Alistair Blennerhassett has degrees in mathematics and philosophy. He has spent most of his working life in the field of Information Technology. and is now retired.
You all need a GMO warning label!
31 March 2025
On March 21st my Facebook feed brought up the following dire warning:
A Review of “UFO Warning” by John Stuart (1963)
18 February 2025
In a previous article on Men in Black (MIB), I referred to the frightening experience of New Zealander John Stuart that caused him to abandon his UFO research. The above book is an account of those apparent experiences. (The cover above has nothing much to do with the tale)
We Saw the Canterbury Panther!
3 February 2025
The "Canterbury Panther" is often described as a large, black, panther-like creature said to roam the rural South Island. It has become a subject of curiosity and intrigue for many, but when subjected to closer scrutiny, the story seems to unravel. Skeptical analysis of these sightings suggests that the mysterious panther may be nothing more than a combination of mis-identifications, myth-making, and the power of suggestion.
The Aliens are Coming! The Aliens are Coming!
6 January 2025
A partial review of IMMINENT: INSIDE THE PENTAGON'S HUNT FOR UFOs by Luis Elizondo and William Morrow, August 2024
The Men in Black are back! (They never went away)
23 December 2024
If you are like me, you would have thought that Men in Black (MIB) was a delightful fictional creation appearing in Marvel comic books, as well as several television series which have embedded Men in Black characters, e.g. Section 31 (in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise), and the Silence (in Doctor Who). And we must not forget the two comedic films starring Will Smith as Agent J, with Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K; Protecting the Earth from the Scum of the Universe.
Against the wind: a blinkered view on the possible effects of climate change
11 November 2024
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published the AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 in 2023, which summarises five years of reports on global temperature changes, fossil fuel use and likely climate impacts.
A White Coat Cassandra
23 January 2024
Dr. Emanuel Garcia, writing on Substack under the name NewZealandDoc, is a psychiatrist. Dr. Garcia received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1986. He had a successful career in psychiatry and psychoanalysis in the U.S. — and then, in 2006, he emigrated to New Zealand where he practiced medicine. When the Covid pandemic led to government rules to limit the spread of the disease that he disagreed with, Dr. Garcia found himself unable to acquiesce to these measures. This led to a suspension of his license to practise medicine.
The Jeremiad of Plissken Boon
8 January 2024
Plissken Boon is attempting to warn the world of the catastrophe that is about to overtake the Covid vaccinated and unvaccinated. I can't find anything about him and he doesn't have a bio. He appears to live in NZ. A reasonably complete version of his jeremiad is on substack A Very, Very Clever Way ... To Kill You! (substack.com) dated 14th January 2023. His writing is awful...he uses ellipses frequently and unnecessarily, his screed is very long and disorganised, full of repetition and much belittling of those who cannot see the truth of his research.
NZ lightworkers can save the world
25 December 2023
This is the cover image of one of NZ's own lightworkers, J. Lee Frisbee. He works at “Explore Daydreaming Inc”, and describes himself as “Multidimensional Navigator - I Am Light Zen Master”.
Popper's Theory of Democracy
24 October 2023
I trust you all voted in our recent fractious election, even if your vote was “None of the above”, as democracy is more precious than some people realise. Democracy is under fire in many parts of the world, as people become sceptical about its benefits, or as some awful leaders and their parties come to power, or (as is the case in the US) threaten to. But there is another way of looking at the purpose of democracy, as proposed by the eminent philosopher Karl Popper.
A Smorgasbord of Election Choice
25 September 2023
The more observant of you may have noticed that a national election is looming in NZ.
NZ's other Light Workers
26 June 2023
Following on from my last article, I decided to see if I could ferret out more “light workers” in New Zealand – the sort of people who worship Trump, and who believe the golden age is “coming real soon now, and we'll be able to laugh at the sceptics”. For the sake of clarity I'll refer to these people henceforth as Light Warriors – you'll see why in a moment.
New Zealand's own Light Worker
29 May 2023
Sierra Roberts is a New Zealand-based ambassador for the Galactic Federation of Light. She is a dedicated “light worker”, committed to helping humanity ascend from a 3-dimensional environment to a 5-dimensional one (they always seem to skip the 4th dimension!).
School of Prophets Aotearoa
24 April 2023
The School of Prophets Aotearoa has this year's annual training school on 4th-6th May in Christchurch, and the fees are very reasonable ($180) - although you have to pay for dinners and accommodation. But before you rush to sign up, perhaps to find out the next month's Lotto numbers, be aware that (1) you'll need to have intermediate or senior level experience as a prophetic minister and (2) you'll need a pastor's reference to attend. The course is apparently not suitable for beginners.
Future Perfect
3 April 2023
Do you think that QAnon is not ambitious enough in its scope? Then you need NESARA.
Bad science or not science?
16 January 2023
“Jock's a Scotsman, and he doesna' like whusky.”
The Dark Origins of the Anti-abortion Movement
19 December 2022
Until relatively recently Christian protestants had no problems with abortion. The only reference to it in the Christian Bible indicates that an abortion should be attempted if a woman becomes pregnant as a result of adultery (Numbers 5:27) There isn't much wriggle-room in this verse, so latterly fundagelical Christians would rather pretend it doesn't exist, because a bunch of money-grubbing racists decided abortion made an excellent stalking horse.
Caeayaron – a home-grown Messianic cult
7 November 2022
I went for my walk a different way recently and came across a sign advertising the services of an Accredited Love Teacher offering “Loving angels close to you”. Thinking that sounded promising, if expensive, I read on, only to discover what was really on offer was - among other things - “healing within”, “inner peace” and a “more loving home”. Those, apparently, are what I'd get from the teachings of Caeayaron.
The Boundaries of Delusion
7 June 2022
There are two theories about the nature of hypnosis – one that it is an altered state of consciousness (ASC) and the other that it isn't. Prof. Charles Spanos of Carlton University (Canada) conducted a large number of hypnotic regressions – the induction of an experience of an apparent previous lifetime – on students at Carlton. He would subtly prime a subject on what to expect in such an experience. For example, he might suggest to subjects that children were generally mistreated in the old days, and that was what a significant number of his subjects found, For another group of subjects he would suggest that children were well-treated and this is what was reported. He'd ask his hypnotised subject simple questions about where and when they found themselves, what the currency looked like, who the country's leader was and whether the country was at war. These answers – as any sceptic might expect – were usually wrong. He also primed one group to expect past-life experiences under hypnosis and another that such experiences were rare. And the two groups largely delivered what they had been primed to expect. On the basis of his work Spanos concluded (agreeing with previous academics) that his subjects were involved in a kind of play-acting and that hypnosis was, indeed, not an altered state of consciousness. From Wikipedia: