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| EDITOR AND STILL SUPREME COMMANDER: James W. Moseley
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR:
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NON-SCHEDULED NEWSLETTER Volume 52, No. 10 December 1st, 2005 (Whole Number 384) |
MAILING ADDRESS: P. 0. Box 1709 Key West, FL 33041 |
We welcome your correspondence, pro or con, well-reasoned or otherwise,
but please keep in mind that while Saucer Smear is on the Dreaded Internet, your humble
editor is NOT! So, if you wish to receive a personal reply to your letter, or wish to
have any chance of seeing it printed on Our Glorious Pages, please print it out, put it in an
envelope, affix a stamp thereto, and SNAIL mail it to:P.O. Box 1709 Key West, FL 33041 It's simple and loads of fun! Ask your grandma if you don't remember how to do it! We thank you! |
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HEAVY PERSECUTION AT "SMEAR" HEADQUARTERS BY THE FORCES OF
NATURE, OR AS THEY SAY HERE IN KEY WEST- "JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE"
Tnis is of course a preamble to our annual non-renewal Pitch, in which we ask our loyal non-subscribers to chip in generously, to help keep our humble Rag going. Don't let this Pitiful Plea get lost in the Christmas rush. Please make checks or money orders out to James Moseley, not "Saucer Smear". We also accept cash, gold coins, stamps, Euros, or whatever else you have handy!
May the Space People (if any) bless you, and Merry Christmas to all from the entire staff of "Smear" = one lonely guy...
And, we misspelled the name of Jackie Gleason, who in ufological circles is best remembered for his claim that former president Richard Nixon (boo! hiss!) showed him alien bodies at Homestead AFB near Miami, Florida. If the bodies were ever there, they were probably blown out to sea by Hurricane Andrew (1997), which creamed that whole part of the state. Key West was spared that time...
Buzz Aldrin, the second astronaut to walk on the Moon back in 1969, has announced on the Discovery Science TV network (10/25/05) that he, Michael Collins and Nell Armstrong watched and filmed two UFOs on their Apollo ll trip to the Moon, as they were about 200,000 miles from Earth. Apparently Aldrin is breaking a 36-year silence on this subject. At the time they were reluctant to add this UFO event to their flight problems.
Said Aldrin on the 10/25/05 TV show: "Obviously the three of us were not going to blurt out 'Hey Houston, we have something moving alongside of us and we don't know what it is. Can you tell us what it is?' We were not about to do that because we knew these transmissions would be heard by all sorts of people - and who knows what somebody might have demanded - that we turn back because of Aliens, or whatever the reason is. So we didn't do that."
Said the narrator of the TV show: "To this day, whatever it was that the crew saw has never been positively identified or officially acknowledged."
We recommend that NASA allow Marcatillio to go along on the next Moon probe, so that we don't have to wait so long to learn the bizarre aspects of the trip!...
First, we note that our esteemed (?) ufological colleague Richard ("Dick") Hall has resigned from the board of the Fund for UFO Research (FUFOR). Hall says he thinks FUFOR is "moribund...poorly led, out of touch with the pulse of the field, and it has lost its focus on the central mission it was established to accomplish." However, he speaks well of Rob Swiatek, a "Smear" non-subscriber who is secretary-treasurer of that organization.
Hall has been out of tune with your "Smear" editor ever since the NICAP era, many years ago. We cut off communication after Hall falsely accused us of tapping his phone at NICAP's Washington, D.C. Headquarters.
Also of interest in the Journal is a short article telling how noted UFO lecturer Grant Cameron was denied entry into the U.S. when he tried to come in from Canada to speak at the glorious NUFOC convention in Hollywood, California last Labor Day weekend. The issue at stake was that he was going to lecture here for a fee rather than an honorarium, and thus did not have the proper work authorization required by U.S. Customs. We wonder why he didn't just say he was coming as an ordinary tourist, and thus the issue would not have come up at all!
Hard-core ufologists have suggested that this was an effort by our government to suporess whatever dire ufological message Cameron was intending to deliver at NUFOC. However, this viewpoint gives undue importance to Cameron and to ufology. Sly old Stanton Friedman manages to slip across the border from Canada anytime he chooses! If one took his MJ-12 data seriously, it would certainly represent a very important challenge to our government and its policies. Yet he continues to rave on, god bless him!...
The first item offers two possible explanations for "orbs". Scientists took about one thousand photos with five different digital cameras in situations that might replicate the mysterious orb images. More than two hundred of these photographs contained orbs! They propose two possible explanations: (1) Stray reflections from shiny objects in the environment; (2) Diffraction from the flash reflecting off dust particles near but not on the lens. More study is obviously needed, but they seem to be on the right track.
The second item, entitled "Walking through Walls", attempts to deal with the claim by many UFO abductees that they were moved through walls and other solid objects. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have recently created the world's first "supersolids", which are bizarre crystals that "slide through each other like ghosts". Although this breakthrough does not mean that we can suddenly walk through walls, it is the beginning of a whole new realm of science. Offhand we doubt if it can do much to solve the UFO enigma, but maybe it eventually will...
We don't agree with him about that, but his personal prejudices about the Roswell case do not prevent him from giving a fascinating over-view of the two books which are currently being vigorously discussed in UFO circles. The article is humorously titled "Doty and the Body Snatchers", and is basically an in-depth analysis of Greg Bishop's "Project Beta: The Story of Paul Bennewitz" and Nick Redfern's "Body Snatchers in the Desert".
What we get out of this is the strong impression that the government, far from discouraging interest in UFOs, has at times promoted outrageous stories of secret underground alien bases and such. Durant documents this theory nicely, but we are left with the problem of whom to believe. Was government disinformation (MJ-12, etc.) used to cover up a hard core of genuine ufological facts, or were some agents merely acting on their own - and if so, why? The whole mess boggles the mind!
If you have the patience to wade through this quagmire of claims & counter-claims, you should really read Durant's article.
Now we have a story about thousands and thousands of tiny toads that have invaded a small (population 703) town in Montana, causing slippery streets and raising the wrath of local businessmen. Some lawns are filled with so many toads that it looks like the grass is moving. Drivers inevitably run them over in droves, and in general they are considered a harmless nuisance. No one seems to know how they got there or where they are going next! (Thanx to Vince Ditchkus)...
We know a little about Vieques, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico. which has seen many political protests in recent years, re the U.S. Navy presence there, and their bombing exercises that offended local people. Our friend Lea Boldt lived in Vieques for a few years and reported to us on many of the goings-on in that area- ufological and otherwise. To make a long story short, the past decade has seen a disturbing number of highly credible reports of various types of UFOs going into the ocean and later coming out of the ocean! What does this mean?? Martin refers to a "secret special order" by President Clinton which implied (at least in his opinion) that US security was in danger not just from the Puerto Rican protesters but more so from a foreign power - - presumably ex-traterrestrial! For more detailed information, write to "The Messenger", PO Box 12233, Albany, N Y. 12212. Tell them 'ole Jim Moseley sent you...
Now much older and somewhat more serious, we have noticed through the years that Peru is a hotbed of flying saucer activity, although Brazil and Argentina get a lot more attention in the Internet ravings.
In any case, Lima, Peru was the scene of an unusually outlandish saucer convention just a few weeks ago. (Oct. 6 - 9). Perhaps the wildest tale of all was told by one Jonathan Reed, an American who had the distasteful experience of seeing his pet dog torn apart by "a gray alien with an elongated head, smelling of rotten fruit". Then, Reed took the alien home with him for nine days, during which time he communicated with it telepathically. Our article does not say what happened after that.
The conference was organized by the Alpha and Omega Group, which believes that a fleet of UFOs will fly to Earth at the end of the world, or maybe even sooner than that!
Our attention was drawn to two other American speakers, both of whom we know personally, and both of whom could be characterized as being Far Out Indeed.
One of these men is retired Air Force Colonel Donald Ware, who was once MUFON's esteemed Eastern Regional Director, with authority over all the states in his domain. He eventually was relieved of that high post because his ufological antics became just too much for the MUFON hierarchy. He has been on the New Age lecture circuit ever since.
Even more colorful is retired Air Force Colonel Wendelle Stevens, who must be in his mid-80s by now. He claims to have seen alien craft eight times since retiring from the service in 1982. Five of those golden retirement years were spent in an Arizona state prison, after pleading guilty to sexual activity with several underage femates. He now claims, of course, that he was framed by the CiA. (Our thanks to Vince Ditchkus for this article, which we obviously have expanded upon considerably.)...
We are informed that a decomposing body found along the Carson River has been identified as a former Nevada legislature lobbyist who claimed to represent space aliens, and to be one himself!
This self-proclaimed alien called himself Ambassador Merlyn Merlyn II, but his real name was David Venus Solomon. He was identified by his fingerprints. At the time this article was written, the cause of death was undetermined.
Solomon lived in his automobile, which was not found. He was known to Pat Travis, the owner of the famous Little Alien Inn in isolated Rachel, Nevada, where your editor once visited. Pat Travis and Merlyn met during the successful campaign a few years ago to have Nevada State Route 375 changed to "The Extraterrestrial Highway".
In Carson City, Nevada, Merlyn was a well-known character at the state legislature from 1995 to 1999, when he was barred from the grounds for reasons that are not explained in the article - other than the fact that during the 1999 session a female employee, cleaning a restroom at the capitol building, reported that Merlyn had exposed himself to her. His friends stuck up for him and he apparently was never charged. However, it appears that his life must have gone downhill after that...
It is unclear just how long the UFO was on the ground, but nearly everyone said it was a low-flying silver/grey shining object, looking like "a cup turned upside down on a saucer". The age of the students is not given, but many were in high school. The witnesses agreed that the object was definitely not a plane or balloon. No sound is mentioned.
There was a circle in the clearing where it landed, which looked "cooked or boiled, not burnt", according to one eye-witness, trying to recall details of the event recently after so many years. The object didn't cruise and then descend at an angle. It "just stopped, dropped, and then went straight up."
The Victorian UFO Research Society of Australia investigated the incident at the time, but arrived at no conclusion. It is said that students and staff were told by the RAAF to keep quiet about this spectacular sighting. Egads! (Thanks again to Vince Ditchkus)...
In any case, Linda will be lecturing in late November at a convention in Tempe, Az. The theme of this conference is "Crop Circles, Mary Magdalene and Sacred Geometry. So much for science! (Thanks to Vince Ditchkus for this one)...
For one thing, the man' s name was Zigmund Adamski, reminiscent of George Adamski of UFO contactee fame. The article states that "one of the most famous ufologists of all time, also called Adamski, offered his own amazing theory about the tragedy. He believed that aliens from outer space abducted the Yorkshire miner by mistake." (!) The only trouble here is that George Adamski died around 1967, so how could he be commenting on this case?
Five days after he disappeared, Zigmund Adamski's body was found in a coal yard twenty miles from his home. The body was wearing a suit, but his shirt, watch and wallet were missing. On the back of his head, neck and shoulders were burns that attracted a lot of attention. The coroner who dealt with Zigmund's death said it was the biggest mystery of his career! Said he: "The question of where he was before he died and what led to his death just could not be answered." There was also an inexplicable ointment that had been applied to Zigmund's burns, it simply could not be identified by forensic scientists.
There is more, but you get the idea. We remember discussing this case in "Smear" a few years ago, but it is so weird that it bears repeating...
Our old friend (?) Jerry Clark has done a study on this and concludes it was a newspaper hoax of that era. It was not uncommon in those days for newspapers to make up exciting stories for the benefit of the locals. (Some of the other reported incidents in the famous 1897 flap may have this same explanation.)
Now a film crew from Weller/Grossman Productions has gone to Aurora to film a documentary in the cemetery and elsewhere around town. Obviously all of the original witnesses are long dead. Among those interviewed was Hayden Hewes, a well-known UFO researcher from Oklahoma City, who years ago tried in vain to get permission to dig up the grave thought to be that of the spaceman. For whatever reason, the town fathers did not think this would be appropriate. Maybe they were worried that no spaceman was buried there after all!
Said John Greenewald of Weller/Grossman Productions: "I want to give Aurora's legend its air time. It's a good story whether it's true or not."
Amen!...
We wish we had kept track of the numerous locations around the world that have been designated as the site of Atlantis. The latest comes from a researcher named Robert Sermast who places the lost continent in an underwater strip of land between Cyprus and Syria in the Mediterranean Sea.
Using state of the art submersible water craft and top-of-the-line video and lighting equipment, Sermast and his crew plan to make several dives in the area off the Cyprus Arc to collect data and possibly relics that could answer some of the puzzling questions about the lost continent. Sermant's final dive will be broadcast in a live two-hour documentary which will air in May of next year. (Thanks to UFO Newsclipping Service.)...
Finally - our esteemed contributing editor Karl Pflock is still out there, alive and kicking, but he is unable to supply a column for this issue. Thus we have more "fillers" than usual this time.
Hopefully Karl will return to these breathless pages in the first issue of 2006. In the meanwhile, we wish him well!
"If you feel up to it, I should enjoy hearing your explanation of why you think I am being mean-spirited when I say that the world would be better off without people the likes of Mr. Klass. Perhaps you believe that human society would be better with more of such types??? Yeah...right! Just like we need more Charles Mansons! You simply have no idea as to the extent of the problems this bastard created in my life for no reason other than to massage his own warped ego."I have no idea how many other lives he tried to poison, but I can tell you that the only person I have ever known to consistently say anything good about him is you - and your comments were consistently limited to Klass' social conduct in your presence. Perhaps if you had troubled yourself to meet with me face-to-face while you were just down the street from me here in Hollywood (during the NUFOC convention) you might have come to understand my feelings better. Frankly I found the snub to be both an insult and an affront.
"Concerning Greg Bishop's book, 'Project Beta' - had you bothered to actually read it instead of just giving it the once over, you might actually have learned something. Unfortunately, you chose to rely upon the cover hype for your information, and thus missed the point of the book entirely! Typical.
"As to your assessment that 'nothing could be more mean-spirited' than my comment about Klass, I respectfully refer you to the following, which I copied for you off the internet. It seems I'm not the only one who had misgivings about the late, demented, Phil! This was posted on the net back in late September. I was alerted to it by Greg Bisnop. We both presumed someone would have sent you a copy - but perhaps not, in which case, here it is. Maybe you ought to publish this? Indeed, I encourage you to publish it!"
- We have apologized to Moore for not having met him in Hollywood at the time of the NUFOC convention. It was definitely not intended to be a snub. As for the anonymous poem about Phil Klass, it is an amazing piece of utter trash and thus beneath our high ufologicai standards. We say this even though we have no fear that klass would sue! - Editor.
"First of all, I see that congratulations are in order! I see on page three of your current issue that she is now Ms. Linda Moulton Cowe. Best wishes to the new bride!"Secondly, it is nice to see that Bill Moore thought so highly of Phil Klass...I will miss Mr. Klass. All he ever demanded was proof. It is bizarre that he became the nemesis of Ufology by asking UFO researchers and believers for their proof! Can you imagine how dull Ufology would have been without Phil Klass? Perhaps I am missing something here, but I thought researchers were seekers of truth, not mere collectors of various flavors of bovine excrement.
"Everyone knows Ufology is a religion. Religions always ask followers to accept a lot on faith. Therefore religion must have enemies, doubters, and skeptics to have purpose. Mr. Klass seemed to earn those titles by merely saying 'Prove it'. Who'll be around now to remind us of the difference between science and religion? Thank you Mr. Klass for a job very well done!"
"In your last issue I especially liked the news snippet about Superman sightings in Serbia. It reminds me of the old 'Saturday Night Live' sketch musing 'what if Superman as a baby had landed in Germany instead of Kansas?', which has him growing up as a Nazi superhero named Ubermann who can spot Jews by seeing through their pants with his X-ray vision.Since Superman is from the planet Krypton, these Serbian sightings count as purported ET events, and I hope it becomes a trend!..."
"Have you read Susan Chancy's book (called 'Abducted') yet? As it is a product of Harvard University Press it will presumably be obligatory for all of us to buy a copy and argue about it. Inevitably it will be regarded as a cultural landmark in the UFO abduction phenomenon, a moment when the upper class deigned to acknowledge its existence, if not its importance."It is smartly written, chatty, and avoids a number of traps like force-fitting everything into some sort of grand unified scheme. It properly accepts there is a wide variety of abduction experiencesand beliefs. I see a number of small mistakes that don't amount to much; but the big disappointment is that it goes horribly wrong in the final pages.
"There we get the obligatory bowing to the genius of Carl Jung at the worst possible moment. Chancy quotes his UFOs are technological angels notion as sacred wisdom and babbles that as abductions are a religion, UFO believers are blessed as happier, healthier and more optimistic than earthy mundanes. The thing is, it is all very well for Jung to talk about Orfeo Angelucci and other long-haired Nordic alien love slaves as technological angels, but this is 2005, not the Fifties. Abductions star Greys, and they have more in common with Bond villains than seraphim. What is it with intellectuals that they get all soft in the brain when it comes to Jung?"
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