reply was revealing:

This challenge is to deflect attention from the very real accomplishments just laid before you. Our ability to predict rests on the ability of mankind to deliver! Is this then in our hands? This challenge is too transparent. The truth or falsehood of our statements are in the hands of the very individuals whom we are accusing of being deceptive! What kind of fools are we taken for?

I do not take her for a fool at all. But it's interesting that these aliens refused to say anything. I think it's more interesting that these aliens appear to have a very poor knowledge of astronomy, as has been shown in Ms. Lieder's posts literally hundreds of times. I urge everyone reading this to go to Google and search the newsgroups and see what Ms. Lieder has claimed. I especially suggest reading the sci.astro groups , as people there do understand astronomy and have ripped Ms. Lieder's arguments to shreds many many times.

My conclusion: we have no evidence Ms. Lieder is communicating with aliens except for her say-so. She claims they are never wrong, but I have evidence she is altering their predictions on her website when she makes claims that are indeed incorrect. Furthermore, her twisting and garbling of basic astronomy indicate a complete lack of understanding of even the most basic principles of astronomy. Yet she bases all her claims about Planet X on these aliens, who seem to be giving her an earful of bad information. If her aliens really do exist, they have some 'splaining to do.

You can read much more about Ms. Lieder on the Planet X and the Pole Shift website.

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©2008 Phil Plait. All Rights Reserved.