Personally, I've always thought it the height of hubris to think we're the only "intellingent" life forms in a galaxy too big to even count the stars within it.

I read a wonderful book "Childhood's End" by Arthur Clark, which I heartily recommend to one and all. I don't want to spoil the story for those who take my recommendation, but I will say that there was good reason why the aliens in the book didn't show themselves for a long time to the locals...and you'll understand when you read this.

I also have a few theories about why people seem often so quick to dismiss the possiblity of UFOs. I've talked with the daughter of a man who worked on the Blue Book project for many years until it was disbanded. From what she said, the reason for abandoning the project had to do with too MUCH information rather than too little. I think it scared the bejiggers out of a lot of people who could only see the "threat" over the possibilites of what was going on around us.

But this is, as Amos said, a hot topic much like religion and politics. People build their faith on certain structures that feel safe and comfortable to them. What could be more of a loose cannon than something, or someone we may not be able to see, or may not want to communicate with us until they think WE'RE civilized enough??

That they may well have helped themselves to a few specimens to examine doesn't particuarly bother me, in the light of our own research with "inferior" species. It's all pretty relative really. Being a lab rat for some aliens may just be the kind of lesson in humility Little Hawk might promote! I'd think of volunteering, if for no other reason, to ask them if William Shatner is one of ours or one of theirs..xx..e