• KARL PFLOCK IS DEAD AT AGE 63
• RECENT UFOLOGICAL POLL RESULTS AND OTHER HOPEFULLY INTERESTING INFO
• MISCELLANEOUS RAVINGS
• NEWS BRIEFIES
• LETTRES TO YE OLDE EDITOR

We jokingly called him "Chief" because of his association with the dreaded CIA in the early part of his career. Needless to say, this CIA background did not help him gain the trust of ufologists! Nevertheless, we are convinced that his lifetime interest in UFOs, going all the way back to the days of NICAP, was entirely separate from his government service, which peaked out in 1985-1989 when he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Pflock retired from salaried positions in 1992, to devote full time to writing. During the years we knew him well (starting about 1995), he lived in a housing development near the little town of Placitas, New Mexico, with his second wife Mary. He had children from his first wife who were grown and living elsewhere.

Pfleck died of a fatal disease called ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He was diagnosed a little over a year ago, and expected to survive quite a bit longer than he did. We wish he had lived just a little longer, to see "Saucer Smear" voted "Best UFO Publication" in a very recent poll. (See masthead and also the story below.)

In the UFO field Pflock wrote a column for "Smear" and also wrote numerous tracts and articles for other outlets. But his outstanding accomplishment was his book about the Roswell Incident, the most famous UFO case of modern times. The same publisher brought forth similar books by skeptics Phil Klass and Kal K. Korff, but his was by far the best. Nothing will ever kill the Roswell legend, because of the public's overwhelming "Will To Believe", but Pflock did the best anyone ever could to bring out the true facts behind this sensational, complex case. He should always be remembered for this outstanding accomplishment, if for nothing else!

Pflock's politics were very different from ours. We did not share his enthusiasm for the present Bush administration or for the war in Iraq. So we stuck to other subjects. And we deliberately never asked anything about his service with the CIA. Regarding UFOs, our views and sense of humor were very similar but not identical. Pflock was a believer in the Betty & Barney Hill case, and in general he believed in the reality of 3-D "nuts and bolts" flying saucers. So those who think he was a UFO skeptic are definitely wrong!

Your editor lives a somewhat lonely, solitary life these days, and losing Karl Pflock as a friend to communicate with frequently, by phone and letter, will leave a void that is not likely to be replaced.

Says Kimball: "I have to admit I'm surprised that the International UFO Reporter (IUR) did so poorly, but I'm pleasantly surprised that 'Saucer Smear' did so well. Congrats, Jim! You're #1 at 'The Other Side of Truth'. Long may you reign."

You may recall that in Kimball's "Greatest Ufologist Ever" poll, your extremely humble (?) "Smear" editor came in 5th, following Vallee, Hynek, Friedman, and McDonald. We could hardly have expected to do better than that, as the above-mentioned gentlemen all have advanced degrees in science, whereas we have no degree at all (except a degree of sarcastic humor in our approach to ufology.)

Another of Kimball's recent polls is in regard to the "Best UFO Case Ever". We don't have the final results yet, but the leader seems to be Bentwaters (aka Rendlesham$ England, 1980), followed by Shag Harbor (Canada, 1967), Valentich (Australia, 1978), and Cash-Landrum (Texas, 1980). These four are close together in number of votes. Far behind is Father Gill (New Guinea, 1959). We will give the final figures in our next issue.

It is interesting that, of the above five cases, only one is from the U.S., and all are more than 25 years old. We're not sure just what this means, but it must mean something! Our vote for "Best Case" is definitely Cash-Landrum. No rational person could doubt from the testimony of the three occupants of the car that they were severely frightened and injured by a very low-flying craft of some kind. Most ufologists agree that it probably was not a spaceship, however.

Interestingly, the Roswell Incident (New Mexico, 1947) is not even in the running. Kimball tells us that one criterion he used concerning cases to be eligible for this poll, is that the UFO has to have been seen in the air by at least two witnesses. That leaves Roswell out!

Paul Kimball is currently working on a documentary film called "Best Evidence - The Top Ten UFO Cases". The film is due out in the late Fall of this year.

Back to Roswell - It didn't make Kimball's list, but the newspaper supplement "USA Weekend" recently picked the little town of Roswell, N.M. as one of the ten best "out of the way" places to visit this summer. Wheee!

Again, we must say how much we wish Karl Pflock could have lived long enough to see all of the above. As Contributing Editor, he helped make "Smear" what it is today - whatever thai may be.

• Near the bottom of Page 5 of our June 5th issue, we repeated an item from the May 2006 MUFON Journal, in which a man named Warren Aston claims thai Whitley Strieber's wife Anne once admitted publicly that everything Whitley has written is fiction. That would of course include his countless supposedly non-fiction statements about his interaction with the aliens.

  Now Anne, on the Net, denies this accusation, saying she was misunderstood. What she actually said was that everything Whitley wrote prior to his famous book "Communion" was fiction - just as it was supposed to be.

  We will give the benefit of the doubt to Anne Strieber on this one. After all, she too is a "True Believer" in aliens, so why should she ever have made such a negative, unnecessary statement about her husband's work? (Whether his interpretations of his many complex experiences are correct or not, is an entirely different question.) ....

• Former researcher William Moore has sent us a strange Net item, telling us that a scientist named Ron Milione (pictured here), working with others, intends to duplicate the legendary "Philadelphia Experiment", allegedly conducted by the U.S. Navy in the Fall of 1943, during World War II.

  A destroyer escort vessel named Eldridge was made invisible and teleported from the Philadelphia Naval Yard to Norfolk, Virginia. The side-effects of this experiment were so dramatic and startling that the Navy still denies any such experiment ever took place. (And indeed, quite likely it never did take place!)

  This all ties in with the "Allende Letters" written to UFO researcher Morris K. Jessup in the early 1950s. You see, after being teleported to Norfolk, the Eldridge was returned to the original location a few minutes later! Subsequently, it was found that many members of the crew suffered strange and frightening side-effects including "a propensity to vanish into thin air." Egads!

  A man named Carlos Allende (aka Carl Allen) was supposedly a sailor on the Eldridge. Over a period of years he sent crazy letters to several UFO researchers including Gray Barker in West Virginia. We met Carlos once while the two of us, separately, were visiting Barker, and there is no doubt that he (Carlos, not Barker) was indeed crazy!

  Most of the Net article consists of endless technical details regarding the intended re-creation of the famed Experiment. We will be waiting breathlessly for mid-August, which is when this is supposed to take place. It will be on a much smaller scale than the original - for safety's sake, no doubt.

  In 1979 William Moore and the late Charles Berlitz co-authored a book on this subject, which we never did actually read. Moore tells us by phone that he has no information at all about Ron Milione or the other people mentioned in the current Net article. Of course we are prejudiced, but we give Miltone a vote of "no confidence" based on his flippant appearance in this photo. But we could be wrong. As the late, great George Adamski often said, "Time Will Tell!"...

• Here's another update on Bob Lazar, the young engineer who made big news back in 1989 when he raved on TV about UFO-related technology he had allegedly worked on at the mysterious military base on the Nevada desert now known world-wide as "Area 51".

  Lazar has had his ups and downs since those days. Now he owns a laboratory in the hills of New Mexico, where he runs a small company devoted to two things: Developing a hydrogen-based fuel system for automobiles, and selling rare chemicals for use in scientific experiments, etc.

  It is the latter which has gotten Lazar in Big Trouble with the government, which believes many of the chemicals he sells can be used either to make methamphetamine or explosive devices such as firecrackers. He faces very serious civil and criminal charges unless he agrees to the government's demands that he stop selling most of the chemicals that are his livelihood.

  However, Lazar believes that the government's real motive is to suppress technology that "could turn tap water into free fuel for every car on the road". Of course, this is a line of research that many technicians are vigorously pursuing these days, and Lazar is merely one of them.

  Lazar also says "It's impossible to be a scientist and do serious work when you're (still) known as the 'UFO Guy'. But ufologist Stanton Friedman, whose opinions we rarely quote, has called Lazar an articulate con man, whose motive for the "Area 51" stories was to obtain funds for his various inventions.

  It is obvious that Lazar is no mere crackpot, and that he does have an exceptional grasp of science, even if his engineering degrees are not real. (No record of them could ever be found!) We will continue to follow the career of this colorful individual. (Our thanks to Miller Johnson, Steve Barnett, and Dave Swink, who are among our loyal contrib- utors)...

  UFO enthusiast Simone Mendez has kindly sent us a Net biography of sorts, outlining the career of all-night radio personality Art Bell. Bell is the founder and a long-time host of the paranormal-themed "Coast to Coast AM", and also the creator and former host of its companion show "Dreamland".

  The current substitute host for most of this is George Noory. Others, including Whitley Strieber, have been invited to host some of these shows at various times in the recent past.

  Your humble editor has never been invited to be a guest, nor have we ever even listened to the show. (No radio!) When we made an attempt to get booked shortly after the publication of "Shockingly Close to the Truth!", Strieber's wife character- ized us on the phone as "too negative". Yet, a generation or two ago when Long John Nebel of New York City was the king of off-beat all-night radio, we were on many, many times, in spite of our reputation for ufological skepticism. Like Bell, Nebel did not vouch for the views of his far-out guests.

  "Coast to Coast" in its present format dates from 1995. Nebel has been dead careerwise as well as physically since the late 1970s.

  Obviously we have never met Art Bell, but he must be a strange sort, as he has retired and un-retired several times beginning in 1998. Once, in 2000, it was because his then 16-year-old son had been kidnapped and raped by a substitute teacher from his high school. The rapist was charged and convicted of attempting to transmit the AIDS virus to the boy!

  Bell's most recent retirement is strange indeed, and is described by Simone Mendez in her letter further along in this issue...

• Thousands of tourists and residents allegedly witnessed a mirage of high quality lasting for four hours off the shore of Penglai City in eastern China. Mists rising on the shore created an image of a city with modern high-rise buildings, broad city streets, bustling cars as well as crowds of people, all clearly visible!

  In past years many mirages have been recorded in Penglat because of very unusual weather conditions there. Note, however, that in the photo to the left, nothing unusual can be seen, nor in the original "CHINAdaily" website photo. If you can see any high-rise buildings, etc. here, please let us know!...

  The somewhat goofy-looking guy in this photo is none other than Dr. Steven Greer, the subject of a recent mildly-hostile Net article from his former home town of Ashville, N.C. The good Doctor used to be an emergency-room physician there years ago, till he gave up his medical practice altogether and went off the Deep End on the saucer subject. Now he apparently makes his living from lecture appearances and by charging hefty fees for week-long 'Ambassador to the Universe" training courses in places like Mt. Shasta, California. The idea is to make physical and/or mental contact with Them, whoever They may be. Details are explained in Greer's self-published books.

  Greer reached his peak of publicity in 2001, with a "Disclosure Project" held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. There he brought forth a host of alleged witnesses regarding the "UFO Cover-Up". The consensus of opinion afterwards was that, though some of the speakers were very impressive, others definitely were not. No momentum was built for further revelations.

  Greer believes in all sorts of UFO conspiracies, but he is best described by a sentence in the article that states: "Dr. Greer also asserts that he's been for a ride in a flying saucer, can levitate groups of automobiles by meditating, and is in regular communication with the interplanetary tourist crowd." If this is a true statement of some of Greer's beliefs, we hope he never returns to being an emergency-room physician!

  We have never met Steven Greer, but would be curious to hear one of his lectures...

• Perhaps the worst alien-related story of all time was recently sent to us by the semi-mysterious "Ray X" of the off-beat zine called "Ray X XRayer". (www.xrayer.com and www.xrayer.blogspot.com) It seems that the International Bird Rescue Research Center at Vallejo, California took an X-ray (no pun intended) of a dying mallard bird and found a pattern that looked like our conception of an alien face large eyes, a tiny nose, a pointed jaw, and even a slight grin. Though the staff (hopefully) did not really take this seriously, they nevertheless are cashing in on the incident by selling fund-raising T-shirts. The shirts will show the image and say, "In Space, no one can hear you quack." The out-of-this-world X-ray will be auctioned off on e-Bay!

  An accompanying photo of the "alien" is too faint to reproduce here - mercifully!...

• Thanks to Vince Ditchkus, we have a big pile of material about the recent (June 9-11) "Extraterestrial (sic) Civilizations and World Peace Conference", held in Kona, Hawaii. This event was sponsored by the Exopolitics Institute, which is "dedicated to studying the key political actors, institutions and processes associated with credible evidence that extraterrestrial civilizations are visiting, monitoring, or residing on Earth."

  In other words, this organization is all about how to get along with alien creatures that have never been proven to exist!

  Among the speakers were several well-known spokespersons (?) for the ufological fringe, including "conference convener" Dr. Michael Salla; the shadowy Dr. C.B. Scott Jones; Lt. Col. Wendelle Stevens; Philip Corso Jr. (son of the late "The Day After Roswell" author); and the Honorable Paul Hellyer (former Canadian Minister for National Defense). There were also about eleven other people on the program whom we have never heard of, although they are no doubt worthy individuals nevertheless. (We don't want to sound prejudiced against these ufological extremists!)

  There was also a post-conference Swim with the Dolphins. Dr. Salla was there to "share his extensive knowledge and experience about the dolphins' role in citizen diplomacy and assisting people to open the door for communications with benevolent ET intelligence. Four hour boat excursion including lunch." Whee!

  No doubt most of these people are well-intentioned, but in this dark era of world conflict, their voices will not be heard. O for the Good Old Days of the contactees, when there was actually hope for better times to come. Well, we don't want to get political, or even "exopolitical" - so we won't say any more...

• We are pleased to announce that the 2006 edition of the annual Roswell (N.M.) UFO Festival has been moved to a new location, near town, so that beer can be sold. Julie Shuster of the International UFO Museum felt strongly that a beer permit would bring in more business revenues. (Attendance at the Festival has been declining in recent years.) There will be a limit of three (3) beers to a customer, however, and hard liquor was not even mentioned. The Festival will take place during the first weekend in July.

  Your humble "Smear" editor has been to the Holy City three times, including the 1997 50th anniversary bash. We lectured at the Museum during the 2002 Festival, though Julie probably did not approve!...

• Years ago, folklorist John Keel called your editor "a boil on the ass of ufology", which we took as a compliment. Now it happens that Dennis Crenshaw was (as of 6/6/06 - a fateful date!) in the hospital because of a boil on that particular part of his anatomy. Dennis is the editor of the Net ztne "Unraveling the Secrets", and co-author of a soon-tobe forthcoming book "Secrets of Dellschau - The Sonora Aero Club and the Airships of the 1800s". This book was described briefly in our last issue, and we are eagerly awaiting its publication...

• On June 10th saucer researcher Paul Kimball of Canada appeared at a one-day symposium in England, which also included famed UFO author Nick Redfern and others. Kimball's topic was '"The Wilbert Smith Story: Separating Fact from Fiction (Concerning) a Ufological Icon". We have read some of Kimball's writings about fellow Canadian Wilbert Smith, and the truth is that he rightly deflates some of the legends about this interesting man...

• True invisibility may be just around the corner, or at least it is theoretically possible. Scientists are trying to perfect the manufacture of certain exotic materials that have the ability to steer light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation around a "cloaked" object. A "cloak" made of these materials, with a structure designed down to the sub-microscopic scale, would neither reflect light nor cast a shadow. The "cloak" would have to be very thick, however. How thick is not explained in the article...

• There's a plan afoot that intends to rebuild England's famous Stonehenge ruins in a new location, and the new structure will include all seven of the original stone circles, of which only three survive. The exact location has not yet been determined. This interesting re-creation is expected to be completed by 2009. People will be allowed to walk among the we have visited, this is not permitted for some reason. (In fact you can't even smoke in the vicinity of the stones, for fear of damaging them!)...

• For somewhat obscure reasons, psychic Uri Geller and two partners have paid over $900,000 for the original Tennessee home of Elvis Presley - before the late pop star became rich enough to move to Graceland. Geller is a hard-core Presley fan, who has vaguely humanitarian plans for the house...

• It's a fact that SETI is not getting the results that were expected when it was begun with high expectations about forty years ago. Actually, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has not had any positive results at all after such a long time!

  It has therefore been suggested that NASA's next manned expedition to the Moon should very carefully search the surface for possible space debris left behind by alien civilizations. This is a novel idea, but unfortunately the 842 pounds of lunar material already brought to Earth from the Apollo flights have been gone over "in excruciating detail", and nothing has been found that would suggest extraterrestrial activity.

  Do "Smear" readers have any suggestions as to how to overcome this problem?...

• This was the cheerful response from JERRY CLARK of IUR when we sent him preliminary results of Paul Kimball's "Best UFO Publication" polls:

  "Well, there's more than one way to read those poll results. For example, you could say that 'Saucer Smear' won in a squeaker - by a mere nine votes! - over IUR.

  "And then you could also read it to say that IUR left the 'MUFON Journal' in the dust, with a 25% higher approval rating.

  "I believe that these are both entirely valid readings.

  "See, aren't you glad you let me know? You need a scientific perspective on these poll results, and I am always happy to provide the needed profound insights."

• Ace cartoonist MATT GRAEBER writes:

  "I received the information you sent along concerning Mr. Kimball's recent polling, which places 'Smear' light years ahead of UFO Magazine, IUR, and the MUFON Journal in popularity. I am truly enthralled to see this happen, as I've always felt that 'Smear' was superior and far more humorous too! Now it seems that I have some agreement.

  "I'm certain that Jerry Clark is about to slit his wrists at this point in time - and your published remarks on this turn of events may push him right over the edge. I think the guys at Magonia and Fortean Times would enjoy your polling victory - while Hopkins and Moore will be in a state of shock when the news hits them squarely between the eyes...

  "I happened to catch a bit of an interview on the Today Show on NBC. They were talking with Dan Ackroyd about UFOs and a recent 'serious' DVD he has produced and is currently promoting on the subject.

  "As Beldar the 'Conehead' type alien, Ackroyd may be just about as well qualified to speak on the topic as say, Budd Hopkins or David Jacobs. As a 'Blues Brother', he seems to be a wee bit less suited, but then again, who's to say?

  "Anyway, Mr. Ackroyd conveyed a marvelous story about a UFO landing in a school yard in an African village, where beautiful 'shimmering' beings emerged from the craft and spoke to the children about taking proper care of the planet.

  "Unfortunately, it seems that no one was taking care of the kids at the time, so no confirmational adult witnesses appear to be available. One wonders - why didn't the aliens tell the kids it's not nice to pop one another in the head with the dodge ball, or land in New York to inform the multi-cultural gang at the U.N. building about taking better care of things? I mean, let's face it - just what were the kids supposed to do, put their planet-abusive parents to bed without desert?

  "Imagine traveling through the vast expanse of the cosmos just to visit an obscure little village school yard during recess! Hmmm..."

• Former researcher SIMONE MENDEZ writes:

  "I enjoyed listening recently to Paul Kimball on George Noory's overnight radio show, giving positive mention to you and your zine. I wish, though, that you could be a full guest. That would be fun!

  "Say, is it possible to become injured physically by talk radio? I think I got whiplash from Art Bell's UFO-like sudden, sharp, unpredictable turns, stops, vanishings, and re-appearances.

  "Everyone likely knows about Bell's past off-and-on broadcasting. Then, in January, 2006, Bell's wife Ramona suddenly dies. In April, he shocks us fans with the confession that he ran off to the Philippines and married a new one - 40-something years his junior, whom he met on the (cursed!) Net. And that was after he hinted (in March) that he wouldn't disclose this 'secret' until 2007!

  "I'll bet those guest-ghosthunters have audiotapes of many expletives from spirit Ramona!"

• MIKE GENSLER of The Plains, Virginia, writes!

  "Ralph Coon recently re-entered our mutual friend Mike Merchant's life in a typically confusing way, but the end result of their convergence is a refined version of "Whispers from Space" (the documentary about Gray Barker). Apparently, the few copies of the video still available are being sold for $70 or more through a few websites, prompting Mike and Ralph to get to work on a DVD version of the film. Mike Merchant, utilizing his state of the art Camera Eye Digital studio, has converted the film to a digital format and edited it down to a nice 83 minutes - shaving roughly 22 minutes of drag off of the original. I haven't seen the final cut yet, as Merchant is now working with a composer to create a new score for the film.

  "I can't wait to throw a DVD in and hear your fine reading of Barker's poem "UFO Is a Bucket of Shit", my all-time favorite moment from Ralph's meandering movie. I'll let you know when the thing is in the can and available for purchase..."

• Cultural anthropologist CHRIS ROTH writes:

  "I'm as baffled as you that so many people seem to accept this 'Project Serpo' as well as other reptilians-are-out-to-get-us type scenarios. David Icke, Zechariah Sitchin, and William Bramley are partly responsible for this development.

  "I enclose for your interest an article about an alien face found in the entrails of a duck .... I have to say, the resulting face does look fairly convincing - but of what? This would be an extremely roundabout way for E.T.s to communicate with us!"

  See our story on this, near the top of Page 5. - Editor.

• DR. FRANK STRANGES of Biblical fame writes:

  "...Jim, I promised you that you would be the first publication in the world to have valid and correct information regarding the forthcoming motion picture 'Stranger at the Pentagon'. Thus far, we have not achieved the task of raising the entire budget of twenty five million. It is not wise to begin the project unless we have the entire amount in the bank. As soon as we begin production, I again promise you that you will be the first to be notified."

• Someone named NEMO DEBREFFNEY McCLUSKY has written us what we can only describe as a Crackpot Letter:

  "Esteemed Editor and Still Commander, Professor UFO, PhD of the Celestial Vision School of Metaphysical Arts of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Boil on the Ass of Ufology:

  "I have followed your fact-filled acerbic publication for many a year, and with conviction of your dedication to the highest principles of Ufological journalism, I have determined to disclose to you the true nature of the UFO abduction phenomenon, as determined by rigorous research conducted over two decades.

  "First - The abductees are not extraterrestrial aliens.

  "Second - The abductions are a vile ruse conducted by a renegade covert religious order within the Roman Catholic Church, known as the Brothers of the Lavender Rose or the Priory of John the Beloved Youth.

  "Third - These conspirators may have infiltrated the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, the psychiatric professions, academia, journalism, the major media, and the Central Intelligence Agency, in order to effect their campaign of disinformation.

  "I am certain that the disclosure of this information will enable you to fully and fruitfully investigate this aspect of Ufology!~

  McClusky then goes on to describe himself as "Former Select Ufologist to the Republic of Ireland". - Editor

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