| EDITOR AND STILL SUPREME COMMANDER: James W. Moseley, J.S. |
NON-SCHEDULED NEWSLETTER Volume 42, No. 4 April 15th, 1995 |
MAILING ADDRESS: P. 0. Box 1709 Key West, FL 33041 |
We have many versions of this story, from several helpful people. Most of the write-ups in our possession come from computer networks. All are somewhat different, so we'll give you a composite as best we can. If our version of the story is not 100% accurate, it won't be the first time, or the last:
It seems that on March 17th, British crop circle expert Colin Andrews revealed at a Seattle lecture that he has seen a sensational video made from 8mm (or maybe 16mm) military film, which has recently been bought by the Fox TV Network and will be shown to the U.S. public this coming August. It will also be shown in England.
The vintage film, though grainy and of poor quality, shows a crash site or debris field, and it also shows an autopsy being performed indoors on one of the Roswell alien bodies by two alleged doctors, with a third man present in the background - possibly a civilian or plain clothes Intelligence officer. At the bottom right-hand corner of the frame, a board is visible, which has written on it: "30 July 1947; Subject 1 of 2". (Of course, even the date is a problem, as the Roswell crash is supposed to have occurred about July 8th.)
The film was discovered about two years ago in California by a British TV and movie producer (mainly of musicals) named Ray Santilli, who was, of all things, searching for film of Elvis Presley! A 76-year-old retired Army photographer in failing health (possibly named Jack Barnett) sold the film to Santilli for about $100,000. There are 14 or 15 10-minute film reels, but not all of them have yet been seen by anyone, and at the time they were bought, some had never been developed in all these years! Apparently the presently-available 15-minute video - also of poor quality - is made from only a portion of this material, and it has been seen by a few selected groups in England. Cattle mutilation expert Linda Howe is one of the several American researchers who have investigated this film, and even she is not favorably impressed!
To make things more confusing, Santilli intends to include this sensational footage in a music video he is making with a l960s British Rock singer named Reg Presley (no relation to Elvis), who was or is with a band called The Troggs. Reg is a UFO and crop circle enthusiast, we are told.
As for former president Harry S. Truman, one of the versions we have here states that "Truman can clearly be seen wandering amongst the wreckage at a crash site that could well be linked to Roswell." In another version of this story, it is stated that it is in the autopsy portion of the film (not the crash site) that we see "General Trueman" (sic) in attendance. But the only person we've spoken to directly who claims to have seen the film (and to have his own copy), tells us that Truman is seen emerging from a limousine!
The autopsy room is said to be crude, with two power lamps shown. According to one version, the autopsy is taking place in the interior of a barn on Mac Brazel's ranch, near where the "debris field" was found. According to this version, we are not seeing an autopsy but an attempt to save the life of one of the aliens, who was found dying at the crash site.
One skeptic who saw the video comments as follows regarding the autopsy scene:
"The camera used at no time moves or pans in to the table or the activities of the `doctors', which I find most unlikely, given the nature cf the official film it is supposed to be. Not to mention that the position of the (alien) body on the table, the way the head is deliberately laid over to the right so that it cannot be seen, leads one to conclude that the events being filmed were staged in some way. Basically, the film is so jerky and grainy that no details can be made out - that is, how many fingers or toes, for example. It could, to all intents and purposes, be a dummy or a human being lying on the table. I am not impressed..."
We'll close with a deliberately humorous remark at the conclusion of one of our computer print-outs:
"I understand that Philip Klass has been seen bulk buying valium."
Our thanks to all those who contributed material for this article, including: Stanton Friedman, Tom Benson, Bill LaParl, Patrick Huyghe, Lee Walsh, Simone Mendez, and others.
On the evening of March 23rd your editor attended the world premiere
of a documentary film on the life & times of the late Gray Barker - a
close ufological friend of ours who died in 1984. The film is
entitled "Whispers from Space", and was part of the Fifth Annual Mostly
Documentary Film Festival in Charleston, W.Va. - not far from the part
of West Virginia where Barker spent most of his life. Shown here with
a copy of our UFO book (still available for $10) is Ralph Coon,
producer and director of the movie.Strangely, Coon never met Barker and is not really interested in UFOs. He came upon Barker's name while researching the life of contactee George Van Tassel, late inventor of the Integreton, which is still a landmark in the California desert. Coon publishes an artsy little zine called "The Last Prom", which caters to the offbeat.
The Barker film, which runs a little over an hour, consists of interviews with various people who knew the man at different stages of his life. Among them are the funeral director who buried him; Barker's sister and nephews; Barker's former lover, Don McCulty; Merle Moore and Ruth Yeager of the Clarksburg - Harrison County Public Library, which now has Barker's UFO books and correspondence; ufologist Richard Taylor, who knew Barker for many years; and of course your humble "Smear" editor, who probably knew Gray Barker better than anyone else.
Although the film is not primarily about UFOs at all, several highlights of Barker's ufological career are covered: The famed Flatwoods Monster case of 1952, which was the original cause of his interest in the subject; Albert K. Bender and the Men in Black (1953); Mothman; the collapse of the bridge at Point Pleasant, W.Va. around 1970; etc. Also included are two hoaxes which Barker and your editor were engaged in together: The R.E. Straith Letter to contactee George Adamski (1957), and the Lost Creek, W.Va. UFO film, in about 1966.
Parts of the film are hilarious, notably a scene where Richard Taylor is watching the Lost Creek film on a TV screen and explaining the magnetic principles of flight, etc. - followed immediately by a shot of your "Smear" editor standing in an open field with the Lost Creek saucer (or one just like it) dangling from the end of a fishing pole!
Other parts of the film are to different degrees touching, interesting, humorous, or boring. There is an over-all unevenness, as in a long interview that takes place in an ancient insane asylum near Clarksburg, with no explanation as to what the asylum has to do with anything else. But Coon has put his heart and soul and just about all of his bank account into this production, and we sincerely feel he is to be commended for an honest effort. Barker would no doubt be pleased, if he were alive. The film will eventually be made available on video casette, and we will then tell our readers how to obtain it.
Incidentally, your editor deliberately wore dark glasses to the "opening", and a dark suit, so as to look just like we looked in the film. Miraculously, many people in the theatre recognized us, and came up to shake hands after the performance. Fifteen minutes of fame is better than none at all!
And yes, Barker did die of AIDS, almost certainly. This was tragic, but hardly mysterious!...
Meier has attracted the support of a number of naive but well-intentioned researchers in America - such as James Deardorff, Leo Sprinkle, Max Petersen, and hundreds of others. Lucius Farish, seemingly a "mainstream" UFO researcher, cut off correspondence with your editor several years ago simply because we refused to "seriously consider" the pro-Meier evidence. Cenerally, however, it is the more Far Out saucerers who believe in Meier, especially as there are wild religious overtones to his writings. Like, he claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, for instance!
Kal K. Korff is not new to the UFO field. Several years ago he published a lesser book exposing Meier. He has worked closely with famed Roswell expert Bill Moore on various projects in the past, and in 1985 he hosted our annual National UF0 Conference (NUFOC) convention, in a small town in northern California.
Korff's present Meier tome runs almost 350 pages, with hundreds of references in the index, including more than a few that apply to your humble "Smear" editor. Strangely, the publicity sheet for the book (and for a Meier video with the same title) does not anywhere use the word "hoax" or "expose", leaving alive the possibility that the advertised "most thoroughly documented undercover investigation... in history" might conceivably have proven Meier's claims to be true. Trust us when we assure you that this was not the case!
For more info on this book (available about June 15th), write to: Underground Video, Box 527, Beverly Hills, Ca. 90213-0527....
"To Whom It May Concern:So - if the letter is authentic, you would assume that Schmitt does not work for the Postal Service. Unfortunately, the letter is authentic but deliberately misleading. We phoned Ken Eppler ourselves, and he explained that no one starts out working full time for the Post Office. Thus, Schmitt has worked for the Post Office since 1974, but he has not worked there full time for the entire period since 1974. This is, of course, "splitting hairs" and avoiding the real issue entirely!
In the letter section of the March, 1995 issue of `Milwaukee Magazine', it is implied that Donald Schmitt has worked fulltime for the U.S. Postal Service since 1974. Not only is this untrue, but I have never made such a statement to `Milwaukee Magazine' or anyone else."
Why does it matter, you might ask? The better question is: Why has Schmitt deliberately and stubbornly hidden his Postal Service affiliation? If he has misrepresented his "real job", one can be excused for wondering if he may not also have misrepresented facts about the Roswell incident!
The worst part of all this is that Randle, continuing the "Great Post Office Cover-Up", writes to us at the bottom of the Eppler letter:
"What does this say about the credibility of the rest of the article about Don (Schmitt)? If they misrepresented their discussion with Eppler, what else did they misrepresent?. . ."This is dirty pool on the part of Randle, since he must know full well that the Eppler letter, on the basis of which he asks these rhetorical questions, is deliberately misleading!
Welcome to the Postal Service, Don! (See also Stanton Friedman's letter further along in this issue).
According to a letter we have seen, a "Special Faculty Committee" at Harvard Medical School, set up to investigate Mack, has tentatively reached the conclusion that
"there is no present definitive scientific proof establishing as a scientific fact that there exists ANY form of intelligent life in the universe other than human life on this planet. It is considered by The Committee to be both scientifically and academically irresponsible for any research scientist or professional academic scholar to state to anyone in public that such `Extraterrestrial Life' does exist."The "bottom line" is that Mack is in danger of losing his tenure (very important to professors) unless he can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt something which no one else has yet been able to prove, either! In other words, he must either prove it, or shut up about it. This is obviously an outrageous abridgment of freedom of speech, and although we agree with few of the specifics that Mack believes and advocates, we are completely on his side in this one; and we hope he beats the rap!
Our latest information on the subject is that Mack has decided to "back down" rather than lose his tenure! We hope this isn't true...
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Unfortunately, it appears that our readers are so Unenlightened that, as far as we know at this time, no one noticed that it was the wrong illustration! -Editor."Oy, weh! Faith and begorrah, may the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat! Gott im Himmel, donnerwetter! Non de nom! Merde, alors! Allah fucked me, the all-merciful!
"You printed the wrong illustration with my letter in Vol. 42, No. 3. That goddam Illuminati pyramid was NOT drawn by Crowley; it does NOT look like the Greys in contemporary UFO lore; and it does not have two closed eyes but one open eye. You took the wrong drawing off my computer-generated letterhead. Anam mhuck an dhoul!
"I don't mind insults and put-downs hurled at me for things I have actually written, but I don't want to get blamed for editorial misprints. Please print this correction. And if you have the space, also please print Crowley's actual sketch of LAM, the Enocnian `entity' he contacted in the 1920s. . . You will note that it does look rather like a `Grey' and does have two closed eyes and does fit my words better than that Masonic pyramid..."
"I wish hereby to categorically and completely deny the false and vicious rumors (`Saucer Smear', 3/20/95, p. 3) concerning me vis-a-vis Len Stringfield. `Good Authority' is wrong on all counts. I did NOT speak to Len on the day before his death. I did NOT ask for his files after his death; and so far as can be determined by the long and friendly conversation with Mrs. Stringfield in January to express condolences, I did NOT offend his family...We hope we have copied all this weird "computer talk" correctly, or else we may be apologizing to ole Stan again. - Editor."I also gather that some have already spread the false rumor that I had something to do with digging out the embarrassing facts about Don Schmitt having falsely claimed educational credentials he did not have. I must give all the credit to Gillian Sender, the author of the `Milwaukee Magazine' article. When I received an anonymous tip that Don was a letter carrier, I checked with Gillian, obtained a copy of the letter published in `Milwaukee Mag' in the March issue, in response to her February article, and called the Hartford, Wisconsin Post Office asking for Don. He came to the phone. The conversation was very brief.
"Admittedly, I have in the past checked on phony credentials claimed by William Spaulding, Guy Kirkwood, Robert Lazar, Frank Stranges, et al...
"On a happier note, I am sure your readers will be pleased to hear that my new interactive CD ROM `UFOs - The Real Story' is now available from Unity Publishing, 106 Main St., Suite 194, Houlton, Maine 04730 ($39.95 + $3.00 P&H). It is amazing how much material can be put on a CD ROM disc. It does require at least a 386, 4MB RAM (8 MB Preferred), Windows 3.1, and VGA Monitor. Unity has agreed to offer a $10 discount to the first ten `Smear' reader orders. Call 1-800-704-3777 for Visa or Mastercard...."
"Re our telephone conversation of today (March 8th), I was glad to learn that you put the section of John Keel's letter at the top of your Feb. 1995 issue because it mentioned your name, and you were curious about why John Keel said the things he did I and several UFO colleagues objected to this section, because it refers to me and Neo-Nazism in the same sentence, possibly leading some to think I might be a Nazi! The only flags in my house are the American and the Irish (dual citizenship)."Taken out of context as it is, Keel's remark doesn't explain that I was writing a reply in the `Bulletin of Anomalous Experience', in response to an earlier article Steve Mizrach had written. There are a few neo-Nazi elements in ufology, and I agreed with Steve that these should be avoided. I didn't agree with Steve when he claimed many of the top abduction researchers are fascist and racist! In BAE, I defended those colleagues, who do their work honestly and without prejudice as to race, gender, and ethnicity.
".. Keel charges NICAP was fascistic. Not true. It was scientifically oriented and openly sought the truth about UFOs. I was a member from 1957 to 1972. We were free to join any other organizations we chose, as long as they weren't contactee cults! Many of my friends and colleagues were members of both NICAP and APRO.
"Keel also says that Condon called NICAP `obstructionist'? That was a compliment! It meant that NICAP was doing solid, documented work in the field while Condon was off interviewing contactees for fun, and figuring out how to produce a negative report for the $580,000 of government money which had been granted him.
"NICAP spent its money on solid UFO research. They challenged the contactees like Frank Stranges whenever they could, but it was mostly the unpaid subcommittee and affiliate membership who did the leg work on this. No wasted funds there. I know nothing about NICAP and Moseley; all I know is that I enjoy reading `Saucer Smear'. Re the imaginary `rejected black volunteer', Keel had no way of knowing anything about the internal workings of NICAP. I fear he has swallowed someone else's story on that point.
"NICAP collapsed, not because of personal problems at headquarters as Keel charges, but because it was deliberately infiltrated, overpowered, and destroyed by CIA moles. My upcoming book about the efforts made to bring ufology to the status of a true science - the `McDonald years' from 1966 to 1971 - will explain this in detail.
"I appreciate Supreme Commander Jim Moseley's kindness for the chance to set this matter straight."
"...While I am truly honored that you think I might be a good pick for the next editor of `Smear', it is my intention to get out of this field in the very near future. In fact, for all practical purposes, I am out of the field. I've had my fill of Roswell and UFOs in general. After nearly fifty years of `research', the civilian `research' community has failed to come up with even one meaningful finding that doesn't require a prodigious leap of faith to accept. The field is bankrupt. I realize that's a lot like saying `God is dead'...We agree! - Editor.
"Bravo to Barry Greenwood's recent proposal of `a radical notion' to `Jeffersonian-ly' separate ufological `Church' from `State'. For the True Believers to scapegoat us `gossips', skeptics, and the Air Force because of their own undoing, is like O.J. Simpson saying the dog murdered Nicole and Goldman!"This excerpt from a Nov. 17th, 1993 letter to me from scientist Jacques Vallee couldn't be more timely:
My decision to withdraw from the (UFO) field is consistent with the observation that serious, constructive scientific work is impossible in present conditions. Over the last four years ufology has squandered close to one million dollars (twice the amount wasted by the Condon Committee) in absurd, unscientific procedures centered on abduction `research', the Roswell fiasco, the Roper survey (which Mark Rodeghier, to his credit, has exposed as flawed) and various field investigations of the Roswell and Gulf Breeze type. I cannot afford to remain associated with any of this, so it is time to go away quietly...Editor's Note: Greenwood's excellent editorial, referred to above, is in his Dec. 1995 issue of "Just Cause", P.O. Box 176, Stoneham, Ma. 02180.I do enjoy the interaction with Barry Greenwood and with Dennis Stacy, both of whom are very professional in their approach to the subject...
- Contactee MONTY CANTSIN writes:
"...Certainly it's just an obvious observation to note that Walt Andrus and MUFON are biased, and have their own agenda - if not the CIA's, then the aliens' - or else they're mad & there's no method in it! Anyway, I'm glad I'm providing Byrd with some material to defend himself, when, as I said, everyone is trying to drum him out of the fringe, when he's one of the few sincere oddballs who belong there. The weirdos strike back! I'm behind Byrd 100%. A victory for Byrd will be a victory for non-conformist self-expression throughout the galaxy. This is no joke!"
- Ufological writer & cartoonist MATT GRAEBER writes:
"I was somewhat taken back by the latest issue of `Smear' because of the inordinate amount of back-biting and personal in-fighting displayed by a few of the more unstable elements of ufology - or is that ufoology? Anyway, I think someone ought to inform these self-proclaimed experts that they are rapidly approaching the critical mass stage with their ufological behavior (or lack of it)."Hey guys - cool it! After all, you're just arguing about speculation and theoretical stuff - right?!"
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