Stanton Friedman on the Book of THoTH Podcast

In this installment of the Zorgy Award nominated Book of THoTH podcast nuclear physicist & UFOlogist Stanton Friedman goes in-depth on his book "Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience," co-authored with Kathleen Marden. Stanton discusses many aspects of this fascinating case, and goes into a lot of detail about the research that followed.

Stanton also touches upon the MJ-12 documents, skeptics, how he got into ufology in the first place, and whether or not he misses rival Phil Klass! All this and a very special and touching tribute to Albert Bourne. Don't miss this one.

It's a long one, but it's well worth the time and not one any UFO enthusiast(or debunker) should miss.

You can stream it on-line at either of the links below:

Book of THoTH mp3 player
Book of THoTH podcast area

And you can also download the mp3 at the link below:

mp3 download

Enjoy it everyone!

More Mythological Connections

Just prior to Albert Bourne's passing, there was an interesting article put up on the Book of THoTH front page.

Written by the same author as "UFOs a Modern Phenomenon? Think again" Michael Bourne this time goes through Irish folklore and makes a case that the faeries that lived in the "Otherworld" were the resident's best explanation for the UFO phenomenon at the time in his article "Tuatha De Danann - Ancient Aliens?"

Obviously, a common theme around here and elsewhere, and Mike makes an interesting case for the common cause for some common European mythology and our modern UFO incidents.

Addendum to The UFO Event at the National Press Club

In my recent wrap-up post of the National Press Club event I put a picture in there which was supposedly from the O'Hare UFO incident.

I mentioned at the time that I thought I'd seen the pictures that were presented on other blogs before and forums before, and it seems as though I was right. They've been out there for a while, and in all likelihood they're fakes as apparently the pictures, minus the UFOs, have been floating around cyberspace since before the O'Hare incident.

Why someone's taken the time to add those back into a clearly legitimate event such as this press event makes me wonder. Perhaps they're the hoaxers? Whatever happened there, the fairly popular blog out there claiming to have been at the event which has those pictures in the middle of their wrap-up seems pretty suspect right about now in my opinion.

The UFO Event at the National Press Club

After following up on the National Press Club event about UFOs from last week, it seems as though there was at least some coverage, and perhaps even some new information that came out of it. In the clip featured here, you can get an idea of what the press conference was about, and how it happened.

Looking around the 'net, I have to admit that I'm surprised at how many people are still talking about this event. Not only that, but so many blogs and sites have comments from people saying "I never thought that there was a chance that UFOs were real, but now I have to stop and think about it." I guess that's more than anyone could hope for from such an event.

It also seems like people are suggesting that there were some new pictures of the O'Hare UFO incident featured, one of which is below.



I actually thought I'd seen that before, but perhaps I'm mistaken.

The mocking continues for many out there, however. In the clip below, the CNN correspondent seems like he's really trying to cover the subject in a professional manner when the anchor, who honestly seems a little on the air-head side, giggles and says that when she thinks of people who believe in UFOs she thinks of freaks.



Not exactly professional, but, just the fact that CNN had the Larry King Live special, and then covered the NPC event speaks volumes to where the UFO enigma seems to have gone over the past few years. It's not a "career killer" anymore, like it used to be, for a news person to speak about in a serious matter.

After reading some of the testimony, parts really stand out in my mind, and I'll try to hit on the highlights of the discussion and comments from most of the attendees below.

I was glad to see Fife Symington, the former Governor of Arizona, apologize for his mockery of the Phoenix lights previously when he was the current Governor. For those who don't remember, he called a press conference claiming that he solved the mystery, and then presented a man in an alien costume. To set the record straight, he now claims that not only did he make serious inquiries into the event, but that he was also an eye witness. He's not making fun of it anymore, and he claims to be upset by the insinuation of the local Air Force that all he saw were flares. He called it a "silly explanation."

An interesting point was made by Roy Bower, a pilot from the UK. He claims to have seen two UFOs while flying a passenger jet. The UFOs were observed by passengers and another plane as well, and he says a radar hit may have been recorded as well. His point was that in the UK there's a system for reporting such incidents, and they are investigated. He was surprised to hear that the O'Hare incident seems to have never been investigated, and he feels that had that happened in the UK it would have been handled differently. He called it his "duty" to report what he saw in the sky, and says he's faced no ridicule for doing so. He urged pilots from the US to report what they see and what they've seen, and not let the FAA obstruct a real investigation into it.

Rodrigo Bravo Garrido followed that up by saying that in Chile, where he has investigated UFOs for the military, there's also a system for investigating UFOs. He made the point that he feels there can be dangerous consequences for an unknown object in the skies hovering around airplanes. He cited the case of a 737 coming into an airport to land, only to find that a "large white light surrounded by green and red" was in its way. The pilot had to make a steep turn in order to avoid a collision.

Next up, Wilfried De Brouwe, a retired Major General of the Belgian Air Force, added to the conversation by saying that investigating UFOs is no easy task. He talked about a "UFO wave" over eastern Belgium when he was in active service which included "a majestic triangular craft with a span of approximately 120 feet, powerful beaming spot lights, moving very slowly without making any significant noise but, in several cases, accelerating to very high speeds" which was witnessed by hundreds of people. That was followed up by hundreds of possible sightings over the next year of UFOs. While the local Air Force attempted to make contact by scrambling jets multiple times, they were ultimately unsuccessful.

Former Chief of Accidents and Investigations for the FAA, John Callahan, then followed with a personal story and an interesting discussion he claims took place with the CIA during the Reagan administration. He told the story of a Japanese cargo plane that was shadowed and "chased" by a UFO over Alaska. The pilot and the crew stated that they saw it with their own eyes and it was about four times the size of a 747. When he received the information, he not only received the radar information, but also the discussion amongst the crew inside of the plane and all of the related data. He found that the radar confirmed what the crew was saying, and so they relayed the data to a scientific staff from the FAA and CIA members. At the end of the briefing he claims that the CIA confiscated all of the data for their people to analyze, and when he suggested that they tell people about the incident, one of the CIA guys told him, "No way, if we were to tell the American public there are UFO's they would panic."

I hate the idea that one of the reasons incidents like this are withheld is because of fear of people's reactions, but, that's been discussed at length recently here.

After that, other pilots continued to tell their stories before Charles Halt told his. He is a retired US Air Force Colonel who was stationed in the UK in 1980 when he witnessed lights in the woods outside of his base, and found some interesting effects from what he witnessed. Shortly after finding three 1 1/2" indentations in the ground, he, and others, witnessed a "bright red/orange oval object with a black center" which he thought looked like an eye. There were broken branches and mild radiation present, and when they approached it "it receded and silently broke into five white lights which quickly vanished." They stepped out of the woods and watched the lights change shape and then several other objects approached. One of them "sent down a concentrated beam near our feet" while another object "sent down beams into the weapons storage area." This incident went on for about an hour while they had trouble communicating using their radios the entire time. He finished his statement by saying that he's sure what he saw was under intelligent control.

Another military incident was relayed by Parvis Jafari, a retired general of the Iranian Air Force. He told a story of a UFO event in which he personally piloted a fighter jet in which he attempted to intercept and engage a UFO. He described it as an "intense red, green, orange and blue light so bright that I was not able to see its body." He locked onto it with radar and says that it had a signature equivalent with a 707 tanker. Shortly thereafter, four objects broke off of the main one. He claims to have attempted to launch a heat seeking missile, fearing he was under attack. Not only did his missile instrumentation go out when he attempted, but he says that whenever the objects came close to him his weapons jammed and his radio communication went out. There was physical evidence also, as one of the objects landed in the sand and left a mark.

James Penniston, formerly of the United States Air Force, then told his personal story about the now infamous Rendlesham incident. His story is actually much like that of Charles Halt. He said that when he went into the forest to investigate what he thought was a downed aircraft he actually found a "ilhouetted triangular craft about 9 feet long by 6.5 feet high..." He also reported problems with his radio as he got close to it, also reported bright lights "swirling" around the outside. He reported that he felt like the air around him was electrified, and that he felt it in his hair and clothes. Interestingly, the team then took the time to attempt a full investigation of the craft. They took photographs, took notebook entries and studied symbols on the side of the craft which were approximately three inches high, and went two and a half feet across the outside. The largest was a triangle in the middle, and the rest were pictorial in design. After 45 minutes the craft lights brightened and it took off at a speed which he called "impossible" and disappeared. All of the photos came back to them overexposed.

At the event he had his actual original log book with the drawings of the symbols on it, but I haven't seen any pictures of that around the 'net. If anyone knows where they might be, I'd love to take a peek.

Shortly thereafter Nick Pope gave his accounts of what he knows. In case you don't know, Book of THoTH did a DVD interview with him which you can purchase here from Amazon. He was formerly with the British Ministry of Defense, and he certainly seems to know exactly what he's talking about.

To end the conference, Oscar Santa Maria Huertas presented his experience as a retired pilot of the Peruvian Air Force. His tale should be a cautionary tale as to the futility of attempting to attack a UFO(as the US military found out when they thought they were shooting at Japanese planes). His unit commander witnessed what they called a "balloon" which was in restricted airspace and refused to communicate or leave the area. The decision was made to take it down, and despite firing sixty-four 30mm shells, at it his "wall of fire" didn't do a thing. He feels as though the shots that were direct hits were actually absorbed by the UFO. He chased it for a while, locked onto it a few times, but was never able to get another shot at it. He did get within 300 feet of it, and described it as "30 feet in diameter. It was an enamelled, cream-colored dome, with a wide, circular, metallic base. It had no engines, no exhausts, no windows, no wings or antennae. It lacked all the typical aircraft components, with no visible propulsion system."

At the end of all of that, I still find it interesting that so many people poke fun at the UFO enigma. No matter what it is, no matter who has seen UFOs, no matter what anyone says, there's something going on, and it would be a major injustice not to take the time to make a legitimate study of the enigma.

Group Calls for More UFO Study

I haven't seen too much info on the National Press Club event from Monday yet, but I haven't been anywhere near a computer, TV or even newspaper for the most part this week. If there's been a lot more reported than what I know, I'd love to hear about it.

After taking a quick look around, I see that a couple of people have written about it, and Reuters picked up the story, as did PhysOrg, at least. While it doesn't look like there was much "new" information for those who know about the UFO enigma, it's nice to see that there was some positive, non-mocking information presented by the types of people that will probably carry some weight with the average person.

From what I've seen, it seems like they mostly called for more government investigations(which might nor might not do anything at all even if carried out), pulled out the 9/11-national-security-card, and told their own stories. Certainly nothing ground breaking there, but, progress is progress, I guess.

Seems like the search for the truth probably isn't going to go too much faster than the slow pace it seems to be going at right now, however, just being forward moving is pretty good right now, I think, seeing as how that hasn't always been the case.

Is the World Actually Close to Disclosure?

The question has me thinking quite a bit lately. It started out when I got involved a bit in Paul and Mac's discussion on contact, and what it's ramifications would be, and it's continuing now with the recent Larry King show on UFOs and the upcoming event at the National Press Club.

It's actually quite an interesting time to be keeping an eye on UFOs and the public reaction recently. O'Hare really seemed to open a lot of eyes, and got mainstream press that wasn't purely mocking. As little as it seemed at the time, it really looks like a step forward now. Of course, recently, Dennis Kucinich was asked about his sighting during a "debate" for democratic nominee for President, which only served to keep the ball rolling it seems.

Momentum seems to be gaining now, even though I was prepared to be completely and totally offended by the Larry King special. To be clear, I haven't actually seen it yet, but I've read the transcript available here. It seems to have been a fairly level headed discussion, on national TV, to a large audience. I almost feel like I'm suddenly in a parallel world here. Have we actually gotten to the point where it's not taboo to discuss this?

From what I've seen lately, I'll stick with my previous thoughts on whether or not we're ready. Some people are, some probably aren't, but it's time to understand what's going on around us. Of course, disclosure and contact are different, but I think they'd likely have similar results.

Imagine all of the world's governments coming forward with what they know and what they don't know. Would we suddenly realize an alien presence among us? Would we be forced to accept cryptoterrestrials right here on our planet? Perhaps we still wouldn't know what, exactly, we were dealing with, but we'd understand that there was something legitimate going on that we had to study. Any one of those would certainly open up a new dialogue amongst all of us.

It seems to me that we must be reaching some sort of a critical point in the study of UFOs. Whether that's "disclosure" or whether that's the opening of legitimate scientific study I'm not sure, but I'll take either one at this point.

I'll certainly be keeping my eyes open over the next few days to see what comes out of the upcoming National Press Club event. It seems like if there's ever going to be something of importance come out of such a gathering, it's going to be this one(and certainly not Hoagland's). There actually seems to be some sort of momentum gathering in this regard, and I, for one, hope it continues.

Dennis Kucinich and UFOs

It seems that practically everyone knows about the Kucinich UFO "debate" question by now. I put "debate" in quotes because, as Mac Tonnies said, only here in the US does that pathetic display count as a debate. But, that's not the point, and I'll save that rant for a moment when I'm feeling more like arguing politics.

If you haven't seen it, here it is below:



For now, I'd like to stick to the reasoning behind the question, and the fallout from it. There's quite a few people out there basically giving the old "any publicity is good publicity" line on what it's going to mean for UFOs and the mainstream.

Generally, I can't disagree with that. There's going to be some people who realize that the UFO enigma is real for the first time after hearing that a presidential candidate saw a UFO and they'll go on to tell others, etc. I think Paul Kimball made some good points on the subject.

However, the way the question was asked, the forum it was asked in, and the way that Russert jumped in with stats of his own reeks of political sabotage. Now, lets not harbor any illusions that Kucinich was going to the White House for anything other than a visit. He wasn't, and he isn't. My own belief is that it's mostly because he's too decent and honest to be a politician, and we like our politicians slick and sleazy around these parts, but that's another post for another day.

So, why do I think Kucinich was asked that at this point? Because we're getting down to the "traditional" presidential race time. The final year is when the "real" candidates separate themselves and move on, and the rest fall back and drop out to make way for them.

I think, basically, Kucinich was the slowest prey in the herd. Russert took him down with the easiest way to make him seem like a wacko possible. He brought up UFOs. You can't believe in UFOs, or anything else for that matter beyond what your publicist tells you is OK, in the two party system. It's a joke, it's broken, but, once again, arguing the two party system is another debate for another day.

I was actually proud of the way Kucinich handled himself. He didn't lie, he said he saw it, and he deftly pointed out that it was an unidentified object in the air, not an alien mothership. I imagine that subtle point was lost on about 80% of americans, but that's not his fault. He tried to explain, and get in a shot at Bush at the same time, but he was basically shouted down by Russert, who interjected himself into Kucinich's time with stats.

My question at this point was, and still is, what is the "moderator" doing with stats of his own that he's throwing out there while a candidate is trying to talk? When Hillary Clinton throws out a stat about health care does Russert have the latest polls ready to throw back in her face? I mean, the poor guy only had 30 seconds to try to explain why he's not crazy to begin with, trying to talk over a suddenly rowdy crowd as well as the moderator doesn't help.

The guy was thrown under the bus in an effort to try to get him to drop out of the race, I believe.

I'm sure most people really don't care. Like I said, he wasn't going to win anyway, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who thinks he would. However, it was a political cheap shot and one that Russert should be ashamed of.

Like him or not, Kucinich actually brings a lot of knowledge, outside the box thinking, and political experience to the debates. He's not afraid to talk about subjects that other candidates won't touch, and he's honest and willing to talk real life. I think that's something that we should all demand more of in our politicians and is particularly necessary in these phony staged events called debates.

In the end, will this help people understand the UFO enigma? Maybe. Probably not. A few more people might begin to realize that there's something going on, but it's more likely to stir up dissent and mocking from those who can't believe and won't think about it. I sincerely hope something good comes from this, but it probably killed one presidential run dead in its tracks, possibly killed one political career, and even managed to make a mockery of what was already a shameful "debate" system in my mind.

Another Roswell Witness Comes Forward

Another Roswell military witness has come forward with his story.

Much like most of the rest of them, his story seems to confirm the legend of an unknown flying craft coming down containing multiple dead unknown creatures, and at least one live being.

At this point, I'll be the first to admit that the witness pool is tainted and probably unsalvageable. However, the fact that so many people continue to come out with basically the same intertwining story, despite the fact that they might lose their pensions for it, or suffer in some other way, seems to speak to the fact that they at least believe that they're doing the right thing by coming out with what they say they remember.

I think it's more than coincidental, and more than people hearing stories and believing that they remember the same thing, that keeps this story coming back over and over again. I think we are at a point in time where many of these people are coming out with what they know because they know it might be their last chance.

I guess at this point, Roswell is likely to go down as one of those stories that people will bicker about forever. Until proof is shown otherwise, I think I'll continue to come down on the side of something unknown to the local military having crashed in the desert.

The Hunt for the Skinwalker Review

"The Hunt for the Skinwalker," for those who don't know, is a book about a Utah ranch that seems to have almost every paranormal occurrence all at once, and the scientists who have and are trying to study it. The book's written by Colm Kelleher and George Knapp, with Kelleher being a PhD scientist who took the lead on the study of the ranch.

The research was funded by the National Institute for Discovery Science, a scientific organization set up to scientifically study phenomena which would probably otherwise go unexplored by the scientific community.

The book gives excellent background of the area and the history behind the phenomenon in that location. The bizarre phenomenon there seems to go back at least 15 generations in Ute history, and for all we know might have been going on long before that. In short, in Native American lore the phenomenon is attributed to "skinwalkers" who are witches who use their power for evil. This ranch is said to be "in the path of the skinwalkers" and, therefore, the members of the local tribe will not step foot on the property for any reason.

Having asked many people I know who are familiar with the skinwalker phenomenon whether it's real or not, I can report that almost to a person, each came back to me with stories and legitimate fear for their own lives. Many people who have attempted to research skinwalkers have terrifying tales which scared them off of the notion of any legitimate research.

The nature of the occurrences on this particular property take the shape of everything from frightening poltergeist behavior, to telepathic communications, to UFOs of almost every variety reported from around the world, to Bigfoot, bulletproof animals including an extremely large wolf, to cattle mutilations, and even unknown creatures stalking the grounds.

The former residents of the ranch regularly ran into some of the strangest encounters I've ever heard of. For example, one of the most common occurrences was an orange "window" which would open up in full view of the house, up in the sky. Once, while watching the window, a resident of the ranch saw what looked to him like another sky through the window. Shortly thereafter a triangular shaped craft flew through from the other "sky" into the sky over Utah.

This seems to speak to the possibility that this ranch is located in an area where cross over from other dimensions or travel through a wormhole might be a reality. Many, if not all, of the other phenomena might possibly be explained by that as well, as strange as it seems. However, much of the happenings on the ranch seem to fall along the trickster motif; occasionally seemingly random occurrences with no obvious motive. That doesn't mean the motive doesn't make sense to whatever does it, but it's hard to come up with a reason why, for instance, a 75 pound post digger would disappear from a job site and show up later in a tree.

One of the more interesting points which I think was made in the book is the obvious intelligence of the behavior of what is often called an "entity" in the book. When the NIDS team showed up on the ranch at first, the occurrences were in full swing and happening regularly. They came in with a central command trailer, high tech equipment and people stalking the grounds on regular rounds. It was not exactly a low key operation, and it seems to have been obvious to the "entity" that it was being stalked. Almost at once, the occurrences dropped to near zero, with just hints of activity and strange phenomena here and there. While the research team certainly witnessed some things which they can not explain in everyday terms, they were mostly unable to come out of their experience with lasting proof of what happened. In most cases, it seems like that's because whatever was going on there simply didn't want to be filmed or caught on camera.

All in all, I found the book to be a fascinating read which did not disappoint from my previous stance that if they book lived up to the hype it might just help solve the mystery behind much of the paranormal. With such a wide range of happenings in one place it would seem unlikely that they aren't tied in together in some fashion. How is probably up to the likes of the Vallee's of the world to explain(who is on the board of the NIDS), but maybe the answers are closer now than they were before the NIDS spent over a year at the ranch in Utah. If you're interested in attempting to explain bits and pieces of the paranormal I'd certainly recommend making this book a part of that research.

There's an interesting "new" UFO video making the rounds:



I only say "new" because even though the case has been known and discussed for over 50 years now, this is the first time I've ever seen this footage. I have yet to see a good explanation of why it suddenly surfaced now, which makes me believe it's a new recreation of the event, unfortunately.

However, the case is legitimate, I believe. In July of 1952 these lights were reported all over the eastern seaboard, along with pictures being taken of them flying over the Capitol. Apparently, around the time the pictures were taken, Andrews Air Force Base reported an "orange orb" hovering over the base. During the same night, and other times during the same week, dozens if not hundreds of UFOs were sighted all around the US and elsewhere in the world. In fact, the incident over the Washington DC was apparently witnessed by, at least, hundreds of people.

In fact, the sighting over the Capitol even made the front page of the Washington Post the next morning:



No reasonable explanation has ever been put forward that I've seen, and whether or not the video turns out to be real, the case is certainly an interesting one.

Regan Lee, of the Orange Orb Blog, has recently posted a short front page article on Book of THoTH. Her article "What Is A Real UFO?" is a basic explanation of the term. Unfortunately, the term really is misused on a daily basis. It's always been one of my pet peeves, so I'm glad to see someone else taking up the cause! Good job Regan.

The Paul Kimball interview on the Book of THoTH podcast is now up and available. The podcast area where you can download or stream it can be accessed at the link below:

Book of THoTH podcast area

And the Mp3 can be directly downloaded from the link below:

Direct Mp3 link

In this one Paul talks about his new documentary, "The Best Evidence" which everyone on every side of the UFO fence is raving about right now from what I can tell. He also discusses how he feels the state of UFO research stands right now, his umbrage with the term "UFOlogy", his relationship with Stanton Friedman, Alfred Lehmberg, and much more. Jeremy really did a terrific job putting together a great interview here.

I'll certainly be getting a bit more into this one in my next post(s).

Book of THoTH articles have really been piling up on me here, but there's been a couple of really great exclusive articles this week that I think deserve some attention.

Nick Pope wrote a very interesting article for BoT on The Cosford Incident.

For those who aren't familiar with it, here's the intro that Mr. Pope has written for his article:

On 30 and 31 March 1993 there was a series of UFO sightings in the UK involving over a hundred witnesses. Many of these were police officers and military personnel. The UFO also flew directly over two RAF bases. What follows is the extraordinary story of what has been dubbed The British UFO Mystery.

Overview

The first sighting took place on 30 March at around 8.30pm in Somerset. This was followed by a sighting at 9pm in the Quantock Hills. The witness was a police officer who, together with a group of scouts, had seen a craft that he described as looking "like two Concordes flying side by side and joined together". The reports came in thick and fast and when I arrived at work the following morning I received a steady stream of reports ........

...... It was soon clear that I had a major UFO event on my hands. One of the most interesting reports came from a member of the public in Rugely, Staffordshire, who reported a UFO that he estimated as being 200 metres in diameter. He and other family members told me how they had chased the object in their car and got extremely close to it, believing it had landed in a nearby field. When they got there a few seconds later, there was nothing to be seen. Many of the descriptions related to a triangular-shaped craft or of the lights perceived as being on the underside of such a craft. Indeed, in an apparent coincidence these sighting occurred three years to the very day after the famous wave of sightings in Belgium that had led to F-16 fighters being scrambled to intercept a UFO being tracked on radar.

Mr. Pope will be featured in at least one upcoming DVD from Michael Bourne and the Book of THoTH, so I think that we can all look forward to more information from him in the future.

Also on the BoT front page, Michael Bourne, aka THoTH, has written an article on recent scientific investigations into telepathy.

Interestingly, recent tests in the UK and the USA have shown intriguing results which seem to confirm the possibility of the ability to send and receive signals using only the human brain.

They were then taken to separate rooms and wired up to EEG machines, which detect activity in certain parts of the brain.When in these rooms, the subjects were exposed to the sounds of rhythmic drumming to bring their levels of consciousness to a similar state. Whilst in this state, random light flashes were beamed at the "sender". This triggered activity in the visual cortex of the brain (the area which activates with signals from the eye). Their startling discovery was that the visual cortex in the "receiver" also responded in a similar fashion, despite them not being exposed to any light flashes.

These are certainly fascinating results, and they should bear further looking into since they passed peer review and have been published in upstanding scientific journals.

THoTH promises an update to the article with findings from a recent related study in Italy, so keep an eye out for that one!

Seems the O'Hare UFO story isn't going anywhere yet. A guest opinion article from a Florida news source has reignited the debate. I guess at this point there's really nothing to discuss until we wait to see what evidence comes out. The most likely source seems like it's going to be Dan Aykroyd, but it might not be coming real soon, just "sometime this year". Seems like everyone will just have to wait a while and see what happens. At the very least there do seem to be many credible witnesses, but any sufficient video and/or photographic evidence has been disturbingly lacking thus far, from what I've seen.

I've been personally interested in the Skinwalker Ranch case for a while now, and posted about it before. If the stories are true, and I will admit that to my knowledge there hasn't been enough proof put out to completely convince me, the ranch in Utah may be the center of a phenomenon which could shed light on a lot of the paranormal world.

The occurrences there speak to a wide range of paranormal happenings from UFOs to orbs to cattle mutilation to spontaneous combustion to multiple dimensions to possessions and everything in between. I'm still trying to sit down and read the book, but in the meantime I found a great article on it with a bunch of excerpts and stories from the book.

While browsing around today I found a gallery of the 15 best UFO photos of 2006. Have a look and see what you think. If you have any that you think are better, send me the file or a link.

Lesley, from The Debris Field Blog, posted a nice rebuttal towards those who think that UFOlogy is "cult" like.

One of her best points also made me laugh, then shake my head. How true...

Beyond that, for ufology to be a cult there would need to be a belief system that everyone followed. Anyone who is a member of ufo updates would quickly realize that ufologists agree on almost nothing.

Stanton Friedman has posted a very thorough and exhaustive critique of a recent National Geographic documentary which seemingly attempted to debunk the happenings of Roswell. As he puts it they "abided by the 4 basic rules of debunkdom":

1. Don’t bother me with the facts, my mind is made up.

2. What the public doesn’t know, I won’t tell them.

3. If you can’t attack the data, attack the people.

4. Do your research by proclamation, no investigation is required.

I never saw the National Geographic documentary on Roswell, and I certainly won't waste my time with it after reading this.

The Denver Post, a paper which I happen to read quite regularly and have since I was a little kid, actually carried a fairly balanced article on MUFON. Well, at least it wasn't openly mocking, which, I guess is better than most.

There's one more big UFO story that seems to be getting a lot of attention the last day or two, as well. The Phoenix Lights, apparently, made a comeback recently(video included). Once again, the official explanation from the military is flares, but it seems like most of the locals don't agree. While they don't look exactly the same, to me at least, as last time, they do look anomalous. It should be interesting to see if there are as many witnesses and different views from different angles as last time as the story develops and people come forward.

There's an article making the rounds from the Santiago Times. It claims that during the Tenth International Ufology Conference, organized by the Chile’s Ufology Investigation Group, military photos and videos of UFOs were presented. There was also a presentation from Rodrigo Bravo, Captain of the Army’s Fifth Division, who talked about military encounters with UFOs. While I haven't seen any of the photos or videos, if the story's true and they make it onto the 'net at some point, they're probably going to be worth a thorough look.

UFO Digest has a rather strange, but interesting, article on an Indonesian UFO sighting with a possible UFO "base" as well. From there it takes a bit of a twist from the average UFO story by attempting to tie together big cat/panther sightings and UFO sightings.

Mac Tonnies has added another interesting cryptoterrestrial post to the on-going sharing of his thought process.

The entire list is up to 13 posts by my count at this point.

There's been another twist in the Chicago O'Hare airport UFO story. Apparently none other than Dan Aykroyd is claiming to have exclusive photos and video footage in his possession, and says he'll be releasing it all at some point this year. I guess we're all caught up in the instant information age where we expect instant gratification when a story hits the news, but it looks like we'll have to wait to pass judgment on this one.

Going along with the About.com article on the moon which I wrote about recently, Victoria Hardy of the American Chronicle has written an article about the possibilities of past and/or current habitation on the moon. It contains links to many of the information that's supposedly been leaked from various sources about what NASA/JPL really knows about the moon. For example:

Karl Wolfe, states that while he was in the Air Force he was shown photos of the moon taken by the Lunar Orbiter, before the Apollo landing, which clearly displayed artificial structures. Mr. Wolfe had a top-secret clearance and worked with tactical air command at Langley AFB in Virginia. He claims that in the photos he saw towers, spherical buildings, large things that were similar to radar dishes and some structures that were half a mile in size.

According to only one document I could find, it was reported in March of 1996 that NASA scientists and engineers participating in the Moon and Mars exploration met in front of the Washington National Press Club to discuss their findings. Although they spoke cautiously, they announced that man-made structures and objects were discovered on the Moon. The article goes on to say that there is evidence of lost cities on the Moon. An unnamed mission control specialist is quoted as saying, “Our guys observed ruins of the Lunar cities, transparent pyramids, domes, and God knows what else, which are currently hidden deep inside the NASA safes, and felt like Robinson Crusoe when he suddenly came across prints of bare feet on the sand of the desert island.”

Are these stories really true? I certainly don't know, but I've always thought it was strange that we abandoned the idea of putting bases on the moon shortly after visiting for what really amounts to no apparent reason. At this point I wouldn't bet all my money on the existence of ancient cities on the moon, but I wouldn't bet against it either, as far out as it seems. If you take ancient Indian texts about vimanas and Native American stories of the Second World at all literally, you have to consider the possibility that either man, or visitors, harnessed the power of flight long ago.

Lesley at The Debris Field Blog has some strange photos that she took recently up on her blog.

I've also got to point out The Debris Field Site where Lesley has some UFO pics, articles, and a huge collection of english and non-english UFO links.

Image taken from http://ufoevidence.conforums.com/index.cgi

Part two of the story of the Missouri man who claims to have part of a UFO is now up. I wrote about part one a few days ago.

Part two covers the inevitable, and frustrating, part of these stories. The man claims to have taken it to many labs, gotten private confirmation of it not being of earth origin, and then been unable to get the labs to say so publicly. Unfortunately, names of people he spoke to at the labs are not given up, as I would have certainly followed up on this one seeing as how I spent years working at one of the labs mentioned. They also make some pretty hefty claims about the object, namely "White said the object heats and cools rapidly. It picks up radio signals – AM and FM. And, during a UFO convention in Nevada, it disabled the electronics in a casino’s hotel safe – three times."

However, what you're left with in the end is an interesting story, and the picture above. If the object is truly anomalous, I certainly hope he's able to get some kind of scientific evidence.

Also on the UFO front, there's an interesting story about a Missouri man who claims to have an artifact from a UFO. In short, the man was driving when he saw a UFO which he says then ejected something that landed just over a hill from where he was. He walked over the hill, followed the trail it left in the earth, collected it, and has had it ever since. This is part one of the story, and while there's no picture of the artifact, I think part two will be worth reading.

Over at Book of THoTH Mr. Bourne, aka. THoTH, has posted a very interesting article along with photographs of an unknown flying object which he took while out with his fiancee on the 16th. The pictures and the story seem to be quite anomalous, leading him to believe that perhaps he snapped off some legitimate unknown craft photos with some military crafts in the vicinity. You can check out the article along with the pictures right here.

Also, please don't forget that the book competition ends in just over a week, so if you want to see your articles in print, make sure you finish them up and submit them by the end of the month!

About.com's paranormal area has an interesting article on the far side of the moon, commonly misidentified as the "dark side" of the moon, and the possibility of current or previous inhabitants. Beginning with the reason we only see one side of the moon, the article rehashes many of the various anomalies and secrets about the far side.

When we look up at the Moon, we always see the same side. This peculiarity results because the Moon rotates just once for every orbit it makes around the Earth. The Moon is slightly lopsided, so over millions of years, gravitational forces have slowed its rotation so that the one side always faces our planet.

...

To bolster this claim, authors at such websites as Alien Presence on the Moon, site the words of Milton William Cooper, allegedly a former intelligence officer with the US Navy. In a 1989 press release from Cooper (again allegedly), he swears under oath that he was privy to information that the US government has knowledge of alien craft visiting Earth. “LUNA is the alien base on the far side of the Moon,” the release states. “It was seen and filmed by the Apollo Astronauts. A base, a mining operation using very large machines, and the very large alien craft described in sighting reports as MOTHER SHIPS exist there.”

...

The UFO Casebook website says there are actual NASA and military photos of the bases on the far side of the Moon. “There is a HUGE alien moon base complex on the far side of the moon,” the website says. “This sounds silly but it is true and we have solid proof… straight from the military. In 1994, the US Navy sent a satellite called Clementine to the moon to image it for two months. During that time, the satellite took 1.8 million images. Out of those images, 170,000 images were made available to the public. The rest were classified. Classified moon craters?”

As the article states, the only way to really know what's on the far side of the moon is to get full access to pictures that are taken. As NASA prepares to return astronauts to the moon, including taking samples from the far side, here's hoping that everyone gets full access to what they find there.

Journalist Kristopher Hanson of the Press-Telegram actually did an open minded article on the existence of underwater UFOs, or USOs(unidentified submerged object), for the newspaper. While there's no mind blowing revelations the article does highlight a couple of interesting sightings(including the Battle over Los Angeles) and doesn't mock the possibilities involved.

I've decided that I'm going to keep updating my original post on Mac Tonnies' CTH posts as he posts more on his site. I'll post a little reminder like this, with a link, from time to time. Since the original post there's been three new posts.

Also, Mac's going to be on the Paracast tomorrow, the 31st.

Be sure to also check out The Orange Orb's recent musings on the subject here and here.

Greg Bishop has listed out part one and part two of his 20 Most Important Dates in UFO History, inspired by Paul Kimball and his upcoming documentary Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Cases. It's an interesting list, and one that certainly contains many infamous and interesting dates.

Nick Redfern and Greg Bishop have gone in together on a new blog that promises to be really interesting. Be sure to check it out at:

http://www.ufomystic.com/

For anyone who's been trying to keep up with Mac Tonnies' recent flood of posts on the "cryptoterrestrial hypothesis" or, simply CTH, I decided to put together a list of links to scroll through to make it a little easier to find them at this point. These posts make up what I assume will be the backbone of his upcoming book, which should be a very thought provoking read.

While I am not 100% sold on the theory, as I've said before it's an extremely intriguing, interesting idea that's honestly a lot of fun to mull through the possibilities, and outcomes of. There is, simply put, no single theory out there that can adequately explain the entire phenomenon. So, enjoy a little "outside of the box" thinking on this one.

Post #1

Post #2

Post #3

Post #4

Post #5

Post #6

Edited on 12/28 to add two more posts:

Post #7

Post #8

Edited on 12/29 to add one more post:

Post #9

Edited on 1/26 to add one more post:

Post #10

Edited on 2/3 to add two more posts:

Post #11

Post #12

Edited on 2/5 to add one more post:

Post #13

As many of you already know, previously I wrote a bit about an article I read which was written by Matthew Graeber, and I was fairly harsh in my assessment. After writing it, I received an e-mail from Mr. Graeber, and over the last few weeks we've exchanged many more. While I still stand by what I wrote before, I do think that Matthew is a sincere, honest man, who probably shares many of the same beliefs as I do. At the very least, I'm sure the perpetration of any hoax is something that neither of us would stand for.

So, while we may disagree on some things, I extended him an offer to write anything he wanted, no editing or censorship, and I would post it here. I'd like to think that we could do it again, as well, should he ever have something that he'd like published here. I would also like to say that I did attempt to contact BUFO on two separate occasions to get a rebuttal from them, and so far have not gotten a response. Should they wish to respond, I'd be more than happy to hear their side of the story as well.

With that in mind, here is what Matthew wrote this time:


After a rather rocky start, rooted in misunderstanding and suspicions over my assumed UFOlogical intentions, Dustin Clark has graciously invited me to write a guest article for his unique paranormal blog. I've given a bit of thought to this invitation and finally settled on the idea that since my background is primarily linked to the investigation and evaluation of UFO reports - there is little I might contribute to a scholarly discussion on topics like Spirit Apparitions, BigFoot encounters and sightings of the Loch Ness Monster, etc.

Moreover, although I am acquainted with Mythological subjects and mythology's tremendous influence upon mankind, I shall make no effort towards participating in the OddThings discussion of Dustin's most recent article concerning Mythology and the Hopi Prophesies.

However, I did pen several entries for the Carbondale UFO Crash Chronicles which have appeared at UFO UpDates over the course of the last year or so. The most interesting thing about these journal entries are that they are all rebuttals to the claims of a small group of UFOlogists/Paranormalists, who ardently desire to turn the 1974 UFO hoax into a viable UFO crash cover up story and tourist attraction similar to that of Roswell and Aztec, New Mexico.

In entry No.9, the "behind-the-scenes" activities of these self-appointed UFO experts are exposed through their own words and deeds - serving as a note of caution for those who might carelessly wander into the world of BUFORIA without their eyes being wide open!

Of course, I'm hoping that Mr.Clark will also invite the BUFOonians to respond to this essay with their own version of what happened at the ol' Carbondale silt pond back in 1974. I already know, because I was there. But, that counts for nothing because the BUFOonans suspect me of being in on the saucer crash cover up!

So, with these thoughts and considerations in mind, I offer the following, and wish to thank Mr. Clark for the opportunity to do so.

Those wishing to learn more about BUFO and the Carbondale UFO crash cover up are invited to visit the UFO UpDates Archives, simply go to carbondale, pa. ufo crash and scroll along to your heart's content.




Entry No.9
The Carbondale UFO Crash Chronicles

“Will the real Mark Stamey please come to the surface.”

For those of you who have been following this journal, you may recall that in entry no.7 (August 1, 2006 - UFO UpDates ), I discussed “how” the BUFO team of UFOOLogists were planning to contact the volunteer scuba diver ( Mark Stamey),who recovered the railroad lantern from the Russell park pond in 1974 and “arrange” for him to be interviewed by a NBC TV affiliate (WYOU) newswoman from Scranton, Pa.

Naturally, the BUFOONians had also hoped that the diver’s comments would support and endorse their claims concerning the finding of the lantern in the pond was merely a cover up or, “smoke screen” as Mary Sutherland likes to call it - which was intended to shift the focus of the inquiry away from the downed two-seater UFO that had crashed into and settled to the bottom of the silt pond. ( i.e., Yet another, uncovering of a dastardly UFO Conspiracy!)

Leading the way, and calling the shots on this “Way to handle the diver’s interview”, was Ron Hannivig, who contacted Rick Fisher of Paranomal, PA who had already interviewed the diver. Ron contacted Fisher via “CONFIDENTIAL” e-mail that excluded Mary Sutherland from the plan (that is, until such time as Ron felt her efforts would be useful.) Mr. Fisher was kind enough to share Ron’s “enlightening” missives with me, and I placed some of that information in the text of Chronicles entry no.7

Ron’s plans also included the utilization of a young female reporter who was somewhat sympathetic to the UFO crash scenario that Ron and Frank Scassellati had filled her head with over a period of time.

Perhaps Mary Sutherland’s inputs regarding the so-called cover up added to the mysterious story - and the reporter possibly believed that a news report the alleged “Historical Event” or, “Big One!” as Ron likes to call it, would be helpful to Carbondale’s declining economy and possibly spark a lucrative tourist industry in the Lackawanna County community. Besides that, it may have seemed like an interesting local story too. (i.e. considered as good news filler to the young TV newsperson.)

Sadly, the newswoman was fired (Ron suggests because of her airing a brief Carbondale UFO story while her boss was away on vacation.) Fisher says, the young woman was dismissed for other reasons…so, the mystery dismissal continues.

Anyway, Ron attempted to persuade Fisher that his interview with the diver should be considered as “a preliminary, fact finding interview” which would be greatly enhanced by the professional TV taping and airing that Ron was planning. Actually, Hannivig knew that Fisher had beaten him to the punch so-to-speak, by first interviewing the diver (Mark Stamey) - and Ron Hannivig wanted to cash in on the interview he felt had gotten away from him because of Mary Sutherland’s failure to pursue the matter in a timely fashion as previously suggested by Ron.

Hannivig apparently felt strongly that the diver’s testimony would more or less “clinch” the incident as being a conspiracy - and even suspected the diver of being in on the cover up. His suspicions were shared and echoed by Mary Sutherland who actually suspected that the diver was summoned to the pond by me in order to perform his part in the assumed conspiracy. The plot thickens….

Mary had claimed in earlier commentary, that I was a very shoddy and inexperienced UFO field investigator who often gotten the names of key eyewitnesses wrong. As an example, she mentioned that the diver, Mark Stamey, was actually named Mark Stanley - and ridiculed me for not knowing his proper name. Naturally, Mary failed to think her claim through, and continued with the charge that I had summoned the diver to the pond from New York - presumably, without even knowing his proper name.

Mary seems to have trouble deciding if I am the head of the conspiracy or just a non-professional, out-of-the-loop UFO investigator. But, then again, Mary is quite confused on a number of points about the 1974 incident.

Moreover, Stamey the diver, has recently come forward to tell of his experience at the pond on that long-ago November day – and Mary now knows his name really is Stamey (not Stanley) - which caused her to automatically shift gears and suggest that it was I who misnamed him Stanley in the first place - presumably, in order to muddy the waters of the BUFO Carbondale investigation.

Mary even goes so far as to quote from my (Magonia Supplement No.55 published) essay/report on the incident - and suggests that because the upper crust leadership of NICAP, APRO, MUFON and CUFOS failed to respond after receiving my original report on the case - that the “Professional” UFOlogists obviously hold me (and my 1974 report) in ill-regard. Actually, Mary doesn’t realize that there is no such thing as a “Professional” UFOlogist. As there is no certification in UFOlogy as a science, proto-science or art.

No ph.D’s, No MBA’s, BA’s or any sort of certification. Moreover, what Mary and her so-called investigator’s do is not UFO researching, it’s “UFO entertainment” and the promotion of that entertainment. What Mary doesn’t grasp is that the “leadership” of the major UFO group’s wouldn’t respond to a finding of a UFO hoax, simply because their dues-paying, card-carrying membership would have no particular interest in reading about another UFO hoax in their exclusive group journals. ( It would be considered a complete waste of perfectly good print space.)

Moreover, since Dr. Hynek himself had already deemed the event a probable hoax, and closed the investigation of the matter to get on to far more promising cases. Why should the major UFO group leaders waste their time on the matter and contact my fledgling Philadelphia-based UFO group?

Back to August 2006 and Mary’s whimsical URL featuring Mark Stamey in an 11/2 hour BUFO Radio interview in which Stamey (according to Mary), ‘fesses up” on his actual role in the incident, as well as witnessing the acting police chief (Det.Sgt.Francis X. Dottle), toss a trainmen’s lantern into the pond as a “smoke screen” to draw attention away from the downed sport-model UFO that was really beneath the surface.

Not too very long ago Mary was saying that what was in the pond sooo scared the diver, he vowed never to go in that pond again! He also said (according to Mary), he would take the secret of what he observed in the water to his grave. Of course, (according to Mary), so did Sgt. Dottle make a similar vow.

First of all, according to Rick Fisher, (who is not a BUFO member and never has been despite Mary’s claims), he personally interviewed Stamey several months ago and spoke to him on July30 th. this year - the diver said nothing about a cover up to Fisher during their lengthy telephone conversation.
So too, Stamey had told press reporters at the pond in 1974, there was nothing else in the pond other than the lantern. A comment which he repeated to the acting police chief and several UFO experts who gathered as onlookers to his second dive in the murky pond on the late afternoon of November 11,1974.

The problem with Mary’s BUFO Radio “exclusive?” interview with Mark Stamey is that he never knew he was being taped, and was shocked to see how Mary Sutherland had “misrepresented” his story in her URL which is not only grossly distorted , inaccurate and false…much of it appears to have been created by Mary herself. Log on to “http://www.burlingtonnews.net/carbondale.html”

However, the BUFO radio show is quite difficult, if not impossible to download so, you’ll have to take Mary’s word concerning the authenticity, accuracy and veracity of the inappropriate 11/2 hour interview she conducted without Stamey’s knowledge.

Stamey advised Mr. Fisher that he only told Mary exactly what he had said to him months earlier. This included, NO FESSING UP about anything, NO WITNESSING THE POLICE CHIEF TOSSING THE LANTERN IN THE POND, NO OBSERVATION OF A UFO RESTING ON THE POND’S FLOOR OR, VOWING TO TAKE THE SHOCKING SECRET OF WHAT HE HAD OBSERVED TO HIS GRAVE.

In an e-mail I received from Mr. Fisher on August 3,2006 concerning Stamey’s alleged letter to BUFO’s Frank Scassellati, Fisher wrote:
“There is no letter from Stamey to Frank, that’s what confused Stamey, he called and told Mary he never contacted Frank and doesn’t know who he is. Stamey saw that (Letter on Mary’s URL), and asked me who Frank was”…( Hmmm, good question?)

Apparently, Stamey had happened to type his own name in the search engine of his P.C. and “lo and behold”, Mary’s URL appeared on the very first scroll page.

Mary also posted that Stamey said I was a “liar” when I mentioned that he had asked me to write a note to his New York State parole officer back in 1974, explaining his presence (as a volunteer), at the Russell Park pond. Stamey didn’t say that either, according to Rick Fisher who received a call from Stamey after he saw Mary’s
outrageous claims about him.

Surely, Stamey who is now is a professional journalist had never been exposed to such BUFOONian behavior and unbridled yellow journalism. Of course, Stamey is not the first “unsuspecting” individual to wander into BUFOria, where what you actually say is “magically transformed” into what Mary wants you to say.

Young witness, Dawn Race, Frank Scassellati ( Mary’s own investigator), and others have also had their statements transformed by Mary. So, while Mary apparently likes to do the favorable “editing” and “Re-writes” of witness testimony – her second investigator, Ron Hannivig prefers taking a more subtle and stealthy approach - Ron merely attempts to control how much the witnesses might say and to whom they might say it.

In one of Ron’s “numerically listed” suggestions (or rules) on how Stamey’s taped TV interview should be handled he wrote, “9TH. The diver must behave as Travis Walton and his crew had - just to stick to their original story – keep it extremely simple and straight forward, and never allow himself to be maneuvered into a position where he finds himself talking to someone in control of the microphone….moreover, taping an interview for later editing and airing.”

Ron also suggests the diver grant just “one” interview to the TV reporter. (Ron makes this suggestion several times in his 10 point missive.)

As you can see Ron seems to favor a form of “controlled censorship” of the witnesses and appears to have a curiously paranoid mistrust of the press – These and many other “Suggestions” were outlined in his “CONFIDENTIAL” message to Rick Fisher and Frank Scassellati – leaving poor Mary Sutherland out-of-the-loop in regard to this highly sensitive, secretive, instructive and critical matter.

However, on January 20th 2006, Ron e-mailed Mary in regard to her asking him about the status of first and second divers, ( i.e.,Where were they living, were they still alive?) Ron Hannvig replied “There is only one diver you need contact – Rick Fisher had already done so, with awesome results if you do not want to contact Fisher directly,…contact Stan Gordon, or Stan(ton) Friedman in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada - I’m sure they can act as a mediator.”

This is the second time the two Stans have been mentioned in this sorted matter…or, UFO soap opera. ( Take your pick.)

So, what does Mark Stamey have to say about all of this? I contacted Mr. Fisher and asked him to get in touch with Stamey. I didn’t want to do that myself for fear of being accused of leading the witness or, attempting to control him like Ron and Mary does. Of course, Mary will continue to say Fisher and I are in working together in this despicable UFO crash cover up. But, the truth is that it was Mary’s delusional claims against us that actually brought Fisher and I together through e-mails. I never heard of Rick Fisher until a year or so ago, and we’ve never met face-to-face.

Unfortunately, my suggestion to Mr. Fisher concerning Mark Stamey possibly making a brief comment for this chronicles entry did not pan out. Stamey recently went into the hospital and Fisher is working on a book about the Carbondale incident, so he may not wish to divulge what Stamey may have told him in great detail. I respect that confidence and will make no comment concerning my disappointment with this turn of events.

However, there may be some folks who feel that Fisher has broken a sacred (UFOlogical and journalistic), taboo by sharing Ron’s “CONFIDENTIAL” missive with me. But, I ask, which is the greater sin/evil, breaching a confidence with a BUFOONian or, allowing a half-baked conspiracy within one’s midst to be carried out? Obviously, I’ve answered that question by sharing this journal entry with you.

Rick Fisher probably didn’t expect me to write about Ron’s letter when he passed it along to me. He just thought I’d get a chuckle out of it. But, I really do not think it’s very comical, and I was never included in anyone’s confidence on the matter.

Fisher’s book is intended to explore “WHY” some UFO enthusiasts think/believe a UFO crashed at Carbondale, while other suspect that an errant soviet missile had plummeted into the pond. ( BUFO’s been promoting both stories.) He was contacting me because I had deemed the incident a hoax back in 1974 - and he wanted to know “WHY” I had come to that conclusion.

Naturally, since Fisher had already been investigating the matter a couple of years before Mary and her sleuths started looking into the incident ( As an “assumed” BUFO possession), there was a little tension and mistrust of Fisher who was a paranormal researcher and internet promoter somewhat like Mary - What’s worse, Fisher even intended to open a “mysteries museum”, perhaps with the Carbondale mystery as a center piece for his fledgling business enterprise.

Fisher adamantly denies that doing so was ever his intention, but the BUDOONians may have had their suspicions about his plans. (?)

For the information on Stamey that Rick Fisher has shared with me, I wish to thank him and give him full-credit for his assistance and kindness. Without Mr.Fisher’s help this entry would never have been written. Without Mary Sutherland’s recent idiotic and misleading URL, it would not have been necessary to write.

Ron Hannivg, said in an e-mail to a UFO colleague on January 11, 2006. “…The testimony of the diver - Mary is now searching for, is extremely vital to the Carbondale matter, and being privy to what he had already discussed I can say with absolute certainty that his testimony will surely clinch this case – beyond any doubt, whatsoever.”

Ron continues, “ My problem here: I have been caught in-between two paranormal investigators, who for some reason are at odds with each other – and I don’t want either of them “ Jumping-the- gun”…intimidating or wearing down the key witness in this Carbondale case. When the time is right - witnesses will be coming out of the woodwork.”…

Ron is coyly referring to Mary Sutherland and Rick Fisher’s falling out over false claims she posted about him. Ron knows that but, it may be that Fisher had also shared some of his Stamey information with the BUFOONians before he became a pariah in Mary’s “Living in the light” eyes. (?) In any case, No witnesses have apparently been coming out of the woodwork at Carbondale as Ron predicted in this January missive to “Jjjjjj Mmmm”- whom ever that may be?

So, while it is quite difficult to establish exactly where the boundaries of fact and fiction may be on this convoluted and woeful tale - one thing seems to have a ring of “authenticity” to it. Ironically, this bit of light peeking out of the shadows of BUFO comes from Ron Hannivig, Mary’s field investigator and self-proclaimed (Albeit unaccredited), investigative journalist-at-large.

In an e-mail reply to Mary, dated January 20, 2006 Ron wrote “What Rick had shared with me – regarding his interview with the diver was confidential – and I cannot get past that confidence.

Ron continues,” I can tell you he (The diver) was evidentially alive when Fisher interviewed him – but very sick. I can also tell you that Fisher believed his entire side of the story, and Rick bought into it…, that would be good enough for me, as I as I fully trust his judgment and ability as a serious researcher.”

Interestingly, in an e-mail to Fisher, also dated January 20, 2006 (The same day), Ron Hannivig seems to be less informed on Fisher’s interview with the diver. Rom wrote “ I am indeed well aware that you have valuable information and….DID DOCUMENT THE INTERVIEW WITH THE DIVER, A TAPED INTERVIEW, assuming it was documented on audio tape…and yes, I still intend to protect your exclusive rights to this key…quite possibly ( Italics mine), - decisive testimony – and it should also be obvious that I want to protect your Source the best that I can.”

Ron continues; “This is why I had ignored Mary’s request – and went straight to ----- who had done an excellent and professional job in reporting the Carbondale matter and got her report past the political Commissar at CBS’s network affiliate here, in N.E. PA (WYOU). She likely had lost her job for doing so.”

Occasionally, people make what are commonly referred to as ”Freudian slips” which expose their true feelings and thoughts about any given situation, relationship or the individual’s fears or desires. Mary Sutherland is a chronically “Slip-prone” when it comes to this sort of thing, and she more-or-less falls into her own traps which she has foolishly attempted to set for others.

A recent example of this can be found in the letter that Stamey (the diver), allegedly sent to Frank Scaaaellati who, in turn, passed it on to Mary, and she quickly posted in her latest URL (at the bottom of the first page). The letter concerns Stamey’s “clarifying” a few points before beginning his technically detailed and uniquely concise recollections of the incident that happened 32 years earlier.

There is a serious flaw in the opening paragraph which informs you that the diver could not have penned (all of this letter), although it is attributed to him by Mary. Let’s take a quick look at the paragraph.
“There were a few minor points I would like to clarify. I was not told to put the lantern back. I was told by chief Dottle, “The people are not buying the story, We have to send you back in the water and this time when you see the object, not the lantern, leave it there. Don’t touch it.”

Stamey “allegedly” continues, “That told me that the lantern was supposed to be found and whatever came in from the sky was still in it and I should ignore it when I actually found it.” (Doesn’t read like a professional journalist wrote this strung-together sentence does it?)

Besides “tagging all the bases” that would tend to support Mary’s “fishy” conspiratorial pond tales. There is the striking “strangeness” of Stamey doing so within the very first paragraph of his alleged letter - and mentioning that he should “ignore” the object in pond “not the lantern”, when it’s a matter of public record and fully-documented by the global press that the lantern had been removed from the pond on the “first” dive. Additionally, Stamey says,”I was not told to put the lantern back.” (i.e., In the water.)

Moreover, chief Dottle had advised Stamey not to touch the object in the pond, and just take a quick “look-see” at what it was before Sramey went into the water on the first dive - so, it would not be at all unusual for Dottle to remind him of that “ precaution” just before the second dive.

Chief Dottle and everyone present during the first dive knew that some sort of object was in the pond before Stamey went into the water. But, Dottle had absolutely no way of knowing or, reason to suspect that another object might have been there…in fact, he had absolutely no compelling reason to suspect that another object even existed.
He apparently permitted the second dive to “appeas” the discontented and very vocal UFO experts/enthusiasts who had gathered at the scene after the lantern had been recovered.. So, why would Dottl, (A professional police detective for many years, with court room testimony experience), have made such a “foolish and assumptive” comment? The answer is, he wouldn’t have but, Mary would and often does!

Mary has made a fatal timeline and fact flaw, that should immediately excuse anyone from reading her URL fantasy any further - Simply because Stamey apparently did not pen the entire letter, and couldn’t possibly have be aware ( or privy to) all the intricate details contained in it, since Stamey is said to have been completely ignorant of all of this Carbondale conspiracy nonsense. Or as, Ron Hannivig suggests, Isolated from it in New York State all these many years

Ron Hannivig actually puts it this way,“…His (Stamey’s) isolation… per se,….from Carbondale, PA since thee event, etc. adds the utmost credence to his account.” ( WHAT DRIVEL, that is of course, “IF” Stamey (The professional journalist), hadn’t computer access, lived in a cave and never read about BUFO’s on-going investigation into the so-called Carbondale cover up.

So, if the lantern was removed from the pond on the first dive, why would the police chief tell Stamey not to touch the object “not the lantern”, when the lantern was no longer in the pond at all. It just doesn’t make any sense at all, EXCEPT to Mary Sutherland and her pair of woefully defective saucer sleuths.

There is another problem with Mary’s alleged Stamey letter ( Still in the first paragraph). Unknown to Mary, Ron and Frank, Stamey was fitted with an inflatable vest as he went into the pond on the first dive, He was also tethered with ropes that would help the recovery team in the boat pull him aboard if he got in to any trouble while in the water.

The reason for the inflatable vest was to keep him from touching the bottom of the pond for fear of possible electrocution and/or radiation if the “Unknown” object should suddenly reactivate and become illuminated again. (The previously reported strange light beneath the pond had gone dark about 21 hours earlier.)

In Mary’s amusing URL, Stamey is reported to have said he was warned to be cautious if the object should suddenly start to “Vibrate” or emit any “Fluids”. Neither vibrations or fluids were ever a consideration, or mentioned during the 1974 event. A check of press stories will confirm that Stamey and the police chief never mentioned such nonsense, neither did the three primary UFO investigators at the scene.

There was also no decontamination chamber available to the authorities at the scene ( As Mary claims), and Stamey was going to be sprayed with water from fire hoses “IF” he were exposed to any radioactive mud, silt or vegetion while in the pond. That never happened as frequently monitored radiation levels never exceeded normal background ranges.

In another of Mary’s recent URL fibs, it is mentioned that I told Stamey that the (UFOs) are usually basketball shaped, and this one had beams of light radiating from it. That alleged conversation never took place. At the time of the incident, I spoke very briefly with Stamey at the pond, and only had one alleged eyewitness report concerning what the strange object in the sky supposedly looked like.

That was the interview report of William Lloyd - age16, one of the three teenage boys who perpetrated the hoax. William said, THE OBJECT WAS LENS-SHAPED, WITH A RED DOT IN THE MIDDLE AND SPARKS SHOOTING OUT IT’’S REAR SECTION. ( a tracing of his original sketch appears in the 32 page investigative UFORIC report of December 1974.)

About a month and a half after the incident had occurred, the written report forms filed by the Lloyd brothers, William and John (who were with Bobby Gillette at the time of the alleged sighting), arrived in the mail and their UFO sketches now depicted an ill-defined oval object which was about the size of a nickel (5 cent piece) held at arm’s length. Not lens-shaped, no red dot in the middle and no fire or sparks trailing the object.

29 years later on a BUFO site, I discovered that the Lloyd brothers were now saying that the object was about the size of a “basketball” held at arm’s length - perhaps this is where Mary’s version of what I supposedly said to the diver before he went in to the pond came from? But, then again, it’ very difficult to know exactly where most things come from with Mary Sutherland and her pair of saucer investigators.

BTW, Bobby Gillette confessed to Scranton-Times Tribune reporters that he and his companions ( The Lloyd brothers), had thrown the lantern into the pond on the 25th. anniversary of the hoax. He also confessed that he made up the entire story about seeing an object in the sky when he got scared as police were converging on the pond. He said he had fears of being sent to Boy’s Town or reform school. (source: Scranton Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa. November 7,1999)

Naturally, Ron Hannivig ( The self-proclaimed investigative journalist), wrote a long-winded and convoluted “Rebuttal” to Gillette’s confession - while also explaining that the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing of 1995, was actually a “building collapse” caused by shoddy construction - and that the home-grown terrorist, Timothy McVeigh was just one of the government’s scapegoats for the deadly disaster.

Anyway, Stamey ignored the police chief’s warning not to touch whatever he observed (during the first dive),while supposedly taking a quick “look-see” at what was lying on the pond’s floor - instead, Stamey grabbed the railroad lantern and immediately brought it to the surface, WITHOUT first informing chief Dottle, the men in the recovery boat or the UFO investigators what he had found.

So, yes, Dottle did advise Stamey not to touch what he discovered in the pond simply because when he first went into the water no one knew exactly what was there. (With the exception of the three tight-lipped teens who had tossed the lantern in the water.)

The UFO field investigators and the police were concerned that perhaps “Space Junk” had splashed down into the pond, and the “Space Nuclear Auxiliary Power” or, so-called “Snap unit” had survived re-entry. (That’s why radiological monitors (Geiger counters), were in use throughout the recovery operations at Dr.Hynek’s suggestion.)

When Stamey performed his second underwater search. I had already left the area and was headed home. But, I seriously doubt that the recovery boat team were still present, as they had been on the scene for quite some time and were very tired - as were most of the other volunteers who were involved in the 44 hour-long fiasco’s resolution. So, it is possible that Stamey went into the water without the recovery team being present but, with chief Dottle and the small group of late-to-the-scene ( UFO experts and Esoteric Arts) onlookers standing by..(?)

It’s amazing, neither the press or, Jerome Gillott the Carbondale recovery team photographer took any photos of this second dive. Neither did the UFO experts who had traveled many miles to Carbondale in “anticipation” of being present at an historical UFO event. Considering the camera-consciousness of UFO enthusiasts it seems strange that no photographic documentation exists of the second dive at all.

Well, this has been a very long and convoluted journal entry and I sincerely apologize to those of you who have endured reading it. However, BUFO produces sooo much convoluted material on the Carbondale hoax that it takes an equally convoluted response to wade through some of the many pond stories they come up with. In fact, Mary has stated that it is her “job” to present as much “material” as it takes to persuade others to believe as she does concerning the Carbondale UFO crash cover up. (a saucer crash conspiracy that never happened.)

To date, Mary and her small band of marymen have produced numerous versions of what happened at the pond in 1974 - and I’m certain the list will continue grow as she continues to force-fits pieces of her conspiracy puzzle together - even if it takes more creative witness testimony re-writes to do so.

Mary does not tend to deal in empirical observations, documented fact or physical evidence. She and her investigators were apparently not present during the incident, and none of them were the primary UFO field investigators who actually observed and participated in what was going on at the time. Yet, they manage to have ALL the answers and All the questions about the incident - and if Mary doesn’t have what she needs from her investigators, she simply consults ( Her BUFO sponsored) internet psychics on the crash cover up.

Mary Sutherland and her woeful pair of saucer sleuths are 32 year after-the-fact wannabes who haven’t a clue about the factual Carbondale UFO incident. They are conspiracy peddlers, self-promoters, character assassins and self-appointed experts. They represent everything that’s wrong with contemporary UFOLogy - and are in fact, perfect examples of why the real scientific community wisely distances itself from the fringy saucer throng.

At Carbondale, the police department worked shoulder-to-shoulder with many civic-minded volunteers and Dr.Hynek’s field investigator (Douglas K.Dains), in an attempt to reach a safe, ”evidence-saving” resolution to the incident. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a hoax- but, it might just as well have been a genuine historical UFO event. Most everyone at the scene was very disappointed with the out come - but, that’s no excuse to allow three absurd BUFOOLogits to re-write history to further inflate their egos and promote their self-assumed expertise in what is truly a delusional fantasy of their own making.

The Carbondale UFO crash story is an authentic piece of Lackawanna County’s history and folklore; and it is the City of Carbondale and its citizens who deserve any financial rewards from its promotion. There is nothing wrong with an exchange of ideas and beliefs concerning the story. It’s just that the City of Carbondale should sponsor the UFO conventions and promote their own annual festival of the “The day the earth stood still” at Carbondale. After all, their tax dollars paid for the 44 hour ordeal. (I’m almost certain Mary Sutherland would agree with me on that point!?)

In fact, Mary and her defective detectives would be marvelous speakers and workshop attractions at such an event. Ya see, it’s okay to be bullish - and, it is even okay to be a bear in the growing internet UFO entertainment industry. But, one shouldn’t be a pig about sole sponsorship of the event.

One also shouldn’t attempt to destroy the reputation and character of people with whom one doesn’t agree over what may or may not have happened at Carbondale back in 1974. Everybody seems to like a mystery, everybody likes some science fiction, and everybody seems to like UFOs. Did ya know that UFO sites are second only to porn sites in popularity on the net. So, lighten up will ya Mary, Mr.Dottle, Mr. Fisher and I aren’t really the boogie men you make us out to be.

Who knows, perhaps the municipal sponsors of the UFO conferences at Carbondale will ask all of us to speak at their annual festival - and we can all have the opportunity to sit down for a cup of coffee at McDonnell’s restaurant after our lively debate on the pond incident… (My treat!) Or, would that just be wishful thinking on my part?

I’ve already written the town council and mayor of Carbondale with this suggestion. So, if Mary should suddenly hear from them, she’ll know what it’s about. Wouldn’t it be grand if Pennsylvania became the second state in the union to have “ two saucer crash site” tourist and annual festival attractions like New Mexico! Imagine and east coast Roswell and Aztec. Wouldn’t that be a marvelously lucrative enterprise….hmmm, Mary has already said she wants people to think Roswell/Carbondale.

Anyway, as clearly demonstrated herein, BUFO is soooo full of it (convolution), that is, that it’s virtually impossible to respond to each and every error-filled charge, claim, suspicion and assumption they might come up with. Even if I were to do so, they’d just come up with more conspiracy-laden nonsense. They are not only unreachable through logic, common sense and reasoning, they are agenda-driven, and appear to be obsessed with the 1974 non-UFO incident at Carbondale.

Matt Graeber is solely responsible for the contents this Chronicles entry. He also challenges the BUFOONians to a face-to-face debate on the Carbondale incident at any time, and at any place. (Providing the debate is “admission-free” to the public or, Carbondale community sponsored, taped and aired for all to see in Lackawanna County.) Perhaps Ron Hannivig can help arrange that too?

Final thoughts:
It might be interesting to have the press cover and host the debate so Mary can receive all the free publicity she seems to crave. Ron won’t like them controlling the microphones but then again, Ron, ya can’t have it all your way.

I hereby, forgive and release Mary Sutherland from her promise to post ( at a BUFO site), my “entire” report/essay on the Carbondale hoax (as she agreed to do in April of 2004.) At the time, I thought her reader’s might like to review a “fair and balanced” article on the incident… (she failed to provide them with one) - but, did post an edited “wee bit” of the story elsewhere - shortly after it appeared on the dreaded net - Published as a “Special Issue” by the UK’s “Magonia Supplemet” on March 15th.2005

Matt Graeber - August 5th, 2006

In late October I wrote about part I of a witness account of The Battle of Los Angeles by C Scott Littleton, a professor at Occidental College, and the background that I knew of the story. Part II of his account is now up, and follows the story through to the research that he is now conducting with Frank Warren. They believe that they've tracked the craft's path that night, over the California coast, and are looking for more witnesses. This is certainly one of the most interesting UFO cases in history, and was witnessed by possibly more than a million people. Here's a summary from Littleton as to what he believes is compelling about this case, beyond the fact that he witnessed it himself.

• The object’s purposeful, intelligently controlled flight pattern;

• Its invulnerability to an intense anti-aircraft barrage;

• Its size (perhaps 800 feet in diameter);

• Its bright white (and, in some accounts, orange) glow, which was evident even in the searchlight beams;

• Its configuration (oval, with a protuberance on the dorsal side);

• Its probable EMF impact on our pursuit planes that flew too close;

• And the absence of any post-war Japanese record of one of their planes being over Los Angeles that night.

Lesley, from The Debris Field Blog is putting together a list of international, non-english, UFO links and if you know of any that aren't on the list, head on over and contact her to get them added. This is a really cool project and I'm interested to see just how big it grows.

I've finished another article for the Book of THoTH. I'm never sure I like my writing, and I always tweak and change things until I simply get tired of seeing it anymore. Sometimes I think that leads to disjointed stories, but you can all have a look before(hopefully) it gets to the front page.

"Mythology, the Ages of Man and the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis"

It seems there's pretty good evidence that the jet and disc-shaped object which was claimed to have been found in the Great Lakes by a dive company may have been a hoax. I wrote a little bit about this one a few weeks back, and it seemed hopeful. However, now it looks like while the sonar images may be real, the rest of the story around the discovery is falling apart.