Stan Friedman's tribute to Chandra

[boycotteverything]

I read this in the October Mufon Journal. Here it is from UFO Chron. Great tribute to a great man.

http://www.theufochronicles.com/2009/08/10th-anniversary-of-chandra-x-ray-space.html


Chandra (both the man and the observatory) has been extraordinarily productive. Just 2 months after its launch Chandra imaged a supernova explosion in the Crab nebula. There were luminous rings of high energy particles surrounding its core. That had never been observed before.. As a result of its new technology, new clues have been observed about so called dark energy, dark matter and a variety of black holes, quasars and other strange bodies in the celestial Zoo. Originally it was hoped that Chandra would last 5 years. It has already been ten and many more are expected. Kudos to all those involved and to the inspiration provided by a truly great and courageous scientist and a fine teacher, Subramanyan Chandrasekhar.

[Cogburn]

There's something ... off ... with Stan and I've never been able to put my finger on it.

[boycotteverything]

he's definitely an acquired taste. over the years he's forced himself to think beyond the box which is something that I don't believe came naturally or easily for him. but he is growing and continues his battle against idolatry. he's a good man.

[Cogburn]

Maybe.

I'm not sure how to describe it... a Greer-like aloofness, perhaps.

There just comes a point with most UFO icons where they turn from being "honest" to being "know more than you", and that's where they lose me. I like that Stan doesn't back down from a challenge and takes care to have double sourced facts (sometimes), however I feel that if you're an honest researcher of truth then once you open your mouth all your cards should be on the table.

Otherwise, to me, it just appears like you want to be famous for doing nothing.

[boycotteverything]

yeah- well- the need for fame is always a problem. i think in stan's case it's a function of the need to make a living rather than a pedestrian ego trip. and then there's the tedium of having to continually reestablish one's credentials. stan has blogged endlessly on that nightmare and has also complained to me about it in private email exchanges. all poseurs seem to need to authenticate themselves on the fallen bodies of the gods.

[Cogburn]

There's a difference between taking gratuitous pot shots and validating those who have come before so you may judge the information they present in context.

I'm sure it gets old, but Stan should at least take heart that there are that many people out there that refuse to take what's handed to them without verifying it.

[boycotteverything]

What can I say? At this point in his life he's leaving the parsing and pot shooting to others. He's simply tired of defending himself. His attitude is- 'like it or lump it'- and he doesn't really care who walks away from his theories. That's his choice. He's been accused of everything from being an apologist for Bill Moore style con-men and an agent of the CIA. Who needs it? I think his tribute to Chandra can be seen as somewhat self serving- a justification of his own work in the face of the aggressive marginalization that he himself has faced over the years: 'Chandra was vindicated and so shall be I.'